All American Kid – New Collection

We have a new collection on Frecklebox just in time for July 4th or anytime you want to be patriotic. It is based on our fireworks design collection. We’ve also used it on paper partyware. Who doesn’t love a red, white and blue party theme! Besides the...

Ice Tea and Simple Syrups

As soon as the weather starts warming up, I like to always have a jug of iced tea in the frig. I use a large mason jar and make a batch a couple of times a week. Several years ago when we were vacationing in Sedona and the Grand Canyon, I had Agave Nectar at a health...

Grad Gift Ideas

It’s that time of year when at least someone you know is graduating from elementary school, middle school, high school or college. My son is graduating from high school and Erin’s daughter is graduating from college, I guess we are getting old!! We are...

New Collection of Doodles

I’m working on a new collection today that includes a bunch of doodles we did for a corporate client. The client didn’t end up using them so why let them go to waste. I’ve just started tweaking them for licensing. I think I will bring this one home...

Planting a Vegetable Garden

The last few weeks we’ve been doing a lot of gardening. I am an amateur gardener at best. I try lots of stuff and see what works. A few years ago we took out our kids play structure and replaced it with garden boxes, a bench and a fire pit. We were totally...

NEW Birth Announcements

We’ve been busy lately with getting ready for SURTEX and designing new collections, but we are always designing new stationery throughout the year. Here are a few of our new birth announcements that will be coming out shortly. These designs will be on...

Summer Fling

The end of school and start of summer is so close! This last month of madness when every school play, soccer tournament, finals and reports are all due gives way to the relaxing, lazy days of summer. I can’t wait. I know there are parents that love when their...

What’s New Wednesday – Christmas in May!

Silhouettes and animal prints are totally on trend and we combined them in this sassy holiday collection, Wild Holiday. It was licensed for greeting cards by Design, Design but it has a lot of potential for holiday decor as well. Here are a few of the items we thought...

Mother’s Day Recipes

We always get together for Mother’s Day – we have to squeeze it in between soccer games, lacrosse games and life in general and it may not always be the exact day, but you always have to celebrate mom! I have a few favorite recipes that I make that are...

#YOLO

Have you ever visited the site Damn You Auto-Correct, if not head on over there ASAP! It is hilarious. A great way to get your day going or perk up an already bad day. I’ve included a couple examples of the cleaner versions, but be warned auto-correct can be...

Getting Ready for SURTEX

SURTEX is just around the corner, May 19-21, 2013. We have lots of new stuff that we are getting ready for our agent to show, including an updated Brand Book, home decor, dishes, new design collections and greeting cards. Sea Breeze, is a new coastal collection that...

Funny Ass Shit

Warning if you are easily offended stop reading now. I rarely re-post stuff from other people or stuff I find on the internet but I had to give it a go this time. You may have already read the rant by the sorority sister but if you haven’t you should check it...

What’s New Wednesday – Sign of the times

We were recently asked to submit designs for a sign company. Our agent will show our presentation to multiple manufacturers and often we don’t hear anything for quite a while. It can be frustrating and difficult to wait since we are so impatient! I was the type...

A lesson in Typography

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. I’m going to date myself here but when I was in college studying graphic design, we still went to typesetters to set our type. I graduated in 1990, and computer typesetting...

Friday Finds – Swimsuits!

Since it is so nice and sunny around here and next week promises temperatures in the high 80’s, I thought we should bust out some favorite swimsuits. I always love the way swim suits look in magazines and catalogs but alas, rarely do I find one that I love. I...

Graduation Party Inspiration Board

Looking for a fun theme for you Graduation Party? You can’t go wrong with a Luau theme! Always easy to find decorations and party supplies for this theme, plus some great food ideas. My son and niece are graduating this year and we are hosting a joint party. To...

What’s New Wednesday – Birds?

Nesting Design Collection Since we are licensed artists we always have to be aware of the trends and what new trends will be hot. But we always have to be a year or two ahead of the game since most of our artwork will take a year or two to be licensed, manufactured...

Got Zucchini?

Last week I bought a bunch of zucchini. It’s one of those veggies that the whole family loves. Normally I slice it thin and just cook it with a little olive oil. This time I decided to make zucchini chips and Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Muffins. Sorry no pictures of...

Let it Rain Fabric

Our newest fabric, Let it Rain, is now available. For this collection we combined rain boots and umbrellas in bright and sassy colors. Here is a link to the quilt pattern seen above. I’ve always loved patterned rain boots, unfortunately I’ve never needed a...

The Hand Written Thank You

Have you seen the movie The Jerk? There is one scene in the movie where Steve Martin is super excited about getting the new phone book, see it here. This is how I feel when I am getting the mail. I love getting letters and packages from people it is so fun. I know we...

Free personalized Sheep? April Fools!

One of our clients is Frecklebox.com. Besides designing a lot of licensed products for their site we also do all of their marketing. That includes all of their email blasts. This one is live today and it was one of our favorites to work on. Hurry up and head on over...

What is Equality?

e·qual·i·ty 1. the state or quality of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability. Isn’t it time we stopped arguing and do the right thing? We have a history of denying rights to citizens, let’s take a step in the right...

Holi – the festival of colors

As an artist and designer, color is one of my favorite things. The right color combinations make all the difference in a design collection, a room in your house and even your clothing. Today is Holi, the festival of colors. It is mostly celebrated in India and Nepal...

Farm Fresh

The first day of Spring was March 20! It has been sunny and warm around here and with the warmer weather the Farmer’s Markets start opening up. Some are open year round but I hate the thought of walking around in the rain to buy my fruits and veggies. But a...

Graduation Invitations and Announcements

It’s almost the end of the school year, time sure flew by! This year I have a graduating senior. Besides figuring out college, senior ball, and graduation parties, I also need to get my act together on his announcement/invitation before it gets too late. My...