Time for Christmas Cards!

Its that time again…and for those of you with young kids, you know that Christmas cards aren’t the same without pictures!

I used to pay for photography sessions, but after investing in a good camera for Urban Farmhouse, I decided to try my luck at my own mini photo sessions with my favorite subject, Nikolas.

Yesterday morning I took Nikolas to a really cool area over by our local library to see if we could get a good shot or two for our card this year.

Drum roll please….I think we found a winner!

Aside from the one above, I got some other really great shots, just letting him discover the area and get silly with me.

  

Before I knew it, I had dozens of great shots that I can now use for grandparent gifts! (Busy moms gotta love multi-tasking!)

 

  

(The G.Q. Pose!!!)

 

 

Here’s My Amateur Photography Pointers:

1. When photographing kids, let them lead you and take cues…if they wanna get silly, let them get silly…personality is the key to great pictures!

2. For outside shots, overcast weather is best (no squinty eyes and shadows!).

3. I don’t have an expensive lense, but I do rely on an editing program to get cool effects. (I use Picasa and Picnik….it’s free and super easy to use!!!)

4. Don’t overload on props…keep it simple for timeless photos.

5. Snap Away! I took 500 pictures in 35 minutes, but got the shots I wanted and then some.

Most importantly…have fun!

We laughed so hard we had tears streaming down our faces by the end of the shoot. Then we went to have milk shakes and hamburgers together. It was a great date with my boy. In twenty years from now when I look back at these pictures, I know I’ll feel the happiness of our day.

 

Good Luck! Now, go out and make some memories with your kiddos!

Pottery Barn Halloween Hanging Ghost Tutorial

It’s two weeks until Halloween and I’m starting to put the finishing touches on our décor at the Garza house. I always grab inspiration from Pottery Barn Kids for some “not too spooky” ideas.
This year I’m lovin’ their Set of 3 Hanging Ghosts, but not lovin’ the $59 price tag.

So, after heading to the Dollar Store…here’s my version for a whopping $2.00 per ghost.

I took 3 different sized bouncy balls from the kids section at Dollar Tree and spray painted them white. You might luck out and find white ones, but mine had bright animals all over them. The objective is to not see them under the lightweight cheesecloth.

Then in the air hole in the bottom of the ball I pushed in a small white nail.

I also purchased the Cheesecloth Fabric at Dollar Tree in the Halloween section. Its called Bloody Fabric and has fake blood all over it. If you are doing three ghosts, get three packages of fabric. I threw it in the washing machine with a lot of bleach to get the red (blood) areas out. Then I draped it over the ball, making sure the nail head peeked out of the fabric at the top.

I used a black Sharpie to draw the eyes on my ghosts.

Use some clear fishing line (you can get it at Walmart in the camping area) to tie a knot around the nailhead.

Your ghosts are ready to hang!

I made 3 ghosts using a large, medium and small bouncy ball to represent our family…so you could add a ghost for each child to make it more personal.
Not bad for $2.00 a ghost!

Happy Haunting!!!

Driftwood Finish Tutorial…Part 2!

Finally! I know, I know! This was promised weeks ago!


I had BIG ideas for this post…I wanted to show you this great technique and not just write about it, BUT since I couldn’t get my four-year-old to hold the camera still while I set up a video workshop….this will just have to do! (Just kidding about the child labor comment BTW)
Okay, so you’ve gathered all of your materials. Let’s say you’re painting a tabletop, but you could really do this treatment on anything I guess!


Step 1: Scratch the heck out of your tabletop! I know, you think I’m Mad, but for real…rough that sucker up! Just make sure that you go WITH the grain of the wood, while you’re getting your aggression out. Use something you have…get creative…a kitchen utensil or wire brush for the grill will do the job. I happen to have a wire paint eater brush that I run across the table. This will help raise the grain of the wood, knocking off the old finish a little, and give it a “salvaged ” look.



Step 2: Prime It! Spray a light coat, you don’t have to go overboard.



Step 3: Paint your tabletop in 2 coats of the lovely 1980’s Peach Flat Paint. Again, make sure you go with the grain.  Let it dry until it’s no longer tacky to the touch…about 45 minutes should do.



Here’s a picture of my driftwood chairs after the Peach Paint. If you have chairs or lots of area to cover, it’s okay to use the Sprayer for the first coat in Peach. Unfortunately, the next steps come out a lot better using a brush.



Step 4: In a bowl, water down your Gray Flat Paint. Dip your graining tool in the bowl and mimic the lines of real wood along the tabletop by gently pressing and dragging down the table.
This is the hardest part. If this is your first time using a graining tool, like me, you may want to practice on a piece of scrap wood or cardboard first. It can take some time to figure out the pattern that looks most realistic. Take your time on this step, as it will be crucial to the end result! Let it dry to the touch before moving on to the next step.

 
  

Step 5: Mix equal parts Glaze to the Honey Mustard Flat Paint. A little goes a long way, so I just mix mine in plastic cups. Paint a layer over your tabletop. I like to take the graining tool and swipe through each brush stroke so that the colors underneath really come through. Let this layer dry.

 

Step 6: Rub the tabletop with Steel Wool firmly. This really helps to bring out the gray and blend everything together well.

 

Step 7: Repeat Step 5 substituting the Saddle Brown Flat Paint. Let dry. Repeat Step 6.

 

This is what my table looked like at this point in the process. You can stop here if you like the way it looks. I wanted a lighter finish to mine, so I added the last step with the Cream Glaze, but this looks great too and lends itself to a subtle Weathered effect, much like Restoration Hardware.



Step 8: Mix equal parts of Glaze, Water, and the Cream Flat Paint. Use your Graining Tool to layer on the last coat of paint. I like this layer to go on lightly. Then rub the entire table again with the Steel Wool.



At this point use your own judgment to determine if the effect looks the way you want it to. You can always go back over the top with fine grit sandpaper to soften the effect.


 

This table set was such a labor of love! I’m so elated by how it turned out and even happier that it went to such an awesome newlywed couple! Thanks Bo and Britney!

 


I totally forgot to give a shout out to Lucianna Samu who wrote a great post on Living In Color about her paint techniques for the Weathered Wood Finish. Check it out as she lists exact colors from Benjamin Moore for this technique.


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