So yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting up with Jeremy to take some head shots.  I don’t do a lot of head shot work, especially outside, so this was a fun challenge.  Jeremy is talented in many ways and it was so fun to take pictures of someone that I didn’t really even need to direct.  He just naturally knew where to put his head and what look to give- and *he* had *me* doing things like jumping over bridges and walking in prickly fields.  Good thing we didn’t see any snakes (haha – I don’t want to jinx myself but in all my times at the mines I’ve only seen one black snake).  Our goal was to get a variety of different looks.  Also he looked like one of my favorite tv characters, Kramer from Seinfield.   Do ya see it? 

PS- most of these are not cropped like a head shot.

And, many many thanks to Linda for holding my reflector.  Thanks girl!

Heather Lawrence!!!  Congratulations to Heather and Chris Lawrence and thanks to everyone who participated!

Sweet baby G came today to have his six month portraits taken.  Oh my goodness if he wasn’t one of the most adorable babies I have ever seen!  He just smiled away . . .

Check out his hair – mom and I joked that if he were a girl he *might* look like Pebbles from the Flinstones.  haha -

And how cute is this outfit?

Now when he did this I got a little worried thinking he was done . . .

But nope – he sprang back for a few more.  Goodness we had fun with him!

So November 22nd is always a special day for me because not only is it my birthday (yippee – when you get to be my age having a birthday is SO darn exciting!!  Haha – NOT!) but my parents always come up from NY to visit and we have special traditions we do every year.  This year I didn’t think they were going to make it BUT . . . looks like they are going to come after all.  This means so much to me – my parents have been so supportive of my career, wishes and dreams all my life.  I miss seeing them and am so thankful they can come.  Which brings me to this blog post – that I am so thankful for my family, friends and wonderful customers (who very often become my friends) that I wanted to give something special away on my “special” day.  I want to give one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE things away  (I feel like Oprah or something).  A 12×12 cavnas from my favorite canvas place, pixel2canvas.  They are a husband and wife team who has twins,  based out of Las Vegas.  Let me tell you just one reason why I love them (*this is beside the fact that their canvas prints are the BEST around and will last for 100 years).  As Garry (my cousin w/the brain tumor) was given only a few days to live this September, one of his friends called me up and wanted to buy a large print of their family that I had taken over the summer.  We talked about what she was looking  for and I decided I wanted to kick in some money and together we were going to get a canvas.   If you don’t know anything about canvas prints, they are very expensive- but SO gorgeous!  At the time we knew the funeral would be sometime soon (and we were hoping to display this canvas there for everyone to see).  I called P2C because it typically takes a week for them to deliver a canvas all the way to VA (or NY in this case) and I didn’t know if they could print it in a few days, much less ship it that fast (without it costing a fortune).  I explained the situation to the CS rep, who not only said they would get the canvas to NY, but they would pay for the ENTIRE thing (canvas and overnight shipping) for Kristen, Garry’s wife.  I was completely speechless and could only blubber a few thank yous before I got off the phone in total shock at their generosity.  The canvas arrived two days later, in time to be hung in Garry’s hospice room for him to look at, and was absolutely the most gorgeous canvas I have ever seen.  The colors and richness of the canvas blew me away.  I was so thankful to the company for how quick they acted (so Garry could see it) and the generosity and kindness they showed us.

SO, with that being said, I am going to pay it forward and give away a canvas from my favorite company, Pixel2canvas.  This is a random act of kindness giveaway – but has a few rules.  

I love to have the first person who comments on my blog posts win something -but that is not always fair to people who work or have commitments – and for something this fantastic I want everyone to have a chance. 

So, between now and November 22nd, just make a comment on this blog post and you will be registered.  If you are a fan of mine on Facebook, mention that you will get two entries.

On November 22nd at 9pm  I will announce the winner. 

*** This contest is open to anyone who has purchased products from me (at anytime).  This includes fundraisers and portrait parties.  As long as you have purchased something in the last four years, you are eligible to win.

**** Also your name will not show up on the blog, but I will be able to see it on the admin. part of this site – so don’t worry if you don’t see your name.  You will be entered.

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the weekend coming than to give something away.  This random act of kindness can be won by anyone who has had a paying session (or attended a portrait party) - past clients or by future clients who are planning to have a session – Roanoke, Maryland, Midlo, NY – anywhere. 

The first person to comment on this blog post will win an 11×14 wall print – Happy Friday!!

Now as much as I want to think I’m totally awesome and can get *everyone* to smile – there are times when I have tried all I can think of but the little corners of a child’s mouth just won’t turn up into a smile!  So that is when I pull out the big guns . . . haha!  It’s simple!  All you need is one spazzy parent (like Mama K) and a cat toy known as “the tickler”.  I swear it works and the more goofy you can get with the tickler, the more the kids will laugh.  Here is one of the behind the scenes pictures of how you can work this – I can’t tell you how many times I have laughed hysterically at what people do with that thing.

Sometimes you can get pictures like this . . .

Sometimes when the tickler doesn’t even work, I have to pull out the super big guns (aka rocket balloons).  If you’ve had a session with me over the past few years you will surely know what I’m talking about.  I pull these out when the child thinks they are done (but I don’t).  haha – these things are miracle workers – I bet I have some parents that could testify to that!  After you pump a rocket balloon up it flies around like a drunk bird making a whizzing noise.  Kids LOVE them!   Heck, I even love them.  If you’ve ever seen a picture sort of like this that I’ve shot – it wasn’t Santa flying overhead, it was a rocket balloon . . .

So . . . after the rocket balloons we busted out the Christmas gear . . .  is “I” not the cutest thing ever in this get up?

Here is “L” with a feather boa dahling . . .

One of my favorites – the snowglobe . . .  “I” was concentrating super hard trying to get the snow to move around.  “L” was loving it -

I even had these lollipops that had a Rudolph nose attached to the end – so the girls tried those out.  It never fails that when I tell siblings to “look at each other and laugh” – one will always point to the other one.  Seriously!  It’s hysterical . .

Lily has got some gorgeous eyelashes -

Three beautiful girls . .  .

Thanks “K” fam – I had SOOOO much fun playing with you!!

Who is going to get . . . . the last free sitting fee I am going to offer this month?  ($125 value).

Be the first one to comment on this blog post and you win!  Don’t be alarmed when your name doesn’t show up – I can see who you are

All right all you night owls – who is going to win? 

We’ll do the same thing as this morning – a free sitting fee ($125 value) which must be used sometime in the next six months.  First one to leave a comment wins.

Who is up on Facebook at this time in the morning?  (Hopefully someone that wants to win). 

The first person to comment on this blog post today will win a free sitting fee (this is a $125 value) to be used sometime in the next six months. 

Happy Friday!!