“Wee” Love this Smart Nursery Art

San Francisco artist Nicky Batill shares with us the inspiration for creating her chic children’s art…and why “wee” need to join forces to woo Paul Rudd. Check out her adorable, one-of-a-kind designs at wee san francisco. 

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Q: When did you realize you could actually sell your artwork? I mean, I used to cut out animals and use Elmer’s glue, too! But aside from my Aunt Rose, no one ever claimed they were good enough to sell…

A: That’s a good question! I’ve always been a crafty kind of gal and would make cards and little pieces of art for friends as birthday gifts and the such. Once they all started having kids, I began making art for their children’s nurseries too as shower gifts. Word spread and before I knew it I was making nursery art for friends of friends of friends. That was when I realized that there were mothers out there who were looking for truly unique artwork for their children and that my work really appealed to them (and to my Aunt Rose too, of course)

 

Q: Why do you focus on art for nurseries and kids’ rooms? What was the inspiration?

A: To be honest, I have the distinct blessing/curse that everything I draw ends up looking, for lack of a better word, cute. I’ve never really fought it because I would rather spend hours drawing and creating a sweet little bird that makes me happy rather than something maybe a bit deeper and darker. And I think that the style of cut paper illustration that I use has a childlike quality that works really well in nurseries and kids’ rooms.

 

Paul: This would look great in Jack's room. I'll come by and personally hang it for you.

 

Q: What celebrity moms and dads have purchased your art for their celebuspawn? If When lovely Paul Rudd invites me over to his pad to chilax, will I see your artwork on his son’s walls?

A: You’ll see it if you can sneak it in for me! I haven’t done much to market to all the celebrity mommies out there but it would be great if some of them would see my work one of these days. I did have the pleasure of doing a segment with Martha Stewart on her show, but I’m pretty sure she is finished having kids. 

 

Choosing A Celebrity Baby Name Might Just Leave You Starry-Eyed!

Erykah: Mod mom with mod baby name choices.

Our guest poster, Karen Sullen, gets creative about creative baby names with personalized gift ideas from Corner Stork Baby Gifts. Be sure to check out ParentZing perks for an exclusive coupon code!

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I’m no astrologist, but they say you can look to the stars for direction. Well, not if you’re looking to celebrity stars when you’re trying to come up with a baby name.

Down through the years, celebrities have had knack for the unusual and unexpected. Back in the day, it was Moon Unit (courtesy of father Frank Zappa), but today it’s Moxie CrimeFighter (daughter of Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller Master Illusionists).

If they keep this up, the companies that make premade name plates will be out of business. Thank goodness for personalized baby gifts! I mean, where are you going to find a gift with the name “Sage Moonblood” on it for Sylvester Stallone’s daughter anyway? Or how about “Seven Sirius” for Erykah Badu’s child? From “Bluebell Madonna” to “Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily” (now that’s a mouthful), the list just goes on and on.

Get Lost! (Out of the Box Valentine’s Day Gift #3)

 

…Or not, with a GPS for your Valentine’s bike. Promote your honey’s bike riding hobby while at the same time stripping him or her of the ability to use the “Sorry I’m late. We got lost.” excuse ever again. Nothing like a win-win gift.

ParentZing! Perk: Ugly diaper bags, begone! Check out JPLizzy and save 25% now until Valentine’s Day with the code VDAY.

Chuck You! (Out of the Box Valentine’s Day Gift Idea #2)

Admit it: You despise Valentine’s Day. First of all, it’s a stupid holiday; second, it’s a stupid holiday that is linked with, well, stupid gifts.

But here’s your chance to, er, chuck those old ideas about what makes a good Valentine’s Day present.

Remember your old Converse sneaks? The ones you wore (and wore out) and bought multiple pairs of just in case? 

Give a gift that will help your Valentine re-live those moments and more. But don’t settle for off-the-shelf. Instead, let him, her (or them) design their own Converse sneakers. Swear!

Alternatively, consider channeling your inner designer and customizing the sneaks for them. You can pick various colors and patterns to reflect your relationship, including zippy animal prints (you grrrrrr, girl!) or — as would make sense in some relationships — skulls.  

Yes, skulls. If your “Valentine” balks at the macabre design, just remind him or her: If the shoe fits, wear it.

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ParentZing! Perk: Free shipping until 2/12 for Land’s End! Enter the Promotion code SPRING and the PIN 00006540 in the space provided.

Puff ‘n Stuff (Out of the Box Valentine’s Day Gift Idea #1)

Betcha can't eat just one!

Forget the boring old box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. Think outside the box with gourmet marshmallows.  Dig into our interview with Plush Puffs gourmands… you’ll never think of the humble puffed treat in the same way!

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Q: You got the inspiration for “plush puffs” one Halloween when your son asked you to make pumpkin marshmallows. But honestly, when you shared your idea about starting a marshmallow business with others, didn’t they give you the, “Oh, the poor thing! She must be exhausted. She’s spouting crazy things!” look?

A: That’s what I was expecting. But the response was really positive, most people said “Marshmallows, why didn’t I think of that?” In fact, the only person I recall who gave me discouraging words was a gourmet business owner – something to the effect of “you got a snowball’s chance in @#@* at this”. I’ve officially proven her wrong.

Last Minute Gift for Lit-Lovers

You are really coming down to the wire. But no worries, we’ve got a credible last minute gift for your literature-lovin’ friends. Have a look-see at BookSwim. It’s essentially Netflix for books.  They’ve got it all: new releases, best sellers, classics and of course, important to ParentZing! readers: CHILDREN’S BOOKS.  Keep ‘em out as long as you want, no late fees…yada, yada, yada.

Order a gift certificate online and select the date to e-mail the card… and yer done. Pajama shopping at its best.

Eco-Heavenly Gifts

Giving this bracelet as a gift is sure to be a hole in one! (Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves.)

We interviewed “GreenMarketGirl”
Susan Hilger of  SJHilger Interiors. 
Her enviro-friendly jewelry marries
“feel good” with “look good.” And that’s the perfect marriage, indeed. 

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Q: The eco-cuff bracelets are rockin’! And not only are they unique, you make ‘em out of scrap wood left over from your bigger projects. What’s the deal with that? How the heck did you come up with the idea?

A: Thanks! These bracelets evolved from one of our roadtrip brainstorming events.

We always knew there were great things to be found in our wood waste. It all started when we pulled together a few birdhouses for gifts. Once we gifted them, we couldn’t keep enough of them made. We didn’t want to make them for profit and ruin our fun so we send birdhouse proceeds to Project HALO, a no-kill animal shelter in Charlotte.

The bracelets were our next adventure! And now we’ve developed so many shapes and colors that our veneer waste is down to nil in our wood shop.

 

Cate as Bob. Bet her (his?) jewelry is cool.

Q: For sure some eco-conscious mama must be sporting your bracelets. Maybe Cate Blanchett? She’s seems the type. Did she wear one while she was unveiling her star on the Walk of Fame earlier this month? Come on, tell us who your coolest client is!

A. Our very coolest client is neither Cate nor a famous woman, but a man who chose us as his featured artist to launch his new website, Waypastcrazy.com, his gift to artists. To date, he is by far our biggest client and has sent our Eco-cuffs far and wide, making him very famous in our minds. And who knows, maybe he sent one to Cate Blanchett. I hope so!