New Prop - 6' Ruler

I'm going to start making some of my own props. If it's an easy project I'll share DIY tips along with it (like this one). A couple weeks ago Shaun and I made a 6' ruler (inspired by this.) Instead of spending $150 buying one, we spent about $10 making one. It was super easy, and turned out very cute. I imagine it would be cute to use for back to school pictures (perhaps paired with my old lockers and over sized apple?) or even just to use for a kids growth chart.

We started with a plain 6' board we bought at home depot for about $10. We could have gotten it without knots but it would have cost a lot more and we would have had to cut it. (Plus if I really want them gone I can easily remove the spots in PS, so it wasn't a big deal for me to have them. )

Shaun started by measuring and drawing all of the lines in pencil and permanent marker.

I printed out the numbers and penciled over the back of them,

the flipped it, lined it up and drew over the top of each number.

...so it looked like this.

Then, I took black paint and painted over all of the lines and numbers.

(This was the most time consuming part, since it involved so much detail.)

Here it is after painting in the lines and numbers...

And here's the finished product after a few coats of wood finisher on it...

and without the knots...

The End.

Coming Soon...

Behind these walls is the future home of the Alisha Hurt Photography indoor studio. I'm very excited. Updates to come!

I'll be sharing a fun prop tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Paint Brush Installation

Remember these dipped brushes? We installed them! YAY! 

They're the first thing you see when you walk in the door. They make me happy. :)

10 Bad Habits & Guilty Pleasures

Happy Friday! Today I thought I'd share a few of the fun, bad, quirky habits I have.

1. I always sit with my feet up while I'm working. I can do this for hours.

2. I consume too. much. cereal on a daily basis.

3. My guilty pleasure movies are Pride and Prejudice, The Devil Wears Prada,

and just about any sappy romantic movie from the 50's.

4. I listen to music all day, every day. Not an exaggeration.

5. Although my job is to take pictures, I hardly take any of myself. Aren't photographers notorious for this?

6. I save up loads of laundry for a day when I can do all of it while watching one of my guilty pleasure movies on this oh-so-comfy couch.

7. Shaun and I talk online every day at work. We've been doing it for about 3 years now.

8. Coffee. 'Nuff said.

9. I collect oversized objects. Weird? I know.

My latest addition are 3 huge safety pins (courtesy of my awesome sister-in-law).

10. I have yet to get any of my own personal photos printed or hung up in my house,

but I have no problem encouraging other people to do it.

Your turn! What are some of yours? I wanna hear!

Gavin and Aowyn - Roseville, CA

9 times out of 10 if someone asks me what to wear in pictures I'm going to say bright colors. I can't stress enough how much fun a bold color can add to photos. When I mentioned this to Moriah, she told me she had a big rainbow patio umbrella, so we decided to just play off of that and ended up using a small, simple array of colorful items, including her AWESOME cake pops. (Seriously, if you're in Sacramento area and are needing some delicious desserts, check her out.) I had so much fun with these 2 dolls! Enjoy!

California Sunsets

I can't quite lay my finger on it, but there's something incredibly magical about the sunsets here in Cali.

The Past 2 Weeks

My best friend just left after being in town for the past 2 weeks. Some of the things we did were...

Take an overnight trip to Santa Cruz with some friends. We walked on the boardwalk, ate too much junk food, went on some roller coasters, then crashed at an adorable cabin on the river.

We spent the next Sunday at the park after church playing with playdough and watching baseball.

We took a day trip to Reno for a cool vintage shop, then on to Tahoe to finish out the day.

Another day we hit up the Denios Farmer's Market. Yummm...

We traveled to Fort Bragg and camped for 4 days. We spent the days riding our bikes to the beach, kayaking, searching through tide pools, and watched the waves swell up and down in the distance. The evenings we spent watching the sunset, eating awesome camp food, sitting around campfires and eating s'mores. It was awesome.

Also did a last minute stop in Mendocino on the way out. It's a cute artist colony right on the ocean. Everything there was just beautiful.

This summer is flying by. I can't believe it's already August! Anyone do anything fun this Summer?

I have a fun shoot to share with you in the coming days. Stay tuned! :)