Monogrammed Pillows

Right now I am uploading all my new items to my online store, The Polka Dot Monkeys, and I am so obsessed with everything! I am loving all my new items for the home, children and women. Sorry men, you are next on my list to get upscaled!

Some of the items I am adding are luxurious monogrammed throw pillows and I just love, love them! My southern side loves the fact that they are mono-grammed and the fabrics and colors are to die for! Adding a dramatic modern pattern to some of your existing pillows can change the look of the whole room. These mono-grammed pillows are handmade in the USA, measure 16" X 16", come with pillow inserts and will make a statement when placed in any room. Monogrammed Pillows The Polka Dot Monkeys

I am an asymmetric person. That means I like everything slightly off balance and I am not talking about crooked pictures, lol! I love groups of three, five, seven-you get the idea. Three pillows placed on a couch with the one in the center being monogrammed or the outer two, really sets a room off. eclectic family room design

A quiet unnoticed chair in the corner comes to life with a bold modern monogrammed pillow. I absolutely love it when I walk into a room and cannot figure it out exactly, if you know what I mean. To me, a room that has many areas of interest makes me want to stay a while. eclectic living room design by orange county interior designer Fluegge Interior Design, Inc


Nothing looks better than a bedroom with a bed that just looks like it is waiting for you! A bed usually is the focal point of any bedroom and it needs to be dressed ready for you or your guests.

A bed always looks best with at least five pillows on it. Two pillows in the back against the headboard, with two more placed in front of those and then you can place one fab monogrammed pillow in front of those.

contemporary bedroom design by little rock interior designer Tobi Fairley



Or you can place two pillows in the back with one accent pillow in front topped with two monogrammed pillows. contemporary bedroom design by orange county interior designer Jessica Bennett Interiors

Spring is in the Air!

I am so excited about all the new items The Polka Dot Monkeys is about to offer! The Paper Menu is a line of stationery that I have followed for years and just love. Marie, the owner, designs everything herself and it is easy for her to customize. They not only carry a line of stationery, but also clothing lines; and you guessed it, you can personalize everything, stay tuned! Also, I am in love with the cupcake bands that are personalized......COMING VERY SOON!

Personalized styrofoam cups that are great for any occasion, even everyday use. You can have them printed with your name, initial or monogram. You also can have things like Arnim's River House or Smith's Lake House as well as add your own emblems like a fleur-de-lis, crab, fish, anchor flower, peace sign and much more. They are great for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations as well: It's Ashlyn's Birthday with a peace sign and date would be a great idea!

I just love personalized ribbon and The Polka Dot Monkeys will have it soon. I love this ribbon because it is a high quality ribbon and the colors are scrumptious! You know that you can use this ribbon on bags as well....that is if you do not want to wrap something, but if you do, personalized wrapping paper is on my list too!

Everyone needs yard flags and I will carry large and small with assorted patterns and colors; personalized, of course!

Check out the new wooden personalized cutting boards in the "Home Decor" Department. There are many sizes and shapes and come in maple or walnut and trendy handles. Made in the USA.  Prices are great and they make a fabulous shower, wedding or anniversary gift as well as a house warming gift for someone special.

Enough chit chat! I have to get to work and load all of the new items.....so start thinking about what you would like!

Reading and Our Little Ones

Raising three children and teaching little ones over the years, has made me realize just how important reading to our children really is. Reading can take your child on a magical trip and open their imagination like nothing else. Having a special person read to them makes it even more magical!

Since the start of my online store, The Polka Dot Monkeys, I have been seeking a nice line of storybooks that are personalized and available in soft cover as well as hardcover. That way those that wanted a great storybook, but did not want to pay the hardcover price, could still have a quality storybook. Well, I am so happy that I have found some great storybooks! Some are already on my site and the others will be online this next week.

The storybooks that are on the site now,  involve your child in the storybook mentioning their name throughout and sometimes incorporating family and friends. Each of these books, stimulate your child's cognitive skills on many levels without you realizing it. Reading to children awakens their cognitive skills; such as contextual memory,  auditory and visual short term memory, working memory, divided attention, shifting,  spatial and visual perception, long term memory and focusing to mention a few. I am happy to offer these books $19.95 for soft cover (sold for $23.95 on some sites) and $34.95 for hardcover. You can order now and have in plenty of time for Christmas. Turnaround time is about 3 days, then 3-5 days to ship.

"Hiphop Howie" for instance, is a personalized rhyme book where your child is the main character in the story filled with rhymes and good times. Before reading this book, talk to your child about rhyming words. Run through a list of them that are found in the book, then when Howie is asked what rhymes with a certain word, they can stimulate their memory and recall some of the rhyming words. I love this book because it actually has a page that has a list of rhyming words across the top of the pages, great for visual and auditory memory. As you read the rhyming words, point to them so your child can see the words as they hear you read them.

 "A Great Big Heart" is a personalized book about a child wants to demonstrate love to ones that are close to them. Showing love can come in many different forms, from drawing pictures to sharing experiences. This book walks your child through all the wonderful things that you can do to make someone feel good. By having your child recall things that have made them feel good and think up ways to make others feel good, you are stimulating all sorts of skills; recall, long and short term memory, divided attention, shifting and response time to name just a few!

This is one of my favorites! "Goes to the Aquarium" explores the underwater world full of aquatic animals and filled with the child's name written on rocks, fish, sand, bubbles and much more. Not only does this wake up the visual perception and scanning, but also spacial perception. Wake up their contextual memory by asking them to remember different places they have seen some of the creatures, or where they have played in the sand! The possibilities are endless with these books. So get to it and start reading to your little ones!

Visit www.thepolkadotmonkeys.com and follow the links, Baby & Child then Storybooks!

Holidays Are Right Around The Corner!

It is really hard to believe that we are approaching the end of October! Where has the time gone? I scaled back my shows this year and only have three planned for the first two weeks of November and believe me, that will be plenty with all the custom work I am doing.

Note to all my customers: if you can think ahead, now is the time to order custom items, like things with monograms! The closer we get to mid November the harder it is to get things back in time for Christmas. We lose almost a week in November with Thanksgiving.

I am thinking about revamping my site, but will not do until sometime next year. Having about twelve items in line right now for monogramming with more coming, business to business luncheons and all my new "boutique designs"  I am making for the upcoming shows, must not be enough.....so now my mind is racing on how to change things up! Crazy yes, because everything seems to be running just fine right now, even with all the changes Google has made, and I am now thinking about changing it up???? STOP! I think I am leaving things just as they are for a while. It has taken me two years to get quality vendors I like and things have been running smoothly with great reports from Google. Now is good!

I am however, asking friends on Facebook to help with some creative ideas for welcoming customers during the holidays. If you have any ideas, please leave them hear! I look forward to new creative thinking!

New Boutique Items Coming to The Polka Dot Monkeys!

I am so excited to release my new designs for "beaucoup baby and kids". It all started with a few customers requesting "cute" diaper covers that did not have Velcro and were not plastic. I started gathering fabrics and designing hip, chic and stylish diaper covers. For baby girls I am going to offer plain diaper covers as well as diaper covers with ruffles. I have tried to make them very bright and colorful for fall. I am using baby whale corduroy as well as quality cotton fabrics. Plain diaper covers will be offered for both sexes and I also have some very high quality flannel that is so soft and snuggly for itty bitty babies. Not only will these look great with onesies that you can add appliques to match, but also with the kimono side snap tops for newborns/3months. My kimono tops are not just any top! They will be coordinated with the diaper covers with more ruffles for baby girls and ribbons for boys that will coordinate with their diaper covers. The boy's pricing will include monogramming. While I really try to keep my pricing down, it is difficult because I do use quality fabrics and ruffles require more fabric.

Not only am I introducing the diaper covers, but also "Boho Ruffled Pants" for baby and toddler girls! The fabric combinations are beautiful! I am so very happy with my choices. Sizing will start at 6 months - 5T.  they will look great in photo shoots! I have found a very soft long sleeve tee that has slight ruffle stitching on the sleeves and along the bottom that will have coordinating fabric applique of your child's initial to match that can be purchased separately. Monogramming over the applique will be an extra charge. Fabric quantities are limited for this grouping, so hurry and choose your "Boho Ruffled Pants" before they are gone! I will offer new groupings as needed.

Diaper covers, boho ruffled pants, kimono tops and now, jackets for baby and  toddler girls! I am making an adorable ruffled bolero jacket with short sleeves for our Southern weather. I will offer it in baby whale corduroy, velvet and a faux zebra. The outer jacket and ruffles will be made of the same fabric and the jacket will be lined with a colorful fanciful fabric and a button closure. Sizing 12 months to 5T.

Also new to my line is a very chic Kimono Jacket that will be lined with a coordinating fabric. This, too is perfect for our Southern weather. Fabrics will include velvet, corduroy and other heavy weight cotton fabrics. Right now, most any color baby whale corduroy and a faux zebra are available. If you would something else, please feel free to contact me.

Click on the "beaucoup baby & kids" page above and see the full line with fabric swatches as well as pricing. call or shoot me an email to order.

God Bless America

While I have been busy all weekend getting orders out the door, I could not help but stop and listen today in absolute disbelief again, on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. I, as many people, are so guilty of moving through my days taking things for granted. I actually hate the fact that I need to be reminded just how precious all things are after reflecting on the horrific actions the evil persons took on such a gorgeous September morning in 2001. We walk through life sometimes thinking nothing about the ones that have gone before us, the ones that gave their lives so very bravely. We must never forget!
So listen to the stories about life moving forward, while never forgetting that horrific day, the images burned into our memories forever. Hold your loved ones close to your heart, cherish your time on this earth, and try to make a difference tomorrow and the day after that and so on. May we all move forward and never forget the ones that gave their lives on 9/11. God Bless them and God Bless America. AMEN

Show Thursday, September 15th -Fort Bend Friends & Neighbors Girlfriends Gala 2011

I cannot wait to see Fort Bend County residents at the Girlfriends & Neighbors Gala which is dedicated to celebrating women, sisterhood and all things that are girly!  Right up my alley!

The Safari Texas Ranch, The Magnolia Room 10-2pm ~ Thursday, September 15th, 2011.

This organization is a social group of women that network and are involved in their community! How great! Visit  Fort Bend Friends and Neighbors Website  and read all about about their philosophy, I am going to quote some of it here:
"Fort Bend Friends & Neighbors is a social and philanthropic organization open to all Fort Bend County women residents. Many new and long-time residents of Fort Bend County have made lasting friendships through membership and activities in the Club.
FBFN is an ideal place for newcomers to the area to become familiar with our county and what it has to offer, as well as, have fun while making new friends along the way. If you are a current resident of Fort Bend County, Fort Bend Friends and Neighbors is a wonderful place to socialize and/or become involved in your community through its’ philanthropic activities.
FBFN was organized exclusively for social, education, and charitable activities. Our objectives are:

• to provide an opportunity for members to become acquainted with others in the community and/or neighborhoods;
• to provide an atmosphere of friendliness, goodwill and helpful information for Club members in the local community;
• to undertake and promote charitable and humanitarian projects within the community; and to form enduring friendships."

How great to have an organization celebrating women and sisterhood!