Kristie Serra Photography Blog »

Merry Christmas to everyone out there! I hope it’s been a wonderful day. We’ve had such a great Christmas. Currently we’re traveling in the car (as I type) with our new family member… I will share all about him soon. 

Today I took some extra time to read over all of the nominees again for the Giving is Awesome campaign. There were so many amazing entries, which made the selection process so difficult. I am excited to say that I’ve selected a wonderfully deserving family and have been in touch with them this evening! T. is a mom of four. She and her husband came to America for a better life. When her oldest kiddo was seven and her youngest was one, her husband passed away. They have never had much and have always struggled, but recently it has become worse. The business T. had been working for as recently fallen under economic hard times and they can no longer afford to pay their workers. She is so willing to do whatever it takes to provide for her family and is always putting her children first. T. was nominated by one of her children’s teachers and I just want to share a little piece of her entry…

“Her children have the most beautiful spirits, which is a true testament to her.  She cannot give them all of the material things we all take for granted but she can give them love and teach them compassion.  They are rich in the way that truly matters. ” 
  

I can’t wait to meet T. and her children! They sound like such an amazing family.

I want to thank everyone, who took the time to email me and to Kristen Kalp for creating this AMAZING campaign as well as all the INCREDIBLE photographers who joined forces to GIVE!!!
 

Merry Christmas.
 

With love,
Kristie 

We’ve had so much fun this month with our elf on a shelf, Mr. Elfie. I’ve loved watching the boys wake up every morning and go on the hunt for him. “Oooooh, Mr. Elfie, where are yooooou??” they’d call. My favorite morning was when they found that Mr. Elfie had taken a few nibbles of a chocolate bar they had left him the day before. It was hilarious! I know that video would have won me a million dollars on America’s Funniest Videos. We’re going to miss our little elf friend as he makes his trip back to the North Pole. I’m sure by Monday we’ll be counting down the days until he returns again!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! May it be filled with much love and happiness. Oh, and before I go, I thought I’d share our holiday card from this year. I have to thank Pinkletoe’s (Michele Anderson) for the design inspiration and Amy Smith for the amazing images, oh, how I heart her!! And, if you think your kids are the only kids, who protest at the mere thought of being in a family photo, you should have seen my two at our session with Amy. Oh, lordy do they suffer from PCS (photographer’s child syndrome). The fits they threw were some of their finest to date!! Despite it all, I am in LOVE with the images and I will cherish them ALWAYS!!  

These two sweet and beautiful sisters were so much fun to work with! I just loved how glued together they were the whole session – what a sister bond they share!

It occurred to me on Friday that I missed my thursday’s thoughts post, well, I couldn’t break from coughing long enough to post. That wicked cold that everyone recently seems to have, paid us a visit last week. It was A. first, a couple of days later it was M’s turn and then it was mom’s turn. I haven’t felt so sick in quite a long time, so I am glad it’s almost gone and I’m feeling more myself these days!

I know, I know, thursday’s thoughts aren’t off to great start, but I will make up for it this week with two posts… today and then again on Christmas when I announce the person/family that has been selected for the Giving is Awesome project. A quick side-note about the project… I’ve already received several entries and I thank everyone, who has taken the time to email me. Your stories have been so heartfelt and sincere and I have no idea how I will select just one family. For those still wanting to nominate someone, please do so. I will be selecting the person/family late Christmas Eve, so there are still several days to nominate a deserving person in your life. 

Ok, now back to the continuing series: thinking outside the picture frame. Last week it was lunch boxes, this week it’s windows! This idea came from the amazing Leslie, my partner in crime in Georgia. She used a door and created the most beautiful display (she claims not to be Martha Stewart, but she so is)! So, when I came across my windows at the Vivant House in Tampa, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them – copy Leslie (Ha-Ha!!). And, if you are local, the Vivant House has a huge selection of windows, different sizes and shapes too. My windows have 6 panes each, so I decided (for now) to fill 3 on each window. The window panes are 7″ wide by 17″ tall, so I ordered 10″x20″ prints and then cut them to fit. I just used scotch tape on the back to hold the prints in place and there you have it, another way to display images in your home.

If you have any ideas or images you’d love to share, please email kristie@kristieserraphoto.com. I would love to share them on the blog!

(as I cleared the table, my boys decided to add back a few friends for the picture) 

I have joined forces with Kristen Kalp, creator of Giving is Awesome and over 398 other amazing photographers and now I need your help…

You know someone. You know someone who’s experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can’t afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family’s spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography – $1000 worth, to be exact. Whether it’s canvas or albums, prints for Grandma, or a slideshow to watch over and over, it’s in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a $250 print credit. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be, people?

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in Florida. Tell me who you know, what they’re experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail me the full story : kristie@kristieserraphoto.com.The winner will be announced on Christmas Day — get nominating! I can’t wait to read all of your entries!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season — and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

With love,
Kristie

Oh, sweet little G. What a doll. Now, looking at her in her adorable pink dress you might expect her to love dolls and everything pink, well, it was quite the opposite at her recent session. She gasped in excitement every time a helicopter went overhead, made friends with a lizard that wouldn’t budge and could not resist the rain puddles left over from the morning. She was so much fun!! 

I know it’s a crazy time to start this with things still being so nutty around here with holiday orders and shipments coming in, but I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while now. So, welcome to my little Thursday feature. I’m sure some Thursday’s thoughts will be more random than others, but I promise to keep things interesting regardless.

This week I’m starting a three part series: thinking outside of the picture frame. If you’re anything like me, you have pictures displayed in frames in your home… on a table, on the walls and even in the bathroom – they are there! I love my frames, but I’m always looking for other ways to display pictures. So, move over PB&J and make way for some pictures – in a lunchbox!

I found this ever so charming 1940’s lunchbox at a local antique store - it was love at first site. Lucky for me, the owner of the store had it displayed on a table with pictures inside of it, so it had a purpose and it had to come home with me!
 

I went through some digital files of old family photos and had prints made, some of the prints I had mounted on a 2mm styrene to prevent the prints from bending and warping. I love the mounted prints and I think they work great for a display like this.  

 I then placed the prints in the lunchbox and just like that I had a fun little display for the house. I have mine on our entry table, but you could place it anywhere. I find that friends, who are over, love looking at the different images inside. All the prints are lustre coated to protect from fingerprints, so everyone is welcome to look through them. I love that I can add to it or change the prints out from time to time. It’s fun to take the prints out and look at them with my kiddos too. We have a lot of history is this lunchbox!

So, if you are out and about, you might want to stop by one of your local antique stores to see if they happen to have a lunchbox for sale… 

Meet the sister team behind… Mama Drama, Veggie Enforcer, Professional Juggler, Messy House… Happy Family, I Rock to Lullabies – their T-SHIRTS speak from the heart and unite women on this sometimes crazy and oh so rewarding journey of motherhood. That’s why I LOVE Moms Rock On!

With 7 kiddos between them, there is never a dull moment. Someone is laughing, someone might be crying and it’s probably true that someone has to go potty! Through it all though, they have so much together, enjoying the sweetness of life! 

If you haven’t stopped by their website, take a peek – I know you will fall in love with their T-SHIRTS! 

The “original” Mom who Rocks On came along for the session. I’m so glad she did, she was so much fun!!

Yes, *sigh* my twins turned five today. It seemed like I blinked and it happened. I’m going to try not to do that again because I’m sure before I know it, they’ll be ten… It was a fun day celebrating, filled with favorite meals (pancakes and biscuits for breakfast, chick-fil-a for lunch and more pancakes for dinner), cookies, birthday balloons, a surprise visit from Nana and family movie night with Polar Express.

As I was tucking them in bed tonight M. told me that no matter how old he gets, he’s always going to sleep with a night light. A. then asks if race car drivers sleep with night lights because that’s what he’s going to be when he grows up. I tell him that I’m sure that some do. M. then tells A. that he can only leave home for his races then he has to come right back. Oh, how he makes me laugh! A. tells him that we all have to go to the races to cheer him on. I think a family pit crew is in our future! Ha-Ha!! 

Tomorrow is their costume party. Seemed like the perfect thing to do since they LOVE being in their costumes…

As I just went to check on them and they were smoothed in their stuffed animals, A. with Frank the turtle, Baxter the bunny, Leopard Serra the snow-leopard  and Fonzie the fawn and M. with Bear, Zee the zebra and his beloved Meerkat, I knew that no matter how old they are, they will always be my babies. *sigh*

That’s what this gorgeous wife/mother is sending her hubby for Christmas and I thought I’d come up for a breath from the holiday madness to share . K’s hubby is one of courageous people serving our country. He’s been overseas for a year now and won’t be returning home until July, so he’s missing his family and his home… and they are missing him terribly! They’ll be meeting in Hawaii (I so wish I could hide in one of their suitcases) for Christmas and what a surprise he’s going to get when he sees these images!  Mom and daughter were so much fun to work with… so laid back, so loving and truly beautiful inside and out! 

They have an image like this hanging in their home from when M. was 2 or 3… it’s always been one of her favorite places to be and now at 8, she still loves being on her mom’s back… I’ve never seen a cuter monkey!

The “Prince.” Shhhh, don’t let him know that he’s not though. 

I just loved this image of M. At this point, the dog was running circles around the chair and mom was chasing him, we were all cracking up, I think even the dog was too!