Happy New Year!

Lagniappe* wishes you a happy new year!  

Thank you to all the families that brought us incredible joy throughout 2012.

My Christmas Lagniappe

My friend Krista is an artist.  Krista sees people, I mean really sees people, even those far away.  For the holidays, she designed a truly awesome holiday card.  And she gave me a vintage postcard!  Somehow Krista knew this postcard would bring me incredible pleasure.

I believe the card is postmarked April 7, 1908.  M. Roty’s semeuse or sower stamp design spanned 1906 to 1937; the reddish-brown ten-centime stamp appears most frequently from 1906 to 1920.  Sent by Carine and Edmee (sisters?), the card sends a thousand good kisses from your two little cousins (females) to Mr. and Mrs. Breard, Bracquetuit farmers, near St. Victor l’Abbaye, a French commune dating back to the 13^th century (in the district of Haute-Normandie, in the county of Seine-Maritime, in district of Arrondissement de Dieppe).  The French department of Seine-Maritime was previously known as Seine-Inférieure, noted at the end of the address.

And here is a St. Victor l’Abbaye chateau postcard with the same stamp postmarked 1908.

But the pièce de résistance  is the hand-tinted photo 

on the postcard’s face with the greeting “Happy Easter."

A photo of two babies in the style of today’s newborn photography, 

complete with adorable props!

I believe this hand-tinted postcard may have been custom made by B.C.L. (lower right corner).  Perhaps the babies are the two little cousins sending good kisses.  But hand-tinted postcards were also "mass produced."  The process of hand-tinting cards was labor intensive and unhealthy.  Mostly women artists sat in rows while the postcards were passed down “assembly line” style.  Each woman was responsible for a particular color.  The cards were small, the artwork detailed.  The artists would wet the tip of their brush, usually cotton covered, with their lips as they worked.  Soon the lead in the paint took its toll as women became sick.  Hand-tinted postcards declined throughout Europe in the early 1900s, but lingered somewhat in France and Belgium.  

So, of course, by now you must know that I am looking to photograph 

a similar scene for next Easter.  But I plan to digitize the color!  Anyone interested?

I can only dream . . .

Many folks who visited Lagniappe* at the Madison Street Festival commented on a similarity between my portraits and those of Anne Geddes.  

Well, they were very, very kind, and I was beyond flattered.  

I can only dream . . .  

So, next it came time to order banking checks, something I never would splurge on.  

But, there I went and ordered Anne Geddes designer checks!

Then I was working on a single photo for days.  I knew I wanted to do something fun and special.  But nothing seemed even close.  Finally, it struck me!  

Let me know if you like the color or black and white portrait!

Some Babies Love to Stretch!

Even asleep, sweet Amielia wanted to extend her legs!

Just two weeks old, Amielia would cuddle, but only if wrapped.

2012 Madison Street Festival

Thanks to everyone who braved the wet and cold 

to attend the Madison Street Festival last Saturday!  

And special thanks to everyone of all species

who found our exhibit (tarps and all) 

to warm our hearts and lift our spirit!

Congratulations to the winner of our Facebook Portrait Give-Away -- 

beautiful Emery Grace!

Amielia and Alpacas!

What does sweet newborn Amielia have in common with alpacas?

You might say sheer/shear natural beauty!

Amielia Cate - 14 Days Old

You see, Amielia's super-soft hat came from the fibers of Bear and Jukie, 

Huacaya Alpacas from Alpaca Atlantic of Tennessee, located just south of Nashville.

Bear

 Jukie and One-Day Old Honey Bun

Almost as big as mother, Honey Bun loves to nurse!

Lisa Olsen and Bill Fletcher breed these exquisite animals and manage every aspect of their ranch.  They vaccinate, shear, train, breed and process fiber into finished goods. 

Lisa, who has become the area's midwife for difficult alpaca deliveries, 

knits and felts luxurious hats and scarves.  

I recently had the amazing experience of getting up close and personal with a few members of the ranch's absolutely gorgeous herd of alpacas!

Here, beautiful Amielia wears a hat made of fiber from Sugar,

whose rose-grey coat provides a perfect blend!

Visit Alpaca Atlantic on the web:  http://www.alpacaatlantic.com/

Lagniappe* at Madison Street Festival!

The 32^nd Annual Madison Street Festival will take place Saturday, 

 October 6^th, in downtown Madison from 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. 

Lagniappe* Newborn Portraits is competing in the Festival's Artist Alley, the juried art section of the event.  Please come by and visit.  Many sweet portraits will be on display!