Once upon a time...

I am officially OBSESSED with my daughter's first birthday pictures!!!  My friend, Jessica Roberts (totally name dropping here), is the owner and photographer of Barefoot Photography, located in the Acadiana area of Lafayette.  She and I had been talking about a fairy tale photography session idea and started gathering props and ideas.  A combination of Jess' amazing photography skills, and Lena's surprisingly happy nature during eight, YES 8, costume changes made for the most amazing first birthday pictures I have ever seen - ok so I'm totally biased, but they seriously are amazing!!!

Jess had a great vision!  While I was in charge of costume changes, she was busy setting up scenes, checking the lighting, adjusting her camera... and by the time I was finished, she was ready for me to set the happy baby in the designated spot!  I am so amazed that she captured so many amazing images even though each scene only lasted a few minutes before we were ready for a new scene and a new costume.  Being a mom herself, she knows just how quickly you need to click before the baby has moved on to show interest in another shiny object.

She also worked amazingly fast to edit the pictures in time for Lena's birthday.  You can tell she has a gift and a love for capturing the momentary "footprints for the next generation."  Well, you can just see for herself how talented she is...

Thank you, Jessica, for these OUTSTANDING pictures!  They truly are AMAZING!

If you are in the Acadiana area of Louisiana, you should definitely book a session with Jess Roberts of !  She specializes in newborn, child and family - capturing life's authentic moments.  Jess goes on location but also has an 8 acre farm that is the perfect setting for shoots as well!
Barefoot Photography

Find her on Facebook and "like" her page where she frequently adds sneak peaks and more!!!

Feel free to Pin any of these images!

Winnie the Pooh

THUMBPRINT TREE

My friend contacted me about a Winnie the Pooh themed baby shower for a baby with a nursery of the same theme.  She had this great idea for a thumbprint tree for the shower... 

Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree!

Thumbprint trees are a great alternative to a guest book at showers, weddings and birthday parties!

Instead of signing a book, guests dip their thumbs in green ink and stamp the canvas.  Their thumbprints look like leaves for the tree!   When the ink dries, the guest signs his or her name over their new leaf.

I can't wait to see what this thumbprint tree looks like with all of its leaves!

CUSTOM PAINTING

That same week, another friend contacted me about a custom painting for a pre-teen who loves 

Winnie the Pooh, but is getting older and her tastes in decor are maturing.  

She wanted a painting that will offer some encouraging words that can also grow with her through the years.  

She found this quote by Christopher Robin that every child growing up deserves to know and hear,

and even better, it's perfect for a fan of Winnie the Pooh!

Hails Angels Custom Creations

Brooke from Hails Angels Custom Creations designed the PERFECT nursery for her baby girl!

I love this nursery so much, let me count the ways...

The crystal chandelier, for one!

The  elegant, coral pink initials surrounded by 3-dimensional flowers...

The custom hand-made bedding:
the clean and simple yet elegant white bumper
and blue and pink dust ruffle.

The blue walls for a girl!
I also love this shade of coral pink for the pops of color throughout the room.

The letter 'H' to match the window valence,
and custom doll handmade by Brooke.

And of course the simple, white wall decal and
coral nightstand with crystal lamp on top...

 Like I said, PERFECTION!  And lucky me, I got to make a growth chart for this beautiful nursery!!!  Trust me, I felt a LOT of pressure to make it worthy enough to find a place on the wall of this room!

I think it'll look great in her room!!!

Stay tuned for more from Hails Angels and like her page on facebook!!!  There may be a new surprise in store from Hails Angels and Kidspired Creations!!!

DIY [No-Sew] Baby Ponchos

It's my new favorite thing!!!

I hosted a baby shower this past weekend for my sister, and my favorite thing that she got was a hand-made baby poncho!  I immediately ran to the fabric store to buy some fleece to make my own!  And let me tell you, I was able to make 6 poncho's in 10 minutes!  First try!  So super easy and inexpensive (especially since JoAnn's was having a sale on fleece).

Here's what you need:
1/2 yard of fleece (makes 3 baby ponchos)
Fabric scissors

BAM!  THAT'S IT!

Here is the step-by-step made easy!

Disclaimer:  the 6" opening is for my 8 month old's head.  Your baby might need a larger or smaller opening depending on his/her age.  Happy Crafting!

1st Year Custom Painting

Baby Girl Clélie (check out her growth chart here) isn't a baby anymore!!!
This month she celebrated her 1st birthday!  

Her nanny had a great idea for her birthday... a 1st year painting!

She drew up her idea and e-mailed it to me along with a list of everything she wanted included...

Kidspiration:

Customer's hand-drawn vision

Kidspired's Creation!

Barefoot Photography Photo Shoot

I LOVE photography!  I love the snippets of moments that are captured with the tiny click of a camera... those memories that you can look back on and reminisce.  I always have this big goofy grin on my face when I look back at old pictures... I can't help it.

I am kind of a picture nut.  I seriously am never a few feet away from my camera (it pretty much lives in the back pocket of my jeans), waiting to capture that perfect split second ::click::... wait, his eyes are closed... capture that perfect split second ::click::... MAN!  He turned his head... that perfect split second ::click::... WAIT!  COME BACK!

Thaaaank goodness for digital cameras.

 My little pocket-sized camera is great for capturing our little family moments: a first tooth, a new haircut, the perfect snuggle... but what about the big picture?  I want to freeze frame what my family looks like at each stage of our lives so I can look back and see how much we've grown, how much we've changed, how much we've learned, and how big our family has gotten.

With the birth of our caboose in April, I decided that this would be a great year to start sending out Christmas cards... our little family:  complete!  Merry Christmas!

My friend, Jess of Barefoot Photography, shares this love of photography (except she's really good at it!).  She drove a really long way to my house to capture our BIG PICTURE of our little family.  I wanted something frame-worthy, and much more... I wanted something Christmas card-worthy!  And what Jess captured was even better than I could have imagined... she captured the essence of our family...

I absolutely love  Jess' approach to family photography!  My kids are NOT easy to photograph because they do not like to stay still, but that didn't phase her!  She and her camera danced around my family as we played in the pasture!  We did our thing, and she did hers... and she captured our family perfectly!

Also, please "like" Barefoot Photography on Facebook!

Jess is located in the Acadiana area of South Louisiana.

Hoo! Hoo! An Owl Bedroom for Two!

Last May, I painted a growth chart and letters for new baby girl Kennedy's butterfly nursery!  Well, Kennedy just became a big sister the week before Thanksgiving to TWIN GIRLS, Kate and Klaire!  I was beyond thrilled to paint letters and growth charts for our dear friends' new bundles of joy!  I was also super excited to paint decor for an OWL-THEMED room!

Kidspiration:

ZUTANOBLUE Owl Brights 4 pc Crib Bedding Set

How cute is this bedding??????  So cute that my sister, after helping me paint the growth charts, decided to get this bedding for her baby too!

Kidspired's Creation!

My husband and I meeting Kate and Klaire for the first time!
(And Bear sneaking into our pic in the background)