Holiday Cards!

I finally have the pleasure of announcing my 2008 holiday card designs! I've been searching and searching for the perfect designs and I finally found them! The photos do not do them justice! These cards are rich with texture, warmth, and exude style!

To order holiday cards:

1. Choose a template from the following collection.
2. Print an order form and mail it back to me along with your payment.
3. You will receive a soft copy proof of your card via email.
4. Once approved, the cards will be ordered and shipped to your home!

There are two tiers for pricing:

1. $25 design fee. You will receive a high resolution digital file which you are responsible for printing on your own. You would also be responsible for purchasing envelopes. Keep in mind that the majority of these designs are 5x7 which can get pricey to print out yourself as well as the cost of purchasing A7 envelopes.

2. $40/set of 25 cards. I will design, order, and ship the cards to your home. The envelopes are included and you also get to choose from 4 press-printed papers. These cards are not "photo" cards but instead like high quality greeting cards with a variety of finishes and texture.

I worked hard to make things as seamless as possible, but as always, if there are any additional questions please email me. Please write any additional notes on your order form.









The following templates are the series I purchased last year. They are all 5x7 and only one-sided.

Click to view larger:
FYI- I have added order form links under my contact information at the top of my blog. There is a link to my holiday card order form as well as my CD package order form.

Keeping up with tradition- I am giving away one free studio session in the month of February to one lucky blog reader! Mail me your personal holiday card and I will draw one lucky participant to receive a free studio session to be shot in the month of February. This is not limited to a family session, couples and individuals also qualify.

My studio mailing address is:

105 E. Main Street
New Prague, MN 56071

I just love receiving your cards and proudly displaying them at my studio! :)

Sicko.

Hey all-

I just wanted to let you all know that I hope to be back into the swing of things this week. I've been so sick the past week and still not completely well, but life must go on!

If you're waiting for something from me- I'll be in touch soon... hang in there!

THANKS!

Olivia

Toy catalogs!

The toy catalogs are here for the holiday season! After being sick of hearing about all of the toys the boys want as they flip through the pages, I put them to work! I had them cut out pictures from the catalog and glue them to paper as their "letters to Santa." It got them practicing their cutting, writing, gluing, and it serves as a reminder for my Christmas shopping!

Watching history...

I snapped this picture of Owen watching the election results on TV the other night. Another cool picture to have... watching history in the making!

Snow!

To my out of state friends... THIS is what we woke up to this morning!

Anna and Grace

Angie and Pat have NEVER had a family picture done! I was so happy to finally shoot this for them! Their twin girls are so adorable... yes, you would have never guessed it but Anna and Grace are fraternal twins. We had a great session and it was fun to work with them again. Angie was so good with her girls and allowed them to interact with us in a way that was very natural. I know parents just want the pictures to turn out but when the parents are stressed, the kids are stressed and they will definitely sense it.



I love this one! It's always hard to get two small children looking at the same time with natural smiles. Sometimes I think it's just impossible but every once and awhile it happens!

Taylor and Sam

Unconventional family portraits... I love it! Brandon's family owns a New Prague building company so when they told me that they wanted to do the shoot at their local dump site I was completely game! When I arrived, Brandon pointed out an excavator and a pile of concrete block that they wanted to use... cool again! It was so fun and creatively challenging, I just couldn't get enough. There also happened to be an awesome field and some beautiful light so that made for an "urban" picture perfect session.



I love the following series with Taylor and Sam...


Jen and Brandon still got it!


Taylor happens to be a national Motocross champion and has modeled for ads and everything! He is so humble about it all but I think it's super cool! Their family has been touring America for the past three years attending his competitions.
Love this.
My favorite shot. Right when I pulled in I knew I wanted to do this shot.
Thanks Jen, I hope you like them!

Lucy and Gabe

Lucy has some exciting news! She has a new baby brother! Gabe decided to arrive so fast that his doctor didn't even arrive in time to meet him! You may recognize Lucy as a baby on my website... she's not a baby any more, look at her now!

Meet Gabe. In my opinion he is complete perfection!
He's even cute when he's crying!

Myles and Smith

I had a great time with Myles and Smith last weekend! I photographed Smith when he was a newborn and now that he's 9 months old, it was like meeting him for the first time all over again! These are just two handsome boys!


I love this picture!
Kari had them dressed so cute!
It's little Dr. McDreamy! :) I LOVE his costume!!!! Can you imagine if he grows up to be a real doctor?! What awesome pictures to have!

My session posts will be a little shorter than usual, but I've got so many to get through and so little time! :)

The New President!

Wow, what a great election! It was so inspiring to hear about all of the records being broken regarding voter turnout. I voted at 10:30 this morning and got in and out but I heard that some polling places had lines of up to 3 hours long. I proudly wore my little red sticker all day long!

Things really hit home when I picked Owen up from the bus stop. The kids on the bus all had their windows rolled down and were chanting, "John Mc-Cain, John Mc-Cain, John Mc-Cain!" The neighborhood kids who weren't on the bus chanted back, "Barack O-bama, Barack O-bama, Barack O-bama!" This election has touched all of us and we can't forget the very fact that we are all free to speak our own minds.

Today was my husband's birthday so the evening was partially spent celebrating with his family. We had MSNBC on in the background and were closely paying attention to the numbers. When they finally announced Obama's win at around 10 pm I was shocked and in awe. John McCain gave a great concession speech and I do hope that we can all come together and turn this country around.

Me @ Oprah...

Sorry for the lack of blog posts... I've got 9 recent sessions to post and I just came down with this horrible cold. I've been bedridden most of the day and finally feel okay enough to get up and check emails and whatnot.

My Oprah episode aired today! I finally saw myself on the very last shot of the show when Oprah said goodbye and the camera man panned out. The quality is poor because I paused my DVR and used my point and shoot to take a picture of my TV! haha You can see my mother-in-law sitting next to me wearing turquoise. Yeah... I had to sit next to my mother-in-law while Oprah discussed sexual fantasies and finding your g-spot! *blushing*

Stay tuned for a blog-o-rama of new posts!

Happy Halloween!

Ha ha- I know this isn't original, but I've always wanted to do this!

OWP's 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Family...

Ladies and gentlemen... it is that time of year again! It is a time of family, friends, and giving thanks to all of the wonderful things we have. Last year, I asked that you write me and nominate a family in need. I was able to provide the winning family with photos that I hope they continue to cherish.

This year with times being so tough, I am confident that I will be able to help another family in need. If you know of an inspirational family (or your own family) that would greatly benefit from family photos but could otherwise not afford them, please write to me and tell me their story. I will be donating a studio session, along with a CD and print package.

Nominations are due by Thanksgiving Day- November 27th. The winning family will be notified shortly thereafter. I would love to schedule the shoot ASAP so that the family will receive their photos by Christmas. Please include the family's contact information.

Keep in mind that my choice will solely be based on your written nomination. So, if you just write, "I nominate the Johnson family because they can't afford photos," that doesn't really do much for me. I am inspired by who they are as people and why you think they deserve a personal photo session.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you!

Oh- I should add that the winning family must be able to have the photos taken at my studio in New Prague. So, this is limited to local families only, unless the family is able to make it to MN! The winning family also must be open to appearing on my blog.

A piece of history...

I shot this a few weeks ago after our family pics and hadn't posted it yet. As this crazy election time is coming to a close, I wanted to capture the boys by our yard sign. No matter what party you are voting for, I know that this election will go down in history and I thought this might be a cool picture for them to look back at.

Wow.

Is it under $2.00 anywhere yet?

MMSA

For the third time, I was invited to shoot at Maternity of Mary St. Andrew's Catholic school in St. Paul. I am so blessed to be able to come in and capture these children while they're learning and having fun. Since the kids know me now, I've become somewhat of a novelty when I'm there. "Olivia, take a picture of me!" It's so cute! I have a special group of 5th grade girls that think I am the coolest! They ran up to me and gave me big hugs, hung out with me on the playground, and invited me to sit at their lunch table with them.

Principal Dan has graced the office with all of my photos from the past two visits. I cannot not tell you what an honor it is to see my photos displayed so proudly and how much they mean to the people that attend the school. My eyes literally tear up when I go in there and see how I am able to provide them with those mementos. Thanks Melissa, it is an honor to be a part of your school!

Kimberly and Stephen

I happened to see this clothesline there and quickly ran to my truck to see if I had my Polaroid with me... score! I had 4 shots left.



Kimberly and Stephen are both school teachers. Give it up for teachers... woo hoo! Kimberly had the idea to shoot at her uncle's house which used to belong to her great great grandfather. It was an awesome property with so many great nooks and crannies. They were such a fun couple and so naturally photogenic! I think we managed to snag the last nice day of the year because the day after it was so cold and actually snowed!

Thanks K&S, it was great spending the afternoon with you!