Dress Me Up Organic is a small, independent toy company located in Victoria, British Columbia. They specialize in handmade, natural, organic cotton soft toys, eco-teethers and baby linens for young children. Dress Me Up Organic is owned by Jen Williams who is committed to sustainability and has two children and three step kids of her own at home that love all of the Dress Me Up Organic products. The Dress Me Up Organic Collection is brought to life by a small team of local crafters. Each of their organic cotton soft toys, Teething Bonbons® and baby linens are meticulously crafted in small batches, ensuring confidence and loads of good energy in every aspect of creation and production.

Jen is passionate about environmental stewardship. She chooses organic and sustainable materials, designing and creating naturally-inspired products with years of well-loved use in mind. Their certified organic cotton is USA sourced, and their wool stuffing is from a small farm in Alberta, Canada – the oldest operating woolen mill in western Canada!

You can buy these beautiful products in lots of boutiques across the country, but you can also find them on their website: www.dressmeuporganic.com.

Jen Ger and Suzie Chemel believe that life, like fashion, should be fun, bright and full of excitement. They founded Foxy Originals on this belief and create unique and playful jewelry pieces that help young women everywhere find their own way to sparkle and shine – without breaking the bank.

These stylish entrepreneurs met while studying at the University of Western Ontario, and quickly discovered their shared passion for bracelets and baubles. They decided to focus their combined talents on a single vision and founded Foxy Originals.
Today, Foxy counts popular celebrities and fashion influencers among the women who make up the cult following for their iconic pieces. With each new line, Foxy evolves and reinvents itself. It continues to set the trend with fashionable lines, as well as ethical business practices, including a new recycling program – the first of its kind in North America. A proudly Canadian Company, Foxy is now a top selling brand in hundreds of boutiques throughout Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and beyond!

Foxy jewelry is designed and made in Toronto, Canada where it is assembled by a small production team of skilled craftspeople whose true pride and workmanship is evident in the high quality of each Foxy creation. All Foxy jewelry is made from lead free pewter and is hand dipped in 14 karat Gold, Silver or Bronze. Each piece of handmade jewelry is then stamped with the Foxy signature to authenticate the designs. From this common starting place, the pieces are transformed into original works through the integration of enamel, stones, leather and ultra-suede.

View and buy Foxy jewelry online: www.foxyoriginals.com

Based on the color offerings of most sleep sacks out there, I’m left to believe that manufacturers think bright colors will somehow keep babies awake at night. What’s with all the pastels? Well, that’s exactly how mom Holly MacLean felt when she decided to launch the charming Wee Urban. This line of bright, modern baby sleep sacks are simply gorgeous. Made from soft organic cotton and bamboo and featuring original artwork screen printed in water based inks, they feel like your baby is wrapped up in your favorite cozy sweatshirt.

They’re as functional as they are beautiful, with hearty snap closures and a double zipper to make getting baby in and out a cinch. And unlike poly fleece which can often be a bit heavy for those of us with milder winters, the cotton and bamboo are super breathable but still warm – making the sleep sack a year-long fixture rather than a seasonal investment.

Wee Urban is available in baby boutiques everywhere, but you can also shop online: www.weeurban.com.

Holy Crap is the world’s most amazing breakfast cereal. Holy Crap Cereal is a special blend of whole grain super foods including organic chia seeds, organic buckwheat and organic hulled hemp heart seeds. Organic cranberries, raisins, apples and cinnamon give the cereal a tasty flavor all its own.

“The eye-catching and humorous product name draws people in to taste our cereals,” says Corin Mullins, HapiFoods Group co-founder, “Once they experience the benefits of the cereal they keep buying it and tell all their friends and family about it.”

Holy Crap rocked the Canadian natural food product industry after an amazing appearance on Canada’s highest rated reality TV show – the award winning Dragons’ Den.

If you can’t find Holy Crap in your local health food store or grocery store, you can also buy their amazing cereal online: www.holycrap.ca.

Zin Frames was founded by me, Rosanne, and my husband Jan. We believe that photos have meaning that go far beyond what can be expressed with words, and we think that they should be proudly displayed in every home! Our custom frames are modern, but vintage at the same time. They look great in baby’s nursery, and in living rooms alike.

The frames are available to anyone through our webshop: www.zinframes.com.

The winner of this giveaway can select an 11×14 frame in a colour and frame style of their choice!

Homeworks Etc. designs and manufactures accessories for babies, toddlers, moms and dads. They focus on creating products that are functional, decorative and meant to last. An affordable, stylish and unique option to decorating you child’s room! Their collections include wall hooks, personalized signs, growth charts, canvas art and more…

Shop online: www.homeworksetcdesigns.com

My Noisy Boys Designs is the creation of Cowichan Valley based designer Caroline Storie. Mother to one Noisy Boy and wife to another!

“I had always worked with textiles as a fabric technologist in the UK, but when I immigrated to Canada I knew I wanted to do something more creative and fun. When my son was born in 2008 I made my first block print, the robot. I used this to make the curtains for his room because there didn’t seem to be many cool designs out there for boys (I didn’t want to have tools all the time!). I then started making other simple prints like trucks, rockets, elephants, houses, flowers, birds and hearts for friends which I would sew into what has now become my signature product – the wall flag.”

The products My Noisy Boys Designs now offers has expanded to child size tote bags, fabric buckets, cushions, party goody bags, cards, aprons, table and kitchen linens. Everything is made by hand, the fabrics she uses are eco-friendly and the ink is a non-toxic water-based product so you know you are buying something that is both funky and sweet to the environment. You can currently see her products on Etsy at www.mynoisyboys.etsy.com.

Kathleen & Gillian are sisters and they started Monkey Butter in October 2011 in Vancouver. Monkey Butter is all-natural peanut butter blends made in small batches. They work out of a commercial kitchen space. They make 6 different flavours of all natural peanut butter – maple bacon, white chocolate raspberry, white chocolate pretzel, dark chocolate cherry, dark chocolate banana and salted caramel. Jars are 375mL and sell for $12 each.

Monkey Butter can soon be purchased online through their website, but in the meantime they accept email orders to info@monkeybutterpb.com. If you are in the Vancouver area, Monkey Butter can be purchased from Granger Grocery located at 16th Avenue W and Heather Street.

Happy Island Diaper Service serves Vancouver Island and is the best way to cloth diaper your baby. Excellent products & service make them the eco-friendly choice. Weekly service that provides you with as many diapers as your baby needs at one low rate! And best of all, no rinsing, soaking or washing required!

The winner will receive a Gramma’s Secret prize package, as well as 25% off of their 1st month of service.
The Gramma’s Secret products are all 100% natural & organic for you & your little ones. The Baby Bum Balm is a natural & organic balm to treat & prevent diaper rashes, cuts, bites, cradle cap & more. Boo Boo Butter is all natural & organic with the healing powers of Tea Tree oil. And the winner will also get a Baby Bum Bath & cloth wipes set; the natural oils & distilled water make this product ideal to clean your babies bottom and keep it soft and healthy!

Visit their website for more info: www.happyislanddiapers.com.

There’s something very special about seeing your baby for the first time and with 3D ultrasounds it can be much sooner than you thought. 3D ultrasound allows you to view your baby in a way that can hold precious memories not only for you and your family, but for your child to cherish as their very first pictures to show their children. Imagine seeing your baby yawning, kicking, sucking on their thumb and appearing to pose in such cute positions just for you. You’ll love these moments spent with your baby.

UC Baby in Victoria is the only 3D Ultrasound Clinic on Vancouver Island that works with licensed sonographers. I can say from experience that a 3D ultrasound is a great way to get to know your baby before they are even born!

The winner of the giveaway will receive a $50 gift certificate towards their ultrasound at UC Baby in Victoria!

Tonya Dunn is the owner of Dunning Vinyl. As a full-time hairdresser and mother of two she wanted to find something she could do from home. After putting in hours of research she came up with the idea to do Wall Decals. Although, she had not done anything like this before, once her new machine arrived in the mail, she had to teach herself everything. The result has been a second job she absolutely loves.

Wall Decals are quickly gaining in popularity because of its ability to personalize your space with a hand painted look without the mess of painting. They are self adhesive and can be applied to any surface, glass, wood, doors, windows, walls, cars, ect.
Tonya has also started doing t-shirts, tote-bags, cell-phone cases, photo gifts such as mugs, mousepads, ornaments, wallets, tiles, ect. Her business is now a year and a half old and growing everyday. Check her out online: www.dunningvinyl.com.

Vicki is the owner of Urban Harmonie, based out of Vancouver, and this is what she has to say about her company. My business arose from a need to reduce waste: I used the left over fabric from a diaper bag to construct a lunch bag. I’ve lived my life with a green mentality, reusing as much as possible, recycling, growing a vegetable garden in season, using non chemical products and being conscious of my purchases. With that in mind, I found the appropriate materials for my product. They are coated with a poly urethane that contains no PVC, BPA or Phthalates. They are insulated with a natural cotton that has no glue or resin and is food safe. My lunch bags can be used multiple times. Each use of these bags reduces the number of lunchtime plastic bag waste.

Her awesome lunchbags, snack pouches and storage bins are for sale in her Etsy store: www.etsy.com/shop/uhreusable.

Wow, I’m really liking all of these amazing products that are given away. I’m sure we’re going to have one very happy winner! Of course, this giveaway wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t also add something to the mix! So, I am giving away a portrait session with a gift print, which is a $250 value. It can be any session you’d like, for example a maternity, newborn or family session. You can come into the studio, or we can do it outdoors. I’m looking forward to working with you! (And if you’re not local and you win, you may either choose to give it to someone local, or you can let me know and I will draw a new winner for this prize.)

NOW…. here’s how to enter this giveaway! Using this awesome tool, called Rafflecopter, it’ll be super easy for you to enter! Just follow the steps
You’ll need to like each Facebook page, and you’ll get extra entries for following on Twitter, leaving comments, etc. Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

That’s not to say that I won’t ever blog again. Just expect that for the time being you won’t see me blogging much. Perhaps the occasional blog post here and there, but if there’s anything new, I’ll make sure I’ll let you know on our Facebook page. So if you’re not already following me on Facebook, make sure that you click the “like” button!

I feel very thankful for all the wonderful clients that I have worked with this past year. I am so blessed to work with so many beautiful families and little babies, and I enjoy every minute of it! Thank you so much for your trust!

~ Rosanne

Here’s a photo from our daughter taken in the zoo in Holland. I just had to share!

~ Rosanne

Okay, so here you go, some of my favourite images from last month’s sessions!

First up: a set of baby boy twins, who are just about 2 months old in these photos

Next: a very sleepy 8 day old baby boy who was very dreamy throughout most of our session

The next photos are from a session I did with 8 day old miss M who had a very awake day when we shot her newborn photos

Lastly: a few favourites from mister N who was 12 days old in these photos