GIVEAWAY winner announcement | cute puppy | caitlin elizabeth photography

today's post is threefold: 

1. share pictures of an adorable puppy named daisey

2. announce the winner of the GIVEAWAY

3. brag on jennifer warthan of warthan farms photography

1: meet daisey :) we became friends last weekend while i was visiting hilton head, sc and grabbing a diet coke at a cute little coffee shop with some pretty fabulous ladies - ain't she just the sweetest little thing?! 

2: last week i had a fun PINday blogpost on a DIY hairpiece and it was EASY and super cute (if i do say so myself) - so i decided to share the love and GIVE AWAY another one just like it (obviously i had to keep one because i will be wearing it myself hehe).  anyway... the WINNER (thank you everyone who participated!) is... Ashley Harrell Pearce!! *special thanks to RANDOM.ORG for picking for me ;) everyone's comments were so sweet and much appreciated!! ashley - email me at: caitlin@caitlinelizabethphotography.com with your address and i'll send it your way ASAP :)

3: this morning i had headshots taken by the beautiful and ABSOLUTELY AMAZING jennifer of warthan farms photography (you might remember her family session i did on their fantabulous farm in february) and you should CHECK HER OUT on facebook, like warthan farms photography's page, and leave some love... because anyone who can make me look 1/2 normal is a MAGICIAN - seriously though she made me feel pretty! and i've realized that unless you know me personally you probably have no clue what i look like because i never post pictures of myself!! there is a reason for this: i am a DOOF and unless i get to make a funny face i'm not exactly pumped to get in FRONT of the camera - point being THANK YOU JENNIFER <3 

PINday | DIY wedding napkins

PINday is here again :) this time with DIY stencil napkins.  

i don't live under the false impression that a hoard of blog-followers stalk my every post... so i'll explain PINday for the (few) newbies who happen to stumble upon this humble little photo/DIY blog :)

PINday consists of me taking a craft i find on pintrest and actually doing it. i know, crazy right? i like to think of myself as a revolutionary thinker ;)  ya'll vote and i craft - basically i test run crafts for you. such a win.  you can VOTE on what you think i should craft next too! i'm all about audience participation (THANK YOU TO MY 2 VOTERS LAST WEEK GERTRUDE BELL  and HANNEKE VOLLBEHR - ya'll go follow these saintly woman right now)

and now, DIY STENCIL NAPKINS!

i started with some SUPER CHEAP muslin fabric = $1.99/yard (side note: i adore the texture and little flecks/details in muslin - it's quite convenient that it's so inexpensive because i plan on integrating it into every possible facet of my life as quickly as possible - starting with napkins like these)

i cut rectangles of fabric out large enough that when you lay the napkin out it covers as much lap as you deem necessary - different events require different size napkins ;) *i made these with dinner party/reception in mind, so they were a little larger... 18x20 inches

also: 'cut' is a very loose term.  i simply marked where i wanted each 'cut' to be made and then RIPPED the fabric apart.  i like the 'unfinished' look that it has - and who wants to sew up the edges anyway?! 

i folded each napkin as i would want them to lay (lie?) on the table

and then the fun began!  i got this stencil set from Michael's - jess helped me pick them out along with the colors for this project.  i liked the 'font' of the letters!

as you can see, there isn't much room between the stencil letters - be careful that you don't get paint everywhere!! if you have to, put tape over the letters you AREN'T using to make sure the napkin stays paint free in the areas you aren't intentionally stenciling 

obviously you can use whatever colors you want, but jess and i liked the way these went together AND they match some plates that i have (i purchased said plates from a THRIFT STORE for less than $1 each and they will be featured in a later blogpost, i know, i know... I'M PUMPED TOO)

first i stenciled the heart which, in this case, functions like an '&'

and then stenciled the initials!  i had to let the heart dry completely before stenciling anything else, but i did the heart on my lunch break and the initials when i got home at 5:15... so i'm not exactly sure how long it takes to dry.  the initials dried within 10 minutes though (i used less paint on those though - i had figured out the optimal paint amount by that point, which will vary with the type of paint you use)

as you can see, the pink doesn't show up as well (i think i'm going to go BACK to michael's and get a slightly darker shade, because i still love the pink and the green together)

then, because i'm an over-achiever and have an unhealthy obsession with varying textures being used together, i wrapped a 10-inch strip of burlap around the napkin and then tied it with lace to hold it together - it's going to look FABULOUS with the tablescape i'm planning on featuring next week 

i used 'J' and 'T' because two of my very good friends are getting MARRIED next year (in wisconsin!!) and i'm PHOTOGRAPHING THEIR WEDDING - i am beyond excited and i'm forever thinking about it!

be sure to VOTE on which craft i try next by liking your favorite on my PINDAY board on pintrest!

also, check out the latest MINI SESSION ANNOUNCEMENT (perfect for a mother's day gift!)

PINday | an alternative to mason jars

my friends can attest to my undying love for mason jars.

they can also attest to the fact that i have BEEN in love with them for forever.  back in college i wrote a blog called the 'mason jar monologues.'  i stored my pens/pencils on my desk in a mason jar.  it was not uncommon to see me walking to class or roll into staff meeting with a mason jar of sweet tea.  one christmas i gave my besties a 'sweet tea making kit' including two mason jars, tea bags, sugar, and a freakin adorable little poem with the foolproof steps to sweeten it just right.  i decorated my dorm room with mason jars full of colorful candy and ribbon (my undying love for ribbon is worthy of a whole separate blogpost)

it deeply saddens my heart to know that all of these bandwagoners have ruined any chance of me actually going through with the mason jar themed wedding i've been dreaming up since i was a wee little thing drinking lemonade from a mason jar on the front porch swing... 

SO for the first official installment for PINday i've prepared an alternative for mason jars :)  

PINday is a new installment on the blog - basically i have a pintrest board devoted to crafty things that YOU can 'like' and i'll try them out for you... because honestly, how many things have you pinned on pintrest that you are NEVER going to do?! that's right. a bunch.

the inspiration for this project came from this DIY yarn bottles project i found.  i mixed it up a little, to fit what resources i had readily available:

MATERIALS: bottle, yarn/twine, hot glue gun 

obviously  you can use whatever you want, and the actual pin on pintrest calls for smaller bottles and yarn, BUT 

i am forever drinking wine 

and i love me some twine, 

so i just decided to use what i had 

and make up a sweet rhyme 

:) 

golly i crack myself up 

also: if you don't already have a hot glue gun, what are you doing with your life?! using it is probably my second favorite thing ever.  drinking wine would be the first.

just a little heads up: this wine (lucky duck) is from wal-mart and it is SO CHEAP and SO GOOD.  i particularly liked this bottle, which was a sauvignon blanc from chile i believe.  they have all different types - some not as good as others, but hey, for $4 a bottle what can you expect?

seriously though: twine is so useful.  and it seems to last forever.  i've had this roll since September and i use it every chance i get: decorating, packaging prints/products for clients etc. 

starting this can be a little tricky - i found that NOT having huge globs of very warm adhesive all over the place is helpful - less is more when it comes to hot glue guns - you don't want a huge hunk of glue at the top where you start wrapping the twine around.  i took a little dab and put it just inside the top of the wine bottle, attached the twine to it, let the glue cool just a little so i knew the twine wasn't going anywhere, and then started working my way around the very top of the bottle, using very small amounts of glue to make sure the twine covered the top lip of the bottle completely  

after you clear the top of the wine bottle it's easy as pie!  just keep wrapping the twine around the bottle, stopping every once in a while to put a little dab of hot glue to make sure the twine stays put!  again, less is more.  you don't want big pockets of glue sticking through between your twine

from start to finish this project took me about 45 minutes, but i'm sure that once you did it a few times it wouldn't be as time consuming. (or if you used smaller bottles)

these would be great to just have around the house as decorations OR you could use them as centerpieces or accents in tablescapes :)  you can check out the finished product later on in the week when i feature this DIY PINday project in a special little something i thought up over the weekend!!  

check out the PINday pinboard too and vote for the next project by 'liking' whatever you want to see me craft :)  thanks ya'll! 

baby's breath is making a come back [just for fits and giggles + pinday fun]

that's right. i said it: baby's breath is making a comeback.  i can feel it in my bones

at one point in my life, i abhorred baby's breath.  

yes, abhorred.

judge me if you will, but have YOU tried to get those little flower buds out of your hair after they adhered themselves to every strand of hair within their teeny tiny petals' reach when sprayed with the liquid cement version of hairspray mama used in my flower girl days?! i didn't think so.

i suppose that to my little tomboy-flower-girl self, baby's breath represented all things dainty and feminine... things i didn't readily associate myself with.  yes, i took ballet lessons and i still occasionally throw a ribbon in my hair, but i've never been a girly girl.  i'd rather shoot than sew, and  in the early 90's i would've much rather been out back building forts in the woods than wearing flowers in my hair.

and for a while, folks started coming around and seeing baby's breath for the evil little minion that it was.  many frowned upon it simply because of its weed-like qualities, others snubbed their noses at it because it was generally used only as a filler.  it was cheap.  and quickly became dated.

but i'm here to say: baby's breath is going to make a come back.

and it's for the same reasons that it went out of style:

SIMPLICITY

baby's breath was such a good filler because of it's simplicity.  it didn't distract from the 'real flowers' in a bouquet.  but when you take a whole lot of simple and concentrate it, a transformation occurs - suddenly you have a whole lot of beautiful:

[image credit: intimate weddings]

INEXPENSIVE

this. stuff. is. CHEAP. and eventually baby's breath became synonymous with the 'bad' type of cheap (like, grandmothers whisper in the back pews of the church cheap: she has baby's breath in her bouquet?! did she get those flowers off of the street?) but now, instead of being cheap - it's thrifty ;) *it's alllllll about the word choice ya'll

this little table decoration: SO CHEAP.

[image by katie stoops]

AVAILABLE

everyone. used. baby's breath.  it got so TIRING to see it in every bouquet and in every flower girls' hair.  it got OLD.  so folks stopped using it.  but NOW people are seeing the light - yes, baby's breath is COMMON and available to everyone, but you can use it in DIFFERENT ways.  it is VERSATILE.  and you can really take it and make it your own.  

you can make wreaths:

 

or decorate tablescapes:

[image courtesy of whitelilacinc.com]

and really do absolutely anything you can image with it.

which brings me toooooooo..... PINDAY!  check out my pinday board on pintrest and 'like' whichever craft you want me to test run for you... there's even one with baby's breath :) whichever pin has the most 'likes' by tomorrow night will be the one i test out over the weekend.

don't see a pin you like?  tell me what you want me to craft! leave a comment here or post it on my facebook page 

PINday | just for fits and giggles

it seems like everyone has some sort of alliterative weekly blogpost and i've been feeling MAJORLY left out.  much to my disdain all of the good alliterations seem to have been stolen away before i could jump on the bandwagon (wedding wednesday, things i love thursday, mixed tape monday... the list goes on) 

SO. i'm stepping outside of the box and MAKING UP MY OWN WORD. mostly because that's what mama told me to do when i was little and no one would let me play the games they were engrossed in on the playground.  i can hear her plain as day: "if they won't let you play with them you should just make up your own game sweetie!" unfortunately that usually just meant me, sitting on the grass, shoes off, eating dirt and talking with my pre-school's resident lab, shadow... [although i'm sure you loved that little insight into my not-so-long-ago childhood, i digress]

BACK TO MY NEW (hopefully) WEEKLY BLOGPOST: i've recently become ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED with pintrest - as is half of kingdom come.  i've already planned about a bajillion styled shoots, categorized every possible facet of the wedding day, constructed an entire board devoted solely to women who are skinnier than i'll ever be and compiled a list of food i will more than likely never take the time to make. BUT IT IS SO MIND BLOWING-LY AWESOME.

~

long story short: 

i wanted to start some sort of 'themed' post 

+ 

all of the cool titles were gone 

+ 

my most recent love for YET ANOTHER social media site 

= 

the creation of a new installment on the caitlinelizabethphotography blog 

aka:

PINday will consist of taking something crafty from pintrest and seeing if it can REALLY be done or if it should continue to sit on your wittily named crafting pin-board 

:)

i'm totally open to SUGGESTIONS - tell me what you want me to craft!

we should probably connect on pintrest too ;)