Sewell Photography : the Blog

peter pan playroom

It has been a busy year at the Sewell house, I wanted to share the latest project that we've been working on.
I posted a long time ago about our 80's fabulous house that we bought and have been renovating since we took it over.  We are always working on something for the house, but most of the time the projects are not very fun (tearing down wallpaper, replacing toilets etc).  Finally we have been able to work on a project that we have had "vision" about since the beginning.  We have this weird room under our garage that had lots of potential but needed TONS of work.  Let me back up to give you a real visual, check out the space when we first saw it.... (yikes.) Not only did we have to "clean it up," we also wanted to make it more structural and open it up.  All my husband could see was a basketball court.  That is all he wanted, a basketball hoop.  Nothing else.  So there was about to be some compromise, but I could see the potential as well.  First we needed to get these GIGANTIC beams into our room, and the fact that we got them into the house was a minor miracle.

Once they were in, we had to hand it over to the pros to get them in place.  Then we (Brad) started the painting/cleanup process. Around this time I showed the room to my son and told him we were "fixing up the new playroom".  He took one look at it and frowned and said "mommy, I thought it was going to be "rainbow colors".  I knew I need to liven it up, so I came up with an idea that was inspired by a room I had been in at The Bachelor Farmer (an awesome restaurant in Minneapolis).  The have a room called the Afghan room where they basically wallpapered the room entirely in afghan blankets.  My husband thought I was crazy, so I knew I had to try it. First I arranged the blankets.  Then I made friends with something called Super77 spray glue.

Brad still got his hoop.  I'm not sure if this room is really for our kids, or just for us, I will let you decide.Finally we got to reveal it to the kids.  Their expressions were priceless.

Mini ballers.  Happy Dad.

And don't worry, the room will have much more than just one basketball hoop.  There are super hero capes, and much more to come. 

Stay tuned for more from the basketball court/afghan wall/Peter Pan playroom of our little renovator dreams!

ireland

I wanted to share a few photos from my recent trip to Ireland.  Much of the time my camera needed to rest (tired lil' bugger), but I did manage to grab a few snaps in the midst of the fun.  We did our best to keep up with our Irish friends, and we had an absolute blast.  We even braved the roads (check out my backseat driver shot) and lived (barely, don't ask) to tell about it. 

we know

I wanted to dedicate this blog post to someone who is inspiring me today, as she has done for my entire life.  She has taught me so much about life and hard work and fun.  When we were little she taught me about being a girl who can do anything the boys can do.  She truly is the hardest working person I know (and always has been, she's had a job since she was 14) and she does it all with such grace. 

Jackie's floral company Just Bloomed was recently nominated again by MN Bride Magazine as one of the top Florists in the Minnesota (an award she has won the last two years). I can attest that owning your own business is an honor and privilege, but it takes an extraordinary amount of time and sacrifice.  She inspires me to put the same passion towards my work, my kids, my marriage, my home, my health and trying to find balance along the way.  Although we are different in many ways, and we look nothing alike (refer to photo evidence... maybe with the matching poodle perms we got close), we are both addicted to fun, and make each other laugh in a way no one else really understands.  And they don't really understand (ask our husbands) but we've never cared, because we know.

molly + mark : sneak peek

I recently got back from an amazing trip to Ireland where I was lucky enough to photograph Molly and Mark's wedding!  Here is a quick peek, stay tuned to see more of the craic!

first year cheer

To brighten this May day, I am posting all of Nellie's monthly photos I've been taking throughout her first year. The idea was inspired by this blog.  I also borrowed the idea of creating a custom fabric for Nellie's last month (which involved me writing her name on a piece of paper, scanning it and uploading it to this website to create the fabric).  At her one year birthday party I displayed the photos and now they are hung in her bedroom. I am definitely bias, but try not to be cheered up by these bright colors and smiles :)

springwinter

Making the most of our springwinter. These trees are in my backyard and I've been wanting to photograph them in the snow.  Great... now I'd like to photograph it with some green leaves!

nell-bell

It's hard to believe my baby girl is one!  We threw a small birthday party for her, and besides the beautiful gift of flowers from Just Bloomed (she is a lucky niece!), one detail I loved was the display of monthly photos I've been taking of her on fabric backdrops. (I haven't shot the final month yet, I will share them all soon.  Below you can see a glimps of the custom "Nellie" fabric I made for her last month)  My favorite part of the party was watching her eat her cake (not the part where she couldn't sleep after all the sugar).  Thank you Nell-Bell for your feisty spirit and your sweet hugs, your dad and I are head-over-heels for you.

minnesnowta

This is the time of year everyone loves to complain about Minnesota, but I say shhhh!

"This is for everyone around the planet
That wishes they were from somewhere other than where they standin'
Don't take it for granted, instead take a look around
Quit complaining and build something on that ground
Plant something on that ground, dance and sleep on that ground
Get on your hands and knees and watch the ants walk around
That ground Make a family, make magic, make a mess
Take the stress, feel your motivation and build your nest
It sucks that you think where I'm from is wack
But as long as that's enough to keep your ass from coming back
And with a smile and a hint of sarcasm, he said
"I beg your pardon but this is my secret garden""

Atmosphere - Seven's Travels "Always coming back home to you/(plays at 4:56) Say shh"

19 Always Coming Back Home To You

my funny little valentines

three... is a magic number

My little buddy turns three today! (we had his party a little early when all the grandparents were in town).  All he asked for was a "snowman birthday cake" and in passing I mentioned this to my mom.  She was "all over it" in her classic style and came up with a ridiculously adorable cake for the party.  It was a small family "snowman party" but the birthday boy could not have been happier (and more exhausted when it was over).  I love this little boy to the moon and back.