I truly do love this time of year…for so many reasons.  One of them being that I get to turn our abode into our own little Wonderland.  It should be no surprise that I love vintage Christmas items. I have been collecting things little by little each year.  The skates and vintage stockings are from one of my favorite shops, The Painted Porch, right outside of my hometown.  The skating tutu is from Hunt and Gather in Minneapolis.  Hands down, my favorite store.  They carry the most unique items and the way they are displayed is a little treat for the creative side of my brain.  The pink bottle brush trees I made myself after seeing this.  The tutorial can be found here. They actually came out a little darker than I would’ve liked so may put them in for another soak.  The “WISH” pillow was stitched for me by Stacy and the “wish” came about from her stencil tutorial found here.   Let’s say I have a new appreciation for freezer paper!

The frames were also found at The Painted Porch.  The letter is a letter my mom found from “Santa” to my brother. It was written in 1984 when Nathan was only seven and I was only three.  When I opened it and saw the handwriting, it brought back memories of waking up every year and seeing that handwritten letter on the kitchen table. I hope we can find the rest of the letters.  They mean so much more to me now…

I would like to pause and give thanks for Etsy and Ebay right now as they are the reason that I finally have the vintage pink bulbs I have been looking for…foreevvvveerrr. It was a happy happy day for me that those beauties came bubble wrapped in the mail.

I have been collecting old children’s books for awhile now, but had no Christmas books. I found a couple at a thrift store and was even happier when my Aunt Kathy told me that my grandma had the exact same Betty Crocker “Cooky Book” when they were growing up.  It looks pretty, but I can’t wait to actually use it for some old cookie recipes.  The best part…it was only $2.00 – score.  …and then there is the tinsel tree from my Grandma Florentine.  It is in pristine condition thanks to her. She took such good care of it.  It even has the original box and instructions…also in pristine condition.  It dates all the way back to 1967 and even has the color spinning light which also works like a charm. It is one of my most favorite things ever.

The desk that my Uncle Al made for me has become a wrapping station lately. Between filling client orders and wrapping Mikey’s birthday goodies, I have become quite acquainted with this little project table o’ mine.

I hang stockings on all of our doors every year.  I hand stitched Mikey’s from some old fabric and the felt bobble garland is from Oh Baby in Minneapolis.  However, I made my own this year with these from Anthro for only $8.00.  They’re supposed to be gift toppers, but string them along a little bakers twine and viola!

…and the tea cupboard. Oh the tea cupboard that I adore.  It is another reason I love Stacy. She was out’ing with the old and in’ing with the new.  I got the old and am so happy I did!

So, there you have it.   A little Wonderland love from all of us to you.  I hope you’re all enjoying this time of year.  I do know that it’s not about the fancy finds, but the people you get to share this season with…and I am so thankful for the people I get to share mine with…

Much Love,

Krysta

He’s pretty darn cute isn’t he?  My little Luka Buka.  He and Michael are growing up way too fast. So much so that when Luka called the other night to wish Mikey a Happy Birthday, they chatted on the phone for a half hour. What?  I was in hysterics over their very important topics of discussion too. “Luka, I can count to 103.  What can you count up to?”  “Mikey, I will be coming to your birthday party when I’m five and you’re seven….but not this year when I’m four and you’re six…next year…when you’re seven.” …and on and on and on.  So.funny.

These images have been sitting on my computer for awhile now. I have had good intentions of sharing them.  Well, sharing a lot of things really, but things have been busy. I underestimated how BUSY this time of year would be.  We have been traveling, I have been editing day and night, Mikey turned six, we had a party, we’re getting ready to travel A LOT over the next couple of months.  I am trying to get things completed, stay organized, and remain sane so I can enjoy my favorite time of the year. 

So, with that. I will keep working away so I can share some of the sessions I have been working on.  Until then, you can enjoy this blue eye’d, curly hair’d boy I love so much.

Much Love,

Krysta

Okay, seriously people.   These babies are killing me. Killing.Me.  Do you see the cheeks and thighs on Mr. Tripp?   You know I have a weakness for chunkalicious babies. He was SO happy too.  All I had to do was look at him and he would smile with that whole little body of his.  (Insert melting into a puddle here.)  Poor Turk (as she is known to most people) was so patient in waiting for Tripp’s shoot.  We had originally scheduled it for early September. I thought we would be absolutely fine, but the day of the shoot it was 40 degrees with a wind advisory.  After re-scheduling twice, we finally got a perfect morning in October.  I absolutely love the way Turk and Dan love this little man.  Their whole session is nothing but gorgeous as are they inside and out. 

Dan and Turk – thank you so much for letting me capture your little boy as he is now…little treasures.

Tripp – munch, munch, munch on you sweet boy!

Much Love,

Krysta

Candy

Glittered lollies

Knee socks

Sparkles and Wishes

Bubble skirts and ruffles

Two beautiful girls

…what more could I ask for?

I seriously love these girls. They remind me so much of me when I was little.  I love how giddy little girls get when they get to put on dresses and bows and special jewelry and play dress up.  I walked in and they were both so excited to show me what outfits they had picked out…and I, of course, thought they were perrrrfect. I had stayed up until 1 am the night before making WISH letters and glittering lollies and ironing curtains.   However, the next day rolled around and it was cold. COLD. Like so cold that after 15 minutes we let the girls go inside to have a little break.  Poor Katelyn thought her feet were going to fall off!!  Katie and I stayed outside hanging curtains and letters and the two of us looked at each other at one point wondering if we had both gone crazy! BUT I love these images. I love everything about them and you know I’m a happy girl when I get to throw a little candy processing in the mix too!   You can see more of Lauren and Katelyn here and here from their shoot last year…also a dream! :)

Hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend!

Much Love,

Krysta