Re-sale shops

while in Poteau today my daughter and I hit some resale shops in hopes that we would find some funky hats and we hit the jackpot.... She has a fascination for weird hats and since my interest in photography has peaked I thought I would stock up on props. Props to me includes anything from cool chairs, sports equip., anything in the background, etc. I have always loved the old time pictures, so I thought I would start aquiring a bunch of different hats and scarfs to choose from for the kids to play dress up. I remember when my little girl went to a birthday tea party and the lady had all kinds of stuff and I thought that a photoshoot would of been wonderful.... If I could have all of that stuff that would be great. Some of that stuff might even come in handy for a vintage pin up girl photo shoot also as accessories.... look at me already thinking ahead. I wish I actually had someone to do one of those shoots for, I would be so creative.... but anyways.

Athena also picked out a few separate pieces of clothes at the re-sale shop and made a couple of dress-up outfits. She has her own sense of style but it works for her :) I sure do love my baby girl but she is definitely growing up.

My first tutu!

I stayed up for a few hours last night hoping my daughter would wake up this morning and be extremely happy when she seen that I had made her a tutu... well to my surprise she didn't like it, or at least she said she didn't like it. I had to make a deal with her to even wear it today to take pictures, I told her if she would wear it, I would let her wear some of Mommy's make-up. Needless to say she took the deal as you can see by the picture and she ended up having fun playing in it too! I had fun making it and I think I did a pretty good job making it considering it was my first tutu. I think I will make another one except the next will be a shorter one with pink, black, and white colors, kind of punk... :) I didn't realize until after I made it that it was OU colors... my hubby is an OSU fan, but that's OK... our school colors are those plus black so she could actually wear it to the ball game maybe with some black tights or something to have school spirit :)

maybe if I practice enough and get great at it I can sell them... maybe it's just wishful thinking too! If anything I can always make them and give them as gifts to my neices and little cousins... that is a special gift and I think they would probably never forget it.

photoshop fun

I was just playing around with photoshop last night. I was trying to figure out how do and perfect a watermark symbol. In the process I found a website that showed me how to make photos look aged and turn a photo into black and white and make it look awesome, not sure if I did that but I thought it look OK... :) anyways I also figured out how to turn a photo into a comic book look.... how does it look... I really like it. I would really love to figure out how to do pop art next. I have a link for that too. If anyone is interested here they are.

click here for photo shop tutorials

click here for pop art tutorials

Eureka I figured it out!

So I've been wanting to figured out how to make a frame around pictures in Photoshop and I finally figured it out.... I guess it's called a vignette or cut-out. Here are a few of my cousins little girls on Christmas Day... I still need to play with the settings, but for the most part I think it looks good.

On the tree

So before I take my tree down today I thought I would share some pictures of it. Of course we have the lovely Dora ornaments, as you can see Athena is taking down back pack. Back in the day we also were into jet skiing and had one of our own so when I ran across this santa on a jet ski ornament during the day after christmas sale a few years ago I just had to get it. This year I had to get this Hannah Montana guitar one since this is what she likes now. This just goes to show how our hobbies and interests changes and our tree shows it from year to year, we add a new ornament for every member of our family. Somewhere I have a snowman with a stethascope to represent when I was in the nursing program....

My Sweet Girl

For the last week or so she has been fighting being sick. For the last two days, her cough has been worse than ever, but through the sickness she still wants to take pictures. Today was the warmest day it has been in weeks so we snuck outside for a few quick moments and did a mini shoot of my sweet girl. What is really funny is her outfit is decked out in doggies and the dogs next door kept barking and I got a few shots of her barking at them. It was just kind of ironic to me and the pictures kind of told a story to me especially with the doggy theme :) Hope you like em'

Loss of a customer

So I lost an Avon customer today and I wasn't upset, I was kind of relieved. I mean at first I was a little pissed because of all the hell she has put me through and the way it all went down but after that I was glad. I have always gone out of my way for her, like I do all of my customers, and I take her order in advance and when I get it in I sometimes hold it for weeks because she is one of those 1st of the month people and I understand that is the only way I am going to get paid, is to work around their payday. But I start to get really frustrated when I set up times to deliver and they are not home. I have had her order for over a month and she hasn't answered her phone and she finally calls me the other night and wants me to deliver it the next night on my way home (which way last night) I told her it would be between 6 and 6:30 and she said OK, she never told me she was going anywhere. Well when I get there to deliver it she isn't there and I even had to get my daughter out in the cold because we were on our way home from picking her up from grandmas.... that is really what ticked me off because she has been sick.

When she called this afternoon I told her that I came by there and she wasn't home and she said that her family didn't bring her home in time. I told her I had to get my daughter out in the cold last night and she wasn't even there. She told me I should have called first and I said I had just talked to her the night before and made those arrangements and didn't think they would have changed already. I told her as soon as my husband came home from work tonight I would bring it by and she said OK.... Then she calls me back a minute later to tell me that she doesn't need my Avon, that I talked rude to her and she didn't appreciate it, and then she hung up on me. I tried to call her back to explain to her that I have been patient with her and her situation, financially and also when she wants something she expects me to drop what I'm doing and bring it to her. I had to once take her order to her Halloween night right after I got back from trick or treating and I was tired. I was going to explain to her too that I just was uncomfortable with getting my little girl out in the cold. But she hung up on me when I tried to call her back. Who needs customers like these that are almost imposible to satisfy.... I'm a damn good Avon lady and the majority of my customers will tell you that, that is why my myspace name is aWeSoMe AVON LaDy. I'd rather not spend the majority of my time trying to satisfy a customer like this who will never be satisfied and who really puts me in a burden, when I could be freeing my time up to find more customers out there who would appreciate my service and what I do, and how I go far beyond what most Avon Ladies go.

X-mas Party

I took the day off from work today and went to my daughters Christmas Program. Her Pre-K class sang "We wish you a Merry Christmas" and did a great job... she of course should her butt and not only sang and jumped around she did a few extra kicks that the other kids did not do. Towards the end of the day they had a Christmas party and all of the kids brought a gift and exchanged it with another child and as you can see you got a tea party set and Loved it! All the way home she kept saying "Mom, do you wanna have a tea party with me?" I played for awhile once we got home and then started packing my Avon orders...

Sale at Hobby Lobby

On my lunch break today I stopped by today to pick up the supplies to make my first tutu. Here are the colors I picked out. I plan on making a few if the first one turns out. Wish me luck. My 4-year-old is so excited and cannot wait to help me. When I couldn't decide on two or three colors (because I'm such an undecisive person anyway) I was happy to know that the tule was on sale so I ended up choosing 5 colors. The matte colors were regular 2.99 but were on sale for 1.99, and the shiny colors were regular 4.99 but were on sale for 2.99. Woo Hoo! I wasn't sure about the elastic though. I knew that I needed to get 1 inch for children and 1/2 inch for infants/toddlers, but they had like 3 different kinds, like braided, woven ribbed non-roll, and there was another. I wasn't sure which was the best. Any help would be appreciated because like always I'm clueless :) I will post pictures of the finished product once I get it done.

Party time

Friday night we were celebrating my buddy Felisha' 29th birthday. It was also the Christmas party there at the local bar where several of the rich people hang out. This place from the outside and even from the inside seems like a shack but it is actually pretty cozy and the company is great. We had a blast and here are a few pictures to prove it. We karaoke'd all night but didn't get any shots from that, at least I haven't gotten them yet.

How to's on TUTU making...

So I've decided I wanted to learn how to make my own tutus. I have found a few websites that have step by step instructions that should be easy to follow. I'm so eager to take a trip to the fabric store this weekend now so I can get started. When I get one done and have Athena pose for pictures I'll post em.

here are some of the sites to help out:

site 1

site 2

site 3

How to make a tutu halter dress

How to make a ribbon waist

How to make a tutu wand

Fun at the Coffee Cup!

I finally was able to get some good buddy time in with my friend Felisha this weekend. She sang out at the Coffee Cup and I sat in with her for one of her originals. I had a blast. Below is a picture she took of me in my cool new hat. It actually came with one of the shirts that I bought me hubby for X-mas but I knew he wouldn't wear it.

Click here to check out the Coffee Cup's myspace page.

Click here to check out Felisha's official music page, she is awesome!

My Cousin/Best Friends Shoot....

I have been raggin' on them for awhile to let me take their pictures. Finally they say OK and it's a nice morning but by the time we get outside to take them the wind has kicked up and it ends of being too cold for the 2 month old baby.

I had to try to get what I could in 10-15 minutes. Here's the best of what I got. I had to edit her hair because it was flying EVERYWHERE.... can you tell? Aside from the wind and the new baby, her oldest has autism and we couldn't hardly get him to look at the camera, but he's still adorable! I got him to put on the antlers at one point and that made him happy.

My bare tree :(

We finally put up our tree last week and we have yet to put up any ornaments... Our tree is naked :( I mean who doesn't like naked, but a naked tree, that's different. I guess I need to dig out the boxes from the closet and pretty it up a bit....

Cookie Lee

So awhile back I did a Fall Festival and set up my Scentsy table. While I was there I went around and met all of the other consultants and of course networked with them and gave them my info and books. Well one of them was a Cookie Lee Jewelry Consultant out of the Tulsa area. I got her info and she got mine. She already had a Scentsy warmer but I gave it to her anyways. I didn't hear from her until yesterday and she called me with a rather huge order of $161 and wanted to be a Hostess since she had a big order so she could get FREE product and a 1/2 price product. Here is a link to her Cookie Lee website. Check her out!

Recap of the last week!

This is my Awesome Hubby Ronald! We are out at the Coffee Cup in Poteau.

This is my baby girl and we are at the Coffee Cup listening to our buddy Jesse Clark play, you can probably see him in the background.

Athena kept bringing in her toys to take pictures with so I took advantage of her baby and actually pretended it was a "Real" baby... I thought it actually turned out cute, at least the baby wasn't crying :) I only have one light so I was pretty much just playing with lighting to try to avoid shadows. Please don't think I'm cooky!

Fender Bender!

After my doctors appointments last week I thought we'd stop by Bedford Camera & Video and do a little wish shopping for accessories.... when we went to leave a lady and I back into each other.... I guess we both looked and seen it was clear and went, she left a bigger mark on me than I did on her, she can buff her scratch out. What is more embarrassing is that she works at the University also where I work.... My first "Real" accident, it made me want to cry because my new car is not even 6 months old :(

Hearth & Home

Scentsy December Scent of the Month: Hearth & Home
Welcome holiday memories with Hearth & Home, a fragrance combining the aromatic spices of the season with sweet Bayberry. Perfect for those cold nights spent indoors. Enjoy this months fragrance at a 10 perSCENT discount! Visit my website here www.scentsy.com/2546 or click the banners above or below.

Give the gift of life this holiday season!

So I started my day today knowing I was going to give blood here at the University since they were having a blood drive and determined that I was going to win that cruise for 2. United Blood Services is having an incentive that if you give blood you will be in a drawing for a cruise for 2. Little did I know it was for everyone in the area including parts of Oklahoma and most of Arkansas, and for everyone who gave blood in November and December. The guy said they already had 4000 people give blood in November, my odds are shot! I went into it being just about myself and I started to think about it, what if I needed blood. Especially around the holiday season. This is the best gift I could probably give to someone, especially to someone I don't even know. I know this sounds a little cheesy but you never know what is going to happen and if you are going to need blood... I mean hell, I'm having a scope procedure done next week and they may nick something, and I may need my own blood.

My husband is a weenie about needles or else I would try and talk him into giving blood, but I think everyone should be giving blood this holiday season.... I think this will be my new tradition around the holidays :)

My wish list....

So now that I've been really getting into photography I need more stuff... I've learned lighting is essential. I don't have any natural lighting in my home where my studio would be so I have to get ALL artificial... here is what I'm looking at buying from Ebay for only $299 tell me what you think.... I know what most of it is and what it's for, but some of it I have no clue!

This system has 3 strobe lights. Two 150w/s lights, GN 135 feet at ASA 100:
It features: Built-in reflector and power cable.
Remote slave sensor(For cordless strob)
Full and 1/2 power setting options.
75W Halogen Modeling light.
Recharge readylight.
Two-way fixing stand adapter.
Built in umbrella holder.
Easily changeable fuse holder.
Fast recycle time:1-3 seconds.
5600K color temperature

One 110w/s lights, GN 105 feet at ASA 100:
Built-in reflector and power cable.
Remote slave sensor(For cordless strob)
Full and 1/2 power setting options.
75W Halogen Modeling light.
Recharge readylight.
Two-way fixing stand adapter.
Built in umbrella holder.
Easily changeable fuse holder.
Fast recycle time:1-3 seconds.
5600K color temperature

This kit also includes the following accessories:
Three 3 section light stands that can be extended to 7 feet high.
Two 27" by 19" soft box kit.
One gold umbrella
One wireless remote trigger
One large 10x20 grey backdrop!
Two 5x10 feet polyfiber backdrops.
1 black/1 white!
Two 75W modeling light bulbs.
Two extra long 15 feet flash cords connect your camera and the light.
23" gold/silver reflector.
One Snoot.
One Barndoor.
One Color Gel kit:Red, Yellow, Blue, White Soft.
One Honey comb grid.
One carrying case.

If I hadn't of spent so much money yesterday at all the Black Friday sales, I would of been able to buy it for myself already but Christmas comes first.

Nickelodeon Family Getaway

How does a 2-night stay at the Nickelodeon Hotel in Orlando sound to you?!?!?

Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holiday Inn®, is offering one of Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls reader a 2 night stay at there hotel in Orlando Florida!Here is some great features the hotel offers:

Character Breakfast - guests can enjoy a delicious buffet breakfast in Nicktoons Café while the kids spend time with some of their favorite friends like SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Cosmo and Wanda from The Fairly OddParents or the Rugrats.

Water Park - You really can stay at the hotel the entire time. "Lagoon – the first-of-its-kind, courtyard-style, zero-depth entry pool – and one of two pool complexes at the hotel. Pretend you’re SpongeBob, living in the city of Bikini Bottom, and slip, slide, and splash your way around, with a four-story water tower and a 400-gallon water tank that dumps out at random and cascades through seven slides and flumes."

click here and visit frugal mommy of 2 girls for more info on how to enter the drawing...

Fun at the Park

I had the day off yesterday also and had 2 doctors appointments that I had to drag my darling daughter to. Afterwards to reward her for being so good we went to the park so she could play and of course I took my camera along... taking pictures is a bonding time between us. She loves it and I love to do it. Here a just a few of the many I took.

I am loving this one where she looks like a giant by the tree....