Real talk. I am mildly obsessed with Christmas. I love everything about it. Well, almost everything. Sadly, through the years I’ve realized how horrible I am at giving gifts. Actually, I’m outright atrocious. I get so stressed about gift giving all year long that I procrastinate, and end up getting my loved ones something they don’t even need or want. 

I mean, you know you are pretty bad when your family sends you a list with direct links to exactly what they want making it impossible to mess up… or is it? 

House portrait commission 2019

But have no fear. I’ve discovered a secret! I am going to share with all you non-gift giving love language type peeps out there the inside scoop to giving the BEST Christmas gifts OF ALL TIME!

Here’s the secret…

Are you ready???

Personalized and/or customized art!

Wait, what? How? Stick around and I’m going to share with you how something as simple as custom art can knock out ALL your major gift giving dilemmas this holiday season, starting with dear old mom and dad. 

MOM AND DAD 

Okay. If there is anyone whose going to love some custom art from you, it’s going to be your mom. I mean, she’s the saint of a woman who wore those macaroni necklaces every mother’s day and showed off your glorious finger-painting front and center on the fridge museum. 

So, what kind of art would mom and pop want? Maybe you just got married. Get a portrait of y’all painted and it will be a sure fire way to make mama cry tears of happiness. I promise. Or, maybe you just had a baby. Get a baby portrait (FOR YOURSELF, YOU GO GIRL!) and then get that portrait printed on mugs for mom & dad. Or, if your parents are fancy like mine and they just bought a new house, give them a sweet sentimental portrait of their old family home next to their new one! (Ok. I’m stealing this idea, but it’s not really stealing because it’s my idea) Finally, give them a portrait of that special vacation spot y’all LOVE to go to every summer. 

Ok. Got an idea? Great! Who’s next?

SISTER AND BROTHER

Pet portrait commission 2019

Your siblings. Man, they can be tricky. You have to really know what they are into. I have a very hard time gifting for my sister because, I kid you not, she is the WORLD’S BEST GIFT GIVER. Every SINGLE time I get something from her I just know my gift will fail in comparison. But, she too, is a saint of a woman who puts a smile on her face and loves it anyway. Bless her! One thing I do know about my sis is that she is the best mama bear to her fur baby. So, I’d gift her a pet portrait because I know she’s going to love that! Really. She’d love anything if it mentioned dogs, but her specific pup is going to knock it out of the park! Maybe your sibling isn’t into pets. You can get their favorite quote or flowers painted. Or maybe they just had a wedding, graduation, or baby that they want to celebrate. These are all great options to shower your built-in, best friends with. It’s something totally unique and personalized for Christmas!

Thank you, NEXT.

BEST FRIEND AND CO-WORKER

custom monogram gold foil printed on tote bag.

Your BFF and co-worker. I mean, you have to be pretty close to your co-worker to get them a Christmas gift, so we will just call them work BFF.  Or maybe you had to get a white elephant gift (My personal FAV). Check this out. Any custom portrait can be turned into a plethora of super cool items like, mugs, tea towels, shirts, tote bags, or even a fun Christmas card. This is just to name a few ideas. I also have some pretty cute custom made gifts in my shop! Check them out below.

Moving right along, 

GRANDPARENTS

Wedding portrait commission 2019

Literally, you could get grandparents ANYTHING mentioned above and they will love it. Pet portrait, baby portraits, wedding portraits, portraits made into calendars, tea towels, pillows, blankets, mugs, you name it they will LOVE that you thought of them. This year, my grandparents-in-law lost their sweet puppy Honey and I’m going to surprise them with a pet portrait of her. (I do hope they don’t see this, because it will ruin the surprise) 

Finally, the one we have all been waiting for….

YOU

A 2019 child portrait commission put on a mug as a gift for grandparents.

Treat yo-self girl! You DID just knock out all the major gifts for this year’s Christmas gift spectacular and you didn’t even break a sweat. Ok, but seriously. Let’s be honest. If you are celebrating any life changing event, then your closest loved ones want to celebrate that with you. Say you just got married. Get yourself a wedding portrait and then get it printed on mugs, art prints, or pillows and give it to someone who would also love to see that artwork. Maybe you just had a baby. Trust me, grandparents and great-grandparents WANT ALL THE BABY FACE MUGS. And if none of that is your cup of tea and you just want a little something to brighten up a difficult holiday, because lets be real, sometimes the holidays aren’t so merry for everyone, get yourself something to remind you of the true meaning of Christmas; the celebration of our King Jesus being born! 

And because y’all are still here and I love you so much,

BONUS - NEIGHBORS 

Who doesn’t love a box filled with homemade Christmas cookies? Show some neighborly love and wrap those packages of delicious treats with my brand spanking new Christmas cookie gift tag. COMING TO THE SHOP NOVEMBER 16th (AKA MY BIZ BIRTHDAY).

The end. Just kidding! I have two big announcements to let you know about right here, right now, because I love you… 

1. My business’s FIRST birthday is THIS MONTH. In fact, it’s THIS WEEKEND! What, the what!!! I have no idea how that went so fast, but you better believe I’m celebrating in a BIG way, including the launch of my Christmas Cookie Gift Tags.

2. Black Friday is also this month and it’s on the day my husband turns thirty, flirty and thriving. WOOT WOOT!

So, because I’m feeling extra generous from all this gift giving talk and I have so many AMAZING things to celebrate this month, I’m offering some pretty awesome discounts and deals to my email subscriber list. If you aren’t apart of the club yet, DO NOT FRET. Just sign up on my website.

If you are at all considering a custom portrait from me for this holiday season, you are going to want these discounts! 

ALSO, quick reminder that the Christmas custom order cut off date is DECEMBER 2nd, and I am only taking 10. I repeat, TEN orders guaranteed by Christmas. If you want more details and to secure your spot click the button below.

Happy shopping everyone. Wishing you a very merry Christmas!

XO,

Marie

2018 was a year of BIG changes. For starters I had a baby! Not only did my body change and then change again, but my whole world changed. I went from selfishly thinking about MY needs and MY wants, to selflessly waking up every hour for midnight feedings. Totally sleep deprived. Hurting. Hungry. Basically, I had a lot of needs, but so did my son. And for a while, I was the only person who could help him. 

Baby David posing for his four month old pictures

Besides bringing a bouncing baby boy into the world (literally, he bounces all the time), I also changed my perspective on a lot of things. Especially in my time. I realize now more than ever, how important the first five years of ones life can be. I realized I only get a short amount of time to influence my son before he goes off to school and is exposed to other influences. Some good, and some bad. I knew I wanted to make an impact on David beforehand, but what would that be and what would it look like? 

Going back to work was a struggle for multiple reasons, even though I worked from home. First, I really didn’t care for my job. The stay at home mom life became oh so appealing to me during my twelve week hiatus and I was truly devastated to go back. Secondly, it seriously felt as though NOTHING got done while I was gone for 12 weeks. So, after just two days of being back in the grind and taking care of a fussy newborn full time, I knew something needed to change. It wasn’t fair to David that I had to devote so much time and attention to work. It also wasn’t fair to work that I was using their time to take care of my son. Something had to give, but what?

I was stubbornly defiant on putting David in daycare, because I decided I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my baby. My husband was also against that idea. Truth be told, I was never going to quit the job that allowed me to stay at home with my little man and make a consistent paycheck. Even though it was tough, it was truly the best of both worlds. So, I decided to leave it to the Lord, I told Him my heart, and He made the mountains move. 

In November of 2018, I was apart of a mass lay-off on my team three months after my return to work and I found myself excited for the change. I knew this was all God’s doing. He was calling me to my dream and I was 100% on board.  I mean, I  have been talking about starting my own calligraphy/stationery business for over a year, and I finally got the push I needed to start it. 

Pretty Envelope Calligraphy

Now looking forward to 2019, I have decided to pick a word to focus on. An overarching theme for my new year. Instead of a resolution, I’m going to focus on my word. Now, for the big reveal, my word for this year is: Discover.

The dictionary defines discover as: to see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or gain sight. 

And I have a lot of learning to do. Where the heck do you even start when building a business and building a brand? I want to discover who I am as an artist? Who I am as a mother and wife? Who I am as a business owner/stay at home mom? I want to discover more and more about the wonderful God who gave me this amazing opportunity to follow my dreams.

This year will be a huge discovery for me. I will be stepping out in faith in a lot of areas. I need to discover what motivates my art and what things inspire me to sit and paint. I need to discover how to run my business. I need to discover how to parent while starting a business. So many exciting, slightly terrifying, ultimately rewarding things lie ahead of me in 2019, and I am so excited to share all of my discoveries with you throughout the year!

A custom wedding venue painting I did in December.

So, what are some business things planned for this year?

1. Further develop my website

2. Create an online shop of new prints and fun things!

3. Create new wedding invitation suites for my wonderful clients

4. Practice Practice Practice

5. Figure out the perfect work/mom life balance

Tell me, What word did you pick for 2019 and why?