Amy Sandoval Photography Blog

Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk Portrait Photographer, Wedding Photographer: Newborn, Maternity, child, family and wedding coverage.

Category Archives: Decorating

Let’s go back in time…Christmas 2011!

Sunday, January 22, 2012 Posted in Decorating

Just a brief Christmas post. I love having photos of my Christmas decore because it makes decorating the next year so much easier. This year’s was much like last year’s, so I literally took out my Christmas 2010 album and used those photos to guide me. I got in the habit of putting together a small album of Christmas season photos a few years ago as a keepsake not just for us but to give Olivia when she’s older and starts having her own family Christmas. I suppose all those albums will be in the box of all the Christmas ornaments we’re collecting for her!

Here’s a peek at the den for the last couple of years – I decorate the mantle with my vintage cameras and Christmas ornaments in red/silver along with a few other vintage-inspired pieces. I love highlighting my favorite pieces from collections and things I already own when decorating for the holidays:

And here’s my new addition for 2011 – a little white Christmas tree with big retro-inspired pink glass Christmas ornaments.

And here’s our mantle this year – nearly identical thanks to the photos I kept from last year! And a quick shot of Olivia from her school piano recital in December.

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Happy New Year & A Little Something for You

Tuesday, December 28, 2010 Posted in Decorating, Personal Notes, Web Goodies

Have you been to pinterest.com? If not, go! No really, I’ll wait.

It’s the amazing site where you “pin” photos of things that inspire you – home decorating, do it yourself projects, photography, fashion, recipes, things to buy – it’s all there. And it’s beautiful. If you’d like an invitation, please email me (amy@ amysandovalphotography.com – take out the space). I have a few invitations left. Otherwise you can request to join – it takes a while for them to send invitations.

One of the things I love most is all of the wonderful quotes – new fonts, great designs, etc. and these inspirational quotes. Many of the items can be purchased if you click on the item to learn more about where it was originally posted. Also – many of them are on etsy.com. I decided to take a stab at creating my own little inspirational sign for a new project I’m working on (which was also inspired by pinterest.com – will share more details when I get hung up!). I made it in Photoshop and printed it at my photo lab. I just got it in the mail and it’s wonderful. I actually made two copies – one for my office.

Here is the original 11×14 file - it’s a jpg – so just click on it and right-click to save it to your computer. Then have it printed as an 11×14 photo.

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AngieDecember 29, 2010 - 12:01 am

Thanks! Love it!

Sort-of Detail Friday!: New take on Advent calendars

Friday, December 17, 2010 Posted in Decorating, Detail Friday!, Personal Notes

A few years ago I made Advent boxes (and a few small bags) and my daughter loves them. Each year I pull them back out and put little treats and notes in them for her. They’re not huge boxes so I fill them with little trinkets from the Dollar Store, candy, etc. When she was younger, even a quarter was a major thrill!

Many of the boxes are filled with notes instead of gifts. Some of the notes are fun things to do as a family…watch holiday movies, have hot chocolate, bake cookies, etc. And some of the notes are “giving back” activities we do as a family. We bake cookies for the local firehouse, collect toys from Olivia’s room to donate, collect canned food, etc.

The older Olivia gets, the more the notes are geared towards things to do together and ways to give back. During the week of Chanukah we focus on giving back activities and we light a candle every night to honor that holiday even though we don’t celebrate it from a religious perspective. (I bought this manzanita candelabra from West Elm a few years ago and it’s perfect as it has the right number of candles on it.) One of the things I’ve tried to provide for Olivia is an appreciation and education about all religions regardless of what she herself chooses to practice.

The Advent boxes are made of plain boxes I bought at Michaels and decorated with brown wrapping paper and scrapbooking-type supplies. The tags are hand-numbered one for each day from December 1 through Christmas. The boxes sit in the bookshelves on either side of our fireplace and also serve as decorations!

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LizetDecember 18, 2010 - 10:33 am

what a lovely idea!!
it’s nice fo you to also give back to the people… The firemans are probably enjoying the cookies, right?

fun!

It’s beginning to look a lot like…well, you know!

Thursday, December 16, 2010 Posted in Decorating, Personal Notes

I started collecting vintage cameras a while ago but stalled out on the collection and restarted again recently. I get them on eBay and Etsy and lately I’ve gotten some great deals. I’ve finally got enough vintage cameras to include them in the Christmas mantel!

One of my favorite new additions.

All of our cats love this particular spot by the fireplace. Meet Savannah!

Love this reproduction vintage Christmas card.

Gratuitous extra cat shot. Savannah is our oldest cat, clocking in at about 11 years old. When she was younger, she’d jump up on doorknobs and turn them with her paws, thereby opening them and escaping. She looks a little grumpy but she’s very sweet. She also has several nicknames. Let’s see, there’s Dark Bobo, Boo Boo, Grumpy Bumpy (she bumps against us when she’s hungry).

Come back tomorrow for a post about our advent calendar/boxes!

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tiffani sunshineDecember 16, 2010 - 8:25 pm

love it! so festive and fun!!! the wreath is awesome.;-)

JenniferDecember 16, 2010 - 9:52 pm

I think this deserves to be pinned;) Love the cameras, red, silver and feathers!

LizetDecember 17, 2010 - 6:17 am

Ohh so pretty!! Love all the decorations!

{Thanksgiving Table Decore} My First Thanksgiving as Host!

Sunday, November 28, 2010 Posted in Decorating, Personal Notes

If you noticed that things got quiet on the blog, it was for a good reason. Much of my creative energy for the last couple of weeks was being used planning out my first hosting gig for the family Thanksgiving. My mom does a bang-up job on Thanksgiving – planning the table decore weeks in advance and serving tons of good food. But this year my mom handed over hosting duties to me so she and my dad could focus some health concerns going on with him.

Of course you can’t cook much ahead of time, so I did some meal planning and focused my time on moving forward with the table decore. I’m not much for arranging flowers, so I knew it would need to be more of a collection style of decore. Check out the table below. Notes on some of the items, too!

View looking out of the dining room and into our front hall.
Driftwood Hurricanes from anthropologie.com – I so wish we had a store here but the online selection is great, too!
Dried goods and Ball jars from Michaels. Fluffy things in jar to the right from Oak Grove Lake Park! Thanksgiving cards from etsy.com
More of the Thanksgiving cards from etsy.com – I order something from that site probably once a week this time of year!

Placecard tags from etsy.com and plates from West Elm (westelm.com)

Napkins from etsy.com – yep, you can get it all there! In the photos below, you can see the power of the Canon 50mm 1.2L lens.
Got this idea from Better Homes and Gardens. bhg.com
Olivia’s place. The turkey was a surprise. We “pardoned” him. The kit was for her to put together after lunch and it kept her busy for a while!
Lit pumpkin from Pier One a few years ago.
Our oldest but still spry cat, Savanahh.
Olivia’s hand turkey!
The spread.