A Beautiful Fall Day!

It is time for the November Newsletter!

Give Thanks!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There is no pressure to buy the perfect gift, no need to decorate your house or get dressed up in your Sunday best. We literally drive over the river and through the woods to my cousin's hobby farm in Woodbury. Their old farm house is tucked away in the woods along with a big red barn, horses and chickens. It is the perfect setting for the perfect Thanksgiving dinner. We eat, laugh, catch up with family we have not seen in a while and play outside in the crisp fall air. I feel so thankful every year for my loving family and the beautiful Thanksgiving we all share together.

Photography Tip of the Month

Clothesline Gallery: This is a fun way to display your photos or holiday photo cards. Choose an area of the wall about 4 feet long to hang your gallery. Hammer two nails, one on each end of the space, about 5 feet above ground, with about half of the nail still visible. Tie a cute ribbon or thin rope to each end, fairly tight but not completely stiff. Use clothespins to hang photographs and childrenís artwork on your clothesline. Make it a monthly project to clear off the old photos and artwork and replace it with new. Have fun with monthly themes; holiday artwork and cards, retro pictures of you and your husband when you were kids, sports themed photos and artwork... the possibilities are endless use your imagination and have fun!

Family Activity

Turkey Time! This cute little turkey is the perfect project for you and your little friends to make on a chilly November afternoon. Supplies needed: red, orange, yellow and brown construction paper glue sticks scissors black fine tip marker Project instructions: First, trace a round dinner plate on brown construction paper and cut it out. Trace a smaller circle on yellow construction paper using the top to a small butter container or something a similar size, cut that circle out. This smaller yellow circle will be your turkey's face. Cut a small diamond shape out of a piece of orange construction paper for the beak. Use brown construction paper to draw and cut out your turkey's legs. Next, trace your kids hands both left and right on each the red, yellow and orange construction paper. Have your kids cut out the shapes themselves, if they are able. Cutting is a great opportunity to work on your pre schoolers small motor skills. Now, glue all of your turkey parts in their place. Last, give your turkey eyes with your fine tip black marker. A little extra credit: Have your kids write something they are thankful for on some or all of their fingers that make up the turkey's tail. *You may choose to prep your turkey body, face, beak, and red gobbler before you introduce the project to your kids if you are working with younger children who are not able to use scissors well. Happy Thanksgiving!

www.swell-photography.com

3 Beautiful Girls!

Giggles

Meet the Diaz kids!

Lady Annika

She just turned five and when I asked how old she was she told me "I am a whole hand". How cute is that? I think she is the most beautiful 5 year old girl; I may be a tad biased, she is my niece.

Hooray for Fall!

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I love the crisp fresh air, the red, orange and yellow leaves that brighten the trees and then fall gently to the ground. I love crisp apples, hot soup on a cold rainy night and opening the windows to let in the fresh fall air.

Fall is also my favorite time to take pictures. The bright, colorful trees make for a perfect backdrop for family portraits. I also love to get out and take photographs of the brightly colored leaves.

Next time you head out for a walk to enjoy the season bring along your camera and take some fall pictures. Here are some tips on how to get some great shots that you will be dying to get out of your camera and on to your walls.

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Photography Tip of the Month

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Tip #1
Get in close. Wide landscapes are beautiful but, it can be tricky to get the detail you desire. Your eye sees much more detail than your camera will ever be able to capture. If you really want to capture the bold color and the detail of the leaves you will need to get up close.
Tip #2
Keep your eyes peeled for a unique photo. Look for a single bright leaf floating in a stream, or a red leaf laying near a mossy rock.
Tip #3
Bring the kids along. They often notice small details that we over look. Like a bug crawling across a beautiful leaf, or a really cool rock on the side of the path. Slow down and walk at their pace you will be amazed at the things you will see.

Family Activity

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Fall is such a beautiful time of the year to get outside and explore nature. So, throw on those sweatshirts, grab a little bag for your treasures and head outside to explore your neighborhood and find the signs of fall. Collect beautiful leaves along the way so that when you return home you can make a fall themed nature collage.

Here are instructions for a No Glue Collage. This is a great way to make a collage with out the glue mess; it also makes it easier for little ones.
Supplies:
clear Con-Tact paper
masking tape
fall leaves

Project:
Start by taping a piece of contact paper to a wall, window or a low table and set your fall leaves near by.
Next, let the kids discover the stickiness of the paper and then let them begin to stick the leaves to the Con-Tact paper.
After the kids have finished you will preserve the collage by placing another piece of contact paper over the art work and finish the edges with masking tape.

Enjoy this project; sit back and watch the kids explore the colors and textures.

October Promotion

Holiday Family Photo

A $75.00 family photo session and 3 uploads for holiday cards and gifts. First, I will come to your home or a park near by your home and do a short family session. After the session I will edit your photos and give you a preview of your photos on line. You will then choose up to three photos to be uploaded to the online photo sharing site of your choice (Kodak Easy Share, Shutterfly etc.). From there, you are welcome to create holiday cards or print photos for gifts. This package has a value of $175.00 based on my regular pricing, so this is a great deal, because of this I will only be offering this special price to the first three families that book the "Holiday Family Photo" session`. This special sitting must take place in October or November. Please give me a call, 651 271-8946 or email me, jeneichen@swell-photography.com if you have any questions, or to schedule a session.

Heart of the City Dental

Check out the new staff pictures for Heart of the City Dental. Thank you to my friend Heidi and all of her co workers for a fun session!