MissyMuh

Scrapping show off and a recent family session

Just thought i'd come in and show off some of the layouts i have done for Blue Bazaar lately. I always forget to show them here because once i pop them up in the gallery over there i kinda forget about them LOL...surprisingly i tend to do a lot more Koby layouts for BB than anything else. I think it's just because the topics kinda lend themselves to being more boyish.. anyway here are a few from this year.

And here are a few of my favourite shots from a recent session of mine. These guys were so cool and gorgeous and fun. I spent a lot of time chasing their little pocket rocket of a son around but it was worth it in the end lol

got another couple of sessions coming up this weekend, that's all i really have to say for now though. Time to get the kids out the bath and start cooking tea.

Bloody computers

ok just poking my head in to say sorry for all the people that have sent me emails/messages in the past few days (why is it as soon as i go off-line everyone wants me for something?? LOL).

I haven't been snobbing everyone or fallen in a big hole, my computer just had a bit of a hissy-fit on Sunday and decided it didn't want to start anymore. It has taken until today to get someone out to fix it and thank goodness it was only a minor problem with the power supply and no data or programs were lost or damaged.

Anyway it'll take me at least most of tomorrow to catch up so if i'm a little slow then you'll just have to be patient with me LOL...

in the mean time here are the sneak peeks i promised back on Sunday...

Mummy Monday

Well Mondays use to be known as Mummy Daughter Mondays but for ages now (at least 12 months) i've had them all to myself. MIL now takes Charlee to playgroup and then to her house for the rest of the day and most weeks they even go and pick up Koby from school for me, so from about 9:30 am till 8ish at night i am a free woman. Most weeks it involves lots of shopping and banking and post office visiting and the occasional Op shot wander but today i am broke so i'm sitting at home doing nothing.
Don't get me wrong i actually have a lot to do - mostly cleaning related - but as usual i'm procrastinating LOL.
So here is a few photos...

First a top i crocheted for charlee. The fitting is a bit off, it sits funny at the front mainly because i was using the wrong type of wool. It was all i could find at home after the terrible "day of the lost knitting supplies" , but it'll do.

I actually had a bit of a happy-happy-joy-joy moment last night when i pinched all of my mums knitting needles and left over wool. She has issues with her wrist and can no longer knit so i promptly swiped her entire stash so i'm back in busines YAY!

and just to even things up a bit here's a few photos of the boy

Speaking of photos i'd like to thank everyone who has taken me up on my Autumn/Winter special. I've had a great response but there is always room for more. The details can be found here and also on my website in the Specials section.

I also came across this great resource for people considering having custom photography done with their family. It is really helpful in explaining the differences between hiring someone like myself as apposed to going to a cheaper alternative at a shopping center.
a consumer guide for custom photography

I caught up with Dannii and Jodi the other night and did some scrapping. We had a "crap scrap" night which was Jodi's idea, basically all brought along out crappy old supplies that we have never used or finished using and had to create pages using mostly what was brought. We all shared around our crap and had a good night. I think i got home just after 1am (luke was not impressed) but i managed to get through a whopping 7 layouts and i was really happy with all of them despite the crappy old supplies that were used. Anyway i have keep a few aside for some other projects and one was for Blue Bazaar, so here are the ones i can show off.

Well that's about all i can think of for today, i should get up and do something more constructive....

Autumn/Winter Special Offer

Just because the days are getting colder and we have to start wearing more layers doesn’t mean that the best time for having your portrait taken is over. The lighting at this time of year is gorgeous, especially early in the morning and late in the afternoon. And all those snuggly woolen jumpers and scarves create gorgeous textures and give your portraits a feeling of warmth and coziness.

Because things tend to slow down this time of year I am now offering a special deal for the next three months. If you book a session between now and the 1^st of July you will get the following special:

$150 session fee (to be paid in full on or before the session date)

Plus a 20% discount on all prints and specialty items including digital negatives, canvas prints and coffee table books. . (min order of $200 per family)

Spaces are limited and they will fill up fast so please contact me ASAP to secure your session time

The only bad thing about interstate photo sessions is....

...if it rains you are completely stuffed...and sure enough on the second day i was in Sydney i woke up to rain...lots and lots of rain. I felt ill to say the least especally when i found out my first client was coming from Newcastle (two hrs away) and had been driving since about 6:30am... bugger bugger...

But not one to dwell on the negative i brought myself an umbrella at a 711 and started to walk to the gardens in the rain giving Vanessa a pep talk on the phone, convincing her that all will be well in the end...in the mean time i had visions of spending the entire day and the following 4 photo sessions huddled under said umbrella sobbing uncontrollably...

Thankfully the rain cleared enough for us to get to work. In fact by lunchtime the sun was out and it was so warm i spent the rest of the day sweating and battling the full sun (i thought that type of thing only happened in Melbourne??)

All's well that ends well as they say, so here are a few well deserved sneak peaks for Vanessa and her family (the little one is called Charlee BTW, i didn't think it was possible to find another just as cute as my own but i did)

we got it!

*pause for quick happy dance*

We finally secured the loan for the new cars! Yay! What a relief, we are off to the bank to sign everything today and hopefully we'll pick up the cars this afternoon.

Here is a sneak peek for Susan. I met her and her boys in Sydney on Saturday and had a fabulous time...what a riot these two were... i really like photographing boys. They are always so natural and easy going (i'm sure their parents would disagree about that though LOL).

Catching up

Sydney: Overall it was a successful weekend. I met a heap of lovely people and super cute kids. I stood in line for 45 min at the airport waiting for a taxi to take me to my hotel on Friday night. There were no less than 100 people in front of me when i got there. I finally made it just before 10pm and flopped into bed. I managed to get a lovely sleep in the next day though because my first session wasn't until 11.
Overall it was a good weekend. I have only just started looking at the shots. The weather was lovely on Saturday but not so nice on Sunday morning...in fact when i woke up it was literally bucketing down and my heart sank. But i had to remain positive because it was either laugh or cry at that point. But thankfully by lunchtime the showers had cleared and all was well again.

The kids were ok, Charlee apparently had some troubles. She was really upset and over tired on Friday night when they got home after dropping me at the airport. Apparently she screamed for a few hours and refused to go to bed. And Mum said she was a bit upset over the weekend while they stayed with her. And she didn't leave my side all of Monday but she has perked up again now.

Life: We are going through a very stressful time at the moment trying to apply for a car loan. Both our cars are literally about to blow up on us and no one wants to give us any money because
a) luke doesn't quite earn enough on his own to borrow the amount we need
and b) i'm self employed.
I won't elaborate too much but it's been a right PITA and i am well and truly over trying to prove my income to everyone... We spoke to the bank again this afternoon and hopefully there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Sorry for the whinge, it's all i ever seem to do on here at the moment LOL...in real life i'm not really as depressing (am i girls??)

Scrapping: I've had quite a bit happening over the past months that i haven't spoken much about. i still can't really say that much but it involves a major advertising campaign with Fiskars (which was a challenge to say the least, but also a lot of fun) and also Kerry-Anne Kennerly of all people... anyway i still can't elaborate that much but it has the potential to be VERY interesting indeed.
I have finished up some pages for Scrapniques, here are some sneak peaks because the add on kit hasn't been released just yet.

Speaking of Scrapniques, they have their stamp maker all up and running and are able to create custom stamps for you. I have already designed a couple (one will be included in an up-coming kit) and it's lots of fun. There are a few designs available in the shop (i made a cute set of little duckies that i am hanging out to find an excuse to buy) or you can email a image to them and they will give you a quote.  I'm gonna get them to make me a stamp with my photography logo on it so i can stamp the back of prints and packaging, but the possibilities are endless.

I think that's enough for one night the kids need to be put into bed and American Idol starts in a little while....

(I've been tagged as well and i'll come back and do that tomorrow - i haven't forgotten Ingrid) 

Girls day out

I had a great day today hanging out with my mate Cass and her poppet Harriet. Me and Charlee spend the morning with them just chattin and playin. It took a few U-Turns for me to find the house (i'm not good with city driving LOL) but we got there eventually and after a good hour of shyness Charlee eventually came around enough to at least play next to Harry without too much hassle.

Things have been a bit calmer around here the past two days. I've been giving myself a break with everything and just spending time doing absolutely nothing. I even managed to do some scrapping this afternoon. I can't show any of it because it's design team stuff, but it was nice to get my stuff out and just muck around.

I have booked myself into the Scraptacular Retreat in July, i am SO looking forward to it. A whole weekend of scrapping, chatting, drinking and no kids LOL.  And a bunch of "the scrap girls" are coming from various states to stay as well which makes it so much more exciting.

I'm all ready to go for Sydney now. I have looked up where i am staying, and Cass has even promised me a lift on the first morning to the gardens (she is my first session of the  weekend) and i am feeling a lot calmer about the whole thing now. And i'm actually really looking forward to it.

anyway i'll leave you now with some shots from my last session

Been doin' stuff...

...lots of stuff. On Saturday i had a photo session with a lovely family in Kew. They had two gorgeous girls who both had exactly the same smile LOL...

Then on Sunday we met up with some friends at the Botanical Gardens. It was a stinkin hot day, but we still had a good time. The kids had a ball, i actually didn't take that many photos for a change, but here are a few.

then this morning i had a quick maternity session which i haven't even looked at yet, and i also caught up with Danielle, Kelly and Dannii.
Took a couple of photos but again not too many...too bloomin hot. The kids found a family of snails in the back yard and proceeded to harass the poor things until we distracted them with icy-poles LOL

(oh and the hats they are all wearing were made by www.perfectamity.com, Danielle was doing a product shoot for them using the numerous available children as models, even though the hats were knitted and it was a 34 degree day today LOL...you gotta do what you gotta do...)

Ok, i think that's enough photos for one day.

In other news i am in the process of updating and recreating my website, it's all very exciting let me just say. And i also booked and paid for my tickets to Sydney this morning...again, very exciting. I haven't done any scrapping in weeks even though i have a heap of new things to play with. I just haven't had the time.

Lukes grandmother also blessed me with a mighty big bag of vintage fabrics that she had cleaned out of her cupboards...oh my..heaven! I have had a quick sort through and the keeper pile was far bigger than the donate pile which is always a good thing. Lots of nice corduroy amongst the lot which will be great for some winter pants for Charlee. 

The house looks like a troupe of monkeys has been living in it for a month so i REALLY need to get stuck into it. I was meant to catch up with another friend tomorrow but charlee is so exhausted from the last week of activities that i have decided to stay home (sorry Cass), so i might mark the day as a computer free day and do some serious cleaning...well ok...maybe just a computer free morning...i can't be expected to stay away for an entire day..i mean seriously...

new top and stuff

Just popping in to show the top i made Charlee the other day. I really like this style, it's altered from a top pattern that's meant for stretch fabrics, but because most of my fabrics are non stretchy i had to alter it a bit to make it more movable. There is a button and a split at the back to get it over her head. I think i'll make a few more of these before winter. This oe was made from an old pillowcase i picked up a while back. One pillowcase for the whole top...now that is efficient LOL

I was going to take a photo of the Lion i'm crocheting for Koby as well but the battery on my camera died just after i uploaded these so that will have to wait until later. I have a list of projects a mile long i want to get stuck into but i have made myself an agreement that i will not start anything new until i have finished what i am currently working on. A few things i'm wanting to make include this, he is actually knitted but i'm gonna see if i can nut out a crocheted version. I also want to have a crack at one of these (maybe a little too ambitions i'll admit) and also this  ... cute cute cute.

I caught up with some more of my sisters friends yesterday and did a mini photo shoot. Again, these two are technically now in their 20's but still pass as "teens" so perfect for my portfolio. Both were very self conscious, but great sports and were willing to take my somewhat random ideas and directions LOL. I haven't finished editing them all yet but here are a few shots.

that's all for today...i need to get stuck into the pile of washing that's sitting on the couch in the lounge room, it has been gradually getting bigger and bigger and if i's not dealt with soon it has the potential to bury one of the kids alive.....