Thursday, January 17, 2013

Anatomy of a Christmas Photo

As any of you with toddlers know, it is nearly impossible to take a decent photo. Maddux may be sitting perfectly still, doing the sweetest, most angelic little thing, but the laws of parenthood state that the moment a camera is taken out and focused on him, he turns into the Tasmanian Devil.

So, as I am a bit of a slave to tradition, I just had to attempt to take our yearly family Christmas photo. I'm sad to say that these are not all entirely Maddux's fault.

Here are the results:

                                               Checking the lighting......

And the tripod positioning. Oh hello there, Jackson Dog.

This could take awhile........

                                        At least he's looking at the camera.

Oops! There goes my top. Thanks Nate!

Almost there.....

                                            As good as it's going to get.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Crave: Loeffler Randall Messenger Bag


                             I wish I had told Santa that I wanted this.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Easy DIY Child's Silhouette


I have always loved old-fashioned silhouettes of people. In fact, my original logo for my boutique, Lucy & Lloyd featured a man and woman's silhouette.

After Maddux was born, I considered hiring someone to do his silhouette, but I had a hard time finding an artist who was within my price range. I wondered if it was something I could pull off on my own, and after doing a little research, I found this great tutorial. Still, I couldn't seem to find the time to sit down and actually create something. With a one year old, it felt a bit overwhelming.

Then, my super crafty sister-in-law Megan posted this on her blog, and I was sold. Last week, I finally sat down and created my silhouette, and I absolutely love it!

Here is what I did:


1. First, you will need black acrylic paint. I bought two, unsure of how much I would actually need, but I only ended up using about half of one bottle.
I used a foam paintbrush, but I'm sure any kind would work.


2. I found a profile picture I had taken of Maddux and sent it to Walgreens to be printed off on photo paper. I chose 8 x 10.


3. I used some very fine manicure scissors to cut out his silhouette. I was extra careful to preserve as much detail as possible, in particular his curls and eyelashes.


4. I then started the process of painting the cut out silhouette, using long, even strokes.


5. I let each layer dry before starting the next. I wanted it extra black and thick, so I ended up painting 4 layers.


6. After the silhouette was completely dry, I mounted it to a piece of scrapbook paper that I liked, using double-sided scrapbook tape. The frame is a record size frame that Nate had that I repurposed. It is actually a little too big, so I may go back in and make a black, scalloped border. I'm also thinking about adding his name to the bottom. 

I really love how this turned out! It was super easy, and we now have a cute piece of handmade art that captures Maddux's sweet one-year-old profile.