J Cooper Photography

The Matilda Jane party is NEXT WEEK!!  September 11th is the BIG DAY!

The NEW LINE will be shown on the website on Sept. 4th!!  There are LOTS of wonderful pieces with this line.  Pieces will run from 6 months (yippeee!!) to Big girls (size 12).  There are also some AMAZING WOMAN’S PIECES (for those who aren’t moms or are moms of little guys)!!  I have my eye on several pieces already that I know are a must!   If you would like to see some sneak peaks…feel free to visit the Matilda Jane blog.  She will be sharing sneak peaks each day until the release of the new line!

THANK YOU to those of you who have sent me an RSVP!  If you plan to come to the party or order can you PRETTY PLEASE send me a quick email?  I’d LOVE to know how many DOOR PRIZES to prepare!  OH…WHAT??  Did I forget to mention that?

I WILL BE PROVIDING A FREE HAIR FLOWER TO EACH PERSON WHO ATTENDS (everyone needs a little crowning touch for the perfect outfit, right?)

{My counter tops are FILLED with hair flowers.  I spent the entire afternoon crafting them (took me back to my ebay days!)  And what you see in the background is the colorful array of dishes filling my ENTIRE SINK.  One of the few benefits of your husband leaving you for long periods of time is that there is no one there to notice that you are a complete and utter slob.  Crafting is so much better than cleaning don’t you think?}
Come to the party and you will have the opportunity to earn a FREE MINI PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION for you or your child (or any combination!)  You do not have to be a Mom to come.  You do not have to purchase children’s clothing to earn the session!  And I will be BOOKING the FREE SESSIONS that night at the party!!  FUN FUN!

If you are from out of town, can’t make the party, or if you are a blog buddy…but would like to order….DON’T FORGET…your name will be entered into a drawing for a FREE MATILDA JANE PIECE!

Feel free to bring friends or family that might be interested.  There will be plenty of food and good times to share   And feel free to email with ANY questions!!  Can’t wait for a FUN night!

And to my sweet neighbor who dropped these by to add some sunshine to my day…love ya!  How’d you know I was having myself a flowery kind of afternoon??

This week I have taken all three kids out for a quick mini session.  My goal:  ONE good shot worthy of a canvas gallery wrap for above my couch.  I took the first two to a little spot near A’s school where there are some big rocks to climb on.  But by the time I got A out of school and over to the same spot…the sun was too high and all my wonderful shade had disappeared.  So we improvised around the block in a dry creek bed…

And I couldn’t have been happier.  Oh, how I LOVE this little girl.  But I must say…she is not a fan of my camera.  And with a mouthful of jack-o-lantern teeth I was cringing thinking about the “toothy” smiles I would get.  But when I told her to “sit down and just look sweet” this is what I got!  I’m ONE SMILING MAMA!

1.  Mr P. has left me for Paris for the next week and a half.  Not only did he ditch me…he left me with a one year old cutting molars and a house full of pink eye.  Fun time at our house this week.  The girls have been crying off and on all day that they miss him terribly…and we still have 9 more days.

2.  On a happier note.  Today I stole away 5 minutes with J outside.  When I got her dressed this morning in the top I bought from Nic’s shop, she just looked so darn cute.  So on our way to violin, we stopped off at a nearby field and I took a couple of shots.  I want to get 3 large gallery wraps made of my kiddos to hang above my couch and I need to get images for that little project.  I have several photos of each of them that I love…but I almost always seem to take photos with a landscape orientation rather than portrait….and these need to be tall and thin (I think I will print them 14×30).  So back to my cutie.

3.  Awhile back A decided she doesn’t “do bows” anymore.  If you know me at all…you know that I like my little girls to look like LITTLE GIRLS.  And to me…bows are a serious part of that equation   So I got her a bunch of these.  And you know what…she didn’t even complain!  I don’t personally shop at Forever 21.  Just walking into the store sends my senses into overdrive and I fear I might have a seizure or something.  But if you have a headband loving gal at your house you need to check out their amazing selection of fun head wear.  And they are CHEAP!  Gotta love that!

We got this in every color.  Yesterday she wore it with 2 pigtails and I was certain I would die from her cute factor.

I also love this

and this…admit it….you are tempted aren’t you?

I just know you are all going to ditch the rest of my list and run to their website lickety split…I should be getting a commission or something for this

4.  Is anyone left?

5.  I wrote this on facebook this past week so if we are friends and you’ve already read this I apologize for my redundancy….but it is worth it I promise.  A few nights ago…A was still hungry following her dinner and dessert.  She was begging for more food (this is a common occurance at our house).  So I told her she could have a snack.  And she replied…”so if I eat something after dinner AND dessert….would that be an AFTERtizer??”  That kid kills me!

6.  Remember how I was going to ignore my longing to sew last week?  I was going to walk away from my fabric stash and try to forget that all my sewing stuff is packed up awaiting its new home?  Yeah.  That didn’t work.  And now I have THESE on my brain.  I may actually have to get out a card table and start digging out the seam rippers.  The machines are definitely calling my name.

7.  So I just cut off all my hair.  Kind of funny because I *was* growing it out.  Yeah.  If you are one of my local friend…the next time I tell you I’m growing out my hair just tell me to “get a life”.  I am SO not a long hair kind of gal.  I wish I was.  I wish I had lustrously sexy hair waving down my back in a beautiful cascade.  But then it would probably have half chewed Goldfish crackers clinging to it.  So short it is.

8.  I think it is funny that this was one of the first shots I took of J this morning.  Poor thing.  I have ruined this child by asking her to model so many times for me during my ebay days.  Like how she looks like the spokeswoman for Matilda Jane?  I swear I didn’t tell her to sit like that…with those sweet chubby paint chipped nails posed ever so slightly above the MJ logo.  She’s just that good all on her own   Which reminds me…are you coming to MY PARTY?

9.  Why do people think it is ok to comment on your weight when you are thin?  Pardon my soap box moment.  But seriously.  I was sitting in the dentist chair last week and the hygienist said “wow…you are thin…I bet you have to really work at that.”  WHAT?  I wanted to reply, “Do you really work at being that fat?”  I’m not a mean person…really.  But why do people assume that your weight is an appropriate topic of conversation?  My old realtor used to say goodbye on the phone to me with “go eat a cookie!”  Yeah.  I said OLD realtor.  I am not ridiculously thin.  I do work to maintain my weight because I am often sick from what I eat and I try to keep my weight up at a constant number.  But come on people…you have got to be kidding me?  OK.  Soap box moment over…for now.

10.  This little one has a heart of gold (although she can be a holy terror).  She told me yesterday that I am the “bestest hugger in the whole wide world”.  Except that I’m not quite as good as God or Jesus.  Then she said, “Man…cause God can give good hugs”.  Yes he can little one.  YES HE CAN.

HAPPY TUESDAY…hope your week is off to a great start!

If you live in the Kansas City area (or want to travel!) and would like to attend…just send me an email from the contact section or leave a comment!  I will get your directions and all the info you need.  There will be plenty of food and fun…so plan to bring your friends to kick off this awesome fall line.  And start thinking about your FALL SESSION…because you can earn a FREE MINI SESSION just by picking up some great new duds for your kids or YOU!  I will be scheduling the FREE MINI SESSIONS at this event…so you won’t want to miss out!

And for all you FUN FOLKS who don’t live here and are thinking, “I wish I could be part of the fun”.  Well…YOU CAN!  If you place an order through my party you will be entered into a drawing for a FREE MATILDA JANE PIECE!  So join in on the fun from wherever you are!

If you have any questions just send me an email!  Feel free to invite your friends.  It is going to be a FUN NIGHT!

Well hello friends!  I’m glad you’ve found me here at my NEW BLOG!  I’m so excited about the changes around here and hope you will take a couple of moments to look around!

This has been a long time coming…something I’ve been working on in the back of my mind for quite some time…and I’m thrilled with how it turned out.  But I can’t take the complete credit.  I received some wonderful design help from Genevieve of Lilac Creative.  She was able to make my vision come to life.  Have you ever tried to verbalize your personal style via email to someone you have never met?  And just trusted that they would “get it” and create something wonderful?  You should try it sometime.  But make sure you get someone good.  Like Genevieve.  Cause she nailed it.  Good.

Check her out HERE to see more of her amazing work!

{And if you are in the market for a blog overhaul (and while I’m on my soap box already)…can I just caution you to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE research your designer CAREFULLY before paying anyone to do design work for you.  While I was THRILLED with the results Genevieve provided…she was unfortunately not my first attempt.  Ask questions, ask for references, find someone with a payment plan, and be specific about your expectations.  You will be so happy you took the time to do the research BEFORE losing money and wasting your time…just a little suggestion!}

And just for fun (and because I’m dying to see how images are going to look on me new blog!)…let’s share some of the family pics we did with the always FABULOUS Sara Farrar!

My kids have serious PCS (Photographer’s Children Syndrome) so a big YEAH to Sara for getting them smiling and looking towards the camera.  Don’t for one second think that was any small feat!

And she even got a few of me with my best friend Mr. P.  I don’t think we’ve had a professional photo taken of just the two of us since our wedding photos 13 year ago.  It was WAY past due!

And don’t for one second think that was any small task either.  I have IAPACSU (I’m a photographer and can’t shut up) and Mr. P…well he has no real excuse (except that he makes me laugh).  We look pretty cute here…but we spent most of the session doing this…

But that’s mostly because Sara is SO FUN.  And we had a lot to talk and LAUGH about!  THANK YOU SARA for helping my family to make some tangible memories.  I can’t wait to return the favor!

That’s all I’ve got tonight!  Thanks for stopping by to check out my new home.  Come back soon!

1. I’m glad to be thinking about something other than the playroom. In case you missed it…scroll down or click HERE to see the finished results. THANKS for all the wonderful comments…I’m blushing…seriously. I totally love the space but it is nice to hear it from other people as well (I passed on all the praise to my hubby…gotta keep the positive comments coming so he is inspired to move on to the next project). I guess I need to talk more about decorating on the blog…that seems to be a favorite. And here I thought you were coming here to see pictures of me without any make-up?

2. Chunky thighs in Chucks make me happy.

3. Today in the car J said “Why didn’t God make everyone the same?” I replied, “The world would be a boring place if everyone was the same” (I can think on my toes like the best of them, huh?) I was gearing up for a serious talk about diversity, equality, tolerance. Then she piped up, “Well, I wish God would have at least made us all smell the same”. Yeah. Me too Jules. Tolerance is out the window on that one.

4. Guess what stinker bottom likes the playroom?

You are totally busted, dude.

5. We’ve got 2 days of school under our belt. So far so good. A’s first comment in the door yesterday was “boy those Kindergartners sure are small!” Oh the wise words of a first grader.

6. It has been raining/dreary here forever. I’m thinking I am going to need one of those lights on a hat attached to my head soon. I need the sun. Sun, where are you? I can feel summer slipping away…

7. I have been having a serious urge to sew. I caught myself staring longingly at my fabric stash dreaming up apron dresses for the girls. I *could* unpack everything and carry it up to the dining room and work. Or just let the urge pass in a few days…

8. Two wet headed girlies just came down the stairs smelling of Baby Magic (I still use this on my 4 and 6 year old because it is HEAVEN IN A BOTTLE). Excuse me while I go give them a giant sniff and snuggle…

9. I was at a friend’s house last night to pick up the cd of the photo session she so lovingly did for us. Her old house is so yummy and gorgeous that it re-kindled every notion in my body that I was BORN to live in an old house. I’m trying to be *over* the house we lost…I’m really trying. Why is it so hard? (By the way Sara…I can’t WAIT to go through the cd…promise to share some soon!)

10. Little man loves his blankie.

I love watching him snuggle it. It used to be mine when I was a baby,

He carries it everywhere. Maybe I should start calling him “Linus”. He walks around with it trailing between his legs. I was thinking of getting him a smaller version…but I think it is too late. The love affair is already too strong.

He carries it around so much he becomes wrapped up like a cocoon. Then he falls on the floor. But since he has his blankie he doesn’t cry…he just rolls over…pounces is…and gives it a hug. Have I mentioned how much I love this little guy?

Happy Tuesday to you!

We finished it up late yesterday afternoon and by last night the girls had sufficiently trashed it Aww…the joys of having their own space!

This project was an unbelievable amount of work…but so worth it in the end. The space turned out so magical. I find myself wandering through the house only to make my way upstairs to stand and soak up all the girly details.

We had this space framed out by an architectural engineer. The job required cutting out 8 roofing beams and we were more than a little worried about trying to cut them out ourselves. We figured that if we hired someone else to do it…it would be on their hands if our roof came collapsing in. Fortunately, it didn’t I owe a HUGE shout out to my Dad. My parents came for the weekend last month and my Dad helped Paul finish the framing, drywall the entire space, run electricity and install the bead board on the ceiling (I decided the room required that the night before they showed up…surprise, surprise).

Paul worked feverishly every night and throughout the weekends to mud, tape, paint trim, install trim, caulk, lay the flooring, paint, etc. I did my best to keep our brood out of his way. And I helped out where I could (I did lots of trim painting and touch-up work during nap times).

Once we started dreaming up this space I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like. The doorway leading to the room connects to A’s room so it had to coordinate with her space. I HEART the pink and green color scheme so I knew I wanted to head in that direction. I wanted it to be entirely girly and sweet.

And I thought very hard about how they would utilize the room. They LOVE to play babies. I know I’ve mentioned that a few times like here and here. So there needed to be space for them to spread out and do their thing. I also wanted ALL of the girly toys contained within this room so that I didn’t have to worry so much about Sam getting a hold of smallish toys. That meant we needed storage for baby dolls, Groovy Girls, the princess castle, the dollhouse, My Little Pony collection, Littlest Pet shop collection, and Polly Pockets. Let’s just say the owners of Mattel own a fair amount of our earnings.

The square cubbies by the windows and the pink fabric bins will work perfectly to contain some of the clutter. We got the cubbies on sale at Target for $39 each. The bins were on sale as well…2 for $10. For the time being I have placed their old toy caddy in the cubby to the right of the entrance. Notice how it is empty…it can’t stay there…it looks cute but I HATE that cubby system. It looked so cute and convenient when I bought it several years ago…but having all those tiny toys in open bins is a disaster waiting to happen. So I am on the prowl for another bookcase that will fit back into the spot. Something that will hold baskets and suitcases that CLOSE!

To the right of the entrance is another cubby that leads to attic storage. We have to have access to that hatch so I can’t cover it with storage. Today I painted 2 long peg racks to hang on the wall for displaying J’s dress up clothes. I have a collection of sweet vintage hangers that I can use to hang them all up (I’ll share that little project in a few days when it is complete too!)

I absolutely ADORE the polka dots in the rug and chairs from Pottery Barn. They were my big splurge I wavered on getting the white polka dotted curtains as they were a bit pricey for sheers and I was worried that the cute dots wouldn’t really show up well.

But they really do look adorable! I couldn’t purchase the right size…they came in 64″ and 84″ and I needed 74″. My Mom came to the rescue with a GREAT tip about hemming curtains…THANK YOU MOM! I cut off the top header leaving 1/4″ of selvage. Then I cut out the unnecessary 12″ in the body of the curtain. Once the excess fabric was removed I serged back on the header on the original seam…PERFECTO! And I didn’t have to mess around with the nice professional hem at the bottom!

You can see that the entrance back into A’s room is not that tall. I don’t have to duck to get through the doorway but it’s close! I still need to find shades for the little wall sconces. I had Paul wire those up when he installed the drywall so I had to put something up. Then I went shopping for cute wall sconces….yeah. Not so successful. So I purchased some ugly brass sconces from Home Depot ($6.88 each…score!) and spray painted them white. Now I need to find some small white shades to clip on the light bulbs.

The girls and I picked out these cute wall decals at Target. They were so excited to put them all on the walls…they talked about it for weeks. But once we got started they lost interest quickly. I think they thought I was going to let them put them ANYWHERE they wanted…uhmmm. Probably not. Especially since they wanted to stack ALL the animals on top of each other like a pyramid. These decals are SO CUTE but I must issue a bit of caution. They took FOREVER to peel off of the backing. Then once we got them up I was not satisfied with the “extra vinyl” on the animals, flowers, and mushrooms. The vinyl wasn’t trimmed closely to the picture so they looked kind of cheap on the wall. So I spent the next afternoon peeling them back off and trimming them closer. Worth the effort. But be warned

Some of my favorite little details:
A cute little gingham suitcase from Home Goods that stores all the princesses. And my favorite tin tea set. The girls play with this regularly and it is broken and missing pieces. If I EVER see another one, I’d love to get them a replacement!

A tackle box I purchased on my last trip to Good JuJu and painted pink

It stores Polly, her friends, and her ever expanding wardrobe (good golly she likes to shop!)

Some sweet little fabric covered boxes that contain the Littlest Pet Shop Explosion (I mean collection). I stole these out of A’s room because they fit so perfectly in the cubbies. I’d love to find more!

A home for the baby dolls. I took this out of J’s room because it was a perfect match. Now she has a rather hideous pile of stuffies that require a new home…a project for another day.

A little table and chairs set we have had since A was a baby. I bought this for $10 at a garage sale and have recovered the chairs 3 times already. It was plaid when I bought it…then roosters (It was in my kitchen)…then some funky fabrics in our basement re-do, and now a sweet polka dot from my stash.

A coordinating polka dot bucket for all of the dolly’s clothes (these babies have extensive wardrobes).

A little vintage chandelier I bought off of ebay years ago. My Dad re-wired it and we spray painted it white. I love how it hangs from the A frame ceiling

Whew…what a long journey (and post). I still have a few little projects I would love to add to the space over the next few weeks…but it is definitely ready to be broken in by 2 sweet little girls!

Next stop…a new sewing studio! The framing starts soon!

It is pouring buckets here. The rain is going to be relentless I guess. So much for our annual walk down to school to kick off the school year. So much for cute pictures of my school girl in our back yard before the first day (and truth be told…she didn’t miss them a bit). A week ago she started begging me to make her a back to school outfit…probably one of the first times she has adamantly asked me to sew for her…and my machines, supplies, and fabric stash are packed up awaiting the arrival of their new studio. Murphy’s law huh? Last year I made her an adorable outfit and a matching back pack which she never carried to school. Because the cheapo Target Littlest Pet Shop rendition that was made in China was so much cuter, right? (It tore the 2nd week of school by the way). J jumped in the shot with her sister (Periwinkle was also part of the morning festivities as well).

So pardon my “flashy” photos to commemorate A’s first day. We got a tiny break from the rain just as I was unloading the stroller out of the car so I whipped out the camera between sprinkles and tried to snap at least a couple of shots. The inside of the school was so ridiculously dark Wish the sun would have cooperated. But here she is with her new back pack (don’t worry…I didn’t try to make another one this year) heading out the door. My OCD side is really hating that I had to use my giant flash straight at her to accommodate for the light…but I’m trying to look past it She’s still cute with that jack-o-lantern grin isn’t she?

By her classroom

“Are we done yet? This is embarassing!”

My goal for the school year is to have A do some of her violin practicing before school. If you are a Suzuki parent, than you know that it can be so hard to find enough time every day to get in practicing and review. Today A ran through her review pieces while I was feeding Sam breakfast. He got some mood music and we got 20 minutes of her practice time under our belts before the day began. I’m hoping we can keep this up! Between soccer, church night, and lessons…time is at a premium! (By the way. I absolutely ADORE the face A makes while she is playing. She has such focus and determination. She’s my little brainiac.)

Happy FIRST GRADE A. We hope your day is SUNNY and BRIGHT despite the rain!

Tonight…peering into their recently complete play room…just as the sun was going down.

Tomorrow…she enters The First Grade.

Friday was “meet the teacher”…otherwise known as “bring your school supplies in and be completely overwhelmed by the chaos of hundreds of little bodies flooding the halls”. We started off the afternoon by checking the lists of homeroom teachers posted outside the school building.

A is part of a multi-age classroom at her school that combines Kindergarten and 1st grade. They call them “olders” and “youngers“….kind of a Montessori approach.

She has 2 teachers and would normally continue this school year with the same teachers. However, one has moved to a traditional classroom and a new teacher is taking her place. So, A has a brand new teacher to meet!

As soon as she turned the corner to her classroom, she was met by these excited friends…they came running at her full force…about knocked her off her socks. Good thing I had my camera poised and ready to capture their cheesy “where have you been all summer?” grins

She absolutely ADORES this teacher (she had her last year). When A came across the room she picked her up in a giant bear hug and twirled her around the room. It makes me feel so good that she loves her so much (and I think the feeling is pretty mutual!)

This is her new teacher. Like her “I’m not sure I’m ready to sit on your lap yet” look? I’m sure they will be doing hug spins by the end of the week too.

And this is her teacher who has moved to fourth grade. We are sad to see her move out of the classroom…she is such fun (J adores her just as much as A does). But she is just down the hall and will be ready with a hug too whenever A passes by.

One of my goals for this year is to figure out the crazy lighting at the school. I am usually fine with setting my white balance to auto when indoors…but not there! I’m on a mission to figure it out though before the end of the year…that means I need lots of time in the classroom with my camera in tow…oh darn!

I have so many fun posts lined up for this week! I’d love to devote a LONG post to the playroom now that it is COMPLETE! And of course there will be more back to school pics too (it is supposed to rain like crazy here tomorrow…such a downer…we were all set to walk down to the school together and get pictures outside!) Plus I will be revealing my NEW BLOG soon!!

Hope your weekend was great! Stop back soon!