bloomin’ fabulous flower crowns.
Last Friday I featured some of my favourite flower crowns published thus far for Fox and Rabbit‘s #30flowercrownsin30days Instagram project (to see it pop over here)
Here’s a selection of this week’s favourites.
Crowns and concepts Fox and Rabbit
Images Still Love
Styling Dropstitch (assisted by Eliza Whyte)
Hair Karen from Hair Creative
Makeup Milla Makeup
Makeup here by Milla Makeup team member, Lisa Mullen
words (and pictures).
bloomin’ fabulous flower crowns
My foxy and fabulous friend, Rebecca from Fox and Rabbit, calls me about a month ago and says “I’ve got a project in mind, Em”
As always, I’m all ears as I know what comes out of Bec’s head is bloomin’ brilliant.
“I want to do a project called ’30 flower crowns in 30 days’ with 30 different flower crowns and 30 different looks.”
Me (tongue in cheek) “So kinda a small project then?!”
Bec “And I want to shoot it all in one sitting. Am I crazy?”
Me, “Well slightly, but that’s what makes you so darn good.”
So with that we embarked on a journey of epic flower crown proportions culminating in a 12 hour shoot day. Karen from Hair Creative and Narelle from I do Weddings and I styled the 5 models for around 5 hours in the late afternoon at Bec’s studio and then the rest of the stellar team arrived – our fancy photography friends, Glenn and Lauren from Still Love, the super fabulous Emma (great name!) from Dropstitch (with assistance by Eliza Whyte), one of my Milla team members and lovely friend, Lisa, and a swag of gorgeous garments and jewels. We then shot project in a 6 hour time slot, shooting each look for only a few minutes before restyling for the next, spurred on by copious amounts of dip, pizza, 80s tunes and a palpable buzz of creativity.
As of the 1st November Bec has been publishing one look per day on her Instagram (and I’m playing along too, on mine) and will continue to for the month of November. The project has already gained avid world-wide flower followers and has also been published on Hello May and XPress Magazine.
Below is a selection of some of my favourite looks to date.
Next year marks the end of an era.
It will be the first time in nearly 8 years where I will have a good portion of day time child-free, as my littlest lad commences kindy and the school he is attending works on a 4 full day program. So on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I will be dropping 3 children at school in the morning and coming home to an empty house.
Eek.
Now don’t get me wrong, as an introvert I actually love my own company, in fact it’s probably that very thing that has been one of the hardest things to negotiate as parent – recognising that the need to be away from my children sometimes has little to do with my parenting and everything to do with my personality. So I know for this reason a little space will be a good thing for me; the problem is I’ve got used to operating in ‘bite-sized’ pieces of solo time (a quiet shower here, a 15 minute morning walk there) so now the prospect of hours without them is well, daunting.
I will still be juggling many balls next year (my business, my volunteering, my church, my passions) and I’m actually adding in another couple of things into the mix, plus even exploring some study options, so I will have plenty to do.
It’s not the ‘doing’ thing that is freaky though, it’s more the ‘being’ thing, in that I’ll need to become reacquainted with “Emma – the individual” again (and not Emma the full time mumma).
And that Emma may need easing in rather gently, as I think she’s been living at the back of the closet in her pyjamas for some time now and isn’t altogether enthusiastic about loud noises, open spaces and bright lights.
How could I not miss this kissable cutehead?
shootin’ good fun.
As I’ve mentioned a few times before, I love continually stretching my creative legs outside the walls of bridal (in fact, I need to!), so when the chance came up recently to do a portfolio studio shoot I was more than excited.
The brief was to create a series of images under the themes light and dark to showcase different styling, lighting and makeup techniques resulting in a set of images that are distinct and contrasting.
I’m thrilled with the results and thank our fabulously fun team:
Photography Ebony Frost
Designer Dfaced Clothing
Hair and makeup Milla Makeup
Model Lauren
10 parenting things I learnt in the school holidays:
1. If there is accessible dirt somewhere in the garden it will be made into a culinary delight and trampled through the house.
2. Drying one’s feet before tearing down the hallway after a bath is evidently not human possible.
3. Dinners involving toast (with eggs, or cheese on it) more than 3 nights in a row is neither detrimental or diabolical.
4. My odd sock pile has a life of its own – accept it.
5. I will never own a thermomix.
6. Tissues and milk must be purchased in bulk at all times, especially as there is the tendency for tissues to land up in milk.
7. Hide the spare toothpaste
8. “You’re not coming to my birthday party” still appears to be the greatest threat of choice.
9. The possibility of getting both in and out of the car ‘quietly’ and ‘calmly’ is the stuff of dreams.
10. Little boys invariably spend half their life smelling of wee.
the code revisited.
Around this time last year, I published my most popular blog post to date on the mummacode (to read it head here) which I wrote during October Vac Swim swimming lessons (‘vacation swimming’ government-subsidised swimming lessons) whilst my hubby was away in Africa and during such time my little lad fractured his wrist (yes, it was a fun week).
I think about that scenario regularly to do this day, and was no more reminded of it then when I went to the same location with the same children for the same type of swimming lessons just 2 weeks ago. Let me say that a lot has changed in a year and the experience was altogether easier (that may have something to do with the fact hubby wasn’t away, and little lad didn’t have a broken arm and this mumma is now managing 3 children who are growing in independence), but ironically enough I had an equally impacting encounter with a complete stranger that is still resonating with me (there’s my key advice right there – if you want a parenting light bulb moment; enrol your children in holiday swimming lessons!)
This particular scenario played out on day 2 whilst we were all in the change rooms together and Miss 7 1/2 and Miss 5 1/2 were untangling themselves from wet bathers and attempting to get dressed in a confined corner amidst dozens of other little people and busy mummas, and Master 3 1/2 was entertaining himself with the soap dispenser (as he tends to in such circumstances).
“Wow, I don’t know how you’re doing that!” comes a a stranger’s voice next to me.
I look up, a little startled and cautious and say, “what exactly?”
“Dealing with those 3 like you are; are they all yours?”
I nod and do one of those eyebrow-raised, sheepish smiles.
My mind is then frantically replaying the past 10 minutes or so (what have I been saying and doing?), and I’m trying to ascertain if she is complimenting me or about to launch into a criticism or judgement.
“We only have one, and I’m tossing up all the time whether I can manage having another, and so often I think I can’t and then I look at someone like you and think I can.”
Gulp.
And what then went on was a conversation for a good few minutes about parenting and juggling, and capacity and challenge and a whole swag of other rather deep and meaningful things (all the while un-sticking wet bathers and hair, collecting swimming paraphernalia and supervising Master 3 1/2’s third trip to the toilet cubicle).
And the her final words to me before leaving the room were
“You’re my inspiration.”
Guulpppp.
And whilst I made my usual run of parenting mistakes for the rest of that day (week) and whilst I had a little internal party last week when I dropped my lasses off at school after 18 days of holidays, and whilst I’m no contender for parent of the year (I didn’t even make the short list) I feel blessed and grateful that just occasionally I can inspire people around me, and when strangers take the time to express it, one can wear that encouragement like a bright gold star long after the event.
This is what the mummacode is all about, and this is why the heck we need it.
em . for . milla 