Home sweet home

Here in Arizona this time of year photographing can be rather tricky. Either it's raining from our amazing monsoon season or its blazing hot because, well, it's Arizona. So we improvise; an inside sessions it is!

Long time gone

After what seems like MONTHS (okay it really was) I'm finally ready to get back into the swing of things! I kept a sweet little secret for about 20+ weeks and now that I'm feeling MUCH better, I'm ready to share. Baby #2 will be due this December and we could not be more happy and SHOCKED about it! I was diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum which is basically a fancy word for extreme morning sickness. It left me huddled in my bed for more than half of my pregnancy and now I'm thankful that I can finally get around without needing a nausea pill or a restroom! Some fun sessions coming soon so be sure to check them out when they happen.

 

A mother's love

I had the sweetest mommy and me session this week! This Mama wanted to capture the tender moments she cherishes everyday with this little guy! From nursing to reading, you can just see and feel the love in the room. And even if you're not a cowboys fan, you have to admit this nursery belongs in a magazine. Too perfect!

                             

  

Young love

 Meet Tyler and Megan. They are absolutely adorable and pretty funny might I add! She's the perfect amount of sass for his wit and I honestly couldn't think of a better match than the two of them. They're so cute, it almost makes me sick.... almost. ;) 

Fresh 48

Can anyone tell me what is cuter than a newborn baby? That's right, nothing. I love everything about the little ones. From the way they smell to the way they cry; It's just so sweet and innocent.

 As I became more involved in doing newborn sessions, the more I started to think. We've been taking pictures of them the first week they are born, dressing them up in the cutest little outfits and hats and calling that their newborn pictures. Don't get me wrong, I love those styled sessions too, but to me, nothing beats those first 48 hours when you are completely overwhelmed by how much you love this new child that you've given life to and pray that they will stay this little forever.

Welcome to the world, Ransom.

DIY Pinata/ decoration

Its my very first blog post today!

  I have been wanting to get my blog up and running for months and now and well... here it is! I wasn't sure what I wanted to blog about first. There are so many things to choose from... DIYS, photography, food, recipes, life... heck the list goes on and on! While eventually we will touch all those bases I decided to start with a good ole DIY project! I mean come on, who doesn't love a DIY? Even if you're not the let me get paint under my nails, mess up my manicure type of person; stick around and let’s get you inspired!



Today I will be showing you the first way to save some sweet moola. A DIY piñata. That's right, a piñata. It was SOOOO easy and super inexpensive. Naturally, as my daughters third birthday approached the more and more excited I got. I LOVE decorating, parties especially! I love making things look pretty even if no one cares. While some may think why the heck would you do anything more than some cake and balloons for a kid? I say... why not?! I mean sure, I have seen some parties for kids that are indeed outrageously priced, but for me, I like to style them... not pay hundreds of dollars on it! It’s a special day in a child’s life why not make it magical?!

Before I purchase anything for a I price point everything I will need. (I have a sweet little app on my phone called quick scan to help me out. You scan and it will show you the where the cheapest price for that item is. IT’S FAB!) So while on my pricing journey I started looking at piñatas. As I began to look my mouth dropped to the floor. 30 bucks for a piñata and candy was not even included!? That was ridiculous, I mean kids are just going to beat it then it gets tossed in the garbage. Talk about a waste of money. So here's where my DIY project came in. Not only is it a super cheap DIY but it was also used as decor for my daughters birthday party! It was a big hit, pun intended.

 

What you may need to buy:
400 Coffee filters 1.99 x 2
Large ball 3.99
Newspaper 2.00
Assorted candy 5.99

What you probably already have in your house:
Food coloring
1 cup flour
5 cups water
Scissors
Stapler
Ribbon
Glue gun and glue sticks
Table cloth
Needle
Pie pan or similar
Clothes line

First things first, grab all your supplies and lay down something to cover your table. It makes clean up a breeze.
Shred up all that newspaper!! Try to make them wide... they seem to stick easier.
Next, start boiling up your 1 cup flour with 5 cups water until it is at a slow bubble. Don't forget to stir it! You want a smooth consistency; so that means no clumps! Once you get a slow boil, take the pot off the burner and let cool completely.
Put your ball on something so it doesn't roll around. I used a bowl. Fancy, I know.

Submerge paper into flour mixture squeeze between fingers to remove excess. Lay wet paper onto ball.
Continue until ball is completely covered. Make sure to have the two layers.

Let dry for approximately one day. I put mine outside. It was 116-118 here in AZ the day I did this project so it really only took me a few hours for this step!

After drying, wrap a ribbon around the balloon, leaving extra for it to hang.

Apply two more layers.

Let dry again about one day.

Stick needle into ball to deflate.

Paint it! I used a white spray paint. You could use any paint you have handy really. DO NOT however, paint the inside where the candy will be.

Cut a small circle to get the deflated ball out. Do NOT throw away that circle you cut out. You will need to super glue or tape it back on to cover the hole!

Make sure it is 100% dry inside and out.

 Put candy in it.

Glue or tape cut out back on.

So now that you've finished your base, start making flowers!

Grab those pie pans; add water to one of them.

Put some food coloring in depending on how vibrant you want your petals to be. I added two drops to each pan that was filled with about an inch of water.

Submerge five or so coffee filters into colored water for a few seconds, then place on the second pan until you have a good amount to hang on the clothes line.  

Let dry completely. Flip over if need be after an hour or so until they look like this... beautiful, right?

Cut five to eight different shapes into the coffee filters, you can have multiples.

Until they look similar to these lovelies.

Next: fold, roll, hold and staple.

Continue placing petals around center until it looks like a peony. You might not have to use all eight and that's okay, I didn't either most of the time either. Although the more coffee filters you use, the bigger the flower!

 Admire all 400 coffee filter flowers in their shining glory and hot glue the flowers to ball. I don't have a rhyme or reason here. I simply stuck the first one in the middle there, and continued placing more and more flowers until it was completely covered.

Before you know it, it will be covered and stunning! After I finished I didn’t want to use it as a piñata anymore. I really just wanted to keep it in my office! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Have fun! Post a link at the bottom to show me how yours turns out, I’d love to see!