Castle Point Photography

Easy Card Idea

Here's a fun and easy way to create an instant handmade card.  Create your message in a series of pictures.  For this card, I wrote out three signs that said "I love Maggie" for one of my son's school teachers.  Then, I took three separate shots of my son holding each sign.  Finally, I printed them out and attached them to a blank card using some coordinating paper as a sloppy matte. 

So easy, so cute, and such a hit at the school.  This technique is so great for holiday cards.  If you have three children, have each of them hold a sign that says "Let it Snow...".  Then lay it out on the card so that it almost sings to the recipient.  Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it snow.... Get it?  The possibilities are endless!  The great thing about this idea is that it can be tailored for one child, or for many children.  Have fun! 

Gift Tags

I am having so much fun designing products for my store.  If you have lost track, I am nearing a launch of my new website AND a launch of an online retail store.  I tend to work in tangents and so the websites have certainly taken me much longer than anticipated.  Of course, the fact that I'm a single mom to an active toddler throws a wrench in the mix as well!  And active is putting it politely!  My father sent me a few one liners about parenting today that I thought were absolutely spot on.  He even highlighted a few gems that seem so appropriate right now!  And of course, those are my faves...

A child will not spill on a dirty floor.

A young child is noise with dirt on it. 

Having children is like having a bowling alley installed in your brain.

If you have trouble getting your child's attention, just sit down and look comfortable.

The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left.

There are three ways to get things done: do it yourself, hire someone to do it, or forbid your kid to do it.

The last big mess I cleaned up?  Think rolling pin meets crackers.  On my aerobic step.  In the living room, which is carpeted.  You get the drift...

So, back to the store.  I am 99% confident that I will be able to open for business this week.  There are more items that I will be adding to the product mix in the next couple of months, but I didn't want to postpone the opening any longer.  Here's a peek at the new line of gift tags I created this week.

ideas, ideas, ideas...

I have made it to my second day in a row! woo-hoo!!  I have been brainstorming some great little somethings to add to the new website.  It occurred to me that it may be a wonderful thing to cross pollinate my scrapbooking obsession with my photography site and offer up some handmade goodies to my clients.  I'm working on some projects this week, so I should be able to post some previews soon.  Many of them come from Donna Downey's book Photo Decor which is my favorite book as of late.  Very simple, elegant frames, baby keepsake blocks, and some great clipboard frames to name a few.  I'm really excited about finishing them for myself, so I hope you all will feel the same way when you see them!  If you're crafty, definitely pick up this book.  It's a sampling of some really cool ideas.  My only dissapointment was that it wasn't longer!  I'm always on the lookout for great idea books, inspiration pages, chunky books with tons of projects.  It's like a lens looking into someone else's brain and it just sparks my own to get going and create. 

Another gem I picked up recently was Photo Idea Index by Jim Krause.  It's a quick answer to photo block, something I'm quite familiar with!  Sometimes when your perspective gets stuck in neutral, along comes some cool artist that kicks it back into gear for you.  Vroom Vroom.