Vanilla Bean Designs

New site and Free Valentine Photo Cards...

Redirect your bookmarks...  http://www.vanillabeandesigns.com will be NO MORE on February 18th.  We can now be found at

  http://www.vanillabean-designs.blogspot.com   ... with a fresh new spin.

Laura, my creative partner, has found a home in another of her creative hobbies.  Check out her work at http://www.laurawatsonphotography.com

She's incredible.  If you need portraits... and happen to be in the Houston area (or maybe Austin if you ask REALLY, REALLY nice)... she's your gal.

Although, I'll miss the lending of her creative talents to VBD... I'm quite enjoying the perks of having a photographer best friend. 

I'm companion oriented, by nature, and never like to do anything alone... so...

enter Suzanne, my devoted big sister,  BFF, kindred spirit... and scary, party hat wearing clown with the blue wig.(... circa 1986.)

We found a common creative interest when searching for  birth announcements and holiday photo cards, only to find the cute ones where WAY too expensive and the affordable ones were SOOO not cute or original. 

Short story, shorter...

vanillabean-designs will now be offering a selection of digital photo cards, invitations, and announcements.

Visit our new 'bean blog'... http://www.vanillabean-designs.blogspot.com ... to see them.

Just in time for Valentine's day... we're offering some designs for you to download FREE.

Just add your digital photo and have printed at your favorite spot.

Snag the free files at our new site...  

http://www.vanillabean-designs.blogspot.com

of the template downloads of these super cute VBD valentines:

              

  

What do these 4 things have in common?

 

They are all a part of VanillaBean's next collection... 'Black & White and Red All Over'.  Stay tuned for its reveal next Monday and pass the time by enjoying the crafty commentary on the 'bean blog' this Wednesday and Friday.

DRESSing for summer

Every time my mother-in-law visits, she comes bearing gifts for the kids. This last time was no exception, and I was so excited by what Kate unwrapped. I had seen the "pillowcase" dresses around, but these are different...trust me. They have the cutest, unique touches, and Kate has received more compliments on them then anything she's ever worn. The quality is awesome - they've already been through the wash and wear of a toddler, and they must be super comfortable because Kate doesn't want to take them off. They are the perfect dress for summer. All of these reasons are why we're excited to have Carol as a guest at the VanillaBean Etsy store. You'll find her dresses there - they come in a variety of styles and sizes, and they're very affordable. So go check them out!! Buy one for your daughter, grand-daughter or a friend. We've also uploaded a number of our art pieces to the Etsy store. 

Aren't my daughter and her best friend adorable in their "best friend" dresses?!?

  

Drum roll please...

The winners, courtesy of random.org, of our first ever VanillaBean Designs giveaway are...

let me pull a Ryan Seacrest and first tell you how much we appreciate everyone who entered. We are honored that you all wanted to bring a little piece of 'beany' goodness into your homes.

 

Now, without further delay...

Congratulations to:

Kathy, the new owner of 'Stars and Stripes'

and

Stephanie, the new owner of "Alphabet Soup"

 

Bookmark us for FUTURE VanillaBean giveaways and stay tuned to the 'BEAN blog' as we continue sharing our attempts at CREATIVITY in MOTHERHOOD ...like 20 things to do with those formula cans BESIDES putting them in a landfill.

Here is a little teaser for Monday's new product unveiling:

Creativity in Motherhood...

is something that we are constantly seeking...usually unsuccessfully, even though we consider ourselves creative people.   After enjoying a nice relaxing time of focusing on our families and recuperation, VanillaBean Designs is back with a fresh new take on the 'bean blog'. Both of us keep personal blogs with many a mom story... so we've decided to make this one all about creativity in motherhood and our quest to achieve it. Between kids' books, arts and crafts, cooking projects, homemade toys, and home solutions... we think we'll have plenty to write about, whether it be our triumphs or failures.  We'll still be bringing our new designs to the bean boutique, of course! Our hope is that we can juggle an online business and become better (more creative) moms through it all.

Join us tomorrow for our first attempt!

Here are the 'bean babies' at a wedding over the break... perhaps there will be another wedding in their future someday.

Custom Creations

One of the best things about being brand new in this venture is that we've been able to devote our time to some special requests.

One required that we tackle the sports-themed  bedroom.  Given freedom and the colors 'off' red and navy... the possibilities were virtually endless. This was the product...

 

Inspired by the Minnesota Twins baseball stadium, Easton's stadium features a city skyline, colorful crowd, and his very own name on the scoreboard on this 24x30 canvas.

 

 

Another special request was the customization of our 'birdie laundry' design to accent bedding of purples and greens on larger 8x10 canvases for a special baby shower gift.

The beauty of it all is that each Vanilla Bean design is made by hand, especially for you... so color changes, personalization with names or monograms, and re-sizing to fit your needs are easy ways to customize our art.  If you don't see the perfect art in our 'bean boutique'...keep in mind that we're always willing to try to work with you to make sure your little one's nest--- is cuter than the rest.

Get ready, Get sETSY...

Our ETSY store should be up and running tomorrow! We're excited about another avenue to sell our artwork, and we love supporting other Etsy artists. Be watching for features on some of our favorite Etsy stores. 

Just the Beginning

We can hardly believe that it was 7 years ago, when we stepped onto that dorm shuttle bus and into one of the greatest friendships of our lives.  It's funny to think of us then- staying up late to talk about clothes and boys, napping all day and eating everything in sight... and now- calling each other to compare diaper disasters, weight gain and commiserate about how we never get a full night's sleep.

Times have changed... but, we're too young to be this boring.

So, we are starting this little project as a creative outlet for us both. We figure... if we wanted colorful, original art for our little ones' rooms-- other moms might too. 

Thus begins our newest adventure...

surviving motherhood. new discoveries. and thoughtful inspirations.

Set your bookmarks and join us in the journey.