DIY birthday crown (baby`s first)

So here is my reason for not posting so much lately...this little lady of mine, my baby girl E... lol.

She just turned 1 and for that I wanted to do a cute little photo shoot. I used to have my own little photog business, and when baby E came along I had to stop. I think I might start up again, when all my kids are in school...so it could be years from now. My kids ...They just need me too much.;-) And by golly...I need them too!

 Anyhow...trying to get out of the house can sometimes be difficult with 2 little ones and one in 1st grade, so I decided to do her 1 year photo shoot at home. It is something everyone can do, and get pretty nice results. I discovered this for myself when my little boy was just a wee one too. I would open up the blinds in my bedroom, make the bed *of course, sit hime on the bed  and than just let him play. I would get some wonderful pics from that, and it was soooo much easier than taking them to a fancy outdoor location to do pictures. 

I made this crown for  baby E out of card stock, burlap,and different embellishments such as laces, rick rack, pompoms etc. I loved how it turned out. And it was so easy to make. I measured her head, and cut out a the W type crown free handed.  Super easy. Than I glued the rest on...so fun! 

Here is how it turned out.

and here are some of my favs from the shoot....

thanks for stopping by!

hugs

cat

at the party with
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

DIY Silhouette Gifts (Fathers Day)

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE silhouettes. I still remember at my Grandmothers house in Denmark, there is a tiny silhouette picture of her father (my great grandfather), one that someone made. Im not sure who did it, but I LOVE it! When I was a little girl I would always admire it. I think it is amazing what a simple silhouette can portray. 

ONce in a while I make some of our little family. And Since we added baby nr 3 I havnt had a chance to make some updated ones of all 3 of my babies. For fathers day this year I had the kids make their Daddy some art. This is what we came up with. It is SUPER fun for the littles to do, and I like it myself so here is how you do it.

AND wouldnt these make GREAT gifts for Christmas too?! 

You will need:

A camera

cardstock/colored paper

canvas (i used 8x10 i think)

craft paint & sponge brushes

modge podge

fine sharpie pen

scissors

craft knife

a steady hand;-)

First thing I take the kids pictures with my camera. From the side. So as to see their silhouette.  For my baby i had one of the kids distract her so she wouldn't look at me, but at them. Worked like a charm.

I put my kids to work by letting them paint their own canvas. Error free mind you because they had freedom to paint their all one color as they would :-) They LOVED doing this.  

Let it dry for a few hours or even overnight.

Next I uploaded the pictures to my computer and simply printed the images out on the cardstock/colored paper that I wanted to use. Played around a bit to get the size I wanted too.

Next I cut the pictures out. Pay attention to detail! ONly cut out their silhouette. I did so with my scissors. Because some of the details are lost in the image itself, I used my craft knife (or a razor blade) to etch out the hair or creases in the clothes. It helped especially for the girls pictures.  else my oldest daughters long hair would not show up on the silhouette. And I think it looks alot more like her with those details. Its totally up to you. ;-) For my son I didnt need to do that. 

Now after that I got the modge podge out and glued the silhouettes onto the canvas. (watch out for air bubbles, so smooth them out carefully). And than I let my children paint their own canvas with modge podge. They really covered them up nicely. Again Just take care they dont get any air bubbles under the silhouettes.

Once dry I wrote their names and ages on the bottom of the pictures with a sharpie pen.

 (Sorry for the glare on the pix...my hallway has not very good lighting...)

I just love having these pictures to look at.  I have made few different ones throughout the years. Its been 5 months already since we did these, and already my kids have grown SO much! Especially my baby girl.  I love having their littles profiles etched into time forever!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cat

oxoxo

{Princess} Wand

Do you ever have those "Blah" days? Well, today was one of those at my house, and so whenever we have those kind of days, we do "Activities". Crafts. Since both my girl and I needed a Princess Pick me up, we decided to make a Magical Wand. Both {B} and I were in Heaven! We had so much fun making this, and it surely made us feel like a Magical Princess for the day. Of course now I need to make one with my own picture on it! :-) Everything I used for this project I already had laying around my house. And as for the wooden dowel...well lets just say that her Grandma let her take it home after her Pizza Factory Luncheon. Had to put the thing to some kind of use, since {B} was on her way to poking some ones eye out with it! Shhhh dont tell....lol.