Christmastime in here

Christmastime in here... and you know what that means... Charlie brown christmas, decorating the house and tree, the smell of pine needles, crazy stores and lines, delicious treats that make me hurt, christmas cards in the mail box, christmas songs, cuddling up by the faux fire on our tv, sending out cards, wrapping gifts, christmas parties, braving the post office, running around like a chicken with its head cut off, photographing and processing tons of family photos! Christmas mixes (coming soon), Festive sweaters and turtle necks, being secretive and sneaky so as not to ruin any surprises, getting creative on gift giving, spending time with family and friends, people opening their hearts, and of course the most important thing about christmas is...

The Savior Jesus Christ, the celebration of his birth and life, and his selfless gift of love that he preformed for each and every one of us!! He is the Light and the Life of the world and I am so humbled and grateful that God would send his son to be born in a manager and to suffer and atone for our sins, and to die on a cross of us, and then to rise again. Giving us hope that we to can live again. With our families forever!


"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16

Photoshoots

I wanted to let everyone know that I have done a bunch of new photo jobs lately and will periodically posting them on my PHOTO blog...So go check them out! you might see someone you know!

emilyjeanneportraits.blogspot.com

Thanks for all your ongoing support and love and comments. It is really encouraging and really keeps me going.

My Mom

I just wanted to say how grateful I am for such a great mom! It was awesome to spend time with my mom in Utah and I am so grateful for her! She is such a talented, beautiful and vivacious person and I am proud to have her as a mom.

Utah or Bust

I am coming to Utah for 2+ glorious week! I can't wait to see all my family and friends! And I can't wait to see mount timp covered in snow. If you are in Utah and I know you then I will probably want to hang out! So call me if you want to meet up or if you need some photos taken of your family or kids for the upcoming holiday season!

Celebratory/Full of Life

I am starting to make a joyous/happy to be alive mix. Lately I have been feeling great and doing great! And not to mention I am going to visit utah for over 2 weeks! My sister is getting married and is really happy and I just feel like life is pretty darn great right now! I have an awesome husband and I am so thankful for all the new and exciting things I have going on right now.

That is why I want to make a happy mix so that anytime I am feeling down I can put it in and get a lift. And I will make it downloadable so that you all can enjoy the mix as well!

So far some of the front runners are:

Downtown- Petula clark
Reach for the sun- Polyphonic spree
Sweet Caroline- Neil Diamond
Good Day Sunshine or your bird can sing- The Beatles
Surf Wax America- Weezer
Since You've been gone- Kelly Clarkson
Soak up the sun- Cheryl Crow
Can't Sleep at all- Mother Hips
Just like Heaven or friday Im in love- The Cure
I just want to celebrate- Grand Funk

Leave a comment and tell me your favorite feel good song.

This is going to be my next craft project!

Anyone looking for a Rob Pattinson cross stitch pattern? Now when you kiss your pillow pretending that it is Edward you can actually kiss Edward via embroidery floss! hahaha This is so ridiculous that I actually want to make it and give it to a lucky someone for Christmas!

If you want more twilight inspired crafts and to be utterly creeped out by a knit version of Bellas womb go HERE.

California Doxey Dreamin'

This month The NY DOX clan were in southern california! It was great to have them come stay for a while and got a chance to hang out with Amber and the Girls and it has been a blast with Doug as well! We did a lot of fun stuff. Travel Town, Griffith observatory, the beach, hollywood, Rodeo drive, burbank portos, disneyland, the LA temple, DeDe Reese and just spending time hanging out!

Check out NY Doxey's blog for more info!

Autopia was a hit with the girls, Paige had to put on leah's shoes so that she would be tall enough to ride. They both were able to drive, and leah's face pretty much explains it all!

The girls loved the characters (esp the princesses) and had a blast dancing in the parade at disneyland!

Chad had fun chasing our umbrella.

Doug, Amber and I were loving the weather and boogie boarding. Doug, Chad and I went back again this weekend.

Not my first encounter with a shark on the shore but definitely freaky none the less. While Amber and I were playing in the waves we had a 3-4 foot leopard shark swim between us. I still have my doubts as to if the guys believed us but I know what I saw.

Posing for pics at the LA temple!

The Hollywood sign and the griffith observatory are some of my favorite places to take people when they visit. It is fun at night but all great views and great to run around in the day.

I just love my cute, cute nieces, over all it was an awesome time.

Update

Sorry for the lack of blogging but I have my reasons. I just got back from Arizona where I (and Chad for part of the time) got to hang out with Chad's family. Complete with football games, Josh's birthday, Where the wild things are, Swimming, 97 degree heat, cafe rio, Transformers 1 and 2 (yikes!), hanging out and just having fun.

Chad went home on sunday night, and I came home last night with Ellen. Part of the reason I stayed longer other than the above mentioned reasons, was I did some photo shoots. On monday I was able to meet up with Tawnya and Kristin (my long lost friends whom I got to know while teaching english in China, almost ten years ago! wow has it been that long?) Later I did a photoshoot with Tawnya, and her husband and adorable wiggly boy kit. It was such a fun location. So green and lush, and I have 28 (yes 28!!!! ) mosquito bites to prove just how green the oasis was in the middle of the mesa desert. It was so fun, and we got some great shots, stay tuned to my photo blog for pics.

Tuesday I did a shoot for 'the Mookies' (Chad's brother and fam). We went to this great spot (as per the recommendations from tawnya..THANKS!) at the Mesa Arts center. Tons of nice grass, cool architecture, awesome fountains and stairs and just a great spot! Then we went out to the desert and did some true arizona desert shots!

Both of the shoots were really fun and turned our great and I can't wait to get to work at processing the pictures! Like I said, stay tuned. So far in Utah I am shooting baby and family pics of Liz, family and prego pics of Tamsin, and My sister Dorothy's wedding. If anyone else needs photo stuff done...please let me know! I would love to do it. OR if you just want to hang out you can call me too!

PUMPKIN SEASON!

Since Pumpkins are all the rage this time of year, and since they are my favorite gourd in the world, I wanted to post some recipes to share the love as it starts to get chilly! If you want to share the love right back, then please post your favorite pumpkin recipe.

Here are some recipes to try:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies by Debbie Young

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 can (16 oz) of pumpkin
3 eggs (minus 1 yolk or 2 eggs)
2 1/4 cup wheat flour, freshly ground
2 cups oats
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cloves
Chocolate chips

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes

Vegan/Low fat Pumpkin cookies

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 cup carob or chocolate chips

Mix sugar, pumpkin, and applesauce together and mix dry ingredients together separately. Then mix together.
Bake 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes.

Thanksgiving Point Pumpkin bars from Heidi Doxey

1 cup veg. oil
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
Mix together then add
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
32 oz can of pumpkin
2 tsp cinnamon

Pour mixture in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. cool completely then frost with...

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 TBS cream or milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar.

Honey Pumpkin Pudding by Ellen Timmreck

1 egg, beaten
1 cup pumpkin
3/4 cups light cream, half and half, or canned milk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves

In a saucepan with a wire whisk, beat egg till frothy. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and smooth. Chill. Serve with whipped cream.


I urge you all to support pumpkins by eating them as much and as often as you can!

A question...

I will be traveling soon to AZ (Oct 17th - ?) and UT (Nov 13th - Thanksgiving). Would anyone be interested in hiring me for a photo shoot?

Look who's famous!

A couple weeks ago Chad and I watched a 'Soup' special called 'Shock and Ewwww' about lame reality star couples...and were happy to see Mike Kemp's image of my friend and old co-worker Isaac heading up the show!!! Also, a few months ago I saw a Rubberball picture of Eddie dressed like a woman in a blue wig on 'The Dish' aka style networks version of 'the Soup'. Unfortunately I couldn't find the clip!

And the Winners are...

Caitlin and Mags!

Thanks everyone for your comments and input. I am excited about all your crafting projects and would love to see some of your finished products. Caitlin and Margaret, email me your address and favorite color for the scarf, and if you would prefer a regular or long scarf to tinybutclassy at hotmail dot com!

Stay tuned for info about Hip Handmaids!

One more day till the giveaway!

One day more to vote on your favorite color/follow my blog/comment on you own craftiness before I pick a winner, winner, winner, winner! Do it! I just launched my Etsy Shop so stay tuned for Hip Handmaid and Etsy details!

Amazing Video

OK I know this song is really played out, but BOTH of these videos made me laugh really hard! Enjoy! I love babies and I love glee, and I have to admit the Beyonce song is pretty catchy. I think Beyonce is one of my guilty pleasures. What are some of your guilty pleasures in music? I am interested to hear....

Cozy Giveaway!

Since I have officially become a 'Hip Handmaid' and started collecting and restoring old windows, and making my no-knit scarves I thought I would do a little give away. This is my maiden voyage into the land of giveaway posts so stay tuned for more to come. I will be giving away 2 of my hand made macrame scarves.


Here is how to enter do each of the following:

1- Become a Follower of my blog (so I can figure out who is actually reading this)
2- Vote on your favorite color
3- Post a comment on this entry and tell me what fun crafting projects you are doing this fall


This give away runs till October 1st. Winners will be chosen by a random generator online. It's a quick one so act fast and get a cute scarf for fall! I will announce the winners on Oct. 2nd, and mail it out asap so you can enjoy your cozy scarf as it starts cooling down. Check back soon for more giveaways, and for an upcoming photo shoot giveaway on my photo blog! Thanks everyone!

Projects

I get into ruts a lot. However right now, I am feeling a rare burst of inspiration. Both personally and professionally. I have been doing more photo jobs and feel that I get more creative and grow with each shoot. Also, I have had a lot of great friends who inspire me. Tamsin has a blog dedicated to projects she is doing! In the face of adversity she is still happy and continuing to stay positive and create new projects. Her mother knits the most amazing and authentic Norwegian sweaters that leave me awed.

Kate has started a crafting bizarre called Hip Handmaids. She showcases many crafty people with many different wares to sale at the beginning of December. I am toying with the idea of selling something there but I need to test my blog readers for market research to see how interested you would be in my upcoming ventures.

Liz makes awesome masks and adorable onesies that make me want to have a baby just so I can have it wear her adorable owl onesie! To be honestly... pretty much all of my friends are wonderful, crafty and talented people and I really just couldn't list everyone that inspires me, it would just be too long of a list. Not to mention coming from My Mom's Carol and Peggy who were both amazing cooks and seamstresses and my mother in law who is so talented as well! I hope to someday make them proud for creating and sending something good into the world.

In the future I may do a photo shoot giveaway to promote my photo blog. And I might just be giving away some of my upcoming projects.

Recently Maureen has started a small crafting night with Wendy and Myself. Last night I went without crafts, just ideas. It was so refreshing to bounce idea off people and to just chat in the tradition of women through the ages. I have wanted to do, and have done craft nights in different incarnations over the years and I have to say that I am so excited to be with people who have fun ideas and are inspiring and encouraging! I have to give props to the Hostel House girls for the original crochet nights! I think back with fond memories of 15 people sitting around the room all making projects! Mindy you are a yarn Goddess and I miss you and want to pick your brain about ideas!

OK.... So here are some of my ideas for upcoming projects. These may or may not be something I may consider selling on etsy or anywhere but I want to write them down.... so all of you in blogdom know that I am starting!

I found these amazing old windows in the alley by my house. I also have been searching craigslist for free old windows. Since I have worked as a framer (picture framer) in the past. I thought I could use my skills to vamp up these windows into beautiful pieces to hang in a home. They can be hung by themselves, or made into picture frames. I am banking on the whole shabby chic idea. I am considering leaving some white and pretty original and wiring them and creating backing mats so they can be used as picture frames. I am also going to be painting some of them in funky colors: red, green, blue, pink and turquoise and then distressing them to give them the vintage/shabby chic look. I think these would look great in a babies room, or as a beautiful show piece. I have also toyed with the idea of using them to create room dividers.

What do you (my blog peeps) think? Would you pay money for these? How much would you pay? What colors would you like? Would you like them as frames or just windows as art?

this is a 2x3 window, but I have many square 2x2 frames as well!

My other projects I want to make are crochet flowers, for hats, headbands, scarves, sweaters, or anything really. It would be easy to make a lot of them in different groovy colors. I have been wanting to do this for a while but just havent been on top of it. I saw this beautiful and delicate crochet necklace that I want to create in different colors and lengths.


This last project is a knitless scarf Mindy showed me a long long time ago, and Ive been wanting to make ever since. It looks so radical and EASY! I can't wait. This might just be my first of many of these!

I am so excited about my new upcoming projects! If you have any ideas, tips, input or even encouragement... anything you have to say would be greatly appreciated!

Colorado

I just got back from Colorado where I was lucky enough to nanny for my nieces and nephews! We had a blast and while I was there we had a little photo shoot! Check out my photo blog for more pics!



We had a fun time playing outside and enjoying the beautiful colorado air!






The kids were in school and were really great at keeping up on chores and homework so it made my job really easy. When we had free time we played games and did puzzles and played outside!




Zack, Allie and Josh had soccer games on saturday! Here are some shots of Zack's winning game. They won 5-3 and 3 of the goals were scored by non other than Zack!



Chad came into town on saturday and we had a fun Nacho Libra movie night and make breakfast for dinner! It was awesome! Also Cosi came home on saturday night so it was really fun to spend time with her as well! It was so much fun hanging and watching the cranes! I loved it and Chad loved getting a chance to see them too!


Sunday Afternoon Chad's Aunt Joan (and Bob) came to Fort Collins to get us and we were able to have sunday dinner at Grandma Carols house! It was great to finally meet most of Chad's extended family. It was fun getting to know his uncles and cousins and getting to spend time with Grandma! On monday morning we had a photo shoot with Grandma Carol. It was so neat to hear her stories and learn more about her, just spending time chatting and taking photos. We also has some delicious danishes! In the afternoon Joan drove us around historic denver and we had lunch at a yummy BBQ joint! Thanks guys for such an awesome trip!