{Designer Spotlight: Trendie Treasures}

A new clothing designer - well to me!! :)  When this designer, Trendie Treasures, contacting me it was several days before Brielle broke her arm.   So when these beautiful outfits arrived, little B was in a bright pink tattooed cast so we had to put things off.  But as I was getting more designers projects in the queue I was getting impatient and was lucky to work with this beautiful little girl.  She and my son, Tyler, are good friends and shared the same teacher this year in first grade. Her family is also new to Arizona (relatively) and moved here around the same time we did.   She was so at ease in front of the camera making this shoot easy, quick and fun - I love her elegance and poise.  I'm sure you'll be seeing more of her again in the future spotlights ;-).  So here are just a few outfits from  Trendie Treasures Summer Clothing line.  Such fun summery colors :)  And the names she picked for them are very fitting: Bold, Bright & Beautiful and Perfect Pink Punch!  Check her out on Etsy :)

{Designer Spotlight: Spring Collection-Kait Emerson Designs & Nuxiemade}

I'm back!!  Back from Mexico that is :)  It was a great vacation and the kids fell in love and want to move there.   Not surprising - they're little fish and they couldn't build enough sand castles.  They also had so much fun bartering in nearby villages and looking for seashells where ever they went.  Now that I'm back I feel like I have a TON to catch-up on!  So much to blog (lots in the queue right now).  The first thing that I want to blog is the new Spring Collection by Kait Emerson Designs.  She is talented beyond words and when I received the items to be photographed I instantly decided on a theme.   The Carnival!  The light blues, and pale pinks mixed with a punch of deeper colors screamed FUN and Childhood.  So the kids really got into it.  She included a cool boys shirt for Tyler to model - I love the colors {fun, yet definitely 'boy'}.  And the cute green and pink headband seen in many of the images are made by my favorite hat maker Nuxiemade.  She has a huge selection of colors to choose from on her site.  Here are a few images from our session.  Check out more items in Kait Emerson's Spring line at www.kaitemersondesigns.com

Couldn't resist going Grungy Vintage on this last one :)

{Designer Spotlight: ZozoBugBaby & NuxieMade}

Doesn't this dress make you long for Spring?!  In this newest design by Julie of 'Zozobug Baby' and 'ZoGirl!' the soft pinks, and sunny yellow go so perfectly for this style of dress.  The apron portion of this fabric is imported from Hollond so the this "Cotton-Candy Dress"  is a limited edition piece.  I love the flirty style with the mini-ruffle and the matching rosette at the top, coupled with the funky/fun apron front and the the halter back.  I was so giddy when I saw this dress and so was Brielle - she wanted to go on a photo session 'RIGHT NOW'.  So funny :)  And that cute little matching headband (which Brielle insist on wearing every time we get into the car...did I mention that she's a little stubborn?) is the hand-made design of Melissa of Nuxiemade.  Remember the knit hats I use all the time?  This is the same maker and I'm thrilled to see these new accessories!!  She's brilliant!

Side Note:  I just converted from PC to Mac (woo hoo!!)  so bare with me on any bumps that may happen during this conversion.  I have yet to calibrate my monitor so you may be looking at pictures that are Purple - lol.  Hope not.  So even though I'm in sRGB colorspace I'm seeing that some of the images posted on these designers sites look like they are in Adobe RGB (but they aren't) weird hu? Anyway this change is challenging at times - it's fun, it's scary, it's new and I'm trying my hardest to dive in head first.  I also got myself a handy dandy little tablet to edit with so that too is 'change' and adds the many emotions mentioned ;-)  Change is good though right?  Thanks for stopping by!!

{Designer Spotlight: Eliza Kate Designs}

I'm home!  Yes, but I've been running around like a crazy woman since I've been home and haven't had a moment to edit and post all the fun sessions I had during my time in Seattle. Tyler started the first grade yesterday (weep, weep).  I can't believe he's growing up.  It's all so much harder on me it seems.  Thankfully he's a pretty happy-go-lucky kid, but I'm the one stressing, overwhelmed and intimidated by the size of his new school.  The school is fantastic and the kids there seems happy, well-balanced, etc. but I'm completely overwhelmed by how big it is.  He came from a school in South Carolina where there was only one teacher per grade and it was very small.  This is all so new.  It reminds me of my first day at college - trying to find where things are, locating my classrooms in advance so I'm not late the first day, learning a whole new routine, etc.   So those anxious memories along with my baby growing up make me a bit of a mess ;-)  I'll get over it soon....I hope.

 Okay, onto my Designer Spotlight!  I thrilled to be asked by Krystin, designer of Eliza Kate clothing line, to photograph more of her clothing.  These pieces are from her new fall line.  Aren't they adorable!!  The pants - I fell in love with (well, the skirt, tops and dress too but if I had to choose one it would be the pants) - they are so cute, fit great and I love the detail on the bottom.  Brielle wore them to school this week under a dress, it's still in the low 100's here,  I tried to explain that she'll get hot but she insisted.  And she accessorized with 2 necklaces, 5 bracelets and a neck piece/chocker thing that 'was' here head-band as a baby but looks more like a garter now.  I just let her go with it after trying to convince her that we should leave pretty jewelry at home.  I was shaking my head and giggling at the same time.   Anyway, I love the colors and fabrics she used and Brielle felt comfy in them even in the 114 degree heat we had the day of this shoot.  I was shocked she lasted as long as she did.  Cold water and lots of it was key for both of us :)  Check out more of her work at www.elizakatedesigns.com 

{Designer Spotlight: Zozobug Baby}

So...I'm still in Seattle doing sessions, visiting with friends and family and just enjoying some time back in this amazing city.  Summer time here is amazing and works perfectly for sessions - except for record breaking heat...more on that later {wink}.   Anyway, we head home in just two short days and I already miss my friends, family and clients up here.  The good thing is, my flight from AZ to Sea-town is so much quicker than it was from South Carolina so hopefully that equates to more frequent vists.  ;-)  Anyway, I'll post more about my time in Seattle shortly. 

I've been meaning to post these beautiful designs for a couple of weeks, but computer glitches and being away from my main computer have delayed this.  Well talented Julie, from Zozobug Baby, sent me some great new fall designs she's incorporating into her line before I left.   Aren't these adorable!?  My favorite is the orange and purple skirt, Briella calls it her twirling skirt.  I love it!! Anyway, we  had fun photographing these despite the Arizona heat just days before we left for our trip.  Thankfully Briella has made it easy - we're done within minutes which is key in the heat.  On this day it was 114 degrees but we shot these when it cooled to 107, hence the flush cheeks.  But she's a trooper and started to cry when I told her it was time to go.  She wanted to find the grasshopper she spotted before our session, so we looked, and looked and looked.  Sadly, we couldn't find him again so Briella was finally ready to go.  Always an adventure with my little girl :) .

{Designer Spotlight: Kait Emerson & Nuximade}

Oh...my... what a crazy month this has been.  I've been loving photographing Spring lines for so many designers.  Briella even asks me to photograph her - whaaa?  Yes, shocking me how much she enjoys these sessions.  Anyway, below is a taste of Kait Emerson's new spring line. And the coordinating hats are from the talented Nuximade.  You've seen both of them featured many times on my blog and I'm digging their latest designs and colors.  Love them!!   Brielle wore the green and yellow ensemble on her last day at school before we moved.  Yes, we moved yesterday!  So her last day at Byrnes was on Wednesday which happened to be ‘Spring Pictures' at school.  She loves accessories so the hat and the bows on the shoulders of the dress drew her in and she instantly fell in love ;-)  Check out more of their fun styles by clicking on their names above!

To update you all... we flew out to Phoenix yesterday from Charlotte, NC.  The night before we cleaned out our old house and then made the 2 hr drive to Charlotte (getting in at just past midnight).  Our flight was at 6 am the next morning so the kids flew on 4 hrs of sleep - oh my!  They did amazing (to my surprise) and we arrived mid-day to AZ.   I'm without my main computer (it's on the moving truck which should arrive early next week) but I made sure to upload the images below to my laptop since I knew I couldn't wait for the truck to arrive to make a blog post ;-) 

I'll be blogging more about our final days in SC and some session sneak peeks.  Saying good-bye is so painful but I'm incredibly thankful for the experiences we had in SC and I'm excited for the adventures and opportunities that await us here in Arizona!  Now I need to get to bed...my body is paying me back by giving me an atrocious cold - uggg... ;-)

{Designer Spotlight: Oh So Sassy!}

Yes, I'm still alive!!  Gosh things have been incredibly busy!!  As you know, we are moving from South Carolina to Phoenix,  Arizona.  My husband started his job two weeks ago in AZ so the week before that we were in Disney World kind of as a good-bye to the south and some fun kid-focused good times.  Gosh, our kids were in heaven!!  Tyler and Brielle agreed that their favorite ride was 'Thunder Mountain' - yeah a big'ole roller coaster.  I was shocked first that Brielle was tall enough to go on the ride and that she fell in love with it!  We have video of each of them on the ride screaming with excitement.  Guess how many times we rode Thunder Mountain.....10 TIMES during our visit.  Anyway, I could go on and on about the kids excitement over everything they saw but I won't bore you with that ;-)  Two days after we got home we  left for Arizona  to check out area while Jeff started his new job.  What a busy busy busy  week and a half!  I must've seen over 100 homes!  I got a feel  for the area since each day was packed with research and exploring, the weather was perfect for it!!  It got me excited for the desert sunsets and the cool photos that I'll be able to capture once I'm there.   We were so busy I didn't touch my camera once (I was going through withdraws, I'm not used to going more than a couple of days without photographing).

 Anyway, while we were away we got news that an offer came in on our house!!  We were shocked since it's only been on the market 3 weeks!  So now it's under contract!  I know the deal can still fall through so I'm not celebrating until the deal is done ;-)  We're excited but that means we'll be moving sooner than we anticipated.  We have a close date of April 15th - yikes!  I'm not mentally ready and that means Tyler won't be here for his 5K graduation (I think I'm more upset by that than he is) :(  But I'm not complaining - I'm just thrilled we won't have the stress of two house payments!!   With a close date so soon, I've had to cancel many Spring sessions which I feel bad about but I do plan on coming back to Florence once a year for sessions and of course to see my friends here in the South :)  More details to come in later posts.

Okay onto my original post...Michelle, designer and owner of Oh So Sassy,   just came out with her Spring collection.  And I love it!! It's fresh and colorful!  I love the sleeves and the sash/belt  that she incorporated in her designs coupled with her fun fabrics.  Briella liked them too and didn't want to take her 'pretty dress' off before our spaghetti dinner after our photo shoot, but I feared orange sauce staining the front so I convinced her to let me take it off until she was done with dinner.   Thankfully she was content with that plan and ate her dinner in just her leg warmers and underwear ;-)  After dinner the first thing she did was grab the dress and put it on and went running to get her 'princess shoes'.  I'll miss these days ...I know my baby is growing up so fast so I'm savoring these moments.  Anyway  check out newest collection at Oh So Sassy and upon purchase, if you enter the code 'karamay' in the comments to the seller, she will give you 15% off one item by giving a refund!!    Thanks Michelle!! 

Olivia dress below - love the punch of yellow with the black and white.

Madison dress:  fun, funky patterns. The box pleat on the skirt portion is a great touch.

Eva dress:  fresh spring colors and again I love that box pleat at the skirt line.

{Designer Spotlight - Ribbies!}

Oh I'm behind on posting to my blog again :(  I really don't like going more than a week without posting but things have been nuts as you can imagine.  I've been doing  some fun commercial projects,  a few client shoots and getting ready to head out tomorrow for Disney World!!!  Since we're on the east coast and in the south we figured we can't leave this area without a trip to Disney World for the kids.  They are at such a fun age for it now, so I can't wait to see the excitement on their faces while we explore the park.  Without a doubt, Jeff and I will turn into big kids ourselves which will make it even more fun.  Of course my kids started to get sick last week, so I promptly took them to the doctors so we could cure any ailments before our adventure.  I want them to have fun and avoid the misery of being sick on such a fun vacation for them.  I'm glad I took them because they both had ear infections and bad colds - now they're loaded up on antibiotics and starting to feel like themselves again  - whew.... ;-)  After we get back from Disney - we're home for 2 days and then we head off to Arizona for a week+  to look for places to live and Jeff starts his new job when we get there!  Did I mention things were busy?   tee hee ;-)    Then the kids and I head back to SC so they can complete school, we can hopefully sell our house (praying)  and I can work with my amazing clients before saying goodbye to friends and our life here in the south.  Gosh that sounds so sad :(  But again, I do plan on coming back once a year for sessions and to see the great friends we have made while we were here.   

Okay, on with my original post!  I'm sooo excited about this commercial client of mine.  Kim from Ribbie's , contacted me recently to photograph some of her new products.  I was excited since I had just seen Ribbie's clippies the week prior at my local Target on one of the end-caps and was thinking about getting some of these hip little clippies for my daughter.  They come in so many fun colors and they actually stay in little one's hair with their unique foam grip.  Anyway, I learned a little about how Ribbie's got started too.   Kim and her sister, Kristen, went into business in 2006 after searching for cute hair accessories for their young daughters and noticed that the selection hadn't really changed much from when they were young.  They  saw the same big bows and plastic barrettes that slid out of fine hair.  They  wanted to design something more simple and proportionate to a baby/child's face.  About the same time, they came across the huge selection of cool scrapbooking ribbon that was relatively new to the market and thought it was a perfect fit. They added clips and their unique foam grip and tried it out.  The clips were a success staying in their daughter's hair all day.  In 2006 they started making them at their kitchen table.  Now they have manufacturer, a fulfillment center and distributors in 4 countries!! Their product popularity expanded at an amazing rate.    You can find Ribbie's at www.ribbiesclippies.com.  { Shipping is only $2.90 for up to 10 pair. Also receive 10% off by typing coupon code:  Kara May on the last page of check out.}  And the Ribbie's 4 packs can be found at target stores and at Target.com  -   http://www.target.com/gp/search/177-9662574-5715568?field keywords=ribbies&url=index%3Dtarget&ref=sr_bx_1_1&x=0&y=0  I found them on the end cap in the baby shampoo section.    This Spring they will be expanding their  line with several new products including pacifier clips and headbands made from Ribbies own ribbon designs.  Stay tuned for more products at their website and on my blog as I feature more of their new products.   

{Designer Spotlight - Kennedy & Friends Co.}

Oh my these tutu's are so fun!   I received an exciting package of goodies a while ago from my  friend Nathalie, amazing tutu designer and shop owner of Kennedy and Friends Co. , with these beautiful  tutus!   I love them both!  Of course my daughter was tickled when she saw them - her eyes got big and she said in a slow whisper  'Oh they're beautiful mommy'.  Then she carefully picked one up and then the other and put on not just one, but two tutu's and began dancing around the house. Then she ran upstairs and grabbed the other tutu's Nathalie designed  and put all of them on.  She was covered from head to toe in colorful tulle.  She even put one on her head and started 'dancing like a princess'.  When she saw I noticed her she started to giggle and said, 'How do you like me mommy?'.    

I processed these in a faded age washed look - actual tutu colors can be found at Kennedy and Friends Co.Check out her store site for more styles.

Below Brielle was coming up with her own poses - I thought it was funny yet cute since it was her trying to be very posey posed.  She even laughed as you can see below.

{Nuxiemade - Designer Spotlight}

Remember Nuximade?  I featured this amazing hat designer several months ago and I am again thrilled to feature more of Nux's amazing work.  She's also in the process of designing other styles and colors so stay tuned. 

I always bring these hats to sessions and my clients fall in love with them asking me for the link and information on the hats.  Some clients even show up to our session with the hats since they've seen them featured and used on my blog with so many clients.  Love that!

My children love the hats and Brielle has gotten a little possessive of them.  I use them primarily for my sessions but if the kids want to wear one I let them - why not?  Well, when Briella sees pictures of my clients in 'her' hats, she says 'Hey, why are they wearing my hat?  They didn't ask?  Was I sharing - no one told me'  - I have to remind her that the hats are for my clients to wear and she gets to wear them when I'm not photographing.  She's got that just turned three attitude and drama.  I'm nervous for her teen years.   Tyler on the other hand will see pictures of clients in the hats and say 'Oh cool they wore our hats, looks good mom'.  And then he'll point out his favorite image.   So funny how the two are so different - could be the age or it could be the difference in gender - who knows?