Hand Print Santa Ornaments

It's been a while since the girls and I have made a hand print craft, so we decided we'd get out all of our craft supplies and make something that would add a little extra craftiness to our Christmas tree. Ava made one using her hand print (the larger one on the left), and Audrey also made one with her little hand print (on the right)... all with mommy's help, of course!

Here's what we needed:
* Card board
* Scissors
* Paint
* Cotton Balls
* Googly eyes
* Puff balls
* Ribbon
* Pencil
* Glue

Here's how we made our very special creations:
(F.Y.I. - The girls did a lot of "helping", especially with the painting, hence the reason mommy didn't get the camera to take corresponding images for the directions below).
1.) Trace one hand on card board using a pencil.
2.) Using scissors, cut out the hand print.
3.) Paint a beard, hat, and face on the hand print. Let dry.
4.) Glue cotton balls (cut into smaller sizes, if needed) onto Santa's hat (the thumb of the hand print will become the end of Santa's hat).
5.) Glue googly eyes and a puff ball nose onto his face. Also glue a portion of a cotton ball onto his face for his mustache.
6.) Glue ribbon to the back to use for hanging on your tree. (I also wrote my girl's names and year on the back of each ornament, so I'll always know who made it and when!).

Our tree looks beautiful with these new additions! Have fun making a few of your own!

Look Whooooo's Snapping {25}

This linky party is for sharing your favorite photo(s).  Just make sure to grab the button below to share on your blog post, showing others that you are linking-up!
(If this is your first time linking up, be sure to click here for rules and details).

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********************************************************************************** Welcome to this month's "Look Whooooo's Snapping" photo linky party! The winner from last month was........... ("Winners" are chosen by your popular vote). 

This adorable image was provided by Amy {from The Story of Us}. So cute! I just love the setting!

Congratulations, Amy, for again winning most popular and thank you so very much for sharing!

You are welcome to grab the button below :)

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A couple of my favorites from last month were..........

How precious is this little cutie's collage?! So adorable!  Stephanie {from Behind the Camera and Dreaming} shared these lovely images.

I am in love with the whole image! The colors, the model, the attitude!
Well done, Mock-Turtle {from Jack's Paper Moon}!

Congrats, Stephanie and Mock-Turtle, for winning the favorite "awards"! You are both welcome to grab the button below :)
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********************************************************************************** Now's the time to start this month's party! Here is my favorite photo....

It's so hard sometimes to just pick one image to be my favorite for the whole month! So, I'm cheating a little bit and selecting a collage I created from one of my most recent portrait sessions. This session was sooo much fun to shoot. We had fun dressing-up, wrapping ourselves in Christmas lights, and saying silly words to get those genuine smiles. What a blast!! I think you'll agree when you view the photos below! ;)

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Now it's your turn to share your favorite photo(s)! 

And THANK YOU in advance for participating :)

Be sure to "like" at least one other photo besides your own!
YOUR image just may very well be next month's featured photo!!! 

Life is About... {Blog Hop} Month Eleven

Due to Hurricane Sandy and the power outages (including my house!), this blog hop will continue through the month of November!

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If this is your first time linking up, click here for details about the hop.
************************************************************************************************************* My favorite entry from last month's "Life is About..." blog hop was -

"A Sunshine Play Date"

 provided by Kelly-Marie {from Our Footprints on the World}

Thank you, Kelly-Marie, for your precious submission and for participating.

Congrats on being this month's feature! You deserve to grab the button below :) 
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**********************************************************************************

Time to start this month's hop!
MONTH ELEVEN
For me: Life is About... family travels
We have been traveling a lot lately as a family, so what better memory to share than that of one of the journeys we've experienced together! This image is of my two girls playing in a courtyard near the Smithsonian in D.C. My original purpose for this trip was to photograph a lovely couple for their e-session, but because my little family had decided to tag along, we had soon made the weekend out to be a family fun adventure of explorations and learning.  (Click here to read more about these fun family travels!)

What is life about for you?!! Please link up and share below. We'd love to hear about what's important in your life! (And Please remember to steal my button for your link-up showing others you've joined the hop!)

Look Whooooo's Snapping {24}

Due to Hurricane Sandy and the power outages (including my house!), this linky party will continue through the month of November!
This linky party is for sharing your favorite photo(s).  Just make sure to grab the button below to share on your blog post, showing others that you are linking-up!
(If this is your first time linking up, be sure to click here for rules and details).

<center> <a href="http://www.mommyknowslife.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src="http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l630/ThePhotoMommy/lookwhoooossnapping150.jpg"/></a></center>
********************************************************************************** Hello Again! And Welcome to this month's very own "Look Whooooo's Snapping" photo linky party! I am happy to announce the TWO winners from last month were........... ("Winners" are chosen by your popular vote). 

Such a sweet shot of this little fellow! I love the angle and detail of this image.  Mindi {from Simply Stavish} provided this lovely shot.

Amy {from The Story of Us} shared this precious image of her little guy looking out the window.
Such a sweet perspective. 

Congratulations, Amy and Mindi, for winning most popular and thank you so very much for sharing!

You both are welcome to grab the button below :)

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A couple of my favorites from last month were..........

Isn't this image breath-taking?! Emily {from Scattered Horizons} shared this lovely photo with us.

Stephanie {from Behind the Camera and Dreaming} shared this precious photo.
Doesn't it just take you back to your carefree, childhood days?!

Congrats, Emily and Stephanie, for winning the favorite "awards"! You are both welcome to grab the button below :)
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********************************************************************************** This Month's Party is officially ready to begin! Here is my favorite photo....
So, I may be cheating a little when I chose this month's favorite photo to be a photo that, well, I actually took about a month ago! I just couldn't help myself. I really enjoyed capturing an image of this beautiful creature when our little family visited him at the zoo a few weeks ago. Not only is he incredibly attractive, but he is also very friendly. I wouldn't mind spending more time getting to know him. We may very well just have to plan a return visit! (Click here to read more about our visit to the zoo and to see images of all the animals we encountered along the way!)

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Now it's your turn to share your favorite photo(s)! 

And THANK YOU in advance for participating :)

Be sure to "like" at least one other photo besides your own!
YOUR image just may very well be next month's featured photo!!! 

Ava's 3rd Birthday "Dress-Up" Party!

Our little Miss Ava turned THREE back at beginning of July, and yes her birthday party was then as well... so I am just a tad behind posting about all the fun we had. But, boy did we have fun! This year's birthday party was inspired from the wonderful, imaginative mind of a child's creativeness and joy that is experienced while pretending and just simply "dressing-up". Not like Halloween dress-up where everything matches and makes sense. But more like the idea of dress-up in the mind of a three year old... wearing what she likes, wearing what's fun and interesting, and not caring if one thing matches the other! So, yeah, throw on a tutu and a clown wig, sit back, and enjoy the images from our dress-up fun below!!

Ava's cupcakes even decided to "dress-up" a little bit to feel like they were part of the fun!

And those goodies in the basket - they're baby food containers (cleaned after use, of course) filled with homemade play dough for all the children, who came to the party, to take home with them!

I made Ava's b-day invite this year a little bit girlier than usual. But she sure is a cutie in it, wouldn't you agree?!!

Our Visit to the Smithsonian

At the beginning of this month I was scheduled to photograph a very lovely couple for their e-session at the University of Maryland. (Click here to see photos from this gorgeous shoot!). Because I was to make the four+ hour trip for the session, we decided we'd make a weekend family trip out it and make the most of DC while we were there. What a fun time we were able to cram into two days! We stayed at the J.W. Marriott on Penn Ave, just a few blocks from the White House. Walking was our main method of travel, and despite the immense humidity, we had a very enjoyable time. One of the main attractions of our journey was the Smithsonian, The American History Museum and The Natural History Museum to be exact. Most of our footage below, in fact, comes from our adventures at the Museums. I think one day when the girls are older, we are definitely going to plan an extended trip to come back and do more exploring!

Visit to the ZOO!

A few weeks ago, on a beautiful summer morning, we had the great idea to take our girls to the zoo. They had never been, and because of their fondness for animals, we knew this would be a fun trip. We went to the Hovatters Zoo near Kingwood, WV. Despite the size of the zoo and limited amount of animals on "display", the girls still enjoyed watching and somewhat interacting with the animals. Our favorite character by far was the newest member of the zoo, the tall and friendly giraffe. According to his bibliography, he starred in the movie "Evan All Mighty". That's definitely pretty neat! Audrey even enjoyed giving him a small snack, as did many other children visiting the zoo that day. At least we know he's well fed. Having had a small taste of the wildlife zoo of Hovatters, we look forward to where our next zoological adventures take us!