Easter Photos 2016

It's hard not to take Easter pictures when the outfits are so cute and the weather is so nice. Let me tell you, it's hard getting good shots of a toddler! There was a lot of chasing, making funny noises, and wiggling fluffy toys around. Needless to say, I was out of breath by the end. I did my best though, and I think they turned out alright! Also, this is the first time I tried pigtails on Lizzie. Simply, the best. Happy Easter!

Car Seat Cover

The car seat cover I had for Lizzie is pink and girly so I looked into buying a new one for our little boy. My bestie, Emily, suggested I make one myself since they're easy to make and then it would be one of a kind. Well, I have like zero sewing talent so she helped me make one and I love it! It really was easy, even for me. Here's how you make a car seat cover:

What you need
1 yard fabric for the outside of the cover
1 yard of fabric for the inside of the cover
1/3 yard of fabric for one side of the straps
1/3 yard of fabric for the other side of the straps
Velcro strips

1. Iron the all the fabric to get the wrinkles out.

2. Cut both cover fabrics 42" long, and 32" wide. 

3. Lay the 2 pieces of cover fabric with the right sides facing in. Sew about a half inch in from the edge around all sides but leave about a 3 inch gap so you can flip it inside out (which is actually right side out)

4. After you flip it inside out, fold in top edge of the gap on both sides, and sew closed.

5. From the strap fabric, cut out 4 pieces, 10" long and 2 1/2" wide (2 from the pattern that will be facing out and 2 for the pattern that will be facing in). 

6. Sew together right sides in, but leave one of the shorter sides unsown on each strap.  Flip inside out, fold in top edges of the opening, and sew closed. 

7.  Cut out velcro strips to fit and sew them unto the short ends of the straps. They'll be on opposite ends, opposite sides.

8. Place cover over the car seat (but under the handle) to see where to place the straps. Stick pins in where you'd like the straps to go. Take cover back to a flat surface and pin straps, centered on the cover (it might not be completely centered top to bottom, mine was longer in the front). Then, using a ruler, trace a square around the center of each strap where you'll sew. The size of the square is up to you, it depends on how big of a loop you want your strap to make when velcroed together.

9. Sew over where you traced. Erase any remains of the trace; you can use an eraser or a wash cloth.

10. Ta-da! You're done!

DIY Baby Valentines Day Photos

I took Lizzie's first Valentines Day photos when I was just starting to take an interest in photography. I was a total newbie with a camera and I didn't have editing software! These were taken purely with natural light inside my house with my Nikon D3300. Anyone can take decent photos as long as there is good light, cute props, backdrop, and a cooperating model. My little tips are:

1. If taking pictures inside the house like me, find an area that has a blank wall and a big window.

2. Plan to take the pictures at a time when the sunlight fills that room the best

3. Make or buy a backdrop and/or prop, it doesn't have to be fancy. I just cut out paper hearts, taped them to some string and hung them on the wall. I almost made a heart banner instead, so that works too! 

4. If you have ugly carpet like I did, throw a blanket down for your model to sit on. 

5. Make sure the adorable model is fed, rested, and happy before snapping the pictures

6. If possible, have someone else there making her smile and laugh because it's hard to be both the entertainer and the photographer.

DIY Cake Smash

Lizzie is one! I can't believe she's been with us a whole year. We love her more than we could have ever imagined and are looking forward to many more years with her. In this post I'm going to talk about how I did her cake smash session with details on where I got props, the recipe for the cake, etc.

The Outfit
I decided to dress Lizzie in just a tutu, necklaces, and a headband. I mean, come on, who doesn't want to see that adorable pudge? The little tutu is from Target and the necklaces are from Walmart. I made the headband from materials bought at Hobby Lobby.

The Cake
I didn't want Lizzie to have a sugar high or get sick from eating too much sugar so I chose to make Lizzie a healthier birthday cake. It's a banana cake I got from this site. For the frosting, I actually just made a regular cream cheese frosting. All the healthy frostings I looked up were so runny that you couldn't design the cake with it. So, I made the frosting using this recipe. All I added to it was some food coloring. With my cake froster tool, I designed the top of the cake with rose patterns.

The Photoshoot
Lizzie's cake smash photo session was held outside because the light is better than what I can get inside.  I took her pictures at the park an hour before sundown with my Nikon D3300. Some balloons were placed in the background for a little background prop. The only problem was it was a little windy so in some of the photo's you can't see the balloons very well because they're blowing all over the place. I sat Lizzie in front of the cake and then took pictures like crazy. I did have to help her out in the beginning because she didn't know what to do besides poke at the cake. I took lots of pictures from different angles so I would be bound to have some adorable shots. Even though Lizzie didn't get as messy as I expected, I consider her cake smash a success!

I had such a blast doing this for Lizzie. I hope this gives you some ideas on how you can do a cake smash for your little one.