about "Meet our models"

Last year, I posted on our facebook page that I was looking for models. I was overwhelmed with the response. So much so, that I put them all in a folder and fretted on what to do. I use my children a lot. It is easy for me. I can dress them, take them to a location, and take pictures. If the pictures don't turn out, then I have only wasted my time. I am not a professional photographer. Once I get the pictures home, there is a lot of editing that occurs to make them somewhat presentable. We can't afford a professional photographer so it is left to me. Anyway, I got so many cuties that my goal this year was to use as many as I could. That may sound like a silly goal, but it is big for me. It means that I have to be organized, scout locations, and try desperatly not to disappoint anyone who is so excited to be in a photo shoot. It still has to be fun for the kids. My stress can't ruin their fun. So, I scheduled a shoot with 4 little girls—two of my own and two friend's children. I didn't go to my master list of volunteers. I still got a little freaked by that, so I used my adorable neighbor, Ellie. But, hey, it is a big step for me, I used other children for the shoot. That counts, right?

I decided to do model profiles this year with the girls (and sometimes) boys that I shoot. They camera captures their adorable smiles and sometimes their quirky little habits, but it can't capture their sweet personality and charm. Our first model profile is Ellie. I will post her stoy once all the pics are edited. I can't wait for you to meet her.

SNEAK PEAK—Queen of Hearts

I love showing "sneak peaks" of our outfits. I get so excited!  I can't wait for the final photo shoot or the final design presentation, that I have to take you along through the process. Yes, you can pre-order these if you'd like to ensure your place in our production line. (For those new to the blog, we usually only order up to 10 yards of fabric on smaller collections. Once it is gone, we usually don't reorder.)

This year, we are doing "snapshot" photo shoots before the real full production. If you've ever photographed children, you will understand. Tinkering with the outfits at the final shoot is chaos. I've decided to put the outfits on my girls, take them to the park, and do "pre" shots. This will help me see how the outfits are photographing, how I should modify the outfit, and how I should style the final outfit.

Here is the first outfit of this "mini" collection—Queen of Hearts. (Also, if you are new to our blog, we like to design very versatile outfits. Ones that can be worn beyond a specific holiday. Hence, the red, white and black motif. We thought these colors would be perfect for Valentine's Day, but could also be worn beyond Febuary.)

Let me know your thoughts of this sneak peak!

* Remember, the final outfit may differ from the images shown here. Once we review the images, we edit the outfit to see what works and what doesn't. For instance, we may not add the second accent of black rick rack to the bottom of this pant. It will definitely make the pant more versatile for other matches later in the year.