My little Lulu is not so little anymore.
YT PHOTO sisters
These 2 validate my belief that we are not accidents, but unique and intentionally made pieces of art.
YT PHOTO
It is a sad, wonderful and astounding thing to see your little girl grow up and start to become a lovely woman. She really has no idea how lovely she is. My sweet Belle.
LOUELA at CHC
The girls and I had the amazing opportunity to do a shoot at our dear friend Chelli's amazing studio space. Chelli is the maker and owner of a wonderful and generous company which handcrafts beautiful leather bags. She also rents out her space to photographers for photo shoots, so if you or someone you know needs a space for a shoot you should check this place out.
The light in CHC is killer and the girls and I had so much fun playing and curating our LOUELA items from Society6. We also did a dance photo shoot which I will share very soon!
Lucy curated and shot this photo below. I love that you can see Elly in the background :)
Below is Elly's curated corner with the TET Pillow she designed and the SPLAT case Lucy designed.
Find all of these and more LOUELA items here
LOUELA's designs by Lucy
This post is a product of Lucy and my coffee date at SIP. As mentioned in this post, we had an inspiring morning. Lucy has so much creativity and drive in her little body it astounds me. As a mother I want to provide space, time and resources for my kids to explore their imagination and talents. Whatever it may be. As I have done this with Lucy the things that have come to be have brought so much joy and inspiration.
This is part of the "Lulu plays" series, which is a photo series created and imagined by Lucy. The set, make-up, wardrobe and whole concept is by Lucy and shot by me. It was so fun to see her ideas come to life. A little peak in the mind of Lucy. I hope that we will have some more "Lulu play" shoots down the road.
Below is a popsicle named "Ben". Lucy created a pattern for Ben and has some other variations to try with him.
The amazingly fabulous and talented Chelli of CHC has been giving Lucy sewing lessons. This apron is a product of that wonderful time.
Also pictured are some products available in our Society6 shop.
Make-up, hair, wardrobe and photo concept by Lucy.
LOUELA at home
As part of our "LOUELA at Home" series we played with some pillows, a clock, some prints, a mug and phone case from our Society6 shop. Below Elly is holding our TET pillow and Lucy is holding our "HeartHeartHeart" pillow. Our Floral Clock is on the wall. The pillows are printed on both sides which is really nice and you can choose the rim and hand colors for the clock to match the look of your personal space. It is really fun to see these items in person and come up with some different ideas of how to use them.
The wooden star below was handmade by Lucy with some wooden dowels and twine I purchased at Joann's Fabrics. She hot glued the dowels together and wrapped the twine around for extra reinforcement. I wrapped a small package of white christmas lights I purchased from Target.
Super fun and super easy!
Pictured is our TET and Kirk Floral pillows. Both designed by Elly:)
We made a cosy space with the girls plush chair from Pottery Barn Teen by pairing it with Lucy's SPLAT pillow and Kitty Kitty mug on the left. On the right Elly's Sea Glass pillow and Tet pillow with some handmade garland by Lucy and I decorating the wall.
Find the pillows, mug, clock and prints here.
YT Photo
UNIQUE BUT KINDRED
I could have easily just written "here are some more photos of these fabulous dancers" and maybe told you a bit about them or that day. But as I am sitting here sharing these photos I see 2 beings that have so much life, joy, fun and creativity. The friendship they share is a sweet thing. They are unique and kindred at the same time. They bring out some of the best in each other. They inspire each other and celebrate each other.
As I watch them I am reminded that we were not made to do life alone. The sweetness of finding someone that has similar passions and likes, but also brings a new fresh perspective. We should inspire one another, not compete with one another. We should encourage one another, not judge one another. Stop trying to be like each other and also not judge those that are different. Instead celebrate our differences knowing that the different things each person brings to the table makes life and experiences richer.
In these photos you see individuals that have been taught at the same ballet school, but because of their individuality it is expressed in their own unique way. There are different strengths, different preferred movements and expressions, but the same technique. What would be lost if they tried to emulate one another or compete with each other? What would be lost of the strength of one if she wanted what the other had and threw her own strength away? Why do we strive to be like those we are inspired by or judge them because we feel threatened when as you see in these photos the individuality is where the beauty is!
FOR THE GOOD OF OTHERS. UNITY IN DIVERSITY.
How can we unite and not divide, celebrate and not compete, encourage and not judge, bring out the best in each other and not discourage our differences? I think there is something very profound and life giving in the teaching of " Don’t be concerned for your own good, but for the good of others". We may read this and feel a self-protective wall shoot up. Worried that we will not get our share, we will not be seen or heard, worried we would become a "doormat" or miss out in "having". But in thinking of others more and living for what is better for those around us we discover love. A love that the One who created us IS. A love of.......giving and not taking, serving and not lording over, safety and not fear. The list truly goes on and is modeled and seen in Jesus who is the perfect image of his Father. To show us the heart of God in action.
Our current American culture is so dominated by living for the individual; what-is-good-for-you, promoting so much self-focus, self-will and self-proclamation! But in this we pull away from others, discourage others, take from others and fear the same will be done to us so we hold back or plow over. But in a world where individuals are concerned for the good of others and live this out in their daily life toward those they see everyday- there would be no more poor, segregation, human trafficking, war, racism, rape, hate or oppression. The earth, nature and humans would thrive.
I know I took this concept to a massive level, but it is a beautiful thing to see grand thoughts lived out in small ways.
The photos that follow are of Lucy and Cecilia dancing together. Bringing their talents, uniqueness and kindred spirits together. Making space for and celebrating the other while being true to who they are. If they were competing you would see it in their faces, you would see it in their movements and the joy would be lost. But instead they are playing together, making something beautiful together and being themselves. May these few images inspire you to live for the good of those around you, celebrate the uniqueness in yourself and others, give, come together and do everything in LOVE.
" Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others"
1 Corinthians 10
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God
Michah 6:8
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
1 Corinthians 13
LOUELA's finding inspiration and Mr. Bing
Last week my daughter Lucy and I went for a little date to one of our favorite local coffee shops called SIP. It seems not to many locally owned places last in the city these days, but this little hidden gem is one that has been here for over 15 years. Lucy and I love their London Fog and their yummy chocolate cake donuts!
I made a decision recently that I want to make time to take my kids out individually once a month. Having multiple children is quite a task and it goes by so quickly. It is hard to connect with them as individuals when we are all together and with homeschooling we are all together ALOT. It is easy to just plow through the day, go through our usual conversations and irritations and define them by how they interact in the family. But they are all so unique and have so much going on inside their hearts and minds that I want to make time to hear, understand and walk with them in their personal journey not just our journey as a family. I love to find out who they are, what they like, dislike what they are wrestling with and what they are enjoying.
As Lucy and I shared a donut and enjoyed our yummy London Fogs we chatted about a lot of things: friends, dance, family and LOUELA. My daughter Lucy is a bundle of creativity and when she clicks on something that inspires her the flood gates open. Her and I are similar in that way and sometimes it can be overwhelming to have so many ideas and figure out how to channel it in a tangible way. I wanted to give her a chance to make these ideas come to life. I had some samples of our Society6 shop items and also a few handmade items Lucy had finished, so we thought we could start there.
As we walked home from our little date she shared with me all her visions for a LOUELA photo shoot and all the items she would like to make. Particularly some clothing items. When we got home we decided to put some of these things in action and also wrote down some of the ideas for the future. We did 2 different concepts: "LOUELA at home" and "Lulu Plays"
It was SO fun to see her vision come to life. She blows me away with how much creativity she has in her little being. Elly wasn't feeling full par, but she jumped in for a few of the shots and glowed her beauty on the set for the "LOUELA at home" shots.
I made a decision recently that I want to make time to take my kids out individually once a month. Having multiple children is quite a task and it goes by so quickly. It is hard to connect with them as individuals when we are all together and with homeschooling we are all together ALOT. It is easy to just plow through the day, go through our usual conversations and irritations and define them by how they interact in the family. But they are all so unique and have so much going on inside their hearts and minds that I want to make time to hear, understand and walk with them in their personal journey not just our journey as a family. I love to find out who they are, what they like, dislike what they are wrestling with and what they are enjoying.
As Lucy and I shared a donut and enjoyed our yummy London Fogs we chatted about a lot of things: friends, dance, family and LOUELA. My daughter Lucy is a bundle of creativity and when she clicks on something that inspires her the flood gates open. Her and I are similar in that way and sometimes it can be overwhelming to have so many ideas and figure out how to channel it in a tangible way. I wanted to give her a chance to make these ideas come to life. I had some samples of our Society6 shop items and also a few handmade items Lucy had finished, so we thought we could start there.
It was SO fun to see her vision come to life. She blows me away with how much creativity she has in her little being. Elly wasn't feeling full par, but she jumped in for a few of the shots and glowed her beauty on the set for the "LOUELA at home" shots.
MR. BING a "Lulu Plays" idea
Lucy created Mr. Bing after being inspired by something she saw on the web.
She designed him and hand stitched him one evening. He is a cherished part of the LOUELA family:)
All the photos with LOUELA items shared in the last few posts are from that inspirational day over London Fogs, as are the ones in this post:)
And there are a few more to come!
LOUELA at home
The mini prints are actually quite larger then I had envisioned. I just hung these in a little collage with some black masking tape I purchased from Blick Art Materials. They would be fun mixed in a collage with some framed personal black and white photos and or worded prints. Elly is mixing 2 with our Floral Clock below. They are printed on a nice quality thick paper. We are quite happy with how they turned out:)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)