Green Thumb

Renee Keith — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:50:59 +0000

I discovered my green thumb this year! I’m sure it helps that we moved into a well lit house with lots of windows, hehe. Many of my plants have now multiplied, and I have started several from seeds which I have never done before. I believe that plants have an amazing energy, and I really do love them. Here are some pics…

*Images are available to purchase royalty free from the following link: http://www.istockphoto.com/search/lightbox/12386151#fa36359

Herb garden started from seeds

Aeonium Arboreum

Succulent House Plant

Prayer Plant Leaf

Watering my plants

My Kitchen Garden

Crafts And All That Jazz: Hair Clip Hanger

Renee Keith — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:10:31 +0000

I saw this on Pintrest and then made my own… its simply a frame, and ribbon or fabric strips stapled or glued on the back.

Hair Clip Hanger (16×20 wooden frame)

Photography by Renee Keith: Robot Themed Photo Shoot

Renee Keith — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:38:20 +0000

I’ve been wanting to shoot robot themed images for a while now, and even after this shoot, I am no where near done with this concept… But what a great start!! We had several friends come over for an interesting day of body painting and photography. Of course hair & makeup can take a lot longer than expected, so some of that time is just waiting around. Good thing we make sure to provide lots of food, snacks and drinks Here are some BTS shots as well as final images. I will post more as I edit them.

**Lightbox of these images available to purchase Royalty Free from iStockphoto**

Renee Keith (Makeup) and Chad Corry (Hair) BTS Creating Robots. Model: James Morris

A final shot…

Robot ~ Makeup and Photography by Renee Keith

Here is an example of a before and after edit. Before shot is straight out of camera (RAW file). After includes retouching and added computer textures.

BeforeAfter-Edit

Silver body paint android/robot series modeled by the lovely Chaunsey Hildebrandt:

Silver Robot Body Paint Shoot

Futuristic Robot Series ~ Photography by Renee Keith

Lightbox of these images available to purchase royalty free from iStockphoto

Photography Project: 365 Photo Journal by Renee Keith

Renee Keith — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:47:44 +0000

Why? Because I think its romantic of life! Lets start, shall we?

Today is April 24th 2012…

I got this new plant today (Prayer plant)

Prayer Plant Leaf ~ 365 Photo Challenge: Image #1

April 25th 2012

We went on a nice 4 mile walk down by Utah Lake, and stopped to take some cool rock texture iPhone pictures. They looked like imported rocks lining a walk way.

Rock Textures ~ 365 Photo Challenge: Photo #2

April 26th, 2012

I took the next step in making my tarot deck today (printing and laminating)!!!

Tarot Cards ~ 365 Photo Challenge: Photo #3

April 27th 2012

My daughter getting ready to perform at a church roadshow play “Rapunzel”…

Rapunzel ~ 365 Photo Challenge: Photo #4

April 28th 2012

Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah

Dinosaur Museum ~ 365 Photo Challenge: Photo #5

April 29th 2012

We did a shoot of our really good friends and their family… so much personality!! <3

Family Portrait ~ 365 Photo Challenge: Photo #6

April 30th 2012

OMG, I was looking for a photo from yesterday and realized I didn’t take one, LOL… It took me less than a week to botch this challenge! HAHA. Well, I was super busy editing photos from the day before, so I guess I will post another one of those:

Would you like a beer? ~ 365 Photo Challenge: Photo #7

May 1st 2012

I took an iPhone pic of the mermaid dish next to my bed that Todd gifted me when we went to Jerome, AZ. It is the perfect place to keep some of my crystals and stones.

Mermaid Dish ~ 365 Photo Challenge: Photo #8

May 2nd, 2012

My friend Jude has a collection of corks, here is a pic of some of them…

Corks ~ 365 Photo Challenge: Photo #9

May 3rd 2012

Just got my hair done by pro stylist: Chaunsey Hildebrandt located at Ulysses Salon in SLC!

Self Portrait ~ 365 Photo Challenge: Photo #10

May 4th 2012

Another self portrait. Playing around with pink and green makeup…

Self Portrait, Playing around with pink and green makeup ~ 365 Photo Challenge: Photo #11

May 5th 2012

This is all I’ve got for the 5th… the full Moon tonight is a “super Moon,” as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full Moons of 2012. Of course, it was super hard to capture on my iPhone… but my husband was out late shooting a party and he had the only lens that could have captured it. This is a shot from my back yard…

Moon ~ 365 Photo Challenge (Photo #12)

May 6th 2012

I have been all about plants (and books) this year! Here is my kitchen/dining room full of plants…

My Kitchen Garden ~ 365 Photo Challenge Photo #13

May 7th 2012

My daughters 8th Birthday

Just before the party ~ 365 Photo Challenge Photo #14

May 8th 2012

Creative shoot with Andrea Hansen (Pretty Macabre)…

Colorful Creative ~ 365 Photo Challenge Photo #15

May 9th 2012

We had several models come over for a robot theme makeup and photography day. Here is one of the shots…

Robot ~ 365 Photo Challenge Photo #16

May 10th 2012

(The only photo I took this day) This is me relaxing the next day after our robot shoot, LOL… I was exhausted, and also had a cold.

Relaxing ~ 365 Photo Challenge Photo #17

May 11th 2012

Taking my daughter out for her birthday dinner

Birthday Dinner ~ 365 Photo Challenge Photo #18

May 12th 2012

My Cute Kid

My Cute Kid ~ 365 Photo Challenge Photo #19

May 13th 2012

Hand painted shoes by Kylie Lyman

Hand Painted Shoes by Kylie Lyman ~ 365 Photo Challenge Photo #20

May 14th 2012

Ammonite

Ammonite ~ 365 Photo Challenge Photo #21

May 15th 2012

A painting that I did at a friends house… and then edited in photoshop

Dragonfly Painting ~ 365 Photo Challenge Photo #22

May 16th 2012

A hair clip hanger that I made…

Hair Clip Hanger ~ 365 Photo Challenge Photo #23

May 17th 2012

I decided that I will include video in this challenge (why not, right?) Hehe… So here are my friends playing around with dumbek drums

The rest of this challenge will be continued on Pinterest at the following link: http://pinterest.com/renphoto/365-photo-challenge-by-renee-keith/

Renee Keith Photography: Sugar Skull Collaboration with Chaunsey Hilderbrandt

Renee Keith — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:58:00 +0000

I’ve been wanting to do a sugar skull with someone for quite some time now, and this is one of those shoots that were just meant to be. I woke up one morning, and decided I wanted to do a creative sugar skull shoot, so I sent my friend Chaunsey a text at like 8am in the morning to see if she was available for the day. It was a LONG shot, but she just happened to have the day off and said she would be right over!! YAY!! She modeled, and did her hair, I did the makeup and photography, and we both arranged the flowers… it was a ton of fun!

All of these are available to purchase royalty free from my stock portfolio on Getty Images

Sugar Skull Photos:

Favorite Recipes: Turkey Pesto Sandwich

Renee Keith — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:29:43 +0000

This is my favorite sandwich right now…

Ingredients:

Pesto sauce, mayo, onion powder, pepper, sliced carrots, dill pickles, lettuce, provolone cheese, turkey, whole wheat bread

YUM!!

Jewelry: Crystal Rose Bead Necklace

Renee Keith — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:21:20 +0000

After Todd and I got married in Italy, we had 2 more weeks of our honeymoon and exploring before flying home. I really wanted to keep my bouquet of roses, so I hung them upside down in our rental car and tried to dry them out. Then I stuck them in my wedding dress bag and managed to bring them home with me! They were pretty smashed up, so I boiled the petals down into beads.

Below: picture of my actual wedding bouquet with Varenna Italy in the Background:

Unfortunately I didn’t take photos of the rose bead process, but here is a great blog about how to make them: http://members.iinet.net.au/~damian/heidikneale/rosebeads.html

So I’ve been carrying around my rose beads now for a few years, waiting for the right necklace inspiration to come along… and it finally did! I recently saw some necklaces with crystals attached, and LOVED them! I had a perfect little crystal at home that would be great for a necklace. Here is what I came up with:

Metaphysical properties of quartz crystals:

Copied from: http://crystalsecret.com/crystalblog/?page_id=271

“Quartz enhances energy by absorbing, storing, amplifying, balancing, focusing and transmitting. It channels universal energy. Quartz also enhances thoughts, as they are a form of energy. Because it directs and amplifies energy, it is extremely beneficial for manifesting, healing, meditation, protection and channeling. It is also beneficial for storing and retrieving information of all types, as information is a form of energy pattern also. This makes them particularly good for programming. Due to its ability to balance, quartz is excellent for harmonizing and balancing one’s environment. Quartz is also good for energizing other crystals.”

Do It Yourself Crafts: Paper Mache Puppets

Renee Keith — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:29:33 +0000

My friend Becky and I decided to get the kids together for crafts once a month. I though it would be super cool to do a puppet theater! I vaguely remember seeing really cool paper mache puppets in an old craft book that my mom had when I was little… Thanks to the internet, it was super easy to find instructions on how to make them. Others were using different methods to create facial features… I really like using the Model Magic.

What you will need:

Small Wooden dowels (I used 1/4 inch x 12 inch), Styrofoam balls (for heads), exacto knife, Model Magic (air dry, light weight clay), Paper Mache mix (I used Celluclay), water, paints, glue, and puppet making supplies such as hair, eyes, etc. + fabric to make clothing.

The first thing that I did was pop the Styrofoam balls on the dowels and then add some facial features to the Styrofoam ball using the Model Magic. This is super easy clay to work with, and comes in handy for many different projects. You can add eyebrows, a nose, ears, a chin.. whatever you like! You will end up covering this with paper mache… so don’t worry about perfection. This usually takes around 24 hours to dry completely, so if your patient, you can wait a day to do the next step. I just went ahead and put the paper mache over it without letting it dry.

The next step is to cover the head with paper mache. Follow directions for the Celluclay to create a nice mixture of workable clay, and then spread a thin layer over the styrofoam and model magic.

After drying for a little white, you can smooth it out with your fingers a little bit while the paper mache is still wet. These can take another 24-48 hours to dry, unless you use a fan, or blow dryer to speed up the drying process. I have a little hot blow gun that I use. After all, I can only take up the kitchen table so many days in a row, hehe.

Here is a shot of my first batch of puppets after paper mache and drying over night…

After letting these dry a few days, I decided it would probably be good to add a neck so that it would be easier to attach clothing later… and what better than a toilet paper roll! I cut one into about three circular pieces, and cut the circle open to angle it tot he puppet head (make sense?). Then I duck taped it back together and paper mached it on. Check out the example image to the left. As you can see, I left a little bit of the toilet paper roll showing, which I could cover, but it probably doesn’t matter since the clothing will cover it up.

After spending a few days looking at eye options… I decided to use some clay to fill in the eye sockets, and create eyelids. While wet, I stuck in some cute little plastic googly eyes. I also added a few more details, smoothing out some of their nose and chins.

After a little paint:

Added some yarn hair, eyelashes a hat, and flower:

This is where I am going to say: To be continued! I am in the middle of making these, but will update asap with progress

Easter Tradition: Ukrainian Egg Decorating Parties with Family & Friends

Renee Keith — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:43:07 +0000

Ukrainian egg decorating is one of my favorite Easter traditions! Of course I never really stick to the traditional style of Ukrainian eggs, instead I create my own designs which can include random designs, or flowers, or swirls… anything I can think of. It is a ton of fun to do with family and friends every year. In fact, we just barely finished up a family party tonight, and the eggs turned out awesome!

I usually order all of my egg supplies from http://www.ukrainiangiftshop.com/. And over the years, I have been collecting more and more Kistky sticks so I can have parties with around 6-8 guests. If you are just starting, here is their most popular kit: http://www.ukrainiangiftshop.com/Super-Color-Kit-w_delrin/productinfo/KITSD// . BTW, the dyes are fabulous… super intense colors really makes it fun!

More about Decorating Ukrainian Eggs

You need: Wax, kistky sticks, dye, candles, paper towels, mason jars (for the dyes), (I use hard boiled) eggs. I suggest using the products from the links posted above.

The kistky sticks are used to draw with wax onto the egg. Each time you dip the egg into a new color, you must add wax to wherever you would like that particular color to stay. It is best to start with light colors and work your way to darker colors… this will help keep your colors vibrant and not muddied. The Ukrainian egg dyes are super intense and will stain your clothes and hands, so latex gloves are optional as well. When finished, just melt and wipe off all of the wax from the egg. This is best done by putting the egg in the side of a flame, rather than the top. Otherwise, you could get some black carbon stains from the flame.

Here are some pics from our party tonight…

Strawberry & Goat Cheese Salad

Renee Keith — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:25:11 +0000

Whipped this up for lunch today, and it was so delicious!

Recipe:

Red Leaf Lettuce

Fresh Strawberries Slices

Orange Bell Pepper Slices

Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette

McCormick® Salad Toppins

Crumbled Goat Cheese

…Simple and delicious!

Photos & Recipe by Renee Keith ~ www.ReneeKeith.com