|
|
|
Some mommy and me goodness! Baby girl has gotten so big and smiley since her newborn photos! I've known Jessica for over 10 years and seeing her with her baby girl just makes my heart explode. One of my favorite parts of this day was listening to Jessica tell Rosie girl about how we met, "Well, we've known each other for a very long time. We met at bar, sometimes you meet the best people there..." Hahaha! True story, good ole Scruffy Murphy's in College Park. We still keep in touch with many friends we made at that place! That little sweet spot of 6-12 months for a baby is such a cute baby age, not fully asserting their independence and prime for all the snuggles and tickles and kisses!                      
0 Comments
I am so glad I was able to meet up with Alli and Mike while they were visiting from Boston. Boston... So how did our paths connect? Well, Alli is actually from Buffalo, NY! Mary and I have photographed some of her friends' weddings in WNY over the years. She reached out about engagement photos for when they were planning to vacation in Ft. Myers and everything happened to align. Lover's Key was the ideal location as it is a beautiful beach and she used to come here with her family when she was growing up. These two couldn't be more perfect! They are both so kind, fun and just a beautiful couple!! Some of my favorites from this bright and sunny beach engagement session are below!                               This beautiful momma and her little boy are so adorable together, waiting with sweet anticipation to meet the newest addition to their family, a baby girl. We had the dreamiest little maternity session right in my backyard. We went for a minimalist feel, using a simple white sheet hanging from some hedges while momma wore a flowy white dress. We were expecting a sunny day, but a weird fog rolled in and left us with overcast skies. The sun did peek out for just a few minutes! I experimented with Fuji and Portra film stocks and liked some images from 2 different scanners. There is some digital work in here too... It was fun mixing it up and trying to make it all look cohesive! Also, both momma and child outfits are available in the client closet if you are interested for your own session!                     Expecting baby number two while chasing around a one year old is exhausting and messy, but also rewarding and wonderful. A myriad of emotions wrapped into each day. I believe that one year old age is both incredible and a bit sad, as each new milestone, slowly but surely, moves your baby to a toddler. The snuggles and tickles and thumb sucking are so sweet. The stumbling walk turns to a run, teething and snacking go hand in hand, and those baby cheeks are still full. Hold on to those babies, they don't keep!                           Brittani and Amanda of Buds Flower Co recently held a pop-up flower shop in Lake Nona. They took over the former space of Jacq & Jack across from the Boxi Park area for Valentine's Day weekend. I had the opportunity to stop by on Friday while the girls were setting up and take a few branding photos. They transformed the coffee shop into a floral haven. The space was covered floor to ceiling with an array of beautiful vases and colorful flowers. All arrangements were available for purchase for Valentine's Day weekend. They also created a flower bar, where customers were able to make custom arrangements for themselves or to gift that special someone. It was so much fun to watch Brittani and Amanda work their magic, precisely cutting each stem, arranging flowers just right and taking care of each customer with the biggest smile on their faces. If you haven't heard of Buds Flower Co, you should definitely check them out! They grow a variety of their flowers in Amanda's garden, right in Lake Nona, FL. They also use sustainably sourced flowers and offer custom arrangements and a flower delivery service to Lake Nona residents. I have had the pleasure of seeing their work first hand, and if you love unique and gorgeous flowers, you will not be disappointed!                                This adorable baby boy came a bit earlier than expected and he is so sweet, he just melted me! He was just 5 lbs for these photos. So tiny!! Ashley is a fellow photographer and is very talented. You can check her out and give her some love at Ashley Comeens Photography! I am always a little nervous when photographing other photographers, but working with another creative person is really so much fun! Ashley and Andrew are already the most loving parents. It was so wonderful to just watch them stare at this sweet little soul with such adoration. My heart is so full when I look back at these photos!                           For those that asked about this cane webbing IKEA Hack I posted about the other day... After searching all the local stores and hours on the internet to find a boho cabinet with cane webbing, I found they were all very expensive. I was looking for a cabinet for Tess's room to hide all of the books that were overflowing the baskets they were in. It didn't make sense to spend that much money on something that would be in a 4 year old's bedroom, as it would likely become broken or covered in marker at some point. I basically gave up on the idea of something cute and functional and bought a wood cabinet Facebook Marketplace. I was not excited about my purchase, but for $100, it would do the job. Once I got it home, I realized it was IKEA. I had seen some IKEA hacks online, but all required some DIY. After a little research, I decided to try one of the hacks I saw. This hack involved changing out the doors to the cabinet and glueing in cane webbing.  The cabinet I purchased secondhand was the IKEA BESTA cabinet in the wood finish. It came with flat panel Lappviken doors, also in the wood finish. I ordered 3 white Hanviken framed doors because they have the middle portion cut out. This is where the cane webbing will go. The hinges were able to be transferred from the Lappviken doors onto the Hanviken doors. If you do not have the IKEA doors with hinges already on your cabinet, you will want to purchase the hinges for each cabinet door from IKEA too.  There are many options for cane webbing. The hacks I saw purchased theirs from Amazon but it was sold out when I was looking. I ended up ordering this cane webbing from The Online Fabric Store. For my 3 cabinets, I ordered the 24" wide Open Box Weave cane webbing in a quantity of 6. After I placed my order, I found out the product was on backorder. It arrived after several weeks.
The blog posts and YouTube videos I had planned to follow cut the cane webbing with scissors. They measured and fit each piece precisely to the opening in cabinet door and used glue to adhere it. I was extremely nervous about messing this part up. I am so happy I waited for my parents to come to Orlando and help me. My dad is a contractor and suggested using spray contact adhesive instead of the Gorilla Glue and foam paint brushes I had purchased. We would spray the opening in the cabinet and the back of the cane webbing and stick them together. Then, use a utility knife to cut around the edge so the webbing would lay flat. I jokingly told my dad that I was going to document this brilliant idea in case other people wanted to try it. I should have taken a video or actually used my camera but I didn't really think anyone would care. But here we are with the low quality iphone photos because several people actually reached out for a tutorial!  We cut (with scissors) the cane webbing into 3 large pieces that we knew would be more than enough to fit each opening. The cane webbing is pretty stiff and mine was rounded from being rolled up. We rolled each piece up backwards and secured it with rubber bands and let the rolled up webbing sit for a couple hours. We ran to Home Depot to get the spray adhesive, yellow tape and a utility knife. We taped the raised portion and sides of the white cabinet doors with yellow tape. We made sure the hinges were flipped downward so they wouldn't get spray adhesive on them.
My dad sprayed the opening of the front of each door. The spray came out with much more texture than expected so he gently wiped it with a paper towel. Do this very gently or the paper towel will get stuck! He then sprayed in inside edges with another coat of adhesive and wiped again. There is a 10 minute window for the adhesive. If it dries for too long, it will loose the ability to bond. We learned this from experience!! We taped again (over the tape that was still attached) so the cane webbing would not stick to the adhesive that got on the first layer of tape. Then, sprayed the back of each piece of cane webbing.  We gently laid the cane webbing on the cabinet to make sure it was straight and started pressing from the middle out to the edges and corners to make sure it would stick everywhere and there were no bubbles. My dad then took a utility knife and cut around each edge as I pressed the edges down while he cut. We did not have to wait for anything to dry. He attached the cabinet doors and it was done! I really cannot claim that I was very much help in this project but hopefully this post is helpful to anyone looking to do something similar!  Baby Sydney at 5 weeks. I really cannot get enough of her spiky black hair. She is so adorable!! It was pretty dark and started raining when I arrived for this in-home session so we moved out to their super cute bohemian styled patio. I loved everything about it and the pups even hung out for a few photos! Enjoy a few of my favs below!                            I love all the newborn details. It often hurts to remember how long ago it was for me now, but also awakens me to the fact that these are the things I would want to never forget. A tiny warm baby on your chest. Drowsy little eyelids, fingers wrapped in your hair, open mouth sleeping in your arms. It's real and its raw and it's truly breathtaking. Meet baby John. He is really so sweet and deeply loved. This squishy little guy just melted me!                                               I have really loved having the opportunity to meet and photograph so many new and familiar families this year. It is an absolute privilege to meet your new babies and see your little ones as they grow. These experiences bring me so much joy. I am overwhelmingly grateful for each and every one of you! The sweetest family and the cutest little baby boy that just wanted to be held. I remember how hard the newborn stage is but truly, there is nothing quite like those snuggly newborn babies. Here are just a few of my many favorites from this beautiful in-home newborn session.                        |
Archives
February 2021
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed