diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e5aa5ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+language: php
+
+php:
+  - 5.6
+  - nightly
+  - hhvm
+
+before_script:
+  - composer self-update
+  - composer install --prefer-source --no-interaction --dev
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ccf340
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+## Laravel Value Objects
+[![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/redcrystalcode/laravel-value-objects.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.org/redcrystal/cast)
+[![Latest Stable Version](https://poser.pugx.org/redcrystal/cast/version.png)](https://packagist.org/packages/redcrystal/cast)
+[![Total Downloads](https://poser.pugx.org/redcrystal/cast/d/total.png)](https://packagist.org/packages/redcrystal/cast)
+
+
+Cast your Eloquent model attributes to value objects with ease!
+
+### Requirements
+
+This package requires PHP >= 5.4. Using the latest version of PHP is highly recommended. Laravel 4.x and 5.x are supported.
+
+> **Note:** Running tests for this package requires PHP >=5.6.
+
+### Install
+
+Require this package with composer using the following command:
+
+```bash
+composer require redcrystal/cast
+```
+
+### Set Up
+
+This package lets you easily cast your model attributes to Value Objects that implement our `RedCrystal\Cast\ValueObject` interface. A simple example is provided below.
+
+```php
+<?php
+namespace App\ValueObjects;
+
+use RedCrystal\Cast\ValueObject;
+
+class Email implements ValueObject
+{
+    protected $value;
+
+    public function __construct($value)
+    {
+        $this->value = $value;
+    }
+
+    public function toScalar()
+    {
+        return $this->value;
+    }
+
+    public function __toString() {
+        return $this->toScalar();
+    }
+}
+```
+
+Set up your model by using the included `Trait` and adding a tiny bit of configuration.
+
+```php
+<?php
+
+namespace App;
+
+use App\ValueObjects\Email;
+use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
+use RedCrystal\Cast\CastsValueObjects;
+
+class User extends extends Model {
+	use CastsValueObjects;
+
+	
+	protected $objects = [
+		// name of the attribute => name of the value object class
+		'email' => Email::class
+	];
+	
+	// ...
+}
+```
+
+### Usage
+
+When accessing attributes of your model normally, any attribute you've set up for casting will be returned as an instance of the Value Object.
+
+```php
+$user = User::find($id);
+
+$user->email; // returns instance of App\ValueObjects\Email
+$user->email->toScalar(); // "someone@example.com"
+(string) $user->email; // "someone@example.com"
+```
+
+You can set an attribute set up for casting with either a scalar (native) value, or an instance of the Value Object.
+
+```php
+$user = new User();
+
+$user->email = "someone@example.com";
+$user->email = new Email("someone@example.com");
+```
+
+### License
+This package is open-source software licensed under the [MIT license](http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT).
diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index 743604b..0657090 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
     "name": "redcrystal/cast",
-    "description": "Cast your model attributes to value objects!",
+    "description": "Laravel Value Objects: Cast your Eloquent model attributes to value objects with ease!",
     "license": "MIT",
     "authors": [
         {
diff --git a/src/CastsValueObjects.php b/src/CastsValueObjects.php
index 44547cc..56a2252 100644
--- a/src/CastsValueObjects.php
+++ b/src/CastsValueObjects.php
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ trait CastsValueObjects
     protected $cachedObjects = [];
 
     /**
-     * @param $key
+     * @param string $key
      *
      * @return mixed
      */
@@ -23,6 +23,11 @@ public function getAttribute($key)
             // Allow other mutators and such to do their work first.
             $value = parent::getAttribute($key);
 
+            // Don't cast empty $value.
+            if ($value === null || $value === '') {
+                return null;
+            }
+
             // Cache the instantiated value for future access.
             // This allows tests such as ($model->casted === $model->casted) to be true.
             if (!$this->isValueObjectCached($key)) {
@@ -39,8 +44,8 @@ public function getAttribute($key)
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param $key
-     * @param $value
+     * @param string $key
+     * @param mixed $value
      */
     public function setAttribute($key, $value)
     {
@@ -73,7 +78,7 @@ public function setAttribute($key, $value)
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param $key
+     * @param string $key
      *
      * @return mixed
      */
@@ -85,7 +90,7 @@ private function createValueObject($key, $value)
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param $key
+     * @param string $key
      * @param ValueObject $object
      */
     private function cacheValueObject($key, ValueObject $object)
@@ -94,7 +99,7 @@ private function cacheValueObject($key, ValueObject $object)
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param $key
+     * @param string $key
      */
     private function invalidateValueObjectCache($key)
     {
@@ -102,7 +107,7 @@ private function invalidateValueObjectCache($key)
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param $key
+     * @param string $key
      *
      * @return bool
      */
@@ -112,7 +117,7 @@ private function isValueObjectCached($key)
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param $key
+     * @param string $key
      *
      * @return ValueObject
      */
diff --git a/tests/CastsValueObjectTest.php b/tests/CastsValueObjectTest.php
index eba2ff6..2c519f9 100644
--- a/tests/CastsValueObjectTest.php
+++ b/tests/CastsValueObjectTest.php
@@ -98,4 +98,45 @@ public function testValueObjectCacheIsInvalidatedWhenSettingScalar()
         $this->assertInstanceOf(EmailValueObject::class, $user->email);
         $this->assertEquals($email, $user->email->toScalar());
     }
+
+    public function testModelToArrayWithValueObjects()
+    {
+        $user = new UserModel();
+
+        $user->email = $email = 'user@example.com';
+
+        $array = $user->toArray();
+
+        $this->assertArrayHasKey('email', $array);
+        $this->assertTrue(is_string($array['email']));
+        $this->assertFalse($array['email'] instanceof EmailValueObject);
+    }
+
+    public function testModelToJsonWithValueObjects()
+    {
+        $user = new UserModel();
+
+        $user->email = $email = 'user@example.com';
+
+        $json = $user->toJson();
+
+        $this->assertJson($json);
+        $this->assertJsonStringEqualsJsonString(json_encode(['email' => $email]), $json);
+    }
+
+    public function testNullValuesDontGetCast()
+    {
+        $user = new UserModel();
+
+        $this->assertNull($user->email);
+    }
+
+    public function testEmptyStringValuesDontGetCast()
+    {
+        $user = new UserModel();
+
+        $user->setInternalAttributes(['email' => '']);
+
+        $this->assertNull($user->email);
+    }
 }