If you haven’t seen what the always wonderful Tea Collection has put out this past year, you have truly been missing out.  Their latest destinations – Catalonia and Modern Mexico – have been stunningly beautiful, especially down here in Texas where we appreciate things with a Spanish/Mexican flair. I was lucky enough to team up with Tea again and showcase some gorgeous pieces from their holiday collection modeled by my own two beauties.  They are always my first stop when I’m looking for quality children’s clothing, especially for portraits.  As I’ve mentioned before, it’s so hard to find nice clothes for girls in that deep rich color palette that I want to see hanging in my home.  No matter the destination, I know that I can depend on Tea to have some wonderful options available.  I love the coordination in this first set of outfits – the colors are spot on.  The berry color on Finley and throughout Emory’s outfit adds a perfect holiday touch (hint, hint, you may be seeing a preview of our holiday card). 

Okay, I know I’m a little biased, but aren’t these girls so stinkin’ cute?!?

As always, I love their girl’s dresses – I’m a huge fan of dresses with leggings for both play and nicer occasions.  Speaking of leggings, I continually buy them and have to throw them out, even during the same season, because Emory is so rough on them – holes in the knees, busted seams, etc.  However, she has worn her Tea leggings from last fall through the spring and is still able to wear them this fall.  They honestly look as good as the first time she wore them, a true testament to the quality of the products they offer.

I was excited that this time around that I got to try out their baby girl’s clothes too.  They are so soft and comfortable while still utilizing beautiful patterns and fun details like the frill on the sleeves.  These outfits are currently my favorite thing to put on my sweet girl, and without being too gross, her spit-up tendencies have really tested this fabric in the wash – it has passed with flying colors.  There’s nothing more disappointing then having spit-up stains that I can’t get out of a cute outfit. 

The girls were starting to wind down when we got to outfit #2, but they held out for long enough to get a few sweet shots!  I love how these two outfits use the same pattern but still differ in style and coordinating features.  Perfect for sisters!  This particular pattern has great potential for coordination to other siblings and mom and dad too – just look at all of the options available for you to tie in! 

P.S. It’s been awhile since I’ve photographed one, but it is HARD to work with a baby who isn’t sitting up yet.  Phew!   

Here’s where you can get these gorgeous outfits:

Talavera Layered Dress

Skinny Stretch Leggings

Pava Real Romper

Wildflower Wrap Dress

Wildflower Layered Romper

There are so many reasons why I love the owner of Bella Ariana – not only does she make an amazing product and have tremendous customer service, but she is so gracious and flexible as well.  These lovely images of her Firecracker tutu were supposed to be done back in May, but those of you who have been sticking around awhile know that I was put on strict bedrest after the first week of May. I was so bummed that I wasn’t going to be able to get this shoot done, but Frances was so great about the whole situation.  I really hoped that these images would turn out awesome, and they certainly did!  My usually uncooperative model turned three in the interim and decided that having her picture taken was not that bad after all!  She loved dancing around in her pretty tutu and hamming it up for the camera.  If you know of a little girl who could rock a tutu, make sure to check out Bella Ariana on the web and on Facebook!  Thanks Frances!

Well, I do realize that this post is approximately three months overdue, but cut me some slack!  Doubling your kids is kind of crazy!   We welcomed our precious Finley Rose into our lives on June 28th.  After trying and trying to join us a little too early over the prior 6 weeks, she thankfully made it to 37 weeks and had a well-earned quick and easy entrance into this world.  She is an absolute angel, and we can’t imagine what our lives would be like without her.  She smiles …. oh does this girl smile ALL the time.  She has to be the happiest baby on the planet.  Her big sis Emory already loves her so much, and the feeling is mutual – if Emory let her, Finley would just sit and watch her all day long. Emory is already waiting for the day when Finley “gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and then she play with me!”   There’s nothing that warms my heart more right now than watching the two of them interact.  We are slowly but surely getting a handle on our new lives as parents of two, so thanks for your patience with my long silences and delayed replies to emails.  Here are Miss Finley’s newborn pictures, some of them with the help of my pal and very talented photographer Erica.

It’s been a LONG time since I entered an I Heart Faces challenge, and since I’m on bed rest I figure I don’t have much of an excuse to pass up this one!    Especially when I have the perfect image of my own little cutie to use for this week’s theme.  “From a distance” is about all she gave me on this night, but I LOVE how this image turned out.

To see more great entries, head on over to I Heart Faces!

First, let me just say that I’m completely humbled and blown away by the amazingly kind and gracious things that were said in your reviews.  I’m not sure if it’s the pregnancy or just me, but reading them brought tears to my eyes.  After all of the time and energy spent planning your sessions, spending time with you, and staring at your beautiful faces for hours while I edit, it means so much to hear that the experience itself was as meaningful for you as it always is for me.  You guys are the greatest!    Just another fabulous reminder that I have the best job on the planet, and that I’m blessed to work with such wonderful people. 

So, now for the fun part!  We had 12 total participants, so I drew two names from a hat (literally!) where I had put in an entry for every review left on either site.  And the winners are ….

Shannon P. and Stacy S. ! 

I’ll be contacting you shortly so that you can redeem your free gift prints!  I want to again thank everyone who entered, and remind you that any referral you send my way earns you a $50 print credit as well, so keeping spreading the word!  If anyone out there reading is considering entrusting me with your families memories, I hope you’ll take a minute or two to check out these reviews, both on my Facebook Page and on Google. 

And in hopes that we have said “bye bye” to all of our cold winter days, I’ll leave you with a parting shot of everyone during the great Ice/Snow storm of 2011. 

Yes, I said birthday week!  That’s how we do things around here.   Okay, maybe not, but a girl can dream, right?  My birthday is on Tuesday, when I will officially be even later into my twenties (but still hanging on).  So, to celebrate my birthday week I wanted to have a little mutually beneficial giveaway for my past clients (wink, wink)!  There are two ways to enter:

1) Go to my Facebook Page and leave a review under my Reviews tab.  You can find the icon under my profile picture or just click here.

2) Go to my Google Business Listing and leave a review there.

Do one or do both to double your chances!  Chances for what you ask?  Every review posted by Friday night (the 4th) at midnight will be entered into a random drawing for a free gift print from your session (a $45 value)!  Even better, if I get more than 10 different clients to post reviews, I’ll pick TWO random winners!  I’ll announce the winner(s) on Saturday.  My clients always have such kind things to say to me about their images and their overall experience, I’m just hoping you will be willing to share that with others.   

Of course, I can’t leave you without a picture, so here is another one of my sweet Emory from her two-year session.  Love her!

When I attended the PPA Imaging USA Conference and Trade Show in January, one of my missions was to find a new album to offer.  Now, I wasn’t unhappy with the old album, but I was relishing the idea of being able to hold and feel actual samples of many different albums in my hands so that I could compare features and know exactly what I was getting.  These had my attention from the get-go.  I didn’t come across another album where the colors just leapt off of the page like they do in this gorgeous product.  The only way to describe the feel and texture of the archival matte paper is luxurious.  I spoke to the founder of the album company himself at the show, and he said that the company began when he found this paper and started looking for an album company that would use it.  That’s how amazing it is folks.  These pictures just do NOT do them justice, but lucky for my very special clients, I will have samples present during your pre-session consultation so you can see for yourself!   Here are the triad of products I’ll be offering:

As you can see, they are a 10×10 album, an optional custom album box, and a 4×4 companion album (only available for purchase with a 10×10 album).  I have a variety of designs from whimsical (as shown) to bold to very simple.  Your album will be custom created just for you using 20-30 images from your session (15 chosen by you).  One Proof and Revision is included in every purchase. 

Your cover options include a full photo wrap, a Dulce fabric cover (with or without option photo strip), or a leather cover (not shown). 

The custom album box is a wonderful way to carefully and beautifully display and protect your session album.  A custom photo wrapped cover will make it a conversation piece all on its own, while the soft suede-lined interior gently holds your album. 

I am SO excited about these, and I hope you are too!  I can’t wait to show them to YOU! 

I was beyond thrilled when Frances of Bella Ariana contacted me about working with her for some images of her Valentine’s Day tutus.  Head on over to check them out and you will see why!  They are so well-made and so FULL.  I’ve never seen one this full, it is fabulous!  You can choose from predesigned tutus, or design your own completely – perfect for coordinating colors for a birthday party, portrait session, etc.  Emory was none too pleased about modeling for me (she is rarely pleased when my camera comes out these days), but between me, her Dot, and a red heart sucker, we managed to get a bunch of great shots to choose from.  This was also a good reminder for me about why I do not photograph children once they are mobile using my studio set-up, it is just not big enough to handle those little squirmy worms.   Look for a post very soon about the natural light studio set-up I used for this shoot – I get a lot of questions and plain old curiosity about this from photographers and clients alike, so I’m going to spell it all out for you later!  Thank you Frances for the opportunity to photograph your beautiful products!  Make sure to “Like” Bella Ariana on Facebook here - go leave her some love and let her know I sent you!

And before anyone asks, I did not make her “pose” like that … she was doing her leg exercises and I caught her in the “down-up” pause.   The things you have to come up with to make a two-year old stay still on a 5 foot space …

Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve entered the I Heart Faces challenge, but I couldn’t resist this week’s theme, especially when I could use a shot of my own little sweetheart!   She was my model for a recent commercial shoot (soon to be blogged), and let’s just say that our sucker saved the day … sort of … I did get this “are you done yet?” face.  Oh well, I still love it!

Head on over to I Heart Faces to see more adorable entries!

Well, this post has been a LONG time coming.  Back in the fall we did a big giveaway and feature with the fine folks at Tea Collection over on our Wardrobe Wednesday page.  This was my first introduction to this company, and after hearing and reading so many wonderful things about the company and their products, I picked up a couple of outfits (I love their girl’s dresses) for Emory’s two-year old birthday portraits.  Now THAT was a saga in itself (her portraits), and I will save that for another post all about my girl (consider this your sneak peek).  To make a long story short, we received the clothes, they are FABULOUS, we eventually got the portraits done, and now I wanted to share a little review with you.  It’s something I hope to be doing every now and again … as a photographer I may be looking for different things in the clothing I choose for myself and my family, and who knows, maybe that information will be useful for someone!   

The first thing I noticed when checking out Tea Collection’s adorable children’s clothing (and particularly their girl’s clothing) is the color palette.  It is so frustrating for me to go and purchase clothes for Emory only to find hot pink and flourescent purple EVERYTHING.  That’s all well and good for play clothes, but when I want something for portraits, I’m generally looking for deep rich colors or something that is vibrant without verging on tacky.  Believe it or not, that can be hard to find for little girls, especially if you don’t want to break the bank.  So when I first laid my eyes on the Tea Collection website, I had that “Ahhhhhhhh” singing moment in my head.  Seriously.  Their colors are all so rich and yummy, they are colors that I would want to wear.  I was hooked! 

Upon receiving the items I selected, I was blown away by how well-made they were.  Anyone who knows Emory knows that she is ROUGH on her clothes, far more little boy-like than lady-like let’s just say.  She’s barely two and I’ve thrown out countless pairs of pants and tops due to holes, stains, etc.  It is obvious that these clothes are very well-made, and so far they’ve survived a lot – spaghettios, grass/mud, our “dog” phase where Emory crawls on her knees all the time, and so on.  They’ve probably been washed dozens of times but they look as good as the day I opened the package.  That gets two big gold stars on my list! 

Another very cool thing I love about this company is that each collection they design is inspired by a different part of the world.  Their tag line is “for little citizens of the world.”  How neat is that!  Emory’s outfits shown here from the fall collection were inspired by Old World Hungary.  They really incorporate a sense of art into the design, and perhaps that’s why they appeal to me so much as a photographer.  It also means that each new collection will be fresh and different, although you will still get the same great quality, color, and artistic design that makes them so unique! 

While these, particular clothes are no longer available for purchase (shame on me for waiting so long to blog, I know!), I just got the catalog today for the newest collection, and let me tell you, it is to die for!  It was inspired by Catalonia – it just sounds gorgeous doesn’t it.   Here are some of my favorites from the early spring collection, chosen with an eye specifically for what might look good for your next portrait session:

Plumas Scalloped Dress - Gorgeous colors, and just enough fun design to make for easy accesorizing and interesting portraits

Jardin Ruffle Top with  Barcelona Bermuda Shorts - Great spring feel to this outfit, and something to run around and have fun in too!

La Musica 5-Piece Set – Another great thing about Tea is they offer mix and match sets at a discount!  This one is my favorite, pick any outfit, you can’t go wrong!