Thursday, August 25, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Peaches & Cream
Who doesn't love peaches and cream?!
Fresh peaches from South Carolina, and yummy vanilla ice cream. Perfect combo.
Here is how I make it:
Peaches & Cream
A Peach, slice in half, and pitted
Cinnamon and Sugar
Vanilla Ice Cream
Freshly grated Nutmeg
Caramel Sauce
Crank your grill up to medium high heat.
In a shallow bowl, place a tablespoon of cinnamon and sugar. Press the insides of your peaches to the cinnamon and sugar, and place inside down. Close the grill for 4 minutes.
After 4 minutes, flip the peaches to the flesh side, close grill, and grill 2 minutes.
Remove from grill, and place in pretty serving dish. Add scoop(s) of ice cream, freshly grated nutmeg & caramel sauce.
Consume, quickly.
Fresh peaches from South Carolina, and yummy vanilla ice cream. Perfect combo.
Here is how I make it:
Peaches & Cream
A Peach, slice in half, and pitted
Cinnamon and Sugar
Vanilla Ice Cream
Freshly grated Nutmeg
Caramel Sauce
Crank your grill up to medium high heat.
In a shallow bowl, place a tablespoon of cinnamon and sugar. Press the insides of your peaches to the cinnamon and sugar, and place inside down. Close the grill for 4 minutes.
After 4 minutes, flip the peaches to the flesh side, close grill, and grill 2 minutes.
Remove from grill, and place in pretty serving dish. Add scoop(s) of ice cream, freshly grated nutmeg & caramel sauce.
Consume, quickly.
Scrumptious Stuffed Acorn Squash
We have a garden. A big garden. We grew over 1000 ears of corn this year, countless zucchini, countless squash, eggplant, okra, beans, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, lettuce and spinach.
amazing.
It is sometimes difficult to come up with recipes that are yummy, that satisfy, that are not boring, and that are different. I love Sunshine Casserole, but if I eat another one in the next 5 months.....
{I am not a leftover fan..... I prefer not to eat the same thing twice in one week..... Just saying...}
This afternoon, I wanted to use {some of} the acorn squashes we have downstairs. I love them roasted with cinnamon and brown sugar, but that is a desserty thing... I wanted something savory.
This recipe is simple, satisfiying, and scrumptious. How's that for alliteration?!
Scrumpitous Stuffed {Acorn} Squash
Ingredients:
One box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice mix... in the orange box!
One small onion, diced
Half a green bell pepper, diced
One small jar pimentos
1/2 + cup feta
1/4 pound cooked kielbasa, if preferred. {You could use whatever protein you like, though!}
Acorn Squashes, we used only 2, producing 4 servings.
Preheat oven to 400˚
Cook the rice according to package.
While the rice is cooking, open you squashes. Put them on their sides, and slice down the center. These babies are tough! So, PLEASE, PLEASE do not slice your fingers open. {I am NOT responsible for any such happenings, I'm warning you now!} Scoop out the seeds and either discard or clean and roast for a yummy snack. Place them on a half sheet pan, and roast at 400˚ while rice cooks. About 20 minutes.
In a separate saute pan, cook the the onions & peppers till soft.
Add onions & peppers to mixing bowl, followed by pimentos, feta, and rice (when it is ready). Mix all ingredients till combined, and add COOKED protein.This mixture is GREAT just by itself, easy peasy potluck meal!
Remove squashes, and stuff with rice mixture. Bake for 10 minutes more.
Open the oven and pat yourself on the back! Put those babies on a plate, and eat!
Ingredients:
One box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice mix... in the orange box!
One small onion, diced
Half a green bell pepper, diced
One small jar pimentos
1/2 + cup feta
1/4 pound cooked kielbasa, if preferred. {You could use whatever protein you like, though!}
Acorn Squashes, we used only 2, producing 4 servings.
Preheat oven to 400˚
Cook the rice according to package.
While the rice is cooking, open you squashes. Put them on their sides, and slice down the center. These babies are tough! So, PLEASE, PLEASE do not slice your fingers open. {I am NOT responsible for any such happenings, I'm warning you now!} Scoop out the seeds and either discard or clean and roast for a yummy snack. Place them on a half sheet pan, and roast at 400˚ while rice cooks. About 20 minutes.
In a separate saute pan, cook the the onions & peppers till soft.
Add onions & peppers to mixing bowl, followed by pimentos, feta, and rice (when it is ready). Mix all ingredients till combined, and add COOKED protein.This mixture is GREAT just by itself, easy peasy potluck meal!
Remove squashes, and stuff with rice mixture. Bake for 10 minutes more.
Open the oven and pat yourself on the back! Put those babies on a plate, and eat!
Enjoy, friends!
Monday, August 15, 2011
French Onion Soup... Finally!
Excuse my absence.... It's been a busy last several days!
Where were we? Oh, yes... I had told you I would show you how to make French Onion Soup.
After you have Caramelized your Onions (missed that post? well, read here to catch up!) they should look like this:
Don't those look delicious?! Why, yes, they do...
Now, we need to add some wine to 'deglaze' the pan.... In other words, scrape up all those yummy brown things on the bottom of the pan.
Add about half a cup to a full cup of wine, depends on how winey you're feeling...
Next we need to add some minced fresh thyme, about two tablespoons, or, to taste.
Tip: You can just add the stems (tied with string!) straight to the pot, the leaves will fall off into the soup as it cooks. I did not do that, as you can see!
So, now stir in the thyme, and you are ready to add your veggie/beef broth combo..... (I didn't photograph that part.....sorry!!) It's one part beef broth (1 cup!) to two parts vegetable broth (2 cups!).
Now, you are ready to serve!
Zhee French serve theirs with a slice of bread topped with cheese, I however like a piece of fresh bread (not toasted and with out cheese!) to dip in...
See how simple it was?
Here is the recipe so you can copy/paste it into a Word Document.
French Onion Soup
1 cup Caramelized Onions
3/4 cup White Wine
1 Tbs Freshly minced Thyme
1 cup Beef Broth (you can omit the beef broth, if you are making it vegetarian, exchange for one cup of veggie broth)
2 cups Vegetable Broth
Deglaze your pan with the wine, and add the thyme. Pour in liquid, and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve immediately!
And, yes I forgot to photograph the end result......
Falling down on the job? Yes. Big surprise coming? Yep! With a GIVEAWAY!
XOXO
Where were we? Oh, yes... I had told you I would show you how to make French Onion Soup.
After you have Caramelized your Onions (missed that post? well, read here to catch up!) they should look like this:
Don't those look delicious?! Why, yes, they do...
Now, we need to add some wine to 'deglaze' the pan.... In other words, scrape up all those yummy brown things on the bottom of the pan.
Brown Things = Flavor!
Add about half a cup to a full cup of wine, depends on how winey you're feeling...
Next we need to add some minced fresh thyme, about two tablespoons, or, to taste.
Tip: You can just add the stems (tied with string!) straight to the pot, the leaves will fall off into the soup as it cooks. I did not do that, as you can see!
So, now stir in the thyme, and you are ready to add your veggie/beef broth combo..... (I didn't photograph that part.....sorry!!) It's one part beef broth (1 cup!) to two parts vegetable broth (2 cups!).
 | |
| See the stem? You can fish out any that you accidentally throw in! |
Now, you are ready to serve!
Zhee French serve theirs with a slice of bread topped with cheese, I however like a piece of fresh bread (not toasted and with out cheese!) to dip in...
See how simple it was?
Here is the recipe so you can copy/paste it into a Word Document.
French Onion Soup
1 cup Caramelized Onions
3/4 cup White Wine
1 Tbs Freshly minced Thyme
1 cup Beef Broth (you can omit the beef broth, if you are making it vegetarian, exchange for one cup of veggie broth)
2 cups Vegetable Broth
Deglaze your pan with the wine, and add the thyme. Pour in liquid, and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve immediately!
And, yes I forgot to photograph the end result......
Falling down on the job? Yes. Big surprise coming? Yep! With a GIVEAWAY!
XOXO
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
How to... Pinterest, Part Deux
One item I forgot to mention in this post... How you pin from a website! This is essential to pinning etiquette.
(Sorry for another long screen shot post...)
So, you're perusing the new line of hand bags on anthropologie.com - we will be best friends. anyone who shops there, I love.. Oh! See that cute clutch in the middle of screen? I want to pin it to my 'couture' pin board.... Click on your 'pin it' bookmark, and this screen will come up...
Whatever is on your screen, will show up in the pin board... I want to pin the clutch, so I click on the image I want.
A pop up window will POP UP (novel, I know...) and I can choose which board you would like to pin to. I am pinning it to my 'couture' board... It is a fashion item...
Type in my thoughts on the item.... And, click Pin It!
Ta daaaaaahhhhhhhh! It's pinned!
Now, let's go see it on my home pin board....
Oh, snap... There it is!
What will you be pinning today?
(Sorry for another long screen shot post...)
Whatever is on your screen, will show up in the pin board... I want to pin the clutch, so I click on the image I want.
A pop up window will POP UP (novel, I know...) and I can choose which board you would like to pin to. I am pinning it to my 'couture' board... It is a fashion item...
Type in my thoughts on the item.... And, click Pin It!
Ta daaaaaahhhhhhhh! It's pinned!
Now, let's go see it on my home pin board....
Oh, snap... There it is!
What will you be pinning today?
How to... Caramelize Onions
I love caramelized onions. I could eat them on anything - seriously. They are a cinch to make, and the best part - you don't "play" with them too much... Slice up some onions, put them in a pot with some butter, and let them go. Want to see?
Start by slicing your onions.
When you caramelize onions, they shrink, by a lot. A lot. A lot. So, use one more than you think is necessary... Here is three medium onions. In culinary class, we learned to slice them very thin - I however don't like that approach. Way too easy to burn! I like to slice them about a quarter of an inch, you can see in the picture they are "thin" but, they aren't "thick" either...
Confused yet??
Melt half a stick of butter in the bottom of your pan/pot, whatever vessel you admire cooking in. Cast iron skillets work great, Le Creuset pots work even better! (P.S. Le Creuset is my favorite cook ware. Even, efficient heat, goes in the oven... it is absolute perfection, all around!)
Dump all your onions in the pot over medium to low heat, sprinkle with salt and pepper. And DO NOT touch them. Just let them sit. And sit. And sit.
After about 5 minutes (or whenever you get too spoon happy) give them a stir. Now, set your spoon down, and walk away. I promise nothing drastic is going to happen.
This is about 8 minutes later - see how yummy looking they are getting. Stir and walk away, again. This is a slow process - total it might even take 30 minutes for your onions to caramelize properly.
A little darker.... Stir and walk away. Do you feel the rhythm now???? Why is rhythm so difficult to spell?!?! Who came up with this spelling.....
Here is the finished product! After about 30 minutes of stirring and walking, the onions have caramelized. The are soft and sweet. Completely new taste to drab onions.
These will be perfect over burgers, in sour cream (super yummy dip!), over grilled chicken breasts - you name it, caramelized onions can top it! These are great in quiche, made into onion jam for biscuits, the list is endless.
Tomorrow, I am going to show you how to turn these caramelized onions into French Onion Soup - just how the French make it. You won't believe how simple it is.
Bon Matin, Mon Amies!
*Linking Up!* Tutorials & Tips Tuesday Link Party!
Start by slicing your onions.
When you caramelize onions, they shrink, by a lot. A lot. A lot. So, use one more than you think is necessary... Here is three medium onions. In culinary class, we learned to slice them very thin - I however don't like that approach. Way too easy to burn! I like to slice them about a quarter of an inch, you can see in the picture they are "thin" but, they aren't "thick" either...
Confused yet??
 |
| butter..... mmmmmm |
Melt half a stick of butter in the bottom of your pan/pot, whatever vessel you admire cooking in. Cast iron skillets work great, Le Creuset pots work even better! (P.S. Le Creuset is my favorite cook ware. Even, efficient heat, goes in the oven... it is absolute perfection, all around!)
Dump all your onions in the pot over medium to low heat, sprinkle with salt and pepper. And DO NOT touch them. Just let them sit. And sit. And sit.
After about 5 minutes (or whenever you get too spoon happy) give them a stir. Now, set your spoon down, and walk away. I promise nothing drastic is going to happen.
This is about 8 minutes later - see how yummy looking they are getting. Stir and walk away, again. This is a slow process - total it might even take 30 minutes for your onions to caramelize properly.
A little darker.... Stir and walk away. Do you feel the rhythm now???? Why is rhythm so difficult to spell?!?! Who came up with this spelling.....
Here is the finished product! After about 30 minutes of stirring and walking, the onions have caramelized. The are soft and sweet. Completely new taste to drab onions.
These will be perfect over burgers, in sour cream (super yummy dip!), over grilled chicken breasts - you name it, caramelized onions can top it! These are great in quiche, made into onion jam for biscuits, the list is endless.
Tomorrow, I am going to show you how to turn these caramelized onions into French Onion Soup - just how the French make it. You won't believe how simple it is.
Bon Matin, Mon Amies!
*Linking Up!* Tutorials & Tips Tuesday Link Party!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Can I Get a Breville 800???
Have you seen this movie? If you haven't, rent it on Amazon, right now! Or, if you have Netflix download for freeeeeee.
Not only is this movie inspirational, it will help you adapt a healthier lifestyle. We bought a juicer three days ago, this juicer to be exact...
And, oh my goodness.... Can it juice? Heck yes! You can drop a whole apple (well, small sized apple, or a large apple quartered) in the shoot and have the loveliest tasting apple juice, ever! You can place a quarter of a pineapple in, cantaloupe, kale, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, onions, ginger - I think basically any fruit of vegetable that can be juiced.
Here are a few of my favorite "recipes" to put through the juicer:
Island Lover
1/4 Pineapple
1/4 Cantaloupe
Whole Lemon, peeled
Whole Lime, peeled
Knob of Ginger - I use about an inch, but go smaller, this stuff is powerful!
Meanie Greenie
One bunch of Kale
One bunch of Spinach
4 Carrots
4 Apples
The Whole Shebang
One bunch of Kale
One bunch of Spinach
4 Carrots
4 Apples
3 Plums, pits removed
A few handfuls of seeded Grapes
1/4 Pineapple
1/4 Cantaloupe
One Lemon, peeled
One knob of Ginger
This one makes enough to drink through out the day.
By drinking the juice of these fruits and vegetables, your body is able to consume far more nutrients, there is no way I would be able to eat ALL those listed.... But, by drinking the juice, my body is accepting them, happily!
Visit the home page of Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead to read more!
How To... 'Pinterest'
Have I told you about my latest OBSESSION???! It really is an obsession - or an addiction - or a time waster - OR a very creative outlet..... Any way you put it, I love it. Not only can I save 'ideas' for future projects, I can type in any word and pictures will come up!
Don't know how to 'pinterest' - I'm going to show you. You will love me.... However, if you are not on Pinterest and would like to be, let me know. I'll send you an invite.... Yeah, it's that cool, invite only!
Alright, here we have the opening page of Pinterest. When I click on my short cut, this is what comes up. It shows all the people I follow - as in, what they have been pinning most recently. The farther you scroll down, the more you see. When you click the 'Everything' button at the top (in blue!) you will see everything that is being pinned currently. I love clicking on Everything and seeing what others are pinning.
These are my 'boards' - boards are like the bulletin boards you fill with ideas of what to make next, articles you want to come back and read, recipes, crafts, home goods, etc - these are your digital INSPIRATION BOARDS.... and, for the OCD, like myself, you have different boards for different categories! I have 40 different categories - I like things organized and in their place.
See something you like? Pin it! When you scroll over the images, three boxes come up 'Repin' - 'Comment' - 'Like' ... You can do any and all of these things. If I love it, I repin it. I rarely 'Like' something, nor do I comment.
So, say I want to 'repin' that precious sleeping infant in the center of the screen shot.... I will click on 'Repin' and a box will come up....
I choose which board I would like it pinned to - since this is a photography inspiration, I am pinning it to my Photography Board....
Here is where I can add my thoughts on the pin. Normally, I do not add anything - unless I just really feel like it... It's fun to read other peoples comments.... People I do not know, but could be very best friends with! I love creative people! Now, press 'Repin' and the next screen will appear....
Woo hoo! Success! It's pinned.
Ok, so now you know what pinning is and what it looks like.
On Pinterest, if there is someone who is pinning things similar to your tastes, you can 'Follow' them... Sounds creepy, it's not. In this techologically savvy age, creeping is completely normal.
Here we have this person's boards.... I have no idea who she is, but I like her style. I want to follow her. See the 'Follow All' button under her picture? Click and you're following all her pin boards! Woo hoo! You can also opt to follow just one board, if you just love one of her boards.
These are the basics of Pinterest. Now, go pin! I'm sorry if you will need a Pintervention in the weeks to come, it is not my fault... DO NOT blame me!
Happy Pinning!
Sweet Love, Cute Friends!
Don't know how to 'pinterest' - I'm going to show you. You will love me.... However, if you are not on Pinterest and would like to be, let me know. I'll send you an invite.... Yeah, it's that cool, invite only!
Alright, here we have the opening page of Pinterest. When I click on my short cut, this is what comes up. It shows all the people I follow - as in, what they have been pinning most recently. The farther you scroll down, the more you see. When you click the 'Everything' button at the top (in blue!) you will see everything that is being pinned currently. I love clicking on Everything and seeing what others are pinning.
These are my 'boards' - boards are like the bulletin boards you fill with ideas of what to make next, articles you want to come back and read, recipes, crafts, home goods, etc - these are your digital INSPIRATION BOARDS.... and, for the OCD, like myself, you have different boards for different categories! I have 40 different categories - I like things organized and in their place.
See something you like? Pin it! When you scroll over the images, three boxes come up 'Repin' - 'Comment' - 'Like' ... You can do any and all of these things. If I love it, I repin it. I rarely 'Like' something, nor do I comment.
So, say I want to 'repin' that precious sleeping infant in the center of the screen shot.... I will click on 'Repin' and a box will come up....
I choose which board I would like it pinned to - since this is a photography inspiration, I am pinning it to my Photography Board....
Here is where I can add my thoughts on the pin. Normally, I do not add anything - unless I just really feel like it... It's fun to read other peoples comments.... People I do not know, but could be very best friends with! I love creative people! Now, press 'Repin' and the next screen will appear....
Woo hoo! Success! It's pinned.
Ok, so now you know what pinning is and what it looks like.
On Pinterest, if there is someone who is pinning things similar to your tastes, you can 'Follow' them... Sounds creepy, it's not. In this techologically savvy age, creeping is completely normal.
Here we have this person's boards.... I have no idea who she is, but I like her style. I want to follow her. See the 'Follow All' button under her picture? Click and you're following all her pin boards! Woo hoo! You can also opt to follow just one board, if you just love one of her boards.
These are the basics of Pinterest. Now, go pin! I'm sorry if you will need a Pintervention in the weeks to come, it is not my fault... DO NOT blame me!
Happy Pinning!
Sweet Love, Cute Friends!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Maui Laui Salad!
And, yet ANOTHER salad recipe..... It's been hot! I can't help it! This one you will LOVE.
Maui Laui Salad
Salad Ingredients:
Egg Roll Wrappers
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Yellow Pepper
Red Pepper
Shredded Carrots
Macadamia Nuts
Sesame Seeds
Salad Dressing:
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Sugar
Half Cup Olive Oil
Protein
Chicken (Salmon would be amazing on this!) - salt and pepper your protein & that's it!
Mix all DRESSING ingredients in bowl, reserving half for use of dressing.
Fry up some egg roll wrappers - they take about 10 seconds, literally! Once they are crispy, you are ready to assemble your salad: brush a petite amount of sweet and sour sauce on one side of the egg roll wrapper. This will be a 'dressed' wrapper.... Just so you know.
Grill salt & peppered chicken, 5+ minutes on each side, letting rest about 10 minutes before slicing. Be sure it is cooked all the way through - no icky food poisoning!
When ready to assemble salad, add half of remaining dressing to a big bowl fill with all salad items EXCEPT egg roll wrappers, nuts, and chicken.
Ready to assemble?? Ok, start with a little plop of dressed salad (with out chicken & nuts), follow that plop with one "dressed" egg roll wrapper. Plop (I like the word plop...do not judge me...) some more dressed salad and top with another 'dressed' wrapper. Your final layer will be a TINY amount of salad, sprinkled with however many macadamia nuts you would like.... these things are like butter.... SO yummy.
Now, place your chicken around the salad, sprinkle some sesame seeds over the whole thing and serve! You can stream some of the left over dressing, if you have any.
Don't you feel all chefy??????
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Behind the Scene: What Really Goes Into Your 4x6...
(This post is a bit of a stretch... Not many photographers would delve into the 'behind the scenes.' However, we are real people. We want you to know what we do and how much we LOVE doing it!)
Most people gawk at our photography prices.
Well, I'm here to let you in a on a little secret: It's a LOT of work. Ready to see?
Great, come, let me show you:
You find us on the web, here, at our website. You fill in the contact info and press send. Your contact comes from a Showit Robot (Showit is awesome. If you need to build a website, they have the BEST software, promise!) - we read that info and reply to you. Hopefully we are replying within the same day, if not, it won't be long! Your shoot is scheduled and on the calendar. By now, we are already planning and creating items that add texture and appeal to your images. We hand make items specific to the shoot.
See these beds? They were mine when I was a little girl. My friends and I played with them over and over again. My grandmother made mattresses, pillows, and comforters for them - and I will forever ever cherish them. At Sweetpea Lifestyle Photography we LOVE heirloom items. When you think heirloom, you think super old.... Nope! These beds, I would consider an heirloom. I am hoping to pass this down to my daughter (if I have a daughter!), where she will make new memories with the beds.
Now, these beds were not cream colored.... I painted these the day before the shoot. It's not everyday we get to photograph twins - so we wanted this to be special! And, making your shoot "special" means we are spending many hours creating unique and different items that will make your session amazing. These headbands, were made just for Berkley & Canon! And, no, they are not just a flower hot glued on to some elastic... The flowers are pulled apart, hand sewn back together, and hand sewn to the elastic. Inside each flower are buttons and pearls... you can't even see them!
Below, are the sweet girls in cheese cloth. Not only does cheese cloth give a nice texture to images, it's able to be dyed. Next to the pink backdrop, it doesn't look pink, but, it was hand dyed, pink - just for these special twins!
If we are photographing your family, we think of creative ways to hold children's attention. Playgrounds, lollipops and bubbles work wonders!
We try to bring your family to places that are fun and give your children places to play, to be themselves.
Alright, so we have already spent several hours planning for your shoot. The day of the shoot is here, we photograph you - 2 hours. Awesome, you are beautiful.
We each choose 20 to edit. And, here comes the time consuming process that Kate and I LOVE. (Secretly, we're Geeky Geeks. We love sitting in front of our computer screens, REALLY!) With each image we take our time. While photographers like to 'get through the batch' - we don't. These images will adorn your walls, they will become artwork. These are items we want your great grandchildren to see. We will never show you images we are not extremely proud of - they are our heart and soul.
So, you want to know how long it takes to edit your 30 images? About 60+ hours between the two of us.
Yep. Sometimes, one image can take a few hours. This might make you think we are not very good photographers..... We know what we are doing. When using our cameras, we make sure the image we "shoot" is the best it can be INSIDE the camera - so, when we see it on our screen we are still proud of it.You might wonder what are we doing if the image inside the camera is good - well, we are playing with hues and saturations of colors. We are perfecting the image, yielding your beautiful self or children, just bright and poppy. (Poppy is a real word. I love poppy images.)
Now, we upload these images to a +site for you. What are +sites? Each client receives their very own +site. This site you can share with your family, friends, you can share on Facebook or your blog. It is yours to keep, forever! And, if you continue to use us as your family photographer, we will add your new images to this site. Giving you a digital keepsake!
Ok, we have scheduled the shoot, planned the shoot, photographed the subject, culled the images, edited, created a unique and personal +site, now we are to your viewing/ordering session.
Sweetpea Lifestyle Photography comes to your home for you to view your images. We don't send you a link with an order form.... No way! We bring a slideshow, customized to your family's style. We create Wall Display's that you can see. We show you the difference between ordering an 8x10 canvas and the WOW factor of ordering a 24x36 canvas. We look at your walls in your home - we suggest what we think would look best. We will even help you hang your artwork! An ordering session usually takes a little over an hour.
Once you have ordered your images, we upload them to our trusty printer. We receive the images, package them and hand deliver them to you! Receiving these heirloom items is cause for a celebration. Don't be surprised if we show up with a cupcake or two and some candles. We are thrilled to work with you, to call you our friend!
Whew! Are you tired yet?
Yes, each with each client we "spend" and average of 70 hours working on their order. See? It's not just taking a picture and sending it to Kinko's. So, when that $1250 price tags makes you want to scream, if you paid us by the hour you would be spending well over $2000!
We believe everyone is beautiful. We believe everyone should have their lives journal through photographs. You will treasure your images for years to come! ( No, I'm not gloating, it's just true! I love looking at my mother's images from when she was 5!)
Most people gawk at our photography prices.
They have no idea WHY anyone would pay THAT for a piece of paper.
Great, come, let me show you:
You find us on the web, here, at our website. You fill in the contact info and press send. Your contact comes from a Showit Robot (Showit is awesome. If you need to build a website, they have the BEST software, promise!) - we read that info and reply to you. Hopefully we are replying within the same day, if not, it won't be long! Your shoot is scheduled and on the calendar. By now, we are already planning and creating items that add texture and appeal to your images. We hand make items specific to the shoot.
See these beds? They were mine when I was a little girl. My friends and I played with them over and over again. My grandmother made mattresses, pillows, and comforters for them - and I will forever ever cherish them. At Sweetpea Lifestyle Photography we LOVE heirloom items. When you think heirloom, you think super old.... Nope! These beds, I would consider an heirloom. I am hoping to pass this down to my daughter (if I have a daughter!), where she will make new memories with the beds.
Now, these beds were not cream colored.... I painted these the day before the shoot. It's not everyday we get to photograph twins - so we wanted this to be special! And, making your shoot "special" means we are spending many hours creating unique and different items that will make your session amazing. These headbands, were made just for Berkley & Canon! And, no, they are not just a flower hot glued on to some elastic... The flowers are pulled apart, hand sewn back together, and hand sewn to the elastic. Inside each flower are buttons and pearls... you can't even see them!
 |
| You can also tell how teeny tiny the girls were! They were supposed to be baking in the oven! |
Below, are the sweet girls in cheese cloth. Not only does cheese cloth give a nice texture to images, it's able to be dyed. Next to the pink backdrop, it doesn't look pink, but, it was hand dyed, pink - just for these special twins!
If we are photographing your family, we think of creative ways to hold children's attention. Playgrounds, lollipops and bubbles work wonders!
We try to bring your family to places that are fun and give your children places to play, to be themselves.
We want to see your children,
not your "posed" children!
Alright, so we have already spent several hours planning for your shoot. The day of the shoot is here, we photograph you - 2 hours. Awesome, you are beautiful.
Generally, Kate and I each take anywhere from 200-300 images...... LOVE digital! We bring the images home, and import them into our computers. We cull through each image. Huh? Cull, what?!
Photog Vocab! Culling is the "art" of choosing or selecting the perfect images to edit.
We each choose 20 to edit. And, here comes the time consuming process that Kate and I LOVE. (Secretly, we're Geeky Geeks. We love sitting in front of our computer screens, REALLY!) With each image we take our time. While photographers like to 'get through the batch' - we don't. These images will adorn your walls, they will become artwork. These are items we want your great grandchildren to see. We will never show you images we are not extremely proud of - they are our heart and soul.
So, you want to know how long it takes to edit your 30 images? About 60+ hours between the two of us.
60???????????
Yep. Sometimes, one image can take a few hours. This might make you think we are not very good photographers..... We know what we are doing. When using our cameras, we make sure the image we "shoot" is the best it can be INSIDE the camera - so, when we see it on our screen we are still proud of it.You might wonder what are we doing if the image inside the camera is good - well, we are playing with hues and saturations of colors. We are perfecting the image, yielding your beautiful self or children, just bright and poppy. (Poppy is a real word. I love poppy images.)
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| This is an example of a 'poppy' image - see how their skin tone pops? How they are bright and alive? |
Now, we upload these images to a +site for you. What are +sites? Each client receives their very own +site. This site you can share with your family, friends, you can share on Facebook or your blog. It is yours to keep, forever! And, if you continue to use us as your family photographer, we will add your new images to this site. Giving you a digital keepsake!
Ok, we have scheduled the shoot, planned the shoot, photographed the subject, culled the images, edited, created a unique and personal +site, now we are to your viewing/ordering session.
Sweetpea Lifestyle Photography comes to your home for you to view your images. We don't send you a link with an order form.... No way! We bring a slideshow, customized to your family's style. We create Wall Display's that you can see. We show you the difference between ordering an 8x10 canvas and the WOW factor of ordering a 24x36 canvas. We look at your walls in your home - we suggest what we think would look best. We will even help you hang your artwork! An ordering session usually takes a little over an hour.
Once you have ordered your images, we upload them to our trusty printer. We receive the images, package them and hand deliver them to you! Receiving these heirloom items is cause for a celebration. Don't be surprised if we show up with a cupcake or two and some candles. We are thrilled to work with you, to call you our friend!
Whew! Are you tired yet?
Yes, each with each client we "spend" and average of 70 hours working on their order. See? It's not just taking a picture and sending it to Kinko's. So, when that $1250 price tags makes you want to scream, if you paid us by the hour you would be spending well over $2000!
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| KBW's amazing shot |
We believe everyone is beautiful. We believe everyone should have their lives journal through photographs. You will treasure your images for years to come! ( No, I'm not gloating, it's just true! I love looking at my mother's images from when she was 5!)
Documenting your history is our pleasure,
we would love to be a part of your world.
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| Textured Card - we create personal cards, birth announcements and all kinds of fun products! |
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