DIY: Party Favors Part I

Yay! Third week in a row for my DIY posts! Doesn't seem like much, but for this Gemini who easily gets distracted by life -- it's an accomplishment... trying to be less Gemini-y and trying to finish a project here without dropping it and starting a new one...

Anywho, today I wanted to share the party favors we gave to our guests at our wedding... and this was hard to decide on... I researched a million party favors online... we definitely wanted to do a practical gift, since we knew giving our guests dove shaped crystals would only end up collecting dust -- it had to be something a bit more personal... and functional... so after mulling over heart shaped cookie cutters, bottle openers, and picture frames -- we decided to make it ourselves... since Dave and I are big music fans (and always trying to stump each other on who the artist is), we decided on making a cd with a compilation of songs that reflected us... songs that took us back to when we started dating... and songs that resonated our love for each other... we requested the songs on the cd to be played at the wedding... so when our guests listen to the cd, it would take them back to our wedding day =)

Thanks to family friend & wedding helper Charmaine, she burned 100 discs in one day... pretty awesome!  The rest of the work my husband and I did... he was such a cute helper by the way =) We made black & white CD labels with our name, an engagement picture & our wedding date on it...


we placed them into CD envelopes...


then with another set of whimsical colored paper, I cut them to fit square envelopes (from Michael's)... printed labels on white card stock... then glued everything together & had perfectly wrapped CDs to gift to our guests... (tip: make sure you print & cut everything you need prior to assembling... it just makes everything run more smoothly)


the theme of the evening was "the sweetest night"...


aren't they adorable? our guests loved them... we get calls from friends saying they were just listening to our cd =) pretty neat...


these were personal... cost effective... and a hit... but there's more, we gave two party favors... yea, we decided on two... so stay tuned for next week's DIY: Party Favors part II =) hope you enjoyed...

iheartfaces: "random acts of kindness"

This week at iheartfaces, they are celebrating random acts of kindness -- and asked photographers to share stories of such.  Last year, I was lucky to have been a part of such an extraordinary experience... I was part of "Help-Portrait" -- a movement of photographers giving back to the community... the idea of help-portrait was simply -- "to give pictures, not take them"... it was a chance for professional photographers {all over the world} to work together in their community, find people in need, and simply capture them, and give them professional images -- for free... We had professional hair and make up artists, professional photographers, and lots of volunteers on hand to help make sure the day went smoothly... Our West Palm Beach group captured families & children from the Foster Care Association during their Holiday Party... most of these children moved from place to place and had never even gotten school pictures taken... these families didn't have much, but they gave what they had and opened their homes to children who -- didn't have a home, who didn't have a family... we met so many caring families -- so many heroes that day... families who never had professional pictures taken before... families who couldn't afford much, but gave all the love they had to these children..

It was the most humbling experience... working with other professionals in the industry... not competing with each other, but working together... seeing the families excited to get their hair and make up done... to see the excitement of the children... to see the excitement of the families getting "family" portraits for the first time... and to see how special they felt... that was the point of the day... to make them feel special... and to show them how special they were... it was a special day for all of us...

some behind the scenes...


look at the sparkle in her eyes... she whispered to us that she's always wanted to get professional make up done...


Robyn (the girl helping with the sign) was wonderful in getting the kids to smile...


they loved seeing their pictures... and the look on their face when they got their prints -- priceless!


Freddy, one of our photographers of the day...


and this little doll was shy... but I caught this playful moment =)


the news camera man capturing the event...


me with a very excited mother...


here's our west palm beach team... a group of incredibly talented & giving people...


and here's the official 2009 recap of the event from around the world... makes me cry every time... (please scroll all the way down & turn the music player off so you can watch the video)


click below to read more warm "random acts of kindness...

the absence of her laughter...

years ago, in photography class I dedicated a photograph to my sister -- and entitled it "the absence of her laughter"... there were four sisters... then there were three... her name was Myra... and today is her birthday...

I didn't want to be down or sad today... I simply wanted to remember my sister... her smile... her eyes... her hair... her laughter... her voice... her love... and yet, the human part of me caved in... and I can't seem to stop the tears... it's just very hard to remember all the happy memories without missing her... without wanting her here...

I think when you lose someone... a sister... a soulmate... there will always be that void in your heart, where something once lived... I think there will always be a wound... a wound that never heals... life goes on... but when you stop and remember... you feel the pain of the wound... like it was just yesterday...

and at times... you just have to embrace the tears... and succumb to the sadness... because it's moments like these where you really feel how deep love is... and how love never stops... even after years have past... a person's love continues to permeate inside of you...

here are some pictures of my beautiful sister... Myra... 1978 - 1996...

"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy..." -Eskimo Proverb



the four sisters... Myra's graduation dinner...


Myra & I... our trip to the Philippines in 96... it was awesome!


in Japan... on the trip home...


since I can't visit her grave in Michigan... Dave & I will be spending a quiet evening on the beach tonight... listening to the ocean... looking up at the stars... and simply remembering...