Yep!  You read the title right…..CRAZY!  And that’s exactly what it’s been around here!   Being out of commission for 2 weeks from my back has definitely set me in a tail spin and saying I am behind is the biggest understatement of the year!  I have 2 weddings to finish up editing……4!…that’s right….FOUR! senior sessions to edit…ack!…..orders to place…..and 2 coffee table books to create!  Oh my!  Is your head spinning yet?  Or just mine?  PLUS the Big “O” started Kindergarten this week so we are all getting used to a new schedule……AND I have photos from Fairytales to edit and get out….she just got a TON of cute new baby clothes in for fall!!!   Of course the gallery launch is done….but I have a couple other projects I am working on that are just going to have to be put on the back burner and WAIT!  AND……I am not even going to mention my slave driver of a boss that has me up until midnight doing bids and bills for him!  ugh.  So yes…..I am definitely living in CRAZY land right now.  I am hoping to get a big chunk knocked out this weekend….so wish me luck!    And trust me….lesson has been learned!  I will not be over scheduling again….well that is on my goal list anyways!

OK…now the truth is out….my life is CRAZY at this moment….so this will be the last post until this weekend?  Next week?  I don’t know?  Don’t hold your breathe!  I have brides and seniors and mommies all wanting their pictures and I don’t blame them!    So, with all of it on the table…I leave you with one of my BEAUTY.  I  have a picture of one of our family friends little girl in a brown hat with a pink knit flower on it hanging up in Fairytales – she is ADORABLE!    Another gal came into the store, saw that picture, and wanted that exact hat…which I have no idea where it is from….. BUT….Camille did have the same adorable brown cap knit hats, they just didn’t have the pink knit flower on them….BUT she did have super cute flower hair clips…..and being super creative….the gal combined the two and made her own hat!  Uh…yeah!  GREAT IDEA!!!  So of course thinking it was a wonderful idea, I purchased my own flower clip….snagged Owen’s hat from last year that I bought at Fairytales….and voila!  One sweet cutie patootie!   You can get both the hat and flower clip at Fairytales and create your own combo!!!  I LOVE IT!!!  See you soon!  xoxo

Welcome!  Well, you have either found this post from keeping updated on my blog (thanks!)….OR you have found it because you linked over from the new art gallery over on my website(thanks again!)   Either way, I don’t care how you got here!  I am just so happy that you are here!!    Because I have some exciting news!    No!  No, new babies for us!  Sigh.  As much as I think sometimes that I would love to have one or maybe two more…..I know better.  No thanks.  I will just dream about them….sigh…..and I will just keep doing newborn photography and getting my baby fill from that!   OK….babies always get me off track….so back to the original purpose of this post!

Over the last year, I have been working on a couple projects at about turtle pace, and have been enjoying them most of the time!   Some of the projects I have completed and you have seen such as the cute knitted baby hats…..the baby greeting cards available at Mothers Haven down in CDA and at FairyTales & ZanDoozles in Sandopint…etc…etc.  I do have a couple more projects that are still in the works…..one of them being a sewing project for Bella…..some super fun and darling photo shoots I still need to do with my own kids…..and a baby blanket that I am hoping to finish by the end of October!

One of the projects that I have been working on is my “art gallery”.   I originally envisioned the art gallery to be a place that I could display all of my favorite artsy fartsy pieces that  just make me happy.  Don’t get me wrong…my babies and my client work are the shibang! and my fav by far, but occasionally this  girl needs some spice in her life!   I think my  art gallery is going to give me just that touch of spice I have been looking for!  As of right now, under the “art gallery” tab on my main website, you will find some of my art work available for sale as a fine art mounted print, a fine art canvas, or as a set of  greeting cards.   I will be adding more prints later on and showcasing them as well….but for today….just this one for the introduction!

Something about this print speaks to me…..the colors……the lines…….the warmth….the peacefulness…..everything about it seems so whimsical and dreamy to me…..it just captivates me every time.   And I knew immediately if I was going to launch the art gallery with this piece, it would have to have a name…..not just any old name…something special……a name that would fit perfectly.  I looked at this print and the colors…..and the name popped in my head immediately and I knew it was a fit!

AMBER.

Looking at this print, I don’t feel like I choose this name, it choose me….and I couldn’t be happier.   Amber is actually the fossilized resin from ancient forests!  How perfect.  Guess what my print is of?  YEP!  A tree!  Here is a little article I found on the meaning of  Amber that is quite interesting.   And also some other little weird tidbits about the colors of Amber….

Another 30×40….this time in the bedroom!

This next example shows a 20×30 “AMBER” canvas in the hallway.  I just love this print on the darker wall.  It makes the colors and lines so much more dramatic.  

Now…on to my FAVORITE!  The AMBER print comes in many different sizes.  Again, this display is in a hallway, but I can see this set up in the dining room behind the table on a main wall!    Or three across the top of a bed!  The combinations  are endless as to how you can decorate your home with the AMBER canvas!    ***One word of caution though, if you are ordering this combo as shown below with the the four 20×20 canvases, please send me an email so we can discuss the layout and where to have the hooks installed on the canvas!!!  Thanks!  Also, look for the 10×10 & 20×20 canvas special collections in the shopping cart options!  If you buy 4 of these sizes in a collection you get a discount!

And last, but not least, another favorite!  This is a room I would have loved pre-children!   So clean and modern!  There are no toys scattered here and there, no cherios stuck in between the couch cushions, no dirty finger and foot prints on the couch and floor!!!  No chewed up pillows, no bright red juice box spilled on the white carpet, no black sharpie art on the side of the beautiful leather couch!!!!  aaaahhhh yes…before kids….THIS room would have been heaven!   Everything neutral with a giant bold and sassy splash of color!   aaaahhhh!  So nice!  This is an example of a framed and matted  “AMBER” print.  Quite a different look wouldn’t you say????

If you would like to purchase your own AMBER print or canvas and enjoy the  rich, warm, smooth colors that will be sure to add feelings of warmth, balance, love, and peace to any room please go back to the main website page found here.   Add the print to your cart, then go to your cart and select the size and type of print you would love to own!  Then check out and pay with paypal!  Super easy!  But PLEASE!, PLEASE!, PLEASE!,  if you have any problems ordering or have any questions at all, please email me at: stacibaileyphotography@yahoo.com

To celebrate Labor Day AND the official launch of my online gallery, please enjoy 25% of your purchase through the end of September.  Just enter Amber 25 at the checkout!

Thanks so much!

Also, be sure to keep reading my blog and following me on facebook because I will be adding more of my artsy fartsy art work here and there…..AND….also doing some great specials this fall for Christmas gifts that you don’t want to miss!    Oh yes…and don’t forget to tell your friends too….you won’t want them to miss this either! 

***All fine art prints come mounted on foam board for protection and have a lovely linen texture to them.  Metallic paper is also available to purchase.

***All canvas art pieces come with paper backing, hanging clips, and bumpers. The canvases are 1.5″ deep, have black edging, and the frames are made with real wood.  All wraps include a high gloss laminate to protect the gallery wrap from scuffs, scratches, and cracking.  The laminate also provides UV light protection.  Metallic canvas is also available to purchase.

***The 5×7 blank greeting cards come in packs of 25 with envelopes and are printed on water color paper for a soft and sublte look without compromising the rich colors.

***Please inquire if you are interested in a size not listed in the shopping cart.

***The Amber print is copyright 2010 Staci Bailey Photography – it may not be downloaded, shared, or distributed in any manner other than purchasing through Staci Bailey Photography.

EEK!  Can you believe it’s been over a week since I have posted???  I KNOW!  So unlike me….BUT if you are on facebook, you know some of the story.  So finally, kind of back to normal…..here’s the full scoop.  Last Tuesday I was standing up, bending over, and braiding Bella’s hair and something in my lower left back popped….LOUD.  It hurt like hell and of course being a girl, I had to have some dramatics, so hollering was in order…….apparently I was crying from the pain so bad, Owen came running inside to “save” me….my hero!   After about 5 minutes, I was finally able to stand up….and stretch it out.  Phew!  At that moment all I could think was, “That totally sucked, but I am fine…..I mean really……it is probably nothing….right?”  If I wasn’t meeting my grandma for a day trip to CDA I would have stayed home just to be sure…..but she was waiting for me and even though she has a cell phone….it’s a 1 out of 10 chance that the ringer is on, the phone is on, or she hears it ringing!  (Sorry grandma!)  So off we went to meet her and continue our trip to CDA.  The entire trip down, every little movement hurt….in my head I hear Warning!  Warning!

Forget about it…..I was excited…..we were going to meet up with my super awesome friend Amy and get our family photos!!!  I was so excited!  Upon arriving at her studio, I got out of the truck and froze….not voluntarily either…..frozen from pain.  Now, not just the one spot hurt….my entire back was in PAIN from a muscle spasm…and I mean PAIN.  I just stood there, bent over for who knows how long…probably looking like a total weirdo, but I didn’t care….I seriously could not move it hurt that bad!  Again…..I waited it out…and again….the pain subsided and I could at least walk now…..just a little bit stiffer than after the last spasm.   I finally made it inside….and just drank in the sight!  Lot’s of oh’s and ah’s from me…..Amy’s studio is GORGEOUS!  And of course it gave me the studio itch something bad!  So now I have the studio itch AND a back that is seriously ticking me off.   Thankfully Amy had some Ibuprofen and a cold bottle of water for me….LOVE her!  AND LOVED our photos….will share those later.  After lots of chit chat and shop talk, I figured I better get back to the truck and get us on our way.  One more stop before Cabela’s!

Just a quick stop really…..I wanted to stop in at Mother’s Haven and pick up a gift and say hi to Margaret.   This time getting out of the truck I was still mobile…no freezing episodes…and I made it to the door.  As I turned to close it gently, it happened.  My entire body froze…..my back seized up into the biggest back spasm EVER!  I couldn’t believe the pain….it was unbearable.   I just stood there…hoping to wait it out….and then came the waves.  The ocean waves.  That is what I hear right before I know I am going to faint.  So immediately I looked over at Margaret and her customer and asked for a chair….I was going to pass out!!!  They ran a chair over to me and no sooner did my rear hit it was I engulfed in complete blackness.  I woke up on the floor….having no idea how long I had been out.  Lucky for me, the customer was a nurse from Kellog (THANK YOU NURSE!)….and if I had been more on top of it, I would have remembered her name….sorry nurse…but THANK YOU AGAIN!  They called 911 for an ambulance….called my family for me….and informed my grandma who was now going to have to drive the kids to the hospital!

Long story short….OK, well it’s already long…but I could make it LONGER!  Anywho…..the short version….I went to the hospital in the ambulance….taught the ambulance drivers and anyone in ears distance a few new cuss words I am sure…..got 3 shots of pain killers and muscle relaxers before my back finally stopped hurting……stayed in the ER 5 hours before I could even move to sit up and get in a wheel chair to go home…..the pain was now radiating through my hip and down my left leg….OUCH!   The ER doc said muscle spasm….I said yes muscle spasm and SOMETHING else….he said no, muscle spasm and sent me on my way….went to my regular Dr for a follow up…definitely a muscle spasm AND like I suspected something else…..she is sending me to physical therapy with a diagnosis of an acute sacrum ilium joint strain? – which after reading a little bit online here’s what I found -the sacroiliac joint is where the sacrum vertebrae in the lower back connects to the ilium or hip bone – yeppers!  That’s where it popped and that’s where it hurts!  Not sure if this is what it is…could just be a muscle spasm?  Who knows?  But I could not make it to my therapy appointment today to find out more…..my back was hurting (where it popped the first time) and I was feeling quite nauseous so this time I decided to stay home and couch it!   Oops…got ahead of myself there……ok, backing up……after the ER visit, I spent a week on pain pills and muscle relaxers still hardly able to move until one evening when we had to rush our son to the ER.  Poor little guy….mommy instinct kicked in and I forgot about the pain…..I might have been dingy as all get out….but I put aside the pain until I knew he was going to be all right.  Then a few days later I was back in the hospital…STOP reading right here if you can’t take the heat….because it’s going to get ugly…and GROSS!

APPARENTLY, you are supposed to take some type of stool softener while you are on any type of pain medication or muscle relaxer…….yes…..I am sure you know where this is going.  After a week….YES! a WEEK! (well 6 days is a week to me) I realized that I wasn’t feeling that well…….light bulb!  I suddenly realized I had not gone #2….in yes….a WEEK!  I immediately took some psyllium….LOL…ha ha ha…..like that’s going to work at this point.  At 1:00 in the morning my husband rushed me to the hospital….and after 4 hours of misery, pain, screaming, and more cussing…I finally got to go back home.   No need to go into details…..but I will say one thing….I had my first child with no pain medication….all naturel…..and I would rather have another baby with no pain meds than go through that HELL again.   PLEASE!…make a note to yourself to buy milk of magnesia if you are ever in need of pain pills.  Enough said.

So……you see…..my absence has been involuntary and I am just now getting back to work.  My back still hurts…..a lot…..and I am not completely off the pain pills as I hoped…..but I did get through editing a full session tonight!!!  So…..tomorrow I will have a sneak peek for you of the sweetest little girl….YAY!   That is the good news!  The bad news?….hopefully you aren’t reading this post tonight so you won’t go to bed with nightmares!   It’s approaching 11:00 pm which is way past my bed time….so I am going to sign off now….and be back tomorrow with a much better post!

PS…..NO photo today…..I just can not put a picture up after sharing my horrid week.  ugh.

There are some exciting changes going on at Staci Bailey Photography!!!   Things might look a little wonky here and there for a little while during this transformation so thanks in advance for all your patience!!!    And as always…..THANK YOU so much for your support!  xo

Remember that little ole alphabet challenge I was participating in???  They are finally posting the winners and I was very happy to see this photo……

as the WINNER of the letter “L”!!!!  Woot!  Woot!   I just love this photo so much and am so happy that it won!!!  AND another very cool thing I noticed was that another local photographer won a letter too!!!  How crazy that two gals from the same town having fun competing in a nation wide challenge would win and it would be posted on the same day!!!   So wild!  You can go here to see all the winners….some pretty amazing photos for sure!!  THANK YOU Clickin Moms!!!  The challenge itself was so rewarding!!  And winning a prize was just the icing on the cake!  xoxo

Happy Friday!!!  The weather  this week has been so icky!  Cold.  Rainy.  Bleh.  I am tired of it really…..but also have been waiting for a few rainy days.  WHY?!?!  You ask?  Well….for one tiny reason….Bella’s new rain gear!!!    She got new rain gear….the entire get up for her birthday from her Mana Cinny and Aunt Jen!  She LOVES it…..and I can see why….it is so cute!!!   A couple things about Bella….she loves pink…anything girly…kitties….and MUD PUDDLES!   Oh yeah…..MUD PUDDLES!  She didn’t get the nick name “pig pen” for no reason!  Before I show you the absolutely darling pink kitty rain gear from Fairytales downtown…..let’s travel back in time to really get a good picture of what I mean, when I say she LOVES MUD PUDDLES!    At 18 mo old she found this mud puddle and couldn’t resist…..she had so much fun splashing around……..isn’t she so cute?!?!?!!!!!

Uh yeah…she’s so cute….AND she REALLY had fun in that mud puddle!  So much fun she was on her way to kiss the mud puddle before her daddy swooped in and picked her up before she face planted in the water!!!    Awe……our little pig pen…we love you!!!

Fast foward two years……she’s got a little more restraint these days (I think)….but still cute as ever!!!    I was so happy to get these pictures…..she is darling in this outfit and I love the colors….and also I really needed some photos to finish up my alphabet challenge!!! 

“I” for imagine……

Love this photo….but her being under the umbrella so far cast a horrid pink hue on her hair!!!  EEK!  Hopefully she never has real pink hair when she grows up….but it’s one of my favorites…so I am OK with the fake pink hair for now.

Aaaahhhhh…much better…goodbye pink…hello cutie!

“K” is for Kitty…….

“J” is for JUMP!   Ok, ok, I know she isn’t exactly jumping in this photo….but she just did….the landing part is much better!  I am also glad this puddle wasn’t much bigger or else she might have tried to go swimming in it too!!!

Another favorite…..she is having so much fun!!!  I just love her belly laughs!

“U” is for umbrella….this rain gear set had kitties everywhere….the coat…the umbrella…and the boots!!!  In fact, the boots had a little kitty tail on the back of them as a tab to pull them on…..but Alli Bear got ahold of them and decided to eat the kitty tails….naughty Alli Bear!

Phew!  Made it to the end with no more kissing mud puddles!!!  Hope these brighten your rainy day today!!!

I must say, this set has to be one of my favorites of Bella.   I have wanted to do a little mini session with her in rain gear forever!!!  If you love this rain gear as much as I do, you can get your very own at Fairytales downtown…..Camille has all kinds of different themes…..a ladybug….a fireman…a frog….so many cute ones you must check them out!!!  And hopefully the Big “O” will be sporting his very own rain gear soon…..PIRATE style!!!  ARGH!!!!   Oh yeah…..those pictures are gonna be fun!  

I hope you have a great weekend!!!

xo

Staci

Still plugging away at my alphabet challenge…..it’s been super fun so far!  I hope you are enjoying it also!!!   Next week is the last week and I still have 14 letters to go!!!  EEK!  Better get a move on it!  The letter “S” for today….the Sunshine in our life…

The letter “O”……..yep, you guessed it…..”O” is for Owen!  My handsome, sweet, smart, boy.  I couldn’t wait to post this…not only to add to my alphabet photos….but as a proud mama!  I just LOVE this photo………and after editing it, I was overcome with emotion by how handsome he is and how BIG! and grownup he is getting…….time is going by much too fast!

“P” is for…….