Sugar And Spice And Everything Nice

Sometimes in life you meet someone special and you instantly know that you were meant to be friends. Just over a year ago that someone special that I happened to meet for the first time when I hired her for a top secret photo shoot was Jeanna Hayes. We instantly clicked. How appropriate being that she is a photographer and all and an extremely talented one at that.

Well fast forward to a year later and we decided to merge her love for photography with my passion for designing and as a end result, a project that we are now both proud of.

BACK STORY: This summer Jeanna held a handful of awesome photography classes at her "Jeanna Hayes School" and asked me if I would be interested in designing the look and feel (certainly not the content) of them and be in charge of "the details" so to speak.

Excuse me?? Come again?? Um, YES! YES I WOULD LOVE TO!!! I couldn't have been more excited to be a part of her mastermind project in some sort of way.

I had the honor and privilege of designing several aspects of the "JHS" from her logo for the school, to the printed pieces that she gave out to her students such as personalized notebooks, apple place cards, water bottles, snack boxes, etc. However, the real project lied in a little something she came up with called "The Field Trip." This basically was an on-location shoot oozing with eye candy and gorgeous models that gave the students an opportunity to practice their photography skills.

Let's just say she was brave enough to let my imagination run wild and conceptualize it in it's entirety. From the theme to the model's wardrobes to the various design elements to the way the dang apricots were arranged on a pedestal plate, she just let me be my OCD-detail obsessed- crazy self. And still loved me after it was all said and done too. I think.:) I'm sure it was a big leap of faith for her, but she was certainly my right hand woman the entire time and together we created something kind of magical.

So now that the back story is in place and a disclaimer about to be made, I have decided that I would share my images. I've been a little hesitant because after all, I am a designer, NOT A PHOTOGRAPHER!!!!! (SIDE NOTE: I think from now on all my little endeavors with my fancy camera are going to be referred to as MY FAUX-TOGRAPHY!)

Please do take the time to view Jeanna's images over on her blog because they are properly exposed, perfectly edited, and simply gorgeous. Mine are not. With the exception of the models' photos, I didn't even take the time to pull any of them into Photoshop for some fun editing. I certainly don't have time for that.

So without further ado, here are the zillion images I captured as I had the opportunity to be one of her students and attend not only her rockin' "Teacher's Pet" class but of course "The Field Trip" shoot.

The theme: SUGAR AND SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE

First up: our little beauties



Here's pretty Porsha






beautiful Brynlee






adorable Halli






and gorgeous Danielle






Next up: The "Sweets Station"
I was inspired by all things Amy Atlas and for a few years now have wanted to try my hand at designing a dessert table. Well this was my first crack at it and I kind of loved how it turned out.
Here is an overview of what it looked like.

This is the "rag swag" that I spent hours making that used yards and yards and yards of vintage looking fabrics and acted as a back drop for our table.



Here is the "logo."



And the custom table cloth that Jeanna's sweet mom made special!



The centerpiece



And here are some of our sweet treats...



And now for some detail shots...

Custom cookies made by the amazing Truly Scrumptious



Handmade cotton candy made by my life long friend Becky



Delicious Snickerdoodle baked by my dear friend Ruth















And to "sweeten" the look, actual sugar was used to elevate a few of the sweets





















Here are just a few details from another station









And now for our "DETAILS TABLE"
The overview









Our custom runner made with different trims, twines, and textures



Each individual place setting






Pretty cupcakes and our ruffly Martha inspired cake made by Zucchero Bakery












Pretty pillows - each chair had a different one that coordinated to it's chair tie and linen napkin wrapped in lace












Vintage glasses with a sugared rim (yes I take themes to the nth degree)



Vintage glass vases with various wildflowers



Loving the yard wrapped around each one






I have to say that this project may very well be one of my career's highlights, so thank you Jeanna for trusting me, working with me, running around town with me, loosing sleep with me and inspiring me to reach a little higher.


Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls (and true friends) are made of.