1st year anniversary gift that will keep giving EVERY year!

Wanted to share a fun anniversary gift idea for all of you newly weds out there! 

This has been so much fun for me and my husband has always loved it!

For our first wedding anniversary I wanted to do something special and creative for Doug. Since the tradition was "paper" I decided to choose a song that was special to us and re wrote the lyrics on some paper. I put it in a pretty box with lots of blank pages. 

My promise was that I would re write a song every anniversary forever and ever. So far, so good!

 The first year's song was "Love your love". 2nd year was "Then". Last year was "A great guy like you" ("A woman like you"). This year I decided to re write the song "She's everything" as "He's everything" because it was the first song that Doug played for me and said it reminded him of me, about 6 1/2 years ago! So far, all of the artists have been men which has made it fun to re write! Obviously I started this before my new career in print making, but I will still write this years because I think that's what makes it so special! 

Happy 4 years, Doug! And I thought I loved you then. Ha!

xoxo

Col

It can't get more rewarding than this...

Today is a bittersweet day in Newtown, Connecticut. There are red balloons all over town and people gathering to honor little James Mattioli on this, his 7th birthday. Although he is not on this earth to celebrate, his memory is being honored by friends and family in Newtown and by myself, you (readers and friends) and the Etsy community. 

I cannot express how honored I feel to be a part of something so personal to so many people who have been on my heart and in my thoughts and prayers for months now. I can't think of anything more rewarding. Here is how it all began :)

Weeks ago I got a repeat order from a customer who was buying something for her daughter's teacher. I ALWAYS glance at the address/location of the order to see if it might be Carmel, Indiana (where I am from), St. Louis, MO (where I live) or somewhere tropical/a dream destination. I have racked up offers of places to stay in Portugal, Australia AND England already! This time around however I couldn't help but notice that Kristen was from Newtown, CT. I would have seen this on her first order but it would not have grabbed my attention then as I had never heard of it. I reached out to express sympathy only to discover she was closer to the tragedy than I hoped or expected :( One thing led to another and some weeks later, she has handed out 100 of these prints to her connections to 12.14.12 be they victim's families, friends and teachers. She decided on "Love always wins" (the town's mantra on the road to healing) and we hope that the message can bring peace and happiness to everyone! The names of each victim borders the quote and the credit for the concept of this design goes to Kristen herself!!

While the print is meant to honor all of the victims and their families, we would like to especially dedicate it to little James, Kristen and her family's personal connection to 12.14.12. In Kristen's words: "James was one of my son Christopher’s dearest friends, a boy who loved life, his family, baseball, Treadwell’s pool, and all things fun.  His smile will forever be etched into our hearts, and he is dearly missed by our family." 

Half of the proceeds of this print will go to his memorial fund. If you would like to make a donation in lieu of purchasing a print, please make a check out to:

James R. Mattioli Memorial Fund 

c/o Newtown Savings Bank

39 Main Street, Newtown, CT 06470

To learn more about James and to see his adorable face, please go here:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newstimes/obituary.aspx?pid=161773043#fbLoggedOut ♥ 

To purchase a print which will serve as a reminder that LOVE ALWAYS WINS, please visit my etsy shop here!: https://www.etsy.com/listing/127201130/love-always-wins-half-of-proceeds-to-be?ref=shop_home_active

Thank you for reading this post! I am not the best blogger in the world but then I have never had something SO important to write about! Please share with family, friends and anyone you think would like to make a difference in the future of James' memory. 

xoxoxo

Colleen

SIDE NOTE & FAVOR!!! Kristen has reached out to many places requesting donations for frames to give to those who received a print already so they may hang it in their home. If you have any ideas or connections for frames please reach out to me: cocostinedesigns@etsy.com - THANK YOU!!

And the winners are...

Ryan was pretty excited about his big task this morning! 

And the winners are...

Congrats!!!!! To redeem your PDF please email me: cocostinedesigns@gmail.com with your dates, names and color choices! If you need a reminder, here is the PDF link on the site!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/101291064/pdf-printable-version-for-what-a

Thanks so much everyone! I am 3 away from 500 likes on FB and hope to reach my goal by my 1 year tomorrow! Owe it all to my incredible family, friends and customers!

xoxo

Colleen

GIVEAWAY TIME! :)

To enter to get a free What a Difference a Day Makes PDF simply "like" my Facebook page (if you haven't already) and leave a comment here! I will put all of your names in a hat and let my 15 month old pick one out :) 

I will reveal the winners on the 22nd! This will give more people a chance for a free PDF of a new print! So pass this on to your friends for a chance to win! Goal = 500 likes!

Thanks for the love and support :)

xoxo

Colleen

Somebody call 911!!!!!!!

St. Louis. Is. HOT. I know it's hot everywhere and I get it that everyone is miserable this summer. But I firmly BELIEVE that St. Louis, Missouri exceeds all other levels of hotness in this great country!

THAT being said, we had our first real family pictures taken last Tuesday in 105 degree weather. Our sweet photographer Lissy { http://missprissiness.com/blog/?p=12580 } still made it super fun and bearable!!!! I am so lucky that Lissy's sweet mom, Mary, purchased several prints from me a few months ago. During the communication portion (imagine that!) we got to know each other and I became quite fond of Mary and inquired about her extra large family! Through our email "chat" I learned that ONE of her daughters was a photographer in STL AND, coincidentally, had just taken a good friend of mines pics! It just worked out perfectly. Small world indeed!

Wanted to share a few of her sneak peaks. Not too fond of my hair but what's a girl to do! Circumstantial :) Ryan was a gem though and we had lots of fun!!!!! THANK YOU, LISSY!!!!

The last few months of my life have been (to say the LEAST) a WHIRLWIND. Some days I didn't know how I was going to make it work... but with the help of my wonderful husband, my family & 2 new FAB babysitters, it has all fallen into place :)

With over 1100 sales in my Etsy shop since MAY (almost 1400 total!) & being a full time mommy... I feel like I have been lacking in other important departments in my life. But as of 3 weeks ago my sister Shannon has joined me and is helping me immensely!!! SO excited to have more time with our Teddy Bear, family & FUN EVENTS coming up!!! (Weddings, the lake, a bachelorette, our anniversary & celebrating Colleen's wedding!)

Meanwhile, Ryan has been growing up SO fast. He is a wonderfully happy, smiley & energetic baby- all 9 months of him!!!!!! Doug and I feel so blessed to have him in our life. (WE COULDN'T LOVE YOU MORE, SHIVY!)

Just wanted to do a quick post and thank everyone for their love and support. I cannot believe how lucky and blessed we are!
xoxo
Colleen

Peyton Manning: My Sports Hero

My dad was a Baltimore Colts fan before they ever came to Indianapolis in 1984, cheering for the great Johnny Unitas. His passion for Unitas was inspiring to me and one can understand why for Indianapolis natives, today is a very sad day. My sister said it best when she texted me this morning, "it feels like I've been dumped!" Shan, for once, the glass is half empty but... I know we can fill it up! Since 1998, Peyton has done wonders for the city and for the people of Indiana. He brought Indy to LIFE! He brought us a Superbowl! He brought us good deeds and the Peyton Manning Childrens Hospital. He brought us Hope. And I know I will be forever grateful to him for these things and so many more. Thank you Peyton. So much... for all that you did to make us proud of you, of the Colts and of the city of Indianapolis. Wherever you go... I will cheer hard for you! (Let it be known however that I am still and always will be a COLTS fan. And one more thing. I know that Jim Irsay is a GOOD man who had a TOUGH decision to make, but I know he loves Indy too and for that, I am also grateful.
NOW... we could use some LUCK!!!!!! :)