And the Custum Calligraphy Banner Winner is...

The winner is miss.alexis!  Congrats!

Email me at doeadeery+cat@gmail.com so that I can get your details and make your custom banner!

Thank you my deers for reading and entering the giveaway!

Custum Calligraphy Pennant Banner :: GIVEAWAY!

by cat:

We're having a little party for my daughter's third birthday and wanted to make the place a bit more festive. I made this pennant banner with card stock and ric-rac and then used a calligraphy pen to write out her name. 

The best part is that I enjoyed making it!

Thus, a giveaway!

One lucky reader will win a similar banner but with custom lettering and colors of paper.

To enter, leave a comment saying where you will use your pennant banner.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Look closely. See beauty.

by cat

Macro! Mmmmm, they are some of the yummiest photos.

Texture and details that would otherwise go unnoticed are given center stage and truly appreciated. There is so much beauty to be found in looking closely at something. An idea true in nature and in life.

Focusing in on life's details helps us appreciate everything a little more.  Moments we want to remember, sunsets to watch, opportunities to laugh, baby feet to kiss, and life to explore.

I had a crap day yesterday. I've been really frustrated trying to find a home in Las Vegas for the last six months, and it's left me feeling sorry for myself. I had high hopes about a particular home and then was offered disappointment.

But after my baby woke from his afternoon nap, I took 10 minutes to just cuddle with him. Instead of rushing off to do the next task on my list, I nestled his sweet little head into my neck and soaked in that moment. His smell, his breathing, his baby fine hair on my cheek, I can still feel it now as I close my eyes.

That 10 minutes was the best thing to happen to my day and changed my mindset to gratitude and appreciation of something so simple in my life.

I just needed to look at my life through a different lens in order to have that moment of beauty. A conscious effort to see the positive, no matter how small.

What are you going to focus on today?

I took these photos at Longwood Gardens while I lived in Pennsylvania. I used a Cannon Powershot SD1300, just a little point and shoot, but it got the macro done! 

Easy DIY Dust Jackets

by cat

Storage and design working together? Yes please! Yesterday I shared a few ideas on how to achieve streamlined and styled bookshelves. To go along with that post, I'm showing you one of my go-to ways to tackled that project... I heart monochromatic dust jackets.

So friends, here is the easiest do-it-yourself way to streamline the look of your books with book covers.

READ MORE>>

Six Steps to Styled Shelves

by cat

There's nothing quite like the visual balance of a well styled bookshelf, don't you think? Especially when it's the upper shelves that are out of my kiddies' reach and therefore actually stay intact. I've resigned the lowest shelves as a home upon which the blankets multiply. :)

But those top levels are where the fun happens. Books, art, photos, mementos, they all come together and harmoniously turn storage into a display of design. Good times, right?!

As you work on organizing your shelves, here are a few tips to consider:

1. Decorate with books, both vertically and in a horizontal stack.
2. Use interesting objects as bookends for the vertical books and you can get creative with a topper for the horizontal book stack.
3. Add some green! Even if it's fake plants like mine, it really freshens up the overall look.
4. Make it personal with art or photos that you love. 
5. Think about color or the lack of color. We all like different tones and some like a variety of color. I gravitate toward lots of white and neutrals and with some punches of color. Try to create a theme that is consistent throughout the style of your shelves.
6. Keep it as minimal as you can. It's tempting if you have tons of books or souvenirs to cram them all on at once. Just keep in mind that the overall design could be overwhelming visually if there's too much going on. Consider removing that last nick-knack.

Get creative and have fun styling away!

Be sure to check out Thursday's post, I'll be sharing an easy DIY on making your books look oh so impressive.

Making My Place

by cat

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE 

Men from Pakistan

the best hummus ever made

I wish I were a writer.

If I were a writer, I would express how I feel like a visitor in my own life right now.

READ MORE>>

Catherine Ethington :: Art Giveaway! And the winner is...

This Valentine's Day, let's get festive! Not in a chocolate wrapped in pink and red foil kind of way, but in a "I like your soul," kind of way. 

by cat

8x10. hand drawn. ink.

Sometimes I still feel like my 16 year old self, the self who wants a valentine, like some cheesy cupid merchandise that's supposed to be a token of love. As if something from the holiday aisle would satiate my desire for affection...

These days, I'm not so much about the extras--not to say a bundle of fresh flowers from my guy doesn't go a long way--because it does; a handful of white peonies can definitely mend things the eye can't see. But now, the month of February is a celebration of having love in my heart.

Last year on the 13th of this month I gave birth to my son, my sweet, meek and mild child. Bringing him into the world was like meeting love for the first time--all over again. The next day being the 14th, I teased my husband by asking what I was getting for Valentine's Day, though the tease was just an attempt to mask my true eagerness of a gift. He said something funny that I can't remember now and then asked the same question of me. I retorted, “Our baby is your present. I made that tiny human and pushed it out for you!” As I heard myself saying the words they turned from a sarcastic quip into a genuine statement. The act of bringing our son into our lives was spiritual, authentic sincerity and romance. Our creation of love.

There was nothing missing, nothing to make it sweeter. Not even those amazing chocolate eggs with the cream inside, yes I'm talking to you Cadbury.

I long to feel that way again, and often, and keep it with me always--to become preoccupied in gratitude and distracted with love.

I'm happy, and I hope to capture that happiness by realizing that I have something to contribute. I hope to be receptive to love given as well as generously offering it to the world we are a part of.

Not there yet? Me neither. By miles. But I plan on practicing the idea that this is the month of love--an opportunity to embrace love more deeply and often.

So, in the spirit of practicing this, I made a little something for you.Yes YOU dear reader!

We wanted to celebrate the launch of Doe a Deery by having a fine art giveaway!

This illustration is hand drawn with ink and is approximately 8x10” framed in an 11x14” frame. I think the classic black really makes the detail pop, don't you?

Leave a comment about how you are going to celebrate love this month, and this original could arrive on your doorstep! I know you'll love it!

Updated Feb. 7... Thanks everyone for entering!

Kimber, our winner, writes a fun blog with five of her sisters! Check it out!

Catherine Ethington

I...

Am all about creating art and design.
Strive to be my most genuine self.
In love with a red head who also happens to be my husband.
Crave Indian Biryani for every meal.
Lived in Abu Dhabi and sampled a few exotic destinations (with a toddler and baby in tow). 
Know that jewels and over sized flowers make any outfit better. 
Attempt to raise my children in teachings of truth and kindness, although personally am an amateur at best.
Organize everything I see and have a ball doing it.
Have a bright and spunky toddler, miss Elizabeth, and the world is her stage.
Can't kiss my baby boy enough, that's Mark, the meek and mild offspring who beams love at me from his eyeballs.   
Want to spend my life practicing compassion, happiness, and contentment all with all the feminine subtlety of a freight train.

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