Studio Calico Blog Hop

Welcome to the Studio Calico blog hop.

We're celebrating State Fair and Countryside being added to the online shop. Most of you have had the opportunity now to purchase it from your local scrapbook store or favorite online retailer, and now we're happy to provide some additional inspiration.

A fun layout I made using an old photo from my trip to Texas before Claire was born. This was the trip my feet swelled so big and never went down....well, they went down about a week after her birth, but it seemed like forEVER.


And, just a quick tutorial for creating those open scalloped circles.

Choose 2 circle punches, one slightly larger than the other.

Punch the smaller first.

Then, turn the larger upside down and center over the window.

To glue, I used the Martha Stewart glue pen and one of the punched circles as a guide.

Circle punches are some of my favorite tools, but one of my favorite items on this layout is the Heart Veneer, which I will give to one of my blog readers. To win, simply leave a comment here letting me know what you call your grandma. Winner will be posted on April 18.



Your next stop....the amazing Celine Navarro.

And if you lose your way, you can always use the designer links to the left on my blog or on the SC blog (to the right).

Claire's newborn photos

Before I became pregnant with Claire, I knew I wanted to find a spectacular photographer to document her growth during her first year. Since my life is spent on the internet and I believe anything worth having should be bought online and shipped to my door, I turned to my trusty friend, Google.

I also looked at some of my favorite photographers' blogs. Knowing I couldn't afford travel for them to come, I looked at photographers they had linked.

The name, Angela Crutcher kept popping up and I would visit her site each time. The more I saw it, the more I fell in love. She has a way of posing newborns that make them look so precious. She has a way of catching the sparkle in their eyes and the emotion of their parents. Her photos are so crisp, clear, and timeless.

Because of that, she was an obvious choice. If you're in the Nashville area and think you can't afford her, think again. Like her on facebook and sign up for her newsletter. She'll send a deal you can't refuse, then you'll be hooked. After that, I promise you'll pawn anything to have her come take photos of your kids because they are precious moments she'll document that only come once.

You can see more from Claire's newborn session here.

Thanks Angela for a fantastic session and here's to another on Tuesday!

Our House

Several of my readers have asked me to link my house posts all in one place. I thought that was a great idea, so here goes.

• Master Bedroom & Bath
• Living Room
• Kitchen
• Laundry Room
• TV Room
• Twin Bedroom
• Landing
• Kid's Bath
• Guest Bedroom & Bath
• Foyer & Dining Room
• Mudroom & Bathroom
• Claire's Room
  
• Empty house before we moved in
  

thank you's & birth announcements

After choosing Claire's thank you notes and birth announcements, I think my love affair with gray is official.

I'm sure lots of boy-mommas out there are cringing at me choosing gray for a girl when I could have chosen pink, but with a middle name like "thomas" it'll be hard for Claire to be a pink gal. So, I started her off right:




by Vermillion Star Press

by Minted

master bedroom & bath

I realized I haven't posted photos of the master bedroom and bath at our remodeled farmhouse. We didn't make and structural change to the bedroom, but the bathroom was a different story.


This is the area to the right you see when you enter the bathroom. It used to be the closet.
My sink above.
Greg's sink below.




And to the front. There's a door to the right that goes into the new master closet.
You see the door in the mirror, and that's the bedroom door.








Now to the bedroom.

I kept this fixture from our last house because they were going to replace it with a ceiling fan.






I still owe you a few things on my blog that I have planned in the upcoming weeks:

• A post with links to all the house posts
• Tutorial on using paperback books as decoration
• Tutorial on jumping photos (this one will be fun!)
• Tutorial on my Cowlick title
• Claire's birth announcements & thank-you notes
• Claire's newborn photos
• Claire's 5-month photos
  
• A couple cute Claire videos

I'll be working on these, but if I've left anything off, let me know.

we had to do it

What's a visit with Kelly like without a jumping photo?

Look at our hops :)

It's all about the camera angle.

turkey parade

Twas the day before KP came and what did I see?
Lots of creatures were stirring, yes even turkeys!

The feeder was full and the turkeys they made,
Lots of gobbles and noise while all on parade.


KP was nestled all snug on her flight
While visions of farm life danced in my sight.

KP in jCrew and they in the dew
spread their feathers while our cows went "moomoo"


When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.


Away to the window, I flew like a flash
Picked up my camera, and took pictures of these silly turkeys trying to mate in my backyard, so when Kelly came I could show her what she is missing with her big city life.

Hope you enjoyed my take at classic poetry. You can all see now why I was not an English major.

morning daddy time

One trait Claire got from her daddy is that she's grumpy when she wakes up, and it takes her a little bit of lounging around before she's ready to start her day. Food helps, too.

Notice the one leg out of the sleeper. I only have 2 that zip up and have resorted to alternating nights with those because the snaps are too easy for her to get a leg out.

chew chew chew gnaw and chew some more

If it's not her fingers....

It's one of her favorite teethers.

Sophie the Giraffe. Yes, she's pricey, but it's less expensive if you add up all the $3-5 teethers that you're not going to buy because your baby doesn't care a thing about them and only wants this one.

Marina the Mermaid. This is her favorite toy OF.ALL.TIME. If you have a girl, you need this toy. It has seriously kept her occupied for about 90% of her awake time since she was about 2 weeks old. Now, she loves chewing on her tail and the green piece is a seahorse shape that doubles as a teether.


And, now just some random photos that make me happy.


This is Claire's best angle.
Yes, even at a young age, you need to know your angle and how to catch the light. Just ask Tyra.


awww...a cute chubby hand.

Something to remember: Messy hair that hasn't been washed in about 3 days photographs just fine.

Headband by littletownboutique. I love this shop and the owner is so nice. Proud to say I found it before seeing her on the front page of etsy the other day.

new happenings.

Why didn't someone warn me that she'd grow up too fast?

Wait...they did. Lots of people did. And you know what, they were right.

It seems like just yesterday she was a tiny baby and today she's practically asking for her driver's license.

Not quite, but she has started doing this:

In massive amounts.

It's epic the amount of drool she produces.

SUPERBABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!

This was a move I used to do in Pilates class, but I usually didn't have a smile on my face when it was me strengthening my core.


She's a master at tummy time now. Lots of times when she's fussy, all I have to do is lay her on her belly and she's perfectly content.

Almost a wardrobe malfunction there.

We're just enjoying life and hanging on to every coo, gargle and shreek that comes out of her cute mouth. Who knew having a kid would be this fantastic?

(Thanks to Aunt KP for teaching me how to batch resize on PSE. My life is much simpler and you all will be seeing many more photos on my blog because of it!)