there is still time to register and join!  Visit here to sign up and find YOUR joy!!!!!!!  we have an awesome group of gals who come from all different skill levels and photography interests.

this is the perfect opportunity to bust out your camera and capture your OWN beauty!

class topics include:

• how to achieve a self-portrait
• touching up photos in photoshop
• photographing women (angles and body positioning)
• capturing your portrait with your children
• documenting your daily routine in photos
• photoshop and elements tutorials (video)
• videos on how-to use the camera

come join us!!!!

more to come later….here is a little teaser…three of my fav girls….our third year doing portraits together!

it is a GORGEOUS weekend here in Virginia!  one week of school under our belt….i feel like a changed woman with only one child at home during the day now.

here is this week’s willette 10 spot:

1. just scored this AWESOME vintage camera on ebay (for $9!!!).  I’ll be kickin’ it old school here in a few days once it arrives!

credit for this photo goes to John Kratz on flickr.

2. Pulled out an old favorite CD yesterday.  Whiskeytown’s album Strangers Almanac.  I first started listening to this around the same time i met my husband (cannot believe that we’ve been seeing each other for 13 years/married for over 11…our first date was august 27, 1997 at O’Sullivan’s Wharf in Norfolk!).

3. i’m ALL over weather.com tracking all the hurricanes and tropical storms in the Atlantic.  Yes, HUGE weather nut here.  We may get a little (weather) action next weekend!!!!

4. i pulled out my 85mm 1.4 lens this week for a session and to take some photos of baby girl….ummmm…..i’m in love with it.  forgot what a great lens this is.  i just wish it weren’t so heavy!   Here are a few i snapped yesterday (the highchair was facing the window so the baby faced the light source or she was at a 45 degree angle from the light depending on the direction she faced…and yes, i purposefully positioned my highchair to be next to the window….i am beginning to regret this as she is learning to fling food onto the shantung silk drapes).

5. I’m really excited about what angie warren has up her sleeve with her FLY photography class.  Sign up for more details.  sounds like just the kick in the pants i need!!!!!

6. Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 3 premiers September 17, 2010, for all you star wars mommas.  We’re thinking about hosting a little premier party for max and a few of his buddies.  Here are some star wars premier party ideas and some cool free downloads for your party.

7. i struggle daily with clutter.  so i welcome ANY resources and tools to help me conquer this problem.  i recently was excited to learn about this organizing your way blog.

8.  I’ll be printing all of my photos for the month of august the beginning of next week…then will be placing them in albums.

9. Did you know that you can get an email in your inbox that will update you to all the sweet new willette blog posts?  all you have to do is enter your enter your email address here.  you’ll never have to wonder when/if i update my blog.  Or, you can subscribe via RSS.

10. i’ll be taking the next week off (for the most part) from the blog as i enjoy my time with baby girl and as i get ready for finding YOUR joy.  have you signed up yet???? the joy begins september 7th!!!!!

I’m also catching up on laundry, getting ready for finding YOUR joy, and working on the blog layout a bit. 

Hope all of you are doing well! 

Last week’s photo challenge  (back to school) was extended a week due to most schools not starting yet.  so get your entries in!

a snapshot of what is happening here:

 my mom got a new kitten this week!  we’ve had a ton of fun visiting and playing with him (his name is scout). the funniest part is seeing the kitten and baby girl play together.  It is as if they both understand that they are babies.

 laundry.  no need for further comment.

 my handsome 1st grader!  been nice to have him back at school….but i kinda miss our lazy days around the house.

i’ll be back in full effect around here after i get some more sleep (or figure out how to get my baby to sleep…ugh).  The good news is that our windows are open.  LOVE this time of year!

I have several photographers i will be featuring once i’m back on the blog….can’t wait to show off their branding to you!

did some volunteer work saturday for the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters (a super fun event called the Duck Tape Regatta).

here is my 10 spot list for the weekend….a bit late….my boss (otherwise known as baby girl) has been a bit demanding today.

1. another great cleaner discovered today at target.  LOVE the smell of this one.  You can find it online at J.R. Watkins.

2. my favorite new color combination: mustard, weimaraner grey and cream

3. Just saw the movie Babies last night.  LOVED it!  Highly recommend. I feel like my life parallels the African mother’s most days.  Especially with the child licking and eating random objects on the ground and with the child’s interaction with the dog.  We seem to live that here.

4. Made the best homemade cream chese brownies yesterday.  Heaven.  Will someone please come take them away so we will stop eating them?

5. LOVED our rainy day today.  The overcast days energize me so much…..thinking about moving to seattle.

6. I’m super thankful for the PBS Kids Sprout Goodnight Show.  Baby Girl goes bananas for it. 

7. School starts tomorrow for us!  Can i get an AMEN???? Don’t forget to enter the photo challenge for the week. i’m extending the challenge one additional week (due to most schools not starting for another week).

8. I sit on the Young Associate Board of Directors for the Hermitage Museum here in Norfolk.  This is such a special place for us (we were married there over 11 years ago).  So many GREAT events coming up this fall at the Hermitage if you’re local.  Check out the Hermitage Facebook page for more information (and be sure to “like” it to find out all the great events coming up).  All i have to say is Virginia Microbrew and Oysters will be in full effect November 14th!  Be there!!!!!

9. Thanks so much for all the blog recommendations you have sent my way.  Been wasting WAY too much time reading all of these awesome blogs.

10. I’m looking forward to spending the evening with Don Draper (Mad Men!).  If you have not yet seen this masterpiece, you seriously need to get on it and rent the dvds.  It is so amazing….the costumes and set design alone are worth tuning in.

if you have ANY recommendations for new blogs for me to read (including your own)….pretty please with a cherry on top can you list them in the comments for this blog post?  Be shameles…..send me your blog address! Some days, these blogs are the only “social” interaction i get since i’m on baby lockdown.

AND, did you know that you can subscribe to this blog via email…so you can get an email daily, weekly or monthly that shows you what is new/updated on the blog?  check the box on the right to sign up for this.  You can also sign up for this blog’s RSS feed on the right as well.

the iPad app Blogshelf allows me to quickly catch up on my favorites…..so i thought i would share some of the ones i frequent with you (these are in NO particular order). 

• willette (ummm…….duh)
• ali edwards
• cathy z’s bits & pieces
• living locurto
• the creative mama
• the savvy photographer
• jinky art
• the die line
• minted
• luxectera
• design aglow
• tomkat studio
• write. click. scrapbook.
• ask sister mary martha
• catholic icing
• dooce
• unravelling
• scrap big
• audrey woulard
• blogging for branding
• cool mom picks
• ohdeedoh house tours
• elle’s studio
• virginia living blog
• simple mom
• irene nam
• the arthur clan
• the maternal lens
• angie warren
• pascale wowak
• i should be folding laundry
• photographer cafe
• photoblog 101
• plate and pattern
• just something i made
• pinkle toes
• marta locklear
• napcp
• pioneer woman
• cute overload
• shutter sisters

made me want to order some polaroid film (yes, this company is now producing the film again) and start playing.  then i thought about it some more, and realized that i can just use some slick actions and brushes and create my own “polaroid-esque” images in a snappy second.

 Here are some super cool polaroid resources for those of you yearning to add a bit of late 1970s/early 1980s flair to your work:

• Polaroid Generator 2 action set (that is how i created the above images): FREE
• Polaroid photoshop frame: FREE
• some Polaroid frames for photoshop: FREE
• the website for the Polaroid film

so…..dust off your polaroid or try out some of these awesome photoshop effects!

if you have any other polaroid resources, please be sure to share in the comments of this post.

Here is a “must-have” shot list for all you parents capturing this special day (and be sure to read my earlier blog posts linked below for more ideas):

• with teacher
• with new backpack
• with new clothes/shoes
• school supplies
• with apple
• in classroom (for these shots, i used all natural light and had my son facing the windows, while i shot with my back to the window light)
• outside classroom door
• getting on the school bus
• getting off of the school bus
• shopping for school supplies
• school books
• writing in school notebooks
• with school friends
• with YOU!!!
• with lunchbox
• at his or her cubby
• in front of chalk board
• getting their back to school haircut
• getting ready for school on the first day (eating breakfast, getting dressed, etc.)
• with his or her school cone (schultuten)
• in library
• reading books
• at the bus stop

 i saw the idea for the above shot from Design Mom blog (and i, too, loved these underpants that we purchased for max for back to school, so i was beyond inspired when i saw her post yesterday)

   are these NOT the worst shoes EVER?  cannot believe i went there!

you may want to make sure your child’s pencil is sharpened! 

Here are a couple of back to school posts from the past two years for you to check out:

2009 back to school (which is actually the same images from the previous year it appears…i think i just had different text)

2008 back to school

this week’s theme is…. you guessed it…

BACK TO SCHOOL!!!!!

the “rules” are the same as last week:

• go out and capture your best back to school photo (it can be ANYTHING relating to back to school).
• blog it or post it to flickr
• then post back here by entering your image url below
• the blog challenge contest ends midnight monday!  so get cookin’ with that camera!

this week we have a sponsor for the tuesday challenge: minted.com!

one lucky winner from this week’s challenge will win one set of 100 Skinny-Wrap labels for business OR personal use. 

Minted’s Skinny-Wrap® address labels add a chic, personalized touch to all your envelopes. Each of these modern label designs is fully customizable with your family name, business name, or personalized greeting. These are perfect for photography professionals who want to add a touch of design-oriented sophistication to their greetings.

These things are awesome…..just looking at them makes me smile.  i can’t imagine how much fun it would be to receive one in the mail!  I wish I could win a set as well

i’ll share more back to school photos later this week!

i’m SUPER excited to see what you all come up with.   Share your awesome photos/links below:

amanda entered willette’s first weekly challenge for EYES, and she has won a spot in the finding YOUR joy online self-portrait class in september.  congrats!  email me, amanda to redeem!  will you be this week’s winner????  enter the new challenge this week!