"everything" Drama

I know, it has been AGES since Ive updated this blog, sorry not much time for crafting these days... BUT I did want to share this video of the KLC Extreme Reality Youth Drama Team that my son is a part of, this is one of the dramas they preformed yesterday. I am so proud of them!

EnJoy!

New photography Blog!!

I am so excited to launch (finally) my new photography blog!! You can see it here at http://heatherhillmanphotography.blogspot.com/

I have been amazed at the outpouring of Gods recent blessings. I have rekindled my passion for photography after a couple years of "taking a break". I believe it was all in Gods timing and he has great things in store. I have done more sessions in the last 2 months than I think I've done in the last two years! And I'm having FUN! About 6 months ago God gave me a vision, I was to call my photography "In His Image" and that would be my focus, to use this gift he has given me with to bless others, to capture the beauty of His creation through the lense of my camera. And so it all began...

So I hope you enjoy my new blog, dedicated to showcase my photgraphy and God's most beautiful work...his children. I will continue to update this blog with my crafty projects, recipies, kids and life in general. So make sure to check them both often! Subscribe to both of my blogs (link on the right) so you don't miss out on anything.

EnJoY!
***HeatheR***

Photographing the Donaldson's

It was wonderful meeting my friend Sarah's family and capturing them at the Train Depot. (one of my favorite spots). It was a joy spending a couple of hours with them!

EnJoY!

***HeatheR***

Photographing the Langford's

It was such a joy to photograph this beautiful family. We had a fun afternoon together, dispite cranky babies and sprinklers!

EnJoY!

***HeatheR***

Cake Balls!

I have to thank my good friend Tara for introducing me to these fun little treats. if you thought cupcakes were cute, hold on to your seats! I *think* Tara got her recipe HERE from Pioneer Woman (someday I want to be just like her!!) She has lots of great tips so check her out (and the super cute cake pops too!)

Ingredients:

Box Cake mix (any flavor)

Tub of frosting (any flavor)

melting chocolates or almond bark

Bake your cake as ususal.

Let cool for a couple of hours.

Then in a BIG bowl crumble the entire cake into bowl

Add tub of frosting and mush it all up (yes your hands are going to get icky & sticky!)

Now form the cake/icing mixture into small balls. (I used about a 1/4 scoop)

Place on a cookie sheet or in a pan and refridgerate for several hours or freeze for about an hour (so the balls are nice and firm)


Now the FUN part! Dip the balls in chocolate.



Here I made strawberry cake with Cream Cheese frosting and white chocolate coating. (the pretty pink drizzles is just food coloring added to the chocolate) And Devils food cake with chocolate frosting, and milk chocolate coating with white chocolate drizzles.

You can put the finnished balls in pretty candy papers add a nice box, or tin for gift giving or just eat them straight from the pan!

they are really easy to make, but do take some time, but they are worth it!!

EnJoY!

***HeatheR***

Little sewing project

My Daughter attended a local quilt show with my Grandma & I over the weekend. At the show she "won" some fabric scraps. She was so inspired that she wanted to come home & make a purse with her new treasures. We dusted off the sewing machine, dug through Mom's scrapbook stash of ribbons, flowers and buttons and this is what we came up with.

Super simple, (even if it did take me two hours to complete-and Abby was bored with helping with the sewing machine foot peddle after about a 1/2 hour...) Super cute, and we are both Super proud.

EnJoy!

***HeatheR***

Another wedding, Another wedding gift

We just attended the beautiful wedding of my Husbands cousin Mandi, this weekend. Mandi & her new husband, Ted, were a stunning couple & we felt blessed to be able to be in attendance.

So... that meant another wedding gift. Its basicly the same idea as the previous gift I made a couple weeks ago. Since I use old yard-sale find frames this one is slightly different along with the paper line. I love how the easel sets it off so perfectly.

{details}:

{paper}: Bella Blu by SU!

{ribbon}: Offray

{monogram charm}: making memories

{stamp}: Floral/Dings by making memories

{flower}: Prima

{pearl}: Kaiser Scrapbook

{fonts}:Kunstler Script & Baskerville Old Face

{paint}: Delta, Sandstone

{frame}: yard sale find

{easel}: bought at Real Deals Home Decor

Also a big THANKS to bbcrazy who's card on splitcoast stampers {inspired} this frame. You can see the origianl card HERE.

* * *

It was wonderful to be a guest and spectator at the wedding rather than the crazy running around photographer, but that didn't stop me from bringing my camera! Here are a few shots of the evening.

Congratulations Ted & Mandi!

EnJoy!

***HeatheR***

Photographing Lauren as Senior Queen

This is my second photo shoot of Lauren, some of you may remember our first shoot a couple months ago when Lauren was competeing for the Meridian Lions Senior Queen title. (you can see it HERE) I'm happy to say she not only won the title but also won the Photogenic award (with the photo that I took! woot woot!)

EnJoY!

***HeatheR***

Wedding Gift

Here is a quick gift I made for a recent Bridal Shower, I always keep some frames on hand (yard sales are awsome to build your frame stash! the cheaper the better, who cares if they are dated or ugly- its amazing what a coat of paint can do!) The couples names and wedding date were made in photoshop and printed out on cardstock. having a handmade gift that is personalized is always a big hit (and easy on the pocketbook!)

{details}:

{paper}: Parisian Breeze & Bella Bleu by Stampin' Up!

{ribbon}: unknown

{charm}: "w" by making memories

{pearls} Michales

{punch}: Su! Scallop

{font}: Kunstler Script & Baskerville Old Face

{frame} yardsale find

{paint} Sandstone by Delta

{easel}

EnJoY!

***HeatheR***

Howdy!

This card was made by my 5 year old Abby for the challenge on the Scrappy Piglet blog. She was so excited to participate!

EnJoy!

****HeatheR*** (& Abby!)

His Holy Name {Almighty}

I know its been a loooong while since I've posted any LO's from my HHN album. We'll just say life has gotten in the way- and once you get behind its so hard to catch up... then you get the snowball effect.

This week we had a very inspiring message at church (thanks Paster Joe!) and I have renewed my commitment to continue with this study/album. Just being back in the word the last few days God has already spoken such joy to my heart! I soak up His word like a sponge and wonder why I rob myself of being in His presence.

So here is the fruit of my labors, I hope to be sharing more pages with you soon as I attempt to catch up! (I think I'm about 7 names behind eek!)

First is the front/back of the mini album for my dear friend. the verse on the back reads...

"I am the Apha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" -Revelation 1:8

the front page of MY 6x6 album has the same verse on it as the mini page.

The back page reads:

As you come to truly know God as El Shaddai, God Almighty, you will be enabled to lay hold of the truth of His power and His sufficiency to carry out what He has promised. Paul teaches faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So to hear and understand the meaning of El Shaddai is to have one's faith bolstered and undergirded. Then, when fear or doubt creep in or are thrown at us like fiery missiles from the Evil One, we can take up this shield of faith.
El Shaddai
All powerful
All Sufficient
Almighty


{details}:
{paper} Bo Bunny
{felt flowers} Provo Craft
{chipboard letters} thickers by American Craft
{fonts} Dreamed about you, Batang

EnJoY!
***HeatheR***

hi

{details}:

{stamp} Happy Forest by Stamping Bella {markers} bic {ribbon} Stampin' Up! & unknown {acrylic} heart by Heidi Swapp {flower} prima {rhinestone} {letter stickers} Loopy Love by Doodle Bug {punch} scallop border by Stampin' Up!

EnJoY!

***HeatheR***

Family Portraits

It was one of those spur of the moment kind of things. I called up my awesome and amazingly talented friend Tara, and asked her if she could snap some quick family pictures. Matthew was being "dificult" (to say it nicely) and Zack wiped out on his bike on the way to the creek but over all they turned out pretty cute. So I thought I would share a few of them here with you...

EnJoY!

***HeatheR***

watermarks

I have been having fun creating some watermarks for friends recently. I thought I would share some of my recent work. What's a watermark you ask? It is a digital "stamp" to put on your images, so as things get passed around the web your info will always remain on the photo. Watermarks are commonly used on photography images and on photos of original craft projects.

To see My watermark and my friend Kris's watermark click HERE

Need a cute/elegant/profesional watermark? I'd be happy to create one for you for $5.00 or I can always be bribed with scrapping/stamping goodies, or even just chocolate! LOL

EnJoY
***HeatheR***

Ice Cream Cake

I didn't want to pay 30.00+ for a Ice Cream cake at one of those yummy but expensive Ice Cream shops, so I thought I'd try making one. I searched the 'net and couldn't find a recpie that I liked, & I figured "it can't be THAT hard" so I set out to make my own.

{Ingredients}: brownie mix, 1-2 kinds of ice cream (any flavors- I wanted a Snickers cake so I bought a snickers Ice cream-with vanilla base- and a chocolate one). Jar of sundae topping, tub of whipped topping, candybars, and a spring form pan.

Grease your spingform pan well, bake brownies in pan according to directions. Let cool for a couple hours, when cool cut top 1/2 layer off (this will be the middle layer of your cake) Don't worry too much if it crumbles a little, I found that after I cut through the brownie I put a large plate on top and fliped it upside down to seperate the layers w/o it breaking apart.

Spoon SOFTENED Ice cream on top of the brownie layer. (I kept the ice cream in the fridge for a couple hours and it was perfect) I topped this layer with carmel...

***NOTE*** Carmel does not freeze (OK maybe you all know that, but I didn't.) Don't use too much or you will end up with carmel oozing out the side of your cake! I also sugest freezing the icecream layer for a bit first, because my carmel kinda sank into the ice cream.

Freeze this layer for a couple hours or till firm.

Then add another layer of brownie, carmel and ice cream. Again freeze for several hours or overnight.

Scrape sides of spring form pan and release latch. The cake should come out pretty easily. (notice the oozing carmel?)I used whipped topping to "frost" the cake, and topped with drizzled carmel and chopped up snickers bars.

Yummmmm

You could easily make several different variances using different ice creams, candy, cookies, or even fruit!

EnJoY!

***HeatheR***

Summer BINGO

Are your kids already bored, do you have to fight with them to do their chores and not watch hours and hours of TV? This is probably the best summer idea I have ever seen! SUMMER BINGO! The idea is originally from Stacy Julian, you can see her version HERE.

SUMMER BINGO! Ok basically it works like this, every Sunday each child gets a new card. The card has various activities on it, from boredom busters, reading, and chores. Thought the week as the kids complete an activity & they get a sticker from me. They get a ticket for each BINGO and 5 tickets if they get a blackout by the end of the week. Tickets can be used for various “prizes” such as a popsicle, or a trip to the park all the way up to having sleep overs and even earning money. (a motivator for my 11 year old).

I decided to keep our bingo cards hanging on the back of the pantry door. I already had this nifty little basket on the door (that really wasn’t being used) so I decorated a couple Pringles chip cans to hold the kids tickets (this makes a nice spot for everything to be kept together…and it looks pretty darn cute too!)


**Of course this can be simplified it doesn’t HAVE to be all cute, heck print out the cards on paper and magnet it to the fridge, the point is playing the game, having fun, and avoid hearing the “I’m bored” mantra!**


I did make a few changes from the original, one being I added chores to the bingo card. You can find Stacy’s BINGO card HERE ready to fill in the blanks and print. (Don’t ask me what the J21 and TT mean I have NO clue…I meant to delete them off and forgot-oops) the younger kids cards are the same where I made my oldest’s a bit different. Some of the activities I did for the younger kids were…

clean your room, read a book outside, play outside for 1 hour, vacuum a room, play dress up, play Wii for ½ hour, do something kind for someone else, make something in the kitchen, make nature art, wash 2 windows, make up some kind of water game, clean bathroom mirrors, play a board game, take a bike ride with Zack, Take a nap (love this one!), do a chore of moms choosing, make your bed every day, play hide and seek, draw/color a picture, sweep floors, build a fort, no arguing for a whole day (love this one too!), play a computer game for ½ hour, write a letter and mail it, build something out of blocks, practice sight words, dust, wash the van, play dinosaurs outside, play in the sprinklers, brush teeth every day, etc...

Many of my oldest’s activities were similar but some were a bit different like...

take M&A on a bike ride, run around the block 3x as fast as you can, make something out of legos, clean the bathroom, empty/laod dishwasher, gather cloths for wash, Mop, read a book to M&A, plan and cook a meal, Play at the pool w/ a friend, make a scavenger hunt,



I made a total of 8 cards for each kid, to get us through the summer. I mixed and matched the activities so each week were a bit different. I do wish however I added a *wild* square on each card that could be used for “anything” maybe something I come up with or the kids come up with on their own.



I also changed the rules from Stacy’s original, you can download the rules page HERE. Some of the biggest changes were to ticket values. This is what I felt would be a motivator for my kids (we are still experimenting with these rules so they may change as we play the game). There is potential to earn up to 17 tickets a week, I tried gage how often I was willing to do activities and how much they should be worth. Like I said some of this may be tweaked as we play along.


Popcicle-1 ticket, Netflix movie online -2 tickets, go to the park-5 tickets, Dollar movie 10-tickets, Ice Cream cone-10 tickets, Play date with a friend 10- tickets, sleep over- 20 tickets (this was mostly to curb my oldest from asking to spend the night several times a week!) Swimming-20 tickets, lunch “out” 15 tickets, or every 15 tickets = 5.00

Instead of buying a whole roll of tickets (you can find them at Wal-mart for 6.00) I just made my own from cardstock, and paired them with some tickets I already had in my scrapbooking stash. I just bought some star stickers for 1.88 /200 stickers at wal-mart. So far it has been working really well. And the best part were having FUN!

EnJoy!

***HeatheR***

Happy Birthday America!

Happy 4th of July!

Notice my cute new watermark? I thought it was time for something new... I was feeling cutesy today when I made it, but maybe I'll make a couple more to switch in & out dependning on my mood & project!

{details}

{paper} is all from my scrap stash and I have no clue who any of it is by- some of it I think is probably close to 10 years old! {ribbon} red ric-rak -unknown {stamp} Daisybella by Stamping Bella {markers} bic & Prisma {bling} star rhinestones-unknown {punch} star by all night media (its an oldie) & corner by EK Sucess {ink} Versafine- onyx black & cats eye- chesnut roan {stickers} Chatterbox (I love these I'll be sad when I use them all up!) {tools} CTMH edge distresser.

EnJoy!

***HeatheR***

Photographing Stacy & Brandon

I was privlidged to get to team shoot this wedding with my friend Kris. Now I have to say I really dread shooting weddings. But Kris and I had a lot of fun (dispite the pending rain showers, & sprinklers running at our photo location) The wedding was beautiful (you always know its a good wedding if you cry a time or two) and the couple was stunning. Thanks Stacy & Brandon for letting me be a part of your day, and Congratulations!

Here is a SMALL sampeling of some of my favorite photos of the day (when I say small, I mean between the two of us we took over 700 pictures!)

The photographers: Me & Kris

These photos were take by Kris, I had to share a few of my favorites because they were so awesome!

EnJoy!

***HeatheR***

I {heart} books... Black, Red, & White

I have spent the last few months just reading, and reading, and reading some more! It’s been a nice change for me, and I’ve enjoyed finding my love for books again. Three of the books that I have recently read are the “Circle Trilogy” by Ted Dekker. Its written in 3 books

Black

Red

White

I cannot tell you how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these books! I strongly urge you to run not walk to your library or bookstore and start reading them NOW! I almost dare to say I liked them even MORE than the widely popular (and a bit overzealous teen crazed) Twilight Series. Of course Ted being the clever author that he is makes it so you don’t want to stop reading at the end of White, many of his other novels and series directly tie into the Circle trilogy and will keep you thirsty for more. And as if an additional 11 books that somehow tie into the reality of the colored forest, old earth and the circle isn’t enough there is a new book to bring all the books full circle coming out this fall…

Green

(I’m almost giddy!!) So this summer is my summer of “Dekker” I’m on a mission to read all of his books those related to the Circle trilogy and those independent from it.

The Circle trilogy- Black, Red, & White, a Review by Me {HeatheR}

The series starts out with the first book Black (you must read these 3 books in chronological order, the other series are up for debate as to which order to read them in). The story starts out with Thomas Hunter, a 25 year old, trying to live a quiet life, after making some not so great choices in his past. Thomas is living with his sister while trying to get back on his feet when his past seems to have found and caught up with him. As Thomas is running for his life (literally) he is shot and falls, however when he wakes up he is no longer being chased, but in a strange place- a very strange place indeed. After narrowly escaping the horrific Black forest, Thomas finds himself in a new world called the “new earth” or the colored forest as he likes to call it. The stakes are raised when he realizes that a deadly virus is about to be unleashed on our world, and that the 'Other Earth' is also being threatened with catastrophe. The pace quickens as links and parallels between the two worlds are revealed, and the clock begins to run down for both worlds.

Black, Red & White are full of on the edge of your seat suspense, the story of pure love, and the battle of good and evil. It jumps around from suspense, to romance, to thriller, to fantasy, to war, and most importantly… the heart of man. These books will make you think & look closely into your own heart.

I give the circle trilogy 10 out of 10

EnJoy & Elyron's Strength

***HeatheR***

Photographing Lisa

This has to go down as one of the most fun photo shoots I have ever done! My wonderful friend Lisa asked me to help her take some special photos to give to her Hubby. She has lost a lot of weight this past year (well over 100 lbs! Way to go Lisa!) and wanted to do something a little spicy to celebrate! I'm pretty sure her Hubby was at a loss for words!

EnJoy!

***HeatheR***