SANTA IS FLYING FIRST CLASS
A lot of my inspiration from photoshoots comes from the thrift store because, at a deeper level, it’s rooted in childhood nostalgia. Thrift stores are full of the best treasures and stories. A large portion of Way’s closet comes from vintage donated clothing. On a “self care” day, I moseyed on over to Goodwill where I scored so many great pieces for Waylin’s closet. I’ve gotten really good at moving through the racks intentionally finding those brands and fabrics that have a quality that cannot be matched with today’s sea of Shein-made items.
When I tell you the JOY I immediately felt coming across this gorgeous red “peter pan” sparkly collared dress…WHEW! I grabbed it so fast! AND to be in the perfect size? I WAS DECEASED over it.
I also found her Christmas program dress as well that had “Taylor Swift-y” vibes all over it. [SIDE NOTE: Way is NOT a swiftie child…thankfully! But I do recognize that her personality + style totally match up with being one! haha!} As I was wandering around checking all my favorite areas of the store, a red suitcase caught my eye! Suitcases are a dime a dozen at Goodwill + other thrift stores. It’s probably one of the most frequent donated items for household items. The suitcase was red + vintage…and I was ATTRACTED to it. That is where my idea grew…
I knew that I wanted to do a shoot for Christmas, but I really wanted to take it to an elevated place. While I have so much respect for traditional holiday themes + love classic festive photos, I’m always drawn to finding a fresh perspective. I love the challenge of creating something unique—something that blends the spirit of the season with unexpected ideas and deeper connections.
The Peter Pan collar gave me “airline” vibes and then when I spotted the red suitcase, the idea was born to do a take on “flying to the North Pole.” I actually ended up passing on the suitcase on that trip because it did have stains inside + smelled like death. I sat inside Goodwill googling youtube videos on how to clean these types of suitcases and buff out scratches, but ultimately decided the price was too high for me to invest into the prop.
And that’s one thing I wanted to mention in this post about myself: No matter what the price is, I treat every prop I purchase or make as an investment. I generally end up keeping the items I use in shoots and try to repurpose when I can! I clean or fix them up, use them as decor in my home or store for the future. I do have to be mindful of what I bring home as to not get on Ben’s radar of “bringing junk home.” But, this is my passion…seeing something as art.
Okay, back to the suitcase! So, I started having SERIOUS FOMO about leaving the red suitcase behind. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I decided to go back and get it. I told myself not to be disappointed if it was gone, but I’d be lying if I wasn’t. There were other suitcases, red even, but they didn’t have “the look” I wanted. I decided to check two other stores in hopes that I’d find something, but I didn’t expect much.
I found the suitcase shelf at the Habitat store and everything at first glance was a No. I almost walked away, but then I noticed that they had two laundry baskets full of luggage just toppled over each other and THERE SHE WAS! A beautiful vintage leather suitcase with zero flaws in the PERFECT shade of red. I frantically look for the price and it was literally marked down to $5. I believe it also had a special tag and I was able to get it down to $3.75. STEAL OF THE CENTURY.
I picked up a “baby Christmas tree” from Sam’s Club that I kept alive for months (still am, actually lol) and it happened to be wrapped in red paper as well! The sign was icing on the cake for me because I had bought this chalkboard sign from Aldi years ago for a lemonade stand that I keep saying I am going to do…2025 IS THE YEAR…stay tuned! I want Waylin to experience the fun of doing a lemonade stand even if we are out in the country.
One of my favorite tricks of thrifting (or buying new) with signs is if you find a sign that has good bones for the frame or a unique shape, but you don’t love what it says, you can cut out some poster board to nestle inside the frame and then change the sign to say anything you want! I did this with the lemonade stand sign by setting a piece of white poster board inside and made it look like an airline gate with Christmas Eve on the sign…ready for takeoff!
Okay, and I couldn’t stop here.
The best part is that I didn’t tell her that I put anything inside the suitcase. So, this is her genuine reaction when I told her to open it while I was shooting.
Those Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes are a STAPLE around this time of year. Waylin’s grandparents eat A LOT of them, and so Waylin has developed a love for them as well! For weeks, I collected the boxes to use for the photoshoot and even asked my MIL to send hers over to me so I had enough to stuff the suitcase!
I love the way this shoot came together and Waylin did such a great job! She loves doing these with me and I am just so thankful that we get to bond creatively together.
One day, she’s going to look back at all these pictures of herself and see how they all tell a story about her life growing up.
