Wednesday, October 28, 2009

.....BOO!...

well alrighty
since that lost post was a little wordy
i'll switch gears & show a few more little glimpses of fall at our home
& try not to be so wordy


these little velvet pumpkins are all the rage this year.
there were some kits available on olive juice but i think she's sold out...i'll be sure to hook up early next year with her because i think i need a charcoal, brown, & orange one too

i probably should be ashamed to admit this, but i am so in love with jennifer lanne's paintings & in my own oil painting class i copy them...yep i do....flat out copy....her use of color is fantastic & since i'm not selling them ( duh....) & i am giving her all the credit for the inspiration then this is more of a confessional right? surely its not illegal if you just 're-create' them, keep them hidden away in your own home, but give the original artist all the glory...right? oh i do hope so....





little bit with my over the top cute penny mcallilster pumpkin man
he's huge
& then below
she's a little disenchanted since its empty
of candy corn....
oops
another confession











some oldies
pre-digi days












& a couple of my fave costumes
emi as twister girl


& smk and buddies as M & M's








& finally one of my favorite images of my girls
sadly
my little baldy was starting to get sick that day
{guess i was so busy trying to get them all to smile
that i didn't notice how puny she looked
god love her}
& ended up in the emergency room
with a temp of 105
double ear infection
& croup
but mom got the christmas card picture that year!
but look at her pitiful little face
bad mommy



& speaking of christmas pictures
(i heard that collective sigh)
i'm a little conflicted this year
does anyone have any tips?
we usually send out over 150 cards
which financially adds up quickly

i'm bummed because either i'm dropping friends like flies
or folks are really cutting back on the expense
and we recieve less & less each year


anyway
i'm trying to decide if i want to do it again this year
i'm not sold out on any one pic in particular
i sent a collage type one last year....
but those were pricey


anyway


oh brother

i promised not to be wordy

27 comments:

Kasey said...

great round up of photo's!
I hear you with the xmas cards...i think with all facebook and blogs, and all that ....people just aren't feeling the need to send out so many.
I still send mine out though...
and you are on the top of my list!
xo

The Flying Bee said...

Paige,

I know I have told you before, but your girls are gorgeous! I am telling you, when I see them it just makes we wish I would have had one...but then I catch my head and realize I already have three boys running around here that drive me crazy! :)

Love your all your Fall decor and your painting, too!

Oh, and about the Christmas cards...I feel the same way! What to do??? I haven't decided yet. Oh, well...sorry, I didn't help much with that, did I?

xo,
Adrienne

Lemonade Makin' Mama said...

these are all very sweet! I just spent the past week mulling over this exact same Christmas Card/Photo problem!! And I just think it's an extra expense that I can't justify much longer, yet I LOVE sending them out... and getting them! I have saved every single photo over the years in a book, and we pull it out every Christmas and compare how everyone has grown up! My kids love it.

Jeanne Oliver said...

I still will send them out but I have been noticing that not as many people are sending them....or maybe I am losing friends like crazy too:-) I have to tell you that I have been coveting that velvet pumpkin since you bought it last year. LOVE it!!!

Julie said...

Your girls are so pretty! It's fun looking back over time. I do that with my kids too. Can't believe how fast they grown and change. :)

Love that velvet pumpkin! I wanted one but I was too late. Maybe next year...

xo

ellieshine said...

I love it when you post all these fun holiday photos - you have such a great eye :) (maybe I will copy you exactly and then give you the credit ;)

I am sending cards to my friends but the list has gotten so small (dropping like flies!)- I just feel the need to maintain some of the old fashioned Christmas spirit, and hopefully get some cards(and have a photo that represents our family this year!)

Kacee said...

Paige,

I LOVE all of your Fall decor...it is by far my favorite season (other than it seems to be the time my children get the sickest).

As for Christmas cards I completely feel you on that one. Mu husband wants to cut out cards due to blogs and all but I am not ready to do it yet. Last year I found a great site http://www.lilsproutgreetings.com and they can print the cards for you or you can buy the pdf file and have them printed yourself. I printed 175 last year and it was sooooooo much cheaper than I have every bought cards before. I have also noticed several people on etsy that are designing cards...you send it your pics and buy the pdf file (typically $10.00 up to $20.00) and then print them yourself or at a lab. Hope this helps some.

Thank you for always sharing about your sweet family. Your girls are beautiful and your blog is always a blessing to read.

Kacee

Cathi said...

Your photos of your children are gorgeous...they all have such beautiful eyes and smiles!

As far as the Christmas cards go, I only send to a few friends. My family I see at Christmas - so I give them my own special greeting....:)

Farmgirl Paints said...

I've never seen a velvet pumpkin before...awesome! I want one now.

Your home looks beautiful and I totally understand your confession. I copy stuff when I am learning to paint. If you are not selling it...then it's ok I think. Beautiful work btw. Love the colors.

Not sure about Christmas cards... I usually send them out, but like you said it does get pricey. We didn't get many last year either. I guess if we wanted to be cheap we could do it electronically, but that's a little weird;)

Half Gaelic, Half Garlic! said...

I love when you show us "around your home" Your have such a great sense of style and a wonderful eye for unique things:)

As for the Christmas Cards... I think a lot of people just don't have the time to send out cards anymore. I personally love sending them out.....but last year because I could not make up my mind on the photo, I kind of waited til the last minute and ended up getting 20% off my order. Shop around these next few months.....there are a lot of great deals if you look.

Such cute pictures of your precious girls.....I love looking back on the old photos...I am sure it brings back so many memories for you!

xoxo,

Lisa

Jena Williams, Not So Shabby Interiors said...

What beautiful girls you have and I just love the first pic with all of the the fall colors! Thanks for sharing!

Jena

Jboo said...

So many cute and wonderful little touches around your house -- love to see them all -thanks for sharing! Such great photos (old and new) of the girlies!

I send out Christmas cards and love to receive them too, but it does seem like many are sending anymore -- boo hoo! Have a great Booo weekend! It's only Wednesday and I'm calling for a weekend!

Janet

Unknown said...

Ok that twister costume is so cool! Why can't I think of great ideas like that? At any rate, I hear ya with the Christmas cards. Last year I got the flu at the beginning of Dec and decided I wasn't going to put myself thru the pressure of getting cards out when I was so down and out. Then I decided I would do the every other year thing from now on, and if people drop me from their list, so be it. I know who my friends are anyway...

Always a delight to see your incredible pics and gorgeous girls!

:) T

Erin Butson said...

A comment! I got a comment!(That's me calling my husband at work on the phone) Umm,I mean, thank you for commenting:) It made my day. For reals. And I love the Twister costume. And (I want toreiterate) your gracepost rocked my mommy world.)

Jen Kershner said...

Love that first photo! Okay, so I'm just sick that I didn't get one of those pumpkin kits. What was I thinking? It looks gorgeous at your place!

I skipped Christmas cards last year and now that I think about it I might have skipped the year before and now that I think about it, I might skip this year too. It's really more about taking some of the pressure off for me but the cost is certainly a factor too!

maria said...

Hey there! It sounds like we are all in the same dilemma.

I am sending out Christmas cards because I love them:) But I am using Tiny Prints (www.tinyprints.com). The quality isn't as great as a high end photo card but the styles are cute and they fit into my holiday budget.

I think I'll scan and post our holiday card on my blog a week or so after cards go out just to say Merry Christmas to those I don't mail cards to.

I love the photos of your home and your girls. Both are gorgeous.

PS~Erin said...

Wonderful photos!! Completely enjoyed looking through them.

The velvet pumpkin is too cute!

We send out over 100 cards too. So many are to older family members who don't send out cards any longer. So we don't get back that many. I sort of have to send them out as I make them :-) Always stressful trying to take the pictures though. We sent out our first family one last year. Way stressful... Will just be the kids this go round!

Anonymous said...

Love, love, love your words, and your fall decorations. Beautiful family.
Chris in Iowa.

Clare said...

love all of your posts paige! pictures are gorgeous, and I love the pictures of walking through the leaves. those velvet pumpkins are so cute! i will have to get some for next year!

Jennifer said...

Paige,

I hear you sister on the Christmas card deal......

To save money, we have switched to photo postcards. They save on time because the message has to be short. They save on postage. Plus, they are less expensive than the traditional card and envolope to print.

Love the pictures of your girls....your blog space always makes me smile.

Jennifer

traci said...

cute, cute photos. your girls are just beautiful. puny and all!!! i love christmas cards. love sending them, love receiving them. i noticed i didn't get quite as many last year too, but i will still send them. i use one photo of the kids every year and usually hand make mine, about 90.

Beki - TheRustedChain said...

Paige, you are a DOLL!
Love those pictures.

The Redhead Riter said...

Double, double toil and trouble;
fire burn and cauldron bubble.
~ Shakespeare "Macbeth"~

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Faded Plains said...

Your girls are stunning...and your painting is just beautiful!

Anonymous said...

I always love your home for fall but ESPECIALLY for christmas! I'll be checking every day as the holiday gets closer.... :)

Heather said...

i love everything about you.
been mulling over the christmas card thing this week too....

did Costco last year and it was CHEAP and i loved the design.

next week is wide open for me ... you up?
xo
HH

Christina said...

What beautiful photographs!