ARTSWALK and the Procession of the Species

It is that time of year when the slowness of winter is chased away by the loud music and decorative costumes of the Procession of the Species . After the weekend of April snow I am  ready for some sun. Hopefully there will be some this upcoming weekend, for the Procession and Olympia Artswalk. Artswalk is a true blast to see all the different artists in Olympia. Such diversity and talent in our community.

This Artswalk April 25th & 26th , I am exhibiting in the main window of Wind Up Here which is not only one of the best toy stores in the South Sound, but a great place to find almost anything pertaining to play. We spend a lot of time and $ there which is so worth it, they have game nights, Breyerfests, and many more family oriented activities which is such an asset to the community. 

I hope you will come and check out my show and see some of my favorite work from this winter and a few of my classics. Let me know if you saw it by posting here in the comments section. I would love your feedback.

Also, check out the Olympia Film Society's Arts & Hearts Craft Fair Sat. April 26th 11-4 pm at the Capitol Theatre.

Radio Ad and SPRING Mini Photo Sessions

Wow! It has been amazing planning the Bridal Tea and we are sooooooo excited that it is turning into such an exquisite event. I just got a email with the radio spot from the Eagle and it is so fun. You can listen to it here 

If you are planning to come to the Tea you can still RSVP to brideolympia@yahoo.com and let us know how many people you will be bringing with you. We are excited to see you there. 

Also, I have a few more spaces for MINI PHOTO SESSIONS! They are $150 for a 1/2 hour including the CD, which normally is $250 on its own. It is my No-April Foolin' gift to you. If you want to schedule a photo session, email me thru the website or call the studio 253.227.8074. Now that the CHERRY Blossoms are out, it is a perfect time to get some spring photos. 

Entrepreneur of the Month

Wow! I am featured as Entrepreneur of the month of April with a non-profit organization called Enterprise for Equity. I took their business planning classes and learned so much about the nuts and bolts of business. You can see the article about me and Dinea de Photo here www.enterpriseforequity.org

This leads me to write about Business planning and the workings of a plan. It is a crucial plan to plan. Failure to plan is a plan to fail" and so... I totally recommend writing a business plan whether you are in a small business or working or planning one. In my non-profit work as a fundraiser and in organizational development I learned mostly what can make or break any non-profit or business is poorly laid plans and not putting a 1 year, 2 year, 3 year, 5 year planning into a living and breathing document called a business plan. I have been learning lately how to make it truly a working document not something that sits on the shelf collecting dust bunnies. Learn to love planning and you can move mountains and rocks.
A business plan is one of those BIG rocks that we love to ignore, but once we get one in place we can fill in the empty spaces with the other things integral to our lives and businesses.

Anyhow check out the article and look at their business planning offerings because they ROCK!

Spring Portrait Mini Sessions

In the celebration of SPRING, my birthday this week, and to have some fun I am having Spring Portrait Mini Sessions. They are $150 for a 1/2 hour session which includes a CD of the images. I have two dates left for this special April 12th and May 10th. If you are interested in scheduling a session, feel free to call the studio 253.227.8074 or email me thru the website

Here are a few from a Mini Session on the beautiful non-rainy Saturday we had before the REALLY cold and rainy Easter where the rain literally went sideways and upside down. You have got to love March and the beginning of Spring.

Bridal Tea #2 in Olympia

Wow, our last Bridal Tea was a blast. We had incredible music, great food, and AMAZING vendors to meet. We are excited to have another. It is going to be bigger and better for sure. Feel free to call or email and come by to check it out. It is a lot of fun. To quote one of our last bridal attendees " I think this is the best event I have ever been to, I feel so relaxed and pamered" Wow we were so excited to hear that.



The next Bridal Tea is April 13th from 1-4 pm. Come and meet people that can help make your wedding unique. This tea is going to be AMAZING as we will have some fantastic vendors, pampering, and great prizes to give away, and even Horse and Carriage Rides. There will be many wonderful things to do and try so come and check out the tea, it is FREE, so bring your family and friends to help you in planning your wedding and enjoy a fun and beautiful event. This event is sponsored by Dinea de Photo, The Best of Budapest, and the Tumwater Masonic Center which is located at 455 North St. SE in Tumwater.

Spring Flirting

Spring is really my favorite time of year, awakening from a long slumber to the sweet smell of fragrant flowers and flirty sunshine and rain. It is really delightful to see rainbows and sunshine in the midst of clouds and rain. It is the time to come that inspires me because I know more flowers and warmth will follow.

I just had a great photoshoot with a wonderful woman named Joy, she was absolutely incredible with the camera and I had to include a few of my favorites here. I loved how the sun was flirting with the camera and the sweet patterns that came out of the shoot.


The infamous Miss Jane

Music, Art, and Community

Wow, I am so excited the Bridal Tea that my friend Kristi and I put on was a blast. We had such a fun time with all the vendors, people that attended, and the food was fantastic. My absolute favorite violinist, Geoffrey Castle came and played his soulful and inspiring music that literally made the event exquisite. We had some great people involved such as Sylphide Designs, my favorite couture dress shop, Fair Portia, Aspasia Day spa who has the most amazing skin healing techniques, and many more. I will post more about this later. I just wanted to say how great it is to have people work together for a common goal. It is something that is not that common these days, but it is super important. I have such immense respect and love for community and am grateful for the inspiration and beauty that comes from supporting small business and local economy.

This bouquet made by Potpourri Floral is full of spring flowers and I found it to be such a beautiful reminder that spring weddings are such a delight to experience because of the sheer bounty of spring fragrant flowers. I love spring a lot, partly b/c my birthday is in spring and partly b/c it is when we wake up from the slowness of winter to more sunshine.

I am so grateful to have had such a fun time with all of you that attended, and hopefully if you didn't get to attend or want to come to the next one you will stay tuned. The next Bridal Tea is on April 13th. So if you are interested in attending or exhibiting, let me know. This one is sure to be even more fun, with great prizes and more things to see and do.