ashley skjaveland | photographer » blog

You’re tea parties are much fancier.

You’re accessories are custom made (aka mama made), full of fabulous feathers and as unique as you are.

You play party games and surround yourself in flowers, like an untamed garden.

You laugh, dance and have a beautiful time with the loveliest of guests. You drink sparkling strawberry juice and raspberry herbal tea, eat blackberries covered in white chocolate, strawberries dipped in milk chocolate, grapes, raspberries, almond cookies, pink wafer cookies and pancakes with whipped cream! When you’re six life just becomes a little more fabulous.

My darling is six … not sure how that happened. My girls are turning into the most lovely people every year – every minute. I love them so much my heart could burst. Don’t worry my dears, mama was there too .. smiling behind the camera at my little fairies.

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For anyone curious, decorating was (a bit time consuming but) super easy and I reused things I already had. I made dozens of tissue paper pom poms in different sizes and hung them at varying lengths with fishing line from the roof. For some time – for  no particular reason – I have been saving the large amounts of paper that my canvas supplier packs my canvases with. With this paper I created the wall flowers by borrowing inspiration from Ruche’s Lookbook. I then hung some white flowey fabrics from the roof and used an old lace table cloth  to make the table “tent”. From the lace tent, I strung some daisys one fishing line to dangle above the table.  My daughter’s tea set was made of unique china tea cups I have been collecting from various second hand stores. Some hand picked flowers from the local flowers shop were the beautiful finishing touch! (Lots of Baby’s Breathe and other “filler” flowers combined with a couple choice blooms made for a cost effective table scape – only about $30). Each of our beautiful guests got to take home a little bunch of flowers as a thank-you-for-coming gift as well.

I much prefer parties like this with fruit and pancakes instead of pizza and chips, real flowers instead of rubber balloons. It’s much more organic and lovely, instead of so commercial and plastic. I hope my girls will grow up feeling the same way.

Love Ashley ~

They are growing and learning so much.  It’s amazing to watch the big kids they are becoming and to remember the little toddlers they were.

The morning of our session, the world looked incredible.  Don’t tell my husband, but I pulled my camera out of my bag and took a one-handed photograph as I drove to the studio.  There was this haze in the fields and everything was a magical cool winter color.  The most incredible part of it all was that there was such a thick frost on the trees.  It was a wonder they didn’t fall right over from the weight.  My one-handed photograph doesn’t do the scene justice at all, but it helps bring me back to that place.

Have a most lovely Monday, Friends!

Love Ashley ~

One December day I was so lucky to spend my day with four extraordinary little people.  Something special was in the air this day – it was cold but oh, so lovely out.  Beautiful light spilled though the window so we danced, played and giggled in it.

Love Ashley ~