What We Love Wednesday: Props - Tricycles

Hi friends!  As you can see today's post isn't a card.  We thought we might try something fun on Wednesdays called "What We Love Wednesday" and highlight something we LOVE!  This week we are highlighting props, {because we do LOVE a prop} specifically a tricycle! 

What: Tricycle

Why:

Cindy -  What's NOT to love about a tricycle?!? It is the quintessential symbol of childhood.  A tricycle is a great prop because most everyone already has one (and if you don't - it's a fairly inexpensive investment that is actually useful/entertaining for the kids) and it adds fun to the photograph without being overwhelming or distracting from the main focus - the cute kiddos!  And here are my sweet, darling, and precious kiddos on a tricycle.

Katy - I think Cindy nailed it - this is a timeless piece that in a world of fast, in your face, crazy technology and sometimes not so wonderful headlines, can bring you back to a slower pace, a simpler time and capture your babies just as they should be - innocent. Our lovely Landry modeling this prop so well...

Get PinSpired:  Go here, here, here and here to see some other cute pics!  Then click here, here and here to see how timeless a tricycle really is!

WE LOVE PROPS, ESPECIALLY A TRICYCLE!

A big thanks to Sarah Burns of Butterfly Chaser Photography for such gorgeous images!!!

A Royal Christmas

Hi friends!  Today's post is going to be a ROYAL treat!  This handsome prince and darling princess are the children of a dear friend of the Merry Mommas.  Karen is a delight and is a great working (outside the home) mom role model for us.  Enjoy their card, it will make you MERRY! 

Who: Justus (5) and Delaney (2)

Location: College Station, Texas A&M University—MSC, Koldus, G. Rollie White

Props:  No props

Clothes:  Children’s Place, Gap, Dillards, Target

Comments:  I LOVED the dress & boots I found for Delaney and thought it was perfect for December in Texas—a sweater dress, but short sleeve.  So I started with that, and decided to stick with a simple and classic (read: and easy for Mom) look for Christmas card pictures.  I found the denim shirt and tie combo for Justus on Gap.com and couldn’t say no, and loved that we could dress it up or make it preppy casual and ended up taking pictures both ways.  Although the pictures are simple, I thought Nichole did a great job of dressing it up with the card design.

Designer: Nichole Quick of QuickDesign Co. 

Photographer: Sarah Giles Burns of Butterfly Chaser Photography

Favorite Thing:  I really liked the contrast of the two sides—one big picture on one side and then a collage on the other.  We had sooo many pictures from that shoot that I just loved that I couldn’t decide which ones to put in the card.  So I sent all five of these to Nichole and said “Do whatever you want and use whichever ones you want.”  She sent me the proof and just said “We’re using all of them” and my heart was so happy!

Blog:  Remarkably Royal

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Katy's Thoughts: I love that you can see how much Justus adores Delaney. Not all siblings really get a long and sometimes that shines through the pics (which is totally fine) BUT he loves her and I love that!

Cindy's Thoughts: While I am not always formal ({gasp}, I go to Target without makeup on!!), I love that Justus and Delaney are dressed to the nines!  And a tie on a kid - LOVE IT!

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How could you recreate this card? I love that this has tone on tone elements (Delaney) with pops of color (Justus). To recreate this card you should pick a location that has some meaning to you - for this family it was the campus of their college alma mater. Lots of stone, concrete, and other outdoor elements. Perhaps the church where you got married? A downtown area in your city? And notice that Justus had an "outfit change" at some point - it's okay to spice some things up!

Getting PINspired: If you are thinking of recreating this, check out these pins: 

1. This is a great example of how tone on tone can work! (It may also happen to be a pic of one of us Momma's kiddos!) ;)
2. How adorable is this little girl? I LOVE the cream with the pop of red from her hat. 
3. This is a great example of how you can dress your boys! I love that Karen had Justus in a layered look and then adjusted it for some pics. This is an easy way to change up the look! 

What's your favorite thing about this card? Leave your comments below!

Oh My Merry Myers...

Before we introduce today's card, we (the Merry Mommas) want to say THANK YOU! We have gotten such a fantastic response from everyone! Friends, family and even a few "strangers" (big WELCOME to you!!) This is turning out to be even more fun than we anticipated and we hope that you stick around, leave us your comments, send us emails, follow the blog, submit your cards, like us on Facebook and even wander over to Pinterest to see what is inspiring us! 

Most of all - keep spreading the Merry! 

Today's family is sweet friends of both of ours. Emily (the Mom) has an amazing eye for interior design which carries over to an impeccable style for her and her girls (and maybe even Geoff). :) We know that you will love her card as much as we do!

Who: Geoff, Emily, Molly (8) and Ally (6)

Location: Historic home in Bryan, Texas

Props: None

Clothes:

Girls - Target

Emily - borrowed from sis-in-law (which is the best kind of shopping...FREE!)

Geoff - Patagonia

Comments: I wanted something totally different from the year before so we went with bold and bright and LOVE it!

Designer: Nichole Quick of Quick Design Company

Photographer: Karen Winn at My Sandbox Photos

Favorite Thing: All the comments we received about how this was the happiest card in the mail!

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Katy's Thoughts: Love that all those fun colors work seamlessly together! 

Cindy's Thoughts: This card screams HAPPY and I love that!  The bright, bold, fun colors will definitely make your mailbox MERRY!

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How could you recreate this card? The key to recreating this card is to LOVE color. Don't they pull it off so well? Everything blends so nicely - that's the key. Don't do too many patterns, but don't be afraid to play around. My favorite trick is to lay out all of our clothes - including shoes - and group them as if in a picture (otherwise referred to as 'ghost photography" by my dear husband) - then snap some pics with my phone for a better visual of how it looks together. 

Getting PINspired: If you are thinking of recreating this, check out these pins: 

1. This is awesome. Drive around town and see if you find any fun walls, loading docks, or buildings as a background. Makes a great statement!
2. It doesn't hurt that this family is gorgeous...it also doesn't hurt that these clothes are amazing together. Fun and cheerful and I never would have paired the navy and purple.
3. I'm not sure if my family is cool enough to pull this look off, but I am sure yours is!!! :)

What's your favorite thing about this card? Leave your comments below!

Merry Momma Update: Anniversary

Hi friends!  It's Merry Momma Cindy (again)!  Besides celebrating a new nephew, Josh and I are celebrating our 12 year anniversary this weekend.  Below are a few pics over the years!  Enjoy!

PS - I would write more about how amazing and wonderful he is, but he surprised me with a night out and my sweet mother-in-law just got here to watch our babies...so we are OUT!

Josh and Cindy

A&M v Texas Tech - September 1999

Our Wedding Day

August 4, 2001

July 2013

Merry Momma Update: Nephew Jake

Hi friends!

Occasionally, the Merry Mommas are going to deviate from the MERRY Christmas Cards and give you updates on our personal lives.  Today, I (Cindy) am honored and excited to introduce you to our nephew Jacob Robert "Jake".  Jake was born last night and as I am typing this he isn't even 24 hours old!  We went to visit the happy family today and - oh goodness - there is literally nothing as sweet and miraculous as a newborn.  Thanks Kelly & Stu for giving us another precious family member!  And to Jake - welcome!  We love you and will pray for you always!

Jake

(isn't that hair to die for!)

Josh and I with Jake.

(He's already an Aggie!  Whoop!)

The FAB Five - Munson Cousins

Jake (18 hours old), Caroline (5), Annaliese (4), 

Millicent (1), Wyatt (11 months) (our other nephew, not Jake's brother though!)

Ramy, NaNa and their FAB Five!

A Merry Merry Merry Munson Christmas

**EDITED**

Wow! We are overwhelmed with the number of people that are seeing this post via Pinterest. WELCOME to Your Merry Mailbox! We hope you love what you see and we invite you to scroll on down to that "follow" button on the right panel to ensure that you get the latest updates, tips, and Pinspiration to spread the merry!!! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

 

Who:  Josh (Dad), Cindy (Mom), Caroline (4), Annaliese (3) and Millicent (1)

Location: Dilapidated barn in downtown Bryan, Texas

Props: None

Clothes: Banana Republic, Dillard's, Old Navy, Target, Gap, Next Direct and Garnet Hill

Comments: I really wanted to go away from the traditional reds/greens or autumn colors that most Christmas cards seem to have (mine included)!  When I saw the darling sweater that Annaliese has on in the Garnet Hill catalog, I was SOLD on pink and grey.   

Designer: Sarah Giles Burns of Butterfly Chaser Photography (printed at Overnight Prints)

Photographer: Sarah Giles Burns of Butterfly Chaser Photography

Favorite Thing: I love the big girls playing with each other while Josh watches them.  I also love that we did a two sided card that allows for a lifestyle shoot that shows off my family's personality, yet also allows for a true family portrait. 

Blog: Hot Mess Munsons

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Katy's Thoughts: I love that Caroline and Annaliese are snuggled close nose to nose like sweet sisters should be. I LOVE that this showcases how awesome a picture can be even if no one is looking at the camera. 

Cindy's Thoughts: See above! :)

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How could you recreate this card? There are lots of ways to recreate this card - use a dilapidated (that's such a fun word) barn or use the words MERRY MERRY MERRY or any holiday words really!

Getting PINspired: If you are thinking of recreating this, check out these pins: 

1. Part of my inspiration came from this card.   
2. Here's a great example of a family in front of a dilapidated barn.
3. And here.
4. And here. 

What's your favorite thing about this card? Leave your comments below!

Special Delivery from the Kings

**EDITED**

Wow! We are overwhelmed with the number of people that are seeing this post via Pinterest. WELCOME to Your Merry Mailbox! We hope you love what you see and we invite you to scroll on down to that "follow" button on the right panel to ensure that you get the latest updates, tips, and Pinspiration to spread the merry!!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Who: Ryan (Dad), Katy (Mom), Radley (5), Emersyn (2) and Landry (6 months)

Location: UPS Center in Bryan, Texas

Props: UPS truck, packages

Clothes: Target, Children's Place, Next Direct, Toms,  Old Navy

Comments: We did two versions of our Christmas card this year - both with a "delivery" theme as a nod to where Ryan spends most of his time these days. Sarah once again did more than a fantastic job bringing the idea to life! We had access to the UPS center on a Sunday and even lucked out that there was a truck full of packages to add to the look of the card.  I decided to use the colors of UPS with pops of aqua to give the card a cohesive look. I like that it adds to the non-traditional feel of the card while highlighting one of the traditional parts of this season!

Designer: Sarah Giles Burns of Butterfly Chaser Photography 

Photographer: Sarah Giles Burns of Butterfly Chaser Photography

Favorite Thing: My favorite thing was how well all the pieces fit together. From the UPS packages, the clothes, and the brown parchment envelopes in which they were mailed - I just LOVE them!!!

Blog: The Queen of the Kings

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Katy's Thoughts: Well, I clearly love it. :)

Cindy's Thoughts: I LOVE LOVE LOVE how personal this card is.  Most of us spend LOTS of hours at work and it is part of who we are and I love that Katy and her family embraced Ryan's job and all the cargo that comes with it!  And the kiddos are darling!

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How could you recreate this card? "Delivering joy" can be done by anyone - even if they aren't married to the best UPS man in town. ;) Tons of brown packages, or brightly colored presents, an old pick up truck with an adorably decorated tree in back and you would have a precious card ready to be delivered! 

Getting PINspired: If you are thinking of recreating this, check out these pins: 

1. This would be adorable with a family
2. Everyone needs a truck like this (or at least one to take pictures with)
3. Now just think about how you would dress your family in a scene like this

What's your favorite thing about this card? Leave your comments below!