i had loads of photography fun last weekend. here’s a quick recap of a few of the shoots.
the smith family was an absolute joy and creative inspiration to photograph.

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and yep, it’s another hodgepodge (i think i’ve exhausted my comfort level on using that word)… but wow, these things are time-savers! which is super terrific since time is something i’m pretty sure is getting more and more scarce these days. anyone else notice that? funny thing too, because this is loooong one. i know i’ve said that before, but i do believe this one takes the cake.  so, grab a snack and a pillow and enjoy. 

this post is filled with some of my very favorite people in the entire world. being able to photograph them has been an absolute gift.

this is a perfect representation of this mother/daughter pair!

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but just because, i guess. i have so many beautiful faces to blog but as i don’t have a post quite ready, i felt compelled to post these sweet feet. i used to be afraid of teens (not really but a standing joke in our house, i think, cuz i fear my kids being teens), but i’ve had the pleasure of hanging with some fantastic teens as of late…my fear seems fleeting. besides, with the shoes teen-aged girls wear, how could they be scary? it makes me smile that emily’s sister artfully decorated these for her. hannah, a career in custom shoe design maybe?

 …lynn at The Handmaiden’s Cottage, gets creative! 

i had the privilege of photographing a splendid fashion shoot for The Handmaiden’s Cottage etsy boutique. have i mentioned that i love etsy? as in, im a total junkie. a fellow photographer recently posed the question “what is something inspiring your photography lately?”, for me, quite literally, it’s etsy. i look at the amazing creativity of so many of the etsy designers, crafters and collectors and it really gets the idea’s flowing. not only do i want to photograph so much of what i see on etsy but the richness of so many of the  designs is just plain inspiring to me. The Handmaiden’s Cottage, is no exception! i adore the whimsical styling of her designs, they have such a darling, carefree feel to them. i can imagine being a little girl and just wanting to twirl endlessly in them.  so, needless to say, when i had the opportunity to photograph some of her designs, i was over-the-moon. i gathered the most stunning little models to display the most adorable little girls fashion. it was divine.

one of my favorite things, is that all of her dresses have a name. this particular apron dress is actually named “when sock monkey’s go bananas”…does it get any better than that? i don’t think so.
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…the sneaky sneak peek. my sweet baby girl hit the big t-w-o on sunday. where oh where did my itty bitty baby go? actually, she’s still very much a baby in this house. i guess now that i know what a “big kid” looks like, i no longer foolishly consider a two year old a big kid. i wouldn’t mind one more day with her as a teeny tiny new baby though…guess, i’ll just have to stare at photographs. anyhow, here’s a little glimpse of her precious day.

a one of a kind, handmade dress, designed just for my natty girl by the handmaidens cottage. if you have a little girl, you’ve got to check it out…the quality of this dress is amazing…top notch and obviously, the design is perfection.  her sunflower hair pretty and birthday corsage, designed by me. yep, i got my craft on.

tea for two…natty and her big sister, who couldn’t adore her more. 

i thought everyone could use a little more fabulous in their day so i’m blogging an extra long post of stephen & m’lea’s “trash the dress” session. note: we in no way actually trashed m’lea’s gown so, for you fabulous girls out there thinking of a doing a trash the dress session but don’t want to ruin your dress…no worries. so, back to stephen and m’lea, what can i say about them? oh i don’t know, how about they’re totally smokin HOT! just look at those two. of course, they’re over-flowing with plenty of other choice qualities as well. qualities such as stephen being an extraordinary musicisian and m’lea a spectacular designer, both having an amazing heart filled with a love for sharing their faith as well as a great appreciation for laughter and sense of humor, are just the tip of the iceburg.

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seriously. seriously. seriously. i’m SO excited!!! see there, three exclamation marks, that proves it. my totally fabulous friend lissette, with funky bums, the t-shirt line for bad-bottom boys and funky-fab little babes, spent her saturday night chillin’ with NO DOUBT! that’s right, NO DOUBT, as in Gwen, the sometimes semi-nekked drummer,  Adrian, and the rest of the band! lissette is just that fabulous, she doesn’t just go to a concert, she rubs shoulders with the band. that, though, is not even close to the exciting part. what’s got me as giddy as an 8 year old at a jonas brothers concert? it’s  the fact that,  instead of shuffling her feet up to the autograph table, head hung low, like a shy and awkward 8th grader (totally would have been me.) she sauntered up to ms. stefani all hugs and “heys!”, proceeded to talk mom-talk with the pop princess herself and hand over a bag of funkybums shirts for kingston and zuma! no doubt! that girl’s got moxie! i would have been eaten alive by self-doubt, convincing myself that had i been in lissette’s shoes (something sexy, rad, and designer for sure), gwen would have pulled the shirts from the bag, then, upon first glance at my designs, thrown her head back, laughing wildly and pointing, as she turned on her heels and tossed my heart-felt gift into the trash for all to see. lissette, however, is of perfectly rational self-esteem, and rightfully so, remember, she’s fabulous. so, nerves did not get the best of her, instead, she proudly handed gwen the gift and of course,  ms. stefani LOVED them! seriously people, no doubt! isn’t that just crazy. wow. the deal? well, because hollywood is sure to be a buzz with bad bottom boys and funky-fab little babes sporting the funkybums logo now that the little princes of hollywood, kingston and zuma rossdale, are donning the designs, funkybums has decided to offer a smokin’ hot summer deal on all of the designs. i think she might be calling it the “holy-cow-gwen stefani-is-so-totally-awesome-and-i’m-taking-hollywood-by-storm-with-these-shirts-now-that-the-rossdale-boys-are -wearing -them sale!”,  i mean, maybe she is.

so, head on over to the funky bums website and help your little funky boys and babes get their fierce fashion on for only 18 bucks a shirt and for your funky babes, inquire about an expertly coordinated Bella Bella flower clip to round out your little diva’s fashion statement.

just in case you doubted me…here’s the proof! lissette is the hot brunette in the yellow jacket, and no, unfortunately i wasn’t behind the camera for this shot. lissette, we need to talk about that.

ok, so this may be the sneakiest sneak peek ever (insert evil laugh here)…but i couldn’t wait another minute to post something from my senior session with the amazing jillian this weekend.  by the way, it could have been way sneakier, i could have just posted a shot of her cute shoes!