Item of the Week: The Clip Frame

We are planning to start featuring an item each week- whether it be a new item or something that we've had in our shop for a while! Some weeks, we will also offer special prices on these items, as well!

We are featuring a brand new item this week- The Clip Frame!

These frames don't have the normal acrylic we feature on most of our frames. They have a small clip which allows you to switch out your picture very easily!

 This frame also looks great in our smaller Mini Chunky version.

These frames are also great for holding recipes in your kitchen!

The larger version of this frame (the same size as a normal Chunky 4x6 frame) is only $15 and the smaller version (same size as a Mini Chunky) is only $10!  These can be ordered in any color combination! And DON'T FORGET, we're still having our Christmas in July sale! Just use code "CHRISTMASINJULY" at checkout and you'll receive 20% off your purchase! Stock up on our new clip frames- they would make great Christmas gifts!

On a personal note, we're lucky enough to be at the beach this week with Anna's family! We're having a great time- we just wanted to share a picture of us down by the water!

We hope you're having a great Monday!

Follow Our Blog, You Might Win!

Good afternoon!

We are in between travels right now and home for a few days as we do laundry and get ready to leave again! We spent much of last week in Ohio seeing my (Jonathan's) family- a post and pictures about that later! And Saturday, we're leaving for Destin, FL with Anna's family!

As we get ready to start blogging more, we want you to follow our blog! Everyone that starts following our blog between now and Sunday, July 24th will be registered to win a FREE Large Chunky 4x6! Like this one here:

Except you can choose whatever colors you like! We are even offering this giveaway to those of you that are far away- that's right, we'll ship it to you for free! All you have to do is scroll down and click "Join This Site" on the right side of your screen. Then, you'll be a follower of our blog! We'll choose our winner on Monday, July 25th by  using www.random.org!

Happy Thursday!

It's Christmas in July!

No, we haven't gone crazy and put up our Christmas tree already (although Jonathan probably would if I let him- he LOVES Christmas decorations), but we are having a big sale and debuting Christmas items in our shop!

Why Christmas in July?
It's actually an event that many Etsy Shops participate in. It technically begins later this week, but we got started a little early! Look out for "Christmas in July" sales in other Etsy shops too!

What's the sale?
You can get 20% off your entire purchase! NOT just our Christmas frames- but everything in our Etsy shop! Just use the discount code "CHRISTMASINJULY" at checkout!

What's new?
We have several new Christmas Frames on our Etsy store which you check out here.  ALSO... we revamped our stocking holders a little bit and they are also available on the store!

Why buy Christmas stuff now?
Why NOT? The holidays are crazy enough as it is! Why not relieve some stress and go ahead and get some of those gifts taken care of? And why not get some of those stocking holders to decorate with? It'll only be about 4 or 5 months before you're thinking about Christmas decorations! PLUS- even if you're not buying for Christmas, you can still take advantage of our SALE!

On Another Note...

We've added two pages on our website that help you see and browse our color choices!

Browse our Color List Page here.
and
Browse our Colors By Picture Page here.

We will be adding more colors to these pages soon! And even when you don't see a color you want, that doesn't mean we can't find the perfect color(s) for you! Just contact us.

We'll be Traveling... So What's that Mean for J&A Designs?

Next week, we will leaving on the first of two trips before the end of this month! So, as we prepare for our trips, we will stop working on orders after Saturday, July 9, 2011, and we will be back in full swing beginning Monday, August 1, 2011.

But you're keeping your Etsy Shop open?

YES! We want you to be able to continue to browse, as well as purchase frames if you'd like. Just know we will not be able to work on your order until August 1st.

PLUS, we will be participating in Etsy's "Christmas in July" sale in the next couple of weeks. Not only will we be offering a discount code on your entire purchase, but we will also have special Christmas Frames and Christmas Items up on our Etsy shop!

What if I need to contact you while you're traveling?

Feel free to convo us on Etsy or email anna@jandadesigns.net! We will be "working from the road" and will respond as quick as possible!

What if I REALLY need a frame while you're gone?

There will be a very short few days that we will be home in between our two trips. So there might be a very slim possibility we can get you your purchase.* But, you'll need to email us or convo us on Etsy BEFORE making your purchase!

*Rush fee will apply.

Any other questions- just email or convo us!

Ugly Electronics... Gone!

Hello again! We wanted to share a little project we had been planning to do for a while, and finally got around to it this weekend. We got a great antique dresser soon after we moved in to our new place that we had been eying at When Pigs Fly in Old Towne Clinton for a while (the same place we got the antique cart we showed in this post). We loved this dresser and knew it would look great in our living room holding our TV! And some day down the road, it could be used in another room if we decide we don't want our TV on it.

When we bought it, we figured the electronic boxes (DVD player, cable box, etc.) would just sit beside the TV but we didn't really realize how many of those annoying boxes we had. In all, we've got:

• cable box
• internet modem
• router
• DVD player
• Roku player (streams Netflix, Amazon Video, etc.) and...
• Apple TV

So the dresser has been looking like this for a while: 

Junky!

Well, our friend Lawren had actually suggested we research an IR (infrared) Extender System a while back. So Jonathan researched them online and found one, we just waited a while to purchase one. Last week he got it ordered and we finally got it set up. 

The system basically has one main sensor that you can point all of your remotes at, and smaller sensors placed near your electronics transmit the signals. This type of thing is made for people that may have a cabinet of media stuff (like if your TV was above the fire place) but it works great for us too!

Jonathan drilled holes in the back of the dresser for the cords (even if we decide to use the dresser as an actual dresser some day, no one will ever see the holes since they'll be up against a wall). 

Then he put the electronics in the top three drawers

The router still works perfectly even though it's inside the dresser! When we want to watch a DVD will be about the only time we will really have to open up a drawer. The IR Extender works great and now I don't have to look at all those ugly electronics. Just the TV and the beautiful dresser!

We wanted to share this because we know other people might experience the same type of problem- wanting to hide your electronic components- or maybe you are using a dresser as a TV console as well.

Check out the Logitech IR Extender System we used below! Happy Tuesday!

DIY Art Prints

Well, here we are. Bloggin' again. I mentioned in our last post here that I would tell you about the prints hanging above the desk in the office. I've had this calendar of vintage New York prints for a while. I always said, "I'll do something cool with these prints some day." And I actually did it!

I picked my three favorites out of the twelve to go up on the wall

We got these frames at Target to use. They are simple and matched the office pretty well.

The frames had white mattes with them, but we decided that white wouldn't look that good with the prints, so I spray painted them gray. Then, I just cut the prints to go behind the mattes.

The end result ended up looking really good! The best part? It was pretty cheap and we did it ourselves!

My favorite print is the one in the middle- a vintage map of Manhattan. Unfortunately, this picture is a little blurry!

So, there's my DIY art above my desk! I think it matches the rest of the office really well! I didn't mention in the office tour the iMac on my desk, but you can see it in this picture. I was lucky enough to get this computer recently to help make J&A Designs operations go a little smoother! I was excited Anna finally agreed to let me get it! :)