Family Photos & a Rant!

Hello Everyone!

Hope ya'll (I lived in TX for 5 years) had a great weekend.  We had a great one with much getting accomplished.  Hope to post on that later.  Today, I am sharing with you a few photos from a session I did for my sister-in-law.  This is the family with the much talked about "niece that is getting married".  They wanted to have family pictures taken before their daughter got married.  I volunteered, well, actually begged for them to let me take some pictures.  I have mentioned this in a previous post.  Sorry it has taken me a while to show you some of the results.  We had fun doing the pictures but were very limited on time.  The sun is setting sooner and sooner these days.  We went to a little town that isn't really a town.  Confusing I know.  This is a place that a local artist has built.  He has brought in a bunch of homes and buildings to his property to make it look like an old town.  There is a church, old school with a bell, general store, houses, barns, etc.  It has some old cars, planes, gas pumps, train car, and more.  Just an excellent place for pictures.  I could have spent several hours there but like I said, we were running out of light.  So here are a few of my favorites.

This was one of the first pics we took.  I brought props that would deal with each person's interests.   I wasn't sure how these would turn out but I'm really liking them.

Same idea but with everyone looking at the camera.

What family doesn't have the kids making faces at their parents smooching?

We just had to add the future son-in-law in there somewhere.

The littlest loves making goofy faces.  I got a kick out of this one.

Liking the vintage look of this one of the 3 brothers.  Old boat, old truck, sun setting. 

Dad and his boys.

Mom and her boys.

Mom and her girls.

This one is sweet to me.  Shows love of siblings, love of parents and love as a whole family.

I like the special effects of this one done with Picnik.

So there are just a few of my favorites.  Thanks for letting me "shoot" ya'll.  Glad we were able to fit it in before the big wedding day.  (Next weekend.)

Now for my rant.  I got called for jury duty.  Booo!!  Not that I mind doing my duty as a citizen.  However, I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom.  I tried to get out of it when they sent me the first questionnaire but apparently that excuse didn't fly.  Now I have to wait around for them to actually call me for a case and try to plead to the judge to let me off.  It wouldn't have been so bad if the timing would have been better.  I have to be available from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31.  That is like 2 months.  Am I supposed to just put my life on hold for 2 months while I wait to see if they need me or not?  Well, unfortunately, I guess so.  We were planning to go to CA to see my family at the end of Nov. / first of Dec.  I'm just glad I hadn't bought the plane tickets yet.  I almost did that the other day.  I'm just hoping I'm called Nov. 1st and I can beg the judge to let me out of it and be done.  Then we can still make plans to go.  Whew!  I'm glad I got that off my chest.  Now that I'm done ranting, I guess I better start praying.  You can join me if you wish. ;)  I better sign off for now so I can hit this last week before the wedding with some decent nights of sleep.  So until next time...

Have a blessed day.,

maggie jane

Decorating with Portraits

Hello Everyone!

Hope everyone has had a good week so far and are looking forward to the weekend.  I'm looking forward to getting a few things done this weekend. One of my projects that I've been slowly trying to work on is a family picture gallery going up my stairwell.  I have been searching the internet for different inspirations.  I came across a blog run by photographer Kristen Duke.  I have really enjoyed looking through her posts.  She has a lot of advice when it comes to photography and decorating with portraits.  In September, she ran a special series on using portraits to decorate with and invited guests to post every day of the month.  It was really fun to see how others use their family pictures to decorate their homes.  This month, she is doing a link party for anyone who wants to join in to share what they have done.  Sooo, that is what this post is all about.  I am going to share only some of the places where I have used pictures of family to decorate my walls.  Those of you who know me well know that I love pictures and use them everywhere.  I am only going to share some of the places but it still may seem like a lot.  So here goes.  We'll start off in the living room.

This is what I call the ancestor window.  I have been fortunate enough to have lots of old pictures from both my mom and dad's side of the family.  Most are all in excellent condition so it makes it fun to display.  This window shows my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents from both sides.  Unfortunately, I don't have any good ones from my husband's side of the family.

This is the ever changing piano.  A couple times a year I will change up what is displayed on the piano.  Right now, I just have a picture of my husband and me.  The other end sports a poem about Christian Marriage that my husband bought for me.  This arrangement has been up for a while so it is probably time to change it.  We'll see.

This area I've just done in the last year and a half or so.  I've had the picture hanging but it was just  kind of floating in never, never land.  Once I added the shelf and table it seemed to flow a little better.  This picture of us is a few years old.  Time to re-do that as well.

This is a little side table by my couch.  I have a couple of fun pictures that I took of my daughter with a few of her "big-sister" friends a couple of years ago.  These might actually get moved up to her room because I am going to do a photo gallery above her bed as well.  (Just adding to my "to do" list.) ;)

This is on the table under the big family picture.  It is just a basket of loose pictures that people can casually thumb through.  These are usually ones that have come off of my refrigerator after spending a bit of time there.  Or, they might be a few duplicates to ones I have in an album or frame somewhere else. 

There are two small sections of wall between some windows in the living room.  I  have pictures of my two kids when they were little on top and then a more current one on the bottom.  Sad to say, the "said current" ones are not very current.  Need to update those as well.

My son's side.

This is also in my living room.  I have mixed a few pictures in with my pitcher collection.  I like the variety there.

Now on to the bedroom.  This grouping is across from our bed and above a long desk.  I love these pics of the kids but they may also get moved to the stairwell wall that is in process.  I have recently read that the master bedroom should be about the couple and it makes sense.  So, I will probably update this space with pictures of me and the hubby.

I do have this one above my dresser but I will probably do more.  I would like to do more formal ones to replace the ones of the kids.

This is a little grouping just outside of our bedroom door in a very tiny hallway.  Actually, I don't even know if it would qualify as a hallway but we'll just call it that for now.  These pictures sit above a bookcase that holds the kids books.  This way they can see themselves often and hopefully read the little plaque that goes with their pictures.  It says, "Do everything without complaining or arguing."  Still working on that one.  FYI: These pictures need to be updated as well.  Sigh, more to the "to do" list.  But hey, I get to take more pictures!  Fun!

This is at the end of the so-called hallway.  These aren't technically photographs but they are drawings taken from some photos that I took a few years ago.  A very talented friend of ours did these for me and I love them!

Like I said, this is a lot, but really just a few.  I haven't showed you the other parts of the house.  I am hoping to share when I get the stairwell wall done and my daughter's wall done.  The big wedding I've mentioned before is next weekend.  I would like to get the stairwell done before our company arrives but I'm not sure if I'll make it or not.  These things take time and thought.

So I'm linking this up to Kristen Duke's link party so go check out her site and what others have done with decorating with portraits.  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Top 5 Photos of Summer at: Click it up a Notch

Hello Everyone!

Today I am doing a special post to link up to Click it up a notch 's September Top 5 Quarterly Link Up.  This is a link where you post about your 5 favorite photos of your kids taken between July 2011 and September 2011. This is not a photography contest as much as a sharing of your favorites.  There are prizes involved so all the better.  These prizes are picked randomly and there are 5 winners.  So without any further ado, I will share 5 of my favorites in no particular order.

One of the two kids together on our summer vacation to Branson, MO.

From my son's 12th birthday photos taken by me in August.

Another from his birthday pictures.

This is a fun one of my daughter that we took in a party store while shopping with my niece for wedding stuff.

This one I just took last Sunday while we were working in the yard at my nephew's house where the above mentioned wedding is going to be held.

Unfortunately, my daughter's birthday pictures were not eligible to be added to this link since they were taken in June.  I really got some good ones of her but I still love the ones I included above.  I tend to have more of my daughter than my son because well, you know boys, they just don't like having there pictures taken as much as girls do.  So there you have it; some of my favorites.  It's probably a good thing it was limited to only 5 pictures because I'm kind of picture happy and well, I have a lot of pics of my kids that I love.

Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks for more on the school room redo. (Bought fabric for curtains this week) Also, we made a random purchase tonight that is going to be one of those fixer-uppers, DIY, hopefully not too expensive make-overs that you hope turns out the way you planned.  More on that later.  For now, it is off to bed so I can hit the ground running in the morning.  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

What I've been up to lately and a sneak peak at...

Hello Everyone!

I promise I've been working on my chairs so I can show the whole school room done.  I still have the curtains and a few signs but that may have to come later.  Anyway, I have 2 out of 4 chairs complete and the others are almost there.  Hopefully, tomorrow (or is that today?  I think it is after midnight as I type this. Yikes!) I will finish the other two.  But, I have one niece that has bugged  asked me to show the chairs so here you go.

One green and one red that have been slightly distressed.  The green one has been a little more distressed than the red.  Red tends to turn pink if you sand it down too much so I just hit the edges on the red one.  And, I guess I'll go ahead and tell the colors of the other two, sigh, even though I really want to surprise you, sigh.  Just kidding.  The other two are yellow and turquoise.  I warned you they would be colorful.  

I have also been working on gathering up some ideas, frames and such for a gallery wall up my stairs.  I was able to find a few frames at the local Salvation Army.  All they needed was a little black spray paint.

I had two more in the house that I sprayed later so they didn't get in on this picture.  Anyway, they turned out nice and I'm anxious to start working on my wall.  I will share all that when I get it done.  Hopefully, I will be able to work on it some this weekend or next week.

Next, I did a little revamping of a bulletin board that was given to me.  It was really ugly.  I have to confess, I was in a bit of a rush to get this done.  I was putting it in a JBF children's consignment sale and had put it off until the last minute.  I say all that to say that I didn't get a good before picture.  However, through my first coat of brown paint, you can see how ugly it was.

It had stripes and triangles in not very pretty colors.  I actually ended up painting this white but I wanted a darker color underneath to kind of hide all the previous colorfulness. ( Is that a word?)

So then the white paint went on and then some distressing.

I finished up with a coat of Feddes & Sons light colored wax to seal it.

The cork part had a couple of minor scuffs that I would not have worried about if I was going to keep it myself but since it was for sale, something had to be done.

So, I added this really cute polka dot material from Michael Miller.  The dark dots are brown so that kind of picked up the brown from under the distressed spots on the frame.  However, my cutting job wasn't as perfect as I was hoping for.  Remember, I was in a hurry.  

So, I looked around my sewing room for something to use on the edges.  Brown seemed to be the color of the day.  I found this brown ribbon that was just the right width to cover but not "take over" the bulletin board.

There you have it; a revamped bulletin board perfect for a baby boys room, a laundry room, school room or just anywhere you want it to go.  If it does not sell at JBF, it will be available in my Etsy Shop.  Also for JBF, I have been making headbands for little girls, infant & toddler sizes.  I only had time to make 3 so if they don't sell, they will also go to the Etsy shop.  Once again, I forgot to take pics before I bagged them for the sale so you will have to excuse the pics.  I think you can get a general idea though.

So, that is just a little of what has been going on around here.  Besides the two chairs to finish, I have a dresser that I'm repainting, a little cabinet that is almost done, and a bridesmaid dress to finish.  It has been a busy week but nothing compared to last week with the whole hot water heater episode.  Next week is looking even better.  Tuesday I have scheduled to take pics of my sister-in-law and her family.  This is the one whose daughter is getting married on the 15th.  I am super excited to do this.  I have been stalking researching many photo blogs to get ideas and technical advice.  I am not a professional but I have always had a love for photography and have taken many portraits for friends and family.  I took some classes in high school and college but that was eons ago.  So many, in fact, that digital wasn't even an option.  Ok, I don't want to age myself that much.  Digital was just around the corner from my college days.  I really didn't get "into" digital until about 6 or 7 years ago.  I was a steadfast believer in 35mm film.  Now, I'm digital all the way.  So I say all that, to say I'm hoping for some really great shots next week.  I have some fun ideas up my sleeve.  We'll see how well they translate from my sleeve to the camera. ;)  Well, I guess that is it for now.  Stay tuned for more furniture redos, completed school room and maybe a few from the photo session.  Until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Wow! What a week! Part 2

Hello Everyone!

Just a little disclaimer here.  I was reading over my post to see if I had mentioned about us getting a new hot water heater when I realized that some of my words at the bottom were missing.  I don't know what happened.  I always proofread my posts before hitting publish.  It read fine at the time but now I see a whole chunk missing. I don't even know for sure what got deleted.  Something about JBF and wanting to make some good money because my niece is getting married and we are having lots of company and I want a new outfit.  Something along those lines anyway.  So if was a bit confusing, I offer my apologies.  I also found out by reading that I did not mention about the hot water heater.  Well, here goes.  We had to replace the hot water heater and, as it turns out, the pressure tank as well.  My hubby got it all installed and ready to go and we discovered a leak coming from the bottom.  We had a faulty water heater.  So he took it all out and we exchanged it for another.  No problem right?  Well, our water heater is in a tiny closet in the laundry room and the pressure tank is sitting on a platform above it.  To take the water heater out, we had to take out the pressure tank again as well.  Ok, deep breath, we can do this.  Next day, (today) found hubby installing the new one.  All is going well, I run to town to do some grocery shopping and he is finishing up getting everything going again.  I come home and he greets me outside to help unload groceries.  About two seconds later we hear a loud popping noise and I look up at our back door (glass) and see water gushing past like Niagra Falls.  Except it isn't rushing down it is shooting horizontally into the hall, pantry, bathroom and my son's room.  Hubby runs in to shut it all off and I cry.  I stayed outside to take a few moments to myself, move the car to the front door and calmly empty groceries.  Then, I collect towels from all over the house and start mopping it up.  Fortunately, it was just a fitting on the top that had come off and needed to be replaced with a different type fitting.  My poor hubby has been a rather good sport about it all.  He is very tired, a little frustrated, and glad it is all over.  We have a couple little drips at some of the fittings that might just need to be tightened or more Teflon tape added but over all, the project is done and we have water again.  After 3 days without water, I am so ready to wash dishes and clean my house.  At least we had electricity. Some winters, we go without both electricity and water for a few days at a time.  We may have to replace some of our laminate flooring but fortunately for us, we ordered extra so we still have a box in the shed.  I wish I had some pics to show you but I don't.  Running for the camera was the last thing on my mind.  If it wasn't so sad, it would almost be funny.  Probably seeing the look on our faces when the water started flowing would have been funny but I'm just glad no one was around with a camera! ;)  So anyway, add all this to the rest of our week and it has been a doosey.  So here is to sleeping in on Saturday and then cleaning house.  Oh, and finishing JBF.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Wow! What a week!

Hello Everyone!

This is going to be a combo posting.  I have had several things I wanted to post about but have not found the time to get it done.  You are going to get the Cliff's Notes here today.

First off, I had some wonderful friends come over last week and help me finish stripping the wallpaper off the wall in the school/game room.  Remember that project that I started oh so long ago.  Well, with school just around the corner and with the help of friends, I was finally motivated to get it done.  Anyway, after they left, I knew I had to finish because I was starting school in just a couple of days.  So here is the before and after pictures.  Please note that I don't have all my decor up yet.  No curtains, signs, pictures, etc.  I also haven't finished the chairs that will go around the table.  Just to give you a hint though, they are colorful and adorable!

A very messy school room.

The other wall.

Ahh, so much fresher, cleaner, and inspiring for scholastic excellence.  I can't wait to have more time to get the other added touches done.  I have some fun ideas.  Hopefully, we will be able to add some baseboard as well.  I tried to add captions to the after pictures but something was a little screwy and the pictures would get moved to somewhere else in the post.  So I'll say this.  The trim is red, was red and am not changing it for various reasons.  Maybe some day.  I repainted white where there was white before and then in the school room part, painted the walls a gray color.  I am accenting with red, yellow (chalkboard trim is already done), a light turquoise blue and an apple green.  I will reveal more as I get the rest done.

So then after this was done, we started school this last Monday.  So far so good on that, don't have a whole lot to report there.

Tuesday found me in town for piano, shopping and the oh so dreaded, " I've turned 40" doctor's appointment.  Yep, I had my first mammogram.  You know we always fear the unknown and I will say I was a little apprehensive.  I have to say I  found a little humor in the whole situation when they had me put on "The Cape".  I felt like Wonder Women or something.  I remember as a  kid, my brother and I would play Batman and Robin or The Bionic Man & Women or any number of the superheros of the 70's and 80's.  We would use bath towels tucked into the back of our shirts and run around the house and jump over the couch and such; yelling "Shazam!" or "Ka-Pow" or "Bam" or any of those other tough sayings they said back then.  In remembering all that, I giggled to myself and thought that I would have loved to have one of these cape thingys back when I was a kid.

Monday night, I had the neighbor girl come over and ask me if I could fix her homecoming dress by Friday.  It was a little lot low in the front and she needed me to add a piece in to make it more modest.  How many of you out there have a hard time telling others "No"?  I really didn't have time to mess with altering a dress in 4 days but I just couldn't tell her no.  So, I looked Tuesday while in town for some material to use to add to the top.  Do you know how many shades of royal blue there are?  Several!  Anyway, one of the clerks at JoAnn Fabrics gave me a great idea.  One of those, "Why didn't I think of that?" kind of ideas.  She suggested that I use the straps from the tie at the neck.  That is just what I did.  I had her come over and try it on.  Then I measured where it needed to be to hold it on her tightly.  I then folded the ends over to finish them off and overlap a bit.  To keep them closed, I added a pretty rhinestone button and a button hole.  Perfect!  Then I took the left over straps and filled in the neckline.  I added a thin strip of silver ribbon at the top of that and it now looks like it was made that way.  At least I hope that's what she will think.

Today found me meeting a woman in town to sell a Step 2 kids buggy.  I also had to go to the post office to mail two items that I sold on Ebay.  A very profitable morning.  However, the lady was an hour late meeting me.  I had left the kids at home to work on school and was now getting a little antsy about being gone so long.  It all turned out fine but I was wondering if it was worth the drop in price I gave her to sell the thing.  I still made a $30 profit so I don't feel too awfully bad.
Now, as I am typing this, it is rainy, my kids are dressing up the cats...

and I am trying to work on JBF.  If you don't already know, JBFhave to have a new outfit!  That is mandatory isn't it?

So, even though this may seem like a long post.  There really has been lots going on that I didn't mention.  I think this is just the way it is going to be now with school going on and wedding preparations happening.  Maybe it will slow down this winter.  NOT!  Us crafters are always busy, right?!  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

And the winner is...

Hello Everyone!

Just stopping in quickly to say we have a winner in the My Memories Suite Giveaway.  I haven't figured out how to post the Random Number thingy on my blog but that is what I went to to determine the winner.  The number was 5.  That would be Lori.  Congratulations Lori!  Sorry it took me so long in the day to get the results out but I hit the ground running today and didn't get home until late.   I will email you soon with the code you will use to download your software.  Thanks to all who entered and sorry I couldn't let you all win.  If you are still interested in getting this software, just click on the link in my sidebar and you will receive $10 off plus a coupon for $10 to their online store.  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane