Fall Entertaining

Pumpkin Spice Lattes (PSL) are in Starbucks stores across the country. Do you know what that means? It's fall! Yes, the PSL is what determines it's autumn in my world. I already have my pumpkin candle burning, and I'm ready to put on my boots. Who cares if it's 114 degrees still? haha! I always seem to host more gatherings in the fall. The cooler weather is an invitation to create soups in crockpots, bake with cinnamon and drink red wine. Of course, you also have big holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas that put your china to use. I thought I would share a fall tablescape that I put together with Malori from Hoot and Holler to get your wheels spinning about your fall decor.

Ikea has an amazing selection of dinnerware, home accents and linens. I found a set of white dishes that included six place settings for only $35. I've been wanting some plain white plates for a long time now, and I was thrilled to find such a large set for a minimal price.

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I also fell in love with these woven placemats and linen napkins. They will go with almost anything.

Malori found an incredible piece of wood at the flower market the other day.  She chose it as the focal point of the table design along with two geometric terrariums from West Elm. The all posses a modern quality the fits with the graphic wallpaper by Chasing Paper I installed (read post here).

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She chose sage, wheat and other simple greens to keep the design easy for anyone to do. The sage was the perfect fall touch and made my house smell divine.

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Deep reds and blues filled in the gaps. It's a different approach to fall that your typical rust and goldenrod colors.

So, now that I'm ready for fall entertaining, who wants to come over for dinner?!

Photos by Amy Frances Photography Florals by Hoot and Holler Additional styling by AVE Styles

Young, Wild & Free

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Last week I shared a beautiful brand film for Jessica Daniels captured by Ale Vidal. Today, I'm sharing some images that Jess took the day of the shoot.

Jess really wanted to portray a girl who is adventurous and a free spirit for her brand film. A clothing brand that I really feel like embodies this is Free People. Thanks to Frances Vintage, we were able to work with all Free People clothing for this project. I'm in love with both of these dresses. The soft, flowy material was perfect for motion and further emphasized the "free bird" quality.

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Generally, I stay away from a black and white palette, but because this dress had a lot of detail and because we accessorized her to a great degree, it worked really well. Plus, the mint VW bus Jenny brought to the shoot created a bright pop of color for a background.

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Braids, natural makeup, stacked rings, a hat, booties...These were all of the details that came to my mind when I thought about this girl. Don't you just want to be friends with her?! Lea did such a great job of portraying this character.

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All in all this is my favorite shoot to date. It was just a joy to get lost in the details. Below is a little behind the scene pic of me and Ale creating a moment on set with Lea. If you haven't watched the film, go watch it here.

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Photography by Jessica Daniels // www.portland-vancouver-senior-portraits.com  Styling & Art Direction by Alexandra Evjen // www.avestyles.com

Hair by Jenny Strebe // www.theconfessionsofahairstylist.com Make up by Stephanie Neiheisel // www.snmakeupartist.com Model // Agency AZ (Lia Briehl) // www.theagencyaz.com Clothing and accessories supplied by Frances Vintage // www.francesvintage.com Calligraphy, hand drawn details by Alyssa Hodson

This Time in My Life

A mint vintage VW bus. Hair blowing in the wind. A road map laying on the seat. The open road. If the sum of those things or even just one makes you want to go on an adventure you should watch this brand film for Jessica Daniels Photography made by Ale Vidal.

This may in fact be the art direction and styling project I am most proud of to date. I want to be this girl. I want to live her life and have her spontaneity. When I feel like that about a project I know that it's special. More about the process and outfits later. For now, grab your coffee and enjoy.

This Time in My Life from Ale Vidal - Imaginale on Vimeo.

This time in my life is an adventure - to do things I've never done and go places I've never been. To have adventures that open my heart and my mind. // This was the premise and script I worked on with Jess Daniels (www.portland-vancouver-senior-portraits.com) for her brand film. Our goal was to create a character that represents her style of work and the type of girl that is photographed by her.

Film by Ale Vidal // www.imaginaledesign.com

Styling & Art Direction by Alexandra Evjen // www.avestyles.com

Hair by Jenny Strebe // www.theconfessionsofahairstylist.com Make up by Stephanie Neiheisel // www.snmakeupartist.com Model // Agency AZ (Lia Briehl) // www.theagencyaz.com Clothing supplied by Fances Vintage // www.francesvintage.com Calligraphy, hand drawn details by Alyssa Hodson

Estella NYC Dolls

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About a year ago, I came across this amazing online kids boutique called Estella NYC. I could tell right off the bat that Estella cares about carefully curating their store with high quality clothing and toys.

Recently, they decided to create their own line of dolls that relate to all kids. They wanted this collection of knit, soft dolls to be different from other dolls on the market that seem to send only one message of how they should look. The truth is that there are many kiddos that wear glasses or have birth marks or have special needs and don't look anything like many of the dolls in super stores. I love the thought process behind their collection and that they are aware that many toys send messages and reinforce "perfection" to kids.

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Estella asked me to showcase their five dolls in action with children of all ages and backgrounds. Kym Ventola photographed the moments perfectly.

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There were some challenging moments getting the kids to do what we wanted, but it's nothing a little candy can't fix.

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One of the best moments was getting to have my beautiful niece, Claire, and one of her good friends, Seth, be a part of the shoot. They are two AMAZING superheroes that battle with epilepsy and some other health issues that make how they experience life, communicate and play different from many kiddos, but it was so special getting to share with the world through this campaign that they love toys just as much as the next kid. In fact, it was like these dolls were made for Seth and Claire. Seth's doll is a superhero with an S on the front, and Claire's doll has glasses just like claire and is wearing her favorite color.

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Any company that is about showing equality among children is a company that I want to tell everyone about. Go check out their amazing dolls and their store! 

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Photos by Kym Ventola Styling and art direction by Alex Evjen 

Models (not all pictured): Seth, 5 Claire, 5 Eli, 2 Isla, 4 Madeline, 4 Emery, 6 Finn, 1 Ayden, 4 Oliver, 3

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Styling & Art Direction for The Motion Workshop

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14 professional photographers in one room all learning and wanting to add motion to their skill set - that's why they came to Ale Vidal's Motion Workshop. When Ale asked me to style four different shoots for them to capture I thought, "14 photographers!? This HAS to be good!" Then I thought, "Wouldn't it be SO great to get some clothing brands involved? They would be getting all of this content for their social outlets!"

Years ago my mind wouldn't have gone to brand partnerships it just would have focused on how to execute the shoot well. What I have realized, however, is that executing these shoots well means partnering with brands. Access to clothing is the hardest part for a stylist, so if you can add value to the brands that you want to work with by providing quality content and social sharing then it's a win, win for all parties involved.

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So, before I approached brands to be a part of these shoots, Ale identified two high school senior themes, a bridal style and an engaged couple based on the background of her attendees. From there I started using secret Pinterest boards to solidify the mood, the style and the scenes with Ale. Then I was able to start dreaming about what brands would be a good fit for the different styles.

View More: http://imaginale.pass.us/themotionworkshop

Lulu*s sent us wardrobe for both high school senior shoots - a soft, natural prairie girl and a loud, bold, music lovin' girl. Lulu*s market is very young so they were a perfect match. Just one outfit was needed for both girls.

For the prairie girl we wanted a pastel palette, a dress that felt ultra feminine and innocent. We chose a blonde model with light eyes - Kacey from Agency AZ was amazing. Braids are a youthful hairstyle, as well as minimal makeup. Miriam Kenly and Stephanie are pros at bringing visions to life. For the scene, we thought about a basket of flowers for her to play with. I loved the idea of a clothes line with fabrics that would blow in the wind. Hilary Kram, a wonderful florist and creative, added some beautiful greens and floral to the clothes line to create more interest.

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For the music lovin' high school senior we wanted to portray a girl that loved NYLON magazine. I chose a bold color palette and stuck with the current fashion trends such as mini skirts and muscle tees. The bright lipstick Stephanie Neiheisel created from a MAC pigment was genius. It matched her skirt perfectly. We decided to keep her hair down so that it would move well for the camera as she jumped on the bed and whipped it back and forth. Teens love to listen to music and these gold Frends headphones were the perfect fashion accessory. There's nothing that reminds me of being a teenager more than flipping through magazine and filling out quizzes. Because our model, Emily of Agency AZ, was being put in a studio setting Ale loved the idea of having some cool floral elements to make it a bit more interesting. Hilary did a an amazing job with stringing some carnations. It was simple, but a powerful set element.

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We also had a young couple in their 20's who were pretending to be engaged who embodied a laid back, L.A. style. Lulus*s also outfitted the bride-to-be. Katherine Thornhill was our model and she is actually a wedding planner that helps brides prepare for their engagement shoots a lot. She and her boyfriend, Chris, were a real couple that could emote and express love on camera. I chose a maxi dress for her and layered a ton of jewelry on her hands to create interest for the camera. A center part with her long locks further ensured the boho vibe of their style. For Chris, we actually worked with a small budget and his wardrobe to come up with a simple, somewhat 'hipster' outfit. Simply peg rolling his pants and rolling his sleeves was a detail that took an easily preppy look to a more casual, west coast vibe. For the set we layered oriental carpets and pillows of different textures and colors. We also used a hammock that swung back and forth for motion purposes.

View More: http://imaginale.pass.us/themotionworkshop

For our sensual, moody, haunting bride we started looking at bridal boutique partnerships, but nothing seemed to fit the high fashion quality that was needed to make this bride different from the rest. I had recently done some Pinterest consulting for Fame & Partners and remembered that they make custom dresses. After falling in love with a black dress, I asked if they could design it in white...and they did! The silk chiffon material was PERFECT for movement. For the set, we chose to pose her by ivy and a beautiful water fountain filled with roses. The movement of the water was great for motion!

Check out the film Ale made here and to hear from Ale about why she held the motion workshop, visit her blog here.

All of this production wouldn't have been possible without a stellar team and wonderful brand partnerships. Please go follow all of these people and brands!

Event // www.themotionworkshop.com

Photos by Ale Vidal  & Mary Claire Photography // www.imaginaledesign.com // www. maryclaire-photography.com Styling and Art Direction by AVE Styles // www.avestyles.com

Bride: Madeleine Alexandra // alexandrafashionco.blogspot.com High school seniors // Kacey & Emily // www.theagencyaz.com Engaged couple // Katherine & Chris // www.luckyandinlove.com Make-up: SN Makeup // www.snmakeupartist.com Hair: Miriam Kenly // instagram.com/mirmaidkenl Florals: Hilary Lamb // hilarylambphoto.blogspot.com Wedding dress by Fame and Partners // www.fameandpartners.com Clothes by Lulu*s // www.lulus.com