I am loving my jean vest right now. It is so versatile. I can pair it with something casual or something a bit dressy. As we are slowly headed into warmer weather it is a great in-between layer. Accessorizing with a vest gives just the right amount of style but not getting too cluttered. I must say, my jean vest has moved to one of my essential pieces this season!
images via: Pinterest
p.s. I just cut off the sleeves to my old denim jacket to get a great jean vest. Throw it in the wash and your good to go!
I am so proud to introduce one of the newest members to the CHAR team, my intern, KAREN!
Karen just started interning this past month and I CAN NOT imagine my life without her! She has already brought a new dynamic of creativity and design to the studio. She is becoming my right hand gal and I am loving it. We spend our time collaborating about clothing, decor, art, and all things beauty. Whatever Karen puts her hands too she makes it lovely and interesting. She is GREAT at what she does! Did I mention she has an eye for style, yep, she’s got it! I am so excited about this coming year with Karen and all the creative goodness that will come forth from her.
Before I let Karen take over and tell a little more about herself, make sure you check out her blog HERE. You will love it!
A few important things you should know about me…
-I grew up on an orchard which really helped me to see beauty in what God creates
-I have a dashing husband named Kyle and an adorable baby girl named Elsa
-I love books and good writing
-I enjoy early morning runs
-I have loved fashion and style for as long as I can remember. Decorating my house and picking out outfits are two of my favorite past times!
-I was never ever the cool kid in high school.
Background…
God has always changed the direction where I thought my life was heading. In my teens and early 20′s I figured I would marry a musician with long hair, and we’d be missionaries livin’ on love in some exotic country overseas. Then I thought I would teach high school English for two years, get married, and have children before I was 25. But I ended up teaching for 9 years, marrying an engineer with a buzzed head and a cute little bald spot, having our first child at the age of 31, livin’ in the exotic land of Myerstown.
One idea of mine God did bring to pass was to be a stay-at-home mom. This past year, I resigned from my teaching job, welcomed our little pumpkin Elsa into the world, and have loved playing with her and watching her smile every day. However, I also began to notice Char Photography, follow her blog, and appreciate whoever this Char is behind such a creative business. Long story short, my husband encouraged me to take a workshop, I met Char and the team and immediately clicked. Grace posted her job description for an intern and everything she posted was what I loved. Style, fashion, decorating. The internship was a perfect fit. I could be a stay-at-home mom and spend some time assisting Grace.
So what do I do? Everything that I love. I give suggestions for studio decor. I help Grace create displays and find outfits for the senior model shoot. I create pinterest boards for inspiration for upcoming projects. Grace and I brainstorm a lot together at the studio, and I love how she thinks. I also have some take-home assignments like scouring the internet and my closet for 50s inspired attire that will meet the vision for the upcoming photo shoot.
As for goals that I have, I have some pretty significant life goals that would be daunting apart from Philippians 4:13. One is to be a good steward of each day and each gift God has given to me. Another is to learn more about my husband and how I can best help him be the man he was created to be. And now as a mom, my heart longs to help Elsa develop into a young girl who is secure in who she is in Christ and who learns how to use the talents God has given her to use to make Him look very great. My short term goals? Read a new book each month. Run a half-marathon with Kyle in September with a time of under 1:40. Stop eating so much cereal. Take a daily walk with Elsa. Make one day a week computer free. Cease comparing myself or my life with others.
Goals for the internship? I can’t say I know where this internship is headed. I’m just enjoying my attempt at being a styling intern, and each day at the studio with the Char team is a little treat. As for styling related goals…
1. Love the Creator, not the creation. This one is huge for me. 2. Help Grace and the Char team with excellence. Join them in their mission statement to affirm others, notice details, and honor God. 3. Be able to stick to a budget but still have good style. I enjoy when Grace tells me the max of what we can spend and finding pieces that will keep us under budget. 4. Learn how to work with others to help them develop their personal style instead of trying to thrust my style upon them. 5. Be an assistant Grace trusts and do what I can to inspire her styling creativity.
This has been such a refreshing time in my life, and I am deeply excited for all I will learn in my styling internship with Grace!
Judy: hi Karen.I am Gracie's mom.I enjoyed getting to know you through your this blog. So nice to meet you. Hope we will meet face to face sometime. Good luck on this new journey. (04/16/13, 11:32 pm)
Jenny Breckbill: she is a beautiful inspiration! (04/25/13, 2:40 pm)
Karen McGrady: Hi Judy! I just noticed your comment now. I would love to meet you sometime too. Grace is a dear girl. Just love working with her.
And Jenny, thank you, dear friend. (05/08/13, 1:41 am)
Back in February we held an On the Shoot Workshop at the Char Photography studio. It turned out to be a blast and the images turned out superbly! I loved styling this shoot and working with our lovely model Aubrey. The attendees were all so kind and open minded. They had so much to take in from what we taught and demonstrated , they were all troopers!
I had the privilege to share a bit about how I styled the shoot and photo shoots in general. The biggest part for me in styling anything is being inspired. To get to that point I have found that there are certain things that trigger my inspiration. I gave three of my styling secrets that I have learned over the past year that help me get to that inspiration point. This applies in my personal life and also my professional life!
The first secret: Have Style Icons! Having people that you are constantly following for inspiration stretches you and helps guide you to what you really like. My top three, (I have about 20 or so!) Ashley Olsen, Sienna Miller, and Miranda Kerr. I am drawn to all these ladies for their unique free vibes, elegance, simple tones, and their eye for style. I encourage you to find people that you like to draw inspiration from.
2nd Secret: It is not just about Appearance and the Clothing! Styling is not just about clothing. For me I have to have a connection to who I am working with. I can defiantly see a difference in my work when I am connected to my clients and not. I feel that it is my job to allow people to the best version of themselves, AFFIRM, and VALIDATE. Clothing is a great vehicle to relate who we are and showcase ourselves. The same goes for myself. If I am not connected to myself (sounds kind of silly, but so true) then what I wear doesn’t mean a whole lot.
3rd Secret: Stay Positive! This is a life secret as well. Negativity is the biggest killer to my creativity. When I am negative my mind can’t even think about being inspired. Nothing new will come out of me. When I am positive new inspiration always comes. Carrying someone else’s negativity and expectation is another big inspiration killer for me. Positivity is a source to all thing inspired. It enhanced the client experience as well as your own. Positivity transforms my world.
Stay inspired! Get Creative! Get Connected! Stay Positive!
This vision for the shoot came from a couple styles that I love. A lot Bohemian, a little Feminine, and a definite touch of Me! I wanted Aubrey to look youthful and carefree. I hadn’t met Aubrey in person until the day of the shoot, so I only had pictures to go by. I did want to be inspired by her as well. Her look definitely put me in the direction of the natural earth tones we used throughout the shoot. FREE PEOPLE always inspires me, so I flipped through the magazine a couple times before the shoot! We used a lot of soft muted tones so that the beautiful flower crown would pop!
To bring all the outfits together, Aubrey and myself collaborated with clothing that we both had. I made and inspiration board HERE to help aid the direction of the shoot and give us both ideas. Aubrey would send me pictures of what she had and we would go back and forth with what we thought. They day of the shoot I looked at everything we had and put together two outfits that were pretty cohesive.
The white room that we used was another inspiration for me. The simplicity of the white walls and the texture of the floor was all I really needed for a great backdrop. We wanted to spice it up a bit for the workshop, so i made the canvas backdrop and painted gold stripes on it. I found a stick in my back yard and the lovely Lori from Wild Flowers by Design provided the beautiful flowers that hung down from the branch. Lori also made the flower crown showcased in a lot of the images. Flowers add just the right touch to any shoot! Thanks Lori, you did a great job!
I am always drawn to natural hair and makeup for photo shoots. It gives a effortlessness to the vibe. Makeup was done by Trish from Makeup by Trish. She nailed the look I was going for. I did Aubrey hair. We enhanced her naturally great waves to make the a bit bigger than normal!
It is SPRING as most of you know! It doesn’t feel like it yet but I know it will be here soon. Transitioning into clothing for Spring means your shoes change too. Normally!
I am loving all the short boots that are everywhere right now. The great thing about this look is that you can easily transition your wardrobe from Winter to Spring without changing your shoes completely. Short boots are great for shorts, skirts, and cropped pants. This is a great way to keep those boots in your wardrobe as long as you can.
Two trends this season that I just can’t wrap my brain around. I can appreciate them on others but on me, I don’t think so! You will not find me sporting these fast growing trends.
OVERALLS!
Can you believe that overalls are coming back? It seems like just yesterday I was putting my overalls on for middle school. This trend is invading the stores! Watch out you might get hit with the overall bug!
THE WEDGE SNEAKER!
Somehow people can wear these and still look really good! I think I would laugh at myself all day long in these clever shoes. HEHE!
What do you think? Are you on either one of these trends?
INDIGO can be used beautifully as a statement in your outfit, or it can be used easily as a neutral this season. Because it reflects denim it is can gracefully be worked into a wardrobe as a neutral or base. It is striking all on its own and is great as an accessory piece. This hue of blue is everywhere and I am loving it.
SPRING is right around the corner! That means summer is almost here too. I am so excited for the days to get longer and my clothing to get smaller! Open shoes and soft colors speak spring to me. My spring go to outfit will look something like this: cropped jeans, a simple tank or T, or a great cotton knit dress with a killer pair of shoes with NO socks!
My new favorite boot at the moment : SAM EDELMAN, PETTY BOOT ! I want them in every color and texture! I think I will get the NEW NAVY color next. Gorgeous and comfy.
