Elfing: This Burns My Britches!

It all started very innocently, really. Jet was in the lamp shade one morning. Despite how light the photos look, it was a bit dark in our living room at the time. I woke up, a little groggy, turned the lamp on, turned the Christmas lights on, then turned on the coffee. I probably should have turned the coffee on first, then took a sip before doing anything else. Next thing I know, Beau, with wide eyes, is bringing Jet to me. The burnt smell of felt and cardboard overcame my nostrils, then the coffee kicked in. "Oh shoot! I turned on the lamp with Jet still hanging on the lamp shade." (This is a face to palm moment)

So, Beau, with his great story telling skills comes up with a grand scene. The boys were playing in the play room. Beau calls the house phone and pretends to be Santa, "Jet is in trouble. He dispatched from the North Pole and went through the wrong vent in the house. He has been injured! Please, help find him." Julian & John were frantic looking up and down, in and out of the house. Finally, Beau gave them a hint. Jet was in the dryer with all the clothes. He had come through the dryer vent by mistake and burned his britches. This was believable. So, the next morning Jet was in a cup of ice with some green felt and thread conveniently set beside him with a note: "Fix me! Please & Thank You." I am so thankful for my Girl Scout experience because I sewed those burned britches up like champ, or at least in my eyes. I'm pretty proud of my stiching job. Thanks Girl Scouts...and Mom :)

The Moral of this story: Don't put your elf in a place that is potentially flammable. 

Enjoy our Elfing adventure. Laugh. Poke fun if you will, but please do share!

Holiday Mini Session 2012

Holiday Mini Sessions are here! I am so excited about the minis this time around. I have a pretty little package called Stocking Stuffer that is perfect for the family that likes to share their images with friends & family. The Holidays are THE EXCUSE to call me up for a session.

I don't know about you, but I love to get pictures of friends & family in the mail, especially in Christmas Cards. Take a peek at my gallery called Sending Christmas Cards! 

With a 30 minute session you'll get an online gallery of about 15-20 edited images. From that gallery you select your favorites to put on a CD, depending on the package you choose. You get 2 digital images with the Jolly Holiday package. The Stocking Stuffer package allows you to choose 5 images to put on a CD plus a little print package that can serve as gifts to close friends & family. I also include a facebook profile image and timeline image decorated for Christmas to send love & greetings to your facebook friends. How cool is that! Call me or email me soon to schedule your Holiday Mini Session. Dates are filling up fast.

**This offer is good toward a couple/family/children session, but does not apply to engagement sessions, bridal sessions, or senior portrait sessions. Deadline: November 18th**

Bokeh!

Merry Christmas week! Happy 4th Advent Sunday :)

I have been poking around pinterest and have seen so many pictures and tutorials on Bokeh. Okay, so what is Bokeh?

What: Bokeh is an aesthetic achieved in photography otherwise known as "the blur". It is most often displayed
          using lights, but can also be seen as any out of focus area in a photograph.

Settings: I used my 50mm, 1/25 sec, f 1.8, ISO 1600 {I turned my auto focus to manual and played around
             with the different focus points.

Where & Other Stuff: I turned out all other lights in the house but the Christmas Tree. I played around with
                                  my ISO to get the brightness just how I wanted it.

Try it out. Its fun to learn new stuff and share with others. You never know what you might stumble upon just playing around with the manual settings while getting to know your camera. You may find that an image you capture strikes you to order an enlargement to display in your own home. Have fun!

If you like new ideas for home, garden, potty training, inspiration for the day, books, gifts, recipes, the list goes on forever, check out pinterest. If you're already on, follow me!

Two Families!

I had the privilege to photograph two beautiful families on Sunday afternoon. The hostess had decorated her backyard to the hilt. It was a winter wonderland, complete with a kiddie house and a tree house. I loved it! They were so welcoming and made me feel right at home. We captured some sweet moments and some funny ones too. Here is a little sneak peek.
I am so thankful that God keeps opening the door for me and my family to meet new people and to reunite with old friends. My heart is full.

Motivation for Monday & Help Portrait

Good Morning! I hope you all had a Happy and satisfying Thanksgiving with your friends and families. We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with a minor glitch with the ham. It was my first time ever making ham, ever.  I had no idea what to do. It's a good thing there were directions. A family member had given us a South Hampton dry cured ham over the summer. Well, after reading that it would only keep for 2 months I opened up the pack and there were these white bugs infested all over it. Yuck! I sent Beau out to get another ham. Good thing there was ham left to buy at the store the night before Thanksgiving. He returned with the same kind of ham. I soaked it over night and did all that the directions called for me to do. Cooked it for 3.5 hours and basted it with the water I put on the bottom of the roasting pan. Everything turned out just fine so I'm told. My hubby, my f.i.l., and my littlest super hero ate the ham. Julian and I like to stick to poultry. And that's all I got to say about that ;)
I was watching 60 Minutes last night and saw a story about a family in Central Florida who are living in their truck. The report focused on the children who have to "improvise" with their daily needs, where to bathe, etc.  I can't even fathom that and yet I was listening to this little girl's account of her young life. Now, these are Florida's statistics, but of all the homeless families in Central FL two-thirds live on the streets. One-third of the families without shelter live in FL. I realize that homelessness is everywhere, in every state, province, and country in the world. Hearing it from a child though was more heartbreaking for me than hearing it from a news reporter. I can remember some of these children when I was teaching in the public school system of NC about 5 years ago. The principal of our school informed the teachers who were assigned to breakfast or lunch duty that for some students this would be the only time they would eat all day. What?! I wanted to know who, of course, because I wanted to send these children home with some groceries. We weren't allowed to know who. We just had to be considerate and vigilant of that fact. As I taught through out the course of the year, certain students were highlighted in my mind as I got to know them. For some, creating just brings out "the stuff" that you can't verbally get out. Art is therapeutic. As Picasso once said, "Art washes away the dust of everyday life." I love that quote.
Anyway, this brings me to Help Portrait. Saturday, December 10th, I will be a part of a beautiful giving spree called Help Portrait. It will be located at Reimage Church in Winterville, NC. In short, Help Portrait is for those who are in need. People who are unable to afford a family or personal portrait. There is a few studio set ups, clothes, props, and hair & make-up offered. They will receive a hot meal and a sack meal to take home for later. I am so excited about this event. I can't wait. It's only 2 weeks away. If you or anyone you know would like to donate, please visit this link. Also, please help me pray for this event and all who are involved.

Matthew 25:40 ~ "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Sending Christmas Cards!

Hello there! I just wanted to send a little reminder that Christmas is only a few short months away. If you're interested in having family portraits taken and would also like to send the prettiest card, then you'll want to take advantage of this offer. Sessions will take place at the Courtyard Green in downtown Edenton. The lovely green that is right in front of the old Courthouse and is in view of the water complete with stone steps and old canons. It's really a beautiful site. I saw some leaves on the ground there yesterday, so by October 23rd there should be quite a collection of fall foliage. The session is only 20 minutes, enough time to get 10-12 images so that you can choose the perfect family portrait for your Christmas Cards. Some cards have the option of shoosing more than one picture. The collection of Christmas Cards are on my facebook page. I hope you'll join us. Share with your friends! Please call for your time slot today.

Holiday Cards {take one}

I thought I would leave you today with 2 new Christmas Card templates that I will be offering this Holiday Season. They are very traditionally styled cards; I love that about them. Both cards are 5x7 and have a front and a back design. More to come...

Have yourself a Merry "Little" Christmas!

Today is known as Little Christmas. When we went by the Julian Calendar, Christmas was celebrated on this day, January 6th. Today is also known as the celebration of the Epiphany, a celebration of the revelation of the Son of God as a human being. It commemorates the visitation of the Magi to Baby Jesus and the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. I hope you will have a Merry Little Christmas! I put together a couple collages from our Christmas in Florida with the family. Cheers to a New Year full of happiness and new adventures!

It's a Lawrence Christmas!

I just love this family! I was invited to their house for a Christmas session and for some 6 month pictures of Baby Raegan. Having a family picture made in your own home with your own Christmas tree is so special. I am so delighted that I got to share this time with the Lawrence Family. We captured some Holiday photos first. Allen is absolute hoot...he's the one with the antler headband on with his youngest daughter :) And Raegan was such an angel for her 6 month pictures. I am so excited that I got to use my new photo prop ~ the tutu! (Raegan liked it as well. We shot a couple pics of her going to town on it with gums...poor dear; she's teething). Thanks so much Lawrence Family. Hope you like your sneak peek :) Blessings. In His Love, Karrie

Cousins!

Ready, set, smile! There is a lot of love in this family. The mothers of these fine looking children are sisters and both serve at our church. I am very blessed to have taken care of all their children from one time or another during church functions. All the kids were good sports for Mrs. Karrie today. We met at Wesleyan College. Although it had rained the past 2 days, the over casted sky set a perfect color palette for pictures. I won't give too much away since these precious moments will be a surprise to grandparents. So, I hope you like the sneak peek. It was a joy to capture your children this afternoon. Blessings! Love In Him, Karrie

The Reeves Family

Today I had the pleasure of sharing special moments with the Reeves Family. Emma Grace is in my MMO class; she is just too precious for words. Emma just became a big sister. Three weeks ago the Reeves' welcomed Olivia to their family. Olivia is a beautiful newborn baby girl. I was welcomed this afternoon into their home to take some Christmas and Newborn pictures. The Christmas tree was up and lovely scented candles filled the air while Holiday music played in the background. I was instantly swept into the Christmas spirit. Thank you so much for inviting into your home to take your pictures. I hope you enjoy the sneak peek. I can't wait to edit the rest. Blessings to you all.

In His Love, Karrie

Little Miss Ellie!

This afternoon I had the privilege to photograph Ellie and her lovely parents, Jennifer & Brian. This little girl was precious in her bell-bottom pants sporting the traditional Christmas colors, red & green. The idea was for us to meet and get photos of the family for a Christmas picture and then get some cute 1 year shots with the sweet birthday outfit her mama picked out for her. Well, Ellie had never been to Washington Park before, so she wanted to explore independently. I don't blame her; it's a very pretty place with lots to see. Thanks to Ellie's Aunt B for coming along to help. We managed to get a few photos for the Holidays, but I think we're going to reschedule out date for the birthday shots. So stay tuned for more photos of sweet Ellie. She is sure to rock the next session :) Hope you and your family enjoy the small sneak peek.

In His Love, Karrie

Holiday Mini-Sessions

Hey Folks! Hope this finds you thinking about the Holidays to come. Personally, I love Thanksgiving & Christmas! These holidays bring nostalgia for me. Family get-togethers, laughing, feasts, lights, love, happiness, presents, holiday scents, baked goods, sharing memories, and pictures, definitely pictures. My mom dressed all of us (6) up alike. If we didn't have matching outfits, they would at least have the same color or design. I love looking at these photographs now. It reminds me of where I was then and where God has lead me since.

This is my first Holiday season as a photographer. I am excited about who God has chosen for me to meet and photograph. Whoever it is, I pray that I will be able to capture exactly what you are looking for in a family portrait. Thank you.

Holiday Mini-Sessions:

Session Fee - $25 (includes up to an hour of shooting, time & skills in the editing
process, and a gallery to view your photographs on my site).

**If you choose to purchase your Christmas cards through me, you will receive 5 free cards with a Christmas Card Bundle of 25.***

Christmas Cards...

It has been fun editting these photo card templates. The following 4 templates are examples of my Christmas card selection this year. These lovely designs were created by Ashe Design .

Please let me know if you would like to order a Christmas Card Bundle in increments of 25.

Sizes & Prices available:

5x7 - $55
5x5 - $25
4x8 - $30
4x6 - $25

Stay tuned for the final Christmas Card Template and a Holiday mini-session Special! :) Thanks for your prayers and support. God Bless!
In His Love, Karrie

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

It seems like the Holidays come sooner and earlier every year. I am officially scheduling sessions for the Holiday season. If you are interested in a family session for Christmas cards please visit my site to set a date and time for us to meet. I'm looking forward to helping you make Holiday memories to share with family & friends.

Check back periodically to see new Christmas card templates. For now, here is my family sending love for a Merry Christmas in 2009!