Today is my Mom’s birthday. Happy Birthday Mom!
Back in June, I suggested to my sister and brother (well, more my sister-in-law) that we get all the kiddos together and have portraits taken as a gift for Mom’s birthday. They were receptive to the idea, so I found fabric and patterns for the girls dresses and Julia and I made dresses for the girls while my sister found coordinating blue polo shirts for the boys. We went barefoot for a fun summer feel. We used the Jackie O Dress for Jessica and Aspen, but instead of buttons down the back, we put a zipper in the bodice and didn’t cut the back skirt piece. We also didn’t do the lining. For Janette, I used the Abbey Dress, but I didn’t use piping and added ribbon like in the Jackie O Dress. I discovered the zipper foot and now I think zippers are fantastic.
Sarah came into town an extra day early for Aspen’s 3rd birthday party and Sarah, Julia and I met up Friday morning at the mall at the JC Penney Portrait Studio. Do portrait studios have a set number of photos they’re allowed to take per session? The photographer seemed to be waiting for the perfect shot at times. Five kids under five? The perfect shot is never going to happen. We did individual photos of each kid before getting all five together. She only took two photos of each individual kid. One of the two of Janette was blurry, like she overzoomed. Overall, I was not the most impressed with the photographer. She did take twelve photos of all the cousins together. Then three of Cameron and Trevor together. Two more of Aspen by herself. And none of Jessica and Janette together, because Jessica didn’t want to cooperate. For a grand total of 28 pictures in the 1 hour we were there. That doesn’t seem like a lot to me. I mean, she was with Cameron and Trevor for like 10 minutes and she only took 3 photos? Oh well.
We decided to choose the best group cousin photo (the photo in the first layout) for an 11×14 framed photo and a 6×12 easel framed photo that my Mom can put in her office with the rest of the grandkid photos. Then I took all the photos (we paid for the photo CD) and made the following layouts, which we put in an album for her. I spoke with her earlier today and she was really pleased with the present. That made me happy.
Digikit: Queen Wild Scraps – Springing Into Luck; Mommy Made This – Springing Into Luck, Cardstock, Glitter; button from Amy’s Designs – My Girl
Wordart: Word Art World – Swap 71
Journaling reads: “August 3, 2012 When everyone was in town for Aspen’s birthday party, we took all the cousins for some family portraits. It was difficult to get five children four years old and younger to look at the camera and smile at the same time. The portraits still turned out super cute.”
Digikit: Queen Wild Scraps – Springing Into Luck; Mommy Made This – Springing Into Luck, Cardstock, Glitter; button from Amy’s Designs – My Girl
Font: Milk & Cereal
Digikit: Mommy Made This – Springing Into Luck, Cardstock
Wordart: Word Art World – Cousins
Digikit: Queen Wild Scraps – Springing Into Luck; Mommy Made This – Springing Into Luck, Cardstock, Glitter
Font: Milk & Cereal
Digikit: Queen Wild Scraps – Springing Into Luck; Mommy Made This – Springing Into Luck, Cardstock, Glitter
Font: Dawning of a New Day
Journaling reads: “Jessica is 2.5 years old. Janette is 9 months old. Jessica is independent. Janette is laid-back. Jessica is a picky eater. Janette eats everything. Jessica is a good sleeper. Janette, not so much. Whatever their differences, they’ll always be sisters.”
Digikit: Queen Wild Scraps – Springing Into Luck; Mommy Made This – Springing Into Luck, Cardstock, Glitter; button from Amy’s Designs – My Girl
Font: Dawning of a New Day
Happy September!
Jennifer, You had a great idea for your Mom for her birthday. I think all the pictures turned out great. She will treasure it always. I like the colors.
One of my best birthday presents. I like the candid shots better than the posed anyway. You’re wrong about the perfect picture. I thought they were perfect as they were.
Jennifer, these are fabulous! I love the matching outfits and each page is wonderful. What a great idea for your mom! I’m sure she loved this.