DIY Wedding Photography on a Budget

So, your wedding is fast approaching and you want memories that will last a lifetime. However, you are on a budget and don't have a lot of money to spend for a professional wedding photographer. You can still get professional-looking, creative, memorable pictures with DIY wedding photography.

The first thing to do is to find someone who takes great pictures. This doesn't have to do be a professional photographer. Many people have a "great eye" and instinctively know how to take great pictures. Think of friends or family members who you've complimented on their photography from vacations, for example. Another way to find a cheap wedding photographer is to look on local college bulletin boards, or post on them yourself in the art department or photography department. Many students have amazing talent, but since they are still a bit inexperienced, will be your wedding photographer for a fraction of the price of a professional wedding photographer. Some may even photograph your wedding for free, for no more than a free meal and use of your wedding pictures for their portfolio. You can also consider putting an ad on Craigslist for a hobbyist who is not a professional wedding photographer, but has an artistic eye and loves to take pictures. Get samples of work and negotiate a price you are both pleased with.

Whether you use a talented stranger or an artistically-inclined friend or family member as your wedding photographer, make sure they have a good camera. You may even consider purchasing a good quality, digital camera that you can give them as their "payment". If you need to purchase a camera for your DIY wedding photography, make sure you give it to the wedding photographer in plenty of time for them to learn the ins and outs of the camera, so they can adjust the settings. Digital cameras also allow for easy editing, so you or your DIY wedding photographer can edit your wedding pictures. Also, digital cameras have a large capacity to store many pictures, with a memory card they can hold hundreds of pictures, so you will have plenty of wedding photos to choose from to preserve your special day.

Another idea is to meet with your DIY wedding photographer to develop a plan of what you want photographed. Remember, since you will be saving a lot of money by not hiring a professional wedding photographer, you will have to do some of the work yourself. This includes providing the DIY wedding photographer with a list of what you want photographed. This may include photographs of the wedding rings, the wedding invitations, the bridal party, the groomsmen, the family of the bride, the family of the groom, the bride and groom's first kiss, the wedding service, etc. This will help you and your DIY wedding photographer be on the same page and know each other's expectations beforehand, so you get exactly what you want on your special day.

Also, encourage others to take pictures of your wedding. Some of the best wedding photography are those wonderfully candid moments caught by some of the guests. Some wedding couples choose to put disposable cameras on tables for guests to take photographs of, then ask that they leave the cameras when they leave the wedding reception. Some give the cameras out as wedding favors and ask that any great wedding photographs be sent to the married couple.

Lastly, consider the best of both worlds. You can hire a professional wedding photographer for a short period of time to take a few very specific pictures, then rely on your DIY photographer and wedding guests to take the rest of the photographs. This will eliminate a lot of cost for a professional wedding photographer. You can also opt to don your wedding attire a few days after the event and go to a studio to have a few professional pictures taken.

Remember, it doesn't take a professional photographer to take some amazing, creative, professional-looking wedding photography. Have a great day!

Enjoy an Art Museum, Docent Tour, and Lunch in a Day Trip

It is an excuse for a tasty lunch. We justify the true goal of the day, trying a new (to us) restaurant, with the appearance of culture. Living in the suburbs of Dallas, it is not a huge ordeal to trek into the city and enjoy the resources available to us. Even better, we will share a simple stress free outing with you.

Sleep in on a Saturday morning, since the Dallas Museum of Art does not open until eleven. Knowing a decent lunch awaits, we curtail our breakfast bounty and read the paper curled around a bowl of cereal. It is a gorgeous clear, sunny day with a hint of fall in the air. Dressed in sturdy walking shoes and casual wear, we drive the twenty miles into the city. Downtown Dallas on a Saturday morning is not teeming with life. The Arts District off of Pearl Street is just waking up and we easily find a meter to plunk in a few quarters. It is silly to pay the full day parking lot rate, when we plan to browse and then bolt for lunch.

There are some families and students waiting for the doors to open and we join the group to pay the ten dollars admission fee. We find our name on the docent tour list and end up with a private tour. Now, the docent tour was a bit of a bonus. My friend had won a silent auction bid a year ago and the tour was expiring. Even with a month's notice, friends and family were too busy to join in the festivities. Hence, it was the two of us. The docent tours can be arranged privately or there is a free public tour at two o'clock daily.

The tour is a pleasant surprise and gives us a new perspective of the museum. Rather than a seemingly random hodge-podge of art, there is a flow to the building and the docent guides us to a starting point upstairs. As we walk up the steps we enjoy the glass sculpture in the window of the art café. Flowers or sea creature creations, the bright glass glistens and allows the imagination to wander. An added bonus from the second floor is a view into the Nasher Sculpture Center next door. This is a year old cultural coup for the city of Dallas. Raymond Nasher donated his collection to the city, as well as actively participating in the building and presentation of his sculptures. The Nasher Center is a possible side trip depending on your art ambition for a day.

Our docent begins in the early American galleries and proceeds to stop and discuss various favorites and newly acquired pieces. As we proceed, we get a mixture of opinion, art history, and technique. With a different view and some lively discussion, we enjoy our stroll through the Dallas art galleries. We sit in front of Frederick Church's The Iceberg to rest our feet. The Dallas Museum of Art has a wide-ranging collection from American to African art, from classical to modern. A few hours here can enlighten young minds or invigorate the old. Constantly changing and rearranging the art on the walls, the museum wants you to return to see old favorites in new settings or to enjoy new works. It is easy to take the museum for granted, but an occasional visit is refreshing.

After two hours, we thank our guide and proceed to lunch. A short drive from the arts district, McKinney Avenue offers a variety of funky stores, trendy clubs, and fabulous eateries. We head to Cretia's on McKinney , a bistro and bakery. At one in the afternoon it has a decent crowd, and with the gorgeous weather, the patio seating is full of patrons. The menu does not disappoint with choice of lunch or weekend brunch items. We chose the chicken croissant sandwich and the hot roast beef sandwich. The lunches come with salad choices, fries, or fruits. Save room for dessert because the bakery section of this establishment is wonderful. We savored carrot cake with real cream cheese frosting and a red velvet cheesecake that was melt- in- the mouth delicious. Cretia's proves to be an enjoyable reward for our dose of art culture.

To burn off a few calories, we finish the afternoon with a stroll up McKinney to the Knox shopping area. Unique specialty shops and popular stores such as Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel line the streets. Shop, people watch, or plan the next outing complete with a restaurant choice on McKinney. This is one little section of Dallas and the Dallas Museum of Art is only one of many museums to see. Take the time to enjoy some art and lunch.

Dallas Museum of Art Arts District
Cretia's 4438 McKinney Ave Dallas Texas 75205

Quick Art Pieces You Can Do - Even If You're Not an Artist

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Art is in the eye of the beholder, so to speak - and art takes many forms - from beautiful hand-painted pieces of intense imagination, or chunky-looking piles of junk that make you scratch your head and wonder. If you’re in need of some nice artwork on your walls, you’re no artist, and you definitely don’t have the funds to go shopping for expense artwork, make some yourself. You don’t have to be an artist to do so. Just use a few things around your house and a couple of things from a craft store. And, your art pieces will be so wonderful yet no one will know how little they cost.

Blank canvases attached to wooden frames make a great base for your art. Use foam or regular brushes and make horizontal swipes, allowing ridges to build from brush marks, and minor drips to remain. These wide stripes, in various colors, can represent everything from a sea scape to a field of flowers.

An example is a beach scene made wide, white stripes across the top of the canvas then wide, blue stripes across the bottom. Switch to a smaller brush and make some white stripes, without much pressure on the brush, across the blue section. You can add a yellow circle in one corner, if you wish, but don’t make it too distinctive. Foam brushes allow you to circle the paint without adding much detail.

An example of a field of flowers requires a blue strip across the top third of the canvas, with strips of white included, if desired, then a very wide strip of green across the bottom. Now use a small brush to dot your favorite color of flowers across the green stripe. The flowers don’t have to have to be all the same color, and can overlap each other, too. This gives the effect of one standing in front of the other.

Use these techniques to make many different scenes, such as beach, cornfield, field of flowers, pond with ducks, row of houses, group of kids, and other images. After you get the color on the canvas, add your own real touches, such as a small group of silk daisies, along with a few sprigs of greenery, glued horizontally across the bottom of the canvas. For a beach scene you can glue on shells or even use glue and sand to enhance the design.

Mirrored wall designs are often considered art pieces particularly if they’re arranged in a unique and modern way. Mirrors without frames, but with beveled sides, make the best artwork pieces. Purchase one large mirror, then several smaller ones to start the project. You’ll also need small wooden dowel pieces, of various lengths, from an inch to three inches.

Paint the wooden pegs silver or gold. Hang the large mirror on the wall. Glue two to four of the pegs onto the back of each smaller mirror with contact cement, then attach the smaller mirrors onto the large one. The arrangement is your own, but here are some suggestions: Place one of the mirrors in the top corner, with part of the smaller mirror rising above the large mirror, and the other part of the mirror attached. Add a second mirror, in the same manner, placing it below and to the right of the first small mirror. Position the second mirror to where it extends out slightly past the large mirror. Use different sized pegs for each small mirror to get an even different effect. There are zillions of these mirror designs you can do, combining large, medium, and smaller mirrors attached to each other, some separated, or scattered across the entire wall.

Copper or foil, found on a roll at craft stores, can be used along with stencils to create some unique and beautiful shapes. Choose nice frames and mats then center the copper or foil design in the frame. Make several shapes and arrange them inside of the frame in a design that suits your style. Attach one of the copper or foil shapes to the outside of the frame to add to the beauty of the design. These wall hangings look expensive but aren’t.

Use inexpensive, small slabs of wood and rub-on transfers to make various art pieces for your home. Or, cut out slick magazine pictures of flowers, an old barn, or another image that catches your eye. For a rustic look, slightly burn the edges of the picture before mounting it on the wooden piece. Use the pieces in a manner as the mirrors, or hang them separately across the top of a mantel. The wooden slabs come in any number of sizes, shapes and colors.

There are many ways of making quick art pieces even if you’re not an artist. Combine things that interest you, and fit into your color scheme, and use your own style to create any number of beautiful pieces for your home. You’ll have fun with these projects because if it pleases you, it’s art!

Free Baby Products and Coupons for New Parents

baby clothes onsies

When I was pregnant with my first child, another mother advised me to sign up for newsletters and other mailings from companies that sell baby products. Later that day, I signed online and joined just about everyone mailing list I could find for baby care products. To be honest, I expect booklets and tips on how to successfully raise a child, but I received tons of samples and coupons for baby formula, food, diapers, and much more. I joined many of these mailing lists before my daughter was even born and over eighteen months later I am still receiving valuable coupons in the mail.

Below is a quick summary and list of company websites that may provide new mothers with coupons and sometimes products. On most questionnaires, you will have to enter in your name, age, address, information about your pregnancy, and your child's birth date or expected due date. It is important to enter in the correct information pertaining to your child's birth because many of these companies will send you coupons pertaining to the stage they are currently in.

Pampers is one of the most well known diaper brands among parents. Their website is at www.pampers.com. When you first arrive at their web page, you will be required to select your country and once you arrive on the following page, click on the link that mentions free coupons and samples. To join the Pampers Club, you must also pick a sign on name and password information. When my daughter was younger, Pampers would constantly send me coupons for baby wipes and diapers. Whenever she reached a new stage, Pampers would also include a sample diaper to try. Pampers is still sending coupons to my home and they generally arrive once a month.

One of the other well known diapers brands is Huggies. In addition to diapers and baby wipes, Huggies also has a line of bath care products for infants and toddlers. The company website is www.huggies.com. When you arrive at this web page, you will also have to select your country and when on the next page, select the "Happy Baby" link. Once you are in that section, select the tab at the top of the page labeled "Special Offers." When you are joining the Huggies mailing list, you will have to create a website screen name and password, allowing for easy return to the site. I generally receive coupons from Huggies about once every one or two months. Huggies will also send coupons for all of their products and they try and correspond them with your child's age.

Nestle produces various different types of baby formulas. The Nestle brand formula is formally known as Carnation. My daughter always had the Nestle Good Start Supreme formula and luckily Nestle is one of the best formula companies to receive samples and coupons from. Their company web page is http://www.verybestbaby.com. On their main page, you must sign up for the very best baby collection. Before my daughter even arrived, I had a free normal size can of Nestle Good Start formula. Later on I received a free baby book with stickers and tons of checks for formula. Nestle sends checks that are similar to coupons; however, they have your name on them and are good for formula at any retail store that sells it. The first three checks that I received actually covered one normal size can of formal from Nestle, you can't beat free formula! As your child develops the check size will decrease and when the standard child is off of baby formula, you will no longer receive mailings from Nestle.

When your infant is ready for baby food, Gerber and Beechnut are popular brands that many parents purchase. By visiting www.beechnut.com, parents can often times receive a free product from joining their newsletters and there are sometimes coupons to print off their website. With many supermarkets choosing to no longer accept printed internet coupons, www.gerber.com is the way to go. Gerber offers healthy baby food for children, finger foods for infants and toddlers, and Gerber Graduate Meals for toddlers. When you arrive at Gerber's home page, select the special offers tab. Once there, you must join the Growing Up Gerber plan. You will have to select a sign in name and password. To receive coupons, you will also be required to enter information about yourself and your child. If you wish to only receive coupons via postal mail, then you must check that box. I am still receiving coupons from Gerber and have been for over a year now. Each coupon specifically pertains to your child's age; therefore, make sure you enter in their correct birth date.

There are many companies that offer products relating to infants and toddlers, it is recommend that you check out each site and see what they have to offer. Raising a child can be very expensive, get a little help and receive coupons from companies whose products will come in useful to your and your new baby.