Original art for Emerson

Nearly a year ago, we painted Emerson's room a soft yellow and never got around to hanging any of the paintings and prints from her nursery. They sat on the floor, leaning against walls and dressers mostly because I couldn't wrap my head or heart around this new stage of her life. Babyhood is long gone, toddler days are flying by and it's hard to imagine how the visuals in her rabidly expanding world will help shape her imagination, her curiosity and her dreams. So much pressure. What if I get it all wrong? That sort of self talk tends to stifle one's creativity, yes?

So I threw caution to the wind and finally indulged one of my own little dreams - to commission a painting from Marisa at Creative Thursday. I adore her painting style and when Emerson was a baby I couldn't help picturing her chubby little being as one of Marisa's iconic characters. I had the pleasure of meeting Marisa (and Sean) in person down in L.A. in October. It was a thrill. She's just as charming, kind and engaging as she appears on her blog. We talked about Emerson and I shared a few of my recent favorite mama memories, along with some photos and Marisa took it from there. A few weeks later, I received this magical painting of Emerson and her two constant companions - lion and elephant. These guys are everything to her and her dad and I wanted to capture this time in her life.

We let Marisa's painting ground the gallery wall and added special photos of Emerson, along with a print by Edie of Edie Art that I purchased from the artist on the street during our most recent trip to New York City and prints of an elephant and a lion because, you know, her guys. The other tiny print is a special iphone photo of balloons in Brooklyn I had printed on a bamboo block through Paper Culture.

So her room is a cacophony of happy color and images. It's officially my favorite room in the house. I hope it's hers too. Do you have a favorite memory from your childhood room? Something that made it special and yours? I'd love to hear.

"Emerson's and her Guys" - Original commissioned painting by Marisa Cummings of Creative Thursday.