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Northville, MI Newborn Photographer | A Mother's Touch

Totally cliche, but there really is something about a mother's touch!  This two week old beauty TOTALLY knew when her mom held her as opposed to anyone else!  She was so content being held tight against mom and within seconds of being put down she'd pop those pretty big eyes wide open :)  We did manage to get a few sleeping shots though.  Dad's ingenious "why not just put the blanket on top of the car seat" idea worked great too!  And 3.5 year old big brother was sooo good. I should've turned around and gotten a shot of him sitting so contently on the couch while we messed with his baby sister for two hours!  Love the last shot of her smiling below - back with mom, happy as can be!




Northville, MI Family Photographer | Craft Time

With the cold, snowy Michigan weather my shooting schedule is finally starting to slow down a bit.  So I thought I'd take the opportunity to share an awesome product that I'm crazy about - personalized clay products by Memories in Clay.  Not only are they amazing keepsakes, but if you're not a super crafty type mom and you feel bad not doing art projects with your kids (raising hand!) this is a really easy, fun one!  Now you can check art project off your to-do list and you'll end up with something you'll cherish forever.  I got a little plaque that I can either hang on the wall or set in a plate holder on a shelf with both my kids' handprints, their names, and the year.  I'm so happy with the finished product!  I love seeing their tiny hands every time I walk into our family room.  Their hands have already grown since we did this back in October so I'm glad I didn't wait any longer!
The process is super easy.  You order the product from Memories In Clay's Etsy shop and the kit comes in the mail.  You get easy to follow instructions, enough clay for however many handprints you're making, a roller, foil, pre-moistened wipes with baby oil to prevent sticking when you do the mold, and a return envelope to mail the finished molds back.  The best part about the product is you can't mess it up!  If you do the imprint and it doesn't turn out the way you were hoping, just do it again!  We did it a couple times for both my daughter and son until I had the perfect prints.

This is what Memories in Clay sends you after you place an order:
Roll out the clay using the roller and foil provided in the kit:

To prevent your child's hands from sticking use the pre-moistened baby oil wipes to rub your child's hand before making the imprint in the clay:

 Press down the hand in the clay and voila - a hand print!

If you're not happy with how the print turned out, simply roll out the clay and do it again!  Here's my baby girl's finished mold:

They recommend warming up the clay in your hands before you roll it out and my son loved this part.

Once you're happy with the prints, bake in the oven for 15 minutes and then mail them back in the included padded envelope.  

Memories in Clay takes over from there.  You get to pick the color glaze you want.  I chose a teal color to match the decor in our family room.  A few weeks later you'll receive your finished product in the mail ready to display and cherish forever!

 Another cool feature is that once you have your molds done you can order as many different products as you'd like using the same mold.  I also got these Christmas tree ornaments, aren't they adorable?! I can't wait to pull them out every year when we decorate our tree and see how much the kids' hands have grown!

Northville, MI Baby Photographer | Rock the Shot December Submission

This is my submission for Rock the Shot Forum's December photo challenge.  It was a super spur of the moment "shoot".  The house was quiet and the tree lights were on and I was just thinking how I hadn't taken any pictures of my daughter with the tree yet.  When my son was a baby I took a bunch of him holding lights, in a stocking, etc.  But in typical second child parent mode I hadn't even thought about that yet!  I noticed she was in her Christmas jammies so it was simple to set her down in front of the tree and watch her explore.  I was worried the shots would be grainy since I had to use such a high ISO, but with a little help from Florabella's noise reduction action they are perfect! See the post below for more from this spontaneous shoot.  As a photographer I think sometimes I tend to get too wrapped up in capturing the "perfect" shot and since no one is ever perfect (noses are running, clothes are mismatched) I just don't take pictures, but my goal this next year is to change that! In 20 years I'll want to remember the every day moments, just like this one of my baby girl's tiny hands reaching up to explore the tree on her first Christmas.  One more fun fact, the ornament she's grabbing was one I made in 1989 when I was 7 years old :)


Northville, MI Baby Photographer | It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year!  As I sit here sipping my peppermint mocha and watching the snow come down I couldn't be happier.  I've always loved Christmas, but now having kids it's even more amazing.  My son is at the perfect age; he's 3.5 and he gets excited about the smallest things like finding our elf, Zippy, every morning (and trust me, I'm not one of those Pinterest moms with the awesome set ups, Zippy simply makes the rounds from shelf to light fixture to another shelf!)  I can't wait to see his excitement and reactions on Christmas morning.  Last night we baked Christmas cookies and watched The Grinch.  Feeling fully in the Christmas spirit I decided to take a few pictures of my daughter so we will always remember her first Christmas!



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