Last week, I told you that I loved reading Ashley’s post about pursuing your passions while still fulfilling your calling as a mama. And I completely meant it. Not only because I love hearing the hearts of other mamas who grapple with the same issues that I do but also because I find myself in exactly the kind of situation that she was describing right now.

I have this passion that God has placed in my heart for encouraging/helping women in a creative way. But I know that my first priority is my family.

It’s why I haven’t written my book yet, even though I’ve wanted to for as long as I can remember. Okay, so technically, I did hammer out a 350+ page novel about 8 years ago. But that’s never getting published. And I still haven’t written the book that I feel like is simmering deep inside me, waiting to boil over from the keyboard onto my screen. The timing just isn’t right, nor does it seem very likely to be in the very near future.

Thus, the concept of a creative endeavor (in conjunction with this blog) that could be notched in between the busiest moments of my days was just a vague, “someday” kind of hope until one day, as one of my besties, Lindsay, and I were walking around the track at the gym, I had a sudden flash of inspiration.

I love words. She loves to draw/paint (and is soooooo ridiculously good at it). What if we somehow combined our passions and worked together to share the load of a company that would “create ARTiculate designs for the everyday girl?”

And no, I didn’t just whip out that tag line on our 8th lap around the track. That particular day, we just kicked the idea back and forth and both felt generally favorable. And when we parted ways, we promised to pray about it and, if we had a go, pursue it together.

That was about five months ago.

Since then, we’ve met lots of times to figure out: designs, our look, our words, what we want to do, what we DON’T want to do. I was going to say: ALL of it. But I know there’s still lots to untangle.

Either way, though, we are now the proud co-owners of a tiny little baby art print company called:

paint and prose logo3

Lindsay (Paint) and I (Prose) have been busting our tails to get our fun, funny, and inspiring art prints into your hands, and I am happy to be able to finally announce that, Lord willing (hey, I don’t even know if I’m going to wake up tomorrow), we will launch our first ever collection(s) of prints a week from today.

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{Here we are, representin’ color–me, duh–and neutrals–her, cute!–which you’ll totally see in our designs as well}

EEEEEP!

It’s pretty stinking exciting, especially since my husband is super-supportive and has come on board as the very welcome “3rd wheel” of our little company in the capacity of handling all of the business and technological stuff. SUCH a relief!).

But it’s also a little scary. Like, what? Who am I to think that I can design anything that anybody will actually want to buy? (I have utter confidence that Lindsay can paint anything I/we do come up with).

The thing is, I think you will want to.

A couple of weekends ago, we holed up in a Dallas hotel and designed/created for hours straight. And then, we did it again the next day. Our husbands teased us that we were going to Dallas for a girls’ weekend and would end up taking naps and going to Anthropologie instead. But, as tempting as that was, we didn’t. And you know what? We had SO. MUCH. FUN!

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I don’t remember the last time “work” felt so much like fun. Lindsay feels the same way. And I think that joy that we feel is reflected in the art we’ve created.

We’ve made these prints with a focus on playful, truthful, encouraging little bright spots you can scatter throughout your home. We want to speak to the reality of the everyday girl with lots of laundry and not enough time.

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(Oh my goodness, y’all. I opened my laundry room door this morning and thought this exact thing…and closed it again).

And, because Lindsay is a trained artist with boatloads of natural talent + an art degree, you can know that you’re getting a really high quality product every single time.

But enough about the backstory. I’m guessing you’d like to see more of these prints of which I blather?

Oh, goody! Because I want to show you one. Or 4, actually. And then, I’ll need your help, m’kay?

This is our Christmas collection (so far). First up, we have:

HAVE A CUP OF CHEER

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I love how detailed this one is. From the pretty floral designs on the tea cup right down to the fact that the nutmeg on the Eggnog Latte is a different color from the cinnamon on the Cinnamon Dolce, we did our best to both realistically and artfully recreate every girl’s favorite Christmastime drink.

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(Oh, and did you see the reindeer mug?? Hashtag I die…and then laugh at myself that I even wrote that)

Next up:

BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE

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My favorite thing about this one (besides the fact that I think I have almost this exact entire outfit in my closet but never thought to put it all together until we made the print) is that–while sure, it references a “Christmas” song–it’s really more of a winter theme and would work great in any laundry room/closet/bedroom/mudroom/girly office space all season long!

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And then there’s:

NOEL

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I’m going to call myself out as a hack when it comes to wordsmithing when I admit to you that I forget on a regular basis that that the word, “NOEL,” simply means Christmas. (My brain somehow immediately translates it to: “Peace.” But that doesn’t work so well with “The First Noel”).

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I get a little swoony over the black/white/gold scheme and all of those stripes and curlicues!

And last but definitely not least (in fact, it’s both my and Lindsay’s favorite), we have:

JOY TO THE WORLD

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I’m completely in love with the unexpected wine/teal/mint/chartreuse/gold of the flowers on the “Joy.” And it turned out even better than I hoped once Lindsay came up with the genius idea to repeat the gold/black/white stripes on “World.”

I can’t wait to hang this one in my house!

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Do you have a favorite? Are you already imagining places they could go in your house or friends/family you could gift them to? We certainly hope so! (We may just get in a little cat fight over who gets to have which originals hanging in her home ;)).

But, we’re not QUITE done.

We want to make one more Christmas print before we launch, and we’ve saved the best for last because we want to highlight the very Reason for the Season: Jesus Christ. In a slightly unexpected way.

We love, for example, “O, Come let us adore Him.” But it’s really common (not that Joy to the World or Noel aren’t).

And so, we’d loved to hear from you. What Jesus-themed phrase or song or verse would you love to see made into a print? You’re welcome to suggest images or themes to go along as well.

Also, did you have a favorite design so far? Obviously, we love Joy to the World, but, surprisingly, my husband was all about the outfit-themed Baby It’s Cold outside. I mean, I love it too, but ooookay, babe.

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ALSO! If you’d like to see more of our creations (we have way more than Christmas stuff going on!) and fun behind-the-scenes shots, head on over and give us a follow on Instagram! We’re @paintandprose, and we’re doing a fun little giveaway of the entire Christmas Collection today, so scoot on over and get yourself entered!

(You can also go give us a like on Facebook! Just don’t be alarmed if there’s no one there yet. I LITERALLY just made our page).

OH, and set your alarm clocks bright and early for our launch on November 16! I’ll try to remember to do the same.

0 Comments

  1. I don’t know if you are 100% tied to a Christmas song, but I love Matthew 1:21 or Matthew 1:23. I think it also serves to remember the exact way He came into the world on Christmas and the magic and power behind it. Just an idea!

    As far as some kind of theme? I am a sucker for a good Advent wreath or even just candles or stars lighting the way on my Christmas prints… Although I LOVE the Joy flowers!

  2. You girls are great!
    These are my two favorite…
    “God SO LOVED the world.”
    And…
    “Let HIM in.”
    God bless you, Gals, for sticking true to your heart’s desire. Will be praying for success in the new adventure!

  3. God is not dead, nor does he sleep. >> That’s my favorite, from my all-time favorite Christmas hymn, which is sadly not very popular, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. 😉

  4. Love the Joy to the World, what about 1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

  5. These are darling and if I decorated for Christmas, I’d certainly buy one. But when one lives alone and often goes out of town for the holidays….

    Christ themed…”For unto us” and/or “A Child is born”

  6. Such gorgeous pieces! Our entire family is part of the play, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (remember reading the book as a kid?), and the the final line is “Unto you a child is born”. My favorite!!

  7. I like the idea in our world of glorified busyness to have a simple

    “Peace be with you”

    Beautiful artistry, congratulations.

  8. These are beautiful! A suggestion would be “Wonderful, Counsellor…..” Perhaps not the entire chorus but the beginning with a star in the distance?

  9. what about the first and last lines of Mary did you know? Mary, did you know…that this sleeping child you’re holding is the great I AM? i know it isn’t as familiar.

    another one i love is Sweet little Jesus boy. they made you be born in a manger
    Sweet, little holy Child. We didn’t know who you was.
    Didn’t know you’d come to save us, Lord;
    To take our sins away.
    Our eyes was blind, we couldn’t see,
    We didn’t know who you was.

    i love the pictures. beautiful:)

  10. A child is born.

    Yeshua (his Hebrew name … Possibly messiah yeshua?)

    A gift to the world.

    Wise men still seek him

    Silver bells

    Little drummer boy/pa rumpa pa pum

    And for fun: grandma got run over by a reindeer!

  11. I would definitely buy Joy to the World. It is lovely and unexpected. I love Isaiah 9:6, so any of it would be great for a print. I especially love “His name shall be called wonderful.” It gives you a great word “wonderful” to add your whimsy. I love what you are doing and pray God’s blessing on you. I am way past the mom stage, but I still read your blog faithfully and love following your motherhood journey. Sometimes I wish I had the opportunity to do it again because of the creative outlet the Internet is providing moms these days. I will be cheering for you from Tennessee!

  12. Love the Joy to the World print!!!

    I think “O Holy Night” would work, or even though it’s not directly about Jesus, I like “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel!”

    “All is Calm, All is Bright,” would also be wonderful (though again, not exactly what you’re looking for).

    Since I’m on the current trend of “other Christmas songs you just HAVE to make a design for,” “Away in a Manger” would be ADORABLE for a little kids room (as would “I Saw 3 Ships Come Sailing In.” Or for a nursery, “Sleep in Heavenly Peace.”

    Okay, going back to the task at hand, simply taking the words, “Glory to the Newborn King” would suffice.

    P.S. I am always on the hunt for pictures that reaches out and catch me with the word “Noel” in them; I do love your design! If you do any other versions of “Noel,” I’d be interested to see them!

  13. My favorite is Joy to the World! Would definitley buy that.

    I also think the phrase “O Come all ye Faithful” could be a beautiful print.

  14. I’m loving the Cup of Cheer design! As for the design suggestions, I love the lyrics of “Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground)” by Chris Tomlin and “Hope Was Born This Night” by Sidewalk Prophets. Francessca Battestelli’s “Be Born In Me” has a line that I love as well- “Make my heart Your Bethlehem.” Kind of a twist on the “Let every heart prepare Him room” lyrics

  15. Love, love, love. And I think my favorite is the cups of cheer one although I MUST find a place for Joy to the World this Christmas! (Really need to build my mantle!) Anywho…I think ‘Holy Night’ would be neat, although I loved the suggestions above too. Thanks for the dose of dream encouragement. We’ve had sick kids in our house for a week now and it’s hard to see past the mess and the laundry and remember way back to when I was a creative person. 🙂

  16. I like “Let every heart prepare Him room.” I also love lyrics from “O Come O Come Emmanuel” because I love the theological reality of God with us…Rejoice, Rejoice Emmanuel. My friend did a painting that said Merry Christmas kind of in a tree shape with the “t” in Christmas as a cross shaped trunk, which I thought was really cool, too!

  17. I like the Joy to the World one the best of the 4!
    I love “O Holy Night” and “Emmanuel – God is with us”. 🙂

  18. Have you heard the song, Behold Our God?
    Behold, our God, seated on His Throne, Come let us Adore Him

    It gives me chills. But that phrase, Behold Our God, even though not specifically Christmas, could be used as a beautiful Christmas print. In fact, as I say that, I can safely say, I would buy it.;) I may not even ask hubby about the expenditure.;)

  19. Love everything you guys are doing. My favorite line from my favorite Christmas song “O Holy Night” is “His law is love and His gospel is peace.” I think that would be beautiful in print. 🙂

  20. “Prepare Him room”
    or have you ever heard the song “It’s about the cross”?
    Here’s the lyrics:

    Verse 1:

    It’s not just about the manger
    Where the baby lay
    It’s not all about the angels
    Who sang for him that day

    It’s not just about the shepherds
    Or the bright and shining star
    It’s not all about the wisemen
    Who travelled from afar

    Chorus:
    It’s about the cross
    It’s about my sin
    It’s about how Jesus came to be born once
    So that we could be born again

    It’s about the stone
    That was rolled away
    So that you and I could have real life someday

    It’s about the cross
    It’s about the cross

    Verse 2:

    It’s not just about the presents
    Underneath the tree
    It’s not all about the feeling
    That the season brings to me

    It’s not just about coming home
    To be with those you love
    It’s not all about the beauty
    In the snow I’m dreaming of

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:

    The beginning of the story is wonderful and great
    But it’s the ending that can save you and that’s why we celebrate

    It’s about the cross
    It’s about my sin
    It’s about how Jesus came to be born once
    So that we could be born again

    It’s about God’s love
    Nailed to a tree
    It’s about every drop of blood that flowed from Him when it should have been me

    It’s about the stone
    That was rolled away
    So that you and I could have real life someday
    So that you and I could have real life someday

    It’s about the cross
    It’s about the cross

I love hearing from you guys!