Framing Made Easy

Remember this post from Regan earlier this summer about this awesome Little Truths Studio watercolor alphabet poster? Well, being the good sister that she is, she ordered one for me for my (our) birthday. I knew right away that it was just the finishing touch for the bare wall in Baby McB's nursery. The colors and the message are a perfect match!

I've been wanting to try out Framebridge for a framing project, and this was my chance! You can take a photo of what you want framed and it loads into their app, showing you all your frame options. Once you've decided what you want (or you can have their experts chose for you), they send you a pre-paid package to mail in your print - or in my case, just the label, as I already had the envelope it arrived in. And just over a week later, I got back the final product.

I love the personal touches (like this handwritten note) that the company uses. They also included the hardware to hang the frame.

 

And there was a note that I forgot to take out when I sent them the print, that they made a special little envelope for on the back of the frame. Small details like these are what make me want to shop a retailer like this time and time again.

 

Thanks Framebridge! Now Baby McB can enjoy looking at this special print on her wall for years to come! Consider me a repeat customer. 

If you want to try it out for yourself, there was a card in my package for 15% off using code FRIEND15.

Art Fare

I recently had the honor of participating in a blog series on Art Fare. Jolie Goodson, the founder of Art Fare, is a super talented photographer and art lover.

In her words...
"Art Fare was created for all of us who want our homes to be amazing. We want to create beautiful homes that we love to be in and are proud of! When you visit Art Fare, I hope you leave feeling inspired. Like you just learned a new trick or thought of something you want to try in your own home."

Check out her dining room! Talk about cool! (You can find a tour of her home on Art Fare)

About a month ago, Jolie interviewed me in our home where I took her on a bit of a "tour" of our art and decor. My house is by no means "decorated", and I'm often quite critical of of it.

But my time with Jolie made me feel really good about our art and our decor because they are 100% a reflection of our lives and our interests. Everything has a story and has meaning, and at the end of the day, that is all that matters.

You can read Part 1 of the series here! And you can follow Art Fare on facebook.

C & C Around the House

Late last year I was desperately looking for a piece of art for our dining room.

I ended up finding this framed print, Orchid, by Kristy Gammill on One Kings Lane. And while it worked really well and I loved the pop of color in the otherwise sea of grey, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. But this was a good place holder until I found "the one." 

Fast forward to two weeks ago, and I came across this instagram post from Christopher David in Portland (Regan has blogged about them before). 

I was instantly drawn to the painting and sent my closest advisor to check it out in person. She called me from the shop and sent a photo of the full piece. What you can't see in the photo is the incredible texture. It is 13 layers of paint and also has pieces of sand and lava rock. A quick call to Cosmin, the artist and one of Christopher David's owners, and this baby was on its way from Portland, Oregon, to Washington, D.C. 

We hung it last night and I can't be more pleased. 

If you live in the D.C. area and are interested in the Kristy Gamill piece, I'm considering selling it. E-mail me at cardicouture@gmail.com for more info. 

C&C Around the House

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I've recently made some changes in the Mini Fashionista's room. She has been in a toddler bed since she was 16 months old, and while it was still a great bed for her to sleep in, it wasn't quite big enough for family story time or middle of the night wake ups. We have a pretty strict rule in our house that the Mini does NOT sleep in our bed. In fact, I can count the number of times she has on one hand. For that reason, there are times when I have had to stay in her bed with her in the middle of the night to get her to fall back asleep. Two months ago, after spending an hour in her bed in the middle of the night, I decided it was time for a big bed. If not for her, then for me!

You may remember what the Mini's room looked like, but if not, here is a photo from the post I did before she was born. Quite ironically, it was exactly three years ago (post here). Where does the time go?

We have actually made a number of changes to the room in the last three years. The rug has been replaced (it shed like a Golden Retriever), the crib became a toddler bed, the room has been filled with toys and books and the wall decals are gone. The Mini Fashionista found removing them to be a great form of entertainment during her naps. So much for hours of hard work to place them. 

After the removal of the wall decals, we had two maps framed by Christopher David (the same store that helped with my bedroom picture wall). We hope to share our love for travel with the Mini, so these maps serve both form and function. 

Here is the room before the arrival of the new bed! As a side note...if anyone is interested in buying the toddler bed/crib sheet set, I'm getting ready to sell it at a consignment sale for $35 (sheet, pillowcase, duvet cover and crib/bed skirt).  It's custom made Amy Butler fabric and in great shape. You can email cardicouture@gmail.com.

Here it is after!

The bed is from Room & Board (The Piper Bed) and is red with a powder coated finish. The wood is a maple veneer. The sheets are from Garnet Hill (Dot to Dot Percale Bedding). If you are looking for nice, well priced sheets, I highly suggest checking out their site.

Do you think she likes it?

Wall Candy

Last year we added our first piece of art to the living room by Irene Wood.

If you follow the blog you know not only is she a talented artist, but also makes beautiful jewelry. But today we aren't talking arm candy, it's all about the wall candy. This month, Irene is offering 50% off her artwork! This is your chance to spruce up your walls with one of her incredible pieces. If we didn't already own two, here are the ones I'd be contemplating. 

C & C Around the House

If you read the blog, you know we are big fans of Irene Wood and her incredible jewelry. What you may not know is that Irene is also an artist. A fellow Whitman College graduate, I was first introduced to her artwork by Whittie and friend Kate of Kate Collins Interiors over two years ago. I immediately fell in love with her work and knew that some day I'd have one of her pieces in my home. Checking back regularly to see what she was working on, last year I came upon this piece on her website. It was love at first site. And we finally had a home to hang it in. But the 4' x 4' dimensions weren't quite right for the space (it's still for sale). 

Flora's Wasteland

After a few emails back and forth, and convincing Dr. B that a painting should be a first anniversary present (paper...canvas...they're basically the same thing), we'd commissioned our own Irene Wood. 

We picked it up on our first football trip to New York and it's now in our living room - the first anything to be hung on our walls since we moved in over a year ago. And I can't think of a better first in honor of our first anniversary. Now on to all the other walls. 

If you want your own Irene Wood (who wouldn't) she currently has an amazing collection of paintings available for a range of prices. Here are a few of my favorites. 

Where the Trees Meet the Sea

Bathed in Fog

The Silence

Grotto