Welcome to my blog!

Thanks for stopping by.
Grab yourself a snack and stay awhile.

This is the place to see sneak peeks from recent client sessions, get to know a little about me and probably more than you thought possible about my kids.

Here are a few things to know about me to get you started:
* I've got 3 kids.
* They are pretty darn fabulous (and I'm not biased or anything.)
* Lists are fabulous, especially ones with bullet points.
* I make a mean chocolate chip cookie (sadly they are the only thing I know how to make and unfortunately one cannot survive on cookies alone...or can one?).
* I use parentheses freely and frequently to indicate my deep, inner thoughts.
* Each person/baby/kid that I photograph has a special place in my heart (and be forewarned: I clearly tend toward the cheesy side in my writing).

Please feel free to leave comments...they always make my day...or e-mail me any questions!

And if you are thinking about newborn photos, call me now, while you are still pregnant, to get on the calendar.

Enjoy!
Judith

Project Time { Giant Ruler Growth Chart }

Well it’s that time of year. The weather is not at its most cooperative in terms of lovely outdoor photography. So I have a little spare time on my hands and have been working hard on some projects around here and thought I might share a few of my favorites (ok, just the ones that turned out like I wanted).

First up is our new growth chart. Since we have lived in this house (7+ years) I have been marking the children’s heights in pencil, on masking tape, (didn’t want to do any permanent damage) in the pantry since I didn’t have/hadn’t seen a growth chart that I really liked. Well recently lots of these giant rulers have been popping up on Etsy and Pinterest and even Facebook and I love them. Totally inspired. Lucky for me I am married to a pretty handy guy which meant that we happened to have almost everything I needed in the garage already and my project came in at about $12…woohoo! (Purchased a new dremel bit, $7, and a number stencil, $5)

Here’s my final product:

(all photos taken with my phone)

And here it is hanging on the wall with ALL their little heights from the past 14 years marked on it:

Clearly none of them are allowed to get any taller than 6′ 6″.

And here’s a little peak at the process:

A few more details of how it happened:

Found lovely piece of reclaimed mahogany in the shop. John cut it to size and planed it to remove the previous finish and to make it nice and smooth.
Purchased alphabet and number stencil at Michaels.
Taped the tape measure onto the wood and carefully marked and traced all the lines and numbers.
Purchased new dremel bit (left that up to John as he knows all the right things to get).
Practiced a ton on a piece of scrap wood since I had never used a dremel before and it was a little tricky to get the hang of it.
Sat on the hard, cold garage floor and started dremeling.
Got major hand cramp and stiff back. (poor old lady)
Moved ruler so it was supported by a ladder on each end (a la saw horse) at the right height for my poor old back.
Finished first round.
Went back and cleaned up a few spots.
Tried black paint in the numbers, didn’t like it, sanded it out.
Hand painted 3 layers of stain (found in the garage) so that the lines and numbers are only slightly darker than the base.
Transferred the existing marks from the pantry wall onto the ruler.
Realized that being a pack rat has its advantages when I found all the papers from each pediatrician appointment (EVER) and could put those heights and dates on too!
John hung it in the kitchen!