About a month ago, I took my very first glass blowing class at Uptown Glassworks in Renton. I was nervous and excited. I’d never done anything like this before and I wanted everything to be perfect. After all, I was creating something I’d hope to display in my home for years to come.

“Don’t mess up,” I kept telling myself. Being a big klutz, I imagined myself  dropping something breakable, or worse yet, burning myself or someone else as I maneuvered around the tight space with a molten piece of glass perilously perched on the end of a long pipe. (The glass in the glory hole is heated to over 2000°F. Hotter than hot). My first instructions from the teacher: “Don’t hurt anybody, including yourself “. (Yikes, no pressure). After the safety briefing was over, my first big decision was to choose the color of glass I would be blowing. There was a table of glass pieces in a rainbow of colors to select from. How would I ever decide? “Don’t overthink it,” was the advice of my instructor. Not a problem for me. I immediately chose red (of course) my favorite color.

After an hour or so of hands-on instruction on how to heat and shape glass, under the watchful eyes of expert glass artist, Chris Heilman, my masterpiece was finished- and it was beautiful… from what I could tell. When glass is hot, it is really hard to discern the color of the final product and it takes about 24hrs to cool before you can actually see  exactly what you’ve created. So, after anxiously waiting the requisite 24 hrs., the finished product was picked up and  I was the proud owner of my very first piece of glass art…custom made by me! I love it and it makes me smile to see this on my table every day.

Posted in Uncategorized

I lucked out with the cutest kiddos for my Easter Mini Sessions last weekend in Bellevue!  This was my first year offering Easter Minis, and everyone had so much fun that I’m  definitely going to repeat the event next year. Check out these cuties. Don’t you just love the bunny ears? So adorable. Thanks to all the families that participated. I hope you had as much fun as I did!

Sweet little Evelyn was my first Easter mini session of the day and she was such a good girl. She made my job easy (which is saying a lot for a 2 year old). We giggled. We played. She just loved rolling back and forth across the eggs and being silly. What fun!

Next up is Grant. I just LOVE being Grant’s photographer. We always laugh and have such a good time. We tell silly jokes and have important conversations like, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” He’s just an awesome, quirky kid and I couldn’t ask for a better subject to photograph. Grant even comes up with some of his own poses. See the “bunny” pose above? That was all Grant. 🙂

Beautiful Olivia was fascinated by the plastic eggs during her Easter Mini Session. She opened up each and every one and handed them to her dad. She was so impressed with the eggs she would hardly look at the camera. Her mom, Dad and I practically had to stand on our heads to get her attention. Good thing mom and dad are super funny…. they got some big laughs from their sweet little girl, but boy she sure made us work for it! I was singing songs, mom was playing peekaboo, and daddy got the brilliant idea to throw eggs at her. She LOVED it! She even threw a few of her own…. Such a funny and sweet kid.

Posted in Children

Every Wednesday I join a group of women for a photography walk and talk. We explore local parks and trails, scout out new locations for future photo sessions; all while enjoying a little fresh air, exercise, and chatting about business and life. I look forward to these weekly walks and an opportunity to socialize and meet new people… something I don’t often get to do while editing photos behind a computer all day.

This weeks walk was nature-themed and we set out in search of fall color. I truly love the beauty of this time of year. The majestic colors that signal the changing of the seasons always take my breath away. Most Washingtonians know that, while our fall foliage is beautiful, it is short lived and the leaves are quickly washed away during the typical blustery rainstorms we often have this time of year.  It was dark and dreary yesterday evening- but not raining- so I jumped at the chance to get outside and capture the colors before they were gone.

Here’s a collection of images from Wednesday’s fall walk.  One more good rainstorm and the leaves will be gone, or at least churned into soggy piles of mush on the ground. So, before that happens, I hope you will be inspired to get outside and savor the beauty of the season!

fall leaves

Posted in Nature

Spend just a few minutes with Lauren and Will and you’ll see why they are perfect for each other. They are both laid back, fun, adventurous and they LOVE to laugh. Seriously, I’ve never had so much fun at an engagement session. The laughter was contagious!

All of these photos were taken on Will’s rural property in Elma, where their wedding will take place next year. They are so lucky to have such a beautiful backdrop for their big day. I can’t wait until August, if their wedding is half as fun as their engagement session, it is truly going to be a day to remember!

Posted in Engagement

During yesterday’s engagement session in Elma, the couple I was photographing started laughing hysterically and I couldn’t figure out what was so darn funny. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed some strange movement. I looked over and saw their dog, Katie, blissfully rolling around on her back in the leaves looking ridiculous as ever. I so wish I had this moment on video. It was quite the sight. I guess dogs love fall, too!

Posted in Pet