The talented Susan Woodard was able to paint our honeymoon cottage we cheesily like to call it…the house was the best rent house ever..i found it in the classifieds..it was too good to be true..the landlords were precious and we loved living there..i was so excited to give this to my husband.

You definetely want to check out Susan’s work..she is so nice and talented.  Her work would make the perfect Valentine or Mother’s Day gift so start thinking ahead.

What was your favorite gift to GIVE this year??

 I love this artist from here I first fell in love with this print but now i think the milton above may be my fave in her collection. Such amazing talent on etsy!

I feel excited about 2012, do you?! Tell me abotu your hopes and dreams for the new year!  

QUICK QUESTION..if anyone is reading from the Houston area let me know if you are aware of any fun kid events this week…i would love to take Drew to the museum or a performance.

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A friend of mine recently ordered cards from minted.com and i fell in love… they have some great designs..i love the variety and ways they will customize..if you a tutor, seamstress, SAHM, whatever..they have a card for you!  When i was a kid i loved to play store/shop and make my own business cards so no surpise these float my boat!

You are good enough, you are smart enough, doggonit you are professional and bona fide.. you deserve a business card!  ENJOY! This also would make such a great gift for someone you want to encourage!

But decorating with photos is not a NO FAIL topic..you can make mistakes..not to offend or throw anyone off BUT there can be too many photos and frames and it can get crazy.  It can be a constant nag to a mom feeling like she needs to update photos or cull etc. My advice, BE INTENTIONAL. Plan and order and frames photos and also embrace the photo book which I know Allison is doing more and more of for coffeetables and keepsakes.  Last but not least, have fun!

These are some of my most common questions from clients when decorating with photos:

1. Should all photos be black and white?   The answer is yes and no.  Decide on a look and go with it.  Think about what kind of person you are when it comes to decorating and what appeals to you or bothers you.  I like a crazy mix.  But if you are more type A or want a fail proof look, stick to all black and white, similar frames and even consider totaly symmetry.

But the truth is, color can be gorgeous?  My kids are blonde and blue eyed but I know their eyes may change and hair darken..i want to catch that peachy cream skin and blondeness the way it is NOW so i have started buying more color prints.

2. To mat or not to mat? We will talk about this another time but i think it always looks good on a collage wall to have one or two closeup dramatic shots or one portrait that is large and NOT matted or throw in a colorful mat..i will show example on another post soon.

3. Large sizes??? I say go big or go home.  Of course i am all talk, sort of…I mean when you are in love with your baby and the photographer is amazing like Allison or my friend Tami from the K Gallery, its hard not to say “I want a 4×6 of EVERY SINGLE ONE” but try to also THINK BIG..one big statement piece can be amazing,  Who cares if your mother-in-law doesnt get it?! (BTW i love my MIL!)

{via Apartment Therapy}

4. Should photos only be in hallways or “private spaces”?..we will talk about this in the future on Allison’s blog….so crazy!

5. What if i just cant bear to nail that many nails into my walls..you friend is the shelf from Pottery Barn or IKEA..we will  talk more in future posts about this topic! And if a shelf is too intimidating to hang, again consider one or two big pieces..less nails!

6. The Gallery Wall debate…to “mish mash” or grid? Symmettry and sticking with one frame and size can be gorgeous once the intial “hang” is complete (we will talk more about hangin another time)  then you know you have 8 x 10 print “holes” and that is what you can update and order and change as you get new photos or want to switch out images..isn’t this room below so elegant..who says photos are only for private or inmature spaces? Not this decorator!

And another great example of simplicity and ease in changing out/updating…

 Finally, what i like to call the “mish mash” or collage wall! Also a great way to hide a television, do you see it?

The collage wall often involves mixing in art and other objects and papers with your photos..yet another topic we will cover in my upcoming guest posts. So stay tuned!

If this is all fun to read about but you still need help planning your photos walls and installing them, I would love to help you feather your nest! email me at ehmathis@gmail.com AND YES we can absolutely do it online and via email!

{all images from my pinterest boards}

And be sure and check me out over at Emily A. Clark’s blog today for the Now and Then Series..it is funny!  You can see my use of too many pillows in our old master bedroom!

Here are some of my favorites..

Emily Henderson

This first quote print is my first pin ever on Pinterest..want to frame it for my vanity in the bathroom but it would also be good in a collage wall or ledge.

from thehiddenlist.com

Or perhaps you are into hunting..ha!  from pretty mod. Something like this would be good and bold to mix with another print with words.

Or maybe you need a simple message like the print below by Gus and Lula..i love the pretty gray..would look so great in white frame, matted or not..i need her give thanks print soon..

My problem is i have too many and not enough walls or frames, so i give them as gifts or rotate them.

I have this above in my guest room, also from Gus and Lula. love it.

I also adore these prints from Studio Mela.

and my all time fave from Studio Mela

Words are powerful, surround yourself with good things that please your eyes and feed your soul.

from Jones Design Company, Emily has great prints and is generous with free prints on occassional posts!

I love this print below, also from Jones, because it reminds me of hable construction’s famous fabric design!

Of course this post hasn’t even touched on the use of traditonal art like drawings/paintings etc.., like this wonderful piece below from Lisa Golightly or this fab source, or keepsakes, letters and other objects. I say use the quotes and etsy prints sparsely, you dont want it to look like a dorm room probably but frame the ones you love and enjoy!

 

 

 

Please add links to your favorite prints in the comments or share any ideas or resources!

Well this is a hard post to write. My beautiful mama is battling breast cancer. It’s so personal and simply scary that have not wanted to mention online. My mom said its okay. But still it just seemed like if i blogged about it would be too real and too out there.  But when I see my mom walk out in public with a pretty scarf on her head and not even blink,  it seems silly to be so fearful about all of this.  At least the talking about it part. Of course there is still plenty to worry about.  Like will it come back, is the chemo worth it? All of these issues.

So anyway here is the deal.  I would appreciate your prayers for my mama. Her  name is Debby and she has been through a lot the past few years.  Yet she is always fun and positive and always praising God and clinging to Him. She is alive because of early detection.  GET YOUR MAMMOGRAM and make your mama and sisters do the same. 

And while i am not really into pink ribbons, I am into art.

This etsy artist , a cancer survivor herself, along with other artists, donate 100% percent to cancer research…that is beautiful art for an even better cause. 

If you love art, check this out!  I have ordered two pieces and love them, for more than one reason.

And if you are on this journey yourself or with someone you love, God bless you and keep you through all of this sorrow. One of my clients told me after going through this with both parents that it is a powerful journey, painful but powerful.

I have since moved it to the mantle!

I love the slatted signs from Sugarboo as well…

In fact, you can see Sugarboo founder Rebecca Puig’s house here (Southern Living, Sept 2010) This is one of my fave images from the article!

I love her son’s room..that chalkboard!

And see her use of it above her range, very sophisticated..who says word art has to be cutesy?! This would be a great look over a mantle.

Another great source is Red Letter Words…she has some wonderful items and watch out she has a hymn series coming soon!

And several of my clients have made their own and done a great job…with stencils and little acrylic paints, you can do scripture, song lyrics, a poem…anything!

If you were going to do a large piece of word art in your home what would you want to say?

though i think the peacock looks dangerous and mirrors over the changer??

safety first yall..but i love the huge art and the fabrics on the windows and notice the gray trim!!!

i think this image below is pretty sweet too…love the grey crib. and the English country looking looking little print on the bumper.

and “hello little baby, love your sweater vest!”

all images via pinterest…including this gorgeous sleeping baby!

so sweet.

Some of you may have seen this blog or heard about it on other blogs, well today Sugarfresh is here at Holly Mathis Interiors. Lindsay, the force behind Sugarfresh, contacted me about advertising and doing a giveaway and instantly remembered her work..i have admired it for quite a while and I am thrilled to have it here!

A few of my favorite prints from Sugarfresh:

I just love her taste in color..this is the best pink in my opinion!

In fact, she has an amazing color chart..i love when printers give this flexibility!

Which one did i get for my boys??? This one..so cute..and so them! It’s called “Mr Numbers” love the gray of course!

And of course i love this one too..love the font. Very craftsmany/art deco.

And the cool thing is i get to do a $25 giveaway today for Sugarfresh, go look at her etsy store and come back here and tell me your fave!  I will announce the winner on Wednesday!

Have a great weekend!