Sorry it's so little, but wanted to share some behind the scenes video footage from a shoot earlier this year.  Brian Kelly did a fantastic job with the photography.  My TreAvanti partners, Natasha Ohlman and  Erin Brown, did the did the sweet set and wardrobe and (crazy) hair :)  Special kudos to Claudia Petrelli, amazing designer of the paper dresses!  And our models, JC, Alex and Christi...love to each of you!

This was truly one of my favorite shoots to date.  Thanks to all involved!

Wanted to take a moment and share with you what I've been up to!  I recently started a new business venture with two incredibly talented people; Natasha Ohlman, set/wardrobe stylist and Erin Brown, hair stylist.  Watch the video to learn more!

I've definitely kept busy over the last several months with wedding season in full swing on the weekends and corporate/commercial/editorial shoots during the week!  Hope to share some more details of said projects in the coming weeks/months as they are published or made public.

And on a personal note, baby Strating number 2 is expected to arrive around Christmas this year!

Apologies for this being such as short entry...just confirming that I'm still here, alive and more busy than ever :)

I was asked to write a guest blog entry for The Bliss Blog last week.  Since wedding season is creeping up on us, here are my top five tips for wedding day makeup, as written for The Bliss Blog :)  Enjoy!

1. ALWAYS prime the skin Your wedding makeup is a look you’ll likely wear for 12+ hours. Primer works by creating an invisible veil over the skin; a perfect canvas for your makeup to adhere to. It will also help diffuse light across your face making any imperfections a little less noticeable.

2. Choose silicone based foundation Plain and simple, water based foundations will run if those tears break free. The silicone is resistant to heat and water (read: HOT summer weddings!) To stay streak free and fresh all day, this little ingredient make a world of a difference.

3. “HD”= flawless No, this is not just a hyped up term in makeup. HD (or high definition) products make such an amazing difference on the skin both in person as well as on camera. The technology here is down on the molecular level. The pigments are all perfectly spherical which layer over the skin uniformly creating a perfect little pattern. The light can then reflect more evenly giving you a more flawless look. Truly, technology in the beauty industry at it’s best…take full advantage of that!

4. Groom gets the gloss The only thing you should have to touch up at all on your wedding day should be your lip gloss, usually a result from smooching! It only makes sense to put your groom on gloss duty as you’ll be in close proximity to him the entire day and he almost always has pockets.

5. Think classic Trends are well, trendy. Remember Aunt Bea’s poufy-sleeved wedding dress and head veil from the 80’s that screams “80’s wedding?” Your makeup shouldn’t date you when you look back at your wedding pictures in 10 years. Choose classic color palettes and stay away from the trends of the moment. You’ll appreciate this is 10 years!

It's high time for a new blog post, friends!  Where do I begin to cover the last 4 months?  I've been busy doing a lot of portfolio building, along with weddings, fashion and corporate shoots and even worked on a short film.  I'm dabbling my hand in some new techniques and challenging myself as usual.  Between the holidays and jobs, my schedule didn't really let up much.  I also spent some time in Las Vegas and Chicago...for business and pleasure!  And on my downtime I've been enjoying my own family (which is a riot with an almost 3 year old!)

What to cover...what to cover...

Aside from my corporate, theater, television, basically "everything else" work :), I was super blessed to work with 65 phenomenal brides last year...the last one on New Year's Eve!  I was recently notified that I won a Bride's Choice Award 2010 from WeddingWire!  Many thanks to all my brides out there who wrote reviews on my behalf :)  I am humbled to be in the top 5% of vendors across the US in the WeddingWire community!

Speaking of weddings, a note on my wedding schedule this year: I'm pretty well booked for summer weddings (June, July and August) aside from a few random Fridays still available.  This is either good news (for me!) or bad news (for brides I won't be able to accommodate), depending on  your perspective.  I've decided not to overbook and run myself into a mental institution :)

And because a post is boring sans photos (at least to me), a sampling from some of my work over the last several months...

Kayla, model portfolio shoot for Matthew Agency shot by the stellar Jerrad Matthew (Grand Rapids)

Serena, a model session (in super sweet vintage!) with the brilliantly talented KLK Photography (California)

Natasha, model shoot, shot by the amazing JK Photography

And lastly, but certainly not least, a preview of a fashion shoot I collaborated on with the fantastic Brian Kelly (and many others!)  I plan to do a separate post about this shoot in particular...stay tuned ;)

A few weeks ago, Kelly Sweet asked me to do makeup for a 'Trash the Dress' session she was shooting with a model.  Kelly let me take the creative reins when it came to Stephanie's overall makeup look.  Playing off the current fall trends, Stephanie's complexion and the ivory dress she was about to trash, we decided on a glossy/metallic eye, luminous apricot cheeks all complemented with a rich berry lip.  (And if you read below, you'll see a few of the photos gained some popularity online :)

Stephanie, you made an absolutely radiant bride trashing the dress and Kelly, I'm continually amazed with your beautiful work!  Thanks for allowing me to collaborate on this one!  You can see more photos on Kelly's blog here.

Here's one on the front page of MSN.com...

And then on the Today Show website...

And lastly as the photo "Pick of the Day" for Color Inc. photo lab :)