For A Moment Photography

Tree Trimming & Home Decor Ideas

Our Tree...  Still looking for the right tree topper.

 

I have little elves that help me decorate.

 

 

And others that play around in the tree.

 

We all love the unique ornaments we've recieved through the years.  ASU ornament from my parents. 

 

 

From Grammy Sue and Pop Pop.

 

Pine cones from we picked with Lala & Papa Joe.

This beautiful Silver Leaf (it's a real grape leaf) from The Pence Family...  The star is also a paper star I made a few Christmas's ago.

Our first snow globe from The Lopez Family.  I love it!

 

Last years Christmas cards.

 

Presley had a small tree in her room but it broke.  This year I surprised her with a 5 ft tree for her room.

This year I got Mark a big chair for Christmas (an early surprise)!  Until now we've had a small (beautiful) amish chair I had since college.  I loved it, but it was always hard for Mark or anyone over 6 ft. to sit in comfortably...

I wanted to share a few ideas I had for decorating.  You may be on idea overload from Pinterest, but these are just things I feel are easy and work for me.  I've tried a few Pinterest projects only to fail miserably.  

1.  Random decorations.  I love having a Christmas tree theme so I struggled on how to use ornaments we received as gifts.  Once Presley was old enough to start grabbing ornaments I started hiding them in near the base of our tree.  This kept her from taking them and breaking them.  Finding them has turned into a fun game we still play...  I do wish I figured this out before the first few were broken!

2.  Use objects from your surroundings or travels.  Everywhere we go Presley comes back with treasures and I do too.  On our trips to the beach we have sea glass, sea shells and sometimes sand.  On our trips to the mountains we have pine cones and drift wood.  Oh and rocks from every where, just haven't found a way to decorate with those!  I digress...  Where was I...  Oh!  We now have pine cones from Payson, Rancho Santa Fe and San Francisco!  They are apart of our memories and apart of our decor (with a story).  Not to mention free and seriously prettier than anything I've seen in a store.  

3.  Photos from Christmas Past.  I place these images through out the house during this time of year.  It's an easy way to to send your heart and mind back to the previous years.  One of my favorite photos is of my nephew Dominic and myself, he must of been 7 or 8 months old.  Looking at that picture I can remember that day vividly.  

4.  Children's Art.  I really go crazy with all the art Presley comes home with.  When she was little I decided I would only keep the art that was made for the holidays.  I knew I could use these year after year and not just have stuffed in a overflowing drawer.  Plus I think you'll enjoy these in the future.

5.Old Holiday cards.  So it seems that I'm not the only one that has a hard time getting out my Christmas cards in a timely fashion.  I love to display them but some years I get them and a week later it's time to take down the decorations.  I also never wanted to toss them but didn't know what I'd do with them.  Now I keep them and use them for decorations the following year.  So from day one my card area looks full and colorful and I love to see how my friends kiddos have changed from year to year!   

6.  Homemade decorations.  Crafts are something I've always loved but not everyone does.  So make them simple!  Stay away from Pinterest!  I made the garland on the tree from burlap and string.  I make a simple paper link garland in the past (in college and once with Presley).  I made red paper stars a few years ago, when our tree didn't have enough color and I'm still using them!  I've used paper snowflakes and origami boxes out of maps to cover white lights.  None of which I saw on Pinterest but all things I learn to do as a child, sometimes I did have to YouTube to teach myself again!...

Whatever you do have fun!  And if you have any rock decorating ideas please share.  

 

   

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By Calie Kilpartick

The lady behind the art.

A Self Portrait

One of my favorites.

This photo is a little wonky.  I had to shoot from below to avoid the reflection.

The original photo.

*click on any of the images to be directed to her Facebook page.*

This is a post I have been saving for a time closer to the holidays, and here we are- the middle of October.  As much as I do not want to wish the days away the sooner I get holiday gifts out of the way the more I can enjoy my holiday.  Plus I don’t like giving gifts for the sake of giving gifts.  We all cherish gift giving because of the thought put into them, right?

My friend Calie Kilpatrick is an incredible artist, mother and woman.  I first became aware of her art a few years ago when she posted some of her drawings on Facebook (one of the great things about FB).  She is extraordinarily humble about her talent and on how wonderful her work is. 

Art is a very hard way to A. earn a living and B. finding a true value of.  Artist are often their worst and hardest critics and it is a job where you’re constantly putting out your work for others to judge and place value on, when there is really no right or wrong way to do art.  That is part of the reason I wanted to write about her.  Calie’s works hard on her art and I wanted to celebrate her for that.  I admire the fact she has pursued her passion when I’m sure at times it seems so easy to give up.

During my studies of art history, during my travels and just my love of the past I thought how cool that people use to commission artists to do paintings and drawings.  “Too bad I’ll never have that”, then it occurred to me that I in fact do have a chalk drawing my 1st grade teacher Mrs. Nancy Bingham did of me (hanging in Presley’s room).  This then gave me the idea of having one done of Presley...  

Earlier this year I finally had the drawing Calie did of Presley framed and hung.  I love it. She took a photo I did of Presley when I was learning to use my first digital camera and made a beautiful chalk drawing.  Presley was a year old...  

Check out Calie’s art page, share it with others support the arts, art makes the world a better place to be.  Thank you Calie for sharing your talent and for your desire to master your craft.  I am lookingforward to seeing more of your work.       

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Garden outside Notre Dame...

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This city is so spectacular I can't focus (most so than usual)!  Seriously, I have started this blog about ten times over...  breathe...    This will just be a few scattered thoughts about all that I have seen and loved in the City Of Lights so far...

My trip to Notre Dame was breathe taking.  It's all I ever imagined and more.  The gothic style has secrets and details hidden all around.  As I walked up to the church I started to smile like a child and could feel a burst of energy that made me walk faster.  It was just a feeling of, "am I really seeing this?!"  I am staying so close to the church I am planning on going again in the morning with the hope there will not be as many people.  The crowds don't really bother me. It's great so many people are having the same joy I'm experiencing.  I'd just like to keep them out of my photos.  

*more below photos*

Beautiful Holiday Artwork

Not the best photo, for some reason this room doesn't photograph well.  I promise it's pretty in person!

 

This is a print I purchased last year about a week before Christmas.  The same day I got it I took it to the local frame shop to see how quickly I could have it framed and returned.  Because of it's size I was unable to have it last Christmas, matted and framed it's 3x2ft and it now hangs in my family room...

I first saw this print when I was just out of high school at a friend's house.  I asked his father (his mother wasn't there) where they purchased this print I would like to buy one.  The Dad chuckled that it was very expensive and he didn't think I could afford to buy it.  I assumed it was hundreds maybe thousands of dollars and out of my reach.  It was a local artist in Safford that had painted it...

After that I had seen it once again as a Christmas card, I framed the little 3x5 card and I've had that ever since.  Then last year a facebook friend Sally from high school posted a photo of this print, and she was selling them!  I never knew the artist was her aunt and she still had a few prints left from the 1,000 copies printed.  Right away I told her I would like two!

I ordered one for myself and one for my brother's Mother in law, she always invites us over during the holidays and I thought she would like the print.  The print is called, The true meaning of Christmas.  I'm not a church going person but I love the print and I like seeing the two Christmas stories coming together in this beautiful artwork.  

Christmas for me is a balancing the two stories shown above.  Last year I contemplated telling Presley she was jewish.  Ok, not entirely true.  I was just asking my jewish friends what they tell their kids about Christmas and maybe tell her the same.  But it's kind of hard to do when the rest of your family isn't jewish...  So for now Jesus and Santa are both alive (in spirit) and well in this house.