Happy 10! Project: Plaid Christmas

Every year we send out holiday photo cards just like everyone else.  I have mixed feelings about this trend which has now become the norm.  I do love receiving photo cards and prefer them over the regular hallmark cards, but I can't help but to feel how impersonal Christmas cards have evolved as a result of this trend...which is a bit ironic.  The problem is that these cards are now being sent without any trace of human handwriting--not a simple line of hello or a well wish for the holidays...not even a signature many times.  Are we so busy that we can't be bothered, or perhaps this is the only natural progression in the age of technology and all the social media of today...as a result, we pick up a pen less and less and handwritten notes are becoming a thing of the past...sad, but true.

Well, so that's my pet peeve for today...now, onto this photoshoot!  We always have a blast with our annual holiday photo card session and we try our best to come up with some sort of a cohesive theme. This year, we decided to go all plaid (my favorite!), and I absolutely love how the pictures turned out. Here are a few of my favorite, some of which made it into the holiday card this year:

tired little pups...that's a wrap!

Happy 10! Project: Snowflakes & Lights

Can't believe Christmas is next week!  Things have been very hectic around here lately, and we also had a little scare with Jasper this week which just added to the stress--out of nowhere, he had a slight limp and just did not look his usual perky self.  The following couple of days were filled with anxiety and fear as we carefully monitored his every move.  Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing more than a minor muscle strain and he is pretty much back to normal, but this incident served as a sober reminder of my dogs' declining years and that I'll have to be prepared for things to come...

On a lighter and happier note, dogs and I had a lot of fun playing with Christmas lights in this photoshoot. Neither of them minded the light strings and kept them on even after the camera was put away!

he's starting to get grey eyebrows...sigh

snowflake hairpins!

I really love the simultaneous tilt here!

Happy 10! Project: Reindogs

December is the most festive time of the year and one photo session for the whole month just doesn't seem right, so I'm planning to do one a week.  So, the first one is the reindeer theme--done with couple of antler headbands I picked up for $1 each.  They're cheap, light, and the dogs looked absolutely adorable wearing it!

Thanksgiving Photoshoot Prep

I thought it would be a good idea to share some of the background preparation that goes into each photoshoot in my new project--if nothing else, it's a good way for me to document each step.  So, here are some details to last week's Thanksgiving session.

Once I decided on the theme, I set out to buy the pilgrims costumes online, but quickly realized that they're not that easy to come by and also quite costly.  I did however find a whole bunch of tutorials on how to make paper pilgrim's hat and bonnet for kids and that gave me an idea to make my own.  I knew that i wanted to substitute paper with fabric or something a bit more realistic and also more durable, so I had to get a little creative.  For Jasper's hat, I looked around the house for a suitable "top" and at the end decided on an empty cup ramen container.

what shall we use...

styrofoam cup was too small...

old Ikea pencil holder was a good size but a bit heavy...

ramen cup was the perfect size and weight!

I was tempted to eat the ramen first, but thought it best to keep it clean, so I put away the noodles in a ziplock bag for a later consumption.  For the brim of the hat, I simply used a cardboard box and cut out a circle in the middle about the same diameter as the ramen cup.

At this point, I took a trip to a local craft store and picked up a sheets of black, white and yellow felt. The rest of the project involved a lot of cutting and gluing of the felt onto the cup ramen and the cardboard template and then joining the two pieces together.  I used my hot gun for the job, but staples or double sided tape will probably work as well, and they also sell the felt sheets with the adhesive backing which I considered (but was too cheap to pay the additional $0.50).  The last step involved sewing on some spare black shoestrings I had lying around (why, I have no idea).  I didn't spend a whole lot of time or effort into making it all pretty and perfect since it's for a photoshoot, but I think it turned out pretty good and I definitely think it's better than using paper.

For Misty's bonnet, I thought about sewing together a real bonnet out of fabric, but I couldn't really find a template that was simple enough for me to even consider attempting on my limited sewing skills, and I really didn't want to make one out of paper, fearing it'll end up ripping and not lasting through the photoshoot.  Then, I found this tutorial which used a thin foam sheet (also found at a craft store) and that was perfect for my needs.  I followed the tutorial exactly and only had to modify it a bit (cutting it a little more in the back) to make it a better fit for a dog's head.  The foam material makes it more rigid but it keeps it's shape better, I thought.

All in all, this project only cost me $6 and couple hours of my time--not too bad!  Now onto the photos--you can see the actual photoshoot pictures in here.