[my baby turns SEVEN... 'sew' let's PARTY!!!]

For Avila's 7th b-day she wanted to have a sewing party, that seemed quite daunting, but we gave it a shot. I wanted to keep costs down and so tried to keep things simple & easy, and use stuff I already had. Starting with the invitations.... this was the first time I used my sewing machine to make cards, and it was really fun!! 

The decorations... were also free, we cut sewing machine sillohuettes from foam board, added paint, glitter and trim and hung them on the front door and ceiling. We then cut thread spool shapes from cardboard and wrapped yarn around them, and added them to the ceiling too.

For the gift table I went to a thrift store and got an old vintage pattern for 49cents,  I picked out the thickest package I could and was able to use it to cover the gift table as well as the craft table and on the wall.

For more free decorating, I hung some patterns on some twine with clothespins. The SEW letters were from JoAnns with more paint and glitter, and simple gift bags were jazzed up with a printed labels with each girl's name on it.

We kept the food really simple with most things store bought so that we can focus on the main event.... the sewing part! We added the Martha Stewart pom poms to make it look more festive and I didn't want to take them down! Here's a tutorial on how to make them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDAgjtScFpU&feature=related

We set up three sewing machines, one is mine, one is my MILs, and my friend Roz brought her machine, she also stayed and helped which was a lifesaver!

 Here's a better image of the pattern papered wall, I hung the pre-cut pillow squares on more twine, ready to grab and sew. The pillows turned out super cute. so soft and a perfect size to rest their weary head... as demonstrated by my little hambug!

I also printed out personalized name tags for the girls pillows. They each sewed the sides and left a hole for stuffing, once they finished stuffing they put on their name tags, and while they were eating we quickly sewed up the holes for them.

I picked up 2 bags of batting after Christmas... actually it was 'buffalo snow'.. on clearance for $1.49 for a HUGE bag!! The material I picked up 4 yards at Beverly's on sale for $1 a yard! so the main project was a bargain!! I pre-cut and also drew in straight lines with disappearing fabric pen to make it super simple for the girls to do.

 Once all 11 girls arrived we gave them a run down of the crafts and then it was playtime!! on the coffee table we set up a station for them to design fashion clothing for paper dolls.

My sweet father in law labored all week to cut these out and mount them on cardboard, they turned out so cute!! The template was found online at http://familyfun.go.com/

Here he is again helping the girls with their headband project, Alannah taught them how to sew on the buttons and he hot glued them to the headband afterwards. My sweet mother in law, help cut out the flower shapes from felt and fabric remnants, she also brought down old buttons to put it all together. For some of the girls it was their first time sewing a button! It makes us so happy to see them after the party and they are still wearing them!!

All the girls did so well with sewing, they learned to use the pedal, lock their stitching by going back and forward, and how to turn around corners by lifting the footer! They were much more dexterous than I thought they would be, all the girls were 7-8 years old.

Avila LOVE LOVES to sew... just like her mamma! She is getting so good, she can sew a straight line and is ready to tackle something more challenging. I think all the girls were inspired to sew more and it makes me so happy that they are interested in this dying art. I hope it makes a comeback in the next generation! Let's bring back handmade, homemade and made in USA!! :-)

Finally the moment Avila's been waiting for cake and presents! She requested (insisted) on having Cheesecake! And we of course gave her cheesecake (thanks to costco) and decorated with sprinkles, and this amazing find - a little sewing machine photo frame my in laws had at their house! How PERFECT!!!

Lastly  I found these sewing machine and spool charms on EBAY and couldn't resist getting them to make something special for each girl to remember their day. I also bought a spool of brass chain and then Avila and I put them together. Turned out to be only $2 each so it didn't break my budget!!

There have been a few things that I've learned after throwing these girls parties over the years, that I thought I would share with you because it isn't hard to do! Firstly planning ahead is huge in keeping your costs low. We started planning this party in December, just the 'concept' and that left us plenty of time to look for sales, and we didn't have to rush at the last minute to buy things. I would just come across things as I go about shopping, and since I had the party in mind things would jump out at me like getting the drinks 3 weeks ahead on sale, getting the fabric and stuffing at an incredible price 6 weeks before the party. And ordering the charms from EBAY in December so that they could arrive from Hong Kong in time!! They were a huge bang for my buck, at only $3.99 for 10 charms!!

It also gave us plenty of time to cut and prepare the crafts & decorations so that we could save on not having to purchase them pre-packaged. To remember to save the cardboard from boxes to make the spool decor.

The internet is such a wealth of information, there is so much online that its hard to pick out what to do! Here are some of my favorite party sites
http://www.saraspartyperfect.com/
http://onecharmingparty.com/
http://imprintables.blogspot.com/
http://stephaniejdesigns.blogspot.com/
http://www.love-the-day.com/lovetheday/wordpress/

And my best tip of all....  this year I was prepared enough to decorate and set everything up the day before, so that made the actual day of the party so much less stressful because I wasn't running around madly at the last minute, everything was already done, all we did was set out the food, hang the sign on the door, and wait for our guests to arrive! Brilliant right?? Gosh, why didn't I think of that sooner???

 So there you have it... one simply sweet sewing party and one very  HAPPY Birthday Girl!! LOVE her to pieces!!

[ben & jessica.... engaged!]

This session was the hardest for me to pick my favorites...  i couldn't wait to share them with you but i needed to have a good chunk of time to really put it all together for you, and this week just was so crazy! But finally here  they are the sweetest couple, and one of my favorite shoots ever.

We revisited an old favorite location of mine here locally and i was so excited to see that they reopened their corner fruit store. When I ran inside to ask the store keeper if I could please photograph inside this is what i found! There might have been a squeal and a happy dance involved... i'm just saying that made my day!

This orange grove smelt amazing, i just wanted to stay there all day, lay down a blanket and smell the citrus, so pungent and clean, nature at its very best!

This little kitty cat came over to check on what we were doing on her lawn... 

  

Well I could go one and on... but i have to stop somewhere.... 

i hope you liked them as much as i did.

thanks for stopping by!!

[my how time flies!]

It amazes me how fast time flies, whenever I get a client who books the baby's first year package, I am shocked at how quickly each shoot approaches, I know I'm sure the parents don't feel like its been that quick, but it seems like yesterday I photographed this adorable peanut!

http://alexandrafrankel.blogspot.com/2010/09/little-ryan-is-now-6-months.html

And look at her now!!! Growing up and more beautiful each day. I am going to miss her!

welcome back green chair, i have missed you! I left this at a location in town and i had a local photographer friend call and let me know it was there, cause she recognized it from my blog! Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you!! I was searching EVERYWHERE for it... and I am so happy its back. Miss Ryan loved it too. I am always on the lookout for some cute vintage chairs, benches, step-stools, mini-ladders, boxes, suitcases... sometimes the ground is too wet to sit on and so it comes in handy!

wow... so much cuteness! I can't even bear it!! Thanks for stopping by... I have an engagement coming up that I am DYING to share with you..  I have so many its been REALLY tough to narrow down any favorites...

As I am processing these.. the wind is howling and its frigid outside, its supposed to snow down to 1000ft tonight! That's AUBURN! Oh I hope that it clears up so we can go play in the fresh snow! This weekend is a 4 day weekend for us, thank you Mr. President! We are looking forward to sleeping in... but I have a lot of party planning to do for Avila's 7th b'day!! And I am going to have to shoot her portraits using indoor studio!?!?! Say WHAT???? I know not my comfort zone that's for sure LOL! You will have to come back and see how I do.