Mourning this Morning

The world feels a little less complete today, as we have lost a man who has defined an era.  Apple has been a part of my life for over fifteen years since I was a teenager.  Apple talk has been a glue of sort bonding my father and me.  We have always been the computer geeks in our family, well Apple geeks to be specific.  We love talking about our Macs or some new Apple product and watching Steve Jobs talk online.  We just watched him for hours a few months ago talking about the iCloud and all the changes that are happening now.  While the Apple icon lives on, its creator has left us far too soon.  We truly mourn the passing of this incredible person who we feel we have gotten to know over the years.  He has created not only a brand built on creativity and ingenuity but a brand that represents joy and family and home to me and my father, and I think it holds a similar meaning to so many others.  We are grateful for the vision of this one man, and the incredible products that Apple has given us.  He left the world a fairly young man, but left a legacy that has changed the world as we know it. My deepest sympathy for the loss of this husband, father, friend, colleague, visionary, mentor and icon.

I am loving...

Matchbook Magazine, a new online magazine that has something inspiring on every page, from fashion to cooking to home decor (and much more).  Almost every page is an inspiration board, literally, and this makes it so aesthetically charming. The articles are pretty much all fun, unique and relevant subject matter, interviews are with relevant and talented people, and I could read the magazine without reading a word just looking at the visuals and love it!  Oh, and one of the founders is a stationery designer to boot! Check it out:

IMAGE CREDIT: July Cover, Matchbook Magazine

Oh, Baby!

Here's what I've been up to for the last month...

...learning to be a mom!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mommy's!  Celebrating my first Mother's Day was such a sweet treat only a month after having my first child.  Now that I am getting settled in, it's time to get back to work!

April Showers Bring...Babies?

Well, I hope April will bring me a baby!  I don't think Baby M can incubate much longer.  It is time for her to arrive.  The nursery is still awaiting it's finishing touches, but I am too afraid to puncture holes in the newly painted walls to hang my art and framed prints without a second opinion.  Alas, I think this final touch will have to wait until my mother gets to town, which means after baby comes.  Not sure that I trust the husband on this one.  If I could even drag him in there to hold things up and ask for his opinion, he would barely look up and say, "Yeah, looks great there.  Now can I get back to the game?"  Sorry, honey, but you know it's true.

In the meantime, Happy April!  Here is my ode to April Showers....

I love the idea of using an umbrella as a motif on a bridal or baby shower invite.  The literal interpretation is always fun.

Invitation by PaperSource

Love this one...

Invitation by minted

Invitation by seller on Etsy (no longer available)

Invitation by seller on Etsy (also no longer available on the site)

And here's one of my own that I designed a few years back...

Invitation by E|M Design

Green Hills Antiques and Interiors

My little home furnishings, gift and home accessories booth is located in Green Hills Antiques and Interiors at 4108 Harding Pike in Green Hills, right by the Bluebird Cafe.  It is one of my many "side-hobbies".  I recently helped them to design and establish a blog to keep customers abreast of events, new pieces, new merchants, etc.  We just went live last week, and have been trying to post every few days with updates, sales, design ideas and photos of inventory.  It has been a fun design project for me, since I have a space in the interiors market myself.  Here are a few photos of my space.  Check out the blog if you get a chance.  There is such a varied assortment of items and vendors in the market right now, it is fun to browse through and see what sort of deals or one-of-a-kind treasures you might come across.  My favorite right now is the eco-friendly wooden baby toys and furnishings in the booth next to mine.  There is a beautiful organic moses basket and stand that I want in that booth!  And I love the old-fashioned wooden toys.  Enjoy the pics...

Baby M's Nursery

Here is a sneak peak at the nursery.  Still a few things left to do, like art for the walls, which I will have to put in another post, because I am designing some letter art to be matted and framed, and working on an abstract painting that will go over the crib.  Hopefully, I will get that done this week sometime before the baby comes!  If you are wondering where the amazing fabrics, furniture and lighting came from, the room was designed by AS Art & Home (the talented designer who also happens to be my mother)!

These pics were taken with my camera phone, so they are a little hazy, but you get the idea...

Hydrangeas!

This was such an exciting weekend, as my hydrangea buds began to peek out of their brown branches!  I do NOT have a green thumb and these hydrangeas are about all I can keep alive, but I think it is the love they know I have for them that keeps them coming back for me.  This reminds me of something I designed almost FOUR YEARS AGO!  This was my own wedding weekend packet, complete with hydrangeas blooming off of every page.  Yes, almost four years ago, but I still have a few pictures.

Here are a few pics from the wedding of the flowers and some of the other blue accents.  My favorite blue hydrangeas were the lighter blue, but I couldn't find many pics of those from the wedding at first glance, so here's what I found...

Spring is in the Air!

It might be rainy today, but it has been in the 60's and 70's the last few weeks, and everywhere I go, people are just floating on air!  Well, except for me and my huge belly...I could only float right now if I was in water.  I think my baby bump would make a nice floatation device.  But this weather - I just love what the coming of spring does to people's spirits.  We also associate the spring with new life, and I am expecting my new little sprout of life in LESS THAN THREE WEEKS!!  I am so tired of waiting for this little angel, but also not sure if I am ready at the same time.  I am not the only one, I know.  There are so many spring babies popping up (or out) everywhere.  Here is one precious baby shower invitation I designed for a friend's baby shower in Bluffton, SC.  I used her beautiful fabric from her nursery as inspiration.  And the little bird (her maiden name is Byrd) is just perfect for her and for her spring baby.

Nothing Compares to a Handwritten Note...

Isn't this the truth!  There is no substitute for a thoughtfully handwritten note on beautiful stationery that one can open, touch and feel.  Thank you, Diane Von Furstenburg!  See Smythson's post below for DVF's take on the importance of the handwritten note...

http://smythson.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/why-dont-you-spring-inspirations/


Photo Credit: http://artofmanliness.com

2010 Year in Print

A few of my favorite projects from 2010...

Here is a fun personalized 5x5" 2011 desk calendar I did for some close family and friends.  This particular calendar was for the husband.  He has it on his desk at work now.

Here is a fun and clean baby shower invitation I designed for a shower for a baby boy.

I obviously enjoyed this project because it was my own!  Here is my Christmas card...

Here are a few fun stationery items and invitation.

The holidays were very busy.  I was constantly mailing out Christmas card orders and party invites and packaging everything with festive holiday ribbon.

Here is my label from the back of one of my projects.

I loved designing this stationery for a baby boy.  It is so cute, but not too cutesy at the same time.

A fun invite below that I designed for a friend's Bourbon tasting holiday fete!

One of my favorite Christmas card designs.  I like this one mostly because of the fire engine red that matches his cute little outfit in the pic, and the adorable picture makes the card!

This client chose to use a fun army green for their holiday card, rather than a traditional holiday green.  I love this!!

Beautiful Details...Packaging and Labels!

I apologize that have not been posting about any of my recent stationery and invitation design projects, and I still do plan to post a recap of some of my favorite designs from last year (at some point...hopefully).  I really plan to be better about this once things settle down a bit.  I've been a very busy lady trying to get the house and nursery ready for baby.  It has been very fun, but lots of purging has been necessary.

I had two baby showers over the last month or so, one in DC and one here in Nashville.  It has been so fun to get all of these toys and gear and clothes for the babe, and I wanted to share with you a few truly amazing things that I received.  This is definitely inspiration for me, so hopefully it will inspire you as well.  I love beautiful wrapping and packaging, and it is also fun to see all of the brands and labels with cute fonts and designs.  And, of course, hand-made gifts are always inspirational.  The two gifts I must mention are as follows, and deserve more than just one photo:

GIFT #1:
Now this is a DIY creation, but only if you have your own fully-functioning organic farm, as do our incredible cousins, who live on a beautiful farm in Virginia.  What is most amazing is that they do this purely for the love of it.  For a wedding gift, they gave us a blanket made of their sheeps' wool, and so it is only fitting that they gave us these beautiful hand-stitched booties for a baby gift (also made from their sheep's wool).

The gift itself is not the only incredible part, but the beautiful box and packaging, with the sweet label printed with the name of their farm and sheep motif on a beautiful baby blue background.

Not to mention, the gift also came with a matching stationery card with a sweet note.  Then you open up this beautiful box to find these tiny hand-stitched booties inside.

This gift came to me in the mail, and the whole experience of opening it made my day!


GIFT #2:
Another amazingly talented friend of mine who happens to be both brilliant and incredibly creative gave us another wow-worthy gift.  Another DIY pro, my friend Nan made this beautiful patchwork baby blanket that looks like it should be in a Lily Pulitzer catalog with all the cheery bright colors.

She not only hand-crafted this sweet beauty, but also has her very own label sewn in the back corner.

How amazing!!  What a gift!

Snow Day!

Well, it appears that everything in Nashville has shut down for the day, well at least my yoga studio, my neighborhood lunch spot and every store and restaurant I follow on Twitter and Facebook that have announced their closing for the day.  So, I guess I am shut IN for the day.  Taking full advantage of this, I have changed back into my flannel PJ pants and bathrobe and have nestled up in front of the computer to take care of some work.  Easily distracted as I am, though, I now find myself scouring the net for more nursery design ideas.  I have cleared out my nursery room of old furniture now, and the next step is to paint (with only 12 weeks to go, it is about time).  Inspired by the pretty white snow outside, I am trying to find the perfect shade of white, ivory or beige to paint the room.

Here are a few shades I have found that I like:

Benjamin Moore White Dove (lots of designers use this one)

Benjamin Moore China White (another fave of designers)

Restoration Hardware Cloud White

Benjamin Moore Cloud White

And here are a few inspirational nursery pics I found yesterday poking around:

This is the Oeuf Sparrow crib.
It is so sleek and simple, eco-friendly, and not too girly
(in case we have another child down the road that happens to be a boy).
I like the all white simple bedding, but I would probably add a few touches of tan linen,
and maybe a pink (patterned?) throw blanket.

I am trying to decide whether or not it will be too crowded if I have a daybed/single bed in the baby's room.
I think it will come in quite handy.  I love how this one looks.

I love this look.  Again, clean and neutral.
The glider and pouf look like Serena and Lily, and I love the neutral chest for a changing table, as well as the contemporary art above the chest.  It is fun, but sophisticated.

This from the same nursery as above.  Again, a sleek simple crib, neutral bedding.  

Another simple crib with white and pink bedding.
The wall color looks pretty close to Pantone's color of the year for 2011: Honeysuckle.
Probably a little too bold for my taste, considering I will be spending a
large portion of my life in this room for the next few years to come.

Love this neutral look again.  Simple and elegant with the pretty bedding details.

This is the same Oeuf Sparrow Crib I mentioned above, but in grey.
I like this room for its organic look and still neutral colors, with pops of bright colors here and there.

Photo Credits:  I am pretty sure all of the pictures above except for the last two pics are from the Haute Happy Style Blog.  Second-to-last photo is from the Atlanta Homes and Lifestyle Blog.  The last pic I found on another interior design blog, Nursery Notations.  Thanks for the inspiration!

Well, that was fun.  Now back to work.