Taking Photo's of you Little One - Flag Day Contest

Flag Day Photo Contest

So this week Sephira is in a photo contest. So I figured I would do a blog post on how to get an adorable photo of your LO. There are a few things you should always have handy for taking cute photos. Number one is a backdrop. For this, I usually use 1-2 yards faux fur fabric. This is great for laying your little one on. Don't worry about getting outside objects or backgrounds in the photo since they can always be cropped out. For the colors of the fur make sure you have black, white and cream always on had. These colors go with everything and you won't feel like you have to purchase a different color for each shoot. Another item that helps make positioning your little one easier especially for ones who can set up yet is a basket of some kind.  Again have a neutral color and/or print like chevron is great for most of your photo. With the fur, you can just lay it on a couch, bed, pillows, co-sleeper, or floor. You can also place it in the basket with the fur sticking out. Again this helps prop up little ones that can't quite sit up on their own. If you just want to use the basket and no fur you can try a towel, face cloths or cloth diapers to help prop your baby up. 

Use a Chevron basket to prop up your little one.

Something that also makes picture taking fun is props. These could be anything from holiday decorations to baby toys/stuffed animals. One thing to keep in mind with props is if you're not using these props outside of your pictures they can pile up. So using fresh flowers can cut down on the hoarding of props.

Now to my favorite part, dressing your baby. For newborn pictures having some cute bows is always a must. Again always have bows or bow ties in neutral colors black, white and cream. If you know that you are going to be taking lots of pictures red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple are great to have in hand. When purchasing bows I always try to get head wraps. They can be a bit more pricey but they will grow with your baby. This way you are getting good quality and more pictures out of them. I purchase my head wraps from HelloMissGorgeous on Esty. They are great quality and they ship fast. 

Black Headwrap from HelloMissGorgous

If you're like me and love cute outfits then here are some of my favorite sellers on Esty that sell the sweetest outfits and accessories for photo shoots BBOWSBOUTIQUE, HelloMissGorgous, SofiaandBelle, NordeensBabyCouture, BabySquishyCheeks, BowtifulSoul, CandyFacesShop, and Katescouturedesign. If you are looking for cheaper more generic options then Amazon Prime always has options for not just clothes and accessories, but also baby photo props like faux fur, wrap blankets and cute accessories. Though I get my fur from Distinctivefabric.com. 

Onesie From BabySquishyCheeks and Shorts from CandyFacesShop

Headwrap from HelloMissGorgous

Headwrap from HelloMissGorgous and Fur from Distinctivefabric.com

For editing photo's there are 3 apps that I like to use. PS Express (free), FotoRus (Free with in app purchases) and Union ($1.99). Union has to be my favorite because you can have a photo of your LO and completely remove the background and replace it with whatever you want. PS Express is good for erasing minor blemishes. FotoRus is also good for blemishes and has some other crazy options to add makeup to your face. This is one of those in app purchases though.

If you like this post and I gave you a few ideas for photographing your LO then please share this with other moms. Also Please go to the link and like my Little Girl's photo on the Brady Sullivan Facebook Page so we can win! Thanks so much for reading!

Link to photo: Flag Day Contest

Matching Outfits Monday - Unicorns

Welcome back to Matching Outfits Monday, It's been a few weeks since I've been able to post one of these since my LO has been sick. But she is feeling much better now and we are getting back on track with our posts. So about a week ago we went to a circus camp and I needed some adorable outfits for the weekend. Also side note sometime in the next few weeks, I will post what we packed and how we survived the weekend with a teething 8-month-old with eczema.

So, back on track, of course, our outfits had to match in some way shape or form so I picked some easy categories and when from there. Our First day we when with Unicorns. You just can't go wrong with unicorns at a circus camp.

For my outfit, I wore a purple unicorn print t-shirt that I modified. I followed this tutorial to cut a v-neck with a collar into the shirt. I then paired it with some simple gray shorts and my platform jellies from UNIF. When it got a bit chilly I wore UNIF's pastel Forst Sweater. For accessories, I got a unicorn horn from Amazon. The headband was very tight so I cut it off and hot glued a hair clip. So nothing was wasted I took the elastic headband I cut off and make a hair elastic. To carry my LO around in I had a Unicorn Toki Doki printed LILLE carrier.

Links to my outfits hear
Shirt - XL
Sweater - XL
Jellies - 9
Carrier
Unicorn Horn - Color violet felt. I got the size medium but you can get it in an adjustable size if you don't want to use a clip.

More Importantly, my LO wore a  ruffle leotard from Baby Squishy Cheeks on Etsy. I was really excited to finds this seller because every time I found this style of leotard they didn't come with snaps for easy diaper changes. But these ones do and they come in 4 colors light pink, light purple, black and white. For this outfit, I purchased the light pink. Do be careful when washing, make sure they are will like colors and wash in a lingerie bag if you have one. 

I paired her leotard with the most perfect high waisted unicorn shorts from Candy Faces Shop on Esty. I loved the high waist on these shorts they just made the outfit. The high waist gives a cute ruffle top. They fit perfectly, I gave the owner Covantry my LO's measurements and asked her to make them a little larger. They fit perfect with room to grow without looking too big. My LO will be able to wear them for the rest of the summer. The shorts were pink with a unicorn and rainbow print. These shorts also come in the same print in blue. The quality is fantastic from this shop, the owner is passionate about what she does and its worth it to go and take a look at what she has to offer. This shop also has tons of other magical unicorn items to select from as well.

For Sephira'a accessories I found an adorable unicorn headband Bowtiful Soul on Esty. The headband was super sparkly and the unicorn figure was adorable. For shoes, Teeny Toes had the most perfect sparkle jellies to match mine. Also, in case if got cold I found a rainbow unicorn horn sweatshirt from Amazon that was a perfect fit. 

Because we had to drive 2 hours to the camp I was worried about having a diaper blowout in the car. so on our way, I dressed Sephira in some cute unicorn pajamas.

Leotard - 18 months
Shorts - Custom
Headband
Jellies - 3
Sweatshirt - 12 months
Pajamas - 12-18 months

Fast Fun Friday - Milksicles

This week on Fast Fun Friday we are going to make an easy snack, that will keep your LO entertained for a few minutes. As parents about 90 percent of the time you have other obligations like cleaning, cooking, personal hygiene or just need a few minutes not holding your LO. If your baby is anything like mine they like to be held 100% of the time so any amount of entertainment is helpful.

I call this snack a milksicle. What you will need to make these is a mini ice cube tray. I got mine from Amazon. Then about 2 ozs of either Breast milk, formula or milk. A fruit of your choice, here I am using frozen strawberries. A blender or food processor to blend everything together. Lastly, a mesh or silicone food feeder.  I use the mesh ones by Munchkin or silicone ones by Boon.

First, add 2 ounces of milk and 2 frozen or fresh strawberries to the blender. You want to completely liquefy the strawberries and milk. Once you do that you are going to add your strawberry mixture to the ice cube tray. You want to make sure the ice cubes will fit into the feeder once they are frozen. If they do not you will have you use a knife to chop it into smaller pieces so they fit.  The ones in the photo will fit in either of the food feeders that I have previously mentioned.  After you have your tray filled, pop it into the freezer. Because they are small they should only take a few hours to freeze. Once they are frozen you can pop them out of the tray and place them in a milk saver bag or a freezer bag. I will keep them for about a month if they even make it that long.