name your design

happy holidays ~ thank you for a great year!

2011-12-20T08:43:00.000-08:00

Thank you for making 2011 our best year yet! We will be taking some much needed time off to celebrate the holidays with our family and will be closed from December 22nd through January 2nd. We look forward to an exciting 2012 with loads of new designs and products!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

brand new serving trays + journal sets AND our 2011 holiday collection for tinyprints is live

2011-09-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

I've been busy behind the curtain over here......sort of like the "Wizard of Oz". I've just added two more products (personalized serving trays and personalized journal sets) to my shop.

In addition, my collection on tinyprints and wedding paper divas has grown tremendously over the past few months and I'm so excited that my 2011 holiday collection has recently launched! A few of my favs are below:

P.S. - We sent out a special coupon code today via our newsletter....if you haven't signed up yet...you should :). It's a super way to stay "in the know" regarding our product offerings and discounts! Sign up by entering your email on the left side of our homepage.

brooks' modern nursery - featuring our photo canvas

2011-06-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

My friend and partner/collaborator, Kelly Douglas, over at itzy ritzy...recently shared some photos of the nursery belonging to her sweet baby Brooks. Shortly after his birth, Kelly ordered one of our custom photo style announcement canvas prints for his room. After she sent me a link to his Serena and Lily bedding, I was able to customize the colors in the print to coordinate with his room.

I'm a huge fan of the blue and orange...super cute!

p.s. Visit itzy ritzy's facebook page for a nice summer discount in our shop!

name your design : cool mom picks

2011-04-19T05:12:00.000-07:00

As a small business owner, when a nice press hit comes along.... it gives me a nice little confidence boost and reminds me that I really do have a good thing going here and should give myself a little pat on the back.

However, when THIS press hit came along....I bypassed the pat on the back and went into an all out running man/ cabbage patch dance routine. I'm so excited. I feel like I've made it to the big leagues.

I've said this before and I'll say it again. I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am for sites like cool mom picks that give a boost to small businesses. It's pure awesomeness. (Thanks Mir!).

To share my excitement...I'm offering 20% off everything in the shop until the end of April. Use code CMP20. (Sorry, not valid on previously placed orders).

jay-z : life + times

2011-04-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

If you know me....then you KNOW I love Jay-Z. Love him. Just finished reading his book a couple of months ago....and it only amplified my admiration for him. So, how excited was I to see his new site up and running ?? Very.

A collection of art, style + design through Jay-Z's filter. Awesome.

Be prepared to waste a couple of hours on your first visit.

life + times

simone's sweet growth chart (via the gunclesonline.com)

2011-03-08T14:18:00.000-08:00

As you know, I met Bill & Scout (aka, "the guncles") and their sweet baby Simone last month at the Boom Boom Room. They were incredibly sweet....

Anyway, I was SO excited to see that they are enjoying the strawberry zig zag growth chart I made for Simone. They posted a pic of her on their blog today....

What a big girl!

Thanks to Bill & Scout for sharing name your design with your readers.

fun pics on our facebook page...

2011-02-01T08:35:00.000-08:00

I've just uploaded some fun pics onto my facebook page. The pics were taken from the "boom boom room" (the pre-golden globes celebrity gifting suite) that I attended two weeks ago with my "crew". All in all...it was a good time. Here are just a few of the pics....

me and "my girls"
(from left to right...carlisa, keshia, alison and me)

tisha campbell with her adorable son

the "guncles" (bill + scott with their sweet little simone)
looooved them!

Please hop on over to our facebook page to see the rest :).

my quest for a modern front door...

2011-01-28T13:23:00.000-08:00

We've been in our house for a little over 2 years. We've since done quite a bit of work on the inside....but the exterior of our home is still a work in progress....we still need to paint, new roof (eventually), exterior lighting...but on TOP of our list was a front door.

Doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to find a front door that fit our aesthetic...which happens to be simple, clean and modern?? Keeping in mind that we didn't want anything TOO modern, but modern enough to update the "look" of the front of our house to something that reflects the style on the inside.

Well, surprisingly, it was terribly difficult!! We first went to all the major home improvement stores and looked through countless catalogs....and came up with nothing. Then we went to specific "door stores" and asked for quotes on someone building a custom door based on our sketches...and they were able to do it, but for a pricetag that was WAY out of our budget. Then we found this company online called Crestview Doors and they sold these nice window kits that we could use to DIY and achieve a similar look to what we were going for. However, after we added up the cost for the double paned glass and sidelights and a solid wood door....we were way out of our budget again.

Dang...we were frustrated.

Here are my inspiration photos:.

Here is a photo of our very sad and peeling front door that was taken this past summer:

After months of searching....we found "a guy" (who happens to be a carpenter and is dating my sister) and after looking at my sketches...told me he could build me a door, from scratch...exactly like I wanted. Exactly.

And best of all...within our budget.

He's been hard at work and it's nearly complete.

Here are a few pics of the custom door and sidelights as it stands today (in our basement).

Only 7 or 8 coats of stain away from being installed! I have a feeling it's one of those projects

that will definitely be worth the wait!

p.s. If you are in the market for a modern door, I'm happy to say that "I've got a guy". Email me and I may share him with you ( as soon as he's done with mine, of course).

quick boom boom rooom recap via alison

2011-01-21T13:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday! My great friend and talented blogger, Alison, did a quick recap of our recent trip to the boom boom room last weekend. Head on over to her blog to see a few fun pics of our booth and several of the celebrity guests. I'll get my act together and post my full run down next week! Have a super weekend....

and G O B E A R S!

what i've been working on for wedding paper divas...

2011-01-19T13:30:00.000-08:00

I don't really talk about my wedding collection very often on this blog...but I'm SO excited about these new designs, that I decided to share! As most of you know, tiny prints has a sister site, wedding paper divas, and I have a nice collection of wedding stationery available through them. I've been working on a few new invitation suites and one of them just recently went live on the site.

I know it's not flattering to "brag" about things that you've done....but there's something about this first design, entitled, cotton flowers, that I adore! I just can't stop staring at it....I'm quite certain that if I were to do my wedding over again, this is the design I'd pick. I love all three colorways....

here are a few of my new favorite "save the dates"

love it

pretty paisley

outlined tab

Be on the look out for a TON of new stationery designs coming to tiny prints and wedding paper divas! It's going to be a HUGE year for our le papier boutique collection.

starting the new year off with a boom!

2011-01-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! We're kicking things in 2011 with a bang.....or should I say BOOM?! What am I talking about?? Well....name your design was invited to attend the "boom boom room"...which is an exclusive pre-golden globes celebrity gifting suite in Beverly Hills this Friday + Saturday. I'm super excited to set up my booth and give away my goodies, but a tad nervous. I rarely watch TV and I'm sure that I'll probably only recognize 10% of the celebrities that are there. I'm counting on my little support team, Alison, Kesha and Carlisa to help me out with names/faces!

I am actually sitting in the airport right now waiting to board my plane to LA. I left on Tuesday night and made a little pit stop in San Jose to visit the team at tinyprints and chat about my stationery line. More details on this later...but I can say that, I am even more excited about my partnership with them after meeting everyone in person and am blown away by them. They are AMAZING! So proud to be part of such an inspirational organization.

Well...friends, signing off for now. I'll be SURE to post pics and do a fun recap of the boom boom room.
Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!
xoxo
Stacy

holiday deadlines AND free holiday download

2010-12-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

We are in FULL SWING holiday mode! It's crunch time over here as Friday (December 12th) is the last day to get your orders in to guarantee delivery on or before Christmas Eve! In addition, we've added a new free download (printable 8.5 x 11 sheet of writing paper) to our site that would be PERFECT for your little angels to write their letters to Santa OR a sweet note to their teachers OR a nice letter to relatives that are out of town OR a nice template to write a cute holiday "story".......see? the possibilities are endless??!!

Go here to download the .jpg and/or .pdf version of this.

Happy Holidays everyone!

five days to save ~ day four (save 25% on our pay it forward pieces)

2010-12-02T04:39:00.000-08:00

It feels great to give and we are especially mindful of our ability to give during this holiday season. Please check out the pay it forward section on our site to read about some of the causes that we support and see why they are especially meaningful to us.

five days of savings ~ day three ( buy 2, get 1 free on kids placemats!)

2010-11-30T13:56:00.000-08:00

Our modern dots placemats for kids have turned out to be SUPER popular. If you liked them before...you will LOVE them now that you can get one free! One day only....offer good until Wednesday, December 1st at 12 pm, CST. CODE: B2G1PM
Not valid with any other offers, discounts or vouchers. Can not be applied to previously placed orders.

stacy's modern thanksgiving table featured on dwell studio!

2010-11-30T10:33:00.000-08:00

I hosted Thanksgiving this year and even though I was working until late on Wednesday night, I managed to throw together a great day with my amazing family (14 adults and 10 kiddos to be exact). One of my "favorite" tasks was setting the dining room table! I headed to Hobby Lobby with the intent of spending NO MORE than $50 on a modern table scape. Mission accomplished.

You know the BEST part of this?? I entered my pictures into dwell studio's modern thanksgiving table contest and I made the top five! Woo hoo! Please head on over and cast your vote for your favorite......
Of course, we would NEVER want to persuade you to pick ours, but we REALLY hope you'll like it the best! Please go here to cast your vote!

five days to save ~ day two (29% of sitewide!)

2010-11-29T09:51:00.000-08:00

Need I say more? Get on over here and shop!

five days to save ~ (day one) our exclusive tinyprints holiday collection

2010-11-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

Hoping all of you had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend! We have so much to be thankful for and one of the main things is YOU....our awesome customers/supporters. So, starting today....we will feature five days in a row of savings, discounts, coupon codes, etc. just for you! Be sure to check in on our blog, our facebook page or our twitter page to stay in the loop!

DAY ONE DEAL

save 15% off orders of $99 or more on our exclusive collection over at tinyprints!

COUPON CODE:

HOLIDAYLPB

excludes mint tins, photo tins, photo gifts, photo books and calenders.

this coupon code applies to all tinyprints designs,

it is not just limited to our our le papier boutique collection.

download our personalized holiday photo card - fancy + free!

2010-11-23T15:23:00.000-08:00

Please check out our post today over at Oh My Handmade! We have designed a darn cute holiday card that you can download, print, slap a picture on and send on it's merry way!

Here's a teensy little sneak peak, but head on over to OMHG to check out the entire post!

my purchase from polli

2010-11-22T09:09:00.000-08:00

Had to share this....at $19 these were too cute to pass up! Available in yellow, blue or red. Just bought the red one to hang on my "holiday" mantle. Available from the Australian based company, polli. Ships to the US for around $5. Buy it here.

chic holiday decorations: via west elm

2010-11-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

i know, i know-we haven't even celebrated thanksgiving

[but it did a tribute to birds last week, that counts, right?]

but the time for holiday decorating is around the corner.

here's a little something to get you in the holiday spirit!

i think i'm going to start a nutcracker collection this year. these aren't as creepy as some can be.

added benefit- a portion of the sale will go to st. judes children's research

$24-$59

so simple, yet so stylish, isn't that the case most of the time?

$30

if you know me, i love anything involving branches

$99

cute wind-ups with $5 going to st. judes
[don't you just love a modern twist on a classic]

$24

you'd have the chicest tablescape with these david stark salad platses

$28

i love how they are using newsprint for holiday!

$16

and lastly, here's a little something we can all diy.

$49

'tis the season

love,

alison

all images via west elm

wall art finds a home

2010-11-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

hi all- it's alison from semi-fab lane, once again.

i think i posted about this print a couple weeks ago, but here it is in beautiful orange

let's take a peek at some of the options...

forest of love-orange [starting at $20]

1. this sexy master bedroom, with to. die. for. black doors

2. wharehouse elegance- which by the way- is begging for a dose of color

3. office area in need of that one modern element

4. well if this isn't the perfect room, what is?

5. coastal glam-packed hotel room

which room does this wall art need to live?

image credits: 1,2 elle decor, 3 house and home, 4 houzz, 5 decor pad

for the "teachers" in your life.....

2010-11-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

I had a dream about these (literally) and woke up and designed them at about 2 am on Friday night (or Saturday morning...you know what I mean). I need gifts for my boys' teachers and a personalized notepad is the PERFECT gift...and I should know, since I used to BE a teacher :).

These will be available tomorrow (Tuesday). What do you think? I love that the design is like NOTHING I've ever seen before. Go ahead and snag up a few! Don't forget to take advantage of our deal of the month!

p.s These are sized at 3.4 x 5.75 with 100 sheets, for $24. PLUS, there will be a new design for MEN too.

birds are taking over!

2010-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

many of us will have a big 'ol bird in our kitchen in a couple weeks.

but i bet it won't be as cute as these guys!

it seems as if birds are taking over the kitchen...

dessert plates

owl sugar shaker

peacock dinner plate

perch glass canisters

bird s&p set

bird tray

how do you like birds- in or out of the kitchen?

i love all these bird-themed items! i actually have the s&p set and they are so cute on my counter.

until next time...

love,

alison

life in the semi-fab lane

some new designs up our sleeves..

2010-11-10T14:33:00.000-08:00

I've been working on some new designs AND new products to add to the shop! I am giddy with excitement to reveal some of them. They aren't quite ready, but I just wanted to post three little sneak peaks to (hopefully) get you excited too!

p.s. If you arent' a fan of name your design on facebook yet, you are missing out on some SUPER EASY ways to win our products! We are going to shoot for one exclusive fb giveaway a week....so get on over there!

wall art finds a home

2010-11-09T06:44:00.000-08:00

hi, it's alison once again from life in the semi-fab lane.

i'm here to play that fun game we do every tuesday...

which room would this wall art look the best in?

first, isn't this name your design art adorable? and you can change the text color to fit your own home.

home sweet home starting at $20

1. i love this option, simple with a muted color story

2. this is the perfect place to hang this art

3. or this entry way, that mirror is stunning!

4. this classic modern kitchen deserves some type of art,no?

5. this rustic modern seating area might be the most perfect room

so what room deserves this amazing art? what do you think?

image credits: 1,2,3 decor pad 4 house beautiful, 5 design sponge

for when it's hot, hot, hot....

2010-11-08T07:01:00.000-08:00

I want these to go under all "hot" dishes I will be serving this Thanksgiving. Simple, clean, modern (and affordable!)....just my style.

available in cork

....and birch

I think I'm pretty much sold on these...but what about you?? Let me know if you've come across any modern + affordable trivets. I'm seriously in the market.

my best kept secret: digs showroom

2010-11-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

i found this new site, digs showroom, the other day and they have the cutest things!

what a unique photo or note holder. they are sold seperately, so you can hang how many (or little) as you want.

swallow photo clip $24.99

i don't know about you, but sometimes it's quite a chore to find stylish kitchen towels. here is a great design to add instant style to your kitchen.

marrakech charcoal $12

cute door stopper! and it's totally in with the whole rope thing going on in design these days :)

marseille knot door stopper $49.99

this phone is based on a phone introduced in europe in the mid 50's

tres chic...no?

scandi phone $69

and lastly, this dog bed is taking modern living to a whole new level. if you can spend 250 bucks on a dog i would like to meet you and be your friend.

bent-ply pet bed $250

this online store has so much to offer...from tabletop to lighting to cleaning supplies, this site is your one stop shop to all things unique and modern at the same time!

i could go on and on with the awesome things you can find, but why not do it yourself...now go window shopping!

p.s. they even sell a magenta christmas tree...if you're in the market for one.

have a great rest of the week!

stay stylish and best wishes,

alison

images via digs showroom

facebook giveaway winner plus some customer sneak peaks...

2010-11-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Sarah! You left comment number 5 and you won a free 8 x 10 print of your choice...just for playing along with us. Please email stacy@nameyourdesign.com to get your print! yay!

In other news, one of blogs that I like to stop by and browse is titled my favorite everything. It's written by a fun + creative mommy (of three girls under the age of 3!!), Shanna Coady. If you have a minute, swing on by and check her out. I was pleasantly surprised to see the three alphabet soup canvas prints that I made for her girls....Addie, Hayden and Piper (cutest names ever) in her new playroom.

I love to see my designs "in action"...especially in a house with this much style! Her home is so bright and cheery and although she only gave us a "sneak peak" of her new addition, I have a feeling the final result is going to be fabulous!

both images courtesy of my favorite everything

wall art finds a home

2010-11-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

this week, we need to find a home for this print...

dahlias in basil

here are the contenders:

1. romantic, eclectic room with turquoise accents

decor pad

2. rustic, feminine dining area. maybe place the art on that wall to the right of the decals?

living etc

3. open lofty space. i think the art would bring that unique painted beam the attention it deserves and tie it all together! after all, isn't that what artwork is for?

house and home

4. this is a kid's work area, but can easily be transformed to a big girl's space by replacing the cute sailboat picture with dahlias in basil

house and home

5. what do you think about adding another accent color to the beautiful room-turquoise with pink is gorg. place it right in between the two windows and it would add that unexpected item that would both add another modern element as well as add one more bit of depth to the room.

house and home

so, there you have it.

five different rooms, which one should this wall art call home?

thanks for playing this little game with me again...

love,

alison

november - deal of the month

2010-11-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

It's a new month.....so, you know what that means? Time for a new monthly deal in our shop! Stock up now on our adorable, personalized notepads. They are the perfect holiday gift for teachers, grab bags, stocking stuffers, co-workers......really, anyone on your list! Plus, at 25% off they are a steal!

cute loot

2010-10-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

hey everyone, it's alison again.

check out these cute, unique items i'm lovin this week.

enchanted buck measuring cups $48

kinetic static pillow $128

nesting owls $20

pom pom scarf $29.95

doily coasters $18

modern owl clock $58

after doing this post, i realized i have a winter-ish theme going on. i guess it's the cold weather that we've had this week. i know it's a little early, but i wouldn't mind any of these for a christmas gift...how about you?

my planters - through the seasons

2010-10-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

Our house, when we purchased it (almost 2 years ago), was a complete fixer upper. We had to pretty much gut the inside and have been "working" on it ever since. Unfortunatley (for us), most of the projects we've had to do are big and costly....which makes me appreciate when I am able to make some nice improvements that are easy, quick and budget friendly.

More specifically, I have found that I am actually pretty good at selecting and arranging plants in the two big planters by my front door. I originally bought the planters to try and distract some of the attention off of our (horrible, peeling, outdated) front door that desperately needs to be replaced. I found them on clearance last winter at a landscape supply place by my house. Originally $125 each, I got them for $40 bucks a pop!

As luck would have it, as I was going through my photo albums, I realized that I had actually snapped a few photos of my planters during different seasons. I like the arrangements because it's a little different than what you usually see while driving through my neighborhood and they really "pop" on our front stoop. What do you think??? Not bad, huh??

planted in the beginning of winter

(my favorite) planted late spring and lasted all summer

planted a few weeks ago for fall

wall art finds a home

2010-10-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

hi there name your design readers! i'm alison and i am a new contributor to this fabulous blog. i have known stacy for years and also work with her. i'm so excited to be here, and to kick things off, let's play a fun game!

which room would this name your design wall art look best in?

forest of love-aloe

{how cute is that engraved trunk with initials of your choice}

#1 this eclectic space has the color story and it could use a dose of modern thrown in for good measure.

house and home

#2 how inspiring would this office space be with it layered to the side of the framed photo or lamp? decor pad

#3 and this beaut...lip smackin deelish. wouldn't the artwork add that unexpected element

lonny

#4 cute space and maybe we'll just put it on the opposite wall where there's not so much going on with the wallpaper and all.
so, what do you think, which room is your favorite home for forest of love?

if you'd like to see more of me, stop by life in the semi-fab lane. until next time, have a great day!!

my personal paparazzi pics (not kidding...real celebs)

2010-10-21T13:40:00.001-07:00

I haven't had any time to do this, but I MADE some time this morning (mostly because my friends and family were driving me nuts about wanting to see these). So, when I went to Vegas for the ABC Kids Show, one of the reasons for my trip was to attend the Itzy Ritzy and Yum! brands (celebrity filled) fundraiser for World Hunger Relief. My sister and I attended this fab night out hosted at Eva Longoria Parker's nightclub, Eve.

Just a little side note: Itzy Ritzy’s Snack Happened bags (pictured below) support the World Hunger Relief and the World Food Program. The bags (which happen to be covered in my fabric designs), are available for purchase on the From Hunger to Hope website and come in packs of two for $20. Proceeds from each bag go toward feeding 40 hungry children across the globe.....so go and buy some today!

Ok, so on to the paparazzi pics that I took myself (using my fool proof method of "holding the camera up above me and shooting the pic)

so, what do YOU do??

2010-10-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

Oh, so you own a business.....and it's called, "name your design."....well, what exactly do you sell??

BAM! I pull out one of these babies and all questions are answered.

I designed these new business cards for my Vegas trip and I am loving them.

a celebrity baby birthday party and me.

2010-10-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

I was contacted by a celebrity event coordinator last month (side note: I made this connection via twitter...seriously, I've made SO many great connections on twitter. If you run a business...I would say it is essential to your growth). Ok, back to the party. The party planner wanted me to put together a custom birthday invitation and other pretty paper things for the birthday party of Josselyn Harris....the 3 year old daugther of Samantha Harris. I got a rundown of the "theme", which was a "sophisticated + elegant fairy princess party". I threw together a design as the first draft (thinking I'd probably be asked to make some changes), and Samantha loved it! yay! Here's an image of it below:

Here's a picture of all the party paper things before I sent them off to be displayed at the party:

I also sent my personalized, modern dots placemats for all the celebrity guests' children. Now, here was the FUN part....seeing pics from the party on people.com! Here are some of my favorites below:

two images above via people.com

name your design + itzy ritzy = awesomeness

2010-10-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

I just returned from the ABC Kids Show in Las Vegas. I went to support my friends/partners at Itzy Ritzy, as well as scope out the show for some possible future endeavors of mine. I had a great time...met lots of my "internet/business/twitter" friends, a few sweet celebrities and did some fun networking. (more info and some great pics about this in another post)

This post is solely to formally "introduce" all of you to my fabric designs that cover some of Itzy Ritzy's beautiful products. I'm sure MOST of you with young children are familiar with Itzy Ritzy and their "covers" for all things baby (car seats, highchairs, nursing, strollers, etc.). However, one of MY favorite products are their snack and wet bags. I honestly use at least 3-4 of the re-usable snack bags every day. So, what are they for? Close your eyes and think of anything you throw in a Ziploc baggie for your kids or yourself(snacks, crayons, baby wipes, binkies, money, makeup, etc.). The washable snack bags are the "green" alternative to the Ziploc bag. All you do is rinse them out and let them air dry and they are ready to roll again. Wet bags- same deal. Only these are bigger and can be used for anything wet you want to keep isolated (swimsuits, wet clothes, toiletries that could spill while packing, etc.).

As soon as I met Kelly and Brian (husband + wife owners), I liked them. I mean, really, really liked them. Once I started working with them....I liked them even more. They are great people, with a great product line...and as I've said before, I like doing good work, for good people.

p.s. I may be biased, but I think they had the BEST booth on the entire first floor of the show. Take a look at this beauty!

my tinyprints holiday collection - sneak peak

2010-10-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

I'm super excited for the launch of my new holiday collection on tinyprints...it should be live any day now! For those of you who don't know, I have an exclusive line of stationery over at tinyprints under the brand of le papier boutique. I've been fortunate enough to have been working with the team over at tinyprints for almost 6 years this December. It has been an amazing ride with them thus far, and even more special to have been with them from "the beginning"...having a birds eye view into their incredible journey and growth.

After months of designing and revising, my collection is nearly complete. I've pasted a few "sneak peek" photos below of some of my favorites.

october deal + new free download!

2010-10-05T08:27:00.000-07:00

October is here and we have spooktacular deal in our shop!

We are offering a buy two, get one free deal on all of our art prints. (Buy any two art prints of the same size and get a third one for FREE. No coupon needed....after you purchase your two prints, simply enter the name of the print you'd like for free in the comments section of the checkout process.)

Plan ahead and save... stock up now! Have a few children's birthday parties coming up....this would make a perfect gift for a little girl, or how about this one for a boy! What about a houswarming gift or an anniversary gift for your best friends??

In addition, we've just added a new free download in our shop for the month of October! Go ahead...shock the heck out of someone who hasn't heard from you in a while by sending them a note on one of our free, printable notecards!

please go here to download the .pdf version of this notecard.

seven years ago today.......

2010-10-01T10:16:00.001-07:00

I love October. I love it for many reasons, but one of the BEST reasons is that my sweet baby boy, Tyson Kwaku was born on a beautiful Wednesday morning at 10:13 (7 years ago today). Who cares that he was born on Wednesday?...well, it actually has some significance to his middle name. You see, my husband's family is from Ghana, and in their culture, there is a special name given to children based on the day of the week that they are born. For my little Tyson.....it is Kwaku, because Wednesday= Kwaku (for boys).

tyson kwaku...just hours after he was born

I get all filled up with tears when I think about this kiddo because he is super special. So, in the spirit of 7, here are a few fun facts about my Kwaku (we actually call him by his middle name at home).

1. When he was a baby, he used to fall asleep by rubbing my ears, or my husbands....or basically any ear he could get his hands on.

2. When he was about two, the ONLY thing he would wear are his basketball shorts. If the occasion wasn't appropriate for basketball shorts, he wore them underneath his dress pants.

3. When we had Parker, his baby brother, he walked in to the hospital room and when he saw

Parker for the first time, he burst into tears. (he said because he was "happy" but also because he "wasn't the littlest one anymore"). talk about a tearjerker.

4. He is my middle child and often tells me how "hard" it is to be a big brother because it's so much responsa-sill-it-y.

5. He is fast, very fast. So fast, that he wanted his nickname to be "the jet" on the back of his football jersey.

6. He always tells me that "I'm perfect just the way I am"...I mean, who doesn't need to hear that every once in a while!

7. He is the infomercial KING! I mean, if anyone is looking for an easy sell....present your stuff in an infomercial and Tyson will be all over it!

I love you my sweet, sweet boy and am so proud of you! Happy 7th Birthday!

thank you, thank you, thank you + thank YOU!

2010-09-30T14:17:00.001-07:00

It's been a busy + exciting few weeks over here. Some of the more "fun" things to note:
1. Placemats seem to be a hit (yay!)

2. Wrapped up a BUNCH of new holiday designs for tinyprints. I am so excited for my holiday collection this year....I think it is my best to date :).

3. I was asked to design a custom birthday invitation for the three year old daughter of a super sweet celebrity, Samantha Harris (woo hoo!). She loved the invite and wanted custom pretty paper things for the party AND we gifted each celebrity guest with a personalized mod dots placemat. So fun! (lots of pictures to come from this, so stay tuned)

4. It's been a while, but I finally wrote a new post over at OMHG about a little system I devised to save time while designing.

5. Just booked my flight and hotel to attend the abc kids show in Vegas next week. I'm going to support my friends/partners at Itzy Ritzy. I designed a handful of fabrics for their 2010-11 product line and I'm excited to see them in action!

6. Lastly, Lots of sweet bloggers took the time to write about my little business these past few weeks. I am always so thankful and humbled when people take the time to write about my products. I hope they all know how much I appreciate the boost....boost in sales + my confidence :).

fresh + modern ~ personalized placemats

2010-09-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

I took a traditional placemat and put a fun + modern spin on it....for both kids AND adults! Let me backtrack a bit...

Almost EVERY NIGHT that I'm cooking dinner, right about the time when things start smelling really good but there's still 10 or 15 minutes of cooking time left....I hear, "Mom...I'm SO HUNGRY! Is dinner ready YET? I'm STARVING, etc. etc.". And then my two littlest ones start congregating in the kitchen looking through the pantry for snacks.... which then requires me to STOP what I'm doing and play snack patrol so they won't spoil their dinner. Does this sound familiar to you??? Ok, thought so.

So, I had a thought.....I need an interesting DISTRACTION, something that will keep them occupied for just a few more minutes until dinner is ready (bingo!)...what about a placemat that they can write and/or draw on to keep them busy?? Even better, have them write or draw about something they did that day so we can TALK ABOUT IT AS A FAMILY at the dinner table (double bingo!). On top of this awesomeness...the front side would be personalized and modern and polka dotty and also serves as guide to teach them how to properly set the table (triple bingo!).

While pondering placemats...I thought...you know? adults would probably like to have a set of modern + personalized placemats too, right? To test my theory, I made a set for one of my best friends, Alison, who just bought her first house (7 minutes away from me, yay!). She liked them, alot,.... and I'm pretty sure she loved the fact that they are completely in line with mine (& her) design aesthetic....simple, clean and modern. I think these would make a super housewarming or shower gift. They are different and fun! (Plus they are also double-sided with a different pattern on each side...so it's like getting two placemats for the price of one).

What do YOU think?

three of a kind

2010-09-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

It's late (late as in...it's already the next morning). All my babies are tucked into their beds while I am working away and trying to get "caught up" on work (joke).

So, as I was looking through my photo library to update my homepage, these photos stopped me dead in my tracks. I found myself staring at these beauties (taken by wendy + tyler of blue lily fame) for at least 20 minutes.

I mean...I live with these three little heartbreakers and see them ALL the time, but there's just something magical about these pictures and seeing all three of them together (smiling + happy) that gets me all filled up with tears. My Nana used to have a "word" for the feeling you get when your heart literally skips a beat and it feels like you are going to explode with pride....and it is, nockus. I have no idea how to spell it, but I am definitely feeling it at this moment.

Sending love to all the mommies out there and wishing you a smooth start to the new school year.

xoxo

all new ~ modern + personalized notepads!

2010-08-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

I may be a bit of a paper snob....when it comes to my holiday cards or even writing a quick note to one of my boys' teachers, I want my paper choice to reflect me and my design style. Do you think that it has something to do with the fact that I design paper as part of my career? Possibly so.

In any case, I know with the school year approaching, I need a few "go-to" notepads for all those last minute notes you need to write while your kids are running out the door! So, if you share my appreciation for clean, simple and modern design...you are going to LOVE these little notepads. They are now available in my shop!

Don't forget to take advantage of my free shipping offer good until the end of the month! (coupon : FREESHIP)

clara's "closet" growth chart

2010-08-03T16:33:00.000-07:00

I've blogged about the super sweet couple ( John + Sherry of the famed blog, Young House Love ) before. Fast forward a year and now their perfect little family has grown with the birth of their beautiful baby Clara!

To celebrate their adorable new addition, I sent them one of my new modern growth charts as a fun way to record how quickly their little bean is sprouting!

In true YHL style...they didn't waste any time picking a perfect spot to hang it up and make it work in their adorable home.

So, thanks Sherry + John for posting the pics! The little long neck looks super on the closet door and I'm so glad I was able to get you something that you hadn't already figured out how to make yourself!

our nie nie birds are in stitches!

2010-07-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

I came across this post from a crafty + talented mommy named Jessie. Do you recognize the design??

It appears as though Jessie saw my nie nie birds print and was inspired to recreate it (as a cross stitch design) for a friends housewarming gift.

I love to see my designs inspiring other people! Great job Jessie...you are very talented.

lust vs. must?

2010-07-13T10:36:00.001-07:00

I was waiting to write about this press until my new site was launched!

You see, although I am extremely flattered that Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine included my alphabet soup print in their June 2010 issue as the LUST piece in their "lust vs. must" segment...customers really don't have to "lust" over the $95 price tag anymore!

Since relaunching the site, I've made each design available as either a poster print or canvas print and in 6 different sizes and pricepoints....starting at $20 for an 8" x 10" frameable print! (Yes..., only $20!)

We love to hear that people are lusting over our designs...but for $20 a pop, we think you should just go ahead and buy one!

Just a reminder : We are offering free ground shipping on ALL orders until the end of August. Just enter the coupon code : FREESHIP when you checkout.

wendy + tyler = blue lily photography

2010-07-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

I had such an amazing night on Friday that I was smiling for 45 minutes straight. What was so great? Well...here's a little background for you:

Although my husband and I have been together for 16 years, we got married when our oldest son was 7. Our wedding day was amazing...but the photographer/pictures were NOT. Makes me sad just thinking about it. Fast forward 8 years of marriage and two more children later and our "picture" situation hasn't improved (meaning we've NEVER had a family portrait). Never....until Friday night. Let me tell you...that this portrait session that we had with husband and wife team (Wendy + Tyler) of Blue Lily Photography was WELL WORTH the wait. We shot it at Humboldt Park in Chicago and I can't stop smiling with the anticipation of seeing the final images. Why am I so dang excited...and I haven't even seem them yet?? Well...take a look at their work here and you'll see what I mean.

They travel all over the country (world, actually)and if you're on the ball (& follow their blog), you might be lucky enough to score an appointment. I highly, highly recommend them. I only wish they lived closer because I'm sure we'd become fast friends....they are just THAT awesome.

(I don't think you are supposed to do this but I totally stole this photo from blue lily's twitter page)

a photo collage

2010-07-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

Things have been busy around here....busy in a "let's get a new deck", "redesign a website", "have a fun summer with my boys" but "remain completely productive while working" kind of way.

See what I mean?

a peek into my studio

2010-05-03T06:19:00.001-07:00

We are starting a new series on OMHG where designers have the opportunity to showcase their workspace. It was my turn today. Come on over and check it out!

just because...

2010-04-30T13:25:00.001-07:00

I have no particular reason for posting this other than it makes me giggle every time I look at it. These two little beans were born a week apart and they love eachother to pieces. My nephew, Mason, is on the left and my youngest son, Parker, is on the right. Too. Damn. Cute.

april showers bring may flowers....

2010-04-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

If this saying is true "April showers bring May flowers"...and if showers = work and flowers = payoff, then I'm going to have the best May ever!

I wish today was the day that I was posting about my NEWLY DESIGNED SITE going live...with all it's fancy new bells and whistles, awesome new product additions, beautiful layout, etc. However, I'm still NOT done adding products and finding/eliminating glitches. I swear...if you are planning on a complete site overhaul..be prepared to work and work and work on getting that bad boy up and functioning properly. If all continues to go well...May 1st is my scheduled date to hit "publish" and introduce the new and improved name your design to the world.

On top of the site overhaul, I've been B U S Y creating(love it)lots of fun paper and fabric designs for my "partners", both tinyprints and itzyritzy. I've had a bunch of new designs go live on tinyprints over the past few weeks as well as their sister site, weddingpaperdivas. I've pasted some of my favorite new designs below.

I've had a recent surge of appointments in my little paper studio for custom wedding invitations and have had a blast working with these sweet brides-to-be on all the paper goodies for their weddings. I've attached a photo of my studio work table (after an appointment this weekend) along with several recently completed projects. My crazy schedule only allows for 1-2 bridal customers a month...but it's a refreshing break from my otherwise "systematic" schedule of designing and filling orders.

I'll keep you all posted on the new site launch! If you haven't signed up already, you may want to subscribe to my mailing list as I'm going to have a lot of fun giveaways and special promotions to celebrate my new "grand opening". You can go here to sign up (for now).

8 x 10 art print : free download!

2010-03-26T05:50:00.000-07:00

I'm a firm believer in the old saying.... "what goes around, comes around." So, in the spirit of giving, I want to share with you a simple 8 x 10 art print that I designed just for YOU and our Oh My Handmade Goodness readers! You can download, print it and pop it in a frame as many times as you'd like (as long as it's being used for your own personal enjoyment, no commercial use is allowed)...and just so we are clear, tweeking it a tiny bit to make it your "own" doesn't count either :). (sorry, had to mention it)

Ready? Set. Go! Come visit me here to get your free prints!

taking a giant leap....

2010-03-02T10:06:00.001-08:00

Wonder how I went from kindergarten teacher to designer? Read the "story" about how I got started and follow my personal timeline over here today.

oh my! hand made goodness....

2010-02-15T14:02:00.001-08:00

I met my friend,Sara, last year via email and we quickly hit it off! She ran a small business, had a little boy the same age as my middle son AND lived in the same town as me! How lucky I was to find her.

Since then, we have gotten together several times to bounce ideas off of one another and just "get away" from work for a few hours (even though we usually talk about it the entire time we're together). It's SO refreshing to have someone that you can confide in who speaks the "same language" as you....business language, that is.

I feel that I've done a fairly good job of educating myself on the ins and outs of running a small business...I've learned a lot through trial and error and have depended on my strong work ethic and sincere passion for what I'm doing to get me through. Sara is pretty much the same way...but has been generous enough to share some of her greatest small business tips on her blog for the past several years and built up quite a following of people looking to her for inspiration and advice.

This winter, we met for coffee and she unveiled her new idea for a blog that would be "a community for independent business owners and the hip parents that support them." All I could say was GENIUS and that I would L O V E to help in any way I could....so she put me on board as a monthly contributor.

Sure enough...two months later Oh my!Handmade Goodness is done....and it is done EXTREMELY WELL. I love it and just know it will be a huge success. Take a minute to check it out and let us know what you think!

yhl + a peek into finn's modern nursery...

2010-01-21T20:09:00.001-08:00

This summer, I was doing a canvas giveaway on one of my favorite "home improvement" blogs called young house love. YHL is a chronicle of two newlyweds (John & Sherry) who fell in love with their first home....their blog walks you through all of their amazing, affordable do-it-yourself improvements. They are a super go-to source for interior design inspiration. After stumbling upon their site last year...I've been hooked. Plus, they are both just so dang cute a lovable...and they are expecting their first human baby (they already have a dog named Burger that's kind of like their first baby)...and I'm just a big fan.

This is them....see what I mean?

Ok. So, on to the point....

When I did the giveaway, a sweet woman named Parker won a canvas print and she chose our modern dots boy design for her baby Finn. She also purchased our modern tricycle art print in red. We had some fun emailing back and forth...she was super excited...I was excited for her...and she promised to send me pictures when Finn's room was "ready".

So...this weekend I got a surprise in my inbox and Parker sent over some great shots of Finn's clean and modern nursery with my prints above his crib. I love how she used the extra large frame and mat for the 8 x 10 print. A very inexpensive way to make a big impact on your walls!

If you are digging Finn's room, here are some of the resources Parker has shared with me:
Crib: Oeuf Sparrow Crib in grey (they have the dresser too and love them both)
Crib sheet: DwellStudio for Target
Green guy: Bop N' Beep:
Monkey: Gymboree monkey
Tennis shoe rug: super clearance at What on Earth (not showing up now...but that's where she got it)

Thanks Parker and Finn...I love the nursery and especially love how my designs look in it!

yes...SHE really likes how we dwell

2010-01-14T05:13:00.000-08:00

You know when you were little, just starting school...you'd walk into class, look around and immediately spot someone who "looked" like someone you'd love to be friends with? Well...that's kind of how I felt when I first discovered Christiane of DwellStudio.

I remember walking through Target and stopping in my tracks at the P E R F E C T line of new baby bedding sitting in the aisles. I wasn't prego at the time, nor did I have anyone in need of crib bedding...but I wanted it..I REALLY wanted it. Being the design dork that I am...I got home and googled it and then I really fell in love. I spent about an hour on the site browsing and reading about their story. As time went on...and I got more involved in design myself, I saw DwellStudio products/posts popping up everywhere. They are the bomb.

So, after a couple of years designing for tiny prints , I was SO excited to see that DwellStudio had a line of stationery right along side of mine! woo hoo! This meant we were kind of friends...in an online proximity type of way, right?

Fast forward a year and I give birth to my third baby, Parker. My sister gives him this DwellStudio blankie from Target and he is hooked on it...literally hooked. We can't leave home without it. He then gets two DwellStudio board books from Santa (because Santa can't pass up great design either....especially when it's attached to quality literature) and they are now Parker's FAVORITE things to read before bed. I think it's pretty cute and I email Christiane to introduce myself and let her know 1. Parker's love for her amazing designed goodies 2. ~~That I think she is awesome and want to be friends~~ That we are fellow tinyprints designers

DwellStudio writes back...they must have seen Parker's room tour on my blog and asked to feature it on their blog in their "how you dwell" section. So, I was excited...because if the creative peeps at DwellStudio like how you dwell...that means you are really cool (at least to me it does).

click here to see the feature.

what a difference a year makes

2010-01-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a year of growth for me, my family, my home, and my business(es). I closed out the year with a great sense of satisfaction and success. I have so many things to be reflect on and, in turn, learn from.

Most importantly....my family is happy and my boys are thriving after one year of being "home" in Chicago. Can you believe how different they look after one year?

My home...although it is still a work in progress, is really coming together. After a year of working on it, we still have a ways to go. I could show hundreds of before and after pictures but this one makes me the happiest to look at...especially since we were "without" a dining room for so long and are now able to enjoy it along with my beautiful Louis Poulsen pendant light ( a gift my husband bought for me right before we moved in last year).

My business, after a full year, is doing very well. I am still nowhere near where I envision it to be, but am happy with where the year ended. We received tons of great press and started partnerships with some really wonderful companies. I have some SUPER ideas brewing for our product line and have already gotten a jump start on a site re-design to accoomdate some of these changes. I CAN'T WAIT to see where 2010 takes us...especially with all of the awesome things lined up for us already!
With all of this said. I can't forget to thank all of my amazing customers, friends and family for their support and referrals over the past year. Please stay tuned for more exciting things to come!

Happy New Year!
xoxo

a exclusive CRAVEable discount and giveaway...

2009-11-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

Black Friday is quickly approaching. I don't know about you, but I don't dig crowds, lines and craziness...especially when I'm toting three boys along with me. Our friends at CRAVE blogged yesterday about exclusive local (Chicago) deals for the day...many of which can be enjoyed by shopping online and in your own home.

We included a special discount AND giveaway with each purchase. I wanted to pass this along to you as well.

Be sure to check out this and the other great deals here. (Some businesses are offering up to 50% off!)

1st edition of the chicago : crave guide

2009-11-22T19:08:00.000-08:00

This post is a little delayed...but hey! Better late than never! Last Monday, Brooke and I attended the Chicago CRAVE guide book launch party to celebrate the very first edition of this awesome book. I've mentioned the CRAVE company before as they are an inspiring organization that promotes and supports women entrepreneurs....gotta love that, right?

Well...the books didn't make it in time for the actual party but that didn't stop us from having an awesome time. The super talented and sweet Michele, did a great job organizing the event that was held downtown at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio(also included in book). It is so uplifting and inspiring to be surrounded by women who share the same energy and passion for running their own business as we do. It was a great night and we are truly, truly honored to be featured in the FIRST edition of this book in Chicago. What a treat.

We snuck out a few minutes early to head down the street to NAHA for dinner. NAHA is another woman owned Chicago business that is also included in the CRAVE guide book.... and for the record, the halibut was the bomb.

Here's a few pics from the night. The quality stinks...but you get the basic idea.

in the bathroom of a beautiful family...

2009-11-11T10:57:00.000-08:00

photo plucked off of dear cjane

Yeah...kind of a silly title, huh? I couldn't think of another way to talk about the fact that one of my favorite girls (that I've never even met but love just the same) has my nie nie birds print in her bathroom! Who cares, you ask? Well...for me..it's important...and meaningful and I am so flattered to have something of mine in her house.

If you've been following my blog you know what Stephanie Nielson of the Nie Nie Dialogues means to me. When I read of Stephanie's accident, I was quickly attached to her sister, Courtney's blog...where I would read updates on Stephanie and her family along with getting to know Courtney and her beautiful little family as well. As time went on and the Nielson children went home to their mom and dad...I continued to read Courtney's blog. She is an amazing writer and honesty, her blog (along with Nie's) is the first thing I look at when I sit down at my computer to start my day.

So, a few months back I sent Courtney and Stephanie a canvas for their homes..just a little something to brighten up their days. I guess Courtney really liked hers because she took the time to post about it on one of her blogs. So, you can go here to read the post....and if you've never heard of Courtney before...I can almost guarantee that you'll be hooked once you read ANY of her insightful posts.

So, I offered her readers 20% off if they enter the coupon CJANE during checkout...you are welcome to use this as well. I never put an expiration date on it so keep it in your back pocket and pull it out whenever you need it :).

thankful thursday : 7

2009-10-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

October is a busy month in the Amoo-Mensah household. We have so many things to celebrate and be thankful for!

1. On October 1st, my beautiful baby boy, Tyson Kwaku, was born. He is the best and now he is six! wooo hoo!

2. On October 10th my best friend, Perry, was born. This is the 15th birthday that we've celebrated together. I am so lucky to have found my perfect match.....

3. Speaking of perfect matches...On October 12th...Perry and I were married. I love him and I love the life we have built together.

I am truly blessed and so thankful for all the love that I receive from my husband AND my children. They are my reason, my motivation and my strength. I'm thankful for the little celebrations that life brings us in the form of birthdays and anniversaries... so we can take the time to really celebrate the important people in our lives.

and the winner is.......

2009-09-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Last week, while on twitter....I saw that Chicago Magazine was asking readers to submit flickr photos into their Home + Garden section for a contest. So, seeing as though I already had Parker's room photos in a folder on flickr....I sent some over...and GUESS WHAT?? I won!. They picked my little bean's room as their "flickr friday" pick. They said "Our staff loved this fun and sophisticated kid’s room posted by le papier boutique. The decals are a cool and non-permanent way to add interest to a tyke’s digs." I don't get a prize, per say, but the fact that THE coolest magazine in Chicago likes my decorating style is PRIZE ENOUGH for me....thank you v e r y m u c h.

Thanks Chicago Magazine...you are ALWAYS one of my favorites.

thankful thursday : 6

2009-09-24T21:13:00.000-07:00

My mornings usually go like this...at around 6:45, I wake up to the sound of "moooommmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy" coming from my baby Parker's room. Some days his morning "call" is sweeter than others, but nevertheless...I look forward to him summoning me to his room to scoop him out of his crib and smother him with morning kisses.

Shortly after, my middle son, Tyson Kwaku...lazily walks down the stairs and cuddles with me for a few seconds before we start the tub to get him ready for 1/2 day kindergarten. My biggest boy, Devon, is pretty much on cruise control at this point....so I get a quick kiss goodbye as he's running out the door to catch the bus.

I am basically home with my children from the time they wake up...until I tuck them in at night. I get to experience the smiles on my son's face when he walks out of door #4 after morning kindergarten and I get to hug my 13 year old when he gets home and talk to him about his day. My baby is is my right hand man...you will often find him sitting on my lap with 300 snacks around him while I work away on my computer.

I am extremely blessed...I am living my dream. I am able to work and provide for my family doing something I love FROM HOME with my babies close by. I have not always had it like this...trust me. I TRULY UNDERSTAND the heartache and stress working outside of the home can put on a mother's heart. When I taught kindergarten...although I loved what I did, I missed my children terribly and almost mourned the fact that I was not able to be with them as much as I wanted. I am truly thankful for the path my life has taken.

I'm thankful that I had the ambition to branch out on my own and chase my crazy dream of designing stationery (which later lead to canvas prints and books, etc.)If anyone reading this ever has any questions about how I got started or if you're thinking about starting your own "thing" but aren't sure how...I'd be happy to chat with you. I'm NO expert, by any means, but I'd be happy to share some of my insight with you. You can always email me at stacy@nameyourdesign.com.

p.s. All the time I spend working in Illustrator has sparked the interest of my "almost" 6 year old. He sits on his laptop next to me for at least an hour a day and designs pictures. Today, he designed his OWN birthday invitation...ALL BY HIMSELF. I believe we have another "self taught" designer in the house, wouldn't you agree?

it appears that we are CRAVEable!

2009-09-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

There is an organization that I've recently fallen in love with and I found them via twitter. For those of you small business owners reluctant to join team twitter, get over it! I have already seen the benefits in the two short weeks that I've been tweeting or twittering, or whatever you call it!

So, back to my point...I've recently fallen in love with CRAVE. Crave is a multifaceted organization that offers three diverse and helpful resources for professional women and small business owners in the Chicago area (in addition to other key cities across the country SanFrancisco, Boston, Atlanta, Portland, etc.)
The three main components to CRAVE are below:
CRAVEparty
CRAVEguides
CRAVEbusiness

I went to a CRAVEbusiness coffee chat last week outlining some helpful social media tips for small business owners and met some super women...one of them being Michele Kravetz from CRAVEchicago. We got to talking about the FIRST Chicago Edition of the CRAVEguide. After a few conversations, mixed with a little luck on my part, I was offered a spot in their book. The CRAVEguide "celebrates stylish entrepreneurs by showcasing the most creative, interesting and gutsiest proprietors from cities all over the world. This fall CRAVEchicago will launch it's own guide: The Urban Girl’s Manifesto, a unique and stylish guidebook for Chicago living complete with real-life examples of amazing women around the City who will help satisfy your next craving."

So, OH MY GOSH...am I excited. This is such an honor for me and I hope it will help get a lot of exposure to name your design for Brooke and I! woo hoo!

Here is a sneak peek into the guide at my layout in the book. The books will be in circulation for two years starting this Fall and available to purchase through Amazon.com, Barnes & Nobles and other hot spots around the Chi!

thankful thursday : 5

2009-09-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

I am busy. I think I say this every week, but guess what....I REALLY am busy! I tend to lose my patience a bit more than usual when I'm this busy. I get easily annoyed with the boys, my husband can't stand me at times, etc. etc. I don't take a lot of time to focus on "me"...I mean, what mom really does? However, there is ONE thing that I do for myself that helps me to keep my sanity during somewhat insane days....and that is E X E R C I S E. I enrolled in "boot camp" at my gym this week. It is a 12 week class to kick your butt into shape.

I am feeling the effects of it already...LITERALLY, feeling it. My legs feel twice their weight and it was hard to walk up and down stairs for a few days. It sounds crazy..but I love it. I love the feeling you get after finishing a workout that seems impossible. It reminds me of my college soccer days, waking up at 5 am for similar workouts....hated waking up that early but always so thankful for starting my day with such an accomplishment.

So, this week, I am especially thankful for my health and physical well-being and my DRIVE to continue "working" on myself. Although I will always be a work in progress ...all in all, I am blessed to have a body strong enough to carry me through.

new in my kitchen...

2009-09-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

I love a great tea towel...does that make me strange? I especially love them for MY kitchen because I like to keep things simple with little pops of color...great tea towels are just the thing to give my kitchen a little "spice" if you will.

I mean, have you ever noticed that really cool, modern, affordable tea towels are hard to find?

When we were "rebuilding" our kitchen from scratch...I had a picture of these great tea towels from tivoli.com in our "idea binder".

They are simple, clean, modern...exactly my style and they are fairly affordable at $10 each. However, I am officially a cheap skate...and the queen of stretching the mighty dollar.

So, during one of my hundred trips to ikea (it's 6 miles away from me), I picked up two yards of this fabric. Luckily, my mom can sew her tooshie off! So, I asked her nicely to please make as many tea towels as she could and I ended up with 6 towels for the amazing price of $16! I'm going to go back for a few more fabric patterns to mix it up a bit...but we are off to a great start with our new stock of tea towels! Wooo hoooo....thanks Mom! You made my day.

thankful thurday : 4

2009-09-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

I'm keeping this week's thankful post... short and sweet. It might be better explained if I write a "love letter" of sorts to this particular item in our house that I am SO thankful for.

Here it goes:

Dear Dwell Studio for Target Blue Giraffe Blankie (& similar Elephant Blankie that we use as a backup),

You were given to my youngest son Parker as a gift when he was just a little bean. You wrapped him up and kept him warm through the cold Cleveland and now Chicago winters. You do not match any of his nursery decor...but we would be lost without you!

Parker carries you around with him wherever he goes...to the park, to the grocery store, you most recently attended a Chicago Fire soccer game with us, but MOST IMPORTANTLY...you have the unbelievable ability to put my little monster at ease. As soon as he gets a hold of you and rubs your little corners to his face, he immediately starts sucking his thumb and everything is perfect in his world (and ours). I often wonder what would become of this family if you disappeared. So, on this Thursday, I am thankful for you and your magical baby soothing powers.
xoxo
Stacy (Parker's mom)

oh jonathan adler...

2009-09-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

I went to South Beach in Miami this summer with my three girlfriends...and we had a blast! As my friends were busy taking pictures of themselves...I, being the design dork that I am, was constantly stopping to snap pictures of inspiring architecture, artwork, etc.

Inspiration was everywhere....one of my favorite shots was a wall of "shoebox" art at a local Starbucks. I mean, I think I am creative...but this? who thinks of this?

oh! and the pattern on this vintage grate:

and..what about this display of portraits at the local anthropologie store?

One night after dinner, we walked past Jonathan Adler's store (and, dang it!, it was closed).

Never fear.....I made it back the next day b/c I HAD to get inside. I spent an hour in there...sitting on the couches, trying to make friends with the sales girl (yes, a little bizarre, I know!) I couldn't help it...I love all his work. I didn't want to look too pathetic so I only snapped one photo while inside. I was especially drawn to the pillows and rugs...love the bold colors with the modern, yet vintage twist.

You don't have to go to South Beach to get a taste of Jonathan Adler. Check out his "design your own" pillows, rugs, totes and more at jonathanadler.com! You KNOW we are suckers for great personalized goods for your home.

thankful thursday : 3

2009-09-03T20:44:00.001-07:00

It's been one hell of a day...well,week actually. I REFUSE to complain about how busy I am because I am so thankful to have so much work to do. More importantly, work that I LOVE and am able to do from home with my children close by. However, there is something to say about trying to actually DO the work when your babies are at home(and awake...running around the house, taking drawers out and using them as ladders to climb up to the counter, coloring on the walls, raiding the pantry, etc., etc.)...and this is just my 1 1/2 year old! Parker Hayes is a walking tornado....he WILL destroy anything in his path.

I had a bit of a "melt down" yesterday...yes, we've all had them...the crying and spazzing at your husband b/c there's so much to do and only one of you to do it and how you wish you could clone yourself or better yet, lock yourself in a closet with your laptop and no distractions FOR JUST ONE DAY to get caught up on everything on your list.

Yes...that was me...until me husband gently reminded me that we moved back to Chicago to be close to our families (especially my sisters).....and, "after all...they love our kids as much as we do so why don't you call them and ask for some help?"

So, I got on the phone and called. It only took ONE call and I was able to ship Parker off for the day to play at Lindsay's house with little JackJack. If not Lindsay..I could have tried Brooke, Beth, Lindsay, Kiley OR my favorite sister-in- law Carlisa. You see, I was blessed to grow up in a family of all women (except for my dad). I am the oldest of FIVE girls and my life is so fulfilled because of it.

So, on this Thursday...I am SO thankful for my sisters. We have a lot of fun together AND we've got eachother's backs.....how great is that?

tweet tweet twitter : you got me.

2009-09-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

My sister and I went to this great networking event last night hosted by the bump. It was really nice to meet other business owners in the Chicago area who are all marketing to mommies. It was held downtown at The Catalyst Ranch.(This meeting space/loft is amazing and another story in itself).

Anyhow...I met this bubbly little lady named Lisa who designs and sells these great day planners for mom/baby. We got to talking about the whole social media "thing" and she single handedly conviced me to start twittering. I have been avoiding this like the plague...but I guess it's time I give in! I mean if your favorite mom/pop pizza joint can twitter...there's really no excuse for us not to!

So, head on over to my twitter page and won't you please follow me? (I currently look extremely lame with my ONE following friend... the girl got me into this mess) I decided to make my twitter name "designfiles". Why you ask? Well....although name your design is my newest business venture baby...I actually have 3 separate businesses that I own and I wanted to chronicle all of my design adventures in one spot. If you've been reading my blog you know that I also run a custom design studio as well as designing an exclusive brand of stationery for the tinyprints family of sites.

So...now, I have to go and figure out how the heck to use this thing....tweet, tweet!

thankful thursday : 2

2009-08-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

Well...it's another Thursday. The week has flown by! With school starting and a great influx of orders for us, Brooke and I have been B U S Y.

I've been looking forward to this post all week. I am so glad I'm doing these "thankful Thursdays"...especially this week.

You see, I always love my mom, but she has been especially on my mind since just celebrated a birthday this weekend. I won't tell you how old she is, but I can guarantee you that once you see how amazing she looks... you would be shocked if I told you her real age. She is beautiful and wonderful and has taught me so much about being a great mother. She and my dad (who are still happily married) managed to successfully raise five happy, healthy and successful daughters.

My mom with my oldest son, Devon, this summer at a family wedding.

She came over for dinner last night and when I watched her with my dad (who is equally as wonderful) interact with my boys....it filled my heart with so much gladness. My boys are so lucky to have a Nana who adores them and I am so lucky to have a mom that has always been my biggest fan, my counselor, my teacher and my friend.

Thanks Mommy...you are the best and I am especially thankful for you on this Thursday (and everyday).

p.s. If you live in the Chicago area and need an interior designer or custom window treatments...you'd be a fool not to contact my mom...she is a rock star when it comes to design.

giveaway on project nursery!

2009-08-24T20:33:00.001-07:00

Head on over to Project Nursery.... the coolest spot on the web dedicated to your baby's first room. We're giving away another canvas print valued at up to $125....so head on over to check them out. I guarantee Project Nursery will soon be on your list of "favorite design blogs for baby".

We get loads of inspiration from Pam and Melisa's amazing nursery designs. Their inspiration boards are just what you'll need to get those creative juices flowing!

our nie nie birds print is "nesting"

2009-08-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

If you are a blogging mom...who is interested in design..then I'm sure you MUST have heard of Gabby Blair from Design Mom. She is THE mom who (among many other things) orchestrated the entire Nie Nie Day silent auction last year after Stephanie's accident. She is an inspiration to many women as she manages to successfully juggle being a mother, wife and a business woman. I contacted her because I was trying to get the word out on my nie nie bird prints....because it is my hope that the more people that know about them...the more people will buy them and the more I'll be able to help out the Nielson's (I send 20% of the profits on these prints to the Nie Recovery Fund). Well...it turns out that Gabby actually READ my email, LIKED my print and decided to write about them on cookie magazine's nesting blog!. I'm not a Fortune 500 company, but I aspire to give like one. Won't you help me out? If you blog yourself...won't you please spread the word? You can grab this photo below:

You can read the post here. Or go straight here to order one.

Thank you Gabby...Happy Anniversary to you and your husband. It is refreshing to see how much you love eachother after 14 years together...

thankful thursday

2009-08-20T17:54:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling especially "thankful" lately. It could possibly be that I can't stop thinking about Nie and her amazing spirit..but whatever the reason, I think it is so important for people to remember to be thankful for what they DO have, rather than focusing on the negative and what we DON'T have. I am guilty of the latter myself...but I have made it a top priority of mine lately to count my blessings on a daily basis. I am a busy mama, so writing in a gratitude journal every day is not a reasonable expectation. I can, however, commit to one day to record my thoughts and my thanks and have decided to do it here. So, from now on...you can tune in (or not tune in), but I will be posting my list of thanks for the week on Thursdays....
So, here we go.

I am thankful for this beautiful man (who happens to be my husband).

Because of him....I know have him...

and him......

and him......

What are you thankful for today?

parker's nursery tour on apartment therapy

2009-08-19T11:33:00.001-07:00

Parker has no idea that his room has made it onto one of the best sites out there for home design. I think the message on Ohdeedoh's facebook page sums it up....it reads "a site for people who care about good design....but happen to have children." Yup...that is definitely me!

To check out the entire tour and interview on ohdeedoh, click here.

It was so much fun creating Parker's room and even MORE fun seeing it on apartment therapy! Thanks again Alex.

canvas print giveaway on young house love

2009-08-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

We are very particular about where we advertise...as the advertising money pot has to be stretched as far as possible! With that said, one of our favorite sites to "sponsor" is young house love. It is a home improvement blog written by two young lovebirds, Sherry and John Petersik. You can read all about them here.

They are hosting a giveaway today (until Wednesday) for one of our canvas prints...so, head on over to check them out and throw your hat in the ring!

Thanks Sherry and John for hosting our giveaway...and thank you MOST of all for drawing special attention to our nie nie birds print. We have faith in the kindness of others and are doing our best to help this amazing family.

my letter to stephanie....

2009-08-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

For those of you who read the nie nie dialogues...and are aware of Stephanie Nielson and her beautiful family, you will understand why she was consuming my thoughts and prayers this weekend. For those of you who haven't heard of Stephanie...I can assure you, after you are introduced to her, that you will fall in love with her, the entire Nielson family and their inspiring story.

I know the chances of Stephanie and I ever crossing paths are extremely slim...so I wanted to send a message of thanks through cyberspace, in hopes that she runs across it someday.

Dear Stephanie,
When I read about your accident last year...I sat in front of my computer for hours reading through (devouring) your blog..and guess what? You changed my life forever. This is what I have learned from you:

1. Slow down and s a v o r the time I have with my three beautiful boys.
2. Make date nights a bigger priority for me and my hubby.
3. Don't let a day go by without thanking God for all the good in my life.
4. Do more to help others.
5. See the blessings in all of life's challenging situations.

On this day...I just wanted to say thank you. You make me want to be a better mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend.
xoxo
Stacy

side note: last year when I read about Stephanie's story...I designed a canvas print to help with her recovery fund. I named it the nie nie birds print and I vowed to send her 20% of the profits on the sale of these prints for as long as I'm in business....so far, so good.

hey there chickie!

2009-07-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again...We L O V E getting photos from our customers showcasing our artwork in their homes. We especially love when we get photos of nurseries because 1) We are excited to see how our print is showcased 2) We are CRAZY about babies!

One of our most recent customers sent a photo of her sweet Audrey's room. Her nursery is adorable! I recognized her bedding immediately...it is the dwell studio for Target birds set. After a little digging, I found her mobile on target.com too. Last but not least...Our best selling birdie branch canvas was hung directly over the crib proudly showcasing Audrey's name and birth stats.

photo taken from target.com

Thank you Kaye for taking the time to send us your photos. We know how busy you must and we truly appreciate it! The nursery is adorable and Audrey is precious.

we feel like "giggle" ing

2009-07-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

We are so excited...so, so, so, excited! We contacted the great people at giggle and pitched our personalized canvas art to them...and they liked it...really, really liked it! So, after a few months of collaborating with their merchandising team... we finally came up with the perfect design for their customers. These two prints are only available exclusively through the giggle store in Pasadena, California and online at giggle.com.

We are excited and flattered as we feel that giggle shares our same sense of appreciation for simple, clean and modern design...just spend a few minutes on their site and you'll see that they carry some of the best of the best products for the modern family.

We think these prints would look ESPECIALLY wonderful next to the sam crib available through giggle! Wouldn't you agree???

tinyprints and frecklebox

2009-07-03T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hi all....Stacy here...as many of you know, I am the designer behind all the artwork in our collection. I JUST had a reader email me because she was so excited/surprised that my designs are also available on tinyprints....and it occurred to me that I've never really mentioned that before! So...if you are digging the designs on our wall art...you will also enjoy my stationery line le papier boutique that is sold exclusively through tinyprints and their sister site wedding paper divas.

In addition to this....I actually wrote and illustrated a children's book on frecklebox.com! Being a former kindergarten teacher...this was SO MUCH FUN to see my words and illustrations in an actual hard cover book! It's written for the first child that's getting ready to become a big/brother or sister...it's meant to help your child feel special and included in the process....always remembering that even though a new baby is coming "nobody can ever, ever take the place of you". You can personalize the book with your child's name. To view the entire book, click here.

From time to time I get special discounts and coupons for both of these sites so I'll be sure to pass them along when I do!

going "green" with sprout home

2009-07-02T08:57:00.001-07:00

My husband and I were downtown (Chicago) a few weekends ago and we made a pit stop at sprout home. We were looking for some modern plant life for our home....

you see, we tried the local nurseries and garden shops around our home and when we asked them to show us some "modern and unique" house plants...they looked at us kind of funny. I don't know....is that a silly question?? I mean, some plants just make you want to go over and touch them to see if they are real...and that's what we wanted!

So, as soon as we walked into this modern plant palace I knew we'd find JUST what we wanted. I mean their philosophy is as plain as day on the front of their homepage "Sprout Home believes that a modern aesthetic can live in the home and also in the garden..."

We picked up a few gems for our house...my favorite being these freak of nature "air plants" or tillandsias. You can read more about them here...but they are MY kind of plant...no soil needed! They live off the moisture in the air and look super in our house. We also picked up a lipstick plant...the leaves look like they are woven together...have you ever seen anything like this?

These are sitting on our counter that opens from the kitchen to the great room.

A closeup of the lipstick plant leaves.

A set of three little air plants in vases from ikea..on one of our kitchen counters.

sprout home has two locations : Chicago and Brooklyn.....if you're ever in the area, check them out.

the cutest little thing....

2009-06-24T14:47:00.001-07:00

We had a sweetheart of a customer last month(named Amanda) who wanted to order half of our stacked digits set. We were happy to oblige! We can do that kind of stuff you know....all you have to do is ask nicely :). She wanted a few colors swapped out to coordinate with her sweet baby Jack's room and the end result was fantastic!

Amanda was nice enough to send us some photos of Jack's new personalized canvas in his super fresh room! THANK YOU Amanda and Jack for sharing your photos with us! Jack is adorable and we love what you did with his room.

we've got a buzzzzz......

2009-06-19T07:18:00.001-07:00

We are truly buzzing off of all the amazing press we've gotten lately! It is so surreal to see your work featured on some of these blogs/sites that you've followed forever! It makes you feel like you've finally "made it"...ahhhhhhhh...feels good.

I always wonder if these amazing sites even realize what their feature does for a small business like ours??? I always try to send a thank you to the writer/editors to let them know how much it is appreciated....because it TRULY HELPS OUR BUSINESS!

The following mentions have resulted in a huge surge of traffic to our site and some new loyal readers of our blog. So...in case any of these editors are reading...thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to highlight our products.

Also, if you own a small business and feel like some of these editors are "untouchable" or "impossible" to reach...give it a whirl anyway! I have found recently after venturing out on my own pr/marketing campaign, that most of them are genuinely happy to hear from you!

"As far as we're concerned, you can never have enough art on your walls. And if you can find something for your child's room that is both cute and stylish then you got yourself a great find. We recently discovered Name Your Design and were enchanted by their fun colors, patterns and styles their prints (which can be personalized) offer..." click here to read more on ohdeedoh.

"Name Your Design's Zoo Animals Wall Art Set ($225) includes both an elephant and personalized giraffe print to decorate your lil one's walls...."click here to read more on lil sugar.

"The wannabe Warhol-inspired paintings of your kid in Technicolor just won’t cut it when it comes to original art.
Give the old-fashioned portrait a new take: Name Your Design uses a photo of your child’s profile to create a custom silhouette..."click here to read more on Urban baby.

auction for carol.

2009-06-15T07:10:00.001-07:00

We recently ran across a story about a mother named Carol (while reading one of our favorite bloggers....who happens to be related to one of our other favorites.)

We were moved by her story and wanted to pitch in and help her. We donated a canvas to a silent auction going on TODAY on her behalf. Please read her story and check out the auction...there's lots of goodies available and the proceeds are going towards a great cause.

featured on daily candy kids chicago.....

2009-06-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

When you run a small business...it is a LOT of work. There's no "set" and consistent paycheck...you have to W O R K...and work HARD, everyday, to get your income flowing...designing, updating, marketing, sales, customer service, shipping, tracking, etc, etc..

Brooke and I love what we do...and getting recognized by kicka$% sites who want to highlight our work is just what we need to keep us pushing on! We are truly blessed to be able to do what we love, from home...with our kiddies close by. We think it is I N C R E D I B L E that there are so many ways for us to spread the word about our work via the web and we are honored that Daily Candy has decided to feature our shop today.

So, thank you Daily Candy Kids Chicago for supporting us hard working mamas! We will be fans for life!

Check out the article for a really amazing coupon code.

giveaway winners announced...............

2009-06-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all of you who subscribed to our blog and/or commented!

While we wish we could give away something to ALL of you darlings who subscribed and/or commented...we are sticking to three this time. We picked the winners the old-fashioned way ( I had my boys each give me a random number...and presto...we had our winners).

So, would : JEN FROM THE STATIONERY BOUTIQUE, AMELIA D. WHO SUBSCRIBED THROUGH GOOGLE, AND KATHLEEN W. FROM KATYDIDANDKID.BLOGSPOT...please email me at stacy@nameyourdesign.com to give me your print of choice, personalization and mailing address!

our first ever GIVEAWAY!

2009-06-04T04:34:00.000-07:00

Ok..d d r r u u m r r r r o l l please. We really want to thank our loyal "readers" and favorite customers for keeping us in business....we are tickled that you like us so much!

To show our appreciation, we are giving away an art print insert to three lucky subscribers to our blog. Oh....you don't subscribe yet??? No problemo....just click the "subscribe" button on the top right corner ---------------------------->
and you'll be entered to win!

WIN IT: By subscribing to our blog....OR, if you already subscribe, comment on this post with your very favorite art print design. Contest ends June 12th, 2009 at 11:59pm CST. All winners will be chosen at random and given their choice of these three art prints : modern tricycle, garden silhouette with initial, or family perch.

GOOD LUCK!

rock a bye baby......

2009-06-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy of modernseed.com
I had a few extra hours today (did I actually just say that???). So, I got to actually create some new designs that I've been "dreaming" of lately. When I say dreaming...I LITERALLY mean dream. You see, when you are a designer, you are constantly hit with new ideas in the strangest places. Mine happen most often as I"m running or sleeping. So, I've learned to keep a notebook close by me at all times so I can jot down or quickly sketch my idea before it fades
a
w
a
y.

The eames rocker has been on my "want not need" list since my son was born last year. I've really been trying hard to fight off the temptation of purchasing this $450.00 beauty...really, I have. You could say I have a small obsession with owning this fine piece of furniture. With that said, this little gem usually shows up in my dreams in it's "actual" form....until last night....I had a "design dream" about this chair on one of my canvas prints...I mean, if I can't own the actual chair...I can at least help someone else own a really great illustration of it, right???

So, here it is....my version of the modern rocker. It is simple and sweet and it helps to satisfy my craving for the real thing...for now.

great on your WALLs....even better for your WALLet

2009-05-26T16:37:00.000-07:00

We've had a few inquiries lately about printing some of our canvas designs on paper...for framing..and it took us about two seconds to say...What a GREAT idea!

The majority of our work will continue to be printed on canvas...We truly believe that our canvas prints make quite a statement in both design and quality and that NOTHING can ever take the place of a one of a kind...tried and true...personalized piece of art printed on canvas. However, for those of you looking for a more affordable option...we've come up with several designs printed on archival (acid free) paper with fade resistant inks.

You can view the entire collection on our website. Prices start at $18.00 (Yes...you read correctly...)for a single print and go up to $40.00 for a set of three.

Our 8 x 10 art print "inserts" are printed on 8.5 x 11 ultra matte, bright white archival paper....which leaves a small white margin perfect for framing. Please note that the frames are not included. However, the frames in the attached photos can be found at west elm, target, and ikea.

Happy Shopping!

parker's room on project nursery!

2009-04-28T06:42:00.000-07:00

Well...it appears that my litte bean, Parker, made headlines this week (at least in my little world).

Our friends over at Project Nursery , featured Parker's room on their "real rooms" segment and highlighted our stacked digits in black .

You can read the interview here

We L-0-V-E this site...it's a great "go to" for us in terms of design inspiration, party ideas and great kid finds. The best part is that it was started by two great friends and mommies, Melissa and Pam, who are as sweet as they come.

Thanks Project Nursery!

where does the time go?

2009-04-20T10:47:00.001-07:00

We've been working hard on a new collection of custom silhouettes!I know silhouettes are as old as time...I can actually remember making them in school for Mother's Day....sitting up tall in a chair with a projector light shining on my profile as my teacher traced my little face onto a piece of black construction paper taped to the wall...and then carefully cutting it out.

When you have children you want to cherish their sweet angel faces...preserve them forever. There are times when you sit back and look at your babies and it literally takes your breath away when you think of how BIG they've gotten and how much they've changed. I've recently done that with my five year old, Tyson Kwaku....
it seems like he was JUST a baby...following behind me, wanting to rub my ears all day....and now he is FIVE! Yikes! Although I love each stage my children are going through....I wanted to remember this stage...forever.

I found a perfect picture from our trip to Florida last year that would allow me to trace his profile and create a custom silhouette canvas to hang in his room. When we got it back from the printer he was SO excited to see himself hanging on the wall and I was so happy to have a keepsake that he and I can cherish for years to come.

Seeing as though my style is a bit more modern than most traditional silhouettes allow for...I decided to spice mine up a bit with a "mod dots" background in four different color palettes.

These are priced at $145 and that includes our time to create the silhouette from the photo you send in.

We hope you enjoy these as much as we enjoy making them!

how do you do that?

2009-03-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

So, alot of people who see my work ask me...."how do you come up with ideas for your designs?" Ideas are EVERYWHERE...from the displays at Target to the patterns on my sons pajamas..I am constantly drawn to colors and patterns.

One of my MOST FAVORITE things to do is create custom designs for people. It forces me to put aside some time to just brainstorm and design. I just finished working with a lovely woman who wanted two prints for above her daughter's bed. She was amazing to work with because she left all ideas up to me(quite a compliment)! All I asked is that she send me some pieces of inspiration to go off of so I knew her color scheme and overall theme. So, for her project I knew that:
1.She chose the ultrachic dragonfly bedding from DwellStudio .
2. Her walls were "tan".

all photos were taken from dwellstudio.com

With that information I was able to generate two sets of proofs for her to look at. With a little bit of tweaking we were able to come up with the perfect compliment to her room! I am hoping she will send photos when they are finally hung in the room. I don't want to spoil it so I'm not posting the set that she chose....but the runner up (our zooanimals set)
is below and was just added to our site today! I LOVE how it came out. I am working on alternate color schemes now...please share if you have any colors you'd like to see these in!

what's black and white and a little bit red?

2009-03-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

My youngest son, Parker Hayes, turned one several weeks ago...

Out of all my children, Parker (by far) has the most pronounced personality for someone his age. He was walking at 10 months, running by 12 months...and eating us out of house and home since we can remember. He is spunky, happy and determined.... and we are all in love with him.

We love him dearly despite is ever changing personality...you see...there's no "middle" ground with baby Parker. He is either smiling, laughing and happy OR extremely ticked off. Luckily, we get the smiley, happy, sweet Parker 95% of the time..... but, believe me....you take too long to get his lunch on his high chair or his bottle before his nap....and you WILL BE SORRY!

Someone with THIS much personality deserved a special room....and a special room is what we gave him.

One of the things that makes his room so special is his old school jenny lind crib....it has been through three infancies with my boys and it was the starting point for the room. The next item I purchased was the barnslig park duvet cover from ikea. I LOVED the clean, modern feel of the black graphic animals with the little pops of red....this really got my creative juices flowing.

The chest of drawers and twin bed were "hand me downs" from my middle son, Kwaku. We purchased them at Ikea three years ago and they are still holding up great. I found this ginormous(made up word) "P" made out of cardboard at Michael's craft store. I had my 5 year old paint it red and we hung it on one little nail above the bed. The black frames were on sale at Target and filled with black and white photos of Parker and his many funny faces.

We bought these great alphabet zoo wall stickers from whatisblik.com and finally....the room was "polished off" with our stacked digits set in black available on our site...check them out!

in the press...

2009-03-12T12:10:00.000-07:00

Well, we really feel "official" today. I mean..wooooo hooooo! We were recently featured in the March issue of Pregnancy and Newborn magazine. The editor-in-chief, Lacey Major, picked our canvas prints as the thing that she "loves" this month. check, check, check it, check it out!

new gallery photos....

2009-03-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

A little background on Brooke and I.....we are sisters, as many of you know. However, did you know that there are actually FIVE of us all together? Yup...five girls...which means four weddings so far and ten kids between us all. We are all close....close as in "besties" as well as proximity. Although we've all chosen different areas to raise our families...we are all within 45 minutes of my mom and dad.

Who cares you ask? I don't know...just needed to give a little background into the next gallery photos you're about to see....

One of our favorite customers (our mama), sent these to us this week. The first is our yellow damask and dots print. It is affectionately personalized with the "Batina Babies" because for one, Batina is her last name, and two...it sits in the nursery that she houses upstairs in her home. You see, with TEN grandchildren, it seemed quite necessary to always keep a nursery ready and available for the frequent visits and sleepovers.

The second photo is of her "sun room" off the kitchen. It is our mod daisy canvas in red and sits on top of a family photo of ALL of us taken in Florida this past summer.....ahhhhhh, can't wait to go back! Enjoy the photos.....

feels like home...

2009-02-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

Things are coming together....slowly, slowly, but surely. It's hard to have the patience to wait and research and make SURE you are finding the perfect pieces of furniture...at least it is for me! I have a little nickname and it's called...impulse shopper.

I'm adding little things to make my house feel more like my home. One of my favorite little spots in our house is in a corner nook by the front door, right underneath the staircase. It became the perfect spot for our family canvas . Once I added my sleek leather brown chair (from HomeGoods) and super funky pillow (that originally cost $85 and was found on the clearance rack at Marshalls for $8!!!) it is now complete.

I get so many compliments on my mod branches canvas (great for business....wink, wink) and it gives us a little ownership in our new home ...that is still a work in progress.

from house to home....

2009-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

ok....so, if you know me, you know that my husband and I spent the last 2.5 years in Cleveland, Ohio in a historic, 1929 brick tudor. It had original hardwood floors, built ins, radiators......lots of character. However, we recently relocated back to the Chicago area.....back to the "burbs."

Although we enjoyed our stint in our vintage home, we were ready for central air, more closet space and some modern amenities. We found a house with great "bones" but it needed to be completely gutted. Being the ambitious couple that we are....we purchased it. Great bones and all.....

With that said, I am beginning my series on trying to rehab an uber chic and modern home in the burbs. Kind of seems impossible, huh??? "Modern and chic in the burbs"....well, we are doing our best. Let me start by showing you some before pictures. Now, remember, you HAVE to have some vision when you look at these......think "great open floor plan" and repeat that several times to yourself until you believe that something can really be done with this place.

our version of "cribs"...

2009-01-26T17:32:00.000-08:00

So, we must have the greatest customers ever! I mean, honestly, they are so sweet and gracious and thankful and that makes us LOVE what we do! One of our recent custom orders was for a young and swanky couples' first born son. They were happy with the end result....very happy, so happy that she took the time to write us an email AND send pictures! What new mommy has time to do that??? She is a superstar and we are SO happy that she's SO happy.....and I quote " I have gotten lots of compliments on the artwork and referred everyone to your site, we really appreciate the extra time you put in for us, the end result is fabulous."

What an honor to be asked to design something for this lucky little boy!

The mom and dad...we'll call them Niccole and Jay (because those are their names)...wanted a set of three custom animal silhouettes. But they wanted some cool, funky, modern, completely unique silhouettes....and that's where we came in. Take a look at these photos provided courtesy of the proud mommy and daddy. I think we nailed it! I love, love, love the nursery...super chic.

Thanks Niccole and Jay, for letting us be a part of this amazing nursery.