Niece's Baby Shower - the R E C A P

Thanks for hangin' with me on all this baby shower madness. I appreciate patient followers.

So with BOYS on the way, we had to come up with a shower theme idea that was rough & tough. So we went with a construction kind of theme. We saw some ideas on the interweb and it kinda just went from there... 

Dump trucks haul more than just dirt and rocks! They make great cracker haulers.

I made the signs with cardstock (remember I'm a scrapbooking fool) and my Cricut machine.

Hmm.. more of that clothesline stuff showin' up ;-) 

This picture shows my brother S E R V I N G some of my aunts and cousins. Nice!

Gift openin' time!

The shot on the top left corner - Sasha thinks she looks like a goat. teehee Those cute little itty bitty wooden babies came from Shannon, who's also with child. 

My sister-in-law Leslie made the fleece blanket. They were sooo cute - Conner's was covered with robots and Brady's was space stuff. Awesome!

The giraffes in the center of the collage - they came from Haiti and were hand carved.

Excitement happened when two car seats were unveiled!

Phil might have gotten a bit carried away and  hit his head on the mantle. Oops! 

A sweet lady we used to attend church with got really creative with some diapers, blankets & socks...

I kinda got a little carried away buying stuff for these boys, but who cares?! They needed every bit of that stuff and I finally did stop gettin' stuff.

But the gift I was the most excited about was the photo book of Sasha's maternity pics... her face in this pic makes my heart full!

If you're a photographer, you know how awesome it feels to see someone look at your work and love it this much!

The shower turned out nicely and everyone seemed to be genuinely happy for Sasha & Phil. We had a room full of people from all over the place but somehow managed to keep it between the lines. It really was great!

 My mom, me, my oldest brother (Sasha's dad) and Sasha, the beautiful momma to be. 

Next up: pics of those babiesssss. You're gonna LOVE em!!!!!

Niece's Baby Shower... PART II: A little DIY gift

Again with Pinterest... I'm not apologizing. It may be mostly a time waster but it does have perks!

Like this little project... 

I was inspired by this blogger (whom I found via Pinterest...swoon)
Blissfully Domestic 
Mine aren't as fancy, but I like how they turned out.

I bought my little wooden door hangers at Walmart in the craft area. My dad cut a notch in them and shortened them a bit (for looks, not entirely necessary). The notch lets you slip them off and on easily on your closet rod. (*Note: the blogger who inspired me chose to hang hers by ribbon)

I traced the shape of the hanger onto the back of a piece of scrapbook paper and cut out the paper.

Enter Mod Podge

Mod Podge has a million uses. This was only my third time to use it. A little goes a long way.

I just brushed a thin layer and then laid my scrapbook cutout on top and positioned it the way I wanted it.

You'll see my edges aren't perfect. But you get the idea.

Let them dry completely before adding your labels for clothing sizes.

And what do ya know, my Cricut came in handy again! 

I used it to cut all the numbers and letters. I used my "Don Juan" cartridge.  

I used a glue pen to glue each of the numbers and letters. 

And here's the final product!

Sorry I don't have a pic of them hanging in the twins' closet....if I can remember, I'll get a shot of that and post it here.

Niece's baby shower... PART I: The baby shower invitation

I'm still playing catch up with a few recent blogworthy things. Hang with me folks!

Who wants a store bought, cookie cutter baby shower invitation? No one! 
So of course me and my friend the Cricut machine had to do some work. 

This was so easy, but here's a HOW TO for you anyway...

Saw a few ideas out there thanks to a Google search and tweaked it to fit what I liked for our Sasha's little boy twins...

Of course the first step in the process was to print the wording on my printer and cut the papers to size. That kinda goes without saying. ;-) 

Moving on...

I couldn't find miniature clothespins so enter improvisation!

I cut tiny pieces of cardstock and then marked a tiny line across for the look of the wire piece that's on a real clothespin.

Cutting the tiny pieces of cardstock...now that was some real fun. 

Did I mention I made about 40 invitations? So 4 clothespins times 40 invitations... um yeah... that's a lot of tiny pieces of paper. And I haven't even gotten to the gluing part. 
Those store bought invites were starting to look pretty good... but.... I knew homemade would be more special and I had already committed to this here project so off we go!

I used the "Life's a Party" Cricut cartridge to make the onesies. 
Easy peasy!

I bought cheapy yarn at Big Lots for the clothes line. Keep it simple people - you're just going for the look of a clothes line. Doesn't have to be authentic. 

I placed the yarn and tucked it behind the cardstock with a tiny piece of tape on each side. A dot of glue held the yarn with the swag I wanted...

The 3D Zots made the onesies stand up just enough to add that extra little somethin-somethin I wanted. 

I use these a ton in my scrapbooking.

Gluing those tiny strips of cardstock was no small feat. But it can be done. I used a slender glue pen I got in Walmart over in the craft section. It has a fairly precise tip which made it a little easier. 

And there ya have it folks. 

A handmade extra special super cute baby shower invitation.... (ahem) made by yours truly.

Hopefully one day those twin boys will appreciate Aunt Lyndy's special touch. Probably not... but a girl can hope, right?

My niece's MATERNITY PORTRAIT sesh

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, prepare for some repeats. 

My niece Sasha & her hubby recently had twin boys. I insisted she let me do her maternity pics the instant she told me she was prego. She.obliged.me.of.course. 
Who passes up F*R*E*E*S*T*U*F*F?! 

First the pics, then a few tips from this backyard wannabe photographer. ;-) 

My dad cut the wooden blocks for me and I just slapped a little paint on em. I made the letters on my Cricut with scrapbook paper and Mod Podged em on there like a champ! 

I plan to keep these around for engagement pics, couples, etc. The Cricut cartridge I used was Don Juan.

Stole this idea straight off Pinterest. Made the banner myself with the Jubilee font on my Cricut. Easy peasy! 

At first I tried it with Stampin' Up rubber stamp letters but it's just too hard to get those straight and inked evenly. 

(ahem) I may be a little OCD.

Another one from Pinterest here folks... 

Frame from clearance aisle at Goodwill that just needed a coat of paint, a paintbrush that was just layin' around, and of course a couple Photoshop skillz. No big deal. ;-)

I bought these Chucks for them boysss cuz they were too cute & we needed some shoe pics...

Michelle (Sasha's mom) had this idea with the Scrabble tiles - - 

There might have been some laughter involved with this one and we might have licked the tiles to keep them from falling off the mom-to-be's jiggling belly... improvise people, improvise.

 ABC blocks have many purposes... 

this is just one of the shots we used them for.

In that belly lived two boys!! Whew wee!

Side note: a couple people told me this shot was magazine worthy. (blushing)

This is the pondering/thoughtful/serious shot

Advice & tips for maternity sessions:

• Research - get ideas for poses ahead of time
• Ask the mom if she's comfortable showing bare belly so there's no awkwardness at the session
• Be flexible (be aware of how tired Mom is getting - tired definitely shows up in pics)
• Try different angles (think outside the box)
• Play around with depth of field to add creative element
• Have a helper (Michelle was a LIFE SAVER)
• Be organized (with props, shooting locations, etc.)
• Ask the parents-to-be for input
• Remember to HAVE FUN!!!! 

And before I go... just because I like to keep it real, I'll show ya what it takes to get the shot (at least for me anyway)... 

Check back for pics of the baby shower and the TWINS in a separate post! 

My apologies for my lack of blogginess

I know there are a faithful few out there who check my blog for posts. Thanks for being loyal! I’m sorry I’ve been a little MIA lately in good ole Bloggerville. 

Let’s recap some of the highlights of March, April and May, shall we?

In every day happenings, we’ve been busy with church stuff, friends and family, work, the usual. But I’ll outline a few of the heavy hitters for ya.

~ I had my first spray tan (and a second one after that cuz I bought a package deal) Loved it! Only thing is, running and spray tans aren't happy roommates. Sweat causes streaks. Just so you know.

~ Bodily stuff (cuz I like keepin' it real) includes a sinus infection, a dental visit (no cavities YAY), and a Lasik consultation (would LOVE to do it, but for now I’m gonna stick with my spectacles since I only need em for driving really)

~ Family stuff was mostly just hangin out with em and enjoyin life.

My mother-in-law turned 65 a few weeks ago so we all went to dinner to celebrate. 

My dad was preaching a revival nearby so we surprised him by coming to hear him preach one night. I love surprises!

The most exciting family news of late was when my niece had her twins – but that’ll be a separate post. (insert severely excited happy face here)

~ A couple concerts happened…. in March I went to Maroon 5 with gal pals in March. In April Anthony and I went to hear Dave Matthews Band. Both of these are gonna get separate posts. Pinky swear!

~ Friends are cool & we love when we get to hang out with em… JMo had a birthday dinner and I might have been a little too hyper that night.. there aren’t any pictures on Instagram or Twitter to prove that. Don’t even look for em. Really. Don’t! 

I also ran a 5K with a couple of friends. It was fun!

~ The photography scene usually picks up a little in the spring and fall for me it seems. Did some beautiful maternity pics of my niece. Will post some of those soon. Also did a shoot with a 2 year old. He pooped while we were doing pics. On the ground. Like three times. It was pretty hilarious. No I did not photograph the poop. Toddlers are so unpredictable. I also shot a wedding a few weeks ago (something I swore I’d never do again) and it actually went really well. I may post some of those pics in another post.

On a “me and the hub” note, we have recently discovered Shane’s Rib Shack. Um…. If you haven’t been there yet, RUN don’t walk… it’s some of the best BBQ you’re gonna have at an affordable price. And their chicken tenders ain’t no joke if you’re not in a BBQ state of mind. And did I mention the SWEET TEA?!

Ok, so that’s about it from a summary standpoint. I’m gonna hit up the blog with some pics and posts over the coming weeks. I have a few things on the back burner that need to be moved to the front, ya know what I mean?

O-U-T 

I’m out for now! Check back in a couple days for more great stuff!

Twitter bliss

If you know me, you know I refuse to join the gazillions of folks on Facebook. 

But I did sign up for a Twitter account about a year and a half ago because of a little friend of mine we'll call Pinterest. (ahem) 

Of course sometime after I joined the Pinterest community, they opened it up for everyone (no invite required) and you didn't have to link to it via Facebook or Twitter. (sigh) 

Well I grew to enjoy Twitter nonetheless. It's a cool way to keep up with church news. And it's also a really cool connection with certain celebrities. 

Celebs post pics of their families, pets, homes, etc. Some will even post exclusive stuff like videos not yet released or links to a sale on some of their stuff. It's really cool. They may do similar stuff on Fb, but I wouldn't know. ;-) 

You can tell when a celeb has their publicist tweeting for them. And you can tell when it's really the celeb.

Martina McBride, for example, appears to tweet for herself. 

Today she tweeted something about her Vine app not working, asking if anyone else was having the same prob. I tweeted and said (oh so cleverly) 

My Vine is workin fine! #heythatrhymes 

Then I thought to myself, here's a chance to possibly get a reply tweet from somebody I really dig. YOLO right?  ;-)

So I tweeted Martina and said: 

You don't know I exist but I'll tweet ya anyway. Saw you at the Opry last fall & loved you! You've stood the test of time!

She tweeted me a reply that simply said: thank you!!!

I do like that she took the time to type not one, not even two, but THREE exclamation points. I think that means something. lol

Moving on...

So tonight Darius Rucker (now a country artist, but in the 90s he was known as "Hootie" of the band Hootie & the Blowfish) was on Twitter and I saw another opportunity.

He was replying to a lot of fans (like he routinely does) and I seized the moment. 

My first attempt: Why do you tweet everyone on earth but me?! I've loved your music since the 90s man! #showsomelovetoafan

Nothing.

Then I googled "little known facts about Darius Rucker." 

Second attempt: In a dare you went 4 days w/no sleep, huh? I DOUBLE DARE YA TO TWEET ME BRO!!!

And 
         he
              replied - - 
True. Awful time. Hammered. That's 25 years ago.

And that friends, is why I love Twitter. I may never get to chat with my fave actor or singer in person, but sometimes I get their attention on "the Twitter machine."

That is all.

Easter with MY family

Saturday we celebrated Easter with my family by getting together and having lunch at my brother's house. 

It looked like this - - 

Props to my sister-in-law Leslie for hosting this crazy bunch and cooking a delish meal. (My other sis-in-law Michelle & I also contributed a bit. Those are my pastel Oreo balls - aren't they adorbs?) 

Thankfully the Lord saw fit to hold off on the rain so we had a lovely time OUTSIDE with the sun even peaking out a few times.

If you know my family, you know basketball is always gonna be a part of the fun. A-L-W-A-Y-S

And by always of course I mean that even the old guys get out there (my man included). 
Side bar: What is about guys that make them think they are still young and fit? If I hear "I'm not gonna be able to walk tomorrow" one more time...

My dad and oldest brother have had knee replacements. Dad has also recently had back surgery. Thankfully they stick to shootin' around or the game of HORSE mostly. 

Some corn hole happened...

I don't mean to brag, but my brother and I kicked Anthony's and Phil's tails. Repeatedly. As in match after match.

Ok, it was mostly my brother with the corn hole skills but... a win is a win is a win. 

Thus the victory dance/bump - - 

Some ping pong action went down, too...

These kiddos - 
     if they don't stop gettin' so big so fast .... 

I'll spare you the egg hunt pics, but for the PRIZE EGG VICTOR - -
       Camden was the man!

Like father...

Like son...

We would never laugh at someone falling down... 

 Nooooo, not us... Never!

Phil (my niece's hub) is a crazy good hacky sacker. He can toss it from his foot, catch it with his head or chest, flip around from front to back, all that stuff. 

Kerlandy and I were artistic with some chalk. 

I'm soooo thankful for my family. We all know Jesus is the reason we celebrate Easter. We serve God in different churches now, but God's love is totally entwined in our family. How awesome is that?! Such a blessing... 

I hope you're blessed in the same way! And I hope you enjoyed a great Easter weekend.