vol.25

a quote for your week chap 59

Hello! How is your monday treating you? I hope well! Today is super windy and rainy. One of those gloomy days. My grandpa passed away Thursday night, on my birthday. His health hadn't been good for quite some time, but it still came as somewhat un-expected. The fact that grandpa passed away on my birthday, should always be an easy reminder to me, that my grandma might be in need of some comfort that day! I'm doing okay, and the funeral is today. I have a really good friend driving 5 hours with toddler in tow to spend the day and night with us. I have the best friends! :) I've been so excited about her coming that I havent thought about much else. :)

Oh- btw! Thanks so much for your sweet birthday wishes, and letting me know that I was missed! :) Love to hear that. :)

I finished TWO new pieces of art, and I'm excited to share... but I'm going to wait a day or so to list and post them. :)

I'm back and the shop is OPEN again!

Hey guys!! We are finally home! :) I took the day yesterday and unpacked, washed clothes, did some cleaning... etc. It sure does feel good to be home! I took SOO many pictures that I'm pretty excited to share with everyone. 

I did engagement pictures:

Cousin Pictures:

Senior Pictures:

and individual family pictures for all my in laws. :)

In addition to those, I also did a couple of individual sessions for my sweet nieces. :) I stayed suuper busy editing each session after they were taken, I really didn't want to get behind on my editing. Fortunately, the weather was BEAUTIFUL in OK while  we were there, in the high 60's and sunny most of the time. Because I had such great lighting the editing went pretty fast!

The shop is back open, and I've given it a slight makeover. Each listing description has been rewritten, and updated with new explanatory pictures. Now that I've been open for a couple years, I was able to include some of the FAQ I seem to be asked alot. :)

Another BIG change that you may have noticed is the price change happening in the shop. I really really struggled with doing this, but after months of thought I decided to up the price from 20.oo a print to 24.oo a print. I finally decided to raise my prices for a couple of reasons;

ONE) Printing on canvas has posed a few inconveniences that wouldnt be a problem if I were printing on most other papers. For example, because the canvas is sensitive to humidity I have to store it in plastic airtight containers at all times, or the corners will curl ever so slightly and my printer rejects the paper. This leads to wasted paper, and extra time baby sitting my printer.

TWO) Canvas paper has to be loaded sheet by sheet, which also means more time spent watching and waiting for my printer.

THREE) The new printer was a big expense, but necessary for several reasons. The pigment ink is a step up in the ink department (compared to the dye based Inks I was using previously) and I feel the overall product is a much better product from what I was offering when I first started 3 years ago.

I hope raising my prices doesnt offend anyone, I definitely struggled with it, but after giving it some thought, I decided it was best for my business. If sales slow down a little, it will give me more time to focus on the digital aspect of VOL25. Did I mention I'm planning to build a new website for overlays and digital items? Super excited about that!

So to sum that up, I'm glad to be back... and I'm looking forward to updating the blog with some inspiring content! You'll probably be so sick of me in the coming weeks! ;)

p.s. ITS MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!! I turned the big 29. Thinking I should do a 30 before 30 list. :)

Hello!

Hey guys! Im actually typing this from my cell phone in oklahoma. We had to put our trip off a week because I came down with the flu. The good news is that we r here and enjoying ourselves. I am taking tons of pics. And having fun. The bad news is that I dont have many more posts lined up for you... So it may be a bit quiet around here. :) I have super limited internet access, so im not able to respond to emails unless I am in town, and of course then im busy! :) im taking engagement pics today for my sister in law... And senior pics for my other sister in law, and wedding dress shopping...busy, busy! Well... Im really needing to get this posted... So I can save my cell phone battery. :) just wanted to give you an update! Hope everyone is doing good.

etsy must haves: sweetpeatoadtots

Oh my goodness... doesnt that face just make you turn to mush? When I stumbled across this shop a couple of months back, I was pretty excited to share it with you guys. As a photographer myself, I am always keeping an eye out for photo props... and Sweet Pea Toad Tots has just that! I would love to build up a collection of these hats for when I do get the occasion to photograph a baby.

If I was a photographer on a regular basis I would DEFINITELY justify having 2 of everything in  her shop! :) What do you think? What is your favorite hat from her shop? It is SO hard to decide...

Paper sculptures by Anna Wili Highfield

Remember how I mentioned being interested in paper sculpture? Well a google search turned up the work of Anna Wili Highfield, and I am SOO impressed. The detail and likeness of her creatures is nothing short of amazing!

Paper? Paper never looked so good! :) I think the birds she does are probably my favorite, but I definitely have a soft spot for the horse heads too. :)

I am just so entranced with her work.... not to mention that gorgeous fireplace! :)

Lovely. I'm just speechless. What do you think?

Photos are the property of Anna-Wili Highfield :)

Thankful for friends party!

By now you guys are probably pretty familiar with Rosie (from Simply Rosie Photography) in fact, you might even recognize her photographs when you see them. She definitely has a distinct style. :) 

Anyway, not too long ago she posted some pictures on her blog of a party she collaborated on last fall, and as soon as I seen the photographs I KNEW I had to share them with you guys!

Not only do the goodies look yummy, but the photographs and styling are equally inspiring.I LOVE the mismatched chairs and thrifted dinnerware....

The "photo booth" was adorable!

HOWEVER... I think the star of the show, was the theme of the party, "thankful for friends." Honestly, how often do we take our friendships for granted? I am SO guilty of this, the internet has almost put an end to snail mail... and my increasingly busy "hobby" has made it a little harder for me to keep up my closest long distance friendships.    

So, if you are in the mood to throw a party but cant think of a reason to have a party, look no further then your friends! :) Friendship is definitely a reason to celebrate! :) What do you think? Are you planning to throw a party anytime soon?

etsy must haves: indigotwin

Indigo twin has quite a few sculptures that caught my attention! :) I think it is super neat that you can customize the scultpure with your animal's name. What a great gift that would make for someone. The detail in each piece is amazing, and I have suddenly found myself somewhat interested in the art of paper sculpture. It definitely looks like a hobby I would like to take up. :) You know... in my "free" time! ;)

Are there any crafty hobbies you've been dreaming to try?

p.s. Indigotwin also has a blog! indigotwin.blogspot.com/

Engagement photo session

Hello everyone. :) Today I'm going to drop in kind of quick... and share an engagement session I took this last saturday. The girl is Jaydon's (my husband) cousin and she is like a little sister to him, so taking these pictures turned out to be really fun. :) The two of them were very comfortable in front of the camera, and that always makes things easier! :)
 
  

In the next 2 weeks I'm going to be photographing my sister in law's engagement session (remember Keisha? She is getting married in June!) another sister in law's senior pictures, and a few sets of family pictures. :) It should be fun!

Well, I have SOOO much to do, so I'm going to have to cut this short!