I love teddy bears

When I was younger I always wanted to be a children's photographer. I envisioned a huge studio with a large shelf all the way around the room, near the ceiling, filled with stuffed animals. Mostly teddy bears because I loved them and still do to this day. I wanted a funny animal covering the lens so the kids didn't see the camera (now they make those). Somewhere along the way I lost sight of that dream and forgot all about it. It wasn't until I decided to build a photography business that I even remembered it at all. I loved Ann Geddes and she was my inspiration. I had all these ideas for pictures with bears and babies and tons of really cute props, and adorable hats with great big flowers. Well I don't have my dream studio (yet) but I did get to take the pictures I had envisioned those many years ago. I am currently working on all those cute props and think I just might be turning into a propaholic! (hehe) I had the perfect little model and the shoot went off without a hitch. I FINALLY got the pictures I had been wanting to take for a very long time. 

 It is never to late to follow your dreams!

Does it get much cuter than this! I had so much fun with this sweet little 6 month old.
He gave me the biggest smile the minute he saw me and I was in LOVE!!!! 

Such a handsome little man!

Meet Kayden, my adorable little bear.

Even the teddy bears struck a pose.

Kayden and his big brother Landon.
I just LOVE little feet. 

Big brother joined us for a few shots, They are both so handsome.

Love those beautiful eyes.

Angels among us...

Sweet little Maci is truly a gift from God.

You would never know this beautiful, precious little girl, weighed  a mere 1 pound, 6
ounces at birth and is about to celebrate her very first birthday. Happy birthday little Maci.
 I feel blessed to be able to document these special milestones of a little angel on earth. 

One of my favorites. I love her sweet expression.

Maci's grandpa was born in France. I had no idea, but the boxes couldn't have been more perfect!

Maci loves playing with her feet and I love all her cute little expressions.

Love the hat and her sweet expression. 

Love it! She is so darn cute.

Cake Smash

One of the most adorable photo shoots I have seen is the "cake smash." TOOO... CUTE!  

I had my first one with this DELIGHTFUL little one year old.  Miss Rylee was so much fun and we all enjoyed watching her demolish her cake. The cake was made with the Wilton giant cupcake mold. More on that later. ..

I hope you enjoy these delightful pictures as much as I do!

THE SCENE OF THE SMASH

This cake is almost too pretty to let a one year old demolish it...

 NO turning back now!!!

 She didn't waste a minute once we put the giant cupcake in front of her. She was so dainty and it had 100% of her attention. Not an easy task when you are talking about an active toddler. LOL

 Isn't she adorable. I could see these as birthday invites or on a calendar. 

 I think Rylee enjoyed her cake! I know we enjoyed watching her. :) Even my boys
snuck in to watch the action. My oldest son loves babies and didn't want to miss it.

THE AFTERMATH... Even the mess made a great picture!  Not very fun cleaning up

 but totally worth it in my opinion. I would definitely do it again. :)

I think these would be perfect for a story board.

Here is the Wilton cake mold. You will need two boxes of cake mix. I used strawberry so it would be pink and 4 eggs instead of 6 so it would be more dense and easier to work with. They actually suggest a pound cake recipe but this worked out great. 2 1/2 cups in the top and 3 1/2 cups for the base. I baked it at 325 degrees for one hour. I used Wilton's cake release and it came out of the pan with no problem. Just turn it over on a cooling rack after 15 minutes and let sit for another 15 minutes. You will need to trim both pieces to make them flat. Easier to do if you place it back in the pan. I actually placed it in the freezer for a short time just to make it easier to cut. Add frosting to "glue" the two pieces together and your ready to decorate.

I had a lot of inquiries as to how I made the rosettes. They look really hard but they are SO easy! I used the  giant #1M tip for the rosettes.

1 1/2 c. crisco shortening

2 lb. powdered sugar

1/2 c milk or water

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 I made one large rose in the middle and then added various sizes working my way around the cake. Start in the middle of the rose, working out, and make a continuous circle until you reach the size you desire. 

I filled in any spaces with frosting and VOILA. I used to practice on a cookie sheet when I was first learning. I could just scraped it off and put it back in the bag to use again and again.

Buttercream Frosting recipe

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 4 cups powdered sugar 
• 2 -4 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. 1
   Cream butter and shortening, and add vanilla.
2. 2
   Gradually add powdered sugar.
3. 3
   Add milk by the TBSP until icing is desired consistency.
4. 4
   Color with food coloring, or icing dye.

Adding a few more of my favorites because I couldn't resist. What can 

I say, they just bring a SMILE to my face every time I look at them...

I read a post on someone's site that said "these shoots look staged and contrived".

contrived : con·trived (k n-tr vd ). adj. Obviously planned or calculated; not spontaneous or natural; labored: ...

This is what I have to say about that... Although we were looking for some great shots of a one year old destroying her first birthday cake, this is more "real life" than any shoot I have ever done. Yes, I set the stage but you CAN'T make a toddler do what she doesn't want too! LOL For example - I wanted Rylee to wear pearls for the shoot but she would have nothing to do with them, until she decided to play with them at the end. Cried every time we tried to put them on her. hehe  Luckily she LOVED the cake and the shoot went off perfectly. You better be ready though because there are no re-do's, and once she started it went really FAST. Luckily my daughter reminded me to take a picture of the cake before, because I was so excited to take the pictures of the little princess, that I would have forgotten. Thank you Kaylyn!!!!

Too bad I didn't get shots of all the spectators because we all enjoyed it as much as Rylee did. Maybe even more! :)