Blog Still Closed

So the blog is still closed, but to enter this design contest I had to post it on a blog. That's why it's on there. If it makes it past the first round, I'll let you know and you can go vote for it! :)
Jenn

Dress Design for Shabby Apple Dresses

I'm entering a design contest for Shabby Apple! This dress is sophisticated, but also has a very fun, lightweight, spring feel to it! I think it would look great in a number of different spring colors, but when I was designing it I pictured a pale yellow cotton fabric, with some eyelit in it. It could be fun to do cotton and some chiffon instead, though.

Here's the back. It's supposed to tie back there.... I'm just not fabulous at drawing that.Now I have to say, I originally read the requirements and got it into my head somehow that the dress was supposed to be for Fall. So I designed a vintage-style dress that I really love, but it's for Fall! Oh, well. Thought I'd put it on here anyway, because, well, why not?
Too bad about this one. I think it would be gorgeous with some red pumps. I was thinking some type of tweed or plaid print for it. And also the back was pretty cool. Oh, and the middle part is more of a stiff belted section for slimming. :)

One thing that is really important to me with this dress is that it be made to fit real women- with curves! After reading the Shabby Apple blog entry- A Busty Move- I realize that this problem is not just with me. I can't count how many dresses I've fit into- except for that last button on the bust. I hope that people will appreciate a dress that they can wear with confidence, knowing that it's slimming in the right places and is made to fit them just right.

Well, I think it's time. I just can't keep up with updating 2 blogs. Plus, quite frankly, it's kind of depressing. I loved doing it while I was doing it. Thanks to my 4 consistent readers (Rachel, Gayle, Lacey, and Stephani), and also to my semi to frequent readers :). It was a great creative outlet, and I will miss it. This was taken my 2nd month of blogging. :)
Love you all,
Jenn

Shabby Apple + Cjane= discount

I discovered this store that I love but is really expensive, and now if you read cjane you can get 15% off! Here is the link to the good news and the store.
I have 3 shoots in 3 days but I swear I will post SOMETHING awesome before I leave for Utah!

Timmythy's Big Debut...

...is here.
And also here.

Meet Timothy

For a (very) long time I have wanted to do a shoot with a frog and a little girl in rain gear. Well, guess what. It is going to happen, baby! My friend caught a frog in her garden and has generously offered to let me take pictures of her sweet little girl.

This is Timmy. Or Timythy, as in Timmy Thee Frog. He is really really cute. He is the reason I have learned so many things about frogs. Did you know.....

1. Frogs, when really scared, will scream and sound like a human, pee all over, and sometimes pass out. Basically exactly what I would do if I were being captured by a giant.

2. Frogs eat anything smaller than they are. This includes other frogs. Gross.

3. Frogs like to burrow under rocks and dirt, or between a pie tin and a wall. Who knew? (Actually, a bunch of 10 year olds online knew, but....)

4. Even if you build a huge cage for the frog, your husband will think it is inhumane and you must take him (the frog) for a walk twice a day.

5. Do not expect that a frog is capable of keeping his newly changed water clean for any longer than 6.38 seconds. Timmy, Timmy, Timmy.

6. And most importantly, I cannot stress this enough..... If you buy a bunch of crickets to feed to a frog, remember that you must also feed the crickets. Even if you just want to keep a simple animal alive for 4 days, you must create an entire eco-system on your front porch. So just think about that before you do anything rash, ok?

Lost

We're baaack! I have pictures from Alaska and they are going to BLOW YOUR MIND!! But whilst they download (I accomplished my goal of finishing with under 2,000 pictures of the trip!), I will tell you that we threw a Lost party for the finale last month. Whooeee, was it fun!

I am going to post about the party and also give a couple resources to people throwing their own because I couldn't find a lot of things online. Like invitations. I had to design my own. Don't worry, if you're a freak about the show, this is as close as you're going to get to the actual boarding pass. That's right, I used still shots. So I am going to post it here for anyone who would like to to copy it and use it for your own! The only thing I ask is that you leave me a comment so I feel more popular. If after time it doesn't let you click and make it big, send me an email. Shutterbug -dot- clark @ gmail -dot- com.

There are some gems in that boarding pass if you look closely. Oh, and this is what I put on the outside of the little folder with the invitation inside:Also, if you're throwing a Lost party, you must download the fonts here and here. They will save you so much time.

The pictures of the decorations are actually quite awful- I didn't have time to take very many. But we had a plane crash outside that was just much better in person. Here is Jefferson ready to dig in.

I didn't have a close up picture of our beverages, so I borrowed one from the Roskelley's blog. Thanks, Gayle! (She is pictured with me, below, even though she's Team Sawyer).My little sister, Camille, ironically dressed up as Jacob who, at that point, had only shown his eye on the show. It was weird. :)This was my attempt at a Dharma poster. It was hard. There was a lot of math involved.I projected one of my dad's old mission slides on the wall. It had that older look with all the dust and scratches like a dharma video or something. :) It was cool.Our playlist? Turns out that Lost's themesong is that 8 seconds at the beginning with the word "Lost" and their other songs are classical character peices. So we played songs that have been played on the record player in The Swan. The screen was on the computer playing the music was the screen from the computer in the hatch. 4 8 15 16 23 42, you know.

All in all it was pretty fun! I LOVED the finale. Oh my gosh. 'Twas everything I wanted and more. I'm so excited to see what happens next year (litterally :( ! ). There was an interview with the writers/producers a little while ago in which they said that fans couldn't really have any correct theories yet because they hadn't given us the crucial clues. I think that episode marked the beginning of some really important info! It was great. Now I'm trying to suck my mom into the madness.

Oh, and if you haven't seen this clip, you really should. So funny.

Happy Birthday to Sam

Happy Birthday to Mr. Sam, who turned 6 on May 30th.

I will tell you all about his favorite things when they call me back. You can expect some good answers. In the meantime I will tell you he's a Gemini. Oh I wish I could give him a big squeeze right now (all my nephews love it when I hug and kiss them. I'm like the fat aunt who pinches your cheek every time you see her and blabbers on about how you've grown).

Some Hiatus

I know I'm on a break from blogging. But I still had to share this.
It just gets better and better.

Jefferson Turns 28

So, I (obviously) really suck at posting lately! Jefferson's birthday was well over a month ago. It was pretty fun, though. I only wish he would make taking his pictures more interesting....

As you can see, it was a good old birthday.

On another note, I have been super busy lately gearing up for the photography season, doing some family history, and other things and am going to have to take a small hiatus from blogging. It won't be long- I promise. But we have so many things going on right now that it's a little hard for me to keep up. Thanks to everyone who reads :) and I'll continue to check all of your blogs consistently! I heart the internet, you know.

We'll see you soon!

Jenn

April Showers??? -By Jeff

Ahhh, Christmas time! It is such a wonderful holiday! Everything about it is absolutely wonderful! The cold night air, the snow covered trees, and......wait.....what's that.....it's the middle of APRIL!?!? You wouldn't think so with a snow storm every other week that brings at least a foot of snow.
In the past my spring experiences have been filled with warm days, brisk nights, and lovely, non-frozen, flowers. However this is not the case as you can see. I have neglected to take advantage of the past two snow storms and decided that if Mother Nature wanted to give me lemons, well then, I would make some lemonade! In this case she gave me snow so of course I made an awesome fort with an even cooler arch!!! That's right, I made a freaking arch! The arch isn't big enough for someone like, let's say, Matt, but it works wonderfully. And if you are wondering, yes, that is a statue of Angel Moroni on top, courtesy of Camille who most kindly assisted in the building of the structural genious which we lovingly call the Arch de' lux.
Go ahead and gawk if you will. I did, for several minutes in-fact. It's freaking awesome and you all know I do not blush at compliments. So.....feel free! Peace.

ShamROCKS

'Twas a Saint Patrick's Day miracle! I went to the doctor's yesterday morning to get a referral to this back specialist and talk about my hip. They wound up asking for x-rays, giving me the referral AND (drumroll here) they gave my hip a *magic* shot! Just stuck that little needle right in there and now it feels *so* good! I am happy. It's only supposed to last a couple days, but it's still SO nice to have a little break. Hopefully I can get some more *magic* shots in my neck and back next month. I mean, it seriously reduced my pain level l-o-t-s. Must have been those sneaky little leprochauns doing me a favor. Although I would have settled for a pot of gold. Ok, this is getting weird. Anyway, I am really excited!
My friend Danielle also came for a visit. We are now very mature adults. Also featured above are the Twix bars that Keri Bright brought over after hearing how I fell off the counter trying to get some chocolate my mom had hidden in the top cupboard! I actually got whiplash. Yeah. I never get injured doing something AWESOME. It's always like, "yeah, I was holding my breath to see how purple I could make my face and passed out and hit the floor and had to have 13 stitches." Or, "yeah, I saw a Twix commercial and climbed up the cupboard and fell and my pants hooked on the knob on the drawer underneath me and it FLIPPED ME AROUND and I landed on my good hip on the ground in a dazed confusion." I can't WAIT to say "Yeah, I was doing something AWESOME and got hurt!" Doesn't matter, I got a magic shot!
How cute are these little clovers? I love them!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Stay tuned for Jefferson's birthday on the 19th. It should be fun!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Miss Ellie, Age 4Favorite Color: Pink and Powpow (that's purple, folks)
Favorite Birthday Present: PRINCESS SHOES!
Favorite Princess: Cinderella and Little Mermaid
Favorite Thing to Eat: Waffles
Favorite Toy: Pony
Birthday Wish: That I could have pink and purple glasses- I don't have 'em!

Awesome awesome interview here

I had to talk to the scouts today about various occupations in the art industry. I wrote out a bunch on colored slips of paper, including "Playground Designer" and "Parade Float Creator." Confidently, I fanned the papers back and forth in front of Jefferson.
"Betcha can't think of an occupation in the art industry that I haven't written down," I said.
He just looked at me and said "Art Thief."
....Oh. Well, yeah, there is that.
Also I will be going to Utah AGAIN March 23rd-27th and taking pictures of my cute friend Roberta's baby. She went to the doctor's today and the nurse told her she was only dilated 1 centimeter. Roberta burst into tears and the nurse said "uh.... well, actually it looks like a centimeter and a half?"

A Week of Treasures

Well, I guess I am influenced by Nie. I mean, I knew I was inspired by her, but this week I started doing some interesting things. You'll see what I mean in a minute.

I got the most beautiful apron this week. Sorry, Rachie, but I was in love. I'll get one of yours soon, too! It was a whole week of treasures, actually. I also was lucky enough to find a beautiful casserole dish, traditionally used in the Allison family to make green jell-o with grated carrots in it- because it's pink. It was my great-grandmothers. In fact, if you look closely, you can still see bits of "Thacker" written across the side. It's wonderful. I already made jell-o in it, but decided to forgo the carrots this time. :)

Another treasure I found was my great-grandmother's brooch. My mom had it in her jewelry box but hadn't ever worn it. I had a great idea to put it on a necklace, but haven't found a chain small enough to fit through the holes on top yet. Anyway, I wore it last Sunday, much to Allison's dismay (she thinks I'm turning into an 80-year old). It felt so good to be wearing something that's been passed down through the generations like that. I'm proud to have such a great legacy, on both Jefferson's side and mine, of men and women who were so strong in their faith and accomplished great feats- raising families, serving missions, etc. I love that my mother taught me things that her mother taught her and that her mother taught her. Who knows how far-reaching our influence can be? Even small things like the songs I sing to my little niece and nephews. There's "this is the way the lady rides....," which they now affectionately call "The Hobble-dee-trop," and the "Two Little Boys" song... and a scary one about a hunter that shoots a rabbit, but it turns out that it was actually a nice song to which my dad changed the ending. I love that my grandma taught me to crochet like her mother. And one day I hope to have a cookie jar and to make homemade popsicles for my kids and grandchildren. And I hope I can serve others the way my great-great-grandmother, great-grandmother, grandma, and mom have done. (Isn't it funny how other things are passed down, too- back problems, flat buns.... think I'll focus on the cookies and songs instead :) . )

Ok, sorry this is so long, but this is the last thing about this week. This one I took right out of Stephanie's entries. She paints beautiful silhouettes of her children and updates them every year. She's even taught classes on it. Well, I decided to try my hand at it! Now for those who know Carie & Robby, make sure not to spoil the *surprise!*

Here is my sweet little nephew Tommy. Painting this was so easy and so much fun! It made me feel way more talented than the talent it actually took! :) You just take a picture of someone's silhouette, cut it out, trace it onto the canvas and paint it one color. Next time I see him, I want to do his handprint on a smaller 5x5 canvas and his footprint on another one to put on either side of the silhouette.

How does this all tie together? Well, I think a lot of it is because I've been reading Stephanie Nielson's blog, Nie Nie Dialogues. Stephanie is a beautiful beautiful woman who really enjoys life. She and her husband were in a plane crash last August, where they sustained burns- Mr. Nielson over 35% of his body, and Stephanie over 83%. Since that time her blog has become famous. Tons of people read it and feel inspired by what she sees in the "little" things of life. She loves finding vintage things and making whole wheat pizza for her family on Friday nights. She loves to watch her kids play and sing and jump on the couch. The Nielsons make messes. They dance in the evenings before Mr. Nielson comes home. It's been fun to read about their lives- her toddler eating his sister's tooth, eating in the rain, wearing red lipstick, launching balloons to commemorate each birthday, and finding lessons in things that I would just find annoying! It's very refreshing to look through her archives. Here are a few of my favorite posts. Try reading through some next time you're feeling down!

That Old Familiar Smirk

Perfect Day

Nicknames & Being Irresponsible

Merry Christmas Love Mantis

That Should Hold Em

Re-Posted Treasure

The Man

Summer, Skin & Other Warm Images