If you have children in school, there is always the pressure (from your kids) to get each of their classmates a Christmas gift.  I’m all for making gifts, although I don’t know if these turned out any cheaper than buying what we made.  We had fun anyways, and that’s what counts.  Plus, I think our homemade playdough kicks butt in terms of softness!  Thank you Pinterest for the recipe!  Here’s what we did, in case you need a quick gift idea too.

First we started with the containers.  The Pinterest post on this recipe used re-purposed baby food containers with lids.  Since I don’t have a baby, I needed to buy containers.  We found these plastic cups with lids (and a bonus spoon) in the baby section of the Dollar Tree.  They were 2 for $1.00.

Then the ingredients:  flour, vegetable oil, salt, water, food coloring, and cream of tartar.  You’ll probably have all of these lying around except the cream of tartar.  And now my assistant will show you the steps…

One cup of flour…

One cup of water….

1/4 cup of salt….

Two teaspoons of Cream of Tartar…

One tablespoon of oil….

And the food coloring!  It’s probably easiest if you add this to the cup of water before putting all the ingredients in the saucepan.  It won’t hurt adding it on it’s own though.  Brooke & I realized that these food coloring bottles reminded us of the cast from Gnomeo & Juliet…haha!  She chose to make purple for her first batch.

Stir all of those ingredients in a sauce pan.

Then add the sauce pan to medium heat on the stove top.  {Adults only, please}

Keep stirring this gloppy mixture until it starts to stick to itself.  It will pull away from your saucepan & form a clump around the spoon.  Just grab the last bits off the sauce pan so you get the most dough for your ingredients.

See…it stuck!  Put the whole blob on wax paper – careful, it’s hot!

Then knead & knead…knead all those frustrations out.  This might be a tad hot for little hands.  You can put a dishtowel over the wax paper so they can knead too.  It’ll cool off in about 5 minutes.  And you’re all set!  Keep it for yourself, or give it to a friend!

Super Soft Homemade Playdough

1 cup flour

1 cup water

1/4 cup salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

food coloring

I’m pretty sure the store bought Play-Doh brand packets are cheaper, but this stuff is softer by far – especially good for little hands.  Plus it’s a fun winter break activity.  Slap a sticker on it, tie a ribbon on, and attach a cookie cutter.  You’re done!

With all these girls being born lately, Reece was a welcome change.  Now, he did pee on me several times, and even possibly some #2 action as well.  But hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go!

He was such an alert little fella at only 2 weeks old.  Everytime we put him on his tummy, he literally tried to crawl away!  But his awesome hair & sweet baby chunkiness melted my heart!  See, both of my girls had full heads of hair & plenty of rolls to go with it!

Enjoy Reece’s preview!

If y’all can’t tell who Hailey belongs to, then take a look back at her parents here.  She is totally & utterly BOTH Kevin & Jacqui!  This child looks like both of them so much it is uncanny!

Hailey came right after Thanksgiving, much to her momma’s delight!  She was a big girl, but still a little princess.  Thanks so much for letting me cuddle her, shush her & even change her!  Those are the baby things that never get old to this mother’s heart.

Here’s Hailey….

I so wanted this blanket!  Friend’s of Kevin’s parents who live overseas made it for Jacqui’s baby shower.  She & I both agree we need an adult-sized one, ASAP!

I have to share about this shot.  I got Hailey all warm & cozy, laid her on her tummy facing me with her little tushy in the air, and she turned away from me!  I had wrap myself around a crib to get this.  I think that’s why she’s smiling/laughing at me here…little stinker!

And some for the Caps fan!

Whoa!  It has been a LONG time since I blogged.  It seems like the moment after I photographed Kelsey & Lauren’s senior session, the holiday rush smacked me in the face & I’m just now starting to get back up.  So before blogging all those holiday mini sessions, I wanted to share these two wonderful gals!

Kelsey & Lauren are both friends & seniors in my area.  They decided to have a joint senior session, and I loved it!  We chose to split it into two seasons: Autumn & Spring.  These photos are our autumn pics.  And they were so great that I’m super stoked to scout out a location for our spring session next year.  Can’t wait girls!  Enjoy the photos….

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to assist Pam Bolig of Bolig Photography with Greg & Amanda’s wedding on the gorgeous Eastern Shore.  When Pam told me the wedding was the the Wye Branch Manor, I had no idea what that meant.  When I arrived, I was stunned!  This house & land are absolutely beautiful.  It can sometimes be a dream when the wedding & reception all take place in one location.  And there’s something about an Inn that lends a homey feel to any wedding.

Check out Pam’s photos of Greg & Amanda’s day here.

And here is what I saw….