brooks' modern nursery - featuring our photo canvas

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!

facebook giveaway winner plus some customer sneak peaks...

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

clara's "closet" growth chart

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!

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

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!

what a difference a year makes

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

in the bathroom of a beautiful family...

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 :).

parker's nursery tour on apartment therapy

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.

hey there chickie!

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

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???

the cutest little thing....

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.

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

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!

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?

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!

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

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!

new gallery photos....

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...

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.

our version of "cribs"...

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.