classic christmas

 

and here is my second creation of the night...

a more classic christmas card design.

contemporary christmas

i've been doing some creating tonight!  

here is an example of a more contemporary christmas card design.

christmas is coming

once our family was more than two...i decided to start sending christmas photo cards.

it's fun to design and send them each year to family and friends, 

and i love receiving them from others.  

here's a chance to look back at the designs from years gone by...

christmas 2005

christmas 2006

christmas 2007

unfortunately i haven't been able to locate my more recent designs (2008 and 2009).  

for me, it's all about starting with the pictures you want to work with and creating a design that suits.

i'm hoping to find some time this weekend to create some new christmas card designs.  

stay tuned...

photography 101

while living in virginia, i had the pleasure of taking a photography class with howard zehr ("grandfather of restorative justice" and excellent photographer).  this was early 2005 ( i was pregnant then), shooting with an  hp 2.1mp point and shoot camera (my first digital).  though i was not feeling 100% those days, it was fun to have something to focus my energy on...this was my final assignment for the class.

a few things we should all make or take time to do each day!

twins...

one of my closest friends was expecting twins.  

she was kind enough to let me photograph her in all her beauty!  

here's a few favs.

one month later...these amazing little guys showed up!

photos for announcement taken by joel percy

evan drake

 

such a sweet little boy!  thanks for putting up with me twice.

growing family

so these were of few of the other favs from our lovely day in southampton.

that beautiful bump has been replaced by a beautiful little girl.

~ aubree isabel smiley ~

pleasant surprise

ran into my nephews and niece today at my new favourite spot!  

such a pleasant surprise.  glad i had my camera!

benjamin - 5

christopher - 3

daniella - 10 months

selah and chris (born 4 days apart)

such a gorgeous family!  so great to see you guys today.

live and learn

i did a photo shoot yesterday with baby evan.  

the place was incredible and i was so excited to get started.  

i made a mistake though.  i didn't adjust my settings before snapping away.  

the result - some really fun photos, but not the quality i was hoping for.  

good thing i was working with family!

i'll post a few anyway, because we had so much fun.

thanks for being so understanding beth.  

looking forward to getting back there with you soon.

baby aubree

my brother and his wife were expecting their first this spring.  

for a baby shower i created this photo card for all the guests to take home.  

something to put on the fridge while we all waited for news!  

they also asked me to create a birth announcement for them.  

welcome aubree isabel.  i love you little one.  

the photo in this design was taken by christine birch (the other auntie)

my little photographer

this summer i discovered that i'm not the only one in my family who loves to take pictures.  

my oldest daughter (4 at the time) got a hold of our camera one day while we were at rockway gardens... i didn't get it back.  here are some of the images she captured (untouched).

i love that she loves flowers and photography, like her momma!

emery peace - 5 years old

my excitement for working with photos and design all started with a birth announcement (my favourite thing to create!).  when we were expecting our first child, i had so much fun creating different designs that could be sent out once our baby had arrived.  i had a design for a boy and a girl (all about the surprise!) with names in place for each.  i remember carefully choosing file names for those designs, just in case someone came across the files on my computer.  i've searched through my files and found my first ever birth announcement design.  hard to believe that was five years ago...

i always like to make a little photo thank you card after the girls birthdays, to send to family and friends.  this is emery now! 

a simple thank you

my youngest daughter is in preschool now!  this month they did a walkathon to raise money for the program.  my family was very generous in their support.  i wanted to acknowledge this, so i chose my favourite photo from the day and created this postcard.  it's going in the mail today!

here we go...

i'm going to jump right in to this - which is not my norm.  i was thinking about what to post first last night.
i think i will share from a favourite shoot i did in the spring of my brother and sister-in-law and her bump.

the beginnings of a new family tree!

  there were more from this day that i loved.  but for some reason they wouldn't load.  i'll try again soon!  it was a lovely day with D&A on southampton beach.

something new

i love photography and i love design.  i'm not trained in either, but often think about doing more, so i thought this would be a fun place to start...