What the Davies' do: Lilli, 10 years in the making.

There's too much to say right now.   I've started this blog at least 4 times.  I've typed and then hit the delete key over and over.  I can't find the right words to express how I feel about my first born getting to double digits.

10 years have gone in a flash.  We couldn't be more proud of the girl who first made us a family.  A whole decade of parenting has completely flown by.  And I feel like we've done OK.  There's been many a tough time, hundreds of arguments, plenty of tears and tantrums - not just from her.  Ha!  But the be all and end all of it is that this kid (along with her younger sister and brother) makes us the happiest parents ever.  I could carry on and on about how much I love her.  But I don't need to do that.  I'm certain many of you know exactly how I feel if you have children yourselves.  High tens all round for our amazing offspring!

The following images were taken a few weeks before she turned 10.  I had came across these fun sunglasses for a great price in Home Bargains and Lilli was excited to use them to create some new artwork for her bedroom wall.  There was no pressure here.  Just a Mum and daughter having fun.  The studio wasn't even fully ready at this point - it was literally just a wooden box.  But we didn't let that put us off.

As Lilli wanted these for her walls I opted for a variety of fun editing styles.  Which I love.  It was a bit of an epiphanic moment actually.  I spend so much time thinking my work 'should' look like this or that.  And it should stay looking like this or that.  But why?  I always describe myself as eclectic in my tastes.  It's going to start coming through more in my work from now on too.  Now that I'm officially old and wise! 😉  Or thats the plan anyway...

Thanks for looking,

Fleur x ~ https://fleurdavies.wixsite.com/fleurdaviesphoto

(As always, click into the images to see them at full resolution.  Cheers loves!)

A Mother's Dream: I will be in the frame too!

A Mother's Dream blog-circle:  I will be in the frame too!


And so here we are in May, at the second month of the lovely blog circle I joined at the start of April.  It's so lovely to see how us photographers who are also Mum's (or vice versa) like to document the time we spend with our kids.  Creating art, or (in my case mostly) just snapping away trying to document every tiny little moment and detail that I will no doubt forget at some point.  Lost to that part of the brain that only recollects with the help of an image on a a piece of glossy paper.

My last blog (not from A Mother's Dream cycle, the one immediately before this) documented my youngest turning 6.  I went for a different style than I'm usually used to shooting.  I would normally just go with real life.  Embracing the mess of our house or the surroundings of wherever we might be with my camera.  But for that moment.  Just after he'd got dressed and just before he opened his gifts, I had asked him for a few minutes of photos.  I wanted to simply capture him and his massive amount of character.  He did well considering he was probably daydreaming the whole time about the new HotWheels and Marvel goodies he had asked for.

So now we come to this month's dream cycle.  And the images that go with it.  They are much more me.  More us.  They are the unplanned.  The off the cuff.  The 'I must remember how cute he looked'. The mess of our home.  But what I loved most about these is that, as I was taking them, I at first was instinctively trying to not show my reflection in the mirrored wardrobes.  But what was I thinking?  I spend so much time behind my camera and never in front.  My kids obviously in years to come will know that it was Mummy who was taking the photo, but in this set I can be seen.  Baggy t shirt, grubby jeans and messy hair to boot.  But that's how they know me.  I'm the Mummy who will play silly games, sing in funny voices, speak in strange accents to make them laugh.  I can definitely make fun of myself.  I am the person that I meant to be because of my kids.  And I will from now make more effort to be in the frame.

Even if it is as a rule breaking reflection in a mirrored wardrobe.


Thanks for reading.  And after you've viewed the pics you can head yourself over to the next blog in this month's 'A Mother's Dream' circle here: "Easter holidays with my little ones." By the lovely Jenna.

Fleur x

(PS - It's best to click into the pics too see better quality versions...  Thanks Peeps.)

Birthday boy

It's criminal that I am now the mother of a 6 year old!  I know, I know - I'm also the mother of an (almost) 10 year old and an 8 year old...  What I should actually say is, it's criminal that my YOUNGEST is six years old!  Urrgghhhh!

He's a handful.  A ball of energy.  Funny.  More clever than he likes to let on.  Feisty.  And always has time for a cuddle with his Mummy (for now.)

So on the morning of his birthday I told him we MUST document the fact he's turned this grand age.  He said himself how he felt so much bigger and better now that he is 6.   He got himself dressed and I put him in his sister's room for a background where I could concentrate on just him and his character.  This is how that documenting went...

Thanks for looking.

Fleur x

(PS - It's best to click into the pics too see better quality versions...  Thanks Peeps.)

What the Davies' do: Poppi asked for birthday cheesecake!

My middle one turned 8 last month and she asked for a Lemon cheesecake as her birthday cake.  She's SO my child.  Excellent choice.  I love a baked cheesecake don't you?  And because I was brought up to share, I'll add a link to the recipe at the end of the post too!

As I began gathering all the ingredients I noticed how soft the light in my kitchen was and it looked good with yellow of the lemons.  I was transported back to the days where I had been completing a 365; photo a day project.  A task like baking would have been documented for sure.  So why not do that now?  So here is the photo blog, step by step of cheesecake assembly.  YUM!


Recipe:  http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/baked-lemon-cheesecake/


(PS - It's best to click into the pics too see better quality versions...  Thanks Peeps.)

I've talented pals... Too Cute Couture is one of them!

I've a lovely lot of talented friends.

Helen at Too Cute Couture is one of them..

Helen lives 3 minutes away from me (if you walk the 'long' way).  But technically we can open our back gates and be clinking a wine glass on a Friday evening within 30 seconds from opening the Pinot bottle!

I first got to know Helen as a fellow Mum on the school run.  Her 2 girls are in the same school years as my middle and youngest offspring.  I'm ashamed to say though, I only found out about her amazing talent for dressmaking long after we first met.   The pieces she produces for babies and young girls are simply stunning.  And you need to take a look.  Based in Wallasey on the Wirral, Helen works away with the great skill on gorgeous custom orders for her clients and also stocks a shop on Etsy.  Here are her links so you can check her out - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TooCuteCoutureBoutique and Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TooCuteCoutureKids.

Now we come to the afternoon when I got to photograph her latest stock.  The weather had been a bit ropey in the run up to this day, but thankfully any rain held off and her girls were in great spirits; modelling their Mum's newest pieces like pros!  We took a walk to our local park and let the girls do their thing with minimal direction needed from Helen or I.  Naturals these two...

So I'll stop blabbering on now and let the images of Helen's dresses speak for themselves.  I'm thrilled that Helen is in love with this session and I'll look forward to working with her and her girls again in the future.

Thanks for reading peeps.

x Fleur x 

(PS - the trick to seeing better quality versions of the images is to click on them... Cheers loves!)