6 Items I Keep in My Beach Bag…

6 Items I Keep in My Beach Bag…

I’m still thinking about our wonderful beach vacation and oh how I wish we were back there right now, especially with the weather being a hot 95 degrees today! While on vacation my crossbody tote bag that my sister gave me came in handy for all of the things I wanted to take to the beach with us. When you have three kids you really need a good bag that will hold up strong and one you can wash after getting sand in it! Here are 6 of the items I keep in my beach bag, what do you keep in yours…

6. A Good Book…

Photo: Emily Giffin via Barnes&Noble

When you’re on the beach just relaxing and tanning it’s always a good idea to bring a good bookwith you to help you relax and pass the time. I recently heard about Emily Giffin’s books and realized she is the author of the book turned movie “Something Borrowed”. A lot of brides-to-be had her on their blog’s summer reading list, but now that I’m married I was looking for something that would relate more to who I am now. That’s when I found “Baby Proof” and “Heart of the Matter”, both wonderful books for someone who is married and thinking about who they are and what they want out of life. What’s on your summer reading list?

5. A Great Camera…

Photo: Google Product Search

I love taking pictures and I love my awesome 35 times zoom Canon Powershot camera that my husband bought for me last Christmas! As I sat on the beach blanket I took photos of the kids enjoying the waves on their boogie boards without even moving, thats how cool this camera is! It also takes amazing photos of fireworks, which I was grateful for as we were down there for the 4th of July. What kind of camera do you have?

4. Music Playlist…

Photo: Amazon

When I’m reading a book and relaxing on the beach I need to have my iPod to listen to all of mytunes. When you are just laying there in the sun with your book listening to songs from The Band Perry, Jason Aldean, or Blake Shelton you are taken away to another world where you day dream and drift off! Music is a great way to relax and it’s the only way I know how to. So what’s on your music playlist?

3. Cellphone…

Photo: LGMobilePhones

I don’t need my cellphone on the beach because I’m waiting for a call, I have my phone with me to take photos and share them with all of my facebook and twitter friends! I love my new LG Vortexcellphone and never thought it would matter to me to have facebook or twitter access on myphone, but it just makes it fun! Now I don’t have to wait till I get home from vacation to share my photos with everyone, you can now enjoy the vacation with me while I’m there!

2. Sunglasses…

Photo: Zappos

Though I usually wear prescription glasses to see, I take those off and put on my sunglasses when I head down to the beach! I just really need something to shade my eyes from the sun and it doesn’t hurt that my sunglasses look cool too! I can still see pretty well and read my book when I’m not wearing my regular glasses and I’d rather not get any scratches on those. Do you take off your glasses while on the beach?

1. Sunscreen…

Photo: Walgreens

If there is only one thing in your beach bag please make sure it is sunscreen with at least a 30 SPF.  I always make sure I put on sunscreen when going out during the summer, especially at the beach or pool. It’s just not worth the dark tan to not protect yourself from skin cancer. Withsunscreen you can still get a nice tan, so why worry about getting burnt along with the chance of skin cancer.

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7 Vintage Pieces that Make Great Photography Props …

7 Vintage Pieces that Make Great Photography Props …

Photography is a passion of mine. I love to take a memory or a thing of passing beauty and preserve it for years to come with the help of my camera. Lately, I’ve been building up some clients to make a side business out of my passion. I’m finding some great vintage pieces that make for beautiful imagery in photos. Here are 7 vintage pieces that make great photography props for you to have fun with as well!

1. Wash Pans

Years ago, wash pans were used by your great grandmother to wash clothes and even do things like canning pickles in. I have a set that my grandmother gave me that belonged to her grandmother, and let me tell you, they make perfect baby picture props! When you have a child old enough to sit in a bowl of water and have fun, take them outside with your wash pan and a rubber ducky and set the mood for some beautiful pictures to hang on the wall! And just think, if you have some that belonged to family members, not only are you creating good imagery, you’re also creating an heirloom keepsake!

2. Suitcase

The older the suitcase, the better! Even better is an old suitcase with the old travel stickers all over it. These too, make wonderful props for babies and small children. They make the perfect bedding area for an infant and a couple suitcases stacked up make a great place to seat a toddler for a cute, pouty picture. I’ve seen one done with a boy in overalls and an engineer hat, sitting on a stack of suitcases beside the tracks that was incredibly cute!

3. Pearls & Hats

What better way to take dress up pictures than with vintage necklaces and hats? Your little princess is sure to steal the show come picture time with accessories like this! Throw in a pair of cat eye glasses and you’re set! These kind of props also work well with mirror images. It just takes a lot of practice to get them at the perfect angle.

4. Cameras

I’ve found many people playing around with pictures using vintage cameras as props. Using a vintage camera in photography props would be a great idea for young couples or wedding pictures. There is something so great about an image of two lovebirds out in the field with one taking a picture of the other. Although this idea can be used with even modern cameras and iPhones, it adds some spice to a photo when there is a big, old camera to play with.

5. “Notebook” Dresses

There is a style of vintage dress that is associated now with the well-known movie, “The Notebook.” The 40′s sports a style that has been loved and will continue to be for years to come. If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on some pieces like this, they make great pictures, especially engagement shoots for the couple who “wants something a little different.” A photographer friend of mine actually done the entire shoot based on the movie, complete with kissing in the rain pictures! The red dress with white dots was something that set the mood for the shoot, and let me tell you, it was amazing! www.unique-vintage.com is a great website to find vintage style clothing at!

6. Vintage Furniture

Take an old couch or high back chair and park it in the middle of a field, covered in wild flowers, and you have the makings for an awesome shoot! Grab a girl, dress her up, let her toss her legs over the side of the chair, heels dangling off her feet, and all your shoot needs is you and a camera! I like using things like this for teenage girls. This setup also works great for senior pictures for the girl who is into dressing up. The catch to making these pictures fabulous is finding a great location and making sure you’ve chosen a good time of day. Avoid mid-day as the lighting is too harsh. I think the best time for this type of shoot would be evening to sunset. (You can also grab your pearls, hats and cat eye glasses to add even more spice to this awesome mixture!

7. Hatboxes

Here is yet another idea for classy, vintage, baby pictures. Think “pink and frilly.” Grab some hatboxes, ribbons and lace and your precious baby girl, head to a window, where you’ll get lots of natural light, and set up! These are best done when baby is good and asleep. Her little naked butt sticking up is something make make these really cute, but if you’re not into the naked butt thing, at lease use a cloth diaper rather than disposable. You can spice this up a bit more with some pearls falling out of the box as well.

8. Carriage

If you are lucky enough to get your hands on a vintage baby carriage, take advantage of it! You’ve got the makings for some beautiful pictures, as long as you can find a baby to put in it! These also make good props for young girls, as you can stage them playing “grown-up” with their doll and the carriage. Either way, do use this if you have one! And if you don’t want it, you can sure send it my way!

The ideas and creativity is endless when you have the props and location to take great pictures! I do hope that I was able to inspire your creativity with these 7 vintage pieces that make great photography props and if you have any more prop ideas, I would love to have you leave a comment! Who knows? You might give me a new idea!

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