I am so excited to tell all of you about one of the most talented people I know. Actually, I only “know” her from the internet but she has become a special friend of mine and I just have to brag about her. Erika is an artist just oozing with talent. I first commissioned her to do a piece for me about a year and a half ago. Since then, we have shared many emails and she continues to amaze me with her gift, almost daily. I have a hard time not wanting to buy everything she creates! Please, take a few minutes to check out her work and you will not regret it.
Erika’s website: www.erikajessop.com
and here’s her Etsy shop.
And a few pictures of two of my paintings from her. One is a watercolor and the other is on canvas.
Here is the canvas one. It is the perfect piece for my daughter’s nursery. 
And a detail from this painting.
And here is the very first one she did for me. I finally decided it would look best in a blue frame and I love how it looks on our yellow wall.
Isn’t it so cute?!
Thank you, Erika, for everything you’ve done for me and for being such a sweet friend!
Now that I have your attention with my new kinda-fancy blog, I want to share a fabulous little Etsy shop with you. For those of you who don’t know what Etsy is, you soon will after you check out this store and then start exploring. It’s like an addiction. So many adorable handmade things on there. But, your first stop should be Noggins n Bobbins. My sweet girl is modeling one of their hats below and she just melts me. We are all so smitten with her, especially her two big brothers.
Hat from Noggins n Bobbins
I finally did it. I finally finished my new blog. I know I’m like the last person to jump on this new-and-improved-blog bandwagon but here I am! (I’m still learning my way around so if things look off, forgive me for now) And with this new blog comes new features that I’m really excited about. Not only do I get to have a fun little slideshow at the top, I can post bigger pictures for my sneak peeks. I’ll post one for you to see what I mean. Also, there is a search feature and a menu up there to help you navigate around and find what you need. In addition, I now have my policies and session agreement online so all you have to do once we have talked about a session together, is fill out the form, check a few boxes and even go ahead and pay your session fee if you prefer (all with one form). I think everything else is self-explanatory but feel free to send me a contact form, email me or just leave a comment here if you have questions or are feeling lost. And thanks for reading.
So for the past few days I’ve been telling people about these wonderful clients I had. I explain how I asked “Mom” if her girls were always this calm at the end of the session. She looked at me like I was crazy:) Mom apparently didn’t think they were quite as calm as I did. The difference, we discovered, is that I’m used to being in my house with two crazy boys (plus baby girl), while she’s used to her two sweet girls. My house is like a zoo compared to the “S” family’s house!
Here is a little sneak peek for you “S” family. Your girls are so precious, thank you for sharing them with me.
I love little everyday moments like this:
Little sis (soooo cute!):
And one of big sis. Isn’t she stunning?
I have just contacted the winner of the Giving is Awesome contest and I am so excited to work with this family. What an amazing story they have to share. I am figuring out details about what I can/cannot put on the blog about them (to respect their privacy) but let me just say they are so very deserving. Thank you to everyone who entered. And thank you to all of the other photographers participating in this "awesome" movement!
Happy New Year!
Although I don’t normally work during the holidays, I did take on one shoot for this wonderful family and I’m so glad I did. Unfortunately, I think we did it on THE darkest day of 2008. But the energy and love that was displayed by this family was amazing and I’m so excited that I was there to witness it. They requested very laid-back, non-posed, capture-us-just-as-we-are type shots. It was so FUN. See for yourself…
How gorgeous are these sisters? I’m tellin’ you, this whole family was stunning!
I think this next one is one of my absolute favorites from the session. It was soooo dark that day, I wasn’t sure if this would work or not–but look how cute they are:
Thank you “H” family for welcoming me into your happy home and thanks, Brenda, for sending them my way!
And please, don’t forget, if you want to enter someone for the Giving is Awesome contest, do it by Monday, January 5th. Thank you to those of you who have already emailed me about the deserving families you know. It’s going to be a tough choice!
