DIY FLORAL CROWN

Anyone else in love with the whimsy a floral crown adds? I've been hoping to create one for a session and when little Brooklyn was born I knew she would wear a crown perfectly. Thus began my adventure in creating a floral crown. 

I read a lot of tutorials on how to make a one and as always, I have intentions of following the directions but at some point in the process I go rouge and do my own thing. So, my tutorial is pretty simple, as are most of my DIY's. . .

Supplies Needed:
Fake flowers - make sure they have wire stems
Jewelry wire
Scissors
Wire Cutters

*If you want to wear this for more than a photo-shoot purchase these items

Elastic
Hot glue/gun
Needle & thread

Instructions:
1. Purchasing the right mix of flowers is essential - it is very easy to make a fake looking/lets be honest "off looking - almost cute, but something isn't quite right" floral crown. Take your time moseying the store and dreaming up what would look good together. Because mine is for a newborn I knew I wanted it to be simple and organic looking and a few touches of color. I also knew it was only going to be about 13inches around so I had very little space to work with. 
2. Make sure the elastic and jewelry wire match your color scheme as well.
3. Start the floral arranging process. I cut a few pieces of flowers and moss and off, leaving about two inches of stem on each so I could wrap it together. 
4. I began wrapping the wire of the moss together leaving space in-between so I could add flowers to it later.
5. Once the moss was wrapped/wire twisted together and the correct length, I used jewelry wire to add in the flowers and little white fillers. Once it was all secure I twisted the wire in the back together to close it. 

*To make this into a longer-term wearable headband...

6. Once your crown is the proper size, take wire crown and hot glue it to elastic. You may choose to add a few flowers/fillers to cover the elastic. Make sure to leave a space of elastic blank in the back so it can stretch to fit your head. I would leave at lease two inches of bare elastic. 
7. Sew ends of elastic together and there you have it! A pretty floral crown.

BANANA SWIRL {Bread}

I can tell baby is coming soon because I woke up at 6:30 am and started making bread! I normally have a freezer full of brown bananas and end up giving them away to someone who knows how to make bread. . .It has been on my blog ideas list from the very beginning. I had no clue it could be this simple!

Special thanks to my sister Lauren for telling me about this and the creator of the recipe Dessert Now, Dinner Later!

Ingredients:

Bread

4 Brown Bananas

3/4 cup sugar 
1/3 cup melted butter
1    large egg 
1    teaspoon vanilla extract 
1    teaspoon baking soda 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1 1/2 cups flour 

Cinnamon Swirl

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350˚F - grease pan
2. Using a mixer, mix bananas sugar, butter, egg & vanilla until combined.
3. Sprinkle baking soda & salt on top of banana mixture & then gently mix in flour until just combined.  Do not over-mix!
4. In a small bowl, mix together the 1/3 cup sugar & 1 Tbsp cinnamon.
5. Add half the batter into the prepared loaf pan.  Sprinkle 2/3 of the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the batter.  Add the other half of the banana batter & top with the remaining cinnamon-sugar.
6. Bake for 60 minutes - until your toothpick comes out clean
7. Enjoy!

Life has been wonderfully crazy the past few weeks. . . hence the lack of posting. My apologies. Somethings gotta give and this time it was the blog. 

Keep an eye out for his arrival. . . 

What are you baking these days?

Joanna

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Yesterday, July 9, I celebrated my 24th Birthday. The husband took me out for a delicious Italian restaurant and we ended the night watching a movie on the couch. Simple and sweet.

And July turned out to be quite a crazy month. I am in the midst of a lot of projects, both DIY and photography. Now, if only I could find time to finish them all and share them with you! I will soon, I promise. 

Joanna

SUMMER WISH LIST

With my wardrobe constantly in transition and knowing I'll be going from 9 months pregnant to a postpartum body soon, my summer wish list contains items I feel will work over the next couple of months.  And even if I wasn't pregnant, my wish list would probably be looking about the same, there are just so many fabulous items out this season! 

With that said, this summer, pregnant or not, bold patterns are a great way to add some freshness and flare to your wardrobe. 

Where are you shopping this summer? Here are links to the items on my wish list...

1>  2>  3>  4>  5>  6>  7>  8>

{35 Weeks} AND PREGNANCY FASHION

IPhone {VSCO Camera} pictures from the past month

35 weeks and what I’ve learned about pregnancy fashion 

1.      Don’t expect to feel amazing, BUT don’t give up on trying!

2.     Comfortable, slip on shoes are a MUST – I found mine here.

3.     Motherhood Maternity isn’t all that bad – at least for bottoms. I’m now the proud owner of a pair of skinny jeans, stretchy pants and a pair of shorts, all from Motherhood.

4.     Dresses and Maxi skirts are still one of your best friends. It’s worth purchasing a few of these during your second trimester because they will grow along with the rest of your body. Yes…as your stomach gets bigger so does the rest of you…sad, I know.

5.     Let’s talk about makeup – getting a mac makeover and switching to their products has tremendously helped me feel better about my fuller face. Don’t skimp on good make up. Like my sister used to say, you only get one face, so treat it well. Look out for a product review in the near future.

6.     Do your hair! The days I look in the mirror and cry about the way I look are the days I did nothing to my hair…It’s as simple as that.

7.      Basic tank tops – Target has a tank called “long and lean.” These are my new favorite. The straps are a bit thicker and they are fitted and long.

8.     Purchase undergarments that fit you well. Your bra and panties have a lot to do with how smooth things look.

9.     Accessorize. There are many days when the only thing I feel good in is my skinny jeans and a black tank top. BUT with a real cute necklace, rings, earrings and maybe even a headband I still can feel like I’m styled. And don’t forget about having a cute bag!

All that to say, being styled in your third trimester is going to take some effort, but it is totally possible. And it’s okay if you wear the same thing multiple times a week – no one who has ever been pregnant will judge you.

Can you tell I needed a pep talk? I mean, who doesn’t when you are 35 weeks along?

PROJECT SHARED ROOM {Half Way There}

We've made progress on project shared room, our side of the bedroom is finished! This past month I was finally able to find a few the perfect pieces I wanted for our room. 

1. Wall Art - The husband and I went back and forth about what to do with the empty walls surrounding our bed, do we building shelving or hang wall art? We ended up with wall art and I couldn't be happier with our little collage! The large matte wood frame and the funky gold frame are both from Target. The artwork in the large frame is from here. The white shadow box was an item we've had for a couple of years, originally from Marshalls. I like the option of having something we can easily post new pictures to. The combination of wood, white and gold on the grey wall really ties everything together.

2. THE DRESSER! - I searched for months on craigslist, at thrift stores and garage sales. I was ready to give up. I knew I wanted a mid-centruy modern dresser that was buffet style and needed to fit under our window. Finding something cheaper than $500-$1,000 was looking impossible. And then, I found this beauty on craigslist...all ready re-purposed. It was the perfect size, price and just so stinkin cute! 

3. The Light - After getting an very expensive estimate from an electrician, we ended up having the husband and his dad hang the light. It is so nice to have light coming from the ceiling. If you missed my last post on the room, the light is from here.

4. The Orange Bowl - I love little details. I've been searching for the perfect bowl to put little baby things in. This past weekend I found this at the thrift store. I love the burnt orange color and aztec detail. 

5. THE OTTOMAN! - This one deserves all caps and an !, too. Why are ottomans so expensive!?! Once again, I've been searching everywhere for the perfect ottoman for our chair. Just two days before I told the husband to be mentally prepared if I end up spending $100-$200 on an ottoman. I knew it was crazy, but I wasn't finding anything cheaper. AND THEN I struck gold. I found this little brown leather beauty at the thrift store for $2!!! I'm all about repurposing items, but sometimes it is so nice to find something that doesn't need any TLC.

6. The Pillows - I'm pretty sure the yellow pillow from Target and the black and white pillow from Ikea are the two most popular pillows in the U.S. I flipped the Target pillow over to the geometric side and moved it from the chair to the bed - it is like new. On our last trip to Ikea I was happy to find the black and white item wasn't out of stock. 

Things are coming along! Now for the really fun part. Baby's side of the room. Can't wait to put it all together and share it with you guys.

Happy Monday!

Joanna

MICHELLE {Maternity Session}

"You musn't be afraid to dream a little bigger darling." - Inception

So much of being a photographer is letting yourself dream and letting yourself create without fear. This is my goal for the coming months. Shooting according my photographic style and helping my clients dream along with me. Message me if you are interested in dreaming a little bigger for your next photo shoot.

Joanna

P.S. Isn't she lovely? I can say first hand, her beauty flows from deep within.