NEW BLOG!!

Hello faithful blog followers! I officially have a shiny NEW BLOG! My new blog is marylaurenphotography.com. It was designed by the fabulous Kristin Heather. So this blog is officially closed and I will no longer be using it.

Thanks for following Mary Lauren Photography!

Mary Lauren Mansfield

Cotey Family

I photographed this family last year and it was so good to see them again. Their girls have so much personality and love to be in front of the camera, and let me tell you it makes my job so much easier! By the look of their smiles you would never know the 100 degree heat and a Lillian's burned finger were involved! SUCH troopers. Oh, and did I mention they fed me dinner afterwards??

Thanks Cotey family!!! You all are so beautiful :)

Corbin

Corbin's mom asked me if I would take his 13-year-old pictures, and she had a really great location in mind just off the riverbank. He was so much fun to photograph with all his interests and hobbies. Quite the talent for his age!

Precious Elaina

I first met Sonja and Bobby on a mission trip to El Salvador last spring break. You might recall they made an appearance on the blog too. At the time they had just found out they would be able to adopt a baby girl after years of trying. This baby girl is finally here and in their arms forever! Her name is Elaina and she is absolutely precious! If you've been following my blog for a while you know that I have a spot in my heart for orphans and adoption, so of course their family's story has captured my heart. Praise God for his good gifts!

Extreme Packaging Makeover!

Before...

After!...





Told ya I was feeling crafty :)

Feeling Crafty {another goal achieved}

Lately I've just felt like getting out the glue and scissors and who could forget the scrapbook paper? I love coming up with ideas using stuff I already have. Today I decided to make a welcome sign for our entry hallway.

I used these materials


... and VOILA!!!





To make this I cut squares from the cereal box (actually it ended up being two). I cut bigger squares for the backgrouds and a smaller squares to back the scrapbook paper. I liked the idea of using different shades and patterns of blue and brown. This is easier if you buy a scrapbook paper book that has the same theme and color going on. Then I just hot-glued those suckers together in a non-uniform way. I bought the flower and chipboard letters at Hobby Lobby for really cheap in the scrapbook section, but you can also make your own paper flowers and letters if you want. If you google "paper flowers" tons of ideas will come up. The clothespins and twine gives it a cool look too.

You can use this same idea for birthdays, name banners, party decoration, weddings, or pictures. Hope this inspires!

Mary Lauren

Go Getter

This summer I decided to make a list of goals for myself (only slightly to prove to myself that I am not in fact a lazy bum). Many of these goals have been on my mind for a while to get done.

1)For example our wall above the TV which was empty for nearly a year, but NO MORE.


2) I wanted to cook more.



Rosemary Rolls



Peach and Rhubarb Pie

Ok... so I admit - Morgan was the genius behind this...


Vodka cream sauce from thepioneerwoman.com.


3) Running. I haven't really tried to work out in a long time but it's not so bad being distracted at the gym by TV shows while I am sweating. Plus my mom got me some awesome running shoes!



4) New gear! I have been dying to have the Canon 85 1.8. For those of you who aren't gearheads it's a wonderful lens for portrait photography.


My roomie is always so great about letting me try my new gear out on her!


That's all for now but I'm going to update more when I get the rest of my goals done :)