capturing holiday memories: shultz photo school

happy thanksgiving, sweet friends.

i am super thankful for you all and for this little blog outlet! we're home in illinois for the weekend. w+i are excited to celebrate thanksgiving w/ my dad, my oldest sister brooke and her family and my little brother ross and his new wife. we're also so so so thankful that my mom is in hawaii w/ my sister leigh & her family this year ... oh and brand new baby boy paxton! what a blessing.

i love the holidays. the smell of a fresh cut christmas tree. carols rockin' every radio station. hot chocolate. it's a wonderful life. mittens & scarves! touring the lights ... even that one house down the street w/ multiple yard blowups. reminiscing holidays past and capturing new memories during holiday present!

we're all aware that photos preserve our memories - that's why we all have a fancy schmancy dslr camera, right? but how many of us actually know how to use them? i absolutely love the photography of my friend kyle shultz. after spending 6 years as a full-time photographer (and just in time for christmas) - kyle has launched a new adventure - shultz photo school!

check out this awesome introduction:

kyle is on a mission to teach moms & dads (and even those of us that hope to someday become moms and dads) how to capture priceless images of their kids through web-based, self-paced classes!

there's definitely one holiday tradition i can live w/ out ... black friday! and that's why i'm super excited to introduce you all to a perfect gift this holiday season. one w/o the long lines and parking mayhem at the mall:

Black Friday – Cyber Monday (11/23-26)
Sign up for Shultz Photo School:
 Regularly $250   SALE: $99 

i'm super excited to be joining in for the next session launching january 1st and sharing about my experience here on the blog. check out the shultz photo school website now for all the details + sign up for 3 free trial lessons!

and that's not ALL ---> asking for a dslr this christmas? sign up now through 12/12 to win a brand new Canon Rebel T3 w/ 18-55IS Lens. CLICK HERE

happy halloween from karmin.

i mean ... the mundays!

and for those of you that don't have a clue who karmin is:

a little outdoor lighting DIY

one disadvantage to apartment living is the lack of a yard. especially for wade. poor guy. he's eager to help our friends work in their yards/gardens to make up for it.

i'm not complaining - we love our little apartment. we're way up in the trees - and our kitchen is almost entirely surrounded by windows. and w/ a quick trip to the hardware store - we now have a fantastic outdoor addition.

say hello to our updated front porch:

we used 8ft deck railing painted white to blend our terrace lighting into the current decking. with 6 screw hooks (3 at the top of the deck railing & 3 along the eave) & hanging lights the ones w/ built in roof hooks, this project was a snap!

and she will be loved. extra space is well appreciated when you live in a 3 room 500-something sq foot apartment!

my goal was to surprise wade w/ this little DIY while he worked the morning of the 4th of july! then i planned to set up a little picnic for us to enjoy! unfortunately, i didn't have the muscle to attach the railings to the old fence myself. even with the electrical drill. (see wade - I NEED YOU!) and the weather wasn't on board w/ my little plan either. i can't complain - we've needed rain!

so we moved our little picnic inside:

now to thrift more comfortable and more "me" porch furniture! :)

this week ...

back w/ a week 2 goal list!

pretty excited for this week. i'm off weds-friday for the holiday! tonight we're heading to a sounds baseball game w/ friends and then sticking around afterwards for fireworks. tomorrow wade and i are going to have a little 4th of july picnic/hike in the afternoon. and then we're heading to illinois for the weekend to celebrate my grandma's homecoming. yay! another big week.

how are you celebrating the 4th?

thurs-DIY: what's more american than baseball!?!

holy cow, people. how is it almost july already!?! time to make some july 4th plans!

wade and i are fumbling with ideas. i'm all about a hike + picnic. dear friend, - one of my favorite nashville blogs - recently visited burgess falls. looks lovely! wade however is thinking swimming pool. and with the weather forecast to hit triple digits in nashville for the next 7 days straight - he might be on to something! it's hot, people.

one thing for sure -we're going to a baseball game! the nashville sounds are playing the cubbies (okay the iowa cubs - not quite as cool!) and they are ending the game with fireworks! hotdogs, popcorn, $2 beer night, "peanuts, peanuts, get your peanuts",  the 7th inning stretch - can't get more american than that!

or can you?!? here's a little "all-american" DIY just in time for the holiday:

supplies:
- baseballs or softballs (old or new!)
- red, white & blue paint (i chose a navy + barn red for a bit of a vintage look).
- paint brushes

1 // paint your baseballs completely white. i brushed lightly over the stitches so that the red still peaked through.
2 // paint 1 panel blue.
3 // add your stripes in the remaining white panel. i chose thin lines - but you can make them thicker as well like a real flag.
4 // last but not least, add your stars in the blue panel.

add them to a basket or a bowl and you have the perfect little all-american centerpiece.

okay - your turn: how do you plan to spend your holiday?

a few tricks up my sleeve ...

april fools day shopping list:

- googly eyes √
- non-toxic bath tablets √
- jello mix √

i shouldn't share my inspiration ahead of time - bc mr. munday might catch on. but these ideas are too good not to share! :) think i can prank my coworkers on monday since april fool's day falls on a sunday this year?

{clockwise from upper left}

1 // hard boiled egg surprise via oh happy day

2 // googly eye attack via how about orange

3 // a little potty humor via disney family fun (i especially like the message "the jokes on poo")

4 // blue water via martha stewart

my valentine: part 2

 part 2 - at last. yesterday was a ridiculously busy day. a ton of work deadlines. car was back at the shop. a late lunch w/ one of my high school girls. followed by more work deadlines and an after work run. but before valentine's day is too far behind us, one more post!

each of us bought the other person flowers: 

and planned a little something handmade:

for my love ... if you know me personally (or heck blog-ally) for very long, you'll know that i'm a budget stickler. and it's annoying at times ... ask wade. so i made him a set of word picture date coupons. if he could guess them - he got to keep them! ... and best - the dates are OFF THE BUDGET!

any guesses?

bell + cork - k + t =		p + buckets - b =
a date to the belcourt,		a day trip to leiper's fork, tn
the indie theatre in our neighborhood		lunch @ pucket's grocery store

 

from my love ... wade wrote me a poem! and he agreed to me sharing it w/ you all.

adventures with hippopotamuses


I.
   i stood by cedars on an old gravel road,
   at first light, in tennessee, when the livestock stuttered
   above the dewy grass.

   i fell in with them; they were all i knew,
   a bucolic world across a broken fence.

   beyond a horizon thistles grew.

   my eyes were opening.

II.
   share with me adventures.

   from your porch stoop in illinois,
   a place defining, sublime.

   two children tearing off wild,
   laughing mad,
   through a world of dancing stars and hippopotamuses.

   find us a place of wildness.
   
   let us wonder where we went. 


i love it! and once again - can't wait to surprise you all with some fun adventure news in a few weeks. until then ... hippopotamuses?!? ;)

{blog}share: cinco de mayo ...

this is honestly the busiest week that wade and i have had since getting married last september. i've seen about 5.2 seconds of him this week. and that just won't do! tonight we have plans to squeeze in a quick little cinco de mayo dinner at home before heading separate ways again.

to get in the mood - here are a few cinco de mayo ideas that i had to share. asombroso!

1 // this fantastic ruffled streamers DIY by dana made it - guaranteed to make an appearance at every future party i host:

{source: dana made it}

3 // these yummy strawberry margarita popsicles from bakers royale. not a fruity drink person? check out her corona pops too!

{source: bakers royale}

3 // these adorable recycled tin can bouquets from style me pretty:

{source: jose villa photography}

easter 2011

luckily we celebrated easter on saturday this year ... bc i spent the majority of easter sunday in bed w/ something ick! my easter dress barely made an appearance. then i enjoyed the rest of my day in pjs + a bucket! woo hoo. nothing like being quarantined to an upstairs bedroom when fun is happening downstairs!

but here are a couple of pictures from our saturday celebration:

1 // my grandma spent the holiday w/ us while mom and her sisters sorted out her care for the future. could you keep them in your prayers? they have some tough decisions to make.

2 // every year we have a family (raw) egg toss. the little ones and my 83 year old grandma are included in the pairings. i lucked out w/ my cousin stephen as my partner - but my 5 year old nephew + brother beat us all! then it was on to the egg decorating contest. this year the judge was announced AFTER the decorating. (2 years ago, my nephew was the judge and my brother made a lightning mcqueen egg that swept the boards!) i had a hunch that the judge this year would be grandma - so i went sparkle-tastic. instead my dad was the judge - and it still caught his eye. everybody loves glitter! my nephew won this event too - but i consider myself an honorary winner - 1st adult.

3 // my $1.00 garage sale easter dress!

4 // we usually forget to get a "family" picture of just wade and i. luckily we didn't forget this year ... and we captured it the day before i got sick.

5 // the big event - the easter egg hunt. examining our loot. i wasn't the only adult to participate - there's cash in some of the eggs! my nephew (yes - the same one that one the egg toss and the egg decorating contest) banked w/ $25.00 ... while i walked away with a whopping 50¢.

6 // by the end of the day, we were all overfed and ready for naps!

{happy list} april fool's edition

1 // these fun dishtowels from house8810. there's no excuse for having a bad attitude while helping with after-dinner cleanup:

{click to shop}

2 // whipped cream and other delights by herb alpert's tijuana brass. about this time last year, i went home for a girls' weekend w/ my mom & my grandma. mom had picked up a couple of her favorite albums from her college days to add to my collection. when i flipped to this guy - i laughed and said "sure, mom". but it was actually one of her favorites - and it has been my housecleaning/crafting/pretty-much-everything playlist ever since:

{click to buy}

a couple of my favorites:

3 // this fantastic music video from rebecca black.

"yesterday was thursday, thursday. today is friday, friday. we, we, we so excited. we so excited. we gonna have a ball today. tomorrow is satruday. and sunday comes afterwards. i don't want this weekend to end."

why not!?! it's friday, people:

4 // these like and dislike stamps from urban outfitters. truth - i think these could become an integral part of my filing around the office:

{click to shop}

5 // and last but definitely not least ... this hysterical DIY from crafterhours. i don't know how she does it! there's not enough hours in the day to finish all the projects on my list - let alone make one entirely as an april fool's joke. (ps - i TOTALLY thought she was serious for the longest time!)

{um yes - those are diapers!}

wade and i are lousy at april fool's jokes - and honestly lousy at surprises. we just know each other a bit too well. (i hope he doesn't read this as a challenge!)

did anyone get you today?

wish list: be mine ...

i went to the craft store earlier this week and stocked up on v-day supplies. so many cute fun ideas. but the week quickly got away from us - lots of spontaneous get-togethers {including a great night last night of pork fried rice and back alley bridge w/ laura!}. lesson learned - i must craft like mad during my weekends. OH - w/ a 3-day weekend ahead ... be prepared.

so instead of my usual "felt friday". here's a little filler ... cute little valentine's ideas from etsy:

1) this lovebirds necklace by menuet designs:

2) this lovely afternoon print by skippy designs:

3) this little red clutch by eclu:

4) this romantic dress in blush by river of romansk:

5) this pretty blossom headband by leather blossoms. (i might just have to attempt to make my own):

hope you all have had a wonderful week! :) xo.

thurs-DIY: oh bow-y belt

i briefly mentioned yesterday that wade and i are heading out of town again this weekend. we're heading with friends sean & whitney to east tennessee - and staying in a cabin called "bandit's getaway". {fun name!} super-di-duper excited! ... but i've been scrambling to finish up my long "merry happy" to do list (before the dreaded return to work monday).

i began the day by "undecorating" the christmas tree. maybe my least favorite thing to do ever. (the apt is going to look so boring with out our sparkly fantastic christmas decor.) i took advantage of the after christmas sales w/ mom and found some new lovelies for next year. and now of course completely want to redecorate the tree!!!

a few of my favorite finds:

{cute little wooden star & heart ornaments}


{the perfect topper for our tree - or too blair witch!?!}

{and i found several hand-stitched lovelies - including these 2 miniature joy frames.
can you say inspiration for future christmas presents!?!}

okay okay - i'll get to the main attraction! i also squeezed in a quick little {craft}ernoon before taking off for errands this morning!

i've been craving a pair of i go by katie's moccasins --- darlingtoniamoccasins.com --- for a long long time now. especially her tiger lily moccasins. cute cute cute:

{photo courtesy: darlingtoniamoccasins.com}

let's face it kids - money's tight! at a buck 30 a pair ... i'll either have to save fun money for a few months - or i'll have to find a leather dealer + a pattern and try my luck. yikes. not sure i'm this confident!?!

but while perusing* her site, i came across her bow belts - super cute. and these i COULD make!!! and i could find leather w/ a quick trip to joann fabrics! introducing ... "the oh bow-y belt":

* sidenote: i always misspell perusing - paroozing. seriously though? they could have made that word so much more fun w/ a jazzier spelling!!!

materials
* leather (ideally you can find LOOONG strips of leather - 1 long enough to fit around your entire waist. i couldn't in town - so i purchased 2 8.5" x 11" leather trim pieces from joann fabrics ... i cut 3 2"x11" strips as the belt + 1 3"x5.5" as the bow and 1 1"x3" as the bow's loop.)
* heavy duty thread to match
* heavy duty brass snaps
* ruler
* scissors
* hammer
* sewing machine

*** if you're not a seamstress, i read recently that leather is very porous so fabric glue forms a very firm bond ... let me know if you give it a go! ***

directions:

step 1) measure & cut out all of your pieces.

again - you'll need:
a. 2" wide strips for the belt. enough to wrap around your waist + 1/2" overlap for the fasteners + 1/4" overlap for seams. {i used 3 2"x8.5" strips and had 2 seams.}
b. 1 3"x5.5" strip for the bow
c. 1 1"x3" strip for the loop in the bow
(for future, i'll refer to them as belt, bow and loop.)

step 2) match the 1" wide right side ends of your loop strip and sew to create the loop. reverse the loop so that the seam is on the inside.

step 3) place the bow strip right side down on your table and align one of your strips right side down on top of it leaving a 1/2" of the bow strip excess. sew the strips together at the center width-wise. (can you follow? luckily - i have pictures!)

step 4) fold the piece you just sewed into an "m" with the right side out or at top when looking at it from the end. then push this part through your loop (with the seam facing the bottom of the "m"). pull until the loop is directly over the middle of the bow strip (where we just sewed).

you'll end up with a perfect bow!
(i'm thinking i'll use the scraps to make another bow for a headband!)

step 5) remember the part of the belt that was 1/2" shorter than the bow strip ... this is where you'll add the female fastener. you'll add the male fasteners to another belt strip. follow the instructions on the fastener box. (i'll admit ... this took me a couple practice fasteners!!!)

here's a front and back of our progress so far:

step 6) at this point ... we just need to add the excess belt strips to fit the belt around your waist. you'll sew together right sides of your remaining strips w/ a 1/4" seam until your belt fits.

i removed about 3" from the male fastener strip (we created in the last step) so that i had a seam 6" from the both ends of the bow at my sides. w/ this 3" gone, it took one more 8.5" long strip to finish off the belt. (again measure to include a 1/4" seams.)

and there you have it just in time for your new years celebration if you're like me and not brave enough for sequins!!! one festive bow belt:

PS - i told wade today during lunch that i was feeling "hip-y" in all of my pictures. he said we'll it's probably the way you're wearing your hair - long and over your shoulders like that. i was like "huh". then finally i realized he meant "hippie". oh boy! yes - i am in fact looking "hippie":

PSS - big thank you to my sister leigh & bro-in-law brandon for my gorillapod! LOVE IT!!!