Inna, who was lucky number 78!  I’ve emailed you, so if you see this first, check your email :)  Everyone else–keep playing.  There will be four more winners, but you have to play to win!

It’s been said that the giving of a gift is better than the recieving of a thousand, and I truly believe it.  And since this Bloggy Giveaway Carnival week falls at the perfect time, I’m planning a true giving extravaganza–a prize every single day this work week!

Here’s the lineup:

• On the lineup for Monday is a set of 10 personalized notecards–one of the designs I carry in my shop.   
• Tuesday’s prize is simple:  a pair of handmade hairclips.  I wear my own designs all the time, and I’m always getting questions about where I got them, so I’m going to share them with you!  (Well, totally new ones.  I swear, they will have never been on my head!)
• Up for grabs on Wednesday is a custom banner for your Etsy shop or your blog!
• On Thursday, I’ll be offering up a set of one of my address labels–I’ll be debuting a few new designs, and you’ll get to choose your favorite.
• Friday’s prize is my favorite:  I’ll be giving away a set of 10 Halloween photo cards customized with your photos and special greeting message.  They’re WAY cool.

I’ll be posting entries for each day’s prize, and you’ll need to comment on each of the posts you’d like to enter.  Comments must be made by 11:59 p.m. CST of each day to be eligible for the draw, which will be done with a handy-dandy random number generator.  

If the winner doesn’t respond within 7 days with contact information, I’ll be drawing again from the comments on that particular post.

Keeping the positive vibe going by spreading the word in your blog with a link back here or telling your friends is encouraged, but not mandatory to win, of course.

I love the way my niece’s fine hair is in focus on this shot, and I love the baby-round shape of her cheeks…and those beautiful eyelashes. You know, sometimes I feel guilty for not taking as many shots of J when we’re out with family.

Sunday afternoon was like most of our get-togethers. I was busy trying to get some nice shots while the kids were playing outside in very different places. They’re still young enough to not really play together much. J and his older cousin, E, did dance together a bit, and there were a few other moments that were photographable, but I was busy socializing and didn’t have the camera near (and I’m not upset about it at all–I can’t miss out on life just because I’m the family photographer).

Later, when they went outside and I got out the camera, they went in three different directions and J was doing what he does best. Testing boundaries, far away from the rest of the group. I made myself busy getting shots of the girls and keeping an eye on him, but letting him explore.

I don’t know. I should probably make sure I spend an equal amount of time on each of them, but since I have opportunities at home with J, I’ve been concentrating on the others when we’re all together. I hope he doesn’t look back on the huge photo archive I’ll have by the time he’s 18 and wonder why there are so few shots of him when they’re all at Grandpa and Grandma’s. It’s not that I think he’s any less cute…but I’m worried he’ll think so.

I actually think he’s The Cutest Thing Ever. (Yeah, I said it. Your cuties can be the cutest ever, too. It’s a shared title.)  In fact, so shared that I’m offering the full-sized PNG file for the little badge on the above photo for your use…who knows, maybe you like to scrapbook or add even more personality to your photos!  Right click on the link and select “Download Linked File” to get the big version for your own personal, not commercial, use.

Head on over to Tracey’s to see all the other Cutest Things Ever for Best Shot Monday. You won’t regret it!

I almost forgot! The theme of the week at The Land of K.A., and I have aged, well, an aged door on a junky old shed behind the house. J likes looking in, but doesn’t exactly want to actually go inside, as you can see. Other than that, we haven’t been to his grandparent’s farm for a few weeks, so there weren’t any really great options for getting good aged shots. Well, there’s that reason and the fact that I’m just plain lazy :)

If you have Adobe Lightroom, here’s a special treat: I’m including a preset for the photo above. Right click on the link, select “Save Link As…”, download, install and enjoy!

Dark Aged