Giveaway Time!

I'm doing a little giveaway over at my photography blog, so if you're local (or somewhat local!) you might want to check that out!

Thank you so much for all of the positive feedback on my photography stuff. I am excited to get going, and just excited to be doing something new and fun. Life is good!

And on another note, I made some super-cute beaded necklaces for my girls this weekend. I was totally inspired by these necklaces on Becky's blog, and these cute ones on Maggie's blog, that I just HAD to have some for my girls.

I don't know about any of you, the bead section in Michael's is the one aisle that I always look, but never buy. For me, it just comes down to "how many hobbies can 1 person have?" I'm just the kind of person that when I get going on something I become totally obsessed, so it's for this reason that I've always avoided beads. Because I know that they are just too fun and too cute and once I start I won't be able to stop! Haha! So anyways, I bought just enough to make a couple necklaces for my girls and that was it. We had fun making them, and they look so darn cute!!

I actually ended up getting my beads at Claire's...Michael's didn't have what I was looking for, so I bought these cheap, colorful bracelets for only $4 each, took 'em apart, and used the beads for their necklaces. It ended up being cheaper than if I would have bought just the beads on their own.

Okay, so there you go. A giveaway and beaded cuteness. Happy Monday!!

Talia:)

talia audenart photography

This is something that I've been keeping on the "down-low" for quite some time now. And I thought that it was finally time to share.




Introducing Talia Audenart Photography.




I know, I know. Me? A photographer? When did this happen? To be honest, it's been happening for quite awhile. As scrapbookers, I think we all have a natural love and appreciation for photography and for capturing those perfect little moments and perfect little people in our lives. Over the past year, my love and desire to learn more about photography has grown more and more every day. I have been studying. Learning. Practicing. Dreaming. Envisioning. And you know what? I am loving it. Nothing makes me happier than freezing that perfect laugh, or capturing a special moment between loved ones. It's just plain awesome. As I've been challenging myself and experimenting more with my photography skills recently, friends and family have been asking me to take pictures for them, too...so here we are!




I am excited and nervous. I have no idea if anyone out there will want me to take their pictures, but it all comes down to the fact that I am having fun, I am feeling inspired, and I'm excited to be doing something new that allows me to connect and share with others.



So I hope you will take a look around and join me on my new little adventure.



Thank you.

Tal xo

eeeeek!!!

Just a few pictures from our Halloween...









Pretty cute, hey?

The last few days has been jam-packed and fun with parties at school, dancing, church and friends houses, and yesterday we finished it all off with pumpkin-carving and trick-or-treating.

The kids are sad it's over, but mommy isn't! (wink)

Hope you all had a safe and happy halloween!

T:)

my "heidi" projects

So as I had mentioned before, Kim and I headed down to Montana this past weekend to take some classes from our good friend and amazing scrapbooker, Heidi Swapp. It was so much fun to just sit and scrapbook and visit. I totally needed this little getaway! I missed my family like crazy, but we were back in no time, and I actually have some projects to show for it! They are empty right now, mind you, but I just came home from Costco today with a bazillion pictures that I got developed, so I hope to fill these soon!



So this first project is entitled "Time & Season" and Heidi focused on the fact that we are all in different seasons of our lives, and those seasons inevitably change for each and every one of us. This project is supposed to highlight the "time and season" that we are in right now. For me, it is a time of diapers, driving, little sleep, sippy-cups, soothers, bottles, a messy house...but also a time of laughs and love and fleeting moments with my kids that I'll never get back. Really made me think about how lucky I am to have what I have right now, and to not take this time in my life as a young mother for granted.







This next cute project was one that we whipped up in no time. A little wall-hanging to countdown to any special event...birthdays, anniversary's, holidays, whatever! So cute! I already want to make one for Halloween and Christmas!







On Saturday morning we made this "Family Memories" album. I am so excited about it because it's designed to house just tons of photos and journaling. I'm planning on jam-pcking mine with pictures from this summer. I can't wait! (It was so much fun to paint the front and back covers...my hands haven't been dirty with paint in a while!!)






And last but not least was the "Once in a Lifetime" project. My favorite for sure. Everyone was in their element during this class. This was Heidi's project that she taught at Creative Escape this year so I am sooooo excited that I got the chance to do it! She totally designed all the pieces for it and had everything made in China, so these projects themselves are a "Once in a Lifetime" thing! Anyways, the premise behind this project was to recognize the fact that every experiance in our life, every trip, every milestone, every moment...is a once in a lifetime experience. I tend to take the little things in life for granted, so I was grateful to take a step a back and reflect upon my own personal "once in a lifetime" experiences. Not sure what photos I'll be putting in this pretty yet, but I'll come up with something!









So there you have it. Thank you Heidi and Kim for an awesome weekend! We went shopping to Target, sang to our ipods, ate, had facials from Heidi, scrapbooked, talked, talked and TALKED. It was so much fun. Till next time, right Kim?




Tal:)

okay, wow...

I realize it has been a while since I've updated the blog. Holy smokes. Time is flying by like crazy these days. Sheesh.

I promise to do a real blog post soon, but for now, a quick little update:

-this week is going to be all about Halloween around here. Lots of parties and activities. We're all getting excited.

-Just spent the whole evening uploading pictures to be developed. Man, that takes a long time. Watched SYTYCD and Dancing with the Stars in the meantime.

-Got back last night from my quick trip to Montana with Kim. We were so lame and didn't take any pictures, but Heidi twittered one of us in class here. Oh, and the weekend was awesome.

-Payton is suddenly getting so old. She's tall and skinny and smart and goes to school everyday. What the heck.

-Kherington is crawling around like crazy. It is just so funny. Nowhere is safe anymore!

-Gabby is keeping me busy, busy, busy. Age 3 is definately more challenging than 2!

Okay, I prooooooooomise that I'll be back soon. I want to share all the gorgeous projects we made this weekend!!

Tal xo

my little family

It's a quiet Friday afternoon and just thought I'd share some of our family pictures that we took in August. We took these before school started for Payton because she needed a family picture and I am so glad we did...we have had the weirdest weather lately and I was hoping to get some pretty fall pictures and it just never happened. So at least we got these!








Oh, I love all these little people. After going through all these photos I think a trip to the Costco photo center is in order! I love getting new pictures.



I'm so excited that it's the weekend. The weekly grind truly wears me out. Even though it's the middle of October I'm still adjusting to the waking up early, getting everyone ready, driving to school and lessons, etc, etc, etc. Life is good, but it sure is busy! Kim and I decided on a whim to go to Montana next weekend to take some classes with Heidi and I cannot wait...a couple days of scrapbooking and shopping at Target. Oh, yeah.


Back soon. Off to celebrate hubby's birthday tonight!



T:)

so thankful...

...for these 3 three little munchkins. For filling my life and my home with craziness, noise, laughter and love.
...for family and friends.
...for my faith and belief in the Gospel. For eternal families and for a Savior who loves and knows each and every one of us.
...for my home.
...for hobbies that make me happy and allow me to be creative.
...for my mattress. I really, really love my pillow-top mattress. It's glorious.
...for a quiet weekend at home on my own. For the chance I had to breathe, sleep, clean and allow Kherington to get better without getting in and out of the carseat constantly. Even though I missed my little family and Thanksgiving with my sweet in-laws, missing everyone made me love them more.
...for a husband who knows me, loves me and puts up with me no matter what. He is my perfect match.



Happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone. Eat lots of pumpkin pie!



Tal:)

my little disaster

A typical shot of Kherington these days...messy hair, a slobbery face and playing in her exersaucer. So cute, hey? Little bug has been sick with a fever, cough and runny nose, so we're trying to survive around here.



Oh, and did I mention that it's SNOWING today??? Arrrggghhh.



T:)

beware: CUTENESS!

Managed to take a few pictures today while the big sisters were at school. This baby is so cute I just want to eat her! Okay, maybe not eat her, but she's had many, many kisses on those cute, chubby cheeks today!











I try to do a photo shoot of little babe on every monthly "birthday". She's actually more like 6 and-a-half months old now, but who's counting? Kherington continues to be the center of attention around here. She's rolling her way around the house now, too...no more putting her down in one spot with no worries! She wiggles and roles and flips from point A to point B in no time...it is hilarious. She loooooves her baths, loves to be tickled and loves attention. She's experimenting with food and we haven't found anything yet that she doesn't like. Although she hates sitting up while she eats so we just lay her down on the floor to feed her. Funny!



Most importantly, she's just a chubby, sweet, bundle of pure happiness. Can't wait to kiss those cheeks when she wakes up in the morning!



:)



UPDATED: Here are some links to the vintage frames I used in these pictures!

these, these and these! Oh, and these and these!

payton's "school box"

Okay, so first of all, it has been waaaaaaaaaaay too long since I've shared anything "scrapbook-y" or "project-y" and that is so sad! I wish I had a good excuse...but all I can say is life has been getting in the way of me doing anything creative. So just so you know...yes, I still scrapbook...I just haven't had any time and my room is a mess, so that never helps. Kim and I are hoping to get together sometime soon and when then happens I will create like crazy!



But until then, this little project of mine will have to do. I actually did this last year and never got around to posting it 'cause when I did it I was in the mega nauseous phase of my pregnancy. Isn't that funny? It all worked out though, 'cause I think it's cuter to show with some fun school stuff already in it. So anyways, this "school box" is a bit of mix of Stacy Julian's "school of life" box that she shared in her book Photo Freedom and Becky Higgins' school folders from her "school days" kit last year or whenever that was. I kind of combined the two ideas to make it work for me.



Super simple concept...for each grade there is a separate clear plastic folder, clearly labeled as to what grade it is for. In these folders I plan on putting everything in it that I think is important and fun and representative of that year. From artwork, to teacher's notes, to school pictures and snapshots from the year, dance photos (and sports photos for some of you!), tests and exams, report cards, whatever! Just any and all of the little pieces of your child from that particular year. In Payton's playschool folder I even added a couple of the talks that she gave in primary, and special pictures and cards for us that she made at church. So you aren't limited to just school stuff...add anything in that is worth it for you to keep! I can imagine this box getting jam-packed to the brim over the years and I can't wait. I'm sure the girls will get to the point that they'll add their own "stuff" to their boxes, and that will be fine by me! They can even be a place to hold yearbooks and that kind of stuff...like I said, anything that defines them in that specific grade!



And now a few details...I bought 2 of these red boxes at Ikea over a year ago, so I have one for Payton and one for Gabby. And of course when I went to Ikea recently to pick one up for Kherington, they don't have red anymore. So I had to settle for white. Aaahhhh! (The OCD-ness in me is still annoyed by this! Haha!) I bought my clear envelopes at Staples, I'm sure you can get these at any office supply store and the font I used for my labels is Rockwell. I created my labels in photoshop and printed them on the Avery clear sticker sheets that again, you can get at any office supply store. (And just a side-note...in Canada, at least where we live, we say "grade 1", "grade 2", etc, whereas in the states you say "1st grade", "2nd grade", etc. So just in case you're American and wondering about the wording on my labels, that's why!)



This project is something super simple and fun that you can work on anytime...even if you don't have school-age children yet. You may as well get them done, right? Gabby's box is all done and ready to be filled this year, and for Kherington's I just need to buy her envelopes and then we'll be set. Remember, you don't have to be a scrapbooker to do this for your kids! Just get an empty box and some envelopes and make a home for all your child's stuff! For me, along with their school boxes, each child will have their own 12x12 "School Scrapbook" that I'll do a couple pages for each grade. I've decided for their school scrapbooks to not be worried about the whole album coordinating, but to just add to it every year and watch it evolve. This is an album that when they get old enough to, they will be welcome to do their own scrapbook pages for that grade. These boxes and albums belong to my girls. They are not mine. These are what they will be able to take with them when they leave home as a memory of their childhood years. I don't know about all of you, but my scrapbooks are mine...I don't ever want to part with them! (wink) So I wanted something that my girls could have that is important and meaningful and representative of them.



Looking at my 3 empty boxes, I am excited to imagine what the future holds. What memories will be made, what treasures will be created, what lessons will be learned over the next 15(?) years. Exciting to think about. What will your children's boxes hold?



:)

one of those days...

Today has been ones of those days....one of those weeks, actually. Graham is out of town working and it seems that everything is harder when he is away. I know, I know, poor me...but you know how it is. So much easier to deal with life when there's someone going through it all with you, right?



I am struggling with some decisions that need to be made, in a few different areas. Problem is, I don't know what the "right" decisions are. Wouldn't it be great if we all just had a crystal ball that we could look into that would tell exactly what we're supposed to do? Don't worry, I am fine...just wishing that things were easy instead of confusing!



I have felt more like a "mom" this past few weeks than ever before in my life. By that I mean, gone are the days when I am at home with my babies with nothing to worry about but them and what time we're going to have our naps. (haha) Gone are the days of waking up when we feel like it, getting dressed when we feel like it, and just doing whatever we FEEL like doing! Getting into the whole school thing is a huge adjustment...for the kids, for me. And it just hit me that every year will just get busier and crazier as they get older and more involved with other lessons and activities. So that is why I am feeling like a MOM...I literally spent all day from 8:20 am to 3pm in the car driving kids to and fro, dropping off, picking up...oy. Like I said, big adjustments.




All that being said, things are still good. I knew that at some point my kids would grow up and we would get to this point...that's life, right? And my hubby will get home tomorrow and I know after that everything will magically be better...but as for today...I am tired. And it's just been one of those days.




:)

gabby's first day

Another week has come and gone, and now my other baby is in school, too. It was Gabby's first day of playschool last week and she had soooo much fun. She was just so excited to be the one going to school after watching Payton go all last year. (It was a long year of "When do I get to go to playschool, mommy?") So anyways, it all went smoothly...Gabby is just so easy-going and sweet...she was just ready to get in there and PLAY!



(Oh, and her favorite color is "ye-yow" so that is, of course, what she wore.)







I love my kid's playschool...it's just such an easy-going and relaxed environment, totally geared to the kids just having fun and learning through play. Gabby was in heaven...painting, cutting, gluing, reading, coloring, playing....what could be better?? She had SO much fun.



(oh, and a funny sidenote...as I was clicking pictures while she played, one of the other moms was watching me and asked, "Um, do you scrapbook?" I guess she just assumed by the bazillions of pictures that I was taking that I was one of those crazy scrapbookers. Haha!!)






(trying to figure those scissors out.)







Again, it was an emotional day for me. Gabby is just so little and teeny, that I didn't want to leave her there..although she had NO interest in me whatsoever once she saw all the fun things she got to do! Haha!! So I stayed for a while and took pictures and visited with some of the other moms before I left. Funny thing was, my mom took Kherington for me that morning so I wouldn't have to lug her around, so when I left, I had no idea what to do with myself! I am sooooo used to always having my kids with me, or at least one of them, so when I walked out of there empty-handed, I felt totally lost and naked. I by no means think I am the perfect mother (FAR from it), but I was sad when this school year started. I love having my kids at home with me. This year has been a huge adjustment, so having Gabby in school was once again, bitter-sweet. So happy for her, but sad for me. I know I need to let my kids grow up and become their own little people, but it is hard. I just want them all to myself.



So, after I convinced myself that I hadn't forgotten any of my children anywhere and they were all, indeed, accounted for and safe, I went to the scrapbook store. And I bought stuff. Nothing like scrapbook goodies to make a sad mama feel better! Haha!



And when I picked Gabby up (a half-hour early 'cause I couldn't stand it anymore), she was nothing but happy, excited and thrilled. It was another big day.



Tal:)