teepee

Remember this post where a gal asked me to post about her contest and she would gift me a mini session in return?

Well that "gal" turned into a super sweet chick named Eileen--
and that mini-session turned into pure greatness.

***
I knew that I didn't want to waste this gift on a generic family session.
(even though it would have been equally a-maze-ing.)
I wanted to do something fun, whimsical and creative.

Originally I was thinking a super-hero themed shoot-- cops and robbers kind of feel, basically the boys playing dress up and her capturing the moment.

And then I found a headdress.
hello.

It is no secret that I have always wanted a headdress,
and finally I had an excuse to purchase it.

And for $10, the thing felt like a steal!

Dress up now changed into a sunset game of cowboys and Indians,
which is about as classic and timeless boy-play can get.

***
I put together the outfits...
Gathered face paint for my little Indian.
Guns...
knives...
a bow and arrow.
We came up with a horse...
or two.
And we built the perfect little teepee for the shoot.

I am smitten with these pictures and can't wait to post them.

For now, I will post how we made our teepee for less than $20.

I found the 6' tall bamboo at Hobby Lobby for $2.50 a stick.  (normally $5 each, but HL loves them some sale, and I took advantage.)  I bought 5.
I had Lance drill holes in each stick, 9" down.
I ran my Dollar Tree twine through each stick a million times, looping it over and under and around again until it was all pretty stiff and could stand alone.
The boys and I had painted up a twin flat-sheet a few blogs back, and now that it was dry, I draped it around the base.
I used Velcro dots to keep it all in place and I draped .98 cent plastic bunting (and safety pinned them in place) from the party section at Walmart, around it for a finishing touch.

I loved how it turned out.

And I double love what Eileen was able to do with it all....

As she turned this:

Into this:

Innocent boy fun and sun-kissed memories.

Holy Moly.
I am in love.

***
Stay tuned to Eileen's blog for the rest of the series...
And who am I kidding-- I'll be posting more too!  :)