I cannot believe we are in the penultimate month of this year's family portrait project. Next month will be 2 years!
Just look at these babes. Almost 2 years ago I wrote this post.
And whatever may happen next year to this wonderful photo community, I am so glad I have these photos.
Weeks race by and I snap hundreds, if not thousands of work photos, driving Rich to despair with our back up system, but without these Me and Mine photos we may not have any of the 4 of us.
Sometimes I feel like I am always behind the camera, shepherding my brood into position for a family snap and sometimes it's hard to pass the camera over.
So if you had been a fly on the wall in the field today you would have cried with laughter. A controlling photographer, a frustrated husband, one Mama who cried when she fell, hands first onto a patch of stinging nettles, one Dada who vowed this would be the last time he was forced into one of these photos, one boy who suddenly needed to relieve himself (And not in the number 1 easy way.) and one boy who just wanted to climb a tree in peace.
But when I look at the few photos we actually managed to take, in between all the drama in the field, (We think we heard the peacock who has gone missing in the village - yes, you read that right!) it was all worth it. My beautiful boys. Our beautiful boys.
For a while I have been thinking about finding some beautiful blog stationery. At first I thought it sounded ridiculous, creating my own stationery for Capture by Lucy, but as time goes on, there are more and more occasions where I need to drop someone a line, put a card in with a parcel, or share some details that business cards don't have room for.
And then I found Minted. Oh my, just the most gorgeous selection of personalised stationery and party decor.
I started by creating a holiday card. Christmas cards are great to act as your calling card and a way of sending good cheer to those who have supported you that year. I loved this design with the embossed gold, that has a real shine on printing. I only wish the screen would show my blog text and logo in shimmer!
Since I announced at Christmas in 2008 that we were pregnant with Sammy, we have always sent photo cards. I absolutely love it. And love receiving them!
Our first was the dogs with the little scan picture in amongst some tinsel and last year was a lovely family photo we had taken, walking down a country hill near where we lived. I am still trying to decide what to do this year. I really want to incorporate our new house in some way, so here's hoping for a little snow flurry to capture a perfect wintry scene!
I have kept a spare from every year and one day when I am an old lady, I am sure looking over them will bring me lots of joy.
And then I browsed through the party decor. Get ready...
Spoilt for choice I suddenly thought about creating a garland to hang above the fireplace in our family room. I had this vision of coral and mint tones but it is proving tricky to find any home accessories that fit that colour bill! Until now. Just look at this gorgeous banner, which I can also use just as "Love" bunting.
We have decided that the grown up living room will have a neutral grey backdrop with similar colours but with bright pinks, and yellows. A real Spring feeling, whatever the season. And this party set got me thinking. Is bunting in every room too much? Absolutely not ;)
The best thing is if you don't live in the US you can still order Minted's gorgeous products with UK shipping just $9.95.
Have a peek at their blog too, there's inspiration bursting from every post.
Don't forget if you order today there's a special discount code for Black Friday! Check out the website for more details.
Now are you printing photo Christmas cards this year? Have you taken that magic shot yet, or are you still battling with a DIY fairy light backdrop like me?!
This post is in collaboration with Minted.
I love collecting independent and interesting magazines. Magazines that you keep forever because every time you get a chance to flick through them, you see something new.
When I feel in need of an injection of inspiration, I sit for 10 minutes with a stack of old magazines and instantly ideas start to flow.
So when I saw that Oh Comely were encouraging readers to join in their Perfect Strangers project I raced to sign up.
What could be lovelier than a real, honest and true good deed?
A parcel, lovingly put together, for a complete stranger.
I was in.
I peeked into my local charity shops, found a few things from home, that I was saving for just such an occasion and bought a few nice bits.
£10 was the limit, but I think it was more about reading a little snippet about your swap partner and packaging up a kind parcel of goodies. Whether it cost £10, less, or a little more.
I loved searching for things in her favourite Autumn colours, digging through my tissue papers to find a burnt orange and a single feather from my craft box to complete the wrapping.
It seems everyone was as lucky as me. To enjoy receiving a parcel as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Just have a peek at #perfectstrangers.
I was truly spoilt with homemade gifts, little packages, thoughtful trinkets to treasure.
When I opened the beautiful box I couldn't believe the coral and mint postcards. I have been searching for those colours everywhere to decorate our family dining room with and I was so touched that Claire had found them. Surely it wasn't just a coincidence?!
From Claire, from a stranger.
How lovely. Thank you so much Claire.
And Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers, especially my brother and sister in law in New Jersey.
I feel thankful for the opportunity to be creative, share what I love with people I love. Knowing that you are reading means the world. I couldn't imagine life without blogging now.
Happy days everyone!
Watch out for the next #perfectstrangers project next year by following Oh Comely.