We're On A Roll...Cowboy Cassanova Shoot!! Giddy-Up!

Somehow, in the midst of my craziness, I got ahead of myself and failed to mention this awesome shoot!!!! Oh. My. Goodness. I had so much fun prepping for this one! Hanssie Trainor has a way of making me get outside of my comfort zone and trying something new! This was actually my first shoot working with feathers!!! I'm in love...with feathers. LOL... I should note that there were amazing group leaders at this shoot; and there were photographers there who had just gotten a camera the prior week, and those who "do" photography for a living! They were all amazing. See SoCal Photog Shootout on Facebook if you are a budding photographer who needs a little instruction! And of course, several of these pieces are available for sale on my etsy site at http://www.bowsnberries.etsy.com.

Crystal Leland. mimi nguyen photography. Beautiful.

Karin Loren Larsen. Steve Chua Photography.

Karin. Allen Taylor Photography. Shhhh.... =)

Allyson Hoehl. Sherry J Photography.

Karin Lorene Larsin. Teal Photography. One of my fave photogs of the day.

Crystal Leland. Daniel Tan Photography. Love this!

Karin Larsen. Chris Robertson Photography. Another fave photog of the day.

Ashley Gregory. Gavin Wade Photographers. Love!

Eryne Shan. Sherry J Photography. Great!

Karin. Chris Robertson Photography. I adore the luscious light in this photo!!!

Crystal. Gavin Wade Photographers. Another amazing photo...one of my faves!

Fab Photo Shoot with Nikki Evans Photography

I said during my Date Night post, that my hubby was kind enough to squeeze a photo shoot into our date! Here are some of the photos from the day...coming from some amateur and some pro photographers. They did an amazing job, and I thank them for helping my hairpieces look even better!

I have to give a shout out also to Hair Stylist Crystal Roberts and Make-Up Artist Kimberly Bragalone. They made lovely girls look even more gorgeous!

DATE NIGHT!!!!! Part B...

So, I promised you that you'd get to see Part B of our date...okay, well at least some of part B! We ended up staying at Pala Resort and Casino (we're not the gambling type, but they had an amazing event there that my hubs had booked for us). I have to say that, while it was not my favorite hotel experience (we had some trouble with our dinner reservations), it was still a hidden gem. This beautiful hotel was smack dab in the middle of the luscious green (hey, we just had rain) mountains...every direction you looked, that was all you could see. Oh wait...if you looked up, you saw a bright blue sky with the fluffiest, whitest clouds you could imagine! It was so pretty!!!

We woke up to day two and relaxed with some room service for breakfast. Does it get better than eating a hot breakfast, prepared by someone else, in the QUIET, in your jammies??? It was perfect! Then, to my sheer delight, my hubby had scheduled an hour-long couple's massage. After this & some more relaxation in the spa...he took me...

TO THE RODEO!!!! YEEEEE HAAAAWWWWW!!! It was ridiculous!! We have wanted to go for YEARS! I don't know why. I can't explain it, other than to say watching these guys get on a crazy mad bull and try to STAY on a crazy mad bull, is hilarious! And nail-biting, and I dunno. Just simply ridiculous! PBR was holding a rodeo next to the hotel, and some of the top contenders will end up in the finals in Las Vegas in December!

It was such a great trip...a needed getaway, and I thought the pics would be fun to share! So enjoy and get your YEE-HAW on!

=)

These are the mountains & blue skies I talked about!

Giddy-up!! My partner in crime!! ;)

DATE NIGHT!!!!! Part A...

Sooooo, I had a lovely write-up already done for this blog post; however, somehow I clicked undo one too many times, and blogger wouldn't let me "redo." Argh!!! So, instead of the longer, wonderful post that I had previously, I'm gonna keep it short & sweet. =)

Having 5 kids, my hubby and I sometimes need a breakaway. So he planned a perfect little overnight date, with one of my photoshoots squeezed in between activities...and he was nice enough to tag along!!

First up...Vallee d' Brume, a fabulous bakery & cafe that offers a "taste of the valley"--local ingredients prepared in the lovliest of desserts & more. We weren't too hungry, so we had a tiny snack while we waited for our lunch of a great panini & one of the best leafy green salads I've ever had!! Very reasonable prices and great service, by the way! After lunch, we had some yummy coffee with one of their fresh peach tarts. Let's put it this way; I didn't remember to take pictures until we were almost finished! =)

Second stop; a photoshoot coordinated by Nikki Evans Photography featuring some of my hairpieces. We tromped around a beautiful property for several hours, and Nikki was kind enough to let me use her DSLR camera...my first time using one! Yay! You'll get to see some of my non-pro pics now (LOVE the heart-shaped leaves that were on the trees there...my idea!! I'll show the pros' versions of some of the pics later!)

Then, you'll have to stay tuned for Date Night...Part B!

Cruz Tailor: An Artist in His Own Right

Beautiful Edges of my tablecloth!! =)

I had to take a minute to talk about my new favorite tailor, Miguel Cruz, owner of Cruz Tailor in Riverside, CA. I used to use a very sweet lady here in Moreno Valley for those occasional alterations; for weddings, for something I loved but didn't fit quite right, etc. Unfortunately for me (fortunately for HER), she retired!!! GASP! How DARE she? =) So, I was quite in a pickle when I called my mom-in-law to sew a few simple tablecloths for my business. She can do a nice job on anything that requires straight seams. However, her sewing machine decided to "die" so now I was stuck with some beauty-licious fabric screaming for nice, lovely seams and no one to make them! Grrrrr....


Well, right about that time, along came my cousin and told me about this new tailor she used to get a HUGE batch of clothing tailored to fit her better. Skirts, collared shirts, blouses, suit jackets, etc. She had an array of styles...and she gave the greatest referral about Mr. Cruz. She told me that he did an amazing job, and that she was so happy that she found him (and she is extremely picky!). So, I decided to give him a call regarding my simple little tablecloth job and he did a wonderful job & even gave me a little discount for trying him on her referral!


Bottom line; I highly recommend his shop. Again, it's Cruz Tailor, 3522 9th Street, Riverside, CA. The phone number is 951.788.6305. He not only tailors clothing, but creates suits and dresses and things for everything from graduations, to quinceaneras, to weddings. He is always dressed impeccably and is extremely polite. Tell him I sent you...and that I said to take good care of you! =)


Have a happy day!
~Heather

New Girly-Girly Design

Hey all...I know I'm WAY behind in my blogging, but to get a fresh start I decided to have some fun with it today and change up my blog design. I wanted to try out some different backgrounds, and for the moment I've settled on this vintage-y, cutesy, girly one! Is it custom-made? Nope. But I like it and hope you do too! Tune in soon to hear about my new favorite tailor (unfortunately the one I used to use retired!). Now I know we may not all need a tailor too frequently, but it's good to have the name of one just in case...and he is REALLY good! He recently worked on something for my business....and it turned out beautifully. Pics and info to come... =)


Thanks all...and have a BEEE-AUTIFUL day!


~Heather

My First Fashion Magazine!!!

Well...I've fallen off the blogging bandwagon!! Oh my...sorry it's been so long! Here I go again!


Sooooo, you saw last time that we had our first B&B Couture shoot. Of course we all posted photos to our Facebook pages and before you know it, I received an email from Miso Fly saying that IE Style Magazine wanted to use some of the photos for a 10-page spread in their magazine! This was certainly not what I had expected from doing this shoot, but I was so excited about it! To me, I just asked the right people the right questions, and it all fell together at the right time. Sort of amazing, really.


I'm so thankful to my talented photographer friends, Emily Ivey of freshivey.com, Hanssie Trainor of hanssietrainorphotography.com, and also a lifesaver & also wonderfully talented make-up artist, Jessica Hunter. If you loved the make-up, you can reach Jessica at Jessicahunterartistry@gmail.com. Not to mention Miso Fly Boutique in Redlands (they also have a store in Rancho Cucamonga) for loaning us some of the GORGEOUS clothing for the shoot! If they gave it all to me, I'd love them even more. Just sayin'. =)


So, here's to IE Style, for recognizing a wonderful collaboration...and hopefully the first of many fashion magazines for Bows-n-Berries.

Bows-n-Berries First Photo Shoot!!!

So, I'm sorry it was so hard to narrow down photos...and I only know how to put them in a single column on this darned blog...but HERE THEY ARE!!


Alex. Dress from Miso Fly. Amanda Headband. Emily Ivey Photography. Jessica Hunter make-up artistry.


Kaylie. Cream Poppy Headband. Only a photographer like Emily Ivey could make this dead-looking bush (to me) look BE.A.U.TI.FUL!


Kaylie. Cream Poppy Headband. Cindy Turner Photography.


Alex. Miso Fly Jacket. (I wanted it, but now it's gone. Booooo.) Maya Headband. Fab shot by Cindy Turner Photography.


T-B: Alex, Kaylie, Brooke. Jackets from Miso Fly. Various Hair Pieces. Lovely photo by Hanssie Trainor Photography.


Brooke. Miso Fly Jacket. Natasha Headband. Hanssie Trainor Photography.


Kaylie. Black Jumpsuit from Miso Fly. Lindsey in Gold Headband. Hanssie Trainor Photography. Jessica Hunter Make-up on all photos!


Alex. Coat from Miso Fly. Because we all wear our gorgeous Miso Fly jackets in trees. =) Hanssie Trainor Photography.


Sasha Headband. On my Grandma's piano. And Hanssie didn't even know how special that photo was going to be to me. =) Hanssie Trainor Photography.


Brooke. Blue shirt from Miso Fly. Jesse Headband. Emily Ivey Photography.


Kaylie & Alex. Jackets from Miso Fly. Kaylie is wearing Leila Feather Headband. Alex-Sasha Headband. Emily Ivey Photography. And look at that GORGEOUS make-up!! Love it! Done by Jessica Hunter.


Kaylie, Alex & Brooke. Alex is wearing Miso Fly jacket. Various B&B Headbands. Emily Ivey Photography.


After the Great Gatsby shoot, I mustered up the nerve to try to get into a lovely boutique store in Redlands (& Rancho Cucamonga), called Miso Fly. They bought some headbands during the holiday season, and they flew off the shelves! It was so exciting!! I had to take more in before New Years! What a great feeling to have something that you made be loved by others! And to have your stuff sell in a store that you love...it's quite an experience!


Shortly after all this, Hanssie suggested that we do a B&B Couture shoot...just for ME! Ahhhhh! I was jumping for joy. She put the word out to models and more, and away we went. We talked over suggestions; I got clarity on my vision and what I wanted to create, and with the help of many, my vision became reality! We had three amazing photographers: Hanssie of Hanssie Trainor Photography, Emily of Emily Ivey Photography, and Cindy of Cindy Turner Photography. (Just add a .com to any of those, and you'll be at their site. =)) We got some BEAUTIFUL clothing from Miso Fly, and with our three gorgeous & fun models, Kaylie Wilson, Alex Oakley and Brooke Conlin, we were just about set. Last, but definitely not least, we had a wonderful make-up artist, named Jessica Hunter (jessicahunterartistry@gmail.com)! She did such a wonderful job making our models even more lovely! I can't thank all these people enough!


The shoot was done locally, and I was looking for several looks. First was a monochromatic sort of look with light make-up, to allow my hair pieces to really "pop." Second, I wanted a sort-of couture, high fashion look. And third, fourth, and fifth...well, we just didn't have time to do all the things I wanted, so we'll be doing some more fun stuff later! Just an excuse for more fun! I can say that we had such a great time. We used about every second of daylight that we had, did several make-up changes, plenty of clothing changes (the dressing room was...uh...dangerous, to say the least!). And I made my models & photogs pig out with some yummy food that I prepared for them! Anyway, I think it was a hit...and so did others. IeStyle Magazine saw the photos on Miso Fly's site and wanted to do a spread in their magazine! So we got published! You can get a magazine at many local Inland Empire boutiques, or view it online at http://www.iestylemagazine.com.