So, I am doing a series on fairy images.  I haven’t explained it in depth yet.. so I wanted to take a moment to explain how the fairy/season of growth series are going to work.

i have wanted to do a fairy day for the last 2 years.  im a little obsessed with anything winged.  before michael and i were married.. my entire room was done in butterflies.  then, when chloye was little.. for years.. her room was done in butterflies and anne geddes fairy series.  i used to have a built in shelving unit devoted to fairies in my living room.  now.. i have birds.. and we are about to redo chloye’s room with owls.  so.. the winged obsession continues…

anyway… fairies.  i have thought about it for the last 2 years, wondered how i would do it.. what i would do.. and then.. it hit me.  lets do SEASONAL fairies.  a winter fairy.  a spring fairy.  a summer fairy and a fall fairy.  how stinkin’ cute would that be??????

so, i have 4 backgrounds, each seasonal.  the winter fairy is coming up.. it is a snowy scene with bare trees.  i am thinking a snow covered ground.. and i ordered 3 large mushrooms.  one is large enough to be a seat.  i am super excited about this.  fairy wings will be added digitally in photoshop.  i have ordered a few fairy costumes.. or we will just use tulle tutus that i already have.

the spring session will be the blue/flowery background i already have.. it will be heavily dominated by pink/purple blooms.. really spring.

summer is a very green forest scene and we will accent with sunflowers.. and it will be a green/yellow dominated theme.

fall will have a leaf dominated theme and will be strong in autumn colors.

so, there will be 4 sessions.  each session will be per child.  this is not for siblings.
you will pay 50.00 per session and you will receive an 8×10 from each of the 4 sessions, and at the end of the 4 sessions.. you will receive a 12×12 collage showcasing an image from all 4 seasons and we will call it a season of growth.. documenting your child’s growth through out the year.

what if you dont want a fairy session, but want season of growth???

well.. i will have another option for those not interested in fairies.

on the other side of the studio.. at each of these sessions.. i will have a seasonal set up, really clean.. really fun.  for winter, winter clothes are encouraged.  fun, oversized layered clothing.. hats, scarves, gloves, etc.

at the spring session.. beautiful spring wear.. bright colors.  or even your favorite rain boots and rain jacket/umbrella.  something that signifies spring.

in the summer… i am thinking a fun summer wear.. or bathing suit/beach coverup and sunglasses.. something fun.  we will have a beach ball.. it will be a beachy theme.

fall will obviously be a fall theme.. fall colors.. your favorite fall outfit.  at the end.. you will receive a 12×12 collage with 1 image from each session.. showcasing the season of growth of your child.

i am super duper excited about this.  cant wait to see the kids that register for this grow up through out the year.

these sessions will begin booking on Monday.  are you ready???

i know a lot of you have already seen it up there..

i was planning to make a formal announcement.. but my poor husband was a little overwhelmed with valentine bookings.. and the software was having issues.. so i didnt want to inundate him with even more emails.  so, i waited a few days.

if you look to the top of the blog, there is a tab for pricing and a tab for calendar.  both are active links with current info.  anything on the calendar is available for booking.  he removes the dates as they are booked.  michael is in charge of keeping me from booking on days off.. or dates i didnt plan to book.. so all communication is being done through him right now.  at the bottom of the calendar, there is a CONTACT form.  click that and fill it out so that he has all of your information, along with the date you were interested in booking.  he will get back to you within 24 hours.

the pricing page is active as well.  we didn’t change the prices really.. i am comfortable with my pricing.. but i needed to guarantee a minimum order.  so, i lowered my sitting fee to 50.00 for all sessions, instead of the 100.00.. and included the minimum purchase number into the reservation fee.  outdoor sessions are now 450.00 to reserve, studio sessions are now 250.00.  outdoors, you get 400.00 back in print credit, indoors.. you get 200.00 back in print credit.

all of the minis, LE sessions.. we are planning to open up online booking 2-3 weeks before the session.  so, things you see in upcoming months.. like Easter, or mommy and me, father’s day album, etc… keep in mind that we will not begin booking those until 2-3 weeks prior to the session.  sometimes we dont know may’s schedule now, in January.  so.. we are trying to wait closer to the date before booking.

we are currently booking for the valentine minis for January 14, 16 & 17, as well as January 21, 23 & 24.  you can view the availability at http://homeshade.bookmonline.com/schedules/traditional for the traditional session

and http://homeshade.bookmonline.com/schedules/vintage for the vintage session.

i am also having a petti party on this coming Sunday, the 9th that still has 4-5 openings.  you can book it here – JAN MINIS

i think that is all of the new info i have to give…

looking forward to getting back into the swing of things!!!

valentine minis are here.  yea!!!!

im super excited.. and i hope you guys are too.

As with all mini”s, up to 2 children allowed per sitting.  anything over 2 needs to book 2 back to back slots.  you will receive the incentive for each time slot purchased.
children only, no adults in mini sessions.
children must be able to sit unassisted to attend a mini session.  6months – 18 years old.

we are doing 2 segments of minis this year for valentine’s day.  1 set will be the same as last year, for those who did them then.. and the other set is a new set.

week 1, January 14, 16 and 17
will be the traditional Valentine minis.  the black damask and the pink tufted background.
storyboards will be available again, and with your 40.00, you will have the option to get 40 2×3.5 valentine cards for your children to pass out OR the traditional package of {1}8×10 and {2}5×7 of (1) image.  you get to choose which option.

week 2, January 21, 23 and 24
will be the vintage valentine set.  a traditional brown muslin with the angel wings/tutu’s for girls.  boys are suggested to wear button up shirts, ties/vests, dress jackets and hats.  i have a small selection of ties to keep here, Ashton’s hat and vest pictured are available and i have a few newsboy caps in brown/white that are made available.  i unfortunately do not have a full selection of boys wear for every child size.  i am going to try hitting up some thrift stores to see if i can find any additional vests.  you will definitely need to bring your own button up shirt. girls will need to bring their own solid color tank top.  all of mine are mostly decorated, so i dont have a lot of the plain tanks.  any plain tank top will work in either soft pink, brown, white, or ivory.  keep it neutral.

you get to choose between the two options for this background as well, either 40 cards, OR the traditional package of {1}8×10 and {2}5×7 of (1) image.

all images from this session will receive the vintage overlay treatment such as this

so, there you have it folks.  2 POLAR opposite themes to choose from.  hope you all love them as much as i do!

link to book:

traditional pink/black valentine: http://homeshade.bookmonline.com/schedules/traditional

vintage valentine: http://homeshade.bookmonline.com/schedules/vintage

PLEASE REMEMBER that you MUST complete the payment process before your time slot is officially booked.

Christmas came.  Christmas went.  we had a great Christmas.. but i wont lie.. i am glad it is past.  this was a BUSY Christmas.  well.. heck.  it was a busy year.  but.. the last 3 months were a whirlwind. 

I offered Christmas mini sessions this year.  this was new.  i ordered some pretty Christmas colored pettiskirts.. because we all know i am obsessed with pettiskirts.. and i advertised on my facebook fan page that i was doing Christmas minis.  in less than 20 minutes.. my Saturday was full; 26 time slots.. and i had to open Sunday as well.  we ended up doing 39 mini sessions in 2 days.  it was so fun.. but very tiring. 

so.. if you are NOT on facebook.. this is a good reason to BE on facebook.    to hear about what i am offering!!!

there are only a couple of slots left for my Valentine mini sessions that i am holding on Feb. 5 & 6 if anyone is interested.  visit www.facebook.com/homeshade

like the flower on her shirt?  i made it completely out of fabric.  friday night before we got started.. i had an idea.  it worked.  i loved it.    i cut out each petal and hotglued it together. 

i also put together the flowers that are worn for this session.  i have been a flower making fool lately.. getting ready for the upcoming petti parties for 2010.  there are going to be some CUTE pieces to wear. 

these arent nearly all of the kids that attended my first Christmas mini.. but i just pulled a few to give you guys an idea of how it went.  i have already bought one of the backdrops for next year.  i will be doing 2 different types of Christmas minis next year.  im excited about it.

my kids had a GREAT Christmas.  the only thing missing was my dad.  he wasnt able to make it this year.. after 9 consecutive years.. it was weird to not have him and his barrage of presents.  but.. with things how they are economy wise.. it was a smart decision for him to stay home this year and save the money his 2K mile round trip would have cost him in gas. 

we hosted Christmas dinner at my house for Michael’s family.  his step dad, brother and sister in law still had not seen the house.  so, this was a great opportunity for them to see it.

our awesome friend Rick cooked us a turkey.. he is the manager of Pappa’s barbecue.  and we all shared in making the sides.  we had a nice spread.. and yummy leftovers that we enjoyed the day after.. and the day after that.   

we are looking for ward to spending time this week with friends that are in town.  some we see only once a year.  and then.. we are REALLY looking forward to a NEW YEAR. 
i am excited about the upcoming year.  i have so many ideas for my business.. i want to grow exponentially in 2010.  it is exciting for me.

i hope all is having a great holiday week.. and hope you enjoyed looking at the images.  i still have quite a few sessions to blog before i am caught up.. and it is my goal to be a better blogger for 2010.  just you wait and see. 

until next time…

Tasha

wow!  that is all i can say about yesterday’s petti party.  WOW.

this mom had attended another petti party back in March.. and she immediately told me she wanted to book one for June.  so.. we put her on the books that day.  2 days later.. she calls and tells me she would like to move it up to May because she had already filled all of the spots.  talk about ON THE BALL. 

her party went soo smooth.. and it was such a great day.  everyone arrived on time.. we never got behind.. it seemed almost too calm for being a petti party.  normally.. you feel chaotic at least part of the time..
but not at her house.  it was nice!

if course.. the day started with 2 stunning girls.  all decked out in pink.  i knew it would be a good day!

her daughter was not scheduled until later in the day.. but all of the pettis lying around the house had her so giddy.  she couldnt stand not dressing up and getting her pic taken immediately.  she wore my new favorite color combo.

this little cutie swept me off my feet.  isnt she adorable?

this little one was so sweet.  and soo shy. thankfully, she kind of knew who i was.. she goes to my daughters school.. and we have interacted before.  she told me i was more fun outside of school though, as opposed to at the school.  LOL

her little brother is a ladies man already.  his sparkly eyes and gorgeous smile are going to make the ladies smile.. trust me!

and.. here she is again.. she literally had almost every single petti i own on her body at one point in time.  i think the only one she didnt wear was the newborn one.. and that is because mom veto-ed it just before she put it on.

this little girl is soo beautiful.  her mom is beautiful too.  she happens to do face painting for birthday parties.  the cool, swirly face painting.. or entire face painted, not just a small decal on the face.  i need to get her info and blog her.. because she is GOOD and AFFORDABLE.

this is sweet girl above’s older brother.  he was shy as well.. so we did some jumping jacks to loosen up.  it was fun.

aww.. my little muse.  i could literally photograph this little turkey every day of the week and be thrilled. she is so beautiful.. but the little stinker did EVERYTHING in her power to not look at me or smile.  she knew i would pull out all of my tricks.  she made me WORK for some cute pics.. and as soon as she was done.. she asked where my suckers were… because she knows i ALWAYS have suckers.  LOL

can you guess what his daddy does for  aliving?  i was in HOG heaven.  daddy gave me a direct line to him.. and he is my region’s UPS supervisor.  now, just about everything involving my biz comes via UPS>  and now.. i got the inside hookup.  only because he is my driver’s boss.. and has their cell phone number.  no more chasing him ALL over deer park again..

this little guy told me i was his new girlfriend.  michael should be worried!  for real….

umm.. can you stand all of this cuteness?  the pink is awesome. 
what stood out the most from these two girls was their daddy.  he was so sweet.. and thanked me for making his girls look so beautiful.  most dads arent into all of this girly stuff.. and since he is so used to seeing them in softball getup.. he truly appreciated their session.  it was touching.

this was his oldest.  they had just returned from a softball game..
she was soo excited to dress up.. and was just too stinking adorable.  she looks great in front of the camera!

this picture made me gasp when i saw it on the back of the camera.  she is too beautiful.  daddy, beware!

i love this lil chickadee.  again.. rushing for pics in between softball games.. i am soo glad we dont play softball.  LOL

she had so much spunk.. and personality.  i loved her.

this sweet heart.. she was so adorable.  i loved her inncoent little smile in all of her pictures. 

she too wanted to wear every single skirt i had..

this was her little cousin.  she is soo pretty.  i claimed her for Jaxon. 
her mom came to the session with a lot of great ideas for her pictures.  i LOVE that. 
this adorable hat can be purchased at www.JackandColedesigns.com
everyone loved it and the tube top that matches it.

the next three are sisters.. and they are soo stinking adorable.  especilaly this smallest one.  how cute is she?

this is her older sisster.  she so was not into my silliness.  i love when they are at her age.. and trying not to laugh at my stupidness.. because they are too mature.  it is such a milestone from little girl into young womanhood.

this middle one had me squealing over how cute her personality was.  i just loved her.. and wanted to take her home with me.  i love outgoing personalities like hers.

then, we had a straggler come join us.  she didnt book a session until about 30 minutes befoer i was supposed to leave.  i stuck and around and photographed this sweetheart.  she was sooo shy.. and we tried everything to get her out of her shell.  she wouldnt budge though..
she was beautiful though.. she reminded me a lot of sandy from Grease. 

anyway.. here are your teasers.  i hope you like them.

Thansk so much Jessica for such a successful party!