My Creative Escapes - photography, crafting, DIY and more

2.11.13 - crazy kid

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 02:16:00 +0000

I love my Hay - some how she managed to pull off this look:

2.10 - Day after celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 03:12:00 +0000

Day after celebration.

Yesterday was my middles 5th birthday. One of the gifts her grandma gave her was a bag of coins. I think this was her favorite gift of all. The kids spent all morning counting the money, stacking, knocking them down. Who knew $5 of coins would provide so much entertainment!

She finally found something to try and stack the coins against so she could build them higher without them falling.

I love the seriousness on her face. Then after she insisted on cleaning. So - who am I to question that :)

2/6/13 - Flash

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 03:16:00 +0000

So tonight I wanted to play. I busted out the flash - set it up on the stand with the umbrella. At first I was trying to get the kids in a certain place, then I realized why not bring the flash to where they wanted to sit. So I had time to play. I have a lot to learn about my flash, but it was fun to play tonight.

Here is my SOOC:

1/160 Sec @ f/2.5, ISO 250 with my 50mm - Flash set up to the right of her at about 1/8th power

I ran Florabella - Colorplay - Subtle Color - B/W

Back to Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 02:54:00 +0000

It's been a real long time, and needless to say - we have been through a lot. I am still working up the nerve to blog about it.

But - in the mean time, I want to blog more. I want to be able to look back and see what my kids did each day - and watch my photography grow. I have been doing a project 365 for over a year now - ok, I would be going into my 2nd 365, where I take a picture a day. I want to start blogging them.

This one was a few days ago - but I love:

Here is my SOOC:
1/250 sec @ f/2.0, ISO 5000

And my edit. I think it looks better with less toys :) I ran a Florabella Action - LOVE HER! It was from her ColorPlay set - Subtle Color - used the B/W, with minor tweaks. Then of course I cloned out and fixed my playroom floor :)

I just got a new camera (Nikon D700), and realized I didn't read the manual - it's slightly different than the D7000. And I found the settings I wanted. I was very excited!

Boy's Bedroom Makeover

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 01:55:00 +0000

My little man turned 3 and I wanted to update his room!

I was inspired by the storage from Kate over at Outnumbered with her toy room makeover. Didn't she do an amazing job!

I used the following plans from Ana White - there was the Open Base and then the cubbies.

Here is a bad before - I forgot to take a before - before I started painting.

Then I got painting:

Then I finished the closet:

Here is the before.

Then I added the closet:

I added a few signs that I made with my cricut.

Then I got all the boards cut - and then painted....

Then I put it all together!

They each have the cubbies storage inside.

He has a little reading nook - I made the shelfs too - guess from who - yup - Ana White - I just made them shorter to fit.

I made the step stool from Ana White's plans here:

I made all three sighs. The Truck, Bus and Car, the Star Wars and the Alphabet. I spelled out M-I-K-E-Y in orange.

I have to say - I am super proud of his room! The investment for the closet was around $120, I had paint on hand. The investment for the storage for the toys was about $220 - that included the bins, sheets of plywood (I used cabinet grade plywood - I wanted it to last), wainscoting, the totes, hinges, and knobs. It took a little over a week - I painted it before it was assembled, and sanded in-between each coat of primer and paint.

So let's take a look again at the Before and Afters:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 01:59:00 +0000

This one is for my good friend Carrie - she informed me that there is about 100 days till Christmas and she wants to be able to take some tree pictures.

So I looked back through my December 2011 pics and thought I would share some of the exposures. I have learned a lot since then, they are far from perfect - but - they work for me. The biggest recommendation I have is to practice!!!

This one was my first attempt in November 2011. It was hand held so a bit shaky, focused on the tree vs. Mikey. I tried to expose to the right of the tree I think.

1/25 sec at f/1.8, ISO 640

A tad bit underexposed - but - hey - I like it!

1/100 Sec @ f.2.2, ISO 6400

1/100 sec at f/2.2, ISO 4000

1/80 sec at f/2.2, ISO 4000

Because my aperture was at 2.2 there was no bursts in the lights.

1/80 sec at f/2.2, ISO 4000

Brianna - exposed off her face:

1/80 sec at f/2.2, ISO 4000

Hay hanging ornaments. Exposed off her face.

1/100 sec at f/2.0, ISO 4000

The higher the aperture the more the burst: 10.0 sec at f/22, ISO 320

0.5 sec at f/22, ISO 3200

Playing - I have lots to learn on outdoor: 10.0 sec at f/22, ISO 1000. The shutter speed was super slow to make up for the higher aperture to try and get some sparkle.

Christmas Morning: 1/100 sec at f/2.2, ISO 6400

And this one is for you Carrie!!! An old image - but relevant for tonight!!

1/4 sec @ f/2.0 ISO 100 - I was going for a lower ISO for a crisper image - and took this on the tripod.

DIY Step stool for the kids

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 01:27:00 +0000

Well - I had another crazy productive weekend. I should learn to take a break...

I had built my middle child a step stool when I did her bedroom. And it always makes it's way into everyone else's room. So I thought I would make these stools here. I just adore Ana White. I am really working on turning my house into a homemade house....But anyways.

Here are the step stools I made - they are perfect for getting in and out of bed - brushing their teeth - trying to get their clothes on a top shelf.

So this one is Haydens - the first one I built. She wanted it Pink.

I did this one today - out of scraps - FREE!!! Whooo hooo. She wanted green - it goes with her room.

Then a little sneak peak to Mikey's room - this is the accent color in his room.

Then here is a quick sneak peak at one corner in his room. I am super excited!

Oh - and we got a dog pen built for our new puppy! We kind of winged it - and it worked out great.

Bins for the Mudroom

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 01:59:00 +0000

I just realized now that I didn't post pictures of the mudroom we did. So here it is - with the bins I made.

It started as a pantry with doors - and it drove me crazy!!! So the doors came down and everything on the inside was built.

It has been done for a while, but wasn't finished. So I made the bins and added a shelf to add more shoes on the bottom.

Before it was just a big huge square and the shoes were always all over the place. Now there is a shelf to help organize them!

Then the bins - there is 5 in total. I got the idea from the amazing Jamie at That's My Letter with this plan.

I think I am going to monogram them with everyones initials.

I painted them the same color as our front entry to bring the two rooms together.

I am happy that it is done. Well almost - a little trim to replace. But - we are

I built my kids a house!

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 03:21:00 +0000

I built my kids a house...ok, a playhouse - but - they'll love it all the same!

What boggles my mind, is that I can take a stack of lumber, and turn it into something amazing!

Everything I did, I did by using the amazing Ana-White plans.

I started on Tuesday by framing it.

It's starting to look like a house.

Then we went on to the deck on the Wednesday.

Made sure it was square and straight secure.

One thing I learned through the process was to check for square! It says it in all the plans, and I never do. Let me tell you - it's important :) I was off by 4 inches - let's just say if I didn't check - I don't think my house would have went together in the end!

On Thursday I took a little break to soak up the kiddo's on my vacation - we did a little reading where the house would go. Friday and Saturday I painted and painted some more. Oh - and on Friday I decided to build the picnic table and chairs too!

And today it all got assembled. My first pass at roofing too!

Here is the picnic table.

The two gable walls.

The three (I build 4) chairs, each kid got to pick out their own fabric. I made pillows to match too.

The front side:

For the shutters I took some leftover wainscoting and 1x2's and made 6 quick shutters. For the front door, I took the door cutout from the front of the house and trimmed it out with some 1x3's.

I think the three of them will like it!

It was a lot of work - but it makes me so crazy excited to finish something like this, and watch my kids grow with it and play with it!

Teacher Appreciation Gift

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Sun, 13 May 2012 02:38:00 +0000

So this week was teacher appreciation week. I tend to go a little nuts and like to have custom gifts for each of the teachers. So this year I went to the amazing Ana White for inspiration. And I saw her Wood Magazine Files.

So I went to work in the garage. I had a lot of plywood left over from when I did Hayden's bed. I got to cutting, I set out to make 6 of them - but ended up with 7 - I don't know how that happened.

The funny thing is that when I went to finish them - they didn't line up perfectly how I wanted them to. So I ended up putting a different spin on them and covered the whole thing with scrapbook paper.

Brianna ended up bringing three to school - one for her teacher, one for the aide and then her favorite - her gym teacher - we made a special one for him.

Hayden brought two for each teacher to daycare, and so did Mikey.

Then I whipped up some handmade cards with a little apple and a thank you stamp. Forgot to take pictures of that.

They are cute and functional - and I had everything on hand! Even better!

A new Bed for Hayden

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:35:00 +0000

So if you haven't noticed - I just adore Ana White I have built so many projects. My latest was my biggest!

Here is the final project! I used these plans.

It's amazing that this can turn into the photo above! Here is all my 3/4 inch cabinet grade plywood ripped into their individual widths. It was about $200 in lumber. I was so proud - during this project I overcame my fear of the circular saw - it's now my new BFF!!

Here are the 1x2 and 1x3's. And the 1/4 inch is under there too ripped to the right width. Don't mind the crazy dirty, unorganized garage. After this project it got a make-over!

Starting to see progress!!!! It all came together! It's built - just needs to be sanded and primed and painted. What was entertaining is I was a WHOLE SHEET SHORT!!! I only accounted for one tall tower - I didn't double it - so I found pieces floating around and made it work. That piece on the far right - yup - that was a mis-cut piece of MDF left over from yet another project!

Yup - messed up the footboard too - I couldn't get it to work - because I was short. So I improvised with beadboard - and I am in love with it!

What's crazy is I took one of the busiest times at work (I work full-time with three little kids), to build this when I got home. It was something I could have control over.

I need to start liking this stage better - but I just don't yet. The painting. I did buy a Wagner sprayer- it worked pretty well. Ask me how the 2nd time goes though - to see if I cleaned it well enough.

I set up shop on a windy (don't recommend a windy day to use a power sprayer!).

I set up a sheet and had a roller and brush on hand - and was able to get 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint on in that day.

Then the assembly part!!! Everytime I go in Hay's room I smile with accomplishment! I did it - and I did it all by myself (with the exception of the actual moving of the furniture!)

Hay plays more in her room than ever - now that she can find all her toys!

I adore Ana White!!! I built the caddy from her site too. I built 7 last easter.

The letters, and accessory pieces on to of the middle, all came from Hobby Lobby.

The bedding came from Target, and the baskets came from Joann's.

Here is how the footboard came out being "cobbled" together from leftover bead-board and 1x2;s and 1x3's!

My husband picked out this molding - it was a nice extra touch! (I should probably fill my nail holes)

There is so much storage - her jewelry, stuffed animals, nick-nacks. I love it

I also built the dress-up center for Hay's birthday last year.

I made 5 of these doll beds for Christmas.

Tried to get the whole shot in the mirror.

The project was so worth it!

Overall I think the room cost me around $500 - this included crown for the whole room, new bedding, accessories including almost 10 baskets. I think that's a good price for a whole new room!

Sloppy Joe

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:21:00 +0000

It was so entertaining watching my youngest trying to eat sloppy joe's!

I am loving storyboards - they are so much fun!

Time Out

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:46:00 +0000

This is what happens when Mikey throws a tantrum at dinner - time out.

And his "mean" face.

Things I don't want to forget:

Hayden's favorite number is :Sixteen eight or fifteen eight - not really a number - but loves to say them.

Mikey loves to play with his cars and trains - there are no other toys.

Brianna had a her first day of an all day "camp" because school is out for the week. My husband says "So what was the best part of today", Brianna "I'll tell you what the worst part was Dad - having to go to that place, I'll tell you the best part - when you picked me up", all said with a straight face - that little ham!

Dinner and Playing

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:51:00 +0000

I am trying to remember to blog more about my own kids and what I want to remember.

A typical crazy night at our house.

They like to ham it up for the camera.

Mikey being his crazy self when the camera get's broken out.

Then it's off to the playroom. Mikey watching Diego getting out his binoculars.

Brianna screaming "Take my picture!"

She got a new watch today and told us what time it was every 10 minutes. She was very proud of it!

So you are telling me that you don't want me to dump out all my cars?

He can play with his Little People ramp for hours!

This is his favorite place to be.

Have I mentioned how much I love them lately?

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:32:00 +0000

Have I mentioned how much I love them lately?, a photo by Carrie Callahan Photography on Flickr.

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers equal to your task. --Phillips Brooks

What I learned from my 4 year old

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:02:00 +0000

I felt as though my middle child was neglected a little (typical of a middle child right!), so I made a date with her. Selfishly our first stop was a photo shoot :) Don't worry the rest of the day was all about her.

During that day I learned so much about her and myself.

So we started on our adventure to the location - she was as happy as could be.

But - then she kept stopping. And at first it drove me crazy! I was thinking to myself - Hurry Up! She kept stopping and putting her foot in the fresh snow to see her foot print, then wanting to see mine.

I stopped and thought - what am I in a hurry for? Where are we rushing too? If this day is for her - why am I rushing her through it. Is it a race - a race to what?

So I stopped my crazy fast pace - and just stopped. Stopped to just be - and just be with her - and learn with her in the simplicity that she sees. We were out there for about an hour or two - and her fresh prints in the snow never got old to her.

So we took our time and found our location. She marched forth with a new world surrounding her. She soaked up everything behind her and rejoicing in what was in front of her.

She is so energetic. She takes life by the horns.

She smiles - all the time. She exudes happiness and joy! If you hang around her long enough - it's contagious. You can't help but smile too.

If I had to guess, she'll keep moving forward, only to turn back to reflect on the fun that she's enjoyed, not the mistakes she has made.

She is carefree...a free spirit...

Happy - to the point where people ask me if she is ever sad. "Does she really wake up like this" And the answer is yes.

She wakes up smiling at the world, ready to take it on.

Never bothered if someone has something negative to say to her - she just keeps marching forward. Even at 4 she is confident in who she is.

She is so small in this big world - and has taught me so much.

She continues everyday to teach me to slow down, embrace life and find the joy in the little things.

Even if it's just a foot print in the snow.

Beauty surronds me everywhere - Hay's showing me I just need to take the time to slow down and enjoy it more.

Bedtime routine

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I am trying to capture more of the day to day in my house - these are my girls as they are going right to bed.

1/60sec at f1/8, ISO 5000 (On 35mm f1.8)

1/250 sec at f1/8, ISO 5000 (On 35mm f1.8)

Sick kids - no fun :(

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:44:00 +0000

I think the part I like least about being a mom is the feeling of being out of control. Especially when they are sick. My oldest isn't feeling well - a few days with a fever, and out of school all week.

They make these cool thermometers now. You can stick it on their forehead for up to 48 hours and it monitors it.

Then we went from upstairs to the couch for some healthy lunch....Lucky Charms!

Mmmmmm....Yummy

4/52 - Imperfection - My Four Hens Project 52

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:27:00 +0000

4/52 - Imperfection, a photo by Carrie Callahan Photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:

When I first saw the challenge was "Imperfection" I couldn't really think of anything. I was at a loss. To say that 2012 has gotten off to a rough start would be an understatement - so when my oldest came down sick - again - it ranked right up there for my "imperfection" opportunity. She is on day 3-4 of a 103.5 degree fever. So today I spent all day with her. Checking her temperature, giving her medicine and finally ending up on the couch eating Lucky Charms for lunch while watching some old school Pink Panther. Imperfection at it's finest!

Project 365 Day 66-75

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:28:00 +0000

Day 66

Good day of just playing - Hay playing with the toys her mommy makes.

Day 67

I love this shot - don't know why - but - I love it.

Day 68

Hayden entranced.

Day 69

It makes me so happy to see the kids sitting on the table I built.

Day 70

I am doing a 30 day challenge - and the first day was a self portrait. I set up my lights and played around.

Day 71

Our Zone Doggie

Day 72

This was also part of the 30 day challenge - clouds - I had to wait till sun set to see an

Day 73

Again - part of the challenge - something Green.

Day 74

My HayHay first thing in the morning as she is waking up. I could just squeeze her!

Day 75

Another challenge one - low angle - this is another one of Zone. It shows her character a lot.

So excited - I am 75 days in - and haven't missed a day! I think I am all caught up here - I am going to try and post once a day.

Project 365 Day 56-60

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Day 56

My mom getting my daughter on the bus - pleasant surprise.

Day 57

I felt bad - she was sick too - it's been taking it's course around our house.

Day 58

Took a trip to a new park - one of my favorites of the day of my Hay.

Day 59

All the kids went to bed and I was looking for something to take a picture of - haven't missed a day yet. This stood out to me - med's for my little man.

Day 60

Hay stepping up and doing her share around the house - the dishes.

Project 365 Day 51-55

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

51/365, a photo by Carrie Callahan Photography on Flickr.

We were waiting for my husband to get out of the store - and I was loving the light coming in from the windshield!

52/365, a photo by Carrie Callahan Photography on Flickr.

A mini accomplishment - getting blinds hung in my kitchen - I love the lines!

53/365, a photo by Carrie Callahan Photography on Flickr.

This is my Hay putting her shoes away when we get home from school.

54/365, a photo by Carrie Callahan Photography on Flickr.

Trying to get in front of the camera more with my kids. I set up the tripod and randomly shot some pics.

55/365, a photo by Carrie Callahan Photography on Flickr.

Whenever I see this pictures it makes me sad. He was so sick - temp at 104 for three days - just curled up in my bed.

Project 365 Day 61-65

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:44:00 +0000

Day 61

MP doin what he does best - playing trains in his room. It's a Thomas overload.

Day 62

Kids were in bed - this was my subject for the night "Big Linc"

Day 63

Ahhh - the vain of my existance - dishes!

Day 64

First day of a lot of snow - what did we do - we went sledding - it was a blast! Good family fun.

Day 65

We shaved off his mohawk - we were hoping that would knock out some of the punk...we were wrong.

Girl time

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

This year I am going to try and document more for me. I have been loving exploring photography, and I want this to help me preserve the memories. Also - I want to try and focus more on my family - so tonight we did girl time when MP was in bed - we got out Barbies and our magnetic dolls.

My Hay - she get's so intense about things.

Bean - getting ready to open a Barbie.

She was so excited that she could use her scissors from her new art set - too bad they didn't work.

I don't know why - but I love capturing my kiddo's feet.

Just like her mommy - trying to hoard all the pieces.

She got so into brushing the Barbies hair.

Time to pick out our book for bed!

I set up the camera on a dresser - got the remote - and got in a few myself. The girls didn't even know I was taking their picture.

Side note for those photographers out there - I didn't use any flash - this was all at 8pm so it was dark outside. I don't think I shot below a 6400 ISO (1/60 @ 2.2). On the last one I wanted to up the f/stop and shutter speed a little - so I shot at 8000 ISO, 1/100, f/2.8)

Project 365 - Days 46-50

noreply@blogger.com (Creative Escapes) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Day 46 - More Cousins!

Day 47 - Sister's

Day 48 - New backdrop!

Day 49 - Playing some more

Day 50 - New Haircut