You know when you go to the mailbox, and you’re sorting through all of the mail?
Junk, bill, trash, junk, junk, bill, statement, more junk, ripped/torn/destroyed coupon booklet, trash, junk, junk, bill….
And then you come to that piece… that one piece of mail that feels as though you just unwrapped the Wonka Bar with the Golden Ticket inside. You know the one I’m talking about? It’s like a little piece of love all wrapped up.
These pieces of mail are the ones I cherish. A good friend recently described it perfectly to me, she said “tangible mail is a lost art”. I completely agree. There’s nothing quite like getting a hand written note, card, or any other piece of personal mail. These pieces aren’t made out to “Or Current Resident”, they are made out to YOU.
Anyways, back to my story.
Today, I opened my mailbox to find just one such gem!!! My eyes lit up and my grip tightened on the envelope! I couldn’t wait to open it, but first, knowing I was in for a treat, i wanted to take a few photos to share with you all.
A little history about this session…
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Jessica and I can’t remember how exactly we found each other, but I’m chopping it up to fate.
She is full of colorful ideas, and is a complete inspiration to me! She owns her own company, Modern Moments Custom Designs, where she designs anything and everything you could ever need or want. Logos, cards, announcements, invitations, calendars, you name it! She takes each design request as it comes and molds your vision into something even more beautiful than you could have ever imagined.
So you can imagine, how when I got the email from her requesting that I do her youngest son’s first birthday photos/cake smash session, how ecstatic I was!!!
We brainstormed for a bit, and she sent me a couple of Inspiration Boards for what she was looking for style-wise for little Emerson’s shoot. I’m talking colors, textures, fabrics, the whole nine yards! Here is one of the boards that she created and sent to me. This really helped me understand exactly what she was looking for!
Not to mention, how completely adorable is that board!?! Can you tell how amazing this woman is yet??
So now that I knew her color palette and general direction, we chose a place- this great little barn that she knew of, close to the pumpkin patch that her family goes to every year.
There was no address,it was just “about a mile down the road off of the exit, on the right”. I didn’t need directions, once I saw this place, there was no mistaking it!! We shot at an adorable old abandoned barn.
Jessica came with adorable Emerson, props, backdrops, and even cake in tote! We had everything we needed for a stellar photo shoot!!!
We knocked out the session in less than 30 minutes, it must have been a record, and little Emerson was such a great sport!! I’m sure the cake helped a little 
The photos turned out AWESOME! I couldn’t have been happier with them!
Fast forward to tonight.
I open my mailbox to find the usual suspect mail-pile. Junk, junk, Bill, Statement…. and wait… what is THIS!?!!
Ok, I admit it, I knew it was coming, and I was waiting for it… But it doesn’t make it any less exciting! It was here!!!
One of the most rewarding parts of being a photographer, is to see my work in context. I LOVE getting birth announcements in the mail, save the dates, or invitations all using the photos that I have taken. It’s just got a cool factor of about 11 (On a scale of 1-10).
So without further a due, here is mister Emerson’s first birthday invitation!
The envelope… of course, the mailing address label is to die for cute!
And then, you open it and the cuteness just doesn’t stop!! Check out the envelope liner! (I swear, she thinks of everything!!)
Yep, that is REAL sewn on burlap, and REAL tied string! The WOW Factor is so high with this piece!!
Oh, and this is just the “slip-cover” for the card!! Just like a real book! Notice the adorable “vol. 1″ since it’s for his first birthday. Also, the price of the book is the date of his birthday… the cleverness just keeps coming!!! She even generously included my logo on there! How *sweet*!!!
Even a barcode!!
Once you remove the slip cover, you get to the card/invite! The paper is a linen texture, which feels awesome, and goes perfectly with her vintage look and feel.
I am completely in LOVE with how amazing these turned out! Emerson is one lucky little dude! The way she put the photos together with the piece are just awesome! I love the cohesiveness of it all, and I think her overall ideas were exceeded.
If you would like some custom design work done, I highly recommend Jessica! She is super great and easy to work with, and she has a LOT to offer as a designer! You can go to her website, or check out her ETSY.
Sadly, she just broke her arm and is only taking a limited number of orders for the holidays, so if you’re interested, be sure to contact her ASAP!!! Otherwise, keep her in your back pocket, you just never know when you might need some stellar designs!!! Personally, I’m hoping she takes up party planning… you should check out the parties she’s thrown on her blog, the details are scrumptious!!!
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Happy birthday lovely lady!! <3 I seriously adore how you did this. Its seems downright "you"
All I can say is. . . . I <3 you!!!! Watch out 26, you have a lot to live up to!!!!
Your so cute! Hope your day was great. I am sure your 26th year will be better than ever! I don’t think you could be anything less than fab-U-los! <3
What a cute idea! You are so creative! Happy Birthday lady! Here’s to a fabulous 26th year of life! xo
I LOVE THIS!!! I want to do this for my birthday list. Did you do this on Photoshop? I can copy it and give you credit?!!! You are so creative!!