"Chambliss Kids"

i fell in love with the sweet spirits of these little girls!..they were all about taking pictures and just having a good time.......and i can't forget little brother! he was all smiles! lol.....but he's a fast little guy! HA...here's a few from our shoot........

 

  

  

  

 

Meet little miss Annabelle

i finally got to meet little miss Annabelle.........i did her mother's maternity pics this past summer.......so when she called to schedule an appointment i was super excited......Annabelle is such a beautiful baby.....and just as happy and laid back as can be!!........i was so glad we ended up with a fairly warm day...outside pictures are the best!

 

 

 

 

"tutorial,,,,how to applique a shirt"

alright......here's the tutorial on how to applique a shirt.....but first i'll show u what i did to turn one of my old shirts into a shirt for my daughter..(if u're using a knit shirt like i did,, u'll need to put a ball point needle on ur machine first...and when sewing knit,, do not use a straight stitch,,it will not stretch when ur fabric does,,and so the thread will break ...i use a slanted zigzag stitch,,if u don't have one of those,, use a zigzag stitch)......first, i took a shirt of her's and laid it on top of mine......

then i used her shirt as a pattern, and cut around it.....making sure i cut up the top of the sleeves and down the bottom too...and leaving a 1/4 of a inch or so for an inseam when i sew the pieces back together....so u'll have two separate pieces...a front and a back.......the shirt i picked of mine to use had a cowl neckline,,,so i cut it down too....trying to make it as close in width as the one of hers i was using......

 

next u'll sew the two pieces back together,,right sides together of course!......so u'll sew from the neckline down to the edge of the sleeves on both sides...and from the bottom of the sleeves to the arm pit and down the side of the shirt.........since my shirt had a cowl neckline,, when i turned it right side out and folded the neckline over the way it's suppose to be,, i had an ugly raw edge,, like this.....

 

so to fix that i did a "french seam" just on the neckline,, to do this u take ur seam u want to fix, turn it inside out,, so u see the pretty seam on the other side....and pinch it like i did in this picture below,, and then sew a seam ....this will sandwich the raw seam into the middle of the pretty seam and the new seam........

 

now our shirt is done! try it on ur model to make sure it came out right.......and in case ur wondering,, i just cut the sleeves to fit...and left the seams raw....u can hem them if u want.......

 

now that we have our shirt to work with,, ( i love the fact i didn't have to buy one,, and i have one that is a little different then a regular old tee shirt)...we'll put an applique on it.......to do this u need whatever fabric u want to use,, and some "wonder under".(u can get this at ur fabric store, our walmart still has fabric,,and they carry it,, it's 1.99 per yard)..to applique, u'll actually be making ur own iron on...and then putting it on ur shirt.....say we're going to put a "circle" on the shirt.....i usually search thru my house until i find something that shape and the right size.....this time it was one of my chirstmas plates...lol....place the plate on ur wonder under,,,,i had just about the right size piece of wonder under left........ cut a piece bigger then what u need...........then cut a piece of the fabric out,, a piece bigger then the piece of wonder under u already cut...

 

....turn the fabric face down on ur ironing board,,,and then take ur wonder under........when u feel it in ur hands,, there's a wax paper side, and a rough side......place the rough side on top of ur fabric...and place the iron on the top of the wax paper side.......and iron ......

 

next, u can use ur pattern,, in this case it's a plate...trace around it and cute it out........and then u're going to peel the wax paper off of the fabric cut-out...sometime it can be a little hard to get started...but keep at it....

 

after u get it off,, center it where u want it on ur shirt,, and just iron it down....then stitch around ur design....a small zigzag looks best...unless u have an awesome VERY straight, straight stitch......and u're done!!!

 

yes, i messed up the peace sign.....i forgot the middle stick on the bottom!HA!,, luckily my daughter hasn't noticed yet!! lol.........i'll be posting a tutorial on adding ruffles to pre-made pants later.........and even if u think u know how to do that already,, i bet i have a trick to make it LOTS easier for u!!!

"Coming Soon"

 it's been a couple months since my last tutorial,, so tonight i will be posting a tutorial on how to make an appliqued shirt and how to add ruffles to a pair of pants!!! i have so many people who have ordered outfits like this,,,and so many people, who can really do it themselves!! check back tonight,,and i'll teach u how!!

2bits, 4bits, 6bits a dollar..................

my kiddos are 2, 4, and 6years old......for three more months.........something about even numbers......i just like it............anyways,, it's been unusually warm around here this week.....so i took the opportunity to snap a few photos of my kids .......
i can't believe how big emma grace is now......she looks so much older now that she wears her hair down.......no more bows of any kind,,,,,an occasional clippee.....and that's it........sigh.............at least i can still get a bow on my sweet katie mae!.........

 

AR Family Photographer........Cloud Dust Photography

meet the Alexis family.......when i booked their appointment i had no idea it was going to be as cold as it was on that day!....at one point during the shoot,, the temp rose to 29degrees.....yes, it was down right frigid!!!......but their kids were heading back to college a couple days after the shoot.....so we just dealt with the weather and got it done......this family is very fun.....and if i had to be in the 29degree weather,, i'm glad it was with such a lively family!!!

Ar Children's Photographer........Luke and Grant

i did this photo shoot back in early dec or late november.....i couldn't post pics until after cmas,, the pics were a present for the parents.......this is luke and grant.......after getting off with a rough start, (the little guy got stung by a bee when he was getting out of the car!!!)....we had a lot of fun walking around a local state park.....finding lots of big sticks,, calling the ducks, and throwing LOTS of rocks in the pond...lol.......here's a few from that day.....

 

 

 

 

Sarah and Hannah

here's a couple pics that i took of sisters, sarah and hannah.....i had asked them if they'd be interested in doing some modeling for me so i could try out some new stuff with my camera,, (new settings and such)..........and they agreed...but i don't think any of us realized how cold and rainy it was going to be that day! HA......i still have LOTS of pics from this day to go thru,, these are just the few that i've edited so far..........

 

 

"Snowflakes and Flurries"

we finally got some snow here in south west arkansas!......yesterday morning,, for about three hours it snowed!!! it was simply breathtaking.......i just LOVE watching snow fall........it's gorgeous!.......too bad it didn't stick around....
and even worse,, emma grace was at school the entire time,,,,,,and they only got to watch it out the window!!! shame on those teachers,, actually prob,, "shame on the principal"......should have let the kiddos at least go outside for two minutes... ..................here at the house,i let warnock and katie mae play outside.......it was the first time katie mae has seen snow....i love watching my kids experience something so beautiful for the first time....the look on their faces is always one i try to etch into my own memory......the sparkle in their eyes,, the jaw-drop in amazement, and the hands out,, always ready to touch and feel whatever it is..............SIGH.............