Why I didn't take Julianne's senior pictures...

Our friend, Julene, agreed to be the photographer for Julianne's senior pictures. Julene has a great eye and takes fantastic pictures so I was thrilled when she agreed. We had the bonus of a wonderful visit to Julene's home in Wisconsin and chance to spend several days having fun together.

Julene's photography skills weren't the only reason I enlisted her help, though. I needed her because she can get smiles I'll never get...I tend to get facial expressions like these:

I have no illusions about my photography skills but there's just something about those expressions that no amount of photography skill can overcome, don't you think?

I must admit to getting some great shots, too. But those don't make for such a fun blog post, now do they?

Shower gifts

My niece, Lauren, is getting married.  Her shower was held a couple of weeks ago and we were busy bees preparing some handmade goodies for the occasion.  So busy, in fact, that I snuck up to the gift table after the shower to snap these photos because I ran out of time to get them beforehand.



Julianne created this pillow from a felted sweater (it buttons on the other side), then she crocheted the embellishments for it. It's so unique-I loved it.

I made a shirt apron and cloth napkins in a few different fabrics.

Allison embellished napkin rings (the reason I decided to make napkins) with the fabic flowers she so enjoys making.

Both girls worked on the dish towels and dishcloths.  Allison crocheted edges on the towels (a first time project for her that turned out beautifully.  She's not a pattern follower so this was a stretch out of her comfort zone but she did a great job.), while Julianne embellished the dishcloths with edging on one and crocheted flowers on another.

The girls and I enjoyed making some things for Lauren, especially since she will be moving out of state after the wedding.  We wanted her to have a few things that would remind her of our love for her in her new home.