Here's one of my favorites from some more recent photos I took.

Hats, Hats and More Hats!

I’ve taken up a new hobby recently. I've taught myself how to crochet baby hats. I had no idea standing in front of shelves and shelves of yarns of so many colors and textures could be quite so much fun! LOL And there are so many simply adorable designs out there too. I am going to start taking custom orders for anyone interested. If you’d like one, just let me know what color(s) you’d like in it and what size child you want it to fit. I will post various patterns to choose from and a size chart in the sidebar as I create new designs, so stay tuned for that. Buy one for your own sweetie, or perhaps someone else’s cutie. Fellow photographers looking for something to adorn all those sweet newborns in? Lets talk!

New drawing

I finished this drawing of two brothers before Christmas but promised not to post it until after Christmas. I’ll be posting another one slated for a gift next week.

Happy 2010!

Happy 2010! It’s that time of year once again when people promise themselves that this is the year that they are going to stick to their resolutions. Many of these resolutions seem to make the list year after year, but unfortunately tend to get lost by the wayside rather quickly. Lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier foods, stop smoking, blog consistently… well, you know the list. I will admit that I have been guilty of making these repetitive lists myself. (In fact, I’m pretty sure that all of these except stop smoking were on my list for 2009!)


As many of you are aware, 2009 turned out to be a very stressful year for me, and because of this, many of my good intentions that I made at the beginning of the year (including consistent blogging!) ended up getting neglected and forgotten. Although I wouldn’t want anyone to have to struggle with the issues that fell upon me, reflecting on them now I feel I’m starting to become a stronger person because of them. Because of them, I have come to realize a most valuable life lesson; true friends and family do not judge you by the actions of others; rather they support you for who YOU are. They don’t take sides. They don’t abandon you. They intuitively know just when you need a little extra support and are there for you. For this I want to say thank you. You know who you are. Without the love and care and support of so many friends and family I don’t know that I would feel quite as confident in myself yet. Oh, I’m sure more issues will continue to crop up in 2010, but I know now that with the caring support system that is out there for me I will be able to face any issues with dignity and respect to myself.

And while ‘lose weight, exercise more, and eat healthier foods’ may continue to get added to next year’s resolution list, I am going to try my hardest to turn ‘blog consistently’ into a habit rather than just another meaningless item on list after list. And now I wish you success with your 2010 resolutions!

Sweets for a sweetie

Note to myself for future shots... if I want both sisters in the same photo I'd better have TWO lollipops!  :o))

Dreaming of Santa Claus, perhaps?

Holiday Greetings

Wishing a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Holiday Train

The holiday train went thru town this weekend.  If you've never had a chance to see it in person, it really is spectacular with all the lights.  Here's a few of my favorites I took.   

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

(a bit fuzzy enlarged, I know, but it was one of those "grab the camera quick, there's no time to adjust the settings, just use the existing light and hold as still as possible" moments)  :o)))

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday full of good food, family and friends.

Wanted: Baby Girl who loves Ducks!

Okay, so I need a baby. More specifically, a baby girl, between the age of 7 or 8 mos to a year, or so. (I can hear several of you saying, um, Juli... huh? right now, so I'd better explain!) LOL I found the cutest bright yellow stuffed duck wearing a pink hat the other day. This thing sits about 2-1/2 feet high and I thought it would look adorable with a little girl of just-sitting-up age. Problem is, all the little cuties I know are now past that age. They'll still look adorable with this duck, I know, so I'm sure I'll be taking photos of them with it too soon, but I get this image/idea in my head and of course I want to try it out right away! So. If you have or know of anyone who has a little girl who loves bright yellow ducks and is interested in a free 30 minute session, let me know! :o))

Graphite Drawing

Child of Mine
Graphite Pencil
Image size 1-3/4" x 2-3/4"

This weekend I also got to try out the other idea I had in mind when I bought this chair. I think this is about the only dirt road left in town - I hope they don't decide to pave it!

I had the pleasure of photographing two lovely sisters this weekend. We started indoors then moved outdoors to take advantage of the beautifully warm weather. Here's your sneak peek, girls! :)

Art Miniature

I finished this miniature graphite pencil drawing last night. The image size is 2" x 2" and the frame is 5 "x 5". (I scanned it into the computer rather than photographing it first, so unfortunately a lot of the detail is lost in the scan process, sorry!)

Two brothers

I had the opportunity this weekend to get out and enjoy the warm weather with some friends while taking photos of their adorable boys. I picked up this chair at a thrift store a couple weeks ago and thought it would work great for a vintage look.

Then we went over to a nearby park where we found one remaining tree with fall colors still on it! Thanks boys, for letting me take such fun photos of you. (and sorry, B, for cutting into your Vikings/Packers game time!!)

Happy Halloween!

Holidays and Snowflakes

I should be designing for Halloween, but this winter idea just popped into my head so I had to lay it out before I forgot it.

More of Miss M as promised

How can you NOT get fun photos with someone that's just this darn cute?!

Fire Truck Visit

Last week my daughters daycare group had a surprise (planned!) visit from the fire department. Everyone had a great time - thanks for arranging it T!

Happy 1st Birthday Miss M

I spent a quick half hour with Miss M yesterday to take her one year photos. I haven't had time to go through them all yet, but I just HAD to post one of my favorites this morning for her mom. I'll get some more posted here soon, so keep watching! :)

Only 94 shopping days until Christmas!

Now that I've reminded you of that oh-so-happy fact... :)

Does your holiday season always feel stressful trying to come up with that perfect gift for the people on your list? I know mine usually does! This year, in addition to my framed graphite pencil miniatures, I'm also introducing Mother's Portrait Pendants. Each pendant has an image size of 1 1/4", comes with convex glass to protect the drawing, and is on a 16" chain. Or you can remove the chain and display it on a miniature easel if you prefer.

Interested? Send me your favorite photo(s) - or book a mini photo session if you're local! - and let me take care of one or more people on your list! But don't delay... although you may have 94 RETAIL shopping days left, I don't guarantee any orders for Christmas delivery if received after November 24th. I like to try to make MY holidays stress free too! Email me at juli-art@juno.com for more information. Now back to my list.............

Black and White and Color?

I've been playing around with the reverse black and white option in Photoshop. I posted two others in my last couple posts, but here's another one. What are your opinions?

Baby N is 3 months old!

Where does the time go, anyway? It seems like just last week I was taking this little guy's newborn photos. Now he's already 3 months old with a personality all his own! These are a few of my favorites.

Miss E

Time to catch up on posting some more photos again! :o)