Look what I made!

I found the directions for this snowflake at hotmamahouse. Its about 16 inches across, so its pretty big, for a snowflake. It was pretty easy, only took about 20 minutes.

So, if you're bored and have an extra 6 pieces of paper just laying around, check it out!

Christmas Tag

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I prefer wrapping paper unless the gift is odd shaped...Tearing paper is so much more satisfing than just opening a bag.

2. Real tree or artificial tree? Artificial all the way! (can't stand the smell of a real tree in the house)

3. When do you put up your tree? sometime before Christmas

4. When do you take the tree down? As soon as I get around to it...

5. Do you like eggnog? No Way!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? hmmm...lots of random gifts keep popping in my head. One year my cousin Melissa bought me a curling iron. I felt so grown up, that I had my very own. I remember the year we got the Nintendo. I wasn't that excited about the gift itself, just that I figured out what it was before we opened it, even though it was the last thing we expected from OUR parents.m Peaches and Cream Barbi was a good one. I remeber a gift box with Snow White on the outside. I don't remember what was in it, just thew wrapping, so appartly apperances do matter (that one was from Aunt Jessica). Birthday and Christmas presents seem to merge together in my mind, so I'm not sure which occasion I recieved this next one...I had stolen my mom's necklace! Ok I borrowed a necklace from her that she got when she was 16. I wore it ALL of the time, even though it was missing some stones. Then it just dissapeared. That year I unwrapped my mom's necklace, that had been cleaned, repaired and put on a new chain. To this day, it is still one of my very favority pieces.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My brother in law...if he would just hurry up and find my sister, maybe I'd might find out what he is interested in!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? I have two- one is Aaron's from his childhood and one was a gift from my mother on my birthday last year.

10. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? I like to receive mail.

11. Favorite Christmas movie? White Christmas

12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? December 26th. I am always on the lookout for a good gift!

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yeah. It was a birthday present (Dec 5th). It was a very nice set of bath oils and sprays and salts and stuff. It was very pretty, but when I was talking to a friend one day, she had mentioned that she was on her way to do some shopping for a family. The single mom had just lost her job, and they weren't going to have a Christmas that year. She also mentioned that the mom loved bath stuff, I new she would appreciate it more than me. So off it went!

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My sister and cousin both mentioned our moms' english toffee. Its good stuff and I love to eat it too, but I look forward to my single piece of milk chocolate covered carmel in the See's box. (see #25)

15. Lights on the tree? Either one. I grew up with colored lights, but my husband is a racist, so its white lights only. (ok that was TOTALLY a joke! Please don't believe what you read! he does prefer white lights though and he's not a racist.)

16. Favorite Christmas song? I love them all! I do like, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" probably because its not one we hear all the time.

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? HOME!

18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes I can, and it is DonDer not DonNer! That is my biggest pet peeve! There is a Target commercial playing right now with a kid saying all of the reindeer's names and it drives me nuts! I yell at the TV everytime!

19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel

20. Do you open Presents Christmas eve or Christmas day? Christmas Day.

21. The most annoying thing about this time of year? Not enough hours in the day. Too many families to visit Christmas day and not enough time for a nap.

22. Favorite ornament theme and color? I don't have a favorite theme, I do a traditional country style tree. I do appreciate the pretty trees that have a theme or color, they just don't fit in my home. I need a place to hang my construction paper poinsettias and styrafoam snowman!

23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We used to do a turkey or ham with all of the fixings. I miss that. I miss the ranch with the huge living room that we all ate together in THE SAME ROOM, and went back for as many plates of 2nd or 3rds as we wanted. Then Melissa, Janet, Pam and Julie and I got to do ALL of the dishes...good times, good times!

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? A house....and a studio.

25. Favorite Christmas tradition? Every Christmas Eve, we pull out the box of See's Candy. (nuts and chews only please) We all get ONE piece starting with the oldest in the room and going down to the youngest. You will never see a line form more quickly and "gracefully". Its almost like a dance...with a little bit of bicker and yelling, but its all in good fun. If anyone in the family starts dating a new someone special, the first questions is always "How old is he/she"? For many years, I was ALWAYS the last piece of the top layer, which means, no choices for me. Then Janet got married, and I got the first piece on the 2nd layer. That was the best Christmas eve ever! Thank you Lawrence!

And I tag...Steven and Jen Morris and Monica....and Martha Stewart ...and Oprah ...and Rachael Ray ...and David Letterman....and Jay Leno....and Santa Claus ...and.....The Tooth Fairy.

Product Photography

I added product photography to my list of service this week. I noticed a lot of etsy shops have some great items for sale, but they were not photographed to show them off the best way possible.

I already have an order to photograph some pacifier clips. You know, those ingenious little inventions that clip the binkie to your child's shirt, so you won't loose it! I am in need of some models. I need baby girls, infant to 18 months-ish. You would receive a FREE mini session in exchange for a few shots of your daughter with a pacifier. You are then welcome to purchase any prints you wish, with or without binkie. It's your choice!

If you are interested and available in the very near future (as soon as they arrive in the mail, I'll need to photograph them right away) please let me know. I have a phone, and email address and a comment section, all of them work pretty good!

Also, if you're interested in your children being models for other types of clothing in the future, just let me know. I'll put you in my model file and I'll contact you if I need you.

(Oh and if your in the market for an awesome caterer, I can get you the hook up. Those desserts were AMAZING!)

Christmas Barter ~ 2008

I know, I had this idea a little late in the season, but there is still plenty of time. Right? I decided this year to make everyone's Christmas present, with the exception of a few gifts I had already purchased (sorry Julie). I know, what a great idea! Its cheaper and more personal! But here is the problem...I don't have that many ideas and talents!

This is where you come in! I know many of my readers are pretty crafty or they have their own little shops. If you have something that you think I might be interested in, let me know. You can post a comment or sent me an email. I kind of have a "want list" over on my other blog http://www.dianeconnphotography.blogspot.com/ I'll be trading my photography services and products for your services and/or products.

I'm located in Modesto, CA and I'm in Sonora ALL the time. And I'm willing to travel if the offer is right.

Halloween ~ 2008

Well, tomorow is Halloween! My kids costumes are all ready and we attended our first Halloween party last night. Andrew was Spiderman. We had Grandpa draw really cool spider webs on his face so he didn't have to wear a mask. Lissy was a very pretty witch with scary eye brows. And little Sarah was a lady bug. I wipped out a little black plaid jumper (from fabric Grandma has had in her fabric stash for over 20 years) for her in "little less-a-half-a-hour". Not to shabby if I do say so myself!

Etsy.com

I've been swamped with work lately. I decided to take a short break from editing and window shop over at my new favorite website http://www.etsy.com/ I just wanted to share a few of my finds today.

Daisy Chains

Olive and Dollie

amycornwell

Shameless Plug

One...Two...Three...FOUR!

Yet another tag:
Four jobs I’ve had:
*shelf stocker/cashier at family owned thrift shop
*I don't remember my title, but I was the assistant to the zone manager at the local newspaper.
*mommy
*photographer

Four movies I can watch over and over:
*Music and Lyrics
*Jane Eyre- Masterpiece Theathre
*You've Got Mail
*Anne of Green Gables series, but only if I have time to watch all 6 hours.

Four places I’ve lived:
*With my parents in Modesto
*Fresno
*Sonora
*With my own family in Modesto

Four TV shows I love:
*Grey's Anatomny
*Ugly Betty
*House
*Bones

Four places I’ve vacationed:
*Sandy Ego
*Yellowstone
*Karen's House
*Lake Shasta

Four of my favorite dishes: (just four?!?!)
*Anything Aaron makes - he rocks the BBQ!
*Lasagna
*Chocolate Dork
*Blackberry cobbler

Four sites I visit daily:
*Facebook
*one thousand words
*www.CCandCS.etsy.com
*www.thepioneerwoman.com

Four places I would rather be right now:
*In my own home.
*I've wanted to go hang out at the mall recently. I had to run in for a job a little whil back, and I wanted to just stay and browse. I just brought back so many mall memories! Christa? Karen? Julie? You up for some shopping and Sbarros?
*Julie's house.
*In my own studio

Tag Four People:
EVERYONE!
I know, everyone is WAY more than four, but I just don't feel like putting anyone on the spot. So if you want to participate, go right ahead!

Another Cool Blog

Right now they are even giving away a really nice dress!

Are you a Good Dad?

My Favorite Shot So Far

I just started editing my cousin Emily's wedding from a week ago. Its always a pleasant surprise to see that I caught a moment I wasn't even aware of at the time!

This was taken as she walked out the front door and everyone saw her for the first time. Look at her smile! She's gorgeous! And what makes this picture perfect? That's her dad in the background. His face says it all!

I'll post more as I edit.

How do I add one of those neat templetes?

Come on, share the good stuff. How do I make my blog as cute and user friendly as all of the cute blogs I've come across in the last few days?

I've started blog hopping

Recently I started looking at more and more blogs. I keep finding more blogs than I can keep up with and some I can't even find again!

Here's today's neat blog find.

Lissy's Tag

1. What is something mom always says to you?"Ummm...clean up your bedroom"

2. What makes mom happy?"When I do clean up my bedroom

3. What makes mom sad?"Don't clean up my bedroom

4. How does your mom make you laugh?"makes silly faces"

5. What was your mom like as a child?"I don't know"

6. How old is your mom?"6"

7. How tall is your mom?"5"

8. What is her favorite thing to do? "work"

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? "take pictures"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?"a good artist"

11. What is your mom really good at?"taking pictures"

12. What is your mom not very good at?"ummm....ummm...ummmm..when my daddy says 'get me some clothes' and you don't do it."

13. What does your mom do for her job?"take pictures"

14. What is your mom's favorite food?"tacos"

15. What makes you proud of your mom? "helping me know what to do"

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?"winnie the pooh"

17. What do you and your mom do together?"play games"

18. How are you and your mom the same?"we have the same blue eyes"

19. How are you and your mom different?"we don't have the same hair"

20. How do you know your mom loves you?"She makes nice things for me"

Now- Lissy is tagging Teagan, and Josh & Anna's daughters (A & EJ)

Scattergories!

SCATTERGORIES. ..it's harder than it looks! Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things.. nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

What is your name Diane
BOYS NAME: Dan
4 LETTER WORD: Done
GIRL NAME: Dani
OCCUPATION: District Attorney
A COLOR: Dark Green
AN ANIMAL: Dog
BEVERAGE: Daqiri (so not spelled correctly)
FOOD: Doritos
SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: Dirty Clothes
A PLACE : Denver
REASON FOR BEING LATE: Diaper Blowout!
SOMETHING YOU SHOUT OUT: DAMN!
A PLANT: Dianthus

www.thirtyhandmanddays.blogspot.com

I found a great new site a few days ago. Well, I don't think its new to them, just new to me! Its a great place to go for your crafting inspiration and to find new awesome crafty places to shop.
Check it out, you won't be dissappointed.

http://www.thirtyhandmanddays.blogspot.com

Baby gift for Andrew's teacher

My favorite post as requested by
Talk to Me Tuesday from TipJunkie.com

This is the baby gift we made for one of Andrew's kindergarden teachers last school year. She didn't know if she was having a boy or a girl, so we went with green & yellow. I think it is one of the prettiest I've made in a long time!

Memories!

I left a memory on someone else's page so I guess that means I need to post this on mine. Feel free to participate if you wish. Here are the directions: 1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! 2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

The start of Carrot Sticks and Cupcakes

While driving in the car with my children, after a very hectic week of grown up meetings and two parties, the kids asked why they could never go to parties like me. They were not liking the idea that grown ups could stay up past their bedtime and play with their friends, but they had to go to bed and "NEVER" got to go to parties. I, being a good mother, asked them if they would like to have a party. They became very excited and started listing off all of the friends they wished to invite, which was all of their friends. Andrew asked with we could have carrot sticks at our party and Lissy jumped in with an excited, "AND CUPCAKES!?'"

So there it was. We would have a party with ALL of our friends and serve carrot sticks and cupcakes. Truth be told, be never did have the party, life got busy and it just didn't happen. Maybe one day we'll get around to it. Until then, enjoy the blog!