My Baby Photo Essentials

When I first started taking photos of my daughter, Hailey, I wasn’t sure where to start. The truth is, taking pictures of a baby can be difficult since they can’t sit up, pose, smile, or generally cooperate. So, while my process was a lot of trial and error, I figured not everyone needed to go that route! So, I’ve rounded up my baby photo essentials, starting from newborn all the way to their cake smash session! Although you don’t need all of these items for a successful shoot, they will be helpful. You might even find items around your house that you can use!

For newborns:

Heater- newborns get really cold, especially since a lot of their photos involve being nude or barely dressed! You should invest in a heater for the photo session, which you can also use if it’s cold. We have a Dyson heater/fan, which we keep in Hailey’s room for the winter. It’s perfect for setting to a reasonable temperature (for us, it’s 75) and it comes on when the room goes below that temp. For newborn sessions, keep the heater high and closely to ensure baby stays warm and cozy.

Butterfly Pillow- Newborn babies can be a little “mushy” so one of these pillows will help you pose baby so that they look cute!

Donut Pillow- Ditto for this one, except it’s also perfect for putting inside a basket. You can adjust all the mini pillows inside too!

Swaddles- Swaddles are perfect for keeping baby in position, staying warm, and being comfortable so they don’t wake up. You can get a set of knit wraps or a few of these swaddles for your photos so that baby looks nice and “dressy”. As an alternative, you can use lacy or patterned fabric for swaddles. Check your local fabric store for something fun! Just make sure it’s soft and pre-washed for baby’s sensitive skin.

Fur Blanket- Give your photos some fun texture with a fur blanket! This will help your photo look “warm”, even when baby’s sitting around naked.

Basket- perfect for keeping baby in position and having some visual interest in the photo! There are tons of options and I’d recommend hitting your local Target or Home Goods for affordable options!

All ages

White blanket- This is my favorite backdrop for photos! I have a large blanket that’s probably full or queen size that I use to cover my headboard, lay on the floor, etc. It’s wrinkle resistant and easy to wash, which makes it perfect for photos!

Stepstool- If you want to take photos of baby laying down, you could use a bit of height! This step stool is SUPER light but also very sturdy. Perfect for taking around the house and being super safe while you’re at it! I fell off a chair and fractured my toe, so I don’t recommend using one for pics. Get a step stool. Better safe than sorry!

Boppy- you probably have one of these pillows already for nursing or bottle feeding baby, but they make perfect photo props! You can use them for tummy time pics, to let baby lounge, or to help them sit up in photos. There are so many uses!

Monthly Blanket- this is a really easy way to have consistent milestone photos plus it provides a nice backdrop for your pics. There are tons of different cute options for every style!

Monthly Milestone Markers- Use these to easily distinguish how old baby is! You can get stickers, wood markers, or even blocks!

Photo Equipment

A Great Camera- You can definitely use your phone for your pictures, but I would highly recommend getting a camera if you’ve been on the fence! I personally have the older version of this Canon EOS Rebel (mine is the T6) but this newer one has such great features! Touchscreen is a newer feature, plus this set includes a remote which means super easy shooting if you want to do some family portraits on timer mode!

Lightroom/Photoshop - these are my go-to apps for photo editing! You can do so much with these apps for only $10/month. If you want a more budget friendly option, try the LR phone app! It has tons of free features.

Tripod-  Perfect for taking photos with your baby! If you want to try and take your own photos, I would highly recommend this tripod! It folds up really small, plus you can tilt the head so that you can take landscapes or portraits! It's light, compact and folds up small. It's perfect for taking on the go and storing in a closet when it's not in use. This is the exact one I use for my photos!

Phone Tripod Mount- If you want to attach your phone on this tripod, you'll need a special adapter. I use this one, which does the trick! You just swap out the head it comes with and then expand it for your phone. The great part is that it's adjustable, so you can use anyone's phone. I'd recommend checking the measurements if you have a newer iPhone though. Those things just keep getting bigger and bigger, so I'm not sure if this particular one will get big enough.

Mini Tripod- If you want a tiny tripod for a tabletop or even easier portability, try this one! I haven't used this one personally, but it had great reviews on Amazon. I'm considering getting one myself, especially since I like to take videos of Hailey doing cute stuff. She always stops when she sees me holding the camera, so with this I can go into stealth mode! If you want something more affordable, try this one instead.

Box Lights- These are a bit of an investment, but I honestly can't recommend them enough! I use them for practically all my blog photos and occasionally whip them out when the lighting isn't ideal for portraits. Another option is these umbrella lights, which aren't quite as bright. Both of them fold up super tiny and can take up just a corner of a closet! It's actually pretty remarkable how mighty yet tiny they are. Just a note that these won't make a dark room bright, but they will assist in compensating when the room just isn't bright enough for a good picture.

Ring Light- These are perfect for low light situations. Full disclosure- I’ve never used one, but I know a lot of people have great luck with them. For the love of all that is holy, don’t blind your child with flash! You should never use flash- it’s just not flattering at all.

Cake Smash

Once your baby turns a year old, you may want to do a cake smash! These are so much fun and there are so many ideas on the internet (especially Pinterest!) that will help you decide on a theme. I’ve got a blog post all about my cake smash I did with Hailey, including what I used for it! No fancy lights or even a backdrop required! You can check that out here.

Once I started taking my own photos, I realized the importance of having the right equipment to be able to take the best pictures possible. Taking these photos helped me to feel more connected to my baby, and break up the monotony of the day!

DIY Geode Trinket Box

For Christmas, I had to make my own gifts and I was pretty bummed about it at first. For starters, I was sad because it meant I was broke and no one likes to be without money! But I also felt like there was no way I could get anyone anything for Christmas and that’s a shitty feeling. So, I decided to do what I do best- get creative! I made a list of everyone that needed gifts, along with ideas of what I could make them based off what I had on hand. I loved this trinket box that I made for my sister so much that I ended up making a second one for my sister-in-law too! I use these containers to hold my hair ties, but you can use them for anything. I created this using containers I already had (look familiar?) and purchased some geodes from Michael’s on sale. I ended up making them for about $2.50 each! However, they look like they cost WAY more than that. I really want to make one for myself now too!

You will need:

Acrylic paint (similar here and here)
Geode pendant (similar here or here)
Ceramic container (similar here)
527 multi use glue (similar here)

Directions:

1. Paint your canister with your choice of colors. I used Martha steward metallic yellow gold and satin moonstone purple for one, and Martha Stewart metallic copper and craft smart light pink for the other. I did two coats. 

2. Take any hanging tools off the geode and glue it onto your lid. I just used a small dab- a little goes a long way! You don’t want a bunch seeping out. 

AND THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE. This project is so fun and best of all, EASY to make! I personally didn’t paint the bottom because I find that the paint sticks to stuff and I didn’t want to ruin anyone’s furniture. If you’d like, you can add a piece of felt to cover up the unfinished bottom and prevent scratches on your dresser, but it’s totally not necessary. I didn’t and I think it still looked great!

What would you keep in this little trinket box? Earrings, rings, loose buttons, bobby pins? Let me know in the comments below!

Introducing... My Magic Mess!

A few weeks ago, I was sitting on my couch and trying to think about my values. I was struggling to figure them out and how they play out in my blog and in my life. I finally settled on authenticity and creativity, because those are really important to me. I want to be real and a true inspiration- not just some fake instagram #GOALS that no one can attain- even me! And then creativity for obvious reasons. So as I sat there, I thought about how I could inspire others in a way that matters. I thought about my story (which I’ll share more about soon) and what would be the best way to tell you guys about it so that you can go on your changed paths too. And that’s when it hit me- a challenge that will help people be more creative! So many of you guys voted to help me pick the name- so, thank you! I couldn’t have done it without you.

EDIT: This series was cancelled.

YOU GUYS. I am so excited to introduce to this idea. It all started from me being a perfectionist and stifling my creativity. And I KNOW a lot of people feel that way about being creative too. I can’t tell you how many people have told me that they wish they had my creativity or that they “can’t” make anything. It’s just not true! Everyone can be creative and make things. The only thing stopping them is their belief that they have to be GOOD at it to do it.

The point of this challenge is not to be good. It’s to be great. To try something new and get out of your comfort zone. To abandon the idea that you’re not creative or bad at crafting. This is about having fun and being part of a community of people that inspire each other. There is no negativity and no impossible standards to achieve- as long as you try to be creative every week, you can say that you succeeded.

The challenge will work as follows:

1. Every Wednesday starting on Jan 1, 2020 a new topic will be revealed. I’ll also give some suggestions on ways that you can join, ranging from easy to more complicated. I’ll also try to include some family-friendly options so that you can get your kids involved as well!

2. The challenge details will come via email, with a teaser posted on instagram and on the blog that reveals the topic. You’ll have a week to gather supplies and do your projects. I purposely picked Wednesdays because it gives you a couple of days to pick a project, and then the weekend to get any necessary supplies and work on it!

3. Post the projects to your instagram using the hashtag #mymagicmess. You can also send them to me on Instagram if you’re a private account so that I can see them!

4. Every Tuesday, I’ll share my favorite projects on Instagram stories so that you can see the way everyone interpreted the theme and get inspired for upcoming weeks.

5. Once a month, I’ll do a giveaway with some amazing supplies just for being a member!

6. I’ll be doing instagram lives where you can join me and ask questions, overcome your fears, and get some advice and tough love to help you through this challenge. I’m hoping this will be a transformative journey not just for you, but for me too!

7. Sign up via the official My Magic Mess challenge page to join- it’s totally FREE! After you sign up, you’ll have the option to purchase the accompanying workbook. This workbook is totally optional and not necessary for the challenge. However, it will help you to learn more about yourself and stay organized through the challenge.

   • Deep dive into your creative blocks and how you prevent yourself from being creative.

   • Keep track of the challenge details via weekly and monthly calendars. The weekly calendars contain inspiring quotes to help you succeed!

   • Monthly recap worksheets where you share your strengths and failures to help you grow.

   • Give some additional ideas for being creative in ways you didn’t think about- like, making a mural or digging in the trash.

   • Additional journal prompts to explore and allow you to be more creative through your words, actions, thoughts and experiences.

I hope you’ll join me on this creative journey! Sign up via the official challenge page and get ready to transform your 2020. I’ve covered a few FAQ’s there as well if you’re unsure if this challenge is for you. I’ll give you a hint though- if you’ve ever wanted to live a more creative life and something has held you back then this challenge is for you!

Surviving the "Christmas Is Over" Hangover

It’s the week after Christmas. The presents are opened, the family was visited, and the new year is fast approaching. Christmas was great, for sure. But you still feel sort of... unfulfilled. And maybe you feel this feeling every year. We spend all of December frantically trying to “feel Christmas” and all of January reminiscing it. Somehow Christmas Eve comes and we focus on all the things we didn’t do yet. The photos we didn’t take. The movies we didn’t see. The extra presents we didn’t buy for people. It’s ridiculous.

Most of us are totally blessed. We have a family that loves us, and we got plenty of gifts. But we can’t help but wish we bought more, or got more. Maybe even did more. Last year, my tree was so full of gifts (mostly for the baby!) that it was overflowing. I was scrambling so hard to get everything ready for when family came over that I didn’t even get to photograph the cute gifts in a perfectly curated pile of my favorite gift wraps. I mean, the ones my sister got were SO cute and I only got to admire them for a second before I ripped the gifts open and tossed the wrapping paper away.

When family arrives, the chaos of the day prevents you from taking any well-lit or well-posed photos. Lucky for me, my sister suggested we pose in front of the tree with Hailey last year and that’s how we got these cute photos. But without that, I would have missed an opportunity to take these priceless pictures. In fact, on the way home from John’s uncle’s house, I realized I didn’t get a single photo of me and Hailey on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, aside from selfies I took. I was crying when I realized that she’d be looking back one day and not even see me there. I ended up dressing her back up once we got home on Christmas and took some photos in front of the tree, because I couldn’t handle NOT having a photo of us together on her first Christmas.

Every year, I say I need to start things earlier. And every year, I’m there with a list of things I didn’t accomplish. Maybe the days after Christmas should be spent planning for next Christmas. Nothing crazy. Just a reminder to do all the things you wanted to do. Like bake Christmas cookies, and wrap gifts in a professional manner and then take photos of them. Watch a Christmas movie, wear your matching pjs and take a photo. It’s a great way to hold on to a little bit more of that Christmas spirit, while also ensuring that the feeling of Christmas comes back next year. It doesn’t even have to be anything fancy- a cell phone photo of the fun is better than nothing at all. It’s important to point out that so much of what you see online is taken days or even weeks in advance. Everything is a photo shoot, perfectly posed and directed to elicit just the right emotions. Sure, Christmas cheer is one of them. But so is inferiority, regret, and comparison. So while my to-do list for next year will include taking nice photos of the fun, I don’t want to spend all my time pretending to do fun Christmas activities, and not actually do them. I encourage you to do the same thing.

What should go on this “next Christmas” list? It could be a photo scavenger hunt, or a scrapbook activity. And it should start with a list of what Christmas means to you- memories associated with it, activities to do, ways to give back and help others. And maybe if we use that Christmas regret from this year, we can create a concrete plan for next year that helps us to enjoy the holiday season for everything it is, and not everything it wasn’t.

So, on that note… what was your favorite part of the holidays this year? What will you be adding to your list for next year? Let me know in the comments below!

DIY Monogram Christmas Stocking

About 6 years ago, my husband I grabbed some stockings from Target to hang up on our TV unit. They were cute and simple- red and white stockings with a letter for each of our names. As our family grew, we added additional stockings for cats, babies and a dog. The result was 7 matching stockings that I didn’t even necessarily like anymore! It seemed silly to buy new stockings when I had 7 perfect good ones, so I’ve just been putting them up year after year. However, this year I decided I would give them a bit of an update so that they can match my style more! This is something you can easily do to update any stocking, include those ordinary cheap red and white ones you can find anywhere. And it’s SO affordable that it’s almost free- I bet you have most of this stuff at home already!

*This post contains affiliate links

You will need:

Yarn (similar here)
Glitter paper (similar here)
Felt (similar here)
Scissors (similar here)
Glue gun (similar here)
Pencil & wax paper /printer (similar here)
Pom-pom maker (here)
Cardboard 
Old stocking (similar here)

Directions:

1. The first step is to create your letter for your stocking. You have 3 options:

   • If your stocking already has a letter: Trace over your current letter by using wax paper.

   • Already has a letter, option 2: Print out a template on your computer of a similar sized font that will cover it completely.

   • If your stocking doesn’t have a letter: Print out a template of a letter you like and a slightly larger version of it. A great option for this would be to use a font with an outline, since it will naturally have 2 sizes within it. Something like this.

2. Cut your glitter paper slightly larger than your felt. In the end, you want to create a felt letter that is slightly larger than your original letter on your stocking.

3. Glue your felt letter onto your glitter card stock.

4. Place a piece of cardboard inside your stocking to prevent the glue from seeping to the backside. Glue your letter in the center or over your old letter.

5. Create pom-poms using a pom-pom maker. You can find directions for that here. You can also create tassels by following this this tutorial here. Feel free to embellish using jingle bells too!

6. Attach the pom-poms, tassels and any other embellishments to the hook that is used to hold your stocking up. You can also either glue or sew them onto the inside flap, or use a safety pin!

Then, hang up your fancy “new” stocking and admire your handiwork. You can totally change up your old holiday decor with this! I was able to take my traditional stockings in basic Christmas colors and change them to match my more colorful and fun aesthetic. They definitely feel more “me” now!

And that’s all there is to it! Now you’re got a great monogram stocking, or spruced up an old stocking to have a new look! Will you be giving your old stockings a new look? What colors do you use to decorate? Let me know your plans in the comments below!