New Cards for sale on Etsy!

I'm so excited to introduce some of the new cards I've been working on!! They're now up for sale on my Etsy: DeraeArt. We've got some new (and funny) homemade greeting cards for multiple occasions. From pregnancy cards, I love you cards, and summer cards!! Here's a preview of some of them, go check the rest out!!

 Let me know what you think of them!! Or anything else that you'd like to see. And just to let you know, we have NEW PRODUCTS ON THE WAY! I can't wait to show some of them to you. :D

Florida Vacation: Day One

HELLO DOLLS!

I've been away on a holiday for the past week. I've been visiting my parents in the good ol' Sunshine State. FLORIDA. And boy, was it amazing. Ever since I've moved back up to Maryland, I've missed Florida so much. I miss the high speed limits, the non-crazy drivers, the atmosphere and most of all…the beach! As I uploaded all my photos from my week long trip, I've realized there was no way possible that I could fit all the pictures I wanted to share in one post. So for the next couple days I'm going to be sharing some experiences I've had when I was down there. (And there were a good many). One of which is when I (finally) ate at the British Pub I've been wanting to eat at for the past 6 years!

Anyway, here's an overview in pictures of the day I spent with Derek, Madalyn and my brother, Marty in Downtown Historic Saint Augustine. I love how old and unique everything is down there. And when I lived there, I didn't really appreciate it. But (as you can probably tell by the pictures), that changed a bit.

Fried Gator Tail…. Mmmmmmmm, yummy. ;)

Cupcakes and Mason Jars.

So as we were preparing for our fourth of July get together, I got a bit crafty. It's just in my blood, I can't help it! As Madalyn watched cartoons, Derek made sandwiches and homemade iced tea, I made the cupcakes and mason jars. The cupcakes were (of course) Red, White and Blue. Making multicolored cupcakes are really easy and simple to do. All you have to do is mix the batter as stated on the box, then separate it into separate bowls, add food coloring and then mix the colors when you put it in the cupcake tin. Granite it's extra work, but it makes for extra cute cupcakes!!

As those were baking, I started making a Mason Jar for all of my friends that were coming with us. It was Derek's idea to put their xbox gamer tag on their mason jars, and they loved it, haha. Here's all you have to do to make custom Mason Jars for any occasion. 

1. Get Mason Jars. I got mine from Michaels and Walmart. If you're buying a lot, I suggest going to Walmart. I got 12 jars for 8 bucks. At Michaels it's a dollar and some change for one, so you'll be saving money.

2. Buy Glass Paint. I got Martha Stewart paints. These were three dollars for one, so it was a bit pricey. But I wanted to make sure that they were washable and weren't going to peal off.

3. Start decorating! Derek wrote some of the names (except for mine…cause I'm greedy) and I decorated them. I like to do something different for each person, and be a bit creative. Luckily they loved them!

4. Bake them! If you don't want to bake them, it takes 21 days for them to air dry completely. So I suggest popping them in a completely cool oven, and then letting bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Pull them out and let them cool before touching-- glass is hot my friends.

After they're baked and cool, you can dish wash them and everything! Happy crafting! 

Fourth of July Picnic

Yesterday was amazing! Did you guys have a great FOURTH?!

We decided to get most of our friends together, and go on a picnic lunch at the river by our house. We found a nice little spot that had a mock beach, an area deep enough to swim and even a rope swing that hung from a railroad track. It was the perfect spot! And luckily the weather stayed perfect too. It wasn't too hot, nor too cold, and it stopped raining.

I even got my DIY on and made cute things for our lunch picnic. First I made these cute little decorated Mason Jars for each person. We took cupcake liners and placed it between the lid and the cup, poked a straw through it, which allowed us to just sit them down and not worry about bugs floating around in our drinks. I'm going to do a DIY post on in later this week, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

On top of that, I also made Red, White and Blue cupcakes. :D I'll do another lifestyle post on making those tomorrow. Overall the day was super amazing and great. It was a great time swimming and hanging out with friends. And I don't know about you, but I saw rope swing, and I instantly reenacted The Notebook scene. You know which one I'm talking about. ;)

I hope you all had a great fourth of July and celebrating our Nations independence! And if you're in a different country, I hope you had a great day!! 

Make it Happen.

Do you have your own business? Are you looking to start your own business? Have a dream or something that you really want? Don't just sit around and hope it comes to you or works out for you. Sometimes all the schooling in the world doesn't even help! So what do you do? 

You, MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Lately I've come to realize that it doesn't matter what college you went to, how many degrees you have, or the lack of children you have to be successful. All it takes, is YOURSELF. You need to wake up each morning in the right mindset, get yourself on a schedule and apply yourself to your main goal. My biggest challenge has been becoming a morning person. Lately I've been waking up, getting breakfast, getting a coffee and then taking Madalyn to Barnes and Noble to play with the train table (That's her thing). Doing this every morning just puts me in a better mood, opens up my mind, and allows me to think clearer when I'm trying to get my business schedule together.

A few things I've been planning on working on is getting and being a sponsor to blogs, becoming closer to bloggers and actually creating a relationship and also mass marketing my brand. All in which is very important to my goal. Other little things I've been working on is actually planning out my blog posts, instead of randomly deciding what to blog about that day. And finally I'm in the works of creating my very own newsletter. So hopefully everything will take off the ground, and into God's hands!

On that note!

If you'd like to swap ads, sponsor, product swap, spotlight swap or simply just chat it up then email me at: brittanyhugs067[AT]gmail[DOT]com. 

Whimsical

What's a better way to start the Summer off then being hired to do a Vintage/Retro Maternity Shoot. This couple was beyond lovely and their personalities shone right through the camera lens! This is what photography is all about. Capturing the nature of the person and putting it into a product that they will cherish forever. They even brought the most whimsical props! The car, the parasol, the baby booties and shoes, and the cute overalls. Everything about this shoot was perfect.

I love that in-between my card business, I can make people happy with an affordable and quality photography package. It's the little things that make me happy as a person and a business owner. I never understood why photographers charged 300+ for 20 pictures and an hour of their time. I spent almost two hours with this couple, gave them more than 20 pictures for 60 bucks. With todays economy people don't have 300 dollars to be blowing on pictures that come out mediocre anyway. I'm glad I can provide my services while I'm still growing as a photographer at a great rate. 

What little things do you pride yourself in?

First Day of Summer 2013

Well, Summer is finally here!! Although it's already felt like summer considering it's be scorching hot here in Maryland. (And my room has no A.C....imagine that one!) So it's time once again to busy out those bikinis, those fruity drink recipes you've pinned on Pinterest and hit the water!

However I did none of that on my first day of summer, I did have boat loads of fun! First Madalyn and I went to the Avenue and walked around. I love window shopping this time of year, saves you money too! Then we went into (my favorite store) Barnes and Noble. We grabbed a grande Strawberries and creme frappachino and a pizza stuffed pretzel from Starbucks. If you haven't tried their pretzels...DO SO!! They're so yummy and only 2-3 dollars. 

The main reason we spend our random (free) days at Barnes and Noble is because Madalyn loves playing with their train table and their Lego table. So why not sit and enjoy and little downtime while she plays. Nothing like relaxing on the first day of summer! 

Then I decided to treat my little dewdrop to a first day of summer movie. We went to go see Monsters U! And it was seriously the cutest movie ever. But everyone knew Disney was going to pull through for us there. And the monsters inc movie finally came out after all these years! My inner child was extremely happy. 

Sorry for the pictures of the pictures on my camera but my memory card decided it didn't want to dock to my MacBook right now...silly technology. 

And last but not least, I share with you a little preview of the Vintage Maternity shoot that I did for a client. It was the cutest, most retro adorable photo shoot I've ever done! Ill definitely make a post when I'm done editing the pictures. 

What did you guys do on your first day of summer?