stewart & james holiday gift-away :: WEEK THREE

it is the beginning of the end 2009. officially time to start thinking about and planning for the year 2010!

this week we are as excited as can be to have the most adorable 2010 odd birds of l.a. calendar from Krank Press to gift to one very lucky reader to helpfully hope organize their coming year - in style. (this gift-away is becoming a bit of an occupational hazard - i desperately want every. single. thing we are gifting away!)



Krank Press is run by the delightful elinor - or nor (love that) - who, with a particular affection for zoology, the history or los angeles an iconic American graphics, creates these wonderfully zany printed goods.



be sure to check out all of her other super cool inventory in her etsy shop (who does not have someone on their Christmas list that would not absolutely adore anything from here?!)



to qualify, please visit nor's etsy shop (and her blog to offer her a lil lovin') and return here to leave a comment about how these odd birds would brighten your days in the coming year.

comments must be submitted by 11:00 p.m. on Thursday (for real this time), DECEMBER (WHOA!) 3. The winner will be randomly selected and announced here on Friday!

GOOD LUCK!

xx

photography yanked (with) permission from Nor's etsy shop and blog - thank you, dear!

post by arre

i choosed him

Can you believe it’s that time of year again?!  Christmas season is upon us! And yes – we already have our tree.  While we were decorating yesterday I was taking a picture of molly hanging ornaments, when MJ stuck this ornament out in front of the camera…and gasped with a huge “look mom!”

 

I told her it was an ornament that Jim & I got the year we married.  She carried it around (very carefully after i told her it was breakable in as many emphasized syllables as i could) and a little while later she was looking at it turning it over & over in her little hands and said

“mama, I’m so glad you and daddy choosed each other”

me too mare :)  she thinks it through doesn’t she?

post by kristen

UPDATE ON THIS WEEK'S GIFT AWAY {Chocolate Butterbean}

***update***
We're too excited about this one and are afraid the Holiday is keeping as many people as we know want to win this from having a chance. So, we are extending this week's offer through next Tuesday. Now, comments are to be sumbitted by 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 1. We will randomly draw and announce a winner later that day.

Happy Thanksgiving!
xx


If you've yet to plan a New Year's Eve party or are already thinking of celebrations to come, this week's for you...



The adorable Joni, from Chocolate Butterbean, is gifting a set of (up to 50!!!!!!!) custom, flat printed on linen cardstock, party or (wedding or baby) shower invitations or (engagement or birth) announcements ... or whatever you want to invite people to ... to this week's very lucky winner!



GAH i so wish I could win this one! Not only do I love invitations (and stationary and business cards and calendars and... pretty much any sort of printed anything. oh yeh, and parties!) but I particularly loooooooooooove the wonderfully dreamy creations Joni comes up with (be sure to check them all out here & here. she's not only a printer).



To qualify to win this week's gift-away, visit her site (if you are feeling extra kind, leave a comment on her blog too!) then pop back over here to day dream (in comment-form, of course) about the soiree you'll host if invitations at her hand end up in yours!






Good Luck!


xx

A wildly talented illustrator, Joni, is currently working as a designer tending her multi-faceted business where she brands, prints, paints and creates whatever *delights* her clientele. Be sure to follow her here

offer expires June 2010

photography courtesy of chocolate butterbean
post by arre

OMG! Ruthie on d*s

Ruthie is on d*s today!



wow!



cannot.

stop.

looking...


photos by reid rolls
post by arre

a whole lot of thankfulness

is what i got ;)
Stephanie Nielson from the NieNie Dialogues was on the Today Show yesterday morning telling her story of a horrific plane crash she and her husband survived a little over a year ago.    They are an amazing inspiration and reminder that we are not always promised tomorrow.  They have 4 young children and on Stephanie’s blog she tells her story of her long road to recovery, her day to day life with her kids, and how grateful she is for life.  As she said on the Today Show … the blog is her therapy.  What is therapy for her is a wonderful reminder to her thousands of blog readers to be THANKFUL for what we have.  Here’s a little of what my family is thankful for…
MJ: “I am thankful for my sisters, and my mom, and my dad and God”
Molly: “I thankful for my mom” (i promise, no bribing)
As for me, I am thankful for these three…

and that they are healthy, happy children.  I am also thankful for my husband, a wonderful family, good friends, and all of our health and happiness.
Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you have a holiday filled with love, thankfulness, laughter, family & friends.
post by kristen

a perfect pear ... or two

aren't these an absolute delight?!

but the question remains... to admire or devour?




Amy Atlas via Black*Eiffel

post by arre

since the show

we haven't only been coordinating gift-aways, we've also been unexpectedly busy (and happy to be so) readying frames for orders we took at the show!

we are still so pumped over the wild success this year's holiday market was and will never be able to express enough gratitude to everyone who supports us (whether they were actually at this most recent show or not ;0) )

as a result of such success, we have started an unplanned production that we are racing to complete before the holidays. not only did we take quite a few (unplanned!) orders at the show - but we've also had such unanticipated attention since the show that we deemed new inventory necessary between now and the fast approaching gift-giving season! so, to those of you who have inquired, there is hope! we have the (little bit of) remaining inventory on etsy and will put what comes from this current production on there as soon as it is complete.


this cutie is on etsy now

we've spent that last couple of weeks coordinating orders, gathering wood and meeting to make sure everything is in place.



On Thursday of last week, the production (finally!) began.

we cannot wait to share what's coming next with all. of. you!

xx


post (and photography) by arre

stewart & james holiday gift-away :: WEEK TWO

If you've yet to plan a New Year's Eve party or are already thinking of celebrations to come, this week's for you...



The adorable Joni, from Chocolate Butterbean, is gifting a set of (up to 50!!!!!!!) custom, flat printed on linen cardstock, party or (wedding or baby) shower invitations or (engagement or birth) announcements ... or whatever you want to invite people to ... to this week's very lucky winner!



GAH i so wish I could win this one! Not only do I love invitations (and stationary and business cards and calendars and... pretty much any sort of printed anything. oh yeh, and parties!) but I particularly loooooooooooove the wonderfully dreamy creations Joni comes up with (be sure to check them all out here & here. she's not only a printer).



To qualify to win this week's gift-away, visit her site (if you are feeling extra kind, leave a comment on her blog too!) then pop back over here to day dream (in comment-form, of course) about the soiree you'll host if invitations at her hand end up in yours!



This week's rules: comments must be submitted (here) by 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 27 (i know, i keep breaking the original rules. this week's extenuating circumstance is hopefully obvious ;) ) we'll announce the winner that afternoon.



Good Luck!


xx

A wildly talented illustrator, Joni, is currently working as a designer tending her multi-faceted business where she brands, prints, paints and creates whatever *delights* her clientele. Be sure to follow her here

offer expires June 2010

photography courtesy of chocolate butterbean
post by arre

hair pins :: ruthie {lindsey} sayles

Ruthie {Lindsey} Sayles may, quite possibly, be the most beloved + coolest + liveliest + sweetest + most adorable girl I've ever met. I remember being overwhelmed by all of these facets of her when we first met (how many?!) years ago and am reminded over and over again of how very true they are. (since both her adorableness and liveliness are apparent in the photo above and her sweetness, indescribable, the best i can do is offer you a hint or two (or three) about how cool she is: 1) she lives in Nashville *sigh*. 2) her husband is a (literal) rock star (hear this? that's him on the drums. on the new Norah Jones album!). 3) she and her home were recently photographed by Reid Rolls. 4 (oops! okay, four hints) her (incredible) house is going to be featured on d*s this week!!! - whew! oh, and for a picture of just how beloved she is, check this and this out.)



In the midst of year plagued with despair (see last link above if you haven't already), Ruthie has not only held strong to her faith and vitality, she has also inadvertently found yet another way to shine.

When she decided, or rather, happened, to start creating hair pins out of vintage findings, there was never any way they were going to be anything but lovely in every way. "I wanted one for myself and so I just tried it out," says Sayles. "The one I ended up making got lots and lots of positive feedback so I made a few for friends and it sort of went from there!" Made of found jewels from the 1940s, '50s & '60s (and sometimes feathers too!), each pin is unique; some make a subtle statement, others undeniably rock.







If you live in the Nashville or Baton Rouge areas, these darlings aren't hard to come by. They are currently be sold at Fruition Salon in Nashville, Emmaline Boutique in Franklin TN and Grandmother's Buttons in St. Francisville LA, where, as far as I can tell, only precious people come from. She's currently making it easy for anyone however, by taking orders by email. To deck yourself out just in time for holiday soiree-ing, contact Ruthie at

ruthiesayles{at}gmail{dot}com

And to keep up with Ruthie and all of her fabulousness, visit her blog!



photography by Reid Rolls

post by arre

and the winner is…..

send us your mailing address (to stewartandjames(at)gmail(dot)com)  natalie!! you are the new owner of a Stewart & James frame! 

Thank you thank you thank you to all of those that entered and left so many helpful and entertaining comments!! Check back on Monday for week 2 of Stewart & James holiday gift-away!

 

post by kristen

how cute is...

Bennett?!

Though - or maybe because - my world is full of little girls - I am super softie for a baby boy!

Bennett's been a s&j baby since day one. His sweet mama is a wonderful supporter of us and has his (precious) nursery decked out with our frames.

I always love seeing our work in a home ...

...especially when it looks like they were made for the space where they end up!


how sweet are these little hands and feet?!

Bennett was born a looker...

and some things never change

Thank you Ashley for sharing these precious photos with us and for supporting us always!

xx

post by arre

stewart & james holiday gift-away :: week ONE

***update: this gift-away is now closed. check back this afternoon when we announce the winner!***

to start things off, we are gifting an 8x10 reclaimed beaded board s t e w a r t & j a m e s picture frame!

don't be alarmed, we do have other sponsors :)






to qualify, please visit our web site and leave a comment HERE (just in case there is any confusion) telling us one or all of the following:



-what will you frame if you are selected?!

-what would you like to see stewart & james create in the future?

-how could our web site be better ;) ?

remember, you have to leave a comment to win. since we are off to a late start we are extending this week's deadline for comments to be submitted to 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 20. the winner will be randomly selected so your comment doesn't have to be the best - it just has to be!

thank you for participating! good luck!


xx

post (& photography, obviously) by arre

stewart & james holiday gift-away

in honor of the season of giving we excited to announce that we are kicking off a seven-week series of gifting some of our favorite things to some of our favorite people: YOU!

here's how it will work: on Monday of each week (except for this one - because Monday's gone)we will preview the week's gift. readers will have until 11 p.m. on Thursday leave a comment. From the comments, we will randomly select a winner on Friday and reveal them then.

all you have to do to (have a chance at) win(ning) is leave a comment. how hard is that?! hope to hear from you soon and good luck!

post by arre

mills

this child is happy. and it warms my heart! She is so ticklish...laughs when i put her clothes on, laughs when pick her up, smiles an insane amount. Here is molly making her laugh...see if you can listen without cracking a smile..it's impossible!

post by kristen

stewart & james holiday show

wow! to say our show was a success would simply be an understatement. never have we been so overwhelmed by the support our community has for stewart & james. thank you Albany for loving us so.



of course, the success was far from the only thing that made this particular show wonderful...

a few other elements that made the weekend lovely in every way:


our inventory! we seriously had some of my favorite things we've ever made (see the top two in the photo above? still really having non-buyer's remorse - happens to me all the time).




the good company we keep: Lisa Lanier's holiday art above; Bellum Designs handcrafted jewelry by Abby Barber below






our precious mascot!



rockin' photographs to make our frames look even better - courtesey of the smitten girls



the drying branches from my oak hydrangea, which were called a "cute little tree" ha!



having a reason to bust out Christmas decor



the fact (because it is a fact, right) that the smitten photograph in the photograph above looks like a country music album cover.



the many (and mini) party-goers that filled our space and time





the sign (at the top of the picture above)! it is one of the earliest efforts made by stewart & james. it is pitiful in every way but it makes me smile.



the lovin' the pink frames finally got! (not only did they sell out, we have quite a few orders for them!)



the pieces of local history that the frames pictured above are.



breakfast treats for our early birds (which i was not counted among)



the celebration Kristen and i had at the end of Friday's show! (seriously, every time my phone rang I told the caller I would have to call them back because we were celebrating. full disclosure, this only happened once. and the caller was Matt)

and evidently, we weren't the only ones having our own little party:




as always, having the opportuniy to see our hard work as finished as can be and interacting with our customers tops the list of reasons why we loved this show and all shows. Thanks again Albany, can't wait until next year!

xx

post by arre
photography by kristen (and mary james and molly, evidently)