Senior Photos

I was asked by a family member to take her senior pictures. I will admit, I was nervous about my ability to do this. As I've said before, I don't know ANY of the technical stuff about cameras and photography. I have to admit, I was THRILLED with the way they turned out...AND it helps to have a GORGEOUS subject matter!

Now for you photography junkies. What type of lens do you use for most of your photography? If you only had ONE, which one do you think is the most versitile? I have the stock lens my camera came with, but used a 55 - 200mm for some of these. I liked it. I am thinking about purchasing one myself, but not 100% sure that this is THE lens. I would like to continue doing this type of photography (maybe even "officially" after I figure out what I'm REALLY doing), but would also like something that is great for sporting events. Would love your input.

Games on a Ring

I was cleaning my kids' rooms and kept finding flash cards and card games EVERYWHERE!! So, I found an empty box and just started collecting them as I went about my cleaning. When I was done, I was left with a bunch of cards from several different sets...many with no boxes or ones that were so ripped they were useless. I've rubberbanded them together before, but they NEVER end up back together when the kids are done. Over at Brown Paper Packages, I saw a cute Book on a Ring (which I LOVE) and decided to adapt it in order to find a solution to my problem.

You will need your cards, a hole punch (I recommed a Crop-a-Dile if you have one), a marker/pencil, and Album Rings (I used 1 1/2").

Mark the corner of your card so that you know where to punch. Make sure not to punch any words!

Use your hole punch to punch the first card. It then becomes your template to punch the other cards. The crop-a-dile EASILY punches 10+ cards at a time, so feel free to stack them together (making sure they are all lined up the same way).

Put your cards on the ring and you've got one set of cards, all nice at neat!! I did this with flash cards AND games. I plan on keeping the flashcards on the rings and just flipping through them. However, the games (such as matching or memory games) can be taken off and then put back on the ring when you are done playing with them. For now, I just have all the rings of cards in a plastic storage container. Eventually, I have visions of a peg board where they can be hung in reach of the kiddos!

Reminder

My world, like many of those around me, has once again been rocked by cancer. I haven't felt much like blogging or crafting. My mind and heart has been filled with other things. I wish we didn't need reminders to focus on what's important, but we're human and we do. This reminder was at too high of a price. This reminder will be on my heart forever and will not be forgotten. Kristi, you were an AMAZING woman and anyone that was fortunate enough to be the recipient of your smile was blessed beyond measure. You exemplify beauty and grace.

"To spare oneself from grief at all cost can be achieved only at the price of total detachment, which excludes the ability to experience happiness."

Deep Fried

I had ONE mission while at the Kansas State Fair. While my kids were on the hunt for which ride to go on next, I was looking for that ONE thing!! Food booth after food booth...sign after sign...and then there she was amongst the fried peaches, fried green beans, fried mushrooms, and fried cheese...

Do you see what I see!!!?? On the top it reads, "Deep Fried Candy Bars". On the front window, just so I wouldn't miss it, "Deep Fried SNICKERS!!" I was giddy with anticipation!!

Every bite was heavenly!! Truly.

What should I be on the lookout for next year!!? What is your favorite thing to eat at the fair?

Friday Feature - Kettle Creek

McPherson is lucky to have several really great places to get coffee. One of my favorites is Kettle Creek Coffee House. The owner, Joan, is super sweet and her newest employee, Sarah, is one of my closest friends! If you stop in, make sure you tell them Maple Memories sent you!!

Kettle Creek has a great selection of coffees and other specialty drinks, as well as wonderful food items. I recently had a "Minty Mountain" which is espresso, gourmet chocolate, chocolate mint & peppermint with whipped cream on top...it was heavenly!! Oh, and the Breakfast Burritos are super yummy too! They have a Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Menu including (but not limited to) pastries, muffins, burritos, chicken/ham/tuna salad, soups, and sloppy joe's. Call in orders are welcome. I believe they have delivery available on orders over $20 from 11am-1pm.

It's a cozy atmosphere, complete with games on a shelf for you to play with friends. They even have live entertainment and open mic night for those of you that want to give it all you've got!! Relaxing and friendly, this is a MUST when you come to McPherson!

HA!! That sign just cracks me up!!!! Unless those children are going home with me...then not so funny! ;) Here's my yummy burrito...mmmmm...I'm suddenly hungry.

Kettle Creek Coffee House

1358 North Main St

McPherson, KS 67460

(620)755-1424

Business Hours:

Monday - Saturday: 7am - 7pm

Open till 9pm on Music Nights (check here for schedule)

CLOSED SUNDAY

You can check them out on Facebook as well.

WINNERS ANNOUNCED!!!

If you are a winner, please contact me at shannon@maplememories.com to claim your prize!!! CONGRATULATIONS TO EACH OF YOU!! All winners were randomly selected by random.org.

Giveaway #1: 1/2 price weekend at Maple Memories...Rachel J. who commented, "I would hang out with amazing women - eat amazing food - and watch them be productive crafting. And I just might get a few scrapbook pages done while I'm at it."

Giveaway #2: Spooky Banner by Sugar Britches...Amy E. who commented, "I like you and always liked you on FB!"

Giveaway #3: Birthday Shirt by me...Patti V. who commented, "I'm a blog follower."

Giveaway #4: I Spy Bag from The Purse Place...Brandie L. who commented, "I LIKE you on FB and I LOVE spending the weekend there!! I look forward to spending time with my girlfriends and accomplishing so much while we're there. Can't wait to come back!!!"

Giveaway #5: $50 GC to Lori Pauls Photography...Alesia S. who commented, "I'm now a blog follower - you're my first. ;) I facebooked about your giveaway. I already "like" you! I would love to get some work done on all 3 of my kids' scrapbooks if I stayed for a weekend at Maple Memories. Hope I'm a winner - the giveaways are awesome!"

Giveaway #6: 8 x 10 frame from Stephanie...Tammy who commented, "I visited your place for the first time this year in April. We were a group of scrapbookers and quilters. Absolutely lovely place. I was able to relax, enjoy myself, and gets tons of scrapbook pages done. I can't wait to go back."

Family on Burlap

***LAST CHANCE...OUR GIVEAWAY ENDS AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!***

I found this family tree wall over at For the Love of it awhile ago. I love it. I have always liked the old black and white photos of my family. Like this one of my Grandpa and Grandma taken in the 1940's.

So, when I found this frame at a local garage sale, I knew it would be perfect with burlap in it!!


I wanted to use the word "FAMILY" like Arlene did on her wall. If I find another cool frame, I will probably do "HERITAGE" also. Step 1 was to find a font and size that would fit in my frame. Step 2 was to print it out and then tape in the window. I had to print on a few sheets due to the size of my letters. I then cut them and taped them together on the window.

Step 3: Tape burlap to the window, making sure the letters shine through. I cut my burlap LARGER than my frame so I would have enough left to wrap around the back when it was time to frame it.

Step 4: Grab your sharpie and start tracing. Remove from the window. It should look like this... (Sorry, I can't seem to get my picture turned around today!!)

Arlene used paint to color in her letters. That was my plan too, but the Sharpie was working so well and I liked the color, so I kept coloring with the marker. It was a lot less messy!

There she is!! My glass broke when I was framing it...OOPS!! However, I kind of like that you can actually see and feel the burlap. Now, I just need to get it hung on the wall and surround it with my FAMILY!

Linking up to:

1. Look What I Made on Creations by Kara