Nicole Pavey Photography » Fairfax Infant, Children & Family Photographer

1. What is Studio J™ Design Software? Studio J™ is free online scrapbooking design software brought to you by Close To My Heart. (Did I mention FREE?) Studio J helps you easily create custom-printed two-page layouts using our foundational scrapbook patterns, exclusive color palette, and themed designs all delivered in 12″ × 12″ custom prints ready for your albums. It’s a snap!
2. Is Studio J easy to use? Studio J software is extremely intuitive and easy to use. The program walks you through five steps that include:
   
   1. uploading your photos
   2. choosing your desired themed kit
   3. selecting an exclusive layout pattern
   4. adding photos, embellishments, titles, and journaling
   5. purchasing custom-printed layouts ready for a cherished album

   It’s super simple and extremely fun to use!

3. I love Close To My Heart products. Will Studio J use the same great papers, patterns, colors, and embellishments? Of course! If you love Close To My Heart’s scrapbooking philosophy, then you will love Studio J.
4. Do I need to download any software to my computer to use Studio J? Not at all! You only need an Internet connection, and then you simply log in to http://hannaahn.myctmh.com and click on the Studio J link to get started. Feel free to design to your heart’s content—you are not required to buy anything or provide any personal information to get started!
5. Can I save what I am working on and come back to it later? You bet! You can create a customer profile that allows you to save and return to a project in progress at a later time. Your active projects will be saved for up to 90 days, giving you plenty of time to work on them. You extend that timeline for your active projects by 90 days each time you make a purchase, and your purchased projects will remain archived for one full year after purchase.
6. Do I need a printer that can print 12″ × 12″ pages to use Studio J? No. Your Studio J layouts are not available for you to print from a home computer. In fact, we take care of the printing for you. When you purchase your designed layouts, we print and ship them quickly and directly to you using only top quality printing technology and archival-quality papers.
7. What is the price? You are not charged a thing until you order your custom prints. The price per printed two-page layout is $12.95. We also offer some fantastic rewards for larger orders. You can receive FREE Memory Protectors® to protect your layouts in your albums, and FREE shipping/handling based on the number of layout prints you purchase in a single order as follows:
   
   • For 5–9 layout purchases: You’ll receive a pack of 5 Memory Protectors FREE!
   • For 10–20 layout purchases: You’ll receive FREE shipping/handling PLUS a FREE pack of 5 Memory Protectors for every 5 layouts in your single order.
8. When can I begin creating with Studio J? You will be able to start creating layouts with Studio J TOMORROW, Tuesday, April 27th!

Here are a few more of the last newborn I photographed..

Here is just a quick preview of the little 3 month twins I photographed just a couple of days ago!  My inlaws are in town so we will be busy this next week showing off our city and visiting our favorite haunts. Over the next several weeks I will be traveling, Seattle, SanDiego and Palm Dessert..  I will do my best to keep my blog updated, though it will not be every day.  Thanks for checking back! *Feel free to leave a comment, I love hearing from all of you

I have some exciting new background and props at the studio!  I will be packing up everything and heading to two photo shoots, a newborn shoot tomorrow and one with twins on Wednesday! Here is just a preview of some of my new beautiful backgrounds!

Get to know ‘At Play Cafe’, a wonderful place to take your kids, and for you to have a break!

1.  What inspired you to start your business?

I started my business after finding myself getting tired from driving all over town to take my then-preschool children to art/sports/music classes, to the playground/mall to play and then somewhere else to eat. I thought that it would be great if there was one place where my kids can get all three things done so I didn’t have to spend a big chunk of the day on the road. I also noticed that many siblings of the children in those (gymnastics, art, music, etc) classes get bored waiting for their brother or sister, so why not let them have some fun in the playarea while their siblings are in class.

2.  Describe your target market.. Age, income, interests etc.

The target market of At Play Cafe is definitely stay at home moms of preschoolers, but we have also been a great hit with working parents because most other play places are closed for birthday parties on weekends and they appreciate the fact that can do something with their kids on the weekends.

3.  What are your favorite products or services?

My favorite things are my MacBook (easy to use and beautiful to look at), my Blackberry (keeps me in the know), my Honda Odyssey (12 cupholders!), my FitFlops (super comfortable) and Lasik (don’t have to worry about contact lenses again!)

4.  How do you choose the layout of your store?

The layout of our space is based on the need for the parents to be able to see their kids playing in the playarea while sitting in any of our seats.  Some like to be close to the kids, so they will sit at the counter of the half wall enclosing the playarea.  Others like to focus on their work and will sit further away, but will still be able to see their kids with a glance.

5.   What is your favorite part of your location?

The best thing about our location is how easily accessible it is from major thoroughfares such as Fairfax County Parkway, the Dulles Toll Road, and Route 7, which is why we have parents who don’t mind making the trek from Alexandria, Falls Church, or Leesburg.

6.  Do you work with other local businesses? If so, any would like to share?

We work with Mallowdrama, the bakery that makes our delicious mini-cupcakes.  We encourage our customers to advertise their businesses by leaving their business cards on our counter.  We also value our partnerships with local preschools and non-profit organizations, such as Reston Interfaith.

7. Anything else you would like to add.

The best part about owning this business is meeting all the moms who come to visit us and finding out what they used to do in their “other life” or what their current hobbies are. It supports my belief that every mom is incredibly talented and deserves to be recognized for her work, whether at home or outside of the home.

It’s that time of year! I am booking this spring and summer Senior Photo sessions! I already have a few booked, so if you are on the fence about it, please contact me to reserve your session! More details in the form below.. I have a last minute photo session that has been rescheduled, so this Saturday is now open.. If you need a session shoot me an email.

What would YOU like to see here on the blog? Please fill out this poll and feel free to fill in your own answers. Cant wait to hear!

A wonderful weekend with my family..

I am so thankful for my family, and that my parents have been able to travel so much to see us!  They visited us here first, then we all went down to see my sister and her family in Nc. More photos to come soon..We loved playing with the kiddos, here’s one of the tea parties..

The Cherry Blossoms are so so so beautiful! I may have mentioned before I also visited Viennas Botanical Garden, also a great place to spot beautiful blooms (and to avoid the huge downtown crowds)

My parents are visiting today, yay!! To spend time with family I will not be updating the blog for the next several days.. Come back next week for I will have many new photos to share!