MadeByGirl

May 22, 2008

Flying back home.....


At the airport, on my way back home. I had such a blast here in NYC with some old friends as well as family!  NSS went pretty well for MadeByGirl and the press seemed quite interested in my work, yay!  I met so many other bloggers and people who have been reading my blog and that alone made my day. All in all it was a success and I'm happy to have experienced it....plus I got to visit my home again....New York City. Will be posting shots of the booth soon, so come back to see it all. 




May 15, 2008

NYC Bound....

Ok, I'm finally heading off to the airport to NYC for the National Stationery show! This will be my first show ever, so wish me luck, I'm so nervous! For those of you who'll be there, if you see me, please say hello. I may look stuck up, but I'm not!  haha   So, I apologize if there is a lack of posts until the 23rd....I will try to post something from my laptop in NY.  I'll leave ya with one of the newest cards at MadeByGirl. Enjoy your weekend.

            

May 14, 2008

Wallpaper? More like ART....

Maybe you've heard of Deborah Bowness? If not, I'd like to take a minute to introduce her work to you. I remember moving into my old house and there was 70's wallpaper everywhere, even on the ceiling in some rooms!?! What a hassle to remove all that. I remember saying "I hate wallpaper!" Well, wallpaper has come back to impress us (although some would still say haunt us) and Deborah's hand printed designs are quite impressive. What do you think? Do you have wallpaper in your home?

May 13, 2008

All the way from AU

It was so nice to receive this email from Lyn Gardener of Empire Vintage the other day....


Spanish Artist on ETSY

Hmmm, would you wear this ring? Even if you were single? I wouldn't qualify to wear this one, but spanish artist Jimena Rios, does make custom engravings. So you can make one to say -'TAKEN' if you like. Ha!  Found this cute ring -  via  'El Beso blog'.   I'm actually going to buy one with a special message soon.  Click here to buy yours. 


May 12, 2008

P.S. this movie was great!

I finally got to see the film "P.S. I Love You" for the first time last night.  This movie was so sad (even my bf pulled out the tissues) and very touching. Its about a woman who's husband dies from a terrible illness and her struggles to keep going and rebuild her life again.  I recommend this film, however if you've ALREADY seen it, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Gerard's (Jerry) irish accent captivated me....I saw him in '300' but he was a lot more adorable in this film. Hooray for LOVE!

May 11, 2008

Happy Mom's Day....

I really Love this magazine from Denmark called BOLIG. Even though I don't speak the language the pictures are captivating enough to where you can spend quite a long time looking around. Unlike other mag sites, BOLIG doesn't disappoint, they even have an option where you can enlarge the photographs. Check them out! Happy MOM'S day!






May 9, 2008

More LOVE

'Deeply Madly in LOVE' prints available only $25. Via MadeByGirl. 


Love & enjoy your weekend!

May 8, 2008

Inspiring me - Lyn Gardener of Empire Vintage

Empire Vintage is a boutique store selling only the most beautiful hand selected items to fill your home. Lyn Gardener is the pretty brunette behind this amazing Australian based shop! To top it off, not only is her shop full of eye-candy, we hear that her home has been featured in magazines all over the world too- hmmm, now I'm curious and would LOVE to see it!




You will find chandeliers, original upholstered beds, tables & chairs, wallpapers, & the ultimate in glamour and design!! New stock arrives weekly which will keep you coming back for more! Yay, we love Lyn and wish she were closer and not so far away in Australia. But, I love AU too...







Susan Hostetler's Cool Job

I wanted to introduce you all to Sue Hostetler. For those of you who have never heard of her, shes an author and editor of illustrated books & magazines. Her articles chronicle celebrity homes AND as you can see in the articles below- she's one LUCKY girl!



To be able to get into these homes and write about them is awesome, but guess what?? Sue has some fabulous diggs of her own in Soho! She resides in a cool 3,000 sq ft, 2 bdrm and 2 bth layout with neighbors like Mike Myers, Claire Danes and John Mayer to name a few. Oh yea and worth $4.75 million! Sue also has a fantastic book which I'm getting my hands on real soon called " Hip Hollywood Homes" - (pictured above) where she profiles 20 of the most influential trendsetters in Los Angeles. I LOVE her job, don't you? I bet her job allows her some great opportunities to gather inspiration as well as the latest trends. Thought you might like to see some of the interiors shes written about - enjoy!



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*For more on Susan visit her site.

May 6, 2008

Enough said

"Later that day I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back.. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationships of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you..you love, well that's just fabulous. " - Carrie Bradshaw   

*UPDATE- if you missed the cast on Oprah click here for the show*





MAY 30TH- The Sex & the City Movie in theatres!

Just got these in the mail!

Thanks to Belinda (writer of Real Living AU) for sending these mags all the way from Australia! She also surprised me with some nice news today, informing me that MadeByGirl has appeared in the newest issue as well! Yay! Thank you! ALSO, a quick thanks to my friend Sarah in AU, who was also kind enough to mail me a copy of the issue that my ABC Love print appeared in!


My Green CHIC book.

On a more important front, I am still reading this amazing little book called "Green Chic" Saving the Earth in Style by Christie Matheson that was sent to me by Carrie of Sourcebooks. You can get your copy via Amazon. This book is straightforward. Carrie delivers great tips & speaks to us as if she were speaking to her girlfriends. Unfortunately, I only have limited time to read between all my work. However, here are a few SIMPLE TIPS I wanted to share with you all IN THE HOPES of each of you making a change.


  • Change a Light bulb - even if you don't change them all I recommend you changing the ones you use the most often.
  • Pop little purchases in your purse - basically means decline those plastic bags they give you for something as small as a lipstick or a compact. Toss it in your purse instead, thats what I do. We all should know by now, that plastic bags aren't good for the environment.
  • Unplug unsightly chargers- So, as soon as your cell phone charges, disconnect it. I admit I don't always remember to do this one, but I can also say that I've disconnected a lot more than I used to. That makes me feel better, because as I've mentioned the little effort you make adds up.
  • Clean Green- Use cleaning products that are more earth friendly, free of synthetic chemicals. I highly recommend Green Works or Method. These cleaning agents work great! I think you can get Green works at Whole foods & even Walmart. Method you can pick up at Whole Foods Market. More to come!

May 5, 2008

Green Living- well sort of.

This home belongs to two LUCKY people out in Vancouver. They were selected to appear on small cool spaces of 2008 via Apartment Therapy. I fell in love with these images of their home even though its only 817 sq ft! Its not even half the size of my home, but its so adorable and I love the GREEN walls, who knew!?! Lets not forget the height on that ceiling, wow! (click photos for larger images).

A book full of inspiration

As promised, here is a peek at Stockholm's Apartments I bought from Jeu de Paume via Yvestown. This book is so fantastic and contains 125 pages of full color and inspiration for any upcoming designer. The only drawback is that the entire book is in Japanese, so too bad for me. I need a translator! Anyone??? j/k.



Ever since I was a little girl, I loved to read. Thanks to my father who would bring books home from thrift shops & once in awhile he'd find interesting books that people would throw away on the street. I remember once he brought home 3 encyclopedias he found thrown away. He said "Jennifer, read these, start on the first page and get as far as you can. You'll see how much you will start to learn, look at all the great pictures. "



I remember doing almost exactly what my father told me to do. I was so excited to read about the battle of 'World War 2' at age 7. Although I didn't understand much of what I read, I cherished these books & was so impressed with the photos. Thanks to Dad, I still LOVE books today.





May 2, 2008

A WINNER OF THE GIVEAWAY

And the winner is

Nina email: ik_ben_nina at hotmail.com. 
I decided to let my production manager randomly choose. So, Nina please contact me or I will get in touch with you about your Love Candy Print! Thanks to everyone for commenting on the Giveaway!!  The NEWEST Love Candy colors will be available via my Etsy shop as well as on my site tomorrow! 


Love Candy Giveaway Update....

GIVEAWAY UPDATE:  Today, I will be announcing the winner of the LOVE CandPrint around 9pm PST.  Sooo,  you still have an opportunity to enter. Go to the GIVEAWAY posting a couple posts down &  leave your comment!  Good Luck!   Here's one of my favorite LIFE covers from February of 1922 around the Great Depression- shortly before it became a photojournalism magazine.  Enjoy the weekend! 

May 1, 2008

Stationery Show Prep

Getting all the cards and prints ready for the Stationery Show in NYC in 2 weeks! Time flies, doesn't it? Again, if you're at the show please drop by my booth and say hello! Booth #1842.

Neeeeews & other stuff

Took a small break today to get some coffee at Starbucks in my neighborhood. Well, not much of a break as you can see I still dragged my laptop to join me! (This pic is from my handy camera phone ) It was such a beautiful day here in Las Vegas... (not a cloud in the sky) and about 80 degrees. We have a few months to go until it hits about 120- can't wait. Just kidding! Also, I wanted to say thank you to all those who have commented on my first 'ever' GIVEAWAY on my blog. The winner will receive a LOVE CANDY print in the color of their choice. I've been meaning to do this giveaway for awhile now & finally did it. I can't wait to randomly choose the winner and announce them on Friday, Yay!....hmm I thought of extending the time to Monday to choose someone, but we'll see. A couple other things to mention: Please remember that MadeByGirl (my company) will be exhibiting at the 'National Stationery Show' from May 18-21 at booth #1842 - so please drop by and chat with me if you're out there!








*More News*

I've been contacted by the editors over at
LATINA' magazine & they want to shoot me for an upcoming feature called 'Cool Job of the month'- for the month of August. Right around my birthday! Being in this publication will be such a rewarding experience for me as a Spanish woman entrepreneur and I am looking forward to it very much! My mom has been all smiles since I told her the news. DON'T FORGET, leave a comment on the post below this one for your chance to win one of my LOVE CANDY prints! : )


April 28, 2008

4 New LOVE Candy Colors + GIVEAWAY!!

Here are the Newest colors from my LOVE CANDY collection! These prints have been selling quite well and they make a great addition to any home, office of even your kid's room! The 4 new colors from Left to Right: Grapefruit, Mint, Tangerine & Watermelon. Available via my Etsy shop as well as my main site- MadeByGirl in a couple days !!

**GIVEAWAY INFO**
All you have to do is:
Leave a comment along with the color of print you want. On Friday May 2nd, I'll randomly select & announce one winner to receive ONE Love Candy Print of your choice. I have 8 colors to choose from! GIVEAWAY ends on Friday May 2nd! The winner MUST have a valid email so I can contact you. If the winner doesn't respond within a few days, the giveaway will resume once again. (Prints are 16x24 and cost $25 each through my shop). P.S. sorry for the change of names, it just made more sense. If you win I will ask you what color you like via email too. Good Luck!


What I've been reading lately....

Besides my school books, here are some great reads that are full of inspiration! First, BROOKLYN Modern is all about architecture, interiors & design throughout the Brooklyn area. I spent most of my 20's living in NYC and visited friends in Brooklyn often and while walking down the streets I would notice so many brownstones being restored. This place has become its own little world, full of cafes, art galleries, great restaurants, funky furniture shops & so much more! No wonder so many young families are being drawn toward Brooklyn in hopes of renovating their own brownstone and investing in this newly developed market. Also I've been reading from Paumes - "Stockholm Apartments" - this book contains about 125 pages & is full of colorful interiors. I highly recommend it to design students! I'll show you more photos from that book soon! Last but not least, the newest issue of Domino Magazine!



*Brooklyn note card above via MadeByGirl. (100% Recycled).


*Image above from Domino Magazine.



*Image above from Real Living AU magazine.