two

I loved an entire series of photos I took of Dylan on his birthday last month. Trying to pick one or two became challenging so I settled on 6. I love how they capture his personality. Dylan is a very happy child who laughs a lot (much like his mother!). Here's a "behind the scenes" glimpse at what was making him laugh - watching his father and his grandparents' dog, Tia, wrestle a toy. :) Supplies: Simply Tiffany Studios 52 Thursday Templates...

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Sidewalk Painting

Dylan & I had a great time mixing up some sidewalk paint using corn starch, food coloring & water thanks to directions from Pink and Green Mama blog. There are no specific measurements - just mix the 3. I second her suggestion of combining the corn starch and food coloring in a muffin tin, carry outside, and then add water. Keeps the mess outside! Very simple project and lots of fun. It kept Dylan entertained for about 30 minutes which is...

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Cars Pillowcase

Dylan finally got his own pillow a few months ago in a last minute, anything to get the child to go to sleep in his own bed moment (he never sleeps in our bed but wanted to lay there with his head on my pillow so I offered to give him his own). I wanted to get him a special pillowcase for it. Something fun and all his own. I looked for a Cars sheet set thinking it could be part of our switch from crib to toddler bed. But most came with a comforter...

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Nursery Rhymes kit

It's new release day at Design House Digital and Sara Schmutz has a gorgeous new kit available called Nursery Rhymes. Get it today at 30% off. The full kit contains 36 papers, 2 alphabets, and 25 elements. Although you could use it for a number of different page themes beyond baby, I used to as an opportunity to dig back two years into my digital photos and scrap about Dylan's early days. :) My sweet sleeping baby at 9 days old ... Supplies -...

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Edible Paints

Last week I attempted making edible paints. Anything with "edible" in it is good to me so I don't have to worry about either child putting it into their mouth. And anything with "paint" in it is good to Dylan who gets so very excited when he hears that word. The paint was made up of water, cornstarch and food coloring. The recipe I used came from The Imagination Tree: Mix 2 cups of cornstarch and 1 cup of cold water together in a large bowl. Bring...

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Baprons

Another Pinterest inspired project, I found a link to the tutorial for making Baprons (baby aprons). I'm trying to get my niece involved in some of our art projects and thought she needed a little apron to help protect her clothes. I thought about making her something similar to Dylan's art smock, but it would definitely need to be smaller. When I saw the Bapron tutorial, I knew I found a winner. The idea was so cute, I decided to make a second one...

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Shoot and Edit: Bright & Colorful

I started this week's edit by adjusting the levels on the photo. Then used Lustrous Pop action from the CoffeeShop Blog to brighten. I actually had the image a bit brighter, but found the white too blinding! So I dulled it back a bit. Then added a vignette and used the Color Bar template also from the CoffeeShop Blog. Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos...

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Custom Baby Banner

I love getting custom requests. Making any project is fun, but when you are asked by someone to make something specific - well, you know it's special. That's very true when it's for a new baby's nursery. After seeing the birthday banner I created last month, a friend requested a banner with her son's name. The nursery has Caribbean colors and she picked 4 gorgeous batik fabrics for me to use. Simple. Fun. I hope they enjoy it just as much as...

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New Wheels

You know you're a mom when your "new wheels" excitement equals a new stroller! ;) In late June I saw a tweet from Kolcraft (@Kolcraft) regarding a chance to win their new Contours Optima Tandem Stroller. The contest was detailed on their blog here. Basically, each day during the contest you could tweet an entry that had to start with "Oh Optima how I love your ..." and include the hash tag #ContoursOptima. I entered 3 times. On the final day of...

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Race Car Thank You Notes

To thank everyone after Dylan's Cars birthday party, we needed car themed thank you notes. I kept the design fairly simple using strips of printed checkered paper, red cardstock and a stamp. I also printed return address labels with Lightning McQueen on them just as I had done with the invites. Supplies: Recollections white cards, cardstock & stamp; StazOn black ink; personal black & white checkered design; Avery clear address labels #18660;...

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Shoot and Edit: Bright & Colorful

Last week our playgroup attempted bubble painting. For whatever reason, the mixture (just store bought bubbles with food coloring added) did not want to make bubbles although it had worked perfectly the night before. Not all was lost though. Our toddlers had a grand time dripping, flicking & even sticking their hands in the mixture and adding it to the paper. ISO 100, ss 1/250, f8.0 Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings...

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Fun Zone

Dylan and friends having fun at the Fun Zone in January. A big room full of toys - what could be better? Honestly, I think their only problem was figuring out what to play with first! :) Supplies: Kate Teague's Just the Photos 2 template; Karla Dudley's Misfits 1 paper and Digi Essentials 2 & 8 kits; Miss Mint's Kindergarten Crafts & Twinkle Toes kits; Janda Everyday Casual fo...

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Cow Shirts

One of the local Chick-fil-A restaurants hosts a kids craft & story time each Thursday morning. Our playgroup happened to visit the day before the annual "Cow Appreciation Day" where customers dressed like a cow can get free food. Thus, the day's project was painting a cow t-shirt. All four toddlers were very serious about their painting. A few weeks later, we got the gang together for a group shot in their shirts. Of course, it was a challenge...

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Painting Fun

I've been having lots of fun recently gathering crafty ideas on Pinterest that I can do with Dylan. As hot as it is, we need indoor activities to keep us occupied. Two of the ideas we've tried involve paint - Kool-Aid paining and Shake & Paint. Dylan, Lily & I experimented with Kool-Aid painting a week before trying it with one of Dylan's friends. Although at 10 months, Lily isn't quite into brush to paper, she did manage a few strokes before...

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splash

Having fun with friends at the pool & splashground in late June: Supplies: Gennifer Bursett's Toolbox Mist Vol. 1 & Favorite Things Alpha Collection; Karen Funk's Photo Frame Clusters Vol. 2; Janda Everyday Casual fo...

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Shoot and Edit: Sunset edit

I was a bit stumped on how to edit my photo this week until I read Rosie's steps at leavesandbloom photography. That inspired my starting point - adding a selective color layer & adjusting the black. From there I added a hue/saturation layer. Adjusted to my liking. Merged layers and cropped. Overall, I'm still very happy with my SOOC shot but I do like the focus and more intense orange color in the edit. Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography...

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Tall Iced

Yesterday, sitting in the drive thru at Starbucks, I realized that maybe we'd been in that same spot too many times. From the backseat I heard Dylan say, "tall iced." I confess, I laughed and then taught him to say "mocha." I guess next time he can place the order. ;) Supplies: Paislee Press Press Plate No 2; Sara Schmutz's Star Spangled & Color Wheel Avocado papers; 2peas Grandpa & Janda Everyday Casual fon...

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Shoot and Edit: Sunset

After dinner last night, the boys & I headed to Lake Crabtree Park to play on the playground and walk down to the lake. It was the perfect spot for taking a few sunset shots. My favorite capture is this one with the sun reflecting in the lake and a plane making it's way in for a landing at RDU Airport. ISO 100, ss 1/1000, f5.6 Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos...

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1st movie

Dylan's first movie at a theater over July 4th weekend. Even though the bright sun was causing him to look down, I love the photo of him pointing up at the poster. He was quite excited when he saw it and called out, "Cars!" :) Supplies: Gennifer Bursett's Blueprint #8 template; Miss Mint Kindergarten Crafts & Traffic Jam kits; Ellie Lash's Detour kit; Sara Schmutz's Back to Basics bundle; Tiffany Tillman's Tears Set 1; Karen Funk's Claire &...

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