A few months ago, myself and Natalia, The Venture Creative, were having a goals and inspiration girls night and came up for the vision for this shoot. We started to prep and plan different styled shoots, ideas for promotional materials, products we would like to review and companies that made our hearts jump and skip a beat! And thus, the ’40’s Lemonade Stand’ was born.

40’s Lemonade Stand Highlights:

• Mason Jar/Lemon Sugar Cookies
• Local Shops & Products
• 14 Lemons
• DIY Lemonade Stand
• Ethical Visions & Support
• Sweet&Sour faces
• First Date – Sharing a Sippycup
• 40’s Themed Outfits

Now my first concern here was, where and how and when am I going to make a Lemonade Stand, and from what? Do I go the route of a large wooden pallet, two wooden crates, or buy one.

**Enter Superhero-Handyman-Hubby**

I explain my thought process to Kenz and the different ways I could go about making the Lemonade Stand and his response, “I’ll just make one!” I think I just fell in love all over again. He took a bunch of left over wood we had from taking apart a bunk bed a few months back, (he also used this for the backdrop at Ezra’s First Flamingo – check it out), and went to work! I could not believe how perfect and beautiful it is! *insert happy cry* While he was building it, he had the face of it complete and I was thrilled! He then told me he had a lot more to do because he wanted it to be sturdy for Ezra and her cousins to play with for a long time to come. He added extra supports, squared it off and made sure everything was tight and secure. What a great man he is, always bringing my dreams to life! I will be making a separate post for your very own DIY Lemonade Stand in the near future so keep your eyes peeled!

We had so much fun with this shoot, involving all three of our children was difficult but so much fun! Luckily we had both of our husbands there to help rangle the kids and make them smile. We really lucked out with the weather that day, the entire week before and after had been in the high 20’s and this day just happened to be overcast. The perfect day for a summer shoot out in the sun.

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When I first started searching for who I wanted to involve in this project, there was a couple that came to mind right away and a few that I stumbled upon and am absolutely in LOVE with. Seriously, after you’ve looked through all the beautiful photos by Natalia Reardon Photography, scroll down to all the amazing LOCAL shops involved.

Through planning and executing this vision of the Lemonade Stand, I got to meet some of the makers behind the scenes. I had Kara from Nest&co Handcrafted over for a cup of tea when she brought over the adorable romper photographed above. I think this may be one of my favourite parts of organizing these style shoots is meeting and learning about the shops, how they came to fruition and the passion that keeps them going.

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Planning, Prepping and Preparing. 40’s theme, think bonnets, knee high socks and pearls. PEARLS! I remembered I had seen the most adorable mommy and me sets from Baby Bear Design just the other day, I rushed over and behold, there they were, perfect for the girls. Amy has a serious amount of awesome chewellery, teethers, children’s & adult apparel and she has big things coming down the shoot, check her and BabyBearDesign out here!

THE Bonnet. I originally was introduced to Fawn & Lace through Tara Teng, she posted a photo of her little girl in one of her bonnets and I was instantly in love! I contacted Parla and explained the vision behind the 40’s Lemonade Stand and if she would be interested in being involved. Now HERE is the real reason I wanted her beautiful bonnet to be featured in our shoot, to raise awareness and to promote what she is doing behind the scenes. Not only are her bonnets made from recycled materials but for each bonnet that is purchased, she puts $5 of your purchase towards women at risk and survivors of trafficking. Whaaaat? If you can’t already tell, this woman has such a huge heart and is doing amazing things. Go check out her handmade bonnets now and help support not only locally made and sourced items, but for women who need all the help they can get.

Here’s where you can pick up yours, but be quick! They’re only put out in limited releases. Her next release date will be at the end of July.

I got to meet another amazing shop owner along the way, Kim, grandma to Mia and one of the makers behind Mia’s Mocs. They’re goal and driving force is to provide great quality moccasins at affordable prices for new moms, moms with large families, low income families, families with special needs children and military families. You know those moments that just kind of catch you off guard, that you’re not expecting but it is such a joyful surprise when it does? This happened when I ran up to the door to meet Kim, and we ended up chatting for about 20 minutes about her daughter, grand daughter, my little Ez and the goal of Mia’s Mocs. It’s such a joy to get to know the makers, a snippet of who they are and who you are supporting and promoting. So thank you Kim and Alyssia!

The beautiful banner of lemons hung on the Stand was made by Little Sprout Creations and in the midst of her own hustle and bustle of putting together her daughter’s 2nd birthday, her shops 1st Birthday AND a giveaway, she still put time aside to make sure these lemons made it to the shoot. What a gem Jen is, the passion she puts behind her product and customer service is unreal. Thank you Thank you!!

Arn’t these cookies beautiful? Well, if you we’re wondering, yes they tasted even better than they looked! How is that possible? I couldn’t have imagined these cookies looking any other way. DesignerCookies really outdid themselves for this delicious treat for our littles, even though I’m sure they ate way too many during the shoot! Designer Cookies is a cookies company that makes custom sugar cookies to order based in Metro Vancouver. You can order yours here.

Seeing a photoshoot, and very much a project, come together and to fruition filled me with so much joy and excitement for the ones to come. We’ve got some amazing stuff down the shoot and I can’t wait to share it all with you.

XOXO

Here’s a couple post-shoot shots of Ez… How could I resist?! Is there really anything cuter than a naked babe in a basket?

Contributors

Photographer : Natalia Reardon Photography

Lemonade Stand : Hubby DIY

Lemons & Mason Jar Cookies : Designer Cookies

Lemons Banner : Little Sprout Creations

Black Striped Paper Straws : Party City

Ezra’s Outfit

Lace Bonnet : Fawn and Lace

Yellow Floral Romper : Nest & Co. Handcrafted

Knee High Socks : Petite Littles

Pearl Necklace : Baby Bear Design

Grey Mocs : Mia’s Mocs

Kylan’s Outfit

Fedora : Joe Fresh

White Dress Shirt : Joe Fresh

Bow Tie : Little Beau Boutique

Suspenders : H&M

Khaki Shorts : Joe Fresh

Socks : Petite Littles

Brown Mocs : Mia’s Mocs 

Eliana’s Outfit

Sun Hat : Gap

Pearl Necklace : Baby Bear Design

Dress : Nest and Nurture