I’ll be updating the look and feel of my blog and possibly my website over the next week or so, so be sure to come back for the new look! In the meantime, things may look a little funky while I’m in the design process!!
Monthly Archives: May 2011
It’s a big year for my little Lillian. When I started to put the wheels in motion around a month ago for her birthday party, I wasn’t sure what to do theme wise. I didn’t want anything overly girly since I invited all of her classmates, so a princess party was out of the question! So while there’s no real theme attached to this party, I did decide to keep the colors fun and bright and I love how everything has turned out so far….
I decided to design everything first and hope that I found items in the store that would match my color scheme. Thankfully I was lucky. On the unfortunate side, living where I do kind of limits my options! No party stores, Targets or craft stores within 45 minutes. I was going to buy supplies at Oriental Trading online, but I didn’t feel like paying for shipping when I knew I could just buy things at the dollar store….and since I’m planning on personalizing them anyways I hoped that I had made the right decision. Thankfully I did. Let me start off by saying that I LOATHE Wal-mart……….with an ULTIMATE PASSSION that burns deep in my soul!!! But, when you don’t have options like I mentioned above, you do what ya gotta do!! If we had a Target, I’d be in heaven…..or should I say trouble because I’d be there EVERY SINGLE WEEK!! Crazy fact of the day……Vermont is the ONLY state that doesn’t have a Target! But then again we don’t have billboards either so I kind of love my little state anyways!! So back to the topic. I made my way to Wally world to see if they’d have anything and low and behold, the heavens parted and they had stuff that matched….
I bought the large tub, plates, plastic bowls, beverage dispenser, bubbles and swirly straws from there.
I bought the Martha Stewart treat wrappers at Jo-Ann Fabrics, along with these…
I these would make a fun activity! We’ll also be doing a mock photo booth and some other fun games. I also bought some other decorations from the Dollar Tree and I’ll be making some other fun things that I’ll share soon! Overall, I think that what I was able to pick up matched her card design pretty well!!
I also wanted to share a couple of other great resources that I used for her party. First up is Stubby Pencil Studio. I really do love this site! I bought some beeswax candles (that we can of course re-use), a fingerprinting art set and few other cute things!! What I love most about this site, is that it’s all eco-friendly! Totally a site worth visiting.
Another site worth visiting is Bare Books. I picked up some of these books to be used as part of party favors book. What I love about them, is that they allow your child’s creativity to roam free. Lillian is all about drawing and making up stories so these books are a great way to remember their childhood in a permanent way- plus it will just be fun to see the progress that they make throughout the years!
So as you can see, I have a lot of work ahead of me over the next week and a half and I’m praying that it doesn’t rain because that would just plain stink and will force the celebrations into the garage which will force me to make a Wal-mart run again to grab some white sheets to hide all of the storage bins stacked along the walls. Fingers crossed things will go off without a hitch!!
Oh and I may just offer those templates for free one more time before I put them up in my Etsy shop. I’ve been waiting to add them until I can take photos of her party so maybe I’ll be in a giving mood again!!
It’s been a rainy May for sure here in Southern Vermont. I’ve had to cancel and reschedule a couple of my sessions up to three times because of the weather- but as a natural light photographer, I’m always at the mercy of the weather report! On the plus side, our grass is nice and green (always have to look at the positive in things!) One of my favorite things about this time of the year is watching the tree in our front yard bloom. For me, it’s a sign of renewal and of new things to come. Late last year, I decided that I would start limiting the amount of weddings each month and portrait sessions each week that I capture. Being a business owner is all about learning what your limitations are and understanding what’s most important to you in life. For me, that’s my family. Sure………I could take on more weddings a year and shoot 4-5 senior sessions during the week during the busy season…….but at what cost?! This year is going to be a slower year for me, and so far, I’m liking it that way!! I’ve decided that I’m going to limit myself to 2-3 sessions during the summer/fall, but I’ll be holding an early bird special starting next week which will run into mid July. I’m also very happy to announce that I’ll be doing a fundraiser with my daughter’s school this fall for a two-day mini-session event (details will be coming soon!) Balance is the word of the year for me and I think that it will make me love what I do even more if I’m able to keep what I do as personal as possible. I love what I do, I love my life, I love my family and I love my tree in our front yard……
