Which came first: the creative mom who wanted her kids to do lots of art projects so then they wanted to keep them all, or the creative kids who wanted to make so much fun art their parents wanted to keep it all? In my house it's both! Since both of my kids could literally put pen to paper, I have kept every scribble on a hotel note pad, colored in coloring book page and school collage. What to do with our growing art collections is a big topic of conversation among parents I know. Some answers involve taking photos and ultimately throwing out the original works. Some parents do this themselves, some outsource it to willing grandparents and some just keep talking about it while the pile grows. If you want an easy and electronic way to store your art project photos, then the Artkive app is fun to try out, and free for now. You, or even the little artist, can snap a photo of an artwork, and store it and then share it through email. Soon you will easily be able to get books and mugs made using the images too. Bottom line is, it's stored, and can even be printed if you start to miss the original, assuming you actually threw it away! Founder, Jedd Gold  described the app saying, "Artkive is a win-win for parents and kids. Kids get to see their art saved forever, and can view it anytime on the iphone or ipad, and parents get to remove clutter and no longer feel guilty about throwing stuff away." ~ What do you do with all of your children's art projects? ~

We all take photos of our tots all year long; some of us all day long! I asked Jenn Lindberg, photographer and owner of Beaubaby, for any at-home photography tips. She had some insightful tips especially for moms.  She said, "At Beaubaby, we love for parents to be included in our photo sessions, but moms all too often are the most reluctant subjects of all. This photo almost wasn't made! As women, we tend to be intensely critical of ourselves - our weight, our hair, the particular choice of an outfit on a given day. But kids don't care!  When they look back, they'll treasure seeing and having these photos.  You're leaving a legacy - their story, your story. Joy, love, tenderness, exuberance - that's what they'll see - and not a bad hair day!  So be sure to come out from behind the camera now and then, and join in the photos." Well said.  ~ Parents: Do you tend to hide behind the camera, or are you in a lot of the photos as well? ~