Heather Ann Melzer

Halloween photo opps

So much goes in to making Halloween a special day, that it would be a shame not to take pics all the things that make it so magical. I'm determined to capture some things I've failed to in years past and some that I have and would like to again, like...

The loot

Trick or treating

A lit jack-o-lantern

Full costume shot

Closeup costume shot

Acting the part

Handing out candy to trick-or-treaters

Closeups of decorations

It's always stressful getting the kids together for a group pic, but I'm glad we pushed through and got one of all of them holding their jack-o-lanterns last Wednesday night. Emma wasn't enjoying herself at all, but at least her and her pumpkin are present :)

I'm so excited about Halloween being on a Saturday. I'm planning on staging a photo shoot before we start trick-or-treating. Normally,we race to get the kids dressed when they get home and by then it's dark and too late to take decent pics of them. I'm hoping with less rushing, I'll have time to take more creative shots than I have in past years.

I'll leave you with some great Halloween photography tips I found online. And a few more here.

Have a safe, photo-filled, HAPPY Halloween!!

At the Patch '09

We made a last-minute decision to venture out to the pumpkin patch last Sunday, and I'm so glad we did. It's been really cold here in Chicagoland, and I was holding out for a warmer day, but since Indian Summer passed us by this year, we had to work with what we had. It actually turned out to be warmer than we expected, though, so we got lucky. Aside from the puddles of mud from all of the rain we've had. We actually cut through the corn maze because we couldn't find our way out and we were sinking in mud quicksand - lol!

We went to a new farm this year - Kuipers in Maple Park. It's probably quite a jaunt for folks that don't live as far out as we do, but it was a really neat place and we'll definitely be back. It's a real working farm with a pumpkin patch and all kinds of things to do on one side and a full U-pick apple orchard on the other. After we ran around and played for a few hours, we walked across the street for some of their famous apple cider donuts. YUM! We also bought a bag of freshly picked apples and Tom said they were delicious (I'll have to take his word on that ;)

I was just saying last night (during our 2nd annual Pumpkin Carving Party), that I probably take more pics in October than any other month of the year - lots going on. Here are some of my favorites from our outing...

Is there anything cuter than a chubby little boy with a messy donut? Maybe...

Once upon a time

There was a girl with a dream.

To be the best Snow White,

Halloween had ever seen.

She ventured into the forest with her flowing red cape,

and with a bite of poison apple

she sealed her fate.

Through the years

I'm so glad I've kept up with this picture taking tradition, although it sure does make for a hectic morning! I can't believe how much all three of them have grown in the last year - it's crazy. Jack looks like he's ready for kindergarten. I think I'm gonna need a bigger haybail next year - lol.

I made the girls' tiered skirts with some adorable skull fabric and the shirts with button sets I found at Joann's. Here's Kenzie modeling her skirt last week...

I've got holiday skirts on deck for them with some fabric that I've been coveting, as well as some pillowcase tops and appliqued t's for fall/winter. I'm also about to tackle adding patches onto almost all of their jeans to cover the knee holes. At this point, we have more jeans with holes than not, so this one might go to the top of the list. It might finally be time to bust out this baby - lol!

Wickedly Cute is here!

   

Save 40% when purchasing both sets with coupon code 40OFFWICKED!

I had SO much fun putting these 2 sets together. Halloween is truly one of the funnest days of the year, and I really wanted these sets to reflect that. The idea for the kit started with Vic the Vampire and Frank N. Stein - who I created with severe scrutiny by my very particular daughters ;) Then I put together the fun labels and a few fun damasks and I was on my way with a theme. I wanted it to be bright, fun, cute, and of the moment, and I'm so happy with the results. There are so many fun elements in the kit that you'll need to create several layouts to use them all :)

The Wickedly Cute Treat Accessories includes a new treat item - tie-ons!  Just print Vic or Frank, cut them out and tie them on to a bag of goodies. I even included a little sign that you can use to personalize your treats. My kids LOVE these :)

I hope you love them, too!

Sneak Peak II

Everything here is from my NEW Wickedly Cute Kit - coming soon!!

Glitter and wands and webs, OH MY!

Sneak peak

The race to finish up Halloween costumes, goodies, and digital fun is nearing the end - will she finish, or pass out a few feet before that finish line ribbon thingie? Hopefully with a few gallons of caffeine and a whole lot of luck, she won't fall short of her childrens' insane expectations and be a disgrace to herself - lol.

And I wonder where my girls get the drama from?

I'm stressed, to say the least. I'm honestly always stressed/overwhelmed, but it's usually a healthy dose that keeps me motivated. Today's kind is the KIT KIT kind (Keep It Together). I just chant that all day long as I insanely make lists and plan every minute of the day to ensure that I keep on schedule. I have last minute costume things to finish up, an interview day to prepare for tomorrow, digital goodies to finish (so close!), treat bags to make, on top of it being Pumpkin Patch day for the kids (had to dress them nicely for pics), wear red day for Kenzie (didn't we just have Spirit Week?), arranging someone to watch Kenzie since she has a half day today (thanks, Mom and Dad!), and trying to figure out how I'm going to pack everything up for tomorrow since I'll be gone before the roosters wake up in the morning and Kenzie has to get an early release to make it to K & Jack's Halloween festivities. Whew! I despise wishing time away, but Saturday morning has never looked so good.

At least this is convincing me that Christmas prep needs to begin the day after Halloween. I'd really like to enjoy the season this year. Who's with me?

Halloween table topper

First quilting project complete - yeay! The cream squares are actually glittery - hard to see in the pics, though. I'm really happy with how it turned out. Tom's initial comment - "It's kind of a small blanket, isn't it?" And then Jack almost took it to bed with him ;)

During my last quilting class, we learned how to "quilt" (topstitch) and how to add binding. I was sure that this was going to the be the step that would turn me off from quilting alltogether, since handstitching is usually involved and our instructor never really showed us how to do it. But, I did some research online and found this sweet little tutorial and taught myself how to do the "invisible" stitch. I spent an hour early Sunday morning sewing my binding down, while staring out the window at the beautiful fall scene, and I absolutely love the results. I really like handstitching now, so much that I even did a little bit on Jack's Halloween costume last night. I fell asleep in bed while doing it, but that just proves how relaxing it is - lol. That's probably the reason Tom won't put a TV in our bedroom, too - I would never be able to stay awake to watch anything.

Speaking of Halloween costumes, I'm just about finished - whew! I was really worried about Jack's, but it's coming along much better than I thought it was going to. I might have to share a sneak peak tomorrow. The kids are getting so excited about Halloween. Here they are during the stealth BOO'ing mission the other night...

They actually went up to a couple of doors and ran away because they chickened out - lol! Supportive mom was hiding in the garage. I found the pumpkin buckets at Target for 99 cents and added some candy, little toy and a strobe light.

We were BOO'd back before bedtime last night and the kids spent the next 20 minutes playing with some really cool goodies that were left for us, while I chowed on MORE chocolate. I seriously need an intervention, and it's no wonder that my complexion looks the same as my 16 yr old self right now. Ugh! I cannot resist Snickers and Butterfingers, though - can.not.do it. Which reminds me of how much I really wanted to make one of these this year. I think I need 3 months of Halloween to get it all out of my system :)

He's just a little boy

Oh, the power he has over his mother. Can you see the twinkle in his eye when he realizes it? I've watched this video 400 times since uploading it yesterday - he is sweetness in a chubby little package.

As promised, below is a link to a directory of photographers in the US and abroad. If you'd like your name included, there's still time! Just email me the relevant information and I'll be sure to add it. If I've missed your information or a correction needs to be made, please let me know that, too.  Thanks to all of the wonderful photographers that submitted! :)

I'll make this a permanent link on the sidebar soon, but for now you can get there via this link:

PHOTOGRAPHER DIRECTORY

Celebrating 10

Tom and I were married on Sweetest Day 10 years ago, so we celebrated our anniversary this past weekend. We decided to have dinner at The Melting Pot and then we stayed overnight at a resort in nearby Oakbrook, where we both used to work. I think we celebrated our 1st or 2nd yr with dinner at The Melting Pot and the food was better than I remembered this time, especially the Coq au Vin cooking style we chose - YUM! The Alpine Spritzer was really good, too - I love Riesling, so it was very tasty.

We definitely spoiled ourselves with good food this weekend. I had the most delicious Eggs Benedict ever at Egg Harbor Cafe the next morning and then I had my favorite Parmesan Chicken Sandwich later that day with the kids at our favorite sports bar/restaurant. We are a total sports bar family. The food always seems better, and my kids can be loud without much notice - gotta love that.

Yesterday was a little less glamorous with Tom spending the day replacing his car's back breaks (fronts were last weekend) and then realizing he needs a new battery after the car wouldn't start after having the radio on for a couple of hours. That will be next weekend's project - never ends. I chased kids around, went to Walmart twice because I left my wallet at the register (duh), finished up my Halloween quilting project and made Katie's Halloween costume. I have to finish hers up tonight and then start working on Jack's - only 4 days to finish them up! I'm also super close on my Halloween Kits, so I'll keep plugging away at those today, too.

Thanks for all of the Photographer submissions over the weekend!  I'll be putting that list together and posting tomorrow, along with an adorable video of Jack that I cannot stop watching (sigh).

Happy Monday!