Over the winter holiday vacation, I had a job to do!  In the process of re-branding the studio, I’ve been redecorating with the help of Sarah Ann Designs (interior design) and Taylor Galen Workroom (drapes).  Since the fall of last year, I’ve been looking for a piece that would go under the double windows, hold a bunch of stuff and display things in a fun and unique way.  I’d been looking so long, I had given up many times and gone months without looking.  But on a Sunday in November, I revisited a flea market/antique store that is one of the many places I love going to on a free weekend.  Scavenger Hunt on Clairmont and Buford Highway, you know, the one with the old fire truck in the parking lot.  On this lucky day, I discovered a cabinet that would be perfect.  It’s amazing that I was even able to spot it because it was covered in trinkets, vases, even a lava lamp.  But I could tell it was different and really cool.  I went back the next day to get it (after measuring, of course!) and decided I would attempt to refinish it, antique it over vacation.  I was originally going to paint it a neutral shade of cream or white, but after going to Home Depot and discovering this color, I couldn’t resist.   The color is called “Retro Avocado.”  How awesome is that?

With the advice of one of my clients who has been antiquing furniture for years, I had a step-by-step process and all I had to do was complete it.  Just like every project, it took longer than I anticipated but I love the way it turned out.  In case you’re curious, the original color of the cabinet was the medium-tone wood color peaking through the roughed up parts.

As I was cleaning the cabinet and removing the hardware, I made a really cool discovery.  The cabinet used to be a tv cabinet.  You know, the kind of tv that my grandparents used to have.  Big, bulky and no remote!  The previous owner had covered up the back of the cabinet with contact paper and when I removed it, I was delighted to see holes for all the tv controls.  RGB adjustments, vertical hold, circuit cleaner….  Apparently it was a Magnavox made in Fort Wayne, IN (the hometown of a close friend.)  Such a fun discovery to learn that this “new-to-me” cabinet has so much character.  It’s nice to own a piece of furniture with history.  I love that I was able to give it new life.  Plus, it holds everything I need it to hold – bonus!

You may remember these adorable twins from their newborn portrait session in November.  I just loved photographing them and creating their birth announcement was like the cherry on top.  I just have to share their birth announcement because it’s my new favorite design.  I customized our “Paper” card design to include a picture of each of the babies (tutu and hand-knitted cap and all!) and one picture of them together.  The watercolor paper adds some great texture and goes perfectly with the watercolor design.  On the inside are their names, birth weight, length, date/time, and mom and dad’s names.  Love!

Just having a little fun today.  Ahhh, the memories….

My favorites from this list

11.  I was all over slouch socks.  In fact, if my father’s socks weren’t properly slouched, I forced him to stand still while I corrected his fashion nightmare.
23.  I thought Molly Ringwald was cool, but I wasn’t sure if she was really cool.  I was told I looked like her back in middle school – short curly hair, fair skin.  I can’t blame anyone for that.
33.  Man, does that picture of the Atari bring back memories.  Hours sitting on the floor with my brother …losing every single game to him.  My favorite was the Summer Olympics pole vaulting.
47.  I “totally” (so 80′s!) wore biker shorts under my skirts.  (So embarrassed!)
60.  I used to pretend I was Joey from Blossom and say “Woah!” all the time.

Which are your favorites?

You know you grew up in the 80′s if…

1. You had a crush on one of the New Kids on the Block members.
2. You wanted to be on StarSearch.
3. You ever uttered the word “Radical!”
4. You wore jelly shoes and jelly bracelets
5. You thought “Ghostbusters” was by far the coolest movie
6. You remember watching shows like “Punky Brewster” , “Webster”, “You Can’t Do That On Television” “Wild & Crazy Kids” and “Double Dare”
7. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off. Or even when he had those freaky eyes in “Thriller” at the end of the video.
8. You wore a banana clip in your hair or one of those slap on wrist bands at some point during your youth.
9. You rolled up the bottoms of your splatter painted jeans.
10. You wore loafers with everything, and you put the laces in those little rolls.
11. You had slouch socks, and puff painted your own shirt at least once.
12. You owned a doll with ‘Xavier Roberts’ signed on it’s butt.
13. You knew what Willis was “talkin’ ’bout.”
14. You know the profound meaning of “Wax on, Wax off.”
15. You can name half of the members of the elite “Brat Pack.”
16. You can remember watching Full House and Saved by the Bell for endless hours!
17. You have seen at least 10 episodes of Fraggle Rock.
18. You yearned to be a member of The Babysitters Club, and tried to start a club of your own.
19. You sat on your back porch, playing with your “My Little Pony” , “Rainbow Brite” , and “Strawberry Shortcake” dolls
20. You know that another name for a keyboard is a “Synthesizer.”
21. You hold a special place in your heart for “Back to the Future.”
22. You know where to go where everybody knows your name.
23. You thought Molly Ringwald was REALLY cool.
24. You know what “sike” and “not!” mean
25. You fell victim to 80′s fashion : big hair, crimped, combed over to the side, big hoop earrings, and possibly the worst:you wore spandex pants.
26. You wanted to be a Goonie, or Elliot from E.T.
27. You owned an extensive collection of Cabbage Patch Kids and trolls.
28. You knew “The Artist” when he was humbly called “Prince.”
29. You actually saw Ted Danson as the MacDaddy he played “Sam” to be.
30. You ever wore flourescent -neon if you will clothing….
31. You could breakdance, or wished you could.
32. You know who He-Man and She-Ra are.
33. You remember when ATARI was a state of the art video game system.
34. You know all the words to “Ice Ice Baby”.
35. You remember MC hammer well.
36. You can still sing the rap to “Fresh Prince of Belair”.
37. You own any cassettes.
38. You were led to believe that in the year 2000 we’d all be living on the moon.
39. You remember and/or own any of the CareBear Glass collection from PizzaHut.
40. Pizza Hut was the coolest place to hang.
41. Poltergeist freaked you out.
42. You carried your lunch to school in a Gremlins or an E.T. lunchbox.
43. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the ONLY female smurf.
44. You wanted to communicate with some being named Cinergy, or you wanted green hair like that lead singer of the Misfits.
45. You totally LOVED Barbie’s cooler, punkier counterpart, “Jem” and her “Rockers”
46. You wanted to have an alien like Alf living in your house.
47. You wore biker shorts underneath a short skirt and felt stylish.
48. You wore tights under shorts and felt stylish.
49. You layered your multi-colored slouch socks, and added suspenders to make your outfit complete.
50. You ever had a Swatch Watch.
51. You actually spent countless hours trying to perfect the care-bear stare.
52. You had a crush on one of the Coreys
53. You remember when Saturday Night Live was funny.
54. You had WonderWoman or Superman underwear.
55. You wanted to be The Hulk for Halloween.
56. You believed that “By the power of Greyskull, you HAD the power”
57. You thought that Transformers were more than meets the eye.
58. Partying “like it’s 1999″ seemed SO far away!
59. You watched the Pound Puppies.
60. You know that “WOAH ” comes from Joey on Blossom.
61.You know what Parachute Pants look like and feel like.
62. Skateboards had tailguards, nosegaurds, rails and one kick.
63. You know what Parachute Pants look like and feel like.
64. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday Morning to watch cartoons.
65. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
66. You saw the original “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” on the big screen…and still know the turtles names.
67.You traded Garbage Pail kids in the schoolyard.
68. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.
69. Sunnyboys!
70. You remember going to the rink before there were inline skates.
71. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
72. Your motto was “Don’t worry, be happy.”

List courtesy of http://www.backtotheeighties.net/80s-kids/.

Client Room Inspiration time!  One of the many installations we did during the holiday season was from Claire’s portrait session at her grandparents’ lake house in South Carolina.  Claire and her parents sit warmed by the morning light with feet dangling in the water and enjoy a quiet moment as a family.  The rustic white frame works perfectly with the antique furniture in their breakfast room.  Seeing this picture everyday is a wonderful way for them to remember Claire at 3 years old and remember all the great times they had at the lake house.

Today’s Picture of the Day of Norma, Rob, Gabriel and Noa is all about LOVE.  One of the many things I love about photographing families is witnessing their love in its many forms.  For me, snuggling is one of the best ways to visualize how close children are to their parents or siblings to one another.  And this family picture really says it all.  It’s the simplest of moments on mom and dad’s bed that can leave the biggest impression and the most lasting memory of childhood.

The holiday season here was a busy one with so many clients wanting beautiful portrait photography for their families.  You may recognize this awesome family from the Vacation Portfolio or remember their living room with the beautiful fine art canvas from their session in San Destin, Florida. 

I’ve been photographing them since their oldest, 7 year old Avery, was just 6 months old, and I just love seeing them every year.  This year we headed to Barnsley Gardens Resort for a fun session in and around the ruins.  Their dining room is the perfect space to enjoy the artistic portraits with guests.  They selected a Fine Art Metal Cluster for it’s durability against food and drink that may splash up from the buffet.  Just a quick swipe with a soft cloth and the mess is gone.  Shouldn’t all fine art be that easy to care for?

I love the subtle use of color in the black and white pictures.  Flanking with black and whites really makes the vivid color in the main image pop.  I think their dog likes the pictures too.

I hope this Client Room helps you see how you can incorporate beautiful fine art photography of your family into your home.  We’re always available for in-home consultations.

Just for fun.  Our STuFF posts are all about fun and interesting things.  You know how much we love the Muppets at our studio but I hadn’t seen this until my 3 year old niece invited me to watch with her over Skype.  She giggled the most when the Swedish Chef dances.  My favorite part is when all the appliances make music.  I hope it brings you and your family some giggles too.  Happy Hannukah!  Hope your holiday cooking doesn’t turn your kitchen into this!  On the other hand, there are much worse things that eating your way out of a room filled with popcorn.

Olivia wanted to help mom and dad decorate the house for Christmas but the lights became a little too much fun.  How adorable!  This moment is one that I’m sure you’ll see again in the slideshow at your wedding.  Merry Christmas!

And Olivia’s portrait concludes the last portrait session of 2011!  We have been so busy the last few months that we have a huge, and I mean HUGE, backlog of things to post.  Corporate and Non-profit events, Client Room Inspiration including Fine Art Canvas and Fine Art Metal Clusters, & holiday cards galore so check back in January to see all the awesomeness.    Plus, 2012 is set to be another great year.  We’re set to roll out some beautiful new products that you don’t want to miss.  Subscribe to our blog to receive notifications of our posts and never miss an announcement, a picture or a random thought again.  (You wouldn’t want to miss a random thought, would you?!)

Thanks to all our amazing clients for a wonderful holiday season so far!  It’s been fantastic to see so many of our big and little clients again and to welcome new families to the studio. Just a quick reminder….

Today is the deadline for all holiday orders. 

Any orders placed after today that you need for the holidays will incur a 25% rush fee.  So please get your orders in today!  Contact the studio with any questions by using the contact link from the menu above.

Interested in booking a portrait in December?  Expecting some out-of-town family for the holidays?  December family portraits make great New Year’s cards. We still have some availability but they’re going quickly.  Contact us for more information.

And since no post would be complete without some eye-candy, here are some of my favorite holiday family pictures….

On Sunday, I got to see some old friends, my buddy Avery (7 years old) who I’ve been photographing since she was 6 months old, and her brother and sister, Jack and Lucy.  It’s always so much fun to see them and see how much they’ve grown.  And the venue for our portrait couldn’t have been better.  Barnsley Gardens is a beautiful place where I also photographed their Aunt Christin and Uncle Jason’s wedding reception 2.5 years ago.  The place is not only beautiful, but also means a lot to their family as they gather here frequently.  We saw all kinds of fun and interesting things as we wandered around the resort including a beautiful swan relaxing in a pond, a fun hammock, and this cool bridge and steps.

They got to run around through the garden and play in the Manor House Ruins.  After we were done with pictures, we had some lunch in one of the restaurants at the resort with the whole family.  I think our portrait session gave the entire family a welcomed reason for another gathering and I just loved seeing everyone again.

As we were walking to lunch, Lucy grabbed my hand to walk with me and I nearly melted.  And just before I left to head back to Atlanta, Lucy and Avery handed me pictures they had colored just for me.  Aw, shucks, here I go tearing up again.  Thanks for another fun portrait session!  See you soon.