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I've been putting together my latest order and was inspired to make it extra special as they were our first clients to order from our brand spanking new Investment Guide. I'm also currently translating it to French for everyone else to enjoy the benefits as well! The Ochoa Family are going to get SUCH a treat when I deliver their order! They are the very first to get Purchase Level Gifts! Yes, that's right! GIFTS simply for choosing Nayanna Arts as your personal photography solution! See for yourself:


Isn't it the cutest thing?? It's a 3" by 3" booklet with up to 10 full bleed images! I personally designed the template used to place some of their favorite images in there!

And then I place all three into these cute little organza bags!

All Gift Prints are wrapped in tissue paper and then packaged with cardboard & ribbon. Every order comes with a little surprise, which is also packaged within an organza bag.

Here you can see what a 16x16 mounted Storyboard can look like. I've gotten so many compliments on this, they are going to be amazed when they see it in person!

Their "pièce de résistance" an 11x14 canvas of their favorite image. I think it was THE item they couldn't pass up at their viewing session, and it turned out fabulous!

The fully finished backing all ready to hang!









The man in the Yellow Hat & Curious George {My husband and our littlest one, Gabrielle}
The Wicked Witch of the West and her Flying Monkey (well, she has wings! {Myself and our eldest, Evelyne)
Trick or Treat!!!
*she wanted a Dora cake & Jelly Beans... but it also had to be Gluten Free!*

*she wanted face painting*


*she wanted candles to blow out, NOT the #5 sparkler I had lit in the first place*

You're only 5 once, right? She asked, and she received :)
*Ready for family party the next day*

*more sweet treats, with more GF jelly beans!*

*actual birth DAY, train track expansion set! Playing BEFORE breakfast!!*

Does that mean summer is officially over? Can I go back to a semblance of routine for somet time?
If you aren't following me on Facebook (it's currently under my own name) then you wouldn't be aware of what I have been up to all summer. Goodness, it's been a long one. It all started way back in april or so when my husband and I finally agreed we were renovating our kitchen. After a not so perfect experience with our bathroom renovations back in February 2008, I decided that I would do most of the work. Yep, you read that right, I wear the toolbelt in this household ;) We each have our talents, and mine doesn't only include Photography! ((*Bear in mind 2 things as you view through this photos, they were taken with our wee point and shoot camera or even *gasp* with my phone. The batteries on the camera died and I took them out to recharge them and have yet to find them through the mess a renovation like this does to a home! So some of these are REALLY really sad looking. But in this case, they get the point across rather well, no?*)) So, June came around, we finally settled on a design through Home Depot's Kitchen designing team and everything was ordered, to be delivered near the end of July. Here are Before Pictures. These were taken, ironically enough, the week after our Bathroom renovations were done:




(As you can see, my now 2.5 year old was barely one in this photograph. Awww.)
So, if I wanted to have everything ready for the furniture delivery in late July, I had to start at some point, so demo started in late June. Approx. June 28th. I ripped out the old cupboards (which THANKFULLY were NOT glued to the wall, just really really well nailed into it) ripped out the old gypsum (on outer AND inner walls) and ripped out the old flooring. By then it was the end of the first week of July.
(you can see what I found underneath some of the cabinets here, ICK! BUT, I did find when these cupboard were made, they aren't "original" as I'd first though, but date back to early 80's. So that gave them 10 years less in age!)

(This is exactly what you think. Even with the valves turned closed, it still dripped. These pics were taken to help me buy all the parts to redo the drain piping, but in the basement instead)
Our electricians from Drycore Electric came over and re-wired everything. Although not in our initial plans, it simply made sense to have them come since the walls would be open anyways. Of course, I was then (easily I might add) convinced to also tear down the ceiling. I would now decide to also sound proof the ceiling and put in new ceiling pot lights and decorative pendants/task lighting over the island counter and the sink. Mani & John did some AWESOME work.
While they were doing that, I was busy finishing up a few odds and ends, like adding braces between the studs (so they don't bend or warp, they ARE holding the second floor up!!) and moving the stove's fan exhaust to a more convenient location for the new layout. Once they were done and gone, I started laying down the subfloor, as can be seen in these images:





(You can even see where I did some slight ductwork in that last image. It would make it possible to slightly reduce the height of the bulkhead)




my eldest was just SO enthusiastic, which would explain why she's looking at me tape down the floor protection with wilting patience! (first weekend of August)
(And little sister looking on with longing, you can see stuff piled and behind the grey frame, that would be the refrigerator, in the dining room...)
Painting all done:










I also had to cut holes for both cold and hot water as well as for the drain. While I was at it, a friend suggested I have heating come through the kick space of the cabinets to heat our toes while we are in the kitchen. Would sure be nice, there was no other heating in the kitchen itself before.




And even built a new one for the dining room, all from "scratch". Well, I did buy the shade ready made ;) Actually, that's the wrong shade, I bought another, dismantled this one and rebuilt it with the new shade. Need a new pic!
Then came the frantic research and purchase of our new undermounted sink and a one hole faucet, both purchased through Thalassa Domocile here in Laval (two weeks ago).
Once the cabinets were done (who am I kidding, we are still missing a replacement cabinet as it was damaged in the box, so I built it temporarily so we could call the Granit people), I placed a call to the Granit company, who came and measured our cabinets for a precise fit (last friday). (The guy had a laser measuring machine! Pretty cool!) Of course, since it's obvious things can't go according to plan here, I forgot to verify WHEN our sink would get here before sceduling the measuring. A few more frantic calls to the sink company had my husband leaving work early so he could be on their doorstep before 5 (how's 4:55pm?) to grab the sink so we would have it the next morning... I open the box before bed to bask in our new sinks grace... only to find it's the wrong model. No joke. It's a over counter mount, NOT an undermount. Joy. So, MORE frantic calls, and they are having one from the south shore's warehouse shipped to Laval. It's Tuesday night, September 1st, still no sink. The granit people are waiting on the sink's template to go ahead and cut the granit and can only guarentee a "before sept 17th install" if we get them the template before September 3rd. AND, through ALL of this, there has been a busy Photographic summer. Well, busy considering I had almost no time to spare! As you can see in my previous posts, I've had an early July session (they actually got to witness the grandeur of our work when they came to view their photos) and then a late July session. Between those two sessions, I had a special session for Kidscentive's marketing images and in early August I had another session, the ones with the dinosaurs :) Yeah, thankfully it wasn't the "nicest" summer weather wise, so I don't feel like I misssed out on too much. That said, my husband only took a couple weeks vacation time here and there. So I basically worked around the kids' schedule (which includes, three meals, two snacks, playing at the playground with friends, and a few bike rides & errands) and on weekends when I didn't have any Photographic sessions that needed my immediate attention. I'm looking forward to posting an "ALL DONE" photo. Check in soon, I'm counting on being D O N E before my girl's 5th birthday, mid October... Hmmm, my second "original" deadline was before school. NOT gonna happen it seems...
All ready to go:
Writing up tickets:
All there:
That's a lot of entries!
All in the jar (cookie jar too!)
Going for the winning ticket:
And the winner is:
#39: Laurie Hartlen
And SURPRISE:
#27: Danielle Rousseau!
Yep, read that right, 2 winners :D
Write back soon!
For those of you with your Fair coupons, set up your appointments soon, April is flying by, I've got 1 spot left for this month, 1 left for May and then we're already into June! Check out my new Calendar for Available times. Take note that I will only be taking 2-3 sessions a month, there are more availabilities on the calendar, but once a session is booked, those availabilities disappears as I focus my time and energy on that one session.

~~~~~
For a limited time only, Nayanna Arts offers you their Fresh Faces Campaign 2008. As part of this limited edition offer we will waive the regular session fee in exchange for a signed model release form. To thank you for your participation, you will receive a complimentary 8×10 gift print at the time of your portrait viewing session. Additional prints/portraits and specialty products may be ordered with our current reduced rates at your viewing session, however we remind you that there is no obligation or minimum purchase required to take part in the Fresh Faces Campaign 2008. The Fresh Faces Campaign 2008 is designed specially for expecting parents/families and families with young children.~~~~~
What is this about... This is about building experience through hands on work. This is an actual session with all the bell and whistles as described in my Investment section.
~The deal is this, as mentioned, "we will waive the regular session fee in exchange for a signed model release form" Plain and simple, I am looking for fresh new faces to add to my portfolio. This is a complimentary session for me to "learn" and "add" to my experience repertoire. This is a Limited Edition opportunity, it will be running until I've compiled a pleasing variety of people and expressions to update said portfolio. Also note, I've been selectively choosing people I meet/know to feature in my portfolio, hopefully why you are viewing this site now, or have been directed here by such a lucky friend :)
~"To thank you for your participation, you will receive a complimentary 8×10 gift print at the time of your portrait viewing session." Yes, that means a free 8x10 just for sitting down with me and viewing your images ;)
~"we remind you that there is no obligation or minimum purchase required to take part in the Fresh Faces Campaign 2008." is just that, it's all up to you :)
Hope to see you soon :)