Giver of gifts

My little boy is almost always giving me gifts. I may be typing away on the computer or busy with laundry or cooking and there his is, with a little homemade card and possibly a toy. He surprises me with these things. I know that it's a way to get attention, but what a loving way it is. "It's for YOU!" he announces.

I think I'm supposed to take a break from my work at these times, to give the guy a hug and a kiss and a thank you. To display the work prominently. To notice. Yes, that's it, to notice, to take notice to pay attention. Zen and the art of little tiny construction paper hearts with my name on them. Because we are loved.

New Work

I've been making a number of personalized photo blocks for people over the holidays and into January as well as creating some new things for Mother's Day. Shown are just a few examples of what I've been working on.

All photos (c)2010 Jennifer Dennis Potter

bunnies!

This is my latest custom "child's name" block photo. It's for a baby-to-be by the cute name of "Brooklyn". The mom didn't think I had any rabbits available for the photo since there are none currently in my shop, but I'm glad she asked because I have three! My son recently got a little Schleich rabbit hutch and two extra bunnies for his birthday. I thought that using all three of them in the photo gave the sense of a new family, with a mom, dad and a baby.

Bunnies are also so "Spring-y"! Welcome, Spring and welcome to the world, Brooklyn!

tightening our belts without feeling the pinch

When I decided last summer to try to reduce our grocery budget, I wasn't sure how to do it without turning the whole family against me. They were used to a having foods around that they liked, but didn't need to have "name brand" items. Since July, our food budget per week is about 1/2 of what it used to be. So, let me share with you what worked:
1. Shopping at Aldi. When I compare Aldi's regular prices, they are about what a really good sale price is at any of our other supermarkets. I buy almost all of our groceries at Aldi and the quality is as good or better than other stores. Most dinners that I make cost around $5.
2. I bought a bread machine from Craig's list. Bread costs about 80 cents/loaf from the machine and it fills the house with a wonderful aroma that everyone loves.
3. Cooking more from scratch.
4. Buy more basic cereals. Things like raisin bran and corn flakes are cheaper than Honey Bunches of Oats and other things that I used to buy.
5. Baking cookies. My five-year-old loves to help to bake these and we really are creating some nice memories together as well as saving money and cutting back on preservatives and other ingredients that we don't want from packaged cookies.
6. Freezing yogurt pops. We blend strawberries, powdered sugar and plain yogurt and freeze with a popsicle mold and stick.
7. Planning meals. I used to wonder every night what was for dinner and who was going to cook it. While I have a fairly limited repertoire (which the kids basically like), I plan carefully, buy carefully and know what we're going to have. I don't plan night by night, but have a set of dishes I can choose from that day.
8. Using the produce I buy. Because I'm planning more meals, I actually use the produce I buy because it has more to do with a particular meal. Not perfectly so, some things still don't get used, but I'm much more conscious of what I am using.
9. Use leftovers. Either for lunch or I will have leftover night on Sunday, which I like to take as a day of rest, anyway.
10. Garden more. We have raspberries, apples, herbs and plant various things each year. This year, I would like to make a greater effort to garden more and maybe even learn how to can (I freeze raspberries and applesauce for the winter).

I hope these ideas are useful to you. Feel free to leave other ideas in your comments.

my young photo assistant

I started my shop on Etsy, jenniferdennispotter in March and since then, my kids, especially my son (pictured) have wanted to get in on the fun. Etsy has given me a way to be with my kids, create my work, and have it seen. My latest body of work has been my toy series. I've been using small toy animals in studio or realistic settings to create little scenes. A typical afternoon for us may be: taking the dog and the little toy animals to the park for a hike and to take photos. My son will clear away little sticks, brush and other things that impede the look of the photo at my request, feels like a big helper and learns some things about photography as we work. We look for just the right moss, just the right light, just the right pose of the deer. After he is asleep at night, I edit the image in Photoshop and post it to Etsy, if it's worthy. If not, we've still had a great hike and the chance to work together.