My New Baby... Pentax Spotmatic F!!

This is my new baby!  A Pentax Spotmatic F with a Takumar 55mm 1.8 lens!  I LOVE it!  I ran my first roll of film through it (Fujifilm Superia X-tra 800) and the pictures are gorgeous!  These are my very first film photos and I am just thrilled to bits that I actually got the exposures right!  They aren't the look I'm going for, but I know now that I can properly expose the pictures with the settings I was using.  I'm so proud of myself! I was totally expecting for a lot of extremely over and under exposed images.  

Here is the very first photo I took with the Pentax. This is my sister helping cook Christmas dinner at my mom's.  The colors are dead on to what it really looked like.  

A close up of the Christmas tree...

Here is my african violet.  I've had it for almost a year now and it is finally blooming!  

A heart I drew in the snow on our driveway.  I tried to overexpose this one a little so the snow wouldn't be so grey.  

 Same with this one...

Here is the aftermath of Christmas morning.  No more presents and pine needles everywhere!  I love how this picture was exposed.

Same here....

So, in summary, I'm in love with my new camera!  I can't wait to develop some more rolls of film!  Now I have to do some research and hunting around to find the best photo lab with the lowest prices.  :)  I'm still trying to figure out how to best scan these into the computer.  The originals are better, but you get the idea.

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas!  Mine was, well, not so good due to the whole family getting the flu just in time for Christmas day.  I think the worst day was actually Christmas day.  Uggghh.  Hopefully next year will be better.  I don't want to complain but I you can't imagine how depressing it was.  I didn't get sick because I was the only one who got the flu shot.  I can guarantee that EVERYONE will be getting the flu shot this year and every year from now on.  

Enjoy the rest of the holiday season and have a Happy New Year!!  Next up will be my OTHER new camera!!  Didn't know I had another one, did you?  I've lost count of how many cameras I have now, but that's a good problem, right?  :)

Free Colonial Glitterhouse Pattern...

Ok, so here it is!  My pattern for my colonial style glitterhouse!

It's a little rough but I tried to make all the measurements perfect.  The lines do go to the edge of the paper, so you might have to fill that part in after you print it out if your printer won't print all the way to the edge.  Here are the instructions:

1. Cut out all the pieces from chipboard with an exacto knife and a sturdy ruler

2. Score the folds with the exacto knife (you are only cutting halfway through)

3. Fold along the folds and glue it together with white craft glue, using the tabs.

4. Give the whole house a coating of some kind of primer or sealer.  I used wood sealer found at my craft store. (This step keeps the house from bowing when you paint it.)  Let it dry.

5. Choose your colors and paint her up!  Let it dry.

6. Use a glue for glitter and cover one section at a time.  Shake fine glitter over each section until you've done the whole house.  Let it dry.

7. Cut out several squares of chipboard that are bigger than the windows.  Paint them yellow, add glue to the edges, and place them inside the house gluing them to the backs of the windows.

8. Make wreaths out of green pipe cleaners and tiny ribbon.  Hot glue them together and then onto the house. Your done!

Here is the pattern for the house: Free Colonial Glitterhouse Pattern

I would LOVE to see the houses you make from my pattern!  Send me pictures!

Enjoy!

Free Christmas Gift Tags from "Eat Drink Chic"

I saw these gift tags that Amy Moss drew up and put on her blog "Eat Drink Chic" this morning.  I LOVE them!  And they are free! There are several really cute free gift tags out there, but I especially like these because they will match any wrapping paper and ribbon you put on your gifts.  They are too cute and perfect not to share!  Now I just have to go out and find some cardboard looking card stock.  I might try using other colors though too.  Click on the link above and use them for your own Christmas presents!  Thank you Amy!

The Glitterhouses Are Finished!!

This morning we woke up to snow!  I couldn't believe it!  The first of December welcomes us with a beautiful snow shower.  Actually, it's still snowing now almost two hours later!  My oldest wanted to go outside immediately, but she hadn't had breakfast yet and I was/am having a hard time moving due to waking up with a pinched nerve in my back.  Ugghh.  I hope it gets better fast because I am supposed to have an afternoon out with my sister-in-law of which I have been really looking forward to.  Driving in the snow and not being able to turn my head is probably not a great combination.  Pray for me!

The day after Thanksgiving I frantically finished the glitterhouses to get them up right in time for the Christmas season.  I even bought some of the finishing detail supplies on Black Friday at great prices!  So here is the finished display complete with tissue paper snowflakes!  Kinda pretty, huh?  I am very pleased with how it turned out.  I tried putting lights under the fake snow, but we only have LED lights and they looked too "pointy" under the snow, so I took them out.  I might just drape a string of lights along the edge of the mantle.

The houses are sitting at random heights on books positioned under the fake snow.  I pulled up the back of the snow behind the houses to make it look like they are nestled on the side a mountain.

I bought the bottle brush trees at Michael's Crafts in the christmas village section.  On top of the whole scene I sprinkled some glittery snow, although it doesn't really stand out that much. 

I made the wreaths from pipe cleaners and little bows I made from tiny wired ribbon.  It's all put together with a hot glue gun.  Here is the template I used for the church:  Template #1

Here is the template I used for this house:  Template #2

Here is the template I used for this house:  Template #3 (bay window version)

This house is my own design.  I actually do have the template that I can scan in, so if you are interested in it just let me know either through email or in the comments.  I tried to make it more of a colonial design.  

I am very excited about my christmas village!  It turned out better than I had expected!

Glitterhouse progress...

So here are my first two finished glitterhouses!  Two down, three to go.  I am so proud of them.  They are taking a lot more work than I had originally thought but I am really enjoying making them!  My husband says they don't look like they are made of cardboard at all.  It took me forever to decide on the colors I wanted and even after I chose them I wasn't sure I liked it.  Now I am convinced it will look pretty good.  I settled on a vintage Christmas color scheme of pale pink, magenta pink, light teal, medium grey, white, and buttercream.  The other three should be done soon and all will be ready to adorn my mantle with vintage Christmas awesomeness!  (As soon as Thanksgiving is over, of course.)  ;)

My New Obsession... glitterhouses!

Ok, so I know that Christmas is two months away, but I can't help myself.  I am completely obsessed with glitter houses!  I actually just discovered them.  Apparently, they are a once common vintage Christmas decoration originally called putz houses, I think.  Here is a link if you would like to read more about them.  I found an awesome blog this week called A Field Journal and I love the glitter house village she made last Christmas.  So, so, so pretty!  I love the pinks and aquas and creams!  So romantic and dreamy.  Anyway, I am totally copying her.  I am not going to beat around the bush about that. She just did a perfect job and can't change anything about it.  I don't know, maybe I'll change a couple things but my village is going to be very similar.  I might play up the aquas a little more and soften the pinks a little.  My projects never turn out the way I originally invision them.  Sometimes they come out better and sometimes they come out worse.  Like, a month ago I decided to make big fabric pumpkins out of different textured whitish fabrics and put them on my mantel along with some tall glass candlesticks I have.  Horrible.  It looked horrible.  So I wasted two hours of time (but not much money I'm relieved to say) and was left with an undecorated mantel.  In the end I just threw up a fake fall leaf garland with my glass candlesticks and a few faux mercury glass votive holders and it looks great!  Who knew?  Oh, well.  At least it was an easy fix.  Ok, back to the glitter houses...  Here is a picture of the original glitter house village I fell in love with (blogged here).  Isn't it just lovely?

...and here is a picture of my first glitter house although it's unadorned right now.  I LOVE it!  I decided to start with the church and I used the pattern on Martha Stewart's website here.  The chipboard (which is dang hard to find) is a little rough due to my putting on too much glue on the template.  But it will be covered by many layers of prettiness, so I'm not worried about it.

I'll post more pics as my village undergoes construction.  I'm hoping to have it all finished by the end of November so I can put it up on the mantel just in time for the Christmas season.  So excited!  I can't stop holding it, it's so cute!  My oldest daughter, Katie, loves it too.  She keeps asking me when she can paint it.  I think I might have to make her one of her own.  :)