HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

From a session I did this past weekend.  We provided the costume, she provided the cuteness!

Tututorial

Couldn't help myself with the title LOL. I know I have been seriously slacking in the tutorial department lately! I do have a very fun True Value tent/playhouse project I need to write up :)  But today I have a quick share for a new twist on a tutu.

There are a ton of great tutu tutorials out there, so if you not sure of the basics, try a quick search.  I use non-rolling elastic cut to 5 inches smaller than the waist of the child, sewn in a loop then do a slip knot style loop around the band.  This one used fabric strips which I think gives a very fun, shabby, twist on the traditional tutu.  It also works great for a decoration (kind of looks like a giant tassel). 

It's also a great way to use up some fabric!  First, choose a few coordinating fabrics and rip them into strips.  I like the ripped look, you may choose to cut them.  

Once you have a nice pile, add them onto your elastic waistband in which ever method you prefer.  I also added some trims, tulle, lace, and poms to this one for extra girly effect.  Then I used it at this fun photo shoot!

You can trim it to your desired length once it's all together.  Some shorter and longer pieces are fine :)  Just make sure it's nice and full. Your elastic band will also stretch out a bit as your putting the strips on. 

The details

Yesterday I revealed my finished True Value deck! We are really enjoying the space and I wanted to take share with you some of the details that make the space so cozy! 

When I think of cozy, I think of pillows.  I fell in love with that front pillow cover because it's so unique!  Both of these pillow covers as well as the one on the pink chair in the background are from Moxie Mandie. I love her shop, it's modern, simple and clean. 

The blanket I picked up at Marshal's, the other size has a gorgeous quilted patchwork pattern.  I just love it!
Hanging above the glider couch is a moss wreath from The Walnut Street House.  The wreath is perfect for hanging anywhere because the entire wreath is finished off beautifully so you don't have to worry about the back showing.  I think it's as pretty from the back as it is from the front (as you can see below)!  I hung it with a simple stain ribbon.

The bistro style "christmas" lights I bought at Target.  I love the round bulbs like the ones you see in bistros.  The dining room table was actually dropped off free from a neighbor, it was in sad shape, but a quick tack here and there and a fresh coat of True Value paint and we were good as new!  I used an outdoor paint as I knew the table would be exposed outdoors.

This table is actually an old laundry cart I picked up at a yard sale (I was beside myself excited!) with an enamel top set on top to make a table.  It's the perfect spot for all our movie snacks.  The MaryJanes and Galoshes tub is perfect for ice and drinks!  It also makes a great popcorn tub when we have a crowd :)  You can write what ever you like on them through Southern Proper Monograms.  That is also where the gorgeous wood scroll monogram hanging in the back is from (it's the large, 18 inch option).

The candles seen throughout are from True Value, as well as the small personal fireplace in the photo above (it's the thing behind the orange votives).  The mercury glass vases were made by me, I posted a tutorial about it a while back. 

I think that covers everything, but if I missed something you want to know about just ask!

The Big Reveal- My True Value Hardware Deck Re-Do!

I'm so excited to finally review the results of my deck re-do with True Value Hardware!  We started out with a plan, picked out paint- then painted, we fixed the screen door, made a light fixture, encountered a swarm of bees (YUCK!) and now we are finally finished!

So here was my BEFORE-

And here is my AFTER!!!!

We painted everything, the wood on the deck, the cement, the dining table, the pink umbrella table, the awning over the grill!  There isn't much paint (or spray paint) can't fix!  For the pink table I used Krylon spray paint in "Watermelon" (it was originally black).  The awning is a canvas material and was painted with the new Krylon H2O latex paint.  Which is just latex paint in a can, but worked very well for this application. I of course purchased all of my paint at my local True Value Hardware.  

Those cute kids chairs you see under the awning are also from True Value, they have a great selection of patio furniture!

My favorite thing about the deck is probably how we use it at night!  It's our own little drive in theater!

Day....

Night!

All of the lighting really creates a nice mood at night.  The tent lights are off during the movie or it's to bright for the projector.  I set up a little movie night snack table and everyone settles in....

I will post more details on the decor tomorrow!

Baby-G Watch Giveaway!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Baby-G for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Ke$ha's hit song "Tik-Tok" has inspired the fabulous watch makers at Baby-G to team up for some rockin new watche designs.


My favorite thing about the watches?  What Ke$ha says about the inspiration for the desings-
1) Red White & Blue watch: Inspired by the American flag because it's a recurring theme in Ke$ha’s aesthetic and also represents freedom of speech which is a right she passionately exercises in her life and music.
2) Leopard Print: Ke$ha enjoys wearing leopard as it brings out the animal that is inside of her. Ke$ha hopes when people wear her watches they express themselves and never lose the animal inside of them.
So weather your a free speaker or a total fashionista, you will find one you love.  Personally I would have to go with the leopard, the sleek black goes with everything.
Check out this video from the photo shoot.

Ready to get one for yourself?  The watches are available at Tourneau, Nordstrom, select Macy's stores and fashion boutiques. Check out the collection on baby-g.com for more information.

~OR~

Enter the Baby-G sweepstakes for your chance to win a Baby-G watch of your own!

Baby-G is giving away 4 watches to four lucky winners chosen at random.  To enter like Baby-G's Facebook page and tweet out what their favorite Baby-G watch is with the hashtag #babyg.

You can check out the official sweepstakes rules here.

Which one would you choose?

Suit up, with Express!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Express for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I couldn't resist the title, are you guys as big of How I Met Your Mother, fans as I am?  Anyway, wedding season is about over, but we have one more to attend coming up in a few days.  We had so many this year I feel like my husband has worn his one pair of nice pants and two dress shirts WAY to much to do it again.  So when Express asked if I was interested in checking out their line of men’s suits, I jumped on it! 

Express is definitely my style!  So much so that my 4 year old son said "look mom! That looks like you." about just about every mannequin in the store.  Oh Hunny, I WISH mommy had it that pulled together LOL.  Express has such great style, but I had no idea they offered such a high quality line of suits!  The wall of colorful dress shirts was so pretty and vibrant.  It was hard to decide on a color.  We ended up with this gorgeous blue (introducing my husband and my male model for the day......)

 

 

They had a ton of different tie options, but the shirt color is so vibrant we decided to go with a classic black.   This seriously has to be the best quality tie he owns (and not the most expensive either).  We never manage to tie that nice of a knot and did this on the second try.  Something to be said about quality fabric!

While at the store we did try on the full suit so that I could tell you about it, in case your more of the full three piece suit type (lucky you, because there is an Express sweepstakes going on and you can win a $500 suit!).  The jackets were surprisingly thick.  The store may have had more of a fall/winter version out as we are in Wisconsin and it gets cold here :)  They were very nicely constructed and had nice structure.  They also offer vests, which I tried to talk to hubs into, but he felt a bit to formal in it.  It's not very common to get that dressed up around here, at least for us.  But the vest looked really sharp!  There were several different options to go with the different pant and jacket styles. 

This worked quite well for us.....

I think I'm going to go back and get a few more shirts in different colors.  They were all so gorgeous!

I'd love to hear where you would wear your suit if you won the Express sweepstakes! 

 

Way to chipper for Monday

I had one of those weekends that makes me excited about life.  Two great photo shoots to kick off a month with many more to come and I couldn't be more excited.  I've been having a blast working my way through an e-book (which is actually more of a workshop than a book) I found, Circus Circus from Kristen at Brand Camp.  I will have a full post with all the details soon (because it's amazing) can't wait to share!

So feeling way to chipper for a Monday.  Thought I would share a couple sneak peek images from my shoots this weekend!  Hope your Monday is fabulous.

Halloween photo overlay with The Letter 4

You know the feeling when you find a new blog (that has some great content built up) and you ask yourself "How have I not been here before?!" and spend way to much of the day getting lost in that blog?  That's how I felt when I found The Letter 4. There are four fabulous ladies that call it home, but today I'm so excited to kick off the Halloween season with Jamie!

Hi I'm Jamie! Howdy howdy howdy. I blog over at

The Letter 4

I'm not the only one you'll meet over there, I've also got my crazy awesome talented 3 other sisters over there with me. What I love about running a blog with my sisters is that we all have different talents so we pretty much cover everything in our blog!

I'm so glad I get the chance to do a quick guest post here at Mary Jane's and Galoshes! When I saw that name I knew it was going to be the cutest blog ever :)

We haven't done any Halloween posts over at our blog yet and I wanted to kick off one here today!

Behold the spider photo overlay. You can download this and lay it onto your photos in photoshop to give it that spooky feel I know your looking for it being October now and all!

(that is my daughter by the way, isn't she the sweetest?!)

click here to download white spider

click here to download black spider I hope you have fun with this, I'm planning on offering a lot more doodle overlays coming soon! Thank you so much Taylor for having us you are awesome!

Photo Shoot Wardrobe Inspiration

One of the biggest things to consider when having portraits done is what to wear!  I was putting together some collections to help my clients better understand what I like them to wear (and what makes my photos look like they do) and thought I would share the ideas with you.  I'm all about bold colors and coordination (not matching!!!!). And always LAYER and ACCESSORIZE!

Families

Family Holidays

 Girls

 Boys

 Couples