Sneak Peek: DuVall Family

I had a great time chasing around my cousin's two year old daughter in Piedmont Park last weekend. We had fun on the seesaw and slide while I made these portraits. What a sweet little girl! She's not too excited about becoming a big sister in two months, but maybe she'll warm up to the idea. :)

5 Babies is a Lot of Babies

At our family reunion I attempted to make some portraits of all the babies in our family at once (ages 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years old). It was quite a feat. Next time I don't think I would have used this white quilt for a backdrop. It came out all wrinkly, but by the time I realized it wasn't a good idea, all the kids were on it and there was no way I could move them all without a meltdown.

We had a time trying to keep everyone still!

Waiting patiently for all the girls to get ready....

"I thought I liked dog kisses, but maybe not!"

Family Reunion

Every summer my extended family gets together in South Georgia for one big weekend of food, fun, and fellowship. This year we also celebrated two birthdays and there were a LOT of new babies in the family to play with. (Stay tuned for my upcoming post where I attempted to photograph 5 babies at once, ranging in age from 4 months to 3 years old. It was CRAZY...) There's nothing like spending some quality time with family!

Sarah is such a Ham!

Aunt Cindy's famous sourdough bread

"Why did I have to get stuck in a family of all GIRLS?"

Designer Birth Announcements

I have a new line of designer birth announcements. They are so sweet! I LOVE photographing babies. It is so special capturing their first days when they are so tiny. (There are even more birth announcement designs to choose from than this.)

Favorite Artist of the Week: Sarah Harber

I have to brag on my cousin, Sarah Harber. She made my son the CUTEST animal baby quilt. Some of the animals are even made out of African fabric from the clothing our grandfather wore as a missionary in Nigeria in the 1960s. That really makes it special to me. All the animals are cut free-hand, without any patterns or templates... and my son's name is hidden amongst the animals' names. It's SO COOL!

In this last picture here you can see some of the outfits my grandmother and grandfather would wear in Nigeria, West Africa (1967). They would only dress the family up in matching outfits for special occasions. This is right before they came back to America on furlough. (My Mom is the tall brunette on the left.)

Orange Jello Salad

There aren't very many times when I'm cooking that I feel the urge to lick the bowl clean. But when I'm making Orange Jello Salad, it's definitely one of those times. I don't know whether it's the tangy orange or the fluffy marshmallows or the creamy cool whip, but I can't get enough of the stuff. It is one of those recipes I always asked my Mom to make for me for my birthday as a kid. Then one day I realized that it is so easy to make, I could do it for myself!

Maybe you'd like to whip up some of your own fluffy goodness.

Orange Jello Salad:

6 oz. pkg. Orange Jello powder
16 oz. carton of reduced fat sour cream
8 oz. carton of lite Cool Whip
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 can mandarin oranges (drained)
1 small can crushed pineapple (squeezed out)

Mix Cool Whip, sour cream, and jello powder. Add fruit and marshmallows. Mix and pour into dish. Refridgerate overnight. Makes about 8 servings.

JULY SPECIAL: $50 Print Credit with Portrait Session

This month I am offering a special deal. Book a portrait session ($100) and get $50 in prints absolutely free! You can't beat a deal like that.

This offer is good for a session with up to 4 people and can be used on maternity, newborn, child, or family portraits. Any additional people in the session are $10 each. About 1 week after your session I will show a sneak peek of your portraits here on my blog and on my Shutterstitch facebook page. Two weeks after your session your images will be in an online gallery where you can select the prints you want and show your friends.

This deal must be booked and paid for between July 1-July 31, but the session doesn't have to be scheduled for July. So you can plan ahead for fall sessions too!

Call (706) 714-6967 to book your session today with Karen.

Fabulous New Logo

I am so excited about my new logo and blog design, created by The Modern Polkadot! She was a pleasure to work with.

Granola Bars

I came across this recipe for Do It Yourself Granola Bars and decided to try it out this week with my friend. It was really easy to make, wholesome, and very tasty. The only thing I would change about it is they were a little crumbly so next time I would add more honey and almond butter to make them stick together. You can find the recipe here. We made two different kinds. In one kind we put mini chocolate chips and dried cherries. In the other we put assorted dried fruits. Yum. Yum.