Simple School Valentine Gifts

Happy Valentine's Day.  I had planned on putting up this post weeks ago, but better late then never.

My daughter loves to give gifts and she always crafting something.  A few years ago, thanks to a gift from her aunt, she learned to make bottle cap magnets.  She makes them throughout the year when she is in the mood.   While looking though them we realize we had just enough heart and sweet themed ones to give as a valentine this year. In addition to the magnets, I had already purchased bags, pencils and candy for her to give.  The last piece of this years gift was the free stickers that Shutterfly.com, which I created a valentine theme on  with the colors and message.

In the end it became a simple project of just assembling a fun bag to give out to her classmates. We put the photo sticker on the outside of each bag, then stuff the bags with goodies. In each bag there are two chocolate hearts, one handmade magnet and a valentine pencil.

Just a little tie of bakers twine and we were done.  Cute and easy.

Another idea for simple and unique valentine is a red burlap sewn heart.  

This is a craft that I used in my toddler storytime.  Younger then 5 this craft does take a little help from a parent, but most school aged children can master this craft with just a little insturction.  With a simple square of burlap, some yarn and a plastic yarn needle a child can easily make a sweet valentine. Start by drawing a light outline of a heart.  Next, start a running stitch, by going down first a the top center of the heart.  Leave the tail of the yarn sticking out and untied.  A running stitch is simple for children and they just need to follow the line the you or they have already made. Lastly, when you get back to where you started, just tie the two ends together in a simple knot or bow.

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs and Kisses.

Lorissa

Week Three of 365!

Hello Everyone,

I've been trying to post on Tuesday each week, but with my daughter off school and up the mountain for a ski lesson all day, I just never got to it.  Growing up in FL, I have never snow skied, but it is nice to give my daughter the opportunity.  I told her I would take lessons if she like it and it would be something we could do together.

This past week I was distracted from working because my daughter came down with a mild case of the flu.  Her temperature of 101 to 102.5 keep her out of school for 4 days.  Thankfully she only had what appeared to be a bad cold with it and not all those other terrible symptoms the flu can produce.

Okay, so what images did I work on this week?

First is a photo of el Santuario de Chimayó.

Chimayó Spring - New Mexico 16/365

Then I found some photos I had wanted to work on a while ago.  While on vacation in Estes Park, CO we stayed at the Stanley Hotel.  This hotel is considered to be haunted and the inspiration for Steven King's "The Shining"  In the book and movie there were ghost twins, so just for fun we made my daughter twins in the photo.  I did two images, one outside and one in.  The inside one was taken in the children's wing on the top floor.  People have reported to have heard children laughing a playing even when there are none staying on that floor. 

Ghost Girls 17/365

Ghost Girls 2 18/365

This beautiful bird is a Blue-crowned Motmot and I only know that because of a kind person on flickr who pointed me in the right direction.  I love the look he is giving me here.

untitled - 19/365

I'm not a good at self portraits, but I though this was fitting.

Self Portrait Jan. 20, 2013 - 20/365

I love Photography and this camera allowed the common man to try photography for the first time.  How can you not feel the love?

What do you Love? 21/365

This was taken with my iPhone while up the mountain yesterday.  She loved her lesson, but didn't finish due to exhaustion.  The thin air really got to her.

Ski School 22/365

Thanks for stopping by.
Lorissa

Baby Girl {J} - LJ Longfellow Santa Fe Newborn Photographer

Jonas Family,

Thank you so much for inviting me into your home to celebrate the birth of your first child. What a delight to work with all of you. She is so sweet, you are truly blessed.  

Here is a sneak peek of some of my favorites. I will have your gallery up soon. I do hope you love them.

Thank you,

Lorissa

Anna- Santa Fe Maternity Photographer

Anna,
Thank you so much for trusting me with your photos.  I do hope you love how these are coming out.  Just wanted to share a few of my favorites from what I edited so far.
I think you look amazing. 

Lorissa
www.ljdesignphoto.com
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Valentines for Preschool - ideas

It's another holiday where Mom's everywhere are trying to figure out what to get/make with/for your child to bring to school to celebrate. Do we purchase those boxed cards? Add a piece of Candy? Temporary Tattoo?

This year I saw some really cute small puzzles at Hobby Lobby and thought those would be fun, but then I had to figure out a way to package them. With the help of my 4 year old we put together a clear bag with the puzzle and a piece of candy in it. Then, we stamped out hearts and "Happy Valentines" on cut and folded card stock and attached it with staples. Lastly, my daughter wrote her name on the back of each one so the other children knew who it was from.

I think they turned out pretty cute.


If your reading this and just realizing that you need valentines for school on Friday, or Sundays school, then check out Etsy for Printable Valentines. You just download them and print them on your color printer. There are so many different and clever designs by etsy artists.

You can also find free printable and great ideas from sites like Disney's Family Fun and Kaboose.

Thanks for reading and Happy Valentines Day (just a bit early)!
Lorissa

Family Hiking in Canyonlands - Needles District

This past fall my husband, daughter, and I went on a little RV adventure to Canyonlands National Park in the Needles District. There is nothing much to do there except enjoy the beauty of the the area. Really, in the needles district there are no cell phone service, no showers, but a lot of trails. Backpacking, hiking, and some truly 4 wheel driving roads are the only way to explore this beauty. There are easy trails like one to an ancestral Puebloan granary and another takes you a historic cowboy line camp and prehistoric pictographs. Then there are long trails (about 60 miles of interconnected trails) to fantastic views, colorful sandstone spires, arches, and archaeological sites. The best way to explore these long trails is to go backpacking overnight with lots of water. Basically there is something in Canyonlands for every skill level and it makes a wonderful place to visit with the family.

During our visit we hiked a few of the shorter trails, along with a small section of the larger trail called the Squaw Flat Loop that was near the campgrounds. They do tell you that the longer trails are especially rough and require negotiating steep passes with drop-offs, narrow spots, or ladders, but we thought we would be safe close to the campground on a short loop between the two. LOL - We were so wrong. I didn't take my camera, because we thought we were going on a flat trail with not much to spot but cactus and lizards. The trail looped around and up and over the formation that sat right behind our campsite. It was amazingly beautiful, but I was a little worried as we were walking on the top of the sandstone structure with only five feet of rock between drops off on each side. The rock rose in a way that made it difficlut to judge what might come next and we kept just pushing ahead thinking it would be easier then turning back. We "scrambled" a lot and I even tore a large hole in my jeans from shuffling over the rock with my daughter in my arms. The photo above shows the formation we hiked over. It was just the lower part on the left, but we walked on the top of that and came down the steep slopes and sandstone rims to get back to the campground with a 4 year old in tow. Looking back it was beautiful, but I don't think I would have taken a 4 year old up there to hike if I had known. She did wonderfully though and it is a memory and accomplishment I don't' think she will ever forget.

The next day we hiked the Slickrock Trail. This is the longest of the short trails and is about 2.4 miles round trip. It was listed as having uneven surfaces, viewpoints, and sometimes bighorn sheep. We didn't see many sheep that day, but lots of beautiful views. This is actually a great trail for kids. Enough "scrambling" over the rocks to satisfy them (really very little for those who have long adult legs) and a few shady places to stop and rest when needed.

The panoramas from my blog post Hiking at Canyonlands National Park were taken while we were on this hike, but I thought I would share some more personal photos that show my hubby and daughter actually hiking.





As you can see they have the trail marked with cairns (small rock piles) which really helps you not get lost when the trail is mostly sandstone. Though, we did get off trail a couple of times and had to go back to the last cairn we were at and then scout around for the next.

The viewpoints were well marked. One you had to go out on a long thin rock formation that had a major drop off on both sides. This was the one viewpoint we didn't go all the way out to (because we had enough of our heart popping out of our chests the day before with our four year old so close to the edge of drop offs). Then, once we thought we found the view point:

Only to find this sign at the bottom once we figure out the way down:


You can actually see the sign in the last photo. I thought it seemed kind of a funny place to have the sign laying, but it worked and we found our way.

While this isn't the Grand Canyon, it is just as beautiful and a lot less crowded. It is a place that everyone should try to visit at least once.

Thanks for letting me share this adventure with you.
Lorissa

PS. I thought about being Wordless today for "Wordless Wednesday" but decided I had to much to share with these photos. Maybe next week.

New Year's Resolutions - Not

I don't know about you, but I don't do new year's resolutions. I seem to have enough in my life that I'm trying to get done without adding to it. But that said, I do though find that after a busy fall and holidays, that January is a great time to get some of that lingering to do list finally accomplished.
Last year I started at Weight Watchers with a friend and lost 25 lb. This was a continuation of a goal that I had started during the summer, but could not seem to get myself past a 5 lb lost.
During the last part of 2009 I have managed to keep it off, eat better, and continue to be active. I would love to lose 5 more pounds and I'm hoping to do this in the next month or so. Here is a photo of my and my daughter that my hubby took recently. One of these day's I need to post a before and after, but I really don't like my before.

Another thing on my to do list is to update and redo my website. I'm doing more portraits then ever, and enjoying it. My website does not let anyone know I'm also a portrait photographer and it really needs to. I love photographing both children and adults and really enjoy photographing a family in their home and capture them in their own environment. Here are some of my recent favorites.

Other things on my to do list include traveling more, finishing up some scrapbooks, organizing my digital negatives better and spending more time playing with my daughter.

So instead of adding to your busy life with new "resolutions", just say no and try to get some of that never ending to do list done.

Hope you and yours has a happy and beautiful 2010!!!
-Lorissa

When in Florida, Do Disney - FL Vacation Part 4

And for two days we did Disney.

Now if you have ever been to Disney World you know that two days is not enough time to visit the entire thing (I'm not sure two weeks is either), but we tried. We stayed at a Disney resort and for two days we had park hopper passes. Now with young children you can skip over things that they won't see (like fireworks shows) and, since they don't sleep in anyway, you can get to the parks early. But with young children you do have to take some time out/nap time during the middle of the day.

We tried to use these to our advantage and arrived just after the parks opened the first day. The first park we went to was MGM Studios. This is a great park to go if your children want to meet the Characters. My daughter just was beyond herself when she met Mickey. Here she is waiting in line getting her pen and autograph book ready.


After lunch at the Studios we went back to the Resort to rest, which didn't last as long as we had hoped, and then went to the pool for a quick swim.

Redressed and ready to go we headed for the bus station to catch the next bus to Animal Kingdom. Of course it was just driving away as we got there, so when the Epcot bus arrived we decided that we would just go there. If we were smart we would have called for dinner reservations right then, but unfortunately we didn't.

Epcot was fun. We got strollers for each kid and started towards the Nemo ride. Along the way the three year old fell fast asleep so we thought we might visit the world showcase first. When we got to France they had a Craft for Kids sponsored by Sharpie. It was paper masks that the kids decorated with the new sharpie color markers. Now I don't know about you, but sharpies are the last markers I will buy for my child. Okay, maybe when she is 17 and needs them for a school project. But seriously. My daughter actually said, "But mommy you told me that I can't use those markers." And I did, so I had to amend it to just this once. Here is her mask:


Each country had a little dangle that you could add to your mask, things that represented that country. We had fun until we couldn't find a sit down restaurant that we could get a table. I wanted Japanese food, but we should have stayed in Morocco like my friend suggested. Finally in China we found a place that had seating and food the kids would eat. Due to time we were rushing out as the fireworks started and headed to the Monorail for the Magic Kingdom.

We arrived at the Kingdom just in time for the fireworks over the castle, but the children decided they wanted only to ride rides. There were no waits in Adventureland so in less then an hour we rode Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle Cruise, and Aladdin's Carpet ride (many times). On the way back to the hotel both kids passed out. Here's mine:


Day two there was no sleeping in. We got back to the Magic Kingdom for it's early opening for resort guest. This time we headed straight for the Haunted Mansion. My daughter was scared at first, but I've never gone to Disney and not ridden it. I told her it was just pretend and as long as I held her hand she seem to enjoy it. After the ride was over, she asked if we were going back to the hotel. I said no and asked why. She said she didn't want a ghost to follow us home, but if we were going to the hotel that would be okay. LOL

After that we headed for Fantasyland before it got too crowded. This is where you find my daughters now favorite ride, Dumbo. I can't believe I stood in line for 45 minutes in the Florida heat in August to ride it, but she loved it and that made it so worth it in the end.


After all the rides in Fantasyland and some ice cream on Main Street we headed home. What a great time. I won't forget my daughters first time at Disney.

Tell me Thursday - Project Kitty, Rescued

If you have reading my blog lately you know my daughter loves to craft, paint, color, and more. I'm a little bit to blame for it because I would rather create then clean or exercise or make dinner. She seems to be falling into that pattern. So when we head off to the craft store together I find it difficult to tell her she can't get anything. On Tuesday I said yes to this Kitty paint and grow kit that she found on clearance. Why was it on clearance? Well the cat was broken into four pieces and the paint was dried out. My daughter didn't care, she just saw the potential. And for $2.00, could I say no?

Can you see the cracks? The big one in the front goes right down though the right eye and into the whiskers. With the paint on you can hardly tell. We just had to include a new first step of gluing the Kitty back together. She insisted that the eyes be pink (her most favorite color) and we only had a washable brown paint to replace the black, so it looks a little muddy. But for the work of a 3 1/2 year old I thought it turned out great.

The second part of the project was to plant the grass seeds in the plastic container provided. This was actually the much less of a mess part. Once we got it all together we put the bag on top and put it in a sunny window still. The seeds are only two days old and have a few more days before they sprout but I included a photo anyway. So in the end the little container goes right inside the Kitty and she as a cute decoration for her room.

So if you see a project like this on clearance, go ahead and rescue it. My daughter just thought it was a puzzle we had to put back together and we saved a good $4 over the regular price.

Wordless Wedensday - Project Kitty

Come back tomorrow for Tell Me Thursday to find out how it turned out!

Monday - a few things to celebrate.

I just realized that my last post "My Sweet Young Artist" was my 100th post. I really thought that I would be on my 200th by now, but I really haven't gotten going into a rhythm with my blogging yet and it always seems to get knocked way down on the to do list. I actually have some good ideas for post, but by the time I get to them the energy is gone. I seems to be an unfortunate side effect to being the mother of a preschooler and someone trying to lose weight and get in shape. I spend most of preschool time working out or doing chores. By the time I get to working and promoting my shop I'm tired and she is wanting my attention. It has not helped that we just when through flu season. It hit us hard this year because it was her first year in preschool. But I should celebrate my accomplishment and not dwell on what I had hope would be. You know those expectations can lead us to unhappiness if we let them, but only if we let them.

So lots of positive things to celebrate this Monday.

First of all, last week my online friend Leah of Michon Jewelry Blog and Michon Handcrafted Jewelry featured me on her blog. I was so wonderful of her and I really appreciated it. You can find the feature on my LJDesignPhoto shop here. I was part of her new feature where you recommend an etsy artist you admire. I recommended Valerie of Valeries Gallery and she posted Valerie's interview today. Valerie knits and felts things, but my favorite pieces of hers are her bowls. She make wonderful felted bowls and I have the pleasure of owning one.

Michon Jewelry Blog via kwout

I'd also like to mention that I have been working the last two and a half months to lose weight and get in to shape. I joined Weight Watchers and have been working out at least four times a week. I have lost 15 lbs and am now training for my first 5K. I'm really not a big fan of running, but it really feels good after my work out to have pushed myself so hard. My goal is still another 15 lbs away, I'm just so happy to be healthier. I really want to improve my health for my daughters sake and to give her a positive influence of eating right and exercise.

I'm not really a fan of this photo, but it was taken a couple weeks ago when I was down 12 lbs, but I wanted to post something to show my progress. I really hate to put up an older "fat" photo, but know I really am making progress and in a few weeks I will post another photo, maybe one of those classic, with my fat jeans on, images. LOL

And don't forget that this is my 101th post. And that I had 5 etsy sales last week. And that tonight is Mom's Night Out. I'm sure, I'm forgetting a couple of things.

So what are you celebrating this Monday (because everyday should have a positive edge to it)?

My Sweet Young Artist

Mother's are always proud of their children and I am no exception. I feel lucky to have a daughter who's interests, at three and a half, include dance, reading, singing, music, animals, and most of all art. She loves to draw, paint, sticker, cut, work with clay, sew (little kid kits), beading, and just about any medium that allows her to create something. We have to create something new each day. Most days include a variety of mediums with many things created.

She recently made a large step in her drawing. She is no longer just scribbling, but actually trying to make things, from movie characters, to food (pancakes with a pat of butter on top), people and more. One of her favorite subjects is the family. Anther favorite is the large box that Daddy recently gave her. She has had lots of fun decorating it inside and out.

I have to say I am amazed how quickly she went from scribbling to creating figures and more. She has also started to write her name and has about three letter down (they are just never in the right order). I just had to share as a proud mother.

The Family with hair.

Monsters Inc.

Pinky Dinky Doo

A puppy dog and more