CB Portraits - Lancaster Portrait Photographer » My Life

A little R&R at a local B&B…

cbportraits — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 02:17:45 +0000

Here’s a quick post about a fun time my family had recently. Our church gave us a free nights stay at a local Bed & Breakfast. We weren’t sure what to expect as Brian and I had only stayed at a Bed and Breakfast one time before, and that was in our pre-child era. (Actually it was our honeymoon night, 11 years ag0!). :)

We had such a great time though! This wasn’t just ANY B&B – it was geared toward families with kids…especially kids who love animals!

Our evening snack – enjoying some yummy, GOOEY, sticky s’mores!

Obviously these pictures aren’t all-inclusive. I didn’t get a picture of the beautiful gardens, delicious breakfast, lovely rooms, and much more! Oh, and I can’t forget our wonderful hosts, Mark and Hazel. They were so gracious and made us feel right at home. I felt like we were leaving friends when we said good-bye! Airy Hill Farm B&B is a place our family would highly recommend!

Handmade for Christmas

cbportraits — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 04:11:54 +0000

I love to make things with my hands, and I’m very determined once I’ve set my mind to something. I’ve always been like that. I remember laboring over an old sewing machine when I was in Junior High, trying to figure out how to make it work. Also as teenager I tried quilting, crocheting, cross stitching, etc.. I spent so many hours working on projects and creating things to give away as gifts. I still love to create things. In college I took up scrapbooking – spending a lot of money, and huge amounts of time creating scrapbooks of my college/dating life, wedding, and then documenting my first pregnancy and 1st year of my son’s life. (That was fairly short lived, as my zeal for scrapbooking faded…my son will be my only child with a scrapbook. :)). A couple years ago I taught myself to knit on a long family vacation car ride. I really wanted to knit tiny, soft little hats for my newborn clients. They are my absolute favorite things to make! Currently I’m trying my hand at crochet too…but that will probably never be something I do very consistently. Well, I have less and less time these days to do any of that…but, I always seem to end up making handmade Christmas gifts for family members. Every year I tell myself it might not be worth the time, and I should probably just buy people gifts I know they will like. But, it seems every year I come up with the next great gift to make. :)

So, here are a couple gifts I made for people this year. The first are Fabric Key Chains. I found this pattern many months ago and thought it would be an easy, yet unique gift to make. Well, they were more time consuming than I thought (not making them, but gathering the supplies)…but I think they turned out pretty cute! :)

The next thing are Fabric Flowers. I actually became a little obsessed with making them. I didn’t realize they were so easy, and how many different ways you could make them. You can put a flower on a hair clip, or attach it to a headband, jazz up a shirt etc. Here are some of the flowers I made.

crochet roses put on hair clips

fabric flowers

And tiny little flower headbands for my little newborn clients. Aren’t they precious!

Here are some websites I used if you are interested in making some for yourself! I’ll warn you – it’s addicting! :)

http://madmim.com/tutorials/fabric-flower-tutorial-2 http://www.simplyvintagegirl.com/blog/index.php/2010/05/29/tutorial-how-to-make-lovely-fabric-flowers http://madmim.com/tutorials/fabric-flower-tutorial-8-the-burnt-petals-flower And, last but not least – here’s a couple pictures of Aiden carrying on in my footsteps. :) He just recently learned to knit, and was VERY proud to make these dishcloths for his two grandmothers for Christmas. :)

A girl and her bunny

cbportraits — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:14:52 +0000

So, we caved and finally got our 4 1/2 year old the one thing she had been constantly asking for. A baby bunny. Meet Snowball, a baby holland lop bunny. She loves him so very much. You might remember a previous blog entry I posted about her and a little bunny (Circle of Life). I think you really should go back and look at it again. It is definitely a heart tugger! :)

Growing

cbportraits — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:46:49 +0000

It is so hard to believe how fast babies change. It is literally right before your eyes. For me, the problem with that is it is so hard to remember what they were like. Even as I look back at pictures, I find it hard to compare because the pictures themselves are so different. So, I love doing comparison pictures like the one below. They do require some planning to ensure as many of the details as possible stay the same – but I encourage you to try something like this.

Here are some tips:

1. Always take the picture in the same exact spot of your house, and during the same time of day so the light is similar. The best spot would be right near a window so you don’t need to use flash.

2. Clear out all the background clutter possible so the focus is on the baby.

3. Ideally you want the clothing to be the same. So, you can do a naked baby/diaper shot, or if you are really thinking ahead – buy an identical clothing piece like a onsie in 3 different size. I like to keep as much skin showing as possible though.

4. Keep your camera angle the same. When doing the second picture, print out a copy of the first picture so you can refer to it as you take the second one.

5. Try and get a shot where the baby is in a similar position. I wouldn’t recommend you doing what I did because both of these shots are photoshop composites. A 3 month old cannot sit up by them self, and I wouldn’t leave a 7 month old alone on a stool. :) The easiest thing would probably be to have your baby sit up against a couch or chair, or have them laying on their back. Another idea is to have a parent hold the baby. You would want to make sure things like your outfit, hair style, and the position you held the baby in remained the same.

Drop me a line if have any questions! (bonnie@cbportraits.com) I’ll be posting a 12 month old shot soon (as sad as it makes me…why do they have to grow so fast?) I just need to knit a bigger diaper cover. Poor thing was losing her circulation I think! :)

lions, tigers, and bears – oh my!

cbportraits — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:24:07 +0000

We just got back from a family trip to a place you may have been to before, but it was brand new to us. It’s pretty amazing! Basically, you put a wildlife museum and a retail store together and you get Cabelas. A dream come true for a hunter…or kids. It was quite an adventure for them – and a cheap family trip for us. :)

So, here is our experience…

Don’t be fooled by those cute smiles above. Be prepared for some scary stuff! Poor Ellie was so scared of the polar bear, her hair stood straight up!

And, they even have a food court area with delicious entrees like smoked ostrich, and buffalo burgers. Here’s Brian trying to decide what he thinks of the buffalo burger….

They also had an aquarium area, pond with fish, shooting range…plus everything you could ever imagine for the outdoors. It was really a fun time! Go and create some memories with your family!

middle child

cbportraits — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:48:37 +0000

Our middle child, Savannah, is always making us laugh! She has such spunk and personality. As I write this she is dancing around our kitchen in her pink sunglasses and winter hat, singing her own made up song “God made me special.” The drama and range of emotions little girls go through is so different than anything we have experienced with Aiden. I just love kissing her pouty lips, and try my best not to laugh out loud at her little 3 year old dilemmas. This age where you never know what will come out of their mouth, and you wonder where in the world it came from. At 3 years old, I’m just soaking it in! Age 13…now that’s another matter. :)

Oh, and any of you who are wondering, this gorgeous hat was made by the very talented Karen – visit her Etsy shop for more great stuff!

all mine * family photography

cbportraits — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:44:12 +0000

Here is the latest picture of my three! They are at such an easy stage to photograph. Savannah actually begs me to take her picture – and I need to more. I am often just “camera-ed” out after client sessions. But, these pictures remind me that these three are why I strive to excel and improve in photography. They are the reason I do what I do.

sitting pretty

cbportraits — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:54:55 +0000

Guess who can sit up by themselves? Here is Ellie, 3 months old!

Okay, those of you who are parents know this isn’t possible for a 3 month old…I confess, it’s a little bit of photoshop magic! :)

2 months young

cbportraits — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:55:53 +0000

Well, time continues to fly! Ellie is 2 1/2 months old now, and she has turned into such a content, happy baby! The first 6 weeks were a little rough as she wasn’t too excited about life…but we seem to be good now! Of course, I need to show her off…

This is the “what in the world is that thing stuck to your face?” look…which will soon be replaced with the “not again!” look. :)

I just love that little dimple!

Birthday Fun!

cbportraits — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:28:52 +0000

Here are a few pictures from Aiden’s birthday party – there were lots of friends and lots of fun!

No way!! Darth Vador’s battle ship!

Savannah with one of her best friends – what a couple of cutie pies!

It’s amazing what cameras can capture, isn’t it!?