Fat Turkey Ass

I'm pretty sure that the 1st Thanksgiving is to blame for obesity in the US.  Yup.  How else could it have started?!?  Lets all sit around a table and eat until we're ready to explode.  Totally the beginning of the end of skinny society.  Though...I myself, am a fan of the Roman way of thinking.  Fat=wealthy.  But that's probably just the lazy cheeseburger lover in me :)

1 Year Old

I wanted to share my 365 photo project with y'all.  Every day for the 1st year of my son's life, I photographed him.  Some days it was literally one photo, sometimes only with my camera phone because that was the only way to capture the moment at the time.  When it was all said and done, I had taken 25,876 photos of my son.
I have put together a book and am having it printed for him and also put the images together as one...a single shot for each day.  It starts with my belly the morning he was born (approximately 14 hours before his birth) and ends with a photo taken on his 1st birthday.  I think it turned out pretty awesome so I wanted to share it with other moms, artists and everyone else who checks out this blog so they can take some ideas away from it.  Here it is:

Annnnnnnnnnd we're one...almost...

Sorry I've been MIA for a bit.  Had so much to do to get ready for little man's 1st b-day party!
His actual b-day is tomorrow but we've been rocking out the parties for a few days already.  Yeah, birthdays are treated sorta like Hanukkah around here...we celebrate all week...sometimes even longer.

For those of you following me on twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/21stcentgoddess), you already know I promised a post RE decorating and planning for a 1st bday party...without breaking the bank.  Sort of a follow up to my rant about moms who blow their load on baby's parties.  So here it is, in all it's photo heavy glory (what else would you expect from me?)!

1st Bday banners are hokie.  Yes I had one, but it was passed down and I totally would not have spent the money on them.  My idea (well sort of my idea...it was borrowed from someone else who borrowed it from someone else who ... you get the point)

Hang photos!  What says "let's celebrate my child's life" more than images of said child?  NOTHING!  That question was rhetorical.  

 I chose to go with a polaroid look.  I freakin LOVE how it turned out!

So check out how I did it:

Achieving 'Polaroid Look' Photographs:

1.  In Photoshop (or another photo editing program) open a new 4x6 inch 300 dpi (or smaller but no smaller than 100 dpi for best image quality) file.  

2.  Use the ruler option to mark in 1/2 inch from each side and from the bottom.  

3.  Use the ruler option to mark up from the bottom 2 1/2 inches (this should create a square within the 4x6 with a heavy white area under it)

4.  Choose the images you want, copy & paste it into this 4x6 file (your file MAY need to be sized down to fit within the square)

5.  Using the Marquee tool, highlight any areas outside of the square and delete them (make sure you don't delete any important parts of the photo...like a face...DUH!)

6.  Save the file with whatever name you choose.  

7.  Repeat 

I did this with 3 images for each month that Moose has been alive. 

Obtaining Prints:

Admittedly I used Walgreens because I was in a rush.  I will NOT make that mistake again.  The color was all over the place...I  literally had some images where the white frame was pink...and a number of images were too dark to even use.  Live and learn.

Normally I use mpix.com but I didn't have time to order them and didn't want to pay for rush shipping.  You can also upload your images to other local photo shops like Wolf & Ritz Camera, etc.  

Once you have your prints:

To make it look like a true polaroid you will need to cut 1 inch off the bottom of each image.  I would suggest using an art cutter of some sort to get a straight edge, but if you don't have one scissors will suffice.

Stringing The Images:

It's not rocket science.

1.  Use a single hole punch to make holes

2.  Choose a fabric ribbon so it moves freely and does not make the swag too stiff

3.  Tie ribbons in corners

4.  I used tape to hang them up...I'm lazy.

*note:  I chose to use 2 prints from each month.  I used the extra prints in another project that you will see further down the post.  

TOTAL COST OF PROJECT (including all 39 prints, tape, & ribbon):  $10

When I was a baby, my  mother purchased these solid silver circus animal candle holders.  She handed then down to me for Moose.  I love them!  

Who needs expensive decorations when ribbon is so freakin cheap?  Yeah it's the holidays and yes the lights were up as Christmas decor, but strings of lights can add quite a bit of cheer to a party and lets face it, babies love fun things to look at light lights.  

I chose Black & Orange because they are Harley Davidson colors and threw in blue because well...I didn't want the place to look like a Halloween celebration.  

I made loose easy floppy bows because Moose is a boy and doesn't need foofy decorations.  

Total cost of ribbon to make 10 big bows:  $4

Behind the table you can see the 1st b-day banner that was passed down to us.  I will be passing it along to another friend.  I never would have thought of recycling party decor but it was a great idea.

For table decorations, buffet and server decorations, etc I used his toys.  Since the party was themed "motors", we used motorcycles, trucks, cars, tractors, and machines.  

Total cost of table/server decortations:  $0

 These photos were the 3rd set of monthly images that I had printed.  The banner would have been too long with all the images included so I used the remaining photos to hang around the room on furniture and walls.

The cost of these photos and ribbon is $0, they were figured into the above costs.

Ribbons do not have to be made into fancy bows.  Use the ends of the ribbons as laid out decorations to add color to your tables!  Sit your plates and serve-ware right on top of them.

Outdoor decor was also handed down from my friend.  Cost:  $0

Even if you have no one to hand stuff like this down to you, printing a few big #1's off your computer and using ribbon to decorate your entry way won't run you more than $5 between paper, ink and ribbon or streamers!

Moose's moosey cake was brought  by my mother in law, Liz.  Most amazing cake ever!  I love it!  The cake is from Jarosch Bakery in Elk Grove Village, IL.  They're amazing!  Since I didn't buy the cake I don't know the exact price.  What I DO know is you can get a cake big enough to serve 40 people at most local grocers for about $30...if you don't like the basic designs they do, buy some of this stuff:  and decorate it yourself!  That's what I did for his smash cake.  The icing in 2 colors cost me less than $6.
So lets say you're pinching pennies and buying the cake but decorating it yourself...Cake Cost:  $40

Want a smash cake???   Easy Peasy.  I bought Duncan Hines mix at the store for $1 and done.  Check with your local bakery.  A lot of them give a free smash cake with purchase of a cake for guests!
Cake Smash cost:  $10 including all ingredients and decorating frosting

Last but not least was the issue of food.

We had about 30 people over the course of the evening...some wanderers and stragglers came late...some people were here early...a few stayed most of the evening.

I didn't serve dinner because the party was planned for 3-6pm

We provided a handful of 2 liters of pop (99 cents each)

Other people brought other drinks to share.

I made appetizers.  My little guy LOVES Mexican food...so that's what I went with.

My Menu:

Chipotle Cheddar Cheese Cake ($7)

2 large flour tortillas

2 T butter

2 8oz bricks of cream cheese

1-5 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (drained and chopped finely) (I used 2 and should have used more for more flavor, I recommend going with 5)

3 eggs lightly beaten

Brown tortillas in oven on a baking sheet (aprox 10 mintues on 350)

Run them through food processor to create crumbs

Mix 2 cups of crumbs with 2 T butter and press into a pre-greased 9" springform pan

Mix softened cream cheese and peppers and eggs and press into pan.

Bake on 350 for 1 hour or until center is set

Remove from oven, allow to cool for 1 hour, loosen sides with a spatula

Allow to cool the rest of the way (I made this the day before)

Place in fridge for 4 hours to cool completely 

remove 1 hour prior to serving and allow to come to room temp

Excellent if served with fresh cilantro and sour cream

Olive Salsa ($5)

3 14oz jars of Italian style diced tomatoes

1/2 cup black olived (finely chopped)

1/2 cup green olived (finely chopped)

1/2 c fresh stemmed cilantro

1 T basil or balsamic vinegar

Mix well, chill, serve with tortilla chips

Enchilada Hot Dip ($4)

One small package enchilada seasoning

1 8oz pkg of cream cheese (softened)

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups Mexican or Taco style shredded cheese

Mix seasoning, cream cheese and sour cream well

Coat 9x13 glass pan with spray or oil.

Dump mix into pan

Top with shredded cheese

Warm in oven on 350 degrees aprox 15-20 minutes or until cheese is barely starting to brown

Serve with tortilla chips

Cost of chips to go with recipes above, and chips/dip for non-mexican food fans:  $12

My other mother in law brought spinach puffs and bagel dogs (cost of those pre-packaged is aprox $15)

Total food & drink cost:  $50

The total cost for our 1st bday party for Moose:  $115.00 (plus presents for him from us)

I seriously see no reason to spend a fortune.  Did we have our entire house decorated to the nines with matching everything and rented tables and chairs, no.  Did we have a clown/pony rides/dunk tank, no.  Did we have an amazing evening with loved ones and a time that we will never forget?  Hell yes!  Oh and one last thing:

Party's over?  Clean up crew needed?  I will rent mine out to you for $10/hr...trust me she's quick!

Gimme an R...Gimme an O...Gimme a T....

Gimme a T...Gimme an E...Gimme an N....

What does that spell???  

Well, we all know what it spells, it spells "my kids"!

I don't know if it's packing to move or my son's 1st bday coming up, or Christmas shopping that's really opened my eyes to the level of spoiled in my house, but I do know that it has become abundantly clear.

The more we pack for moving, the more I realize how incredibly much stuff they have!  We are packing in 24"x24"x18" boxes.  I'm not even kidding when I say that they EACH have an entire box OF THEIR OWN that is filled with nothing but notebooks, journals, stencils, stationary sets, pens, pencils, gel pens, and stickers...PLUS there is an entire additional box with "group" pens/pencils/crayons/markers/etc in it.  OH and they each still have an entire shelf in the broom closet (which houses nothing resembling a broom at all) that is full of writing and drawing stuff that they did not want to box up yet.  No wonder I don't have much room to store food in my kitchen, I lost my pantry to their drawing and writing stuff...and don't even ask me about actual art stuff, my 12x10 mudroom is 1/3 shelves with art stuff on it that belongs to them.  

Cake Monster

I'm not even kidding, my son is getting 4 count it FOUR cakes for his birthday!
How does that even happen?!?

Photo Spot Lesson: Do it yourself studio

Lesson #8 from The Photo Spot:  Do it yourself studio

Setting up a studio the professional way can break the bank.  Is it really necessary?  If you're going to open a business and do studio work, hell yes.  But if you're a mom who wants kick ass photos of her kids, hell no.

So what do you need to set up space for yourself to shoot "Studio Quality" images?

It's easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Yes,  you CAN watch eBay, watch the sales, pick up a backdrop stand and lights and umbrellas and backdrops and seamless paper and props etc or you can choose to do it in a way that doesn't break the bank, at least until you know what type of equipment you want.  There are so many choices with hot lights and strobes and slaves etc etc etc that my suggestion is, find a studio photog to learn the ropes from first (or spend some time with a sales rep at a photo supply co that knows their shit and can show you how things work) so you know what you want before you spend a small fortune.

So what do you do in the mean time if you want to get great studio shots?  Here's my guidelines for a home based pseudo-studio:

For starters, you need a few things for a studio set up:
1.  Space
2.  Backgrounds of some sort
3.  Ideally-decent flooring (this is not necessary depending on how you crop your images)
4.  Lighting

I hear hearts dropping already.  It's not as hard as it sounds!  Lets take it one thing at a time.

1. You need SPACE.  That doesn't mean you have to set an entire room aside for shooting!  Obviously WHAT you hope to shoot will dictate how large the space needs to be, but lets assume that most moms starting out who have fairly standard camera are shooting with a 28-55mm kit lens; you can be as close to your subject as 3' and when photographing kids and babies you don't need anymore space than 4' wide. 

Try to choose a space close to a window (preferably southern exposure)-that helps with your lighting issue which we will touch on in a bit.  When I am not photographing at my studio, I have a corner area set up in my son's nursery that I use.  I reserve this space for my close friends who don't feel like driving to my studio or for pics of my own children because it's not a good place to bring paying clients to but the images are just as good as images from my studio location.

This is the corner of my son's room that I use most often.  There is a large window with southern exposure and a wall that has a great paint job which can be used as a background sometimes.  The floor isn't ideal.

2.  Backgrounds sound very intimidating.  There are muslins, papers, velvets, and more.  Prices range from $30 for seamless papers to hundreds for specialty backdrops.  OOOOOOOOOOOR...you can hit your local fabric store and pick up yards of different types and textures of fabrics and do it yourself!

Every one of the backdrops pictured above is a fabric purchased at Joann's.

When purchasing fabrics for backdrops think of things that will not be too distracting.  The above blue anti-pill fleece was an excellent purchase.  It was been used and washed more times than I can count and only cost me $8 for 3 yards when it was on sale...BUT because it has a busy pattern, it has to be used carefully in images with no other distracting elements.   Two of my favorite photos using that background are these:

The possibilities with fabrics are endless.  Velvet is much cheaper at a fabric store, you have faux furs...faux leathers.  I HIGHLY recommend those photographing children and babies look into the fleece fabrics, they're durable, washable, cheap, and come in TONS of colors and patterns.  

If this isn't in your budget, pick up a can of paint and a roller and make your wall whatever color you wish it to be.  If you have photoshop, I would recommend sticking with white...there are tons of programs out there now that allow you to digitally add a backdrop in, white and 'green screen' backgrounds in images make this easiest.  I myself am just starting to play around with these programs, so I will reserve recommendations on those for a later time.

You can even get creative and pick up other items to use as backdrops.  One of my favorites is a grass beach mat that I picked up for $0.50 (that's right FIFTY CENTS) on clearance at the dollar store!

Still out of your budget?  Dig through your house...even something as simple as a beach towel can be all you need for a cute photo background!

Ok I have my backdrops, now what?  There are 2 easy ways to use them: 

1.  Screw a 2x4 board into your wall (a single screw at each end will suffice and it's easy to spackle the holes in later).  Then A, use these:

to fasten your backdrop up for each shoot ... or B, buy 2 curved hooks like this:

and some shower curtain hooks:

  

and clip your backdrops to the shower curtain hooks, and toss the hooks over the wall hooks and VOILA!

So you have space set aside and some 'backdrops' purchased...now what?

3.  Flooring.  If you don't plan to drape your backdrop or crop the floor out as seen in the above images, then you need to take into account your floor.  The easiest fix for ugly flooring or flooring not becoming of photos is this:  go to Lowes/Home Depot/Menards...pick up ONE box of laminate wood flooring in a neutral color.  Sometimes you can even buy individual boards instead of a whole box.  A box of the cheap Tarkett brand stuff will run you about $18.  It snaps together and is beautiful not only as a floor for full length images but also as a backdrop for images if you want to get creative:

Space...check!  Backgrounds...check!  Floor &/or backgrounds that drape...check!  Last but most important of all, lighting!  *GASP!*  It's not as scary as it sounds!  "But there are slaves and hot lights and..."
And, and, and...forget about ALL of that!  Yeah, having studio lighting will allow you to manipulate shadows and high lights and throw extra light on backgrounds...you can use colored lights...but wait!  You can do all that (not to the same extent but somewhat) without lights.  Get this...not a single one of the above images was shot with ANY studio lights, flashes, or strobes.  They're all shot in a natural light setting.
What is a natural light studio setting?  It's exactly what it sounds like!

A natural light studio (which is all the rage right now:  with clients because the images are beautiful and with photogs because its CHEAP overhead!) is essentially a photo studio that utilizes NO artificial lighting.  Some photogs use a combination of natural and artificial, but to be a true "Natural light studio" there must be no lights other than that of our one and only sunshine.

So how does this work?  Simple.  Remember that southern exposure window I talked about?  Depending on the time of day, you will either get bright direct sunlight:

or soft bounced light (the direct light will be hitting the other side of the room from the wall you shoot on, or higher up in the room than your photo area):

How do you get some light on the side of the face that the window isn't on (or on the background for added punch)?  Reflectors, baby!
I have this one:

Which will run you between $50 and $80 depending on where you get it...but you don't even need that!  Ever heard of white poster board?  It's totally reflective and works GREAT!  This photo, was shot with plain white 10 cent poster board as a reflector::

How did I do it?  The sun was coming in a window that was on the wall behind him and off to the left a little bit.  It was shining off to the left.  I took the poster board, stuck it in the direct light, and put it at approximately a 45 degree angle to his face, moved it around a little until it was perfect, and shot!

Skeptical if any or all of this really works?  Every single photo in this post with the exception of the color image on the blue background and the last image above, were shot in my son's bedroom, using Joann fabric or dollar store backgrounds, natural light, and most likely a hammer and nail directly into the wall type of fastener for my backdrops.  The shot of the baby on the blue backdrop in color, was photographed at my studio location but not actually IN the studio, it was in a sitting room upstairs and was shot with indirect natural light and no reflector.  The last image above was in my kitchen (as you can see, we were eating carrots at the time).

It REALLY IS as simple as all this.  Some of these images have been edited in Photoshop because I believe that most images require a little tweak here and there, some of them have not.  Keep posted for tutorials on tweaking your images in Photoshop to get the most out of them!  As always if you have questions or comments, please feel free to post on here or email me at notsodomestic at yahoo.com

Mom's not ready!!!

Well, ladies & gents...it happened.
My sweet baby boy...who turns 1 year old a week from today...walked last night!!!  EEEEEEEEEEK!!!!

I'm not sure if I should 'squeeeeeeee' with joy or throw up at the idea of him getting so big so fast and uhmm...inevitably getting into EVERYTHING!  I have my father to blame, who babysat him yesterday and spent the entire time he was here trying to con and coax my little man into walking to him.  There's no one else in the world that I would rather have had teach him that...and the way his 1st steps last night went down was so perfect!  In the middle of Sons of Anarchy while my husband and I were sitting together, Moose stood himself up on the corner of the chair, put his arms out, and walked to me a whole 5 steps!  My husband's face was PRICELESS (as I'm sure mine was too).

Planning a 1 year old's bday party seemed like such a breeze at first but now the mom in me has taken over and I'm obsessed with it being perfect.  Yes.  Obsessed.  Crazy psychotic out of my gourd ... ok not really

but I do want it to be cool.  I know he won't remember and I'm not one of those moms spending $300 on a party, but the photog in me wants awesome memories for both him and myself.

So I spent an hour this morning working on a project, the idea for which I got from a photo blog I follow...and I have 3 other little projects planned.  I ordered Harley Davidson and Gravedigger (monster truck) plates and napkins and a really cool centerpiece for the table...one of my mothers in law is picking up a perfect cake...and I'm now debating getting him a new shirt for the occasion.  Get this...I've even planned out MY outfit!  Yeah.  It's like that!

So as I obsess over the silly little details of snacks that he will like and snacks that we will like...plates and napkins and decor that screams "I'm the only little boy of 4 kids!" and trying to work around our already done Christmas decor (some of which might have to come down for the party)...I took a few minutes to check out some bday party ideas online and...OH EM GEE!

While the idea is cool, there will be none of this:

or this:

or this:

(although, that center one is SO COOL!!!)

Unless you make $500,000/year I just can't fathom putting yourself in the poor house over a party.  A party.   A FREAKIN PARTY!!  It's not even something you can keep!  You can't hold it or touch it, you live it and like a wedding, it's a blur when you look back.  Yeah yeah, photos photos...if anyone knows that it's me, but even photos only go so far to jog the memory and stir emotion.

I belong to a bunch of mom websites and I just don't understand these insanely extravagant bday parties for kids who are too young to remember them.  I love my son more than words can describe but really...he's 1.  He's not going to have a memory of this day, only I will...and the photographs I take will show him how much fun he had and how much he was surrounded by loved ones on his special day.  That's enough for me.  No pony rides, no "Kid's DJ" as I saw one mom mention, no purchase of 1000 balloons.  

Oh yeah.  I said Kid's DJ!  Just how one becomes a Kid's DJ, is beyond me.  Perhaps its a normal DJ that one day just gets tired of paying Boot Scootin Boogie and that "left foot stomp, right foot stomp" song that I would have fired my wedding DJ for playing, had I not had a live band.

A poll on cafemom.com shows the average amount spent on a kid's bday party:

Poll Results

Question: How much did you spend on your child's birthday party?

$0-$50

3%

$51-$100

23%

$101-$200

23%

$201-$300

25%

$301-$400

8%

$401-$500

3%

More than $500

11%

Shut the front door!!!  Are you broads out of your fucking minds?!?  $300 is a car payment!  $500 is more than half of a mortgage payment!!!  Do you hear me, MORTGAGE PAYMENT!!  

Let me break this down for you in case you got hit with the 'poor money management' train:

Plates/Napkins with a cool design ~ $45 INCLUDING SHIPPING!

 <~~ those are the ones I got!

Banners/signs/hanging things (non-balloon items..why?  cuz balloons are a choking hazard!  mom up, people!  kidding...I just don't like balloons) ~ $10

Yard signs/front door signs/etc  ~ $20 (check this link on vistaprint.com lawn signs for under $9-CUSTOM!)

Appetizers (you should average 1 appetizer per every 6 people attending according to Jamie Borodoshuk of jamiestable.com so figure on at least 5 appetizers)  I figure this cost as homemade appetizers not store bought because #1 they're tastier, #2 I don't do store bought shit for my parties because it's how I was raised, #3 it's cheaper 99% of the time ~ $40

Cake ~ $40 if its BIG and custom designed from a bakery not just Jewel (no, I'm not baking the cake for the party...but I am for his actual bday)

Uhmmmmmmmm yeah that's really all you need!  Oh ok, I bought custom postcard invitations, also from vistaprint.com...50 of them cost me $17 including shipping.

Front:

Back:

TOTAL:  under $170.00!!!!

He's one so it's safe to say his "friends" won't be disappointed if they don't get treat bags but assuming I had invited say 15 kids his age and made little bags for them, add $12 for dollar store stuff and little bags.  Plus its a 1st bday-not a big drinking party...I hope!  Even if I bought  couple cases of beer or bottles of wine for adults attending, still under $200 and if I had made the cake, the cost would have gone down to only around $15 so that and no bags would have put me back at $130.

I can see how it could be easy to get carried away and spend a ton but have some self control people.  "He'll only be one once!"  No shit?  I had no idea.  If I was a kid, I would rather have a modest bday party and more presents, but hey...that's just me.  

The 11% of moms who say they spend over $500 blow my mind.  Unless you're hiring everything done, I just don't get it.  To me half the fun of this whole event is doing this stuff for him!  I want him to look back at the pics and be like "Wow, Mom!  That hanging decoration you made with my picture on it is so cool!  I can't believe you made that yourself!  The whole place was decorated so awesomely!"  (Shut up! Awesomely is a word!!  Well...it could be!)  I see very little joy in someday hearing him say "Gee, Mom you sure can order shit off the internet and tell people where to hang things!"

If I hit the lotto, had hundreds of millions of dollars to spend on anything I wanted...I still cant fathom spending more than $200 on a bday party...gifts not included.  Say whatever you want about it, lord knows I always do...all the excitement in the world about my baby boy talking, walking, and turning 1 can't make me dump a small fortune on a single party.

We do not remember days; we remember moments.  ~Cesare Pavese

All it takes is a moment to keep a memory alive.  My moments are brought to you by my not-quite-empty-wallet.

Pics of the big party day to come next week!