K… back to work ;)  We have a winner for the cute Shop Lady Like Red Knitted Bowtie Headband-  JESSICA MUOLO email me your address, you WON!!

Ready for another?  I have the Lillipops Designs Black & White Striped knit dress pictured here…

This little dress is so cute… by itself, layered- edgy, girly goodness :) Just enter Punch Tab below (share the link  or ‘like’ Lillipops Designs fan page for even more entries!)

Last year I found some great tissue paper confetti on clearance at Urban Outfitters.  I instantly thought that it would need to make an appearance in this year’s Christmas shoot.  But (like it happens often) I came across this picture…

and had a ‘dangit’ moment.  Basically the exact concept I had (not that confetti in the air is a stretch) ;)  So, I took a different direction with the shoot (but still had to use the confetti for a few shots of course) and these made the cut…

The rest of the shoot has a much different feel and will be published early next month (can’t wait to share!!) along with a couple other things I’ve been working on.  It has all led me to realize how incredibly grateful I am for where I am in life.  I am working on a big enough project that I need collaborators and it has been amazing to see that 90% of the people I call on are my friends (seriously- being completely surrounded by crazy talented people is what inspires me every single day), not to the mention the fact that every one instantly said “yes”… generous, nice AND talented.  This is my public ‘thank you’ to all of you that are such incredible influences in my life and my testament of what a difference it makes in life to surround yourself with people that are genuine, kind and inspirational.  I could not do what I do without them :)

wardrobe: Ritchie Rags (adorable custom made bloomers & top)

DRUMROLL…

the winner of the Kelly Moore bag is Rachel Allison.  Congratulations!!! Email me and I will tell you how to get your bag :)

Be sure to read to the end of the post… another amazing give away for you families!!

Now- it is time to get back to work :)  I just spent the last week road tripping through Montana, Canada, Idaho & Washington.  I got to finally meet Kelli Trontel in person (just as marvelous as I had pictured her!!) and visit her at the Red Caboose (coziest, cutest, BEST little coffee/frozen yogurt house I’ve been in).  If you are anywhere near Whitefish MT you need to find it :) If you don’t already know her, you might recognize Kelli and her husband from their recent appearance on HGTV (one of the few times I really regret not having cable).  Kelli and I… (and yes… I always look stoned in pictures orrr maybe I do in real life too??? haha)…

We will be hitting up Whitefish again… such a cute, friendly city.

Second stop was Calgary where I got to hang out with Ms. Short & Sweet… Dana Pugh.   I adore this talented lady and once a year in Vegas is not enough.  No pictures of us but there will be a whole post dedicated to her adorable kiddos in the next couple of days!  (gotta finish this post so I can edit- yay!!)

Such beautiful scenery through Montana and Canada…

We also made a pit stop at Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho.  I had never heard of it before and was expecting a permanent state fair (I have been spoiled by having Disney trips my whole life… everything else is unfairly compared- ha) It totally surpassed though!  It had great rides jambed into a fairly small, easy to navigate park and my kids thought the water park was the best part of the whole trip ($42 for both parks was good for me too- take that Disney) ;)

The distance covered in the time allotted though left a LOT of hours in the car.  Pretty sure the car and hotel rooms were where we spent more than half the time.  If it weren’t for the Solars there could have been some really unhappy kids.  Before we left we bought the Adventure in a Box.  It was the best $129 bucks spent on this trip.

I do look quite good in a mustache (if I do say so myself) :D

The goodness started before the trip even started with the Happy Family Movement emails (fun ideas to easily incorporate into your day that keeps your routines from being… well, routine).  They know how to illicit giggles, laughs & all around good times.  The Road Trip kit started with a manual that walks you through your planning process from beginning to end.  It  included choosing where to go, what to pack (and what to leave behind), how to make the most of each day, and what to do when everything goes south all at once. (Hint: it involved their very best pulled-over-by-the-side-of-the-road-game.).  The Road Trippin’ box includes activities with detailed instructions. Lots of ‘em. All wrapped up and assigned for specific times of day during a seven-day road trip (we modified and used it over 5 days in the car- worked perfect!).  My kids loved having these little surprises to look forward to and excuses to stop and have some fun during the boring.  The activities are great for little to big kids… it is genius (I love that I didn’t have to do any planning- just opened the box once we were on the road!).  A little sneak peek of what ya get…

And guess what?  The Solars are giving away one of these kits to a lucky reader!!  All you have to do is comment to let me know you want entered in the random drawing :)  I will announce the winner Wednesday night.

And even better?  If you can’t wait and want buy one right now all you have to do is enter ‘sewell’ at checkout and they will give you $30 off!

Back to good ole photo posts this week!

whitefish | MT

banff | AB Canada

My grandpa just passed away and not one person said a word about how far up the corporate ladder he had risen or how many cool things he owned.  Every single memory was of the kind of person he was.  I watched an entire house of things he had collected over the past 81 years go out the door.  I didn’t want any of it.  Without him connected to it, it was all just stuff.  I wanted the pictures.  I wanted the ring that sat on his finger every day.  I wanted to see his handwriting on a card.  I realized that in my own life that those are the things I should be paying attention to when I have people I love around.  Those are the things I should be striving for and collecting every day.

He had a ’65 Mustang that he used to drive to the cemetery every Sunday to visit my Mooie.  My first instinct was that I needed it.  It would somehow make me feel closer to him.  That wasn’t a possibility so I decided second best would be to do a shoot of the kids with it.  The funny part is that the whole time I was shooting, the whole time I was thinking about it after I finished, the whole editing process… I just wished I had done a session of him with the car.  I hadn’t taken enough pictures of him.

I guess the lesson of the day is I hear people every day struggle with photography- how to make it a business, how to make more money, how to be well known for doing it… please don’t do that to yourself.  Each time you capture something special- someone special,  you are surpassing anything you could ever want from the ‘business’ end of things.  That is what you are going to look back on and give the people that you love.  That is your legacy.

My grandpa kept every single picture he was ever given or had taken.  It is the best gift he could have left me.

Handsome sucker wasn’t he?  One of my favorite stories told when I was down for his memorial was from a lady friend of his in the neighborhood.  Apparently he was the catch of the neighborhood and all of the widows would take walks on his street in hopes of catching his eye (caused a bit of a stir amongst them in the process- hehe).

This is the only time I ever got the ‘real’ camera out to have pictures done of he and I.  It was when I had just purchased a digital SLR and had NO idea what I was doing (with the camera or PS).  This is a lesson learned… as I got better the camera started only being pulled out for ‘business’ and so I have nothing since (*changing that is at the top of the to-do).

And the one last spin with the Mustang…

santa ana | CA

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said,

people will forget what you did,

but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

-Maya Angelou

She is also one of Triple 7′s sponsors and will be giving our attendees some fun little gifts.  You can read my article here!!

I hope you all have a magical, beautiful day full of family & fun & all of the important things in life…

xoxo

~S

sunriver | OR

We moved this year so we have a different area to decorate (plus doing the same thing year after year just isn’t very fun) so the kids and I created some new garland for the mantle… we figured out how to make these cool snowflakes (saw one at the antique mall and instantly came home to google/make my own)… and we saw these cool little trees at the craft store- easy kid project…

I found a tutorial online how to make these beads out of origami paper… my own little take on it with extra ribbon and buttons sitting around the house…

they look WAY cuter on… very Anthro meets Crewcuts :)

One of our sets at the 777 Kids Shootout will be a tea party/forest/ZoZo creation of awesome decor so I decided to try my hand at making some props for that… Not perfect but I felt a great sense of accomplishment making them without a pattern!

And lastly… I am taking a leap and sending some of my work to one of my favorite companies (can I get a simultaneous fingers crossed from everyone… pleeeeease!!) so I created this little antique box, filled it with my images-candy-good vibes ;)

k- off to start on some more… on a roll and I think I have 9 shoots I need to be making stuff for… maybe I should be blogging an assistant for hire position!

Happy Holidays everyone!!!! ~S

The WeAreProud Waterproof Blanket Project is an in house charity created in early 2008. Through the process of direct donation, every WAP product that supports this cause pays for a fifth of the manufacturing cost to produce one blanket. These blankets are then given to individuals without shelter. Each waterproof blanket is made of a highly durable 100% fully waterproof nylon barrier that can act as an umbrella during harsh weather conditions while the flip side is made of a comfortable 100% polyester fleece. Another unique feature is the zipper opening on the side that allows for the blanket to be insulated for further protection against the elements. The intention behind donating such an expensive yet purposeful item is to help those without shelter with something tremendously useful, a high quality survival tool.

Not too shabby, eh?

And their mission statement…

WeAreProud® is a small company with big plans.

Our goal is simple: to change the way other companies do business by leading through example.

At its heart,WeAreProud® is a movement.

Unlike other businesses that focus only on a profit margin, WeAreProud® builds everything on the ideology of giving back to the world we live in.

This is accomplished through a term we like to call “direct donation” which means, that instead of giving a percentage to charity, your donation pays for an actual “whole” product that is then given to someone who’s in need of your support.

We take this a step further by making it our trademark that every product we sell donates directly and you the customer pay for only the product being donated and we take care of the rest.

But perhaps the most exciting aspect of WeAreProud® is the idea that as it grows, so does its influence, which is the proof that there is a company, that’s business, is to make the world a better place.

By making charity a statement, we are all capable of sending the message to others that there is a population that’s conscientious and coming together to make a change.

WeAreProud®, WAP clothing®, “Clothing With a Purpose.”®

Long story short… I was so impressed with what this company is doing & the route they are taking that I just wanted to share/spread the word/ask you to jump on the bandwagon (you won’t hear that out of my mouth too often so go for it!!!).

K- more crafting to do… ;)

ps… she is an amazing photographer btw (I try to stand really close to my friends in hopes their talent oozes onto me)  Gonna take her to Detroit with me next month for some styling yumminess at my workshop… can’t wait!!

vancouver | WASHINGTON