...come find me!!

What kind of day is it today?? .....hmmmmmmmmmmmm.... how about a GREAT one!!!

Yesterday I was featured on Prop Insanity... a fantastic resource for photographers to connect with people who make photography props... I owe a huge thanks to Tracy who contacted me a while back. She'd seen some of my work and wondered if I'd be up for her doing a product review etc... I jumped readily on that bandwagon and sent her two of my favorite things... :) ...you'll have to check out the website to see which products they were!

So pop over, check out Prop Insanity... and the sweet pics Tracy took using my props!!!!

.........shhhhhhhhhh....whisper please....

I was on this mini-roll with a post a week... but then I fell off the wagon ...I've been plugging along steadily with orders, which is great!!! What isn't happening though is stock isn't getting made... always a goal...to have stock ready for immediate shipment... I keep trying!!!

I'm totally excited because on June 29th the blog at Prop Insanity is doing a review and feature on a couple of my items... you'll have to check it out then to see which ones!! ...It's great exposure for me so I'm totally stoked! :)

And ....for the latest item... The Whisper Wrap - photography prop! The whisper wrap is worked up in this fantastic soft acrylic/nylon/mohair blend in a loose crochet so lots of skin will show! It's a scarf-style wrap. Hope you like! :)

Well...tomorrow morning we're off to Pembina, North Dakota... just a hop, skip and a jump away... picking up some parcels... a fantastic Jordana Paige knitting bag I very excitedly ordered, it's red faux croc... and some new yarn... trying out a new supplier!!! ...why I can't get some things shipped to Canada I'll never know!

ooooooooohh.... maybe I can convince the family to drive the extra hour and have Paradiso for lunch?? ;)

the button sling...........photography prop!!!

After much deliberation.... and a bunch of emails inquiring about it ...I've decided to finally...........finally.........post the button sling!!! It was really tempting to torture you some more and make you wait a bit longer... but I give... :) I know you want to hear all about it... and since I hate to disappoint... :)


A while back I saw a gorgeous picture done by Kelley Ryden - her sister had made a sling for her - it was amazing! So, I thought I'd take a stab at it, and I'm so glad I did! ...I'm really excited about the sling! Here's my version... What do you think???





The button sling will be available in 4 colors (brown/ivory, limes, green/tan (as above), blues), has a wood button detail and will retail for $90. There will be limited availability - I bought the store out of the yarn it takes to make this!!! :)



So I'm totally stoked in two other areas... Carol finished editing the images from our product shoot and I'm just in the process of picking out what I want... which so far is um............ everything!!?? ...she does such amazing work it's hard to choose... I'm blown away by the shots she got, seriously can there be too many product shots? :)

The second thing I'm stoked about is that I'm finally working on my "space"... my husband would call it the yarn room... but I prefer to give it a little more prestigious title... my studio!!!


I've had it planned for so long and it's finally going to come together... I got this fantastic EQ3 storage piece in a glossy brown color...and the inside of the drawers are lime green...i think i'm in love! ...the lady at the store suggested that for a work surface I go to our local Habitat Re-Store (they sell stuff that has been salvaged from buildings etc) ...they did however have some brand-spankin'-in-the-box-stuff.... so i got two shiny...shiny red EQ3 tabletops...and fantastic brushed metal legs.... oh, my goodness to actually have enough room to work! ....plus we're in the process of hanging two long narrow cabinets with sliding doors above the work surface area... I'm all about the storage... and i bought a great lamp...and I've got a chair & ottoman to re-upholster after i pick out the fabric.... YAY!!! ...i finally see a light at the end of the tunnel! I will be sure to post pics once it's all together! I should have taken a before shot... boxes of yarn piled up to the ceiling!!!


Well - hope you enjoy the button sling...and stay tuned for more things to come... still more new products to showcase! :)

the feathered nest.... photography prop!!!

UPDATE - sand (shown) is now sold out... but we still have sage and water available...

Well, I'm totally excited to add the feathered nest to my repitoire of newborn photography props!

The yarn is this great stuff I found at my local yarn shop, and it was even on clearance!!! ...it was fantastic, there's so many things I like about it, it's more of a ribbon than a yarn, it has a couple rows of stitching running the length (made me think of pin stripes) and then there's the fine fuzzy strand that's attached, what's not to love???? ...although I didn't know exactly what I'd do with it at first (which is also why I suspected it was on clearance - obviously others didn't know what they'd do with it either), I knew I had to have it! ...I bought all that they had in stock! :)

Once I thought on it for a while I decided it would lend itself perfectly for a photography prop, especially since it's sooooooooooooo soft and dreamy looking... I think you're going to love it!! ...this one will have limited availability, once I run out of this fantastic yarn it's done, great for those who purchase them because you'll know it's not something that you'll be seeing a lot of people using. :)

The colors are sand, sage & water - and the feathered nest retails for $35.

Enjoy...

OH.... PS... the horizontal button sling will be coming up soon, I promise!!! ...just trying to decide if I should post it next OR ...leave you "hanging" for a little longer... whatcha think? :)

earthen hive - photography prop!!

Well...I'm super excited that I'm able to offer some new photography props... and some new colors for existing props!

I had a fantastic product shoot with Carol last weekend! ....did I mention FANTASTIC?? :) It was so amazing to watch her in action... she's like a non-addictive sedative for babies... I often wondered how she got such amazing shots... all sleepy and bendy and now I know!!! She's got an amazing gift...that's for sure! We had a great time... and it didn't hurt that our two models were ADORABLE!!! ...great big thanks to their moms (and dads) for lending them to us!

The earthen hive is a variation on the hive wrap that I already offer. The yarn is new and available in such great colors!! Hope you love them as much as I do! The colors from bottom left across and then up are : pumpkin, deciduous, water, garden, cave, middle earth & surface.


Tips: The hive wrap is intended for newborns - within their first couple weeks. Their legs should be tight against their body, not extended. Scrunch the wrap down like you would when you put on a sock. It's best to put their bottom into position and then ease the wrap up around their legs, midsecton, shoulders and up over the head. Don't be afraid to stretch it a bit - should fit very snug with lots of skin showing through!

Things to come - stay close because in the next few weeks I'll have several new things coming! I've got a great horizontal button sling that's upcoming...it was based on a Tracy Raver design and it's already creating buzz!! ...I'm really eager to get that one up!!

Enjoy! :)

love....hate...

Do I start with the LOVE... or the HATE??

I'll start with the hate and get that over with!! ...I hate having to tell a client that something is out of stock! ...sometimes I get fantastic yarns, clean out the store of it and then can't get it in again... once i've used it up, it's gone... that makes me sad... and I hate having to tell someone they can't have what they really want... okay, so I guess there might be one positive thing though, for the people who do get those products... they are getting something unique!

now that i've vented... let's talk about the LOVE.... or rather i'll talk... :)

I love when clients LOVE their stuff... I love when they're so excited to get their items that they can't wait until I've left to open them up... or so excited that they ask me to ship overnight so they can see it right away... which has happened 3 times this weekend!!! ...makes me very happy!!! :)

I really enjoy being able to provide a client with a product that exceeds their expectation... A loves hats but has a challenging head size.......... uh......... she has to shop in the kids department for hats!! ...so finding a "grown-up" style...not to mention finding something that looks "grown-up" AND stylish in the retail market... seems to be too much to ask! ...i've now made 4 hats for A...and she's just requested a 5th... for her it's great because she's getting what she wants and not comprimising on fit.... for me, it's fun... she loves her stuff enough to keep coming back for more...could there be a bigger compliment than that?

I took A out for some pictures on a lunch break (from the "day" job).... still trying to get the hang of taking pictures...and I ended up with a few that i'm quite proud of... yay!! We had a great agreement...she'd be patient with me because i'm no photographer...and i'd be patient with her because she's no model... :) iIve included a few of the pics from that day thoughout today's post...

Well...i'm off... that was more long winded than I anticipated... as you can imagine I talk a lot in person too!!! ...i've got lots of stuff to make for next week's newborn product shoot... i'm super excited about that!! ..i'll keep you posted!

...anyone want to play with Paper Raisins?

Carol and I are partnering up for a product shoot!!! I've got some great newborn photography props and hats I'm dying to have tried out!!! ...and taking stills just doesn't do them justice.

SO.............here's the thing... we're going to be needing some models! Specifically newborns (with their mommies only) and they will need to be under 14 days old on the day of the shoot.

The Date - April 4th @ 10am.

The Location - Carol's home in LaSalle (just south of the south perimeter...not far at all!!!)

The Info - the session will run 3-4 hours with lots of breaks.

What's in it for you? - You will receive a $40 Paper Raisins gift certificate, the session free and a beautiful 11x14 print of your little one!

What do we require? - You will need to sign a model release form to allow Paper Raisins & Freckle Face Photography to use the images for marketing purposes.

If you or someone you know has had a baby in the last couple days or will be having one in the next few days and would like to come and play with us, contact me @ lee-ann@paperraisins.ca.