{Sweet Miss Z}

This sweet newborn came a little earlier than planned. She had her own agenda and decided to be this mums Valentine's gift (a day early.) She was by the far one of the best newborns I have worked with and was quite comfortable with her clothes off. In fact, she stayed unclothed for the better part of 2 hours for us. Since our session took place at her home, she remained nice and cozy even though it was quite chilly outside. Though mom has shared with me that she is known to have quite the cry, she showed none of that with me. In fact, she seemed quite content hanging out in my prop set ups. It was a wonderful end to a crazy week for me. I truly needed the break and change of scenery. Thank you for trusting me with you precious baby girl, S Family. There are many more wonderful images to share with you in your private gallery but for now, here's a little sneaky peek!

{Hello Baby K!}

Sweet Mr. K, came to see me today on his 2 week birthday. Though it was stormy outside, this lil man made it all warm and cozy in my studio. At 14 days, he was quite alert and ready to party and take it all in. We had the hardest time getting him drunk on mommy milk and sleepy. Just when we thought he would never sleep, he fell into a sweet slumber on my new bed prop. Nothing is sweeter than a naked newborn baby. I tell you, I can do this every day of my life and never tire of it as the images are always the reward. Thank you, M family for sharing your sweet new baby boy with me today. There are more wonderful images for your private gallery but here is just a sneaky sneak until then!

Enjoy!

XoXo,

Tonya

{Mr. N is ONE!}

Had a little birthday fun with Mr. N today! I get a huge kick out of watching some of my clients grow and change over a years time. How quickly it all happens for me but more so for the parents I think. Here's a little sneak peek at our time together today. A little cupcake time! HAPPY 1st Birthday, Mr. N!!! Glad you had some practice eating cake for tomorrow! Enjoy!

XOXO,

Tonya

{Pink Bundle Maternity}

This mom to be is expecting a little pink bundle in March. She joined me today for a mini maternity session at my home studio. Some very close friends of hers and treasured clients of mine, gifted her a maternity/newborn package. What a wonderful gift idea and one they will appreciate for years to come.

Those who know me, know that I love it when a piece of family history is incorporated into a photo. The gold bracelet in photo #2 belonged to her beloved grandmother. Loved the sentiment behind that. The last image of Mr. Pooh was a gift from her nephew in England. He was just too cute not to post but there is a fun series with him that I can't wait for her to see in her private gallery.

S Family- Thanks for coming by today. I'm really excited about meeting Little Miss Pink Bundle come March!

Can't wait for the big name reveal either!

XOXO,

Tonya

{Inspiration Monday}

With so many crazy things happening in the world today, it's easy to let the seeds of uncertainty plant themselves. For me, self doubt and other life worries have been getting in the way of how I'm living my life. By no accident, did I come across one of my favorite photo blogs posts today which I will call Inspirational Monday Part I.

A series of Monday posts which will run throughout 2011.

With Kara Layne's permission,

here is a quote from her post today

“Sometimes I’ve believed in as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Lewis Carroll

"There are many of us, most of us, that hold dreams, hopes and determination within ourselves. And within those deepest parts, want to fight for what we want, leave behind what we don’t and truly develop into who and what we are meant to be in this lifetime. We are all meant to be great. In our own, unique ways."

Kara Layne

For the entire post go to her journal site.

Kara is a lifestyle/wedding photographer from Arizona. Her blog features many wonderful tips from design to home organization. Take a moment to check out what she is doing and leave a comment. Tell her, I sent you :)

Because a post is no fun without a picture, I leave you with an image from one of my new marketing campaigns. More on that one in another post.

Happy Monday!

xoxo,

Tonya

[Design Friday Part II}

Today's Design Friday post, is a peek into another client's great home gallery. What's great about the way she displayed her wall photos, was her use of reclaimed frames. Actually, if I'm telling this right, the frames were her grandmothers. I think she repainted them and distressed them. How wonderful to not only be able to recycle something of the past but to blend the past with the present. They can now look at those cherished photos yet think of the amazing legacy of a special woman with each frame. I'm digging the distressed, beachy feel of them, don't you?

The white iron easel is something that adds a nice decorative touch to any mantel. I'm not sure where she picked these up. They are darling! I think it's nice to think out of the box when using easels with mounted prints. I personally like to use black wooden plate easels from Pier 1. If you wanted one like this white one, I think you could get close with an iron cookbook stand.

This 20 x 20 collage you see here is from one of my most requested sessions. It's from her son's 1st birthday cake session. This is a fun session since there are so many darling expressions babies make while they are experiencing the messy yumminess and fun of eating a birthday cupcake. The collage is a fun way to display and group them. It also makes a great wall decoration to a nursery or room when mounted on a gallery wrap. Her choice of a natural wood is lovely and carries through with the feel of her other framed portraits.

Thanks again, Quinn, for sharing your design ideas!

Have a wonderful Friday!

XOXO,

Tonya

{Spread The Love Campaign}

Spread The Love Campaign
It's February and it's time for some love!

Yes! It's another giveaway! Here's my goal....I would love to raise my Facebook Fans and promote my business there but I need your help because you are all fantastic at spreading the love for me! What's the reward? I'm giving away a free studio session fee to one of my lucky returning clients and 1/2 off any session fee to one lucky new client.

So here' s how it works...

1. FB message all your close friends my Facebook link. Tell them about my promotion and to like my business page. Tell them they must leave a comment on my Facebook page and mention your name. Out of town friends are okay, they just have to be able to make it to Santa Cruz county before 2012 to use their gift certificates.

2. All new Facebook friends must then email me tonya@designsbytonyar.com and tell me they left a comment on my Facebook and liked my page as well as leave me their contact info. I will then enter their name and yours into the 2 drawings but you have to do step 1 & 2 first!

3. Here's the fun part....If you are a new client, you may only enter your name once. If you are a returning client, you can get multiple chances to win depending on how many new friends you add to my Facebook page. Don't have a Facebook account? Join FB and I will enter your name twice just for doing so but you have to do step 1 & 2 first.

4. All entries will be given numbers. Winners will be determined by random.org
   Winners for both giveaways will be announced on Facebook and my blog on February 14th. All winners will receive a gift certificate via mail which will be good from March 2011-December 2011.
   (Spread The Love certificates can not be combined with any other offer or special DBT promotion.)
   Have fun and remember......Spread the love!
   XOXO,
   Tonya