Mandy Sroka Photography » gift

Homemade Playdough | A quick Christmas gift

mandysroka — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:47:24 +0000

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!

Father’s Day | Gift Idea

mandysroka — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 00:45:53 +0000

I know Father’s Day isn’t until June 19th, but that’s just a little over one week away. I have to order these things way ahead of time or they get away from me & I forget & end up getting something he doesn’t really like. Now this gift isn’t for my husband, but another dad I know. It’s a calendar, but they can be used any time of the year. Or, it can simply be a collage of images you like, with no calendar, simply bound like the one below. Most daddy’s head off to work each day, somewhere away from their little ones, and miss them terribly. This is a good way of taking the kids along to work & remembering them throughout the day. Here is is….

This is a spiral-bound 5×5 calendar, or photo book, that can easily be hung with a ribbon or string. The front comes with a frosted cover, and the whole thing is 13 pages.

A look at a few of the pages.

The side view, and the back – a black piece of heavy paper.

Simple, but thoughtful. And if you’re a client, I can get ya one in time for Father’s Day as long as you get me your order by Sunday night. $20.00 + tax.

*Photos used must be from one of your sessions. If you want specific photos, you must let me know of between 13 & 18 photos you would like included. Payment must be made ahead of time, no COD. Local pick-up only*

Jennifer & Wesley: A gift for their parents | Annapolis, MD Portrait Photographer

mandysroka — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:58:20 +0000

Jenn & Wes are my husband’s cousins, so instead of calling them my cousin’s-in-law, I just refer to them as my cousins – it’s just easier that way. AND….they are probably about as close as cousins anyway. Jenn contacted me & told me she and her brother Wes wanted to surprise their parents with a Mother’s Day/Father’s Day gift of some new photos of the two of them. They hadn’t had family pictures since their last vacation & decided it was time. And it was especially important since both of these kids now live states away from their parents – the memories are so much more precious.

I’d have to say it was a challenging day. The heat, the busy downtown area, and the fact that I didn’t want it to look like Wes & Jenn were a couple. Um, no, they are brother & sister, not a couple…ewww, gross! They were so patient with me moving them and changing my mind over and over again. I think we got some pretty good shots & from what I’ve heard, their parents are thrilled! Here’s Wes & Jenn….

Just had to share this last one of Jenn & her boyfriend! Thanks for tagging along, Grant!

2010: Image 89 – Better to give than to receive

mandysroka — Tue, 04 May 2010 02:06:59 +0000

I am finally putting to use one of the golden gems of advice I received from Justin & Mary Marantz from their Spread the Love Tour. They mentioned they send their brides & grooms little notes, packages, gifts, etc., throughout the year as their wedding approaches. Well, I decided to try the “movie night” gift since I thought I could pull it off. I grabbed two lovey dovey movies from Target, some Crunch ‘n Munch, and a little handwritten note & put them in these boxes. They are just a little gift to remind my couples who will be married soon to relax, take a break from planning, and enjoy a movie night with their love. That’s all. Hope they enjoy them.

PS – I haven’t mailed them yet, so hopefully this doesn’t spoil the surprise. No one reads this thing anyways, right?

2010: Image 85 – Journals

mandysroka — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:47:21 +0000

I found these journals in packs of 3 for about 3 bucks at Target (which you all know is a black hole in my universe, continually sucking me in…that’s another post). Immediately when I saw them I thought they’d be great for the girls in our High School bible study. So, I prettified them with these ribbons (I found it on old birthday bags – yes, I save those suckers) & added a pen later. It just felt nice to think of someone besides myself.

Ian’s Album

mandysroka — Sun, 17 May 2009 19:37:59 +0000

You all might remember Ian from “Pirate Day” at Fells Point in Baltimore. Well, his dad, Dustin, asked me to secretly design an album for his wife for her Mother’s Day gift. If you know me, asking me to keep a secret is probably the worst thing you could ever do! I hate keeping secrets, people know I can’t do it very well, and it’s just not a good idea. However, I was able to just tell the secret to everyone but Dustin’s wife and she didn’t have a clue! Dustin ordered an 8×8 album with a “chocolate” fabric cover – very similar to Justin & Samantha’s book. The only difference is he chose a “lay-flat” style book. Here is Ian’s virtual album!

Ian from joshsroka on Vimeo.

In honor of Mother’s Day…

mandysroka — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:20:28 +0000

Mother’s Day is almost here, and what better way to show your mother your love than through photos that she’ll cherish for years to come! I know, it sounds kinda cheesy, huh?

What I’m really trying to say is that I would love if you’d book my photo services this May & join me and my cousin Jennifer in raising money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

Here is Jennifer (in photos I stole from her Facebook page…sorry Jen!)

Jennifer will be participating in the LA Walk for Breast Cancer in September, and to help her with her efforts in raising money for this wonderful cause, I’m donating 50% of my session fees for the month of May directly to her walk. So, when you book a $100 session, $50 of your session fee goes to Jennifer for Avon’s Walk for Breast Cancer. What do you get? A 2-hour session with me in a location of your choice, a complimentary 8×10 or two 5×7′s, an online gallery of all your images, and the knowledge that you’ve helped with Avon’s Walk for Breast Cancer. Avon donates the money they raise to pay for medical expenses of cancer patients & to fund tests to find a cure for this illness that will unfortunately affect many of our lives.

So, give a Mother’s Day gift, book a newborn session, get some senior or graduation portraits done, or just get some girlfriends together for a fun outing and capture some great memories with me. All sessions booked during the month of May will benefit this wonderful cause. Thanks for the chance to help out, Jennifer!

The Vain Family

mandysroka — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:37:02 +0000

All the grandkids

I was “given” as a Christmas gift to Calvin & Joyce by their daughter Carrie. Five of Calvin & Joyce’s six grandchildren live in Kentucky and they came up this Christmas season to visit. So Carrie asked me if I’d be available to surprise her parents with a gift of photos of all six grandchildren together. Of course I would! We had probably one of the better days so far in December with clear skies and beautiful lighting. It was a little nippy, but thankfully my subjects were kind and let me make then shiver a bit. Now when I was a teacher, I used to remember names in a snap, but not so with these 5 kids. I know they are referred to as CASHE by their aunts as kind of an acronym. I won’t try to remember their names individually and embarass myself, though. Without further ado, here they are…all of the Vain/Emery grandchildren!

Aunt Kristina

A sweet kiss to end with

Giving is Awesome – WINNER!

mandysroka — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 04:33:53 +0000

Okay, can I just tell you, that when “they” encourage you to have a contest for deserving people, “they” never tell you that your heart strings will be tugged at by so many stories of need, or heartache, or illnesses, disasters, kindness, giving, and so on… I was truly humbled by your nominations and my heart was warmed to see how you thought of others and their needs. I must admit, your stories made me smile, and cry! When I become a big famous photographer with a disposable income, I WILL give every nominee a gift. Unfortunately, I am not there yet. So, without much more rambling, the Giving is Awesome winners are the Brewster/Stapler family! This family was nominated by Carrie Emery. They recently had a horrible house fire and lost virtually everything, including precious memories captured in their photographs. While I cannot give you back your lost photographs, I can help you get a jump start on some new ones. And Carrie, for nominating the Brewster/Stapler family, you will be receiving a gift as well. Thank you all for your nominations.

Coupon!

mandysroka — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:47:40 +0000

Since I absolutely love saving money, and using coupons, I decided to have both opportunities for this Holiday Season. I’m putting up this coupon for my blog readers and Facebook friends. It’s the last coupon of the year! In case you can’t read it, here’s what it’s for: $25 off your photo session, or $25 off a photo session gift certificate purchased for a family member or friend. So, if you want to book a photo session, or give one as a gift this Christmas, it’s now only $75.00. This offer runs from now until December 24th, 2008. That’s great news for any of you last-minute-givers, because I can email you (or your gift recipient) the coupon on the last possible day! Enjoy, and thanks for making my year so wonderful with all your smiling faces!