Raindrops & Moonlight

Family MINI portrait sessions

2011-09-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

I decided to try some minis again! This time with a real focus... FAMILY PORTRAIT! I was nervous, especially after it was suggested that 10 mins wasn't long enough! BUT I have to say, 10 minute sessions with 10 min intervals was QUITE long enough! Infact most of the time was spent chatting with all these amazing people that I was meeting!

My first session was a 1/2 session for a friend of mine. She was a tad annoyed that I refused to allow her to book if she wasn't going to be in the photos, but alas she was in them and radiant with her husband in her new roll as mom! For privacy reasons I cannot post the photos now, however, its one of my favourites from the day, since it was so meaningful!

The second was very special because she was actually the winner of a free session that I gave away earlier in the year, and time to do them just was NOT working out. We hadn't told anyone other then our husbands that we were doing it! Last minute she let me know she would be in and would have the time, so I squeezed her in and had her handsome husband join her for a few too! She is Dawn from Prairie Lane Boutique! You can find her fb page here. She paints all kinds of creative canvas', boards, mugs, glasses and more, that are great for your home or as photography props! Here is a sneak at her and her work!

The other 6 sessions, each had their own reasons for booking the minis. Each had their own style and family dynamic and it was so fun getting to know the new ones for that few minutes, and seeing some past clients and how much they had grown, and stayed the same too!

All in all, I have to say... FABULOUS!! The sessions went super well, and I'm so excited!!!! I will have to do something like this again! FAST & FURIOUS sessions!!! :)

{Boudoir} Brandon, MB - Miss Ruffle Butt

2011-05-31T08:07:00.000-07:00

Boudoir sessions are great for many reasons, but mostly for the self confidence boost you can get from seeing just how simply stunning the world sees you! In this case, Miss Ruffle Butt came in with some of that confidence already! I hope this gave her more, cuz she is smokin'! With a beautiful heart, a great smile, and some ruffled panties she rocked her session! Can't wait to hear what her husband thinks of it!

Be sure to leave her some love!

Offensive posting....

2011-05-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

To please those who rip out the underwear section of the Sears Wishbook for their 13 year olds at Christmas time and take the long way driving their kids to high school to avoid that Dior perfume billboard.... I will post this most beautiful bootie (and the rest of her gorgeous self) on here instead... Enjoy!

And the winner is.....

2011-05-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

Congratulations!!! If this is you, you have 24 hours to contact me! cntnek@yahoo.ca

2000 Fan Celebration

2011-04-14T22:25:00.000-07:00

**{THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED}**

You've been waiting for it, and finally.... IT'S HERE!!

The '2000 Fan Celebration Giveaway'!

How would you like to win all of the great Manitoba goodies featured below? All you have to do is keep reading to find out how you could win it all!

First, CHECK OUT ALL THE GOODIES!

A to Z Illusions has taken hundreds of photos of everyday objects that appear to be letters. You can pick from these letters to create your family name, or inspirational words in a unique way. They are offering an 8x10 Lettergraph wall plaque with the word LOVE (value: $29)

Princess for a Day has unique and fun tutus and sets as well as hairclips to help the little girl in your life be an amazing little princess! They will be giving a $30 gift certificate for any product in her shop as well as 50% any one item when ordered at the same time! (value: $45)

Sparkleberry Boutique carries beautiful handmade hats for boys and girls! The winner will receive the Jaleesa crocheted beanie size 6-12m in colours of your choice! (value: $22)

Jennifer Enns Photography from Neepawa is offering to the winner one fairy themed aluminum waterbottle with the saying "Spread your wings and let the fairy in you fly" and one coffee themed stainless travel mug with the saying "Forever: is the time it takes to brew the cup of coffee in the morning." (value: $40)

From Prairie Lane Boutique; "Believe In The Beauty of your Dreams" Measuring 12" x 12", this beautiful canvas in based in chocolate brown with antique white lettering. Splashes of bronze and gold, add a brilliant hue to this beautiful piece! Includes attached sawtooth hanger on backside. (value: $22)

Heidi of The Country Mouse makes wonderful decorative block sets for your home. The winner will receive a FAMILY block set from her shop! (value: $40)

Sunrise Mosaics is giving the winner a 'Beautiful Tree' Scabble Jewelry Set, consisiting of One Scrabble Pendant Neclace and matchin earrings! (value: $22)

Whimsies is whimsical creations by Olivia; A mixture of fun and flair with a touch of Whimsy! She is offering the winner a Wool Diaper cover in Brown stripes (any size) & two Round baby washcloths. (value: $23-$33)

CrazyCute: Crochet fun by Meg is giving away an Easter Dress in Sz. 12 months (chest 21" length 15") Beautiful baby dress in a lovely pastel pink color, perfect for Easter! Dress is ready to ship in the 12 months size. It's also a perfect dress for summer as it is light and lacy. Best worn with a short or long sleeved onesie underneath. This sweet dress is hand crocheted with a tiny hand sewn button and a small amount of stitching to keep the ribbon in place. And made with acrylic blend yarn. (value $30)

coffee art - 8x10 matted fine art print by brandon photographer Stacey Luce who specializes in children and maternity.. and odd bits of beauty! (no water mark on actual print) (value $25)

And of course.... A little something from me! From Cynthia Korman Photography & Design hand singed layers of satin make up the flower with a beautiful rhinestone center, accented with black birdcage veiling, peacock eye & sword feathers and a biot. All on a felt pad with and clip. Comes with the wide lace band for ages 2-6 years. (value $30)

***READ ALL RULES BEFORE ENTERING!!! You MUST link to the giveaway on all wall posts and you MUST post on EVERY wall! There is no way to search for a fan... so if you dont write on the wall, we wont know your a fan!***

A to Z Illusions
Princess for a Day
Sparkleberry Boutique
Jennifer Enns Photography
Prairie Lane Boutique
The Country Mouse
Sunrise Mosaics
Whimsies Shop
CrazyCute: Crochet fun by Meg
Stacey Luce Photography
Cynthia Korman Photography & Design

RULES:

How to enter: *You must be a fan of all the fan pages to qualify, make sure you say hello to the sponsors* each entry MUST be a separate comment to qualify. If you put it all in one, its one entry! ONE winner will be chosen using Random.org to receive all the prizes with a total value of nearly $400!

Main Entry :: 'Like' each of the sponsors pages and leave them some love for donating such amazing prizes! Come back here and let me know that you did so! ONE ENTRY

Bonus entry 1 :: Share my blog giveaway link and details on your facebook status! Make sure you LINK to my blog *http://raindropsmoonlight.blogspot.com/* Then come back here to let me know you shared! You can do this once per day, for an additional entry each day! ONE ENTRY PER DAY

Bonus entry 2 :: Make a purchase & get one entry for every $5 you spend at any sponsor page, during the contest period, rounded up! (spend $8 get 2 entries, spend $21 get 5 entries... etc) excludes the cost of shipping. come back here and let me know who you purchased from and how much! ;) *paypal receipt will be required ONE ENTRY PER $5 SPENT

Bonus entry 3 :: Visit http://www.tatyannashope.com/ and learn her story. Come back here and tell me what you think! ONE ENTRY

Bonus entry 4 :: Make a donation to Tatyannas Hope in any amount, during the contest period, for 3 bonus entries, Just come here and let me know you helped Tatyanna (3 comments). *paypal receipt will be required. THREE ENTRIES

Giveaway starts now and will end Sunday May 1st, 2011 at 9pm central time. Winner chosen via Random.org & will be announced on my blog and on my fan page www.cynthiakorman.ca and they will have 24 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. Please note that liking while logged in as your business page, and business profiles are not eligible to win.

I reserve the right to choose the winner. open to USA and CANADA

This giveaway is not sponsored or endorsed in any way by Facebook, Blogger or any of their affiliates.

Dana's Anniversary Shoot

2011-04-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

When my friend and fellow photographer approached me about doing a shoot with her for her husband I of course jumped at it! She wanted some fun photos of her all dolled up and in her wedding dress and so we added some black gloves, I made a lace belt with some things she brought over to me, and then I made a huge feathery head piece for her. She pulled off the whole thing with some black shoes and a pair of fun panties.... (yes, theres a reason for that odd mention!) Here are a couple from the first half of the photos... Lots more coming!

DIY cheese cloth prop

2011-04-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

Have you seen those amazing cheese cloth wraps being used in newborn photos lately?? They are so easy to make and you don't even have to make a special trip to get the supplies. Everything you need is at your local grocery store! For just a few dollars you can have a few wraps in your prop stash too! With Easter around us its a great time for egg dye kits and those will actually work very well to dye the cloth. You can also experiment, just like with eggs, with an assortment of natural dyes, like onion skins (brown), red cabbage (blue), blueberrys (mauvy purple), tea or coffee.

Here are the ones I made last night! All with 2 cups of hot water + 1tbsp vinegar and colour! I used koolaid (wow I found a use for it!), food colouring and tea. I also tried to make a confetti one, which I rushed, but will attempt again.

For the koolaid ones I just used my favourite colour of those packets you have to add sugar to and let them soak for about 20 mins or so. The food colouring and strong tea I used LOTS of but you can play to get the colour intesity you like!

If you want more variety and darker colours i would use Rit dyes... but for now, the koolaid works. As for the confetti one... I wet the cloth and layed it out in a double layer, then sprinkled it with coloured sprinkles! I was impatient and shook them out too soon. :( I will try again tho and let them dry out side before shaking them out. I'm thinking a good long time in a hot dryer, and/or some hot ironing will help set the colours too but really I'm not all too concerned. The 6 of them were about $8 total to make.

If you make any, let me know!

Easter photos!

2011-04-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

Oh my.... Im soooo thrilled with these photos!!! My good friend Stacey (Stacey Luce Photography) took them and I could not be happier! When I'm trying to take photos of these guys i get nothing but fake smiles and goofy kids. :( But with her behind the lens and the two of us saying silly words like bum and fart (boys, right?) she was able to get some GREAT photos of my boys WITH REAL SMILES! not the goofy ones!!! Thank you sooo much Stace~

Im Bad...

2011-03-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Im SO bad at this whole blogging thing. I really do want to do it, but its like maddening trying to make it a routine! Diaries were just as problematic for me growing up. Kept for a week and left for months. Ah, but I tried and it is the thought that counts.

Although it feels as though there isn't anything new going on, I guess there really is! Business has been quite slow with the holidays and I tried to switch over to some print credits in my packages, and found that likely hurt me ALOT more then it possibly helped, so Ive dropped that and things are now picking up again! 2 shoots this weekend, a mat shoot coming up, some boudoirs are in the hopes and early April I will have a super special session that I cannot wait to get into! Picked up some great new props too!

Personally things have been 'fun' as usual! it was a cold winter and we got so much snow it felt like we all lived in giant igloos! So now we have the water to worry about, flooding basements and things. Thankfully if we can get the snow out of our back yard, we should be ok here, but so many people in town may not be. BUT spring has not quite sprung yet anyway!! It's still FREEZING out there!!!

The big thing going on right now is my celebration plans for hitting the 2000 fan mark! *woo hoo* Im gathering a list of all the local crafters and artists in the Manitoba area for an ALL MANITOBA giveaway! I think it will begin mid/late april, but we shall see how the fan count goes... STAY TUNED!

linking up....

2010-10-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

I was approached by one of our local salons here, Modesty Hair Studio to do a shoot. I was so honored to be asked and I had a blast! We were running late and instead of low light we ended up with NO light, but that is ok!! We ended up with some great shots, until the coyotes were getting a bit too close for my comfort!

Nikon D40, f 5.6; 1/100 sec; ISO 400, 18-105mm lens at 35mm, off camera flash

Of course I did add the moon from a shot I took over the summer! The photo itself was just a small adjustment on the curves and some airbrushing to the skin.

Check out Love your shot! and link up your fave foto! ;) And see more from this shoot at cynthiakorman.ca

Happy Sunday!

2010-08-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

Life has been sooooo busy! Between my youngest having a bit of dental surgery, my husband gone alot helping his parents move, photo sessions here and there and just keeping up with the boys and making sure they are fed and played with and loved... there's been very little time for me (or hubby!)

Ive been starting to get templates ready for Christmas photo cards and working on some custom wedding invitations, which I cannot wait to share! I actually did up just a few Halloween photo cards as well! $10 for the jpg with your photo and words and you print as many as you like!

I did FINALLY launch my butterfly fantasy sessions! Ive been thinking/brainstorming/planning etc... for a grande total of over a year but just finally got it all put together and out there! The response has been amazing really and Ive already sent out my first batch of proofs and order forms & I'm working on the second set this weekend!

If you have any moments from your busy day I would recommend that you head over to 6 and still Sane for a giveaway she is running with one of my favourite prizes - some wonderfully soft and fluffy pads from Randumosity! Do go check it out... and happy Sunday everyone!

Put your best face forward!

2010-07-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

Or in this case... Your online shop!
As you know one of the things I enjoy doing is designing logo's and banner & avatar sets for online shops. I just wanted to have some info about what makes a good logo or shop banner. When people go to your shop on Etsy or one of the other online selling sites, your shop banner is one of the first things people are going to see! Even if you don't have a logo for your business you need to have a good shop banner and avatars. They are some of the key factors that help to convey a professional image.

First thing to understand is the logo. What is a logo? A logo is not just your shop name written across a photo of one of the items you sell. A logo is a graphic that will help your business to be instantly recognizable to customers and clients. It will set you apart from others in your field. You want your logo to be original, simple and clean if its going to withstand the test of time.

If your in the market for a new logo, keep in mind that a good logo designer is going to work with you to make a design the suits you and your business, even if you don't know what that is! Your logo should NOT be pixelated and the designer should be able to move, alter, change, add without any issue.

As far as banners go, you can repeat some of the points of a good logo right into your banner set! You want your banner to represent your store, carry your logo well, if you have one, and be crisp clear and uncluttered! Your banner should be more then one or two graphics copied, and flipped over, so there's one on each side.

If your wondering if your banner may need updating, here are some things to ask yourself. Is my shop name clear and easy to read? Is the banner clear and clean looking, or does it feel cluttered and all over the place? Is there a lot of pattern behind your name and tag line, making it hard to read? Does it represent my shop? me? If using photos, are they clear and easy to see? Are the photos distorted, too fat or tall (this one in particular makes your banner look really bad)?

And with either a logo or a banner make sure the designer is using graphics & photos that are free for commercial use, or that the designer does in fact have the copyrights to use them. Just because a photo or graphic shows up on a web search without a watermark does not mean it free to use! The last thing you want, is to have to replace all your business cards, banners, avatars and other stationary because of copyright issues!

There are plenty of designers out there in lots of price ranges and it can be overwhelming. Make sure when your looking for a designer you check out all the sales they've had, look at the feed back they have, good and bad. Actually go and read them. You could even go and message some of their customers to get more details and feed back! Look at the things they are selling and the things they are buying too! Take your time and don't rush into something because of a good sale! Shop around and find the right designer for you.

2010-06-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

Awe, look! Lynelle from Kreations for Kids has sent me a sunshine award!

So here are the rules for the Sunshine Award:

1. Place the logo within your blog or post

2. Pass the award on to 12 other bloggers

3. Link the nominees within the post

4. Let the nominees know they have won by commenting on their blog

5. Share the love by linking back to the person from whom you received the award

I dont have many blogs that i follow right now! Jami from Randumosity has always been around to help me with my blonde questions! Jen is a good friend who has a blog about her family and life! I love soaps... Sweet Sally Soaps has alot of types I would love to try and giveaways to enter!

I know its not 12, but those are my favourites! i have alot of friends and support on Facebook, but the blog is a bit slow! ;) Thanks Lynelle for thinking of me!

And the Winner is... #94!!!

2010-06-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for taking the time to enter the 1000 fan celebration giveaway! Congratulations to Shawna339 who was the lucky comment number 94!! Stay tuned for more giveaways!

1000 Fans Celebration Giveaway!

2010-06-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

I MADE IT TO 1000 Facebook Fans!

As a thank you and to celebrate, I'm hosting an awesome giveaway!!

There will be one winner and entries will be accepted for seven days starting Thursday June 3rd and ending Thursday June 10th, 10:00 pm central time. Here are the prizes that ONE VERY LUCKY winner will be receiving! The giveaway is photographer themed BUT anyone would love to win it I'm sure! So here are all the wonderful sponsors! **open to Canada and US**

Be advised.... this giveaway is not sponsered in any way by Facebook. Posting on your status or to groups is NOT a condition to enter the contest. I, nor my business is not affiliated with Facebook.

1. Ashley from GRADYBUG DESIGNS has lots of gorgeous templates for photographers, and digital papers for the scrapbooker's out there too! She is offering a $20 shopping credit PLUS a free Evan (girl) Accordion Wallet Book Template Great gifts for parents, grandparents, birthdays, and special occasions! **$28 value**

2. PRAIRIE LANE BOUTIQUE, is located in Neepawa Manitoba. Dawn's web page has some adorable handcrafted items that are great as gifts for anyone on your list as well as wonderful home decor items! She is offering up these lovely hand painted 'Mr. & Mrs' signs that would make a fun prop to add to any photographers collection! Check them out here on her Etsy store! **$25 value**

3. Stephanie from LILYBUG TUTUS makes the loveliest poofy tutus! She is kindly offering up one of her custom made creations to the lucky winner as well! She has lot of colours to choose from with satin ribbon to line the waist if you like as well! Newborn and up they make the perfect gift for a little dancer in your life, and an essential prop for photographers! **$30 value**

4. Sew What? is a new shop just starting up on Facebook offing custom camera strap covers to make sure you stand out in style during your photoshoots! They are giving away this lovely pink ribbon cancer awareness patterned strap cover! **$15 value**

5. Janet is the crafty crocheter behind Sparkleberry Boutique! Adorable flowered hats that are sure to add a stylish flare to any little girls wardrobe! Don't worry! She has little boy styles too! They are all customizable! The winner will enjoy a $25 gift certificate from her shop. **$25 value**

6. And last but not least.... A custom logo design by yours truly, Cynthia Korman Photography & Design! The winner will receive a consultation from me for a new logo to get their business going! I also may be sending the winner a special gift as well! **$125 value**

How to enter!

8 ways to enter!

Leave a separate comment for each of the following along with a way to contact you should you be the lucky winner!

1. Go to Gradybugs fanpage on Facebook and if your not already a fan, fan her page and let her know what one of your favourite items of hers is on her wall! Come back here and leave a comment saying you are a fan of GRADYBUG!

2. Go to Prairie Lane Boutique's fanpage on Facebook and if your not already a fan, fan her page and let her know what one of your favourite items from her webpage is on her wall! Come back here and leave a comment saying you are a fan of Prairie Lane!

3. Go to Lilybug's group on Facebook and if your not already a fan, fan her page and say hello on her wall! Come back here and leave a comment saying you are a fan of Lilybug!

4. Go to Sew What?'s page on Facebook and if your not already a fan, fan her page and say hello on her wall! Come back here and leave a comment saying you are a fan of Sew What!

5. Go to Sparkleberry's page on Facebook and if your not already a fan, fan her page and say hello on her wall! Come back here and leave a comment saying you are a fan of Sparkleberry!

6. Go to Cynthia Korman Photography & Design's page on Facebook and if your not already a fan, fan mypage and say hello on my wall! Come back here and leave a comment saying you are a fan of CKPD!

7. Post this message as your status update on Facebook!

Cynthia Korman is hosting an AMAZING giveaway on her blog! Come check it out for over $200 in prizes! http://raindropsmoonlight.blogspot.com/

Make sure your status is set so EVERYONE can see it and come back here and comment 'SHARED! with a link to the post! If I cannot see the post, it wont count!

8. No Facebook?? No problem! Just comment on here on my blog 'I WANT THIS PRIZE!'

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

All comments must be left one at a time for a total of eight entries per person! Open to residents of Canada and the USA only. The winner has 24 hours to respond to the winning notification. In the event that the winner cannot be reached within that time frame a new winner will be selected. I (Cynthia Korman) am not responsible for any non deliveries of winning items. Winner is responsible for any duty that may be charged on items crossing the border.

I DO SEW!!!

2010-06-02T16:28:00.000-07:00

A girlfriend and I have been eyeing up camera bags for weeks now and today I shut off my laptop and put down my crochet hooks and decided I was doing this!!!! Yesterday I had gone out and gotten all the supplies I could think one would need to make a bag & it was sitting here mocking me. So I did it!!!

Got out some Kraft paper and drew a rough pattern and cut it out! Then I carefully planned all my moves from there. I'm fairly pleased with myself though the should pad on the strap is AWFUL and I will be redoing it. Other then that? I'm quite happy! I'm going to make myself a matching key fob and a couple little pouch things to attach to the straps for lens caps and sunglasses and stuff but the big stuff is done! :D

Cant wait to finish it up and more so... to test it out!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

2010-05-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

Bring on some sun!! I promised my oldest when the sun comes out we will sort all his toys and have a garage sale. If he sells enough toys, we will get him and his little brother new bikes. :D We're getting them anyway but he doesn't know that! They do need some sun though. The cold, wet is not nearly as fun for outdoor free time and they are dying to go to the park! So am I!

As most of you know, Ive decided to do an amazing giveaway for a 1000 fan celebration! So excited! I have so far 5 amazing prizes, and waiting on a few more to let me know if they are in, and still looking too! AND I'm planning ANOTHER giveaway already! Just in my head but its there, and you wont want to miss out, I promise!

I'm still playing with the new graphics that I used on the winners of my quickie draw do develop some more PREMADE banner & avatar sets. Stick around, if you don't see something you like yet, don't be afraid to let me know what you would like to see! I can't promise I will always do them, but perhaps it will trigger a great one! You just never know.

Quicky Giveaway Winners

2010-05-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

So I only had two entries for the banner & avatar giveaway! I was going to choose 3 out of all the entries but with only 2 entries it was pretty easy to pick! ;)

Crystal from CT Designs, and Sarah from Tiny Teddies Boutique have got themselves a custom banner & avatar set using graphics that are designed for them, but will be featured in my other pre mades and available to use on future orders as well!

Here is Miss Sarah's banner set! The teddy bears are drawn from her lovely crochet bears that she has for sale on her page!

Banners and Avitars

2010-05-23T22:18:00.000-07:00

If your a part of my FB fanpage, then you have seen my tiny little collection of banner and avatar sets that I started a few months ago. I had done a few fro some friends and myself last year, but kinda sucky ones with no graphics! Well, with any luck my credit card will be here by Wednesday so I will be getting a shop up and running, FINALLY and I am thinking I'm going to be needing a few more of these cute little sets!

Here's what I'm going to do! If you have a shop that needs a fresh look, let me know here, and tomorrow afternoon I will use random.org to pick 3 commenter's to receive a set for free! The final set will be yours to use, and will also go into my collection of customizable premade sets! Though I wont use your colour scheme for the samples.

Keep in mind these are NOT logos! My logos are done using graphics that I DRAW just for you, and I never use the graphics again! Which is the way I think a logo should be - One Of A Kind! Its not really OOAK if you get a 'logo' with graphics from a freeware site, or purchased from another graphics site. I also know how to properly re size a photo, so you wont be getting one of your photos stretched out to cover your banner, EVER!

Here are a couple of the logos I have done :)

You've likely seen them all in my logo album but I thought I pop em in here anyway! :)

Good luck! ;) ...and remember to follow my blog to be elegible!

In my Barbie world.

2010-05-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Slowly, Ive been working my way through my kitchen trying to rid my family of the massive amounts of plastic we use for our food. I use Pyrex where ever I can, and have some smaller dishes to store smaller amounts of food and they work great for lunches. But this process is slow and rather expensive. If I could get a refund on all the plastic/Teflon/silicone items I have purchased in the last 15 years, I would have an AWESOME collection of GREAT stainless steel, and glass and plenty of change left over for the bank!   Do we even need to mention the fact that my donation to the landfills and the amount of leached cancer causing poisons I have put into my body would have been so would have been drastically reduced.

I've mentioned before, my favourite pot; the 12 cup multi pot from Epicure Selections. I love this pot. I could tell you all the fancy stuff, like the wonderful stainless steel, the tempered glass lid, but bleh.. whatever. Anyone who knows a good pot will know by holding it how awesome it is! The shape of the handle makes it fell secure when I'm picking it up, its heavy and has cup measurement lines imprinted along the inside of the pot. There's no awful screws anywhere ready to come loose every time I use it. And I can strain things right out of the pot using the LID!! I love this pot. My favourite part about it? When I boil water in it & there is no coating to flake off, and I can stab at a piece of food with a fork and scrub it, and not worry about a special coating.

I have a ton of pots and pans that I only use when I have to. They are all non stick. One is an $80 fry pan.  I hate them all! Sure they work really well for about 2 weeks.... but eventually someone scratches it and the non stick Teflon starts coming off passing a pepper all through you food. Not to mention that not one of them is even non stick anymore. And they smell funny when cook with them.

We finally got a few more pots! They are not very expensive, but they are stainless steel with a nice glass lid and I love them! I now have my big cast iron pan, my epicure pot, and 3 sauce pans (2 med, 1 large) and this week I am going to throw out my old non stick nasty ones. My next adventure will be adding to my utensil collection! New spatulas and spoons!  Its hard to invest so much money into something only to realize 10 years later we were completely wrong and now have to reinvent the way we go about our day as we try to get back to a healthier way of living!

I'm NOT an environmentalist. But I do wonder about the way we live. The way we are slowly poisoning ourselves with the things we freely bring into our homes and put into our mouths. I'm slowly, bit by bit, trying to become less dependant on our throw away products, and hopefully teach my children that convenience often comes with a sacrifice.

Pancakes Anyone?

2010-05-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

The most creative thing I have ever done with my pancakes is a my husbands and my initials in the middle of a pink heart! Ive never done anything beyond a plate full of mini toonie cakes for my boys! But earlier today a friend of mine (find her blog here) posted a link to a website where this one talented father is making the COOLEST pancakes for his lovely daughter! I'm overjoyed at the memories that this little lady is growing up with! As most of you know, I have many fond memories in the kitchen and I think all kids should! Its a wonderful place to work together and show your children how much you value them!

Check out the amazing thing this guy can do with his pancakes! What is the most amazing thing you have done?? Stop by his fan page, and let him know you heard of him through my blog! ;)

**This photo is from jimspancakes.com**

On a side note... Please remember to hit up my giveaway and get another entry in! After almost one full day, I have 10 new followers on my blog,12 new fans, and 40 entries! Keep it up and good luck everyone!

It's a sweet life!

2010-05-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

Not that I'm not busy, because I really am, but out of boredom I got out my Epicure 12 cup multi pot (I LOVE THIS POT!) and poured in about 1 1/2 cups of sugar a big egg size of butter and a bit of water... boiled it till it started to brown; removed from the heat and added about 1/4c or so of whipping cream. That's right. Caramel sauce. What's it for??? My coffee. It's so good! If the kids were not sleeping I would be whipping some of the cream and topping the coffee with that and some more sauce drizzled on top and maybe some vanilla sugar too! OH YEAH. I'm that bad!

I was looking over old photos of my babies from a few years ago on one of our trips to Dryden. OMG... how they have grown. From little babies to these boys I now have running me mad all day long! I'm so proud of them! These are from 2 summers ago. Oldest was 2 1/2 and my baby was just 1.

I'm all caught up on my crochet items! Just doing some odds and ends for the restaurant logo, and then one other premade logo to do & a birth announcement and I am caught up! :) Which is good because I finally got a CREDIT CARD! I have had one in the past, but never renewed it because I never used it. Now that I'm a SAHM, I cant get one, unless I get my husband to co-sign for me. Boo. Until my good friend directed me to Capital One where they guarantee you one. They are sending it out and then I will find out my pre approved credit limit! I'm excited! I am finally opening a store on Etsy where I will have my Logo designs, photo cards, crocheted items, flowers and a couple other special things that I don't offer right now! Hopefully it all goes well and I make some money off it!

In celebration of that and my pending 7 year anniversary, this week I will be starting a giveaway for a 'winners choice' of a selection of items/services. If you have any idea's for the giveaway, leave a comment here! If you win my giveaway there just might be a little extra something for you with your prize!

Anyway, off to enjoy another cup of my caramel coffee before I go to bed! Good night!

Short n Sweet!

2010-05-14T22:55:00.000-07:00

Oh what a busy week! Actually, its been a pretty busy few months. And I'm not complaining! I love it! Lots of logos, cards, and crochet items! I have a bunch of orders to catch up on yet, but no worries! - I should be caught up by mid week.

Micheals is so deadly for crafters. You need blinders in the place, I tell ya. I went in there for 3 balls of yarn for the trim on my bear cocoons.... $100 dollars later! At least in their effort to save paper, they printed up a coupon for 50% off one item on my next visit. Now I must go back there, right? grrr! I did get the trim though! 3 bear cocoons lined up waiting for their trim! I just need a hammock, 2 hanging cocoons, and 2 lace cocoons to do over the weekend! After that I picked up some stuff to make some sweet limited addition bears!

Catching up and cleaning the house, cooking and playing with my boys... whew! And sleep too. Speaking of which, GOODNIGHT! Im going to finish my coffee and hit the hay!

Tamara, Ryan and "Miss P" - mini fam

2010-05-13T22:43:00.000-07:00

Wednesday afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting this lovely young couple from Saskachewan, who came out for a mini family session. The sun was hiding behind a think layer of clouds, so we got some really even lighting and no squinting! It was also warm and not too windy, so really we had a pretty perfect day to this. Little 'Miss P' is one year old and had just learned to walk not too long ago, so she has that adorable swagger that the toddlers are known for while trying to run away and discover a new 2 legged world! She was very coopertive as long as she had that cluster of pink balloons too!

Bathroom Talk!

2010-05-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

Alright... this is long overdue! Just a warning, I'm about to talk about 'that time' of the month, mother natures visit, Auntie Flo's visit.... That's right!!! I'm about to talk about MY PERIOD!!! So at this point if your easily disgusted by such matters, then I would suggest you move on! Otherwise, read away! After all I'm not going to get too descriptive anyway!

My first visit was when I was 11. I got my first period about 3 weeks after my sister got her first period. She is 2 1/2 years older then me. Apparently I developed early! Not a big deal though. It was during the summer and when I went back to school in the fall I remember a group of us girls sitting on the swings, twirling about, and one girl says 'So. I got my period over the summer'. Another says... 'Ya. Me too.' and then I interjected my own, 'Me too.' And that was that.

Since then I have tried, pads and tampons, put up with so many bad days of painful cramps. Nothing was regular. Not even remotely. I never knew when it was going to happen or how long except for a feeling that it was coming. Fast forward years later. I'm married and as we are getting ready to try for babies, I come to the realization that I'm finally regular! I don't know when it happened but I'm now 28 1/4 days. Yes there is a quarter in there! Then post babies, my cramps are now gone!!! All those missed days of school spend in bed crying. All those T3's... that never seemed to work and now finally I'm happy. Sorta. Most of you moms know what having a couple kids does to your insides and now I can no longer use tampons effectively. All I have left is these awful pads that fold up and stick to your sensitive hairs. I get itchy from them, and they make me cranky. But I'm regular and have no cramps, so really I cannot complain.

So last summer in my quest to go a little greener, I learn about reusable cloth pads. EW!! Seriously??? Well I guess that's how they dealt with things before the invention of Always (or your brand) disposables! And I guess we use cloth diapers on our babies! hmmm...... I do hate store bought pads. So I asked around a bit and wouldn't you know it; LOTS of women use cloth pads! So I search online and on Etsy until I find a pad that I like. And FINALLY made an order. OMG. Why are we not all using these? I love them! I expected some bulk (I mean they are layers of fabric!) but they really are not that bad at all! I love the way the fabric feels on special parts too! Much more natural and NO MORE STICKING!!! Oh how i loathed that! So if I could climb trees (which I'm saving, thank you very much!) or a roof top and shout out that every women NEEDS to try these I so would. LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!!

My journey to become (and my struggle to remain!) a woman has been interesting. Every woman has their own story, there own struggle. And that was a small part of mine! Personal, yes, but I think we need to be more open so that we let others know we are not alone. Its surprising how much alike we all really are and if we can just let go of our fears of being judged and open up to others I think we would all be a bit happier!

And what started out as small insignificant purchase of some pads from a store called Randumosity on Etsy, has also turned into a wonderful internet friendship with Jami who is my official 'Pad Lady!' And she and her little store have now become a small part of my life story of growing up!