britain earl – artist

March 21, 2017December 8, 2020

Art Camp 2017

Week 4 is Sold Out!!!!

summer kids art camp

Artists will Learn: Principles of Art and Design, a Brief Overview of the History of Art, use a variety of Artistic Meduim, plus learn some particulars on an Art Master each day

Artists will Receive: a Snack each day but are asked to bring a sack lunch. They will also receive: a Tee Shirt, Sketch Book, and Portfolio for the works created in camp and beyond!

When and Where: Camp is held in my Gilbert home. Monday-Thursday each week, from 10am to 2pm each day. There will be an art show for family and friends, at 2pm directly following camp on Thursday each week.

Who: Artists ages 6-11 are welcome.

Registration: The cost for camp is $125/week per artist. Since space is limited a $60 deposit is required to hold your spot. (The remaining $65 may be paid the first day of class.) Contact me with any questions, or to reserve your spot, or pay here: PayPal

Questions: Any questions or concerns? Feel free to call, text or email. 480.252.0556, britain(at)britainearl.com

January 4, 2017January 8, 2017

AZ Edge Company Portraits

It’s that time of year again! Company portraits with my favorite dancers – AZ Edge! If you would like to pay online for your gallery, please click here. See you Saturday! ********Quick reminder- If you purchased a gallery, expect to see it delivered to your email inbox in 2 weeks!*************
AZ Edge Dance Portraits 2017-flyer

October 17, 2016November 20, 2016

Holiday Mini Sessions are Here Again!

Family Holiday card photos — Family Christmas Card Photos

It’s that time of year again! Time to think about your annual family photos. Whether you’ll be sending out holiday cards, or updating your halls and mantle, ’tis the season! There is no better way to fit family photos into the hustle and bustle of the busy holidays that a mini session.

This year Minis are on Saturday November 12th at a park in South Chandler, 2pm-5pm.

Sessions are going fast. Contact me to book yours! Call or text (480) 252) 0556, britainearl@yahoo.com

Or, reserve your session below with your name and requested session, and pay your session fee. I will be in touch to discuss your session details! [contact-form-7 404 "Not Found"]

https://www.paypal.me/britainearl

What is a mini session?

A mini session is a shorter version of a custom session with discounted prices. In the case of these Autumn sessions, it is a time for families to get some great shots to use on holiday cards.

How is it different from a custom session?
Unlike a custom session, the location is selected by Britain, the shooting time is much shorter, and shoot yields approximately 15-20 photos rather than the 30-40 usually in a custom session gallery.

Who can be photographed during mini sessions?
Mini sessions are open to adults, children, and even pets! As long as fido can sit and stay for the camera in 15 minutes 🙂

Can we do multiple groupings during our mini session?
We typically do more than one pose per session,but the sessions are too short to enable more than one grouping. For example, in the case of a family of 5, you will get a few great poses of everyone together, and I usually fire off a few quick shots of each child. In a custom session we would get all the kids in multiple poses, mom and dad alone, each child with each parent, all the girls, all the boys, throw in the grandparents even, we may travel to a second location, make a wardrobe change, etc.

If you have a variety of family combinations, we would be happy to schedule a custom session for you.

When are mini sessions offered?

Mini sessions are offered throughout the year in Arizona, and usually 2 times a year (Spring/Fall) in Southern California.

How long is a mini session?

The photography session is scheduled for 15 minutes.

When do I place my order?

Your online gallery will be emailed to you in one week . One week! And you’ll have the perfect family portrait ready to download, print, and share!

What is the session fee?
The $250 session fee reserves your date and time, and includes up to 15 hi-resolution digital images, with a limited copyright release.

What if we miss our scheduled time?
We understand that sometimes the unexpected happens and you miss your appointment. We ask that you please contact us as soon as possible and we will try to reschedule.

July 8, 2016

3 years with 5 kids

What can I say? 3 years with 5 kids has been an adventure!

We celebrated Zoe’s 3rd birthday this holiday weekend, and I piled the kids on the bed for their annual photo. I am so glad I’ve been doing this. Sometimes it’s a hastle. No one wants to cooperate. But, in the end, we have a beautiful momento of a milestone in our family.

Do you take milestone photos?

June 30, 2016

Easy Cave Art Lesson for Kids Featuring Lascaux, France

I am really loving marrying our travel adventures with Art Camp. Since this year we took the kids on a Southwest adventure featuring Native American petroglyphs. BUT, since Jason and I are headed to France this summer, I was dying to teach Lascaux Caves, even though the adventure hasn’t happened yet.

art history for kids art lesson lascaux caves britainearl

The Lascaux Caves are incredible, and prime for catching the imaginations of children. What kid wouldn’t be enchanted with the story of a prehistoric cave discovered by 4 boys, and a dog named Robot!

This lesson is perfect for kids of all ages. my Art Camp is ages 6-11, and everyone was engaged and learning. I love to start all of our art lessons with a story, or two. I use the Amazon Cloud Reader to project the books on a big screen. The art history part of the lesson lasts about 45 minutes.

After fully immersing ourselves into the magic of Lascaux, we used our sketchbooks to plan our own cave painting. We took about 45 minutes to practice line drawing, and brainstorm about our designs. What did the prehistoric painters choose to paint? Why?

With these considerations of the original artwork, kids can think about what is important to them. What do you want to paint and preserve on your cave walls?

The design and painting portion of the lesson lasted another 40 minutes or so.

Step 1: for this art project, I cut a roll of craft paper into roughly 11×14 pieces so they would fit nicely into the kid’s art portfolios. I like the texture and feel of the craft paper for this project.

Step 2: the kids crumple the paper to make the contours and textures of their cave walls.

Step 3: the kids used Sharpies to draw their sketched designs onto their cave walls.

Step 4: paint! I gave each child black, brown, white and (a tiny bit) of red tempura paint to create their cave paintings. We talked about the colors and materials available to prehistoric man and how that limited color choices. The kids were encouraged to mix to their hearts’ content. cave painting art history project for kids britainearl

I was so happy with the results of this project. The kids were so excited and enthusiastic about the history and the process. I loved how each child was so unique in choosing what to paint on their walls. I had a few who really wanted to try their hand at copying the look of the prehistoric animals.

cave painting art history project for kids (2)

As well as several students who painted a few of their favorite things.

cave painting art history project for kids britainearl (2)

What a fun art project for kids.

Part of the reason I teach a 3 hour Art Camp is to feel like we’ve really taken our time with the projects. This art project for kids can be trimmed down for an hour lesson. cave painting art history project for kids

Please share your thoughts and ideas. I’d love to hear how you teach prehistoric art to kids at home or at school!

June 10, 2016June 10, 2016

Monthly Menu – An Easy Way to Plan your Dinners + a Free Printable

monthly meal planning britainearl

I’m going to state the obvious for a second: my transition from full time lawyer to full time wife, then wife and mom, then add 2 more children, and a photography gig, then 2 more kids, all in the space of 9 years has been quite challenging.

Prior to staying home, I always thought that I would love cooking if I could just stay home. I mean, I love food, and I love cooking shows, now if I just had the time, I would love cooking gorgeous delicacies for my family. What I learned about myself is that while I love to eat delicious food, I do not love spending countless hours planning and preparing said food, only for the 6 additional mouths to feed to push the gorgeous food around on their plates and whine about how they’d rather have some Mac and Cheese. After a significant inner battle, I came to terms with the fact that I would like to plan, make and serve, easy meals that are delicious enough for all to enjoy, and then spend my spare time trying beautiful delicious delicacies out at my favorite restaurants – without my children.

So, after years, and years of learning from others, reading blog after blog, attending seminars, talking to moms I admire, and trying, and trying again different meal planning techniques and calendars, I’ve finally developed a menu plan that works for my family. Here are the steps I used to come up with my simple monthly meal plan:

1) Create a Home Store. I followed the outline set forth in Provident Living, and created a home store of 3 months of food that our family ate regularly.

2) Track the foods your family likes and eats. This is as simple as just keeping a list of dinners everyone says, “Yum!” to. At first I felt pressured to have a large variety of meals, like 30 or forty to create a varied menu. But after making a record of what we liked to eat, I realized we were pretty simple in our tastes. I noticed some trends in our eating habits.

3) Take the trends and make a weekly dinner meal plan based on your favorites. The weekly meal plan has changed and grown over the years, but it now looks a little something like this:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Steak	Crock Pot	Mexican	Chicken	Pasta	Pizza	Soup/Salad

4) Multiply by 4 (or 5), Make it easy and flexible.* To make a Monthly plan, multiply your weeks by 4 or 5, depending on how many recipes you have. We basically had a list of 40 or so meals that fit into these 7 categories. When I first did this menu I was serving the Young Women of my church every Wednesday night, so every Wednesday night we had Spaghetti. When I had more time at home, Spaghetti night became Pasta night and moved to Thursdays.

5) Write it down. I committed my plan to paper and posted it the pantry. Each day only takes a glance to know what’s for dinner.

easy meal planning for busy families britainearl.com-1-2

6) Build your home store. I took all the recipes for the dinners on my monthly meal planner and made a shopping list. I bought everything at the beginning of the month. (But for perishables that I buy weekly.) I made a plan to double up on a few items each month until I had my pantry stocked with a 3 month supply of the foods we eat regularly. (Additionally, I started a plan to store long term items as well, but that’s a post for another day.)

The benefits of working with this monthly meal plan are:

1) You always have an answer for, “what’s for dinner?”

3) Everyone in the family enjoys dinner.

Free Printables!!!!

My Family’s Plan:

britain earls monthly meal plan_my plan

Choose your own adventure:

easy monthly meal plan_britainearl.com

I’m including our family’s monthly meal plan, and also a blank calendar to plan your own month. I recently decided to take my monthly meal planner off the pantry wall, and give it a new glam home inside this fabulous Recipe Binder from the ever chic Sugar Paper. I love having all our favorite recipes in one beautiful place.

easy meal planning for busy families britainearl.com-1

*when my husband saw this post he said something to the effect of, “we don’t do that.” I was not surprised for 2 reasons, 1) he’s a little clueless to this kind of stuff and would probably not notice if I served spaghetti every night for a year; 2) the plan (and I) are so flexible that I commonly do burritos on Monday and crockpot on Wednesday, etc. the point of the plan is that I have a meal plan each week with little to know effort based on the idea of themed nights. Once I explained that to him, he understood how we actually do “do this.” I hope this meal plan makes sense and serves to help your meal planning efforts.

April 18, 2016April 18, 2016

Art Camp! Learn about art history and technique this summer! Gilbert kids summer camp

Artists will Learn: Principles of Art and Design, a Brief Overview of the History of Art, use a variety of Artistic Meduim, plus learn some particulars on an Art Master each day

Artists will Receive: a Snack each day, a Tee Shirt, Sketch Book, and Portfolio for the 5 works created in camp and beyond!

When and Where: Camp is held in my Gilbert home. Monday-Friday June 13th-17th, from 9:30-12:30 each day. There will be an art show for family and friends, Friday night.

Who: Artists ages 6-11 are welcome.

Registration: Space is limited to 12 artists per session, a $50 deposit is required to hold your spot. (The remaining $45 may be paid the first day of class.) Contact me with any questions, or to reserve your spot, or pay here: PayPal

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November 10, 2015November 10, 2015

‘Tis the Season – Holiday Mini Sessions

With the Holiday Season upon us, many are scrambling to get that perfect holiday card ready to be sent to family and friends. But let’s be honest, it’s not the easiest thing to gather coordinating clothes, find a photographer, and fit it in a session between now and Christmas. That’s where the Mini Session comes in!

What is a mini session?

A mini session is a shorter version of a custom session with discounted prices. In the case of these Autumn sessions, it is a time for families to get some great shots to use on holiday cards.

Who can be photographed during mini sessions?
Mini sessions are open to adults, children, and even pets!

If you have a variety of family combinations, we would be happy to schedule a custom session for you.

When are mini sessions offered?

Mini sessions are offered throughout the year in Arizona, and usually 2 times a year (Spring/Fall) in Southern California.

How long is a mini session?

The photography session usually lasts 15 minutes.

When do I place my order?

Your online gallery will be emailed to you one week . One week! And you’ll have the perfect family portrait ready for sharing!

What is the session fee?
The $250 session fee reserves your date and time, and includes up to 15 hi-resolution digital images, with a limited copyright release.

November 15, 2014November 15, 2014

20 Christmas Card Ideas

let it snow

For the past few years one of my all time favorite holiday family photo sessions has been trending on Pinterest. It has inspired many a Christmas Card Photo Idea. I have received many an email about how I captured the “perfect snow image.” I thought I’d reveal the step by step process here on my own website!

Step 1) Styling. Coordinate—but don’t be matchy/matchy & Accessorize!

If you’re shooting with a group, make sure your outfits complement one another’s. Choose a consistent color palette (which does not mean the same color). Scarves, hats, bows, bands…it all adds a fun twist to an otherwise “standard” look. Accessories are also a great place to coordinate looks. In this example, brother is wearing a bold pattern with blue, white and gray, and the girls are rocking gray hat/headband.I was lucky to work with a family that ROCKS when it comes to styling. But I always share these tips with clients, and even text outfit ideas back and forth to ensure a coordinate look.

Step 2) Choose the Right Backdrop

The snow (or confetti, or glitter, etc) can be tricky to pick up against some backgrounds. Here it works because the Christmas tree is first appropriate stylistically, but also because it’s dark color highlights the flakes. Avoid lighter backgrounds, and backlighting for the perfect snow shot.

Step 3) Take a Before Shot.

What really makes this shot is the Before and After. First we filled the kids hands with “snow” and then told them to pretend to blow. This made for cute expressions, and focus on those fantastic baby blues they all have.

Step 4) The Action Shot

We instructed the kids to “blow slowly”. One big gust and you’ll miss your shot. With them blowing continuously I fired away. It’s important to shoot in rapid succession, because there are so many micro-expressions going on here, you really don’t want to miss the perfect one.

Step 5) Clean Up

The snow used in this shot was the synthetic plastic kind you buy at Target during the holidays. We gathered up all the pieces afterward as best we could. Having a solid surface, like concrete under your subjects will help in clean up a lot. I have since been using the blanket i bring as a tarp to catch all the “snow.”

My good friend Erin used the photos from this session in a fantastic Christmas Card that she designed. If your looking for an original and beautiful Christmas Card idea, check her out at Bringing Up Burns.

Here is my contribution to the Christmas Card Ideas to inspire you:

1) Let it Snow. Perfect for this snow shot. The “Let it Snow” idea is great for a winter family photo.

let is snow card

2) All You Need is Love. Get up close and personal, let the warm fuzzy feelings spark family hugs and kisses.

3) Best Gift Ever! This Christmas Card Idea is perfect for a new baby, or even a wedding photo.

4) Blessings. This Holiday Card Idea greeting works for nearly any special holiday or family photo. But, I love it especially for this extended family photo, grandparents smothered in grandchildren.

5) Joy! and all of its derivatives, is another holiday card idea just bursting with possibilities. This caption could easily be “Jumping for Joy.” Have fun with your holiday family photos and let the JOY flow freely. Your happy smiles will be perfect to spread the JOY of the holidays.

6) Classic Merry Christmas. You can’t go wrong with the classic “Merry Christmas” holiday card idea. Here, the perfect family photo is framed with a beautiful, ornate frame and banner.

7) Classic Merry Christmas with a Twist. For our card last year, we kept the Christmas greeting simple. But added the twist of the gold foil trend. Also trending lately, is the greeting directly on the photo. If this is a look you’re wanting, make sure to let your photographer know, so she can provide enough space to add text to your Christmas Card photo.

8) Welcome Christmas. This is one of my all time favorite Christmas Card Ideas. In 2009, I was really into watching the holiday classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” My favoite scene is where the Whos join hands and Welcome Christmas in song. That concept, and this photo by the very talented Jonathan Canlas, brought this Christmas Card Idea to life. “Christmas day is in our grasp, as long as we have hands to clasp.” Dr. Seuss really said it all!

9) Have a Holly Jolly Christmas. This is such a great greeting for your Christmas Card. And a happy smiling family photo is the perfect compliment. These cute girls and their parent just screamed, “Holly Jolly.”

10) Joy to the World. Sometimes babies aren’t cooperating, and 2 year olds aren’t looking in the camera. But you know what, that’s life! This family photo is perfect just the way it is. The best portraits are those with personality, and here this family’s personality is on full display.

11) Laughing all the Way. Get the family close together and laugh and play for this Christmas Card Idea. These smiles are the perfect holiday greeting.

12) May Your Days be Merry and Bright. These sundrenched portraits were perfect for the bright and merry season.

13) Happy Holidays from the Bottom of Our Mistletoes. This photo is from one of my very first family photo shoots. I love the dog pile we had going on in this chair. The focus on the toes makes it perfect for this Christmas Card Idea. You could use your family’s sandy toes at the beach, or your newborn baby’s toes, the possibiliites are endless. 14) Who’s been Naughty or Nice? When you have a cranky baby, don’t fight it. Embrace the moment and you could end up with the perfect Christmas Card. I’ve seen the naughty and nice Christmas Card Idea used with kissing couples, silly kids, and crying babies like this one.

15) Oh Christmas Tree. We take a jammie photo in front of the tree every Christmas Eve. I like the idea of sharing our photo on a Christmas Card, This could also work at the Christmas tree lot, when your decorating your tree, or visiting a special Christmas tree (think Time Square)

16) Oh What Fun. I love the idea of a collage to capture what a wonderful year you’ve had. This Christmas card captures special moments from and extended family photo shoot.

17) Peace on Earth. This family silhouette portrait is a great photo for this Christmas Card Idea. The serene setting and beautiful sunset capture gratitude for the Earth and your family.

18) Dear Santa, Is it too late to be good? This shot is a personal and family favorite It is from one of my very first family photo shoots. I love when kids are perfect at a photo shoot, but I also love to capture these real moments between siblings. This sweet girl was perfect for this family photo shoot, so when she stuck out her tongue it was a funny and cute slice of her personality. This type of silly shot works great for this Santa themed Christmas Card Idea.

19) Warm Wishes. Do you like warm hugs? Of course, we all do. That’s what’s so adorable about this family Christmas Card Idea.

20) We Wish you a Merry Christmas. Another classic. This Chrsitmas Card theme works for nearly any family photos. Another idea would be to just use “And a Happy New Year” and send your cards out after Christmas. This particular card also served to announce that we were expecting our 5th baby.

But that’s a totally different post. Happy holiday season, and enjoy the inspiration for your Christmas Cards.

October 21, 2014

With a very full fall schedule, I am offering 1 day of Mini Sessions. December 6th, 2014. The turn around time will be one week, so you will still have time to get some last minute holiday cards in the mail. Each session includes 20 minutes of shooting time, and 10-15 images in an online gallery. Contact me soon to take advantage of this last minute deal!

480,252,0556

britain(at)britainearl(dot)com

What is a Mini Session?

Mini sessions are a scaled down version of our regular photo sessions. They last approx. 15-20 minutes and do not include an outfit change. We provide a fixed date and location. Finished images (approximately 10-15 total) are provided online afterwards for downloading, printing, and sharing with family and friends.

Spaces are limited and will be available on a first come first serve basis.