Fair Recap Day 1

We went to the fair today mainly to see how we did in the photo contest. Mr. Bean ended up with 7 ribbons and a special ribbon (judge's choice) which really means nothing except getting a second ribbon with his first prize. I ended up with 6 ribbons. That means roughly 1 in 3 of my entries got a prize. Not bad.

We also found Los Lobos was playing the concert and sat in on a few numbers. It was free this year (although general entry fee is much higher this year presumably to cover the cost of the free evening entertainment).

String Bean enjoyed "Ag-venture Land" which is the kiddie play area with all agricultural-type exhibits. Her favorite was riding the kiddie tractors around the course and harvesting "eggs" and "apples" from the fake hens and fake trees. She also enjoyed the petting zoo. Really, what kid wouldn't?

I picked up some local honey to help aid me in my allergies. We do it all again tomorrow. Perhaps there will be a new adventure awaiting us!

Oink

Mr. Bean and I always enter photos into our local county fair. Last year we broke even with entry fees and cash prizes. Since I entered cross stitches last year, I did really well. This year we are just entering photography.

Because Mr. Bean is the designated photographer in our house, he has the lion's share of photos to sort through. I spent most of today taking creative photos to enter into the still life and the fair theme category (theme: Go Green and Save Green).

While I was doing that, I pulled out a pen and drew a little pig face on String Bean's big toe. For a good hour, she would walk a step, stop and sit down, pull her foot up to eye level and oink. I hope this washes off pretty easily or we're in trouble.

Christmas Cards

Don't forget to enter our giveaway which ends 11/30 at noon!

I personally feel sending out e-mail Christmas cards is tacky. Call me a traditionalist. I like to get that card in the mail and see the photo of the family. Today, we took our family photos for our annual Christmas card. I'm all about cheap, so here's what we are doing:

1. "Hire" a friend to take the photos of the family. Hire is a pretty strong word. We paid our photographer, Sahrie, in hugs. We had a good idea going into the shoot what we wanted and researched a few shots. Mr. Bean has an eye for the creative, so he was the "artistic director" for our shoot. Of course it helps if your photographer has a nice camera and a little know-how!
2. Take digital photos, not film. Taking your photos digitally means you can manipulate the images and fix some little problems. There is a cool program out there called Paint.net which is similar to Photoshop that you can download and use free! Google "Paint.net tutorials" to get started.
   
3. Owning your own photos will save you a lot of money. Photographers make money by owning the images they take for you. You pay them to print the photos and only go home with your photos, not the digital images. If you own the digital images, you can wait until a really great sale comes up and print them off as you wish.
4. Pick a template from Etsy. There are several vendors on Etsy who will make a really cool photo Christmas card for you for a flat rate. I love the Polka dot Christmas tree by lukecommasara. I am also a big fan of the Austin design by nounces. Be sure to read the fine print to know if you are getting a 5 x 7, 4 x 6, or a custom size photo. Many vendors let you request the size you want and will even do custom work!
   
5. Upload your photo to a printing service. You'll save a lot if you scour the internet for a coupon code. If you time it right, you can get your photos done for less than 12 cents (for a 4 x 6) each if you go through a 1 hour printing place (CVS, Walgreens, Wal-mart, etc.). If you have the luxury of time on your hands, you can get them for much cheaper if they are mailed to you (Snapfish, Shutterfly, etc.).

Viola! I hope you have a successful photo shoot this year. If you haven't already done it, you only have about a month until Christmas...get going!