Sibling rivalry

Fancy Fonts is thankful for jealous siblings!  I've made a few piggy banks for kids whose moms have come back to me and said their other child was quite jealous of his or her sibling's posh piggy.  Keep tugging on those heartstrings, kids...you're keeping me in business!  

Case in point, a friend of mine gave a piggy bank as a baby shower gift a few months ago (you may remember Charlie, the preppy little piggy with blue whales all over him), and she ordered another for Charlie's brother for his birthday because their mother said he was jealous.  Works for me!  Plus, I got to make another pirate piggy for another Captain Jack, this time a slightly smaller version.

Arrrrrrgh! 

Ahoy, matey! 

I try to make every piggy bank a little different, so I changed up the placement of the items on the treasure map, and wrote the child's name on the right side instead of the usual left.  Wild, I know.

The smaller size of the medium piggy let me use the pirate font I was too scared to try on the large piggy for Jackson.  Add a few doubloons and you've got a real swashbuckler of a piggy bank!

Medium piggy banks like Jack's can be purchased for $15, while large banks are available for $25.  Email me at karen.psimas@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook.  

Project 52: Week 19

Usually when the girls are down for their naps, I'm downstairs cleaning, folding laundry, or getting my Fancy work done.  Sometimes the house is quiet and still, other times it sounds as though there were a bowling alley upstairs no one told me about.  Brynn must think I think she's sleeping up there, but instead, I'm downstairs wondering how only 36 lbs. of sugar and spice can register at least a 5.0 on the Richter scale.  Eventually, all is silent upstairs, and it is only when Brynn wakes from her slumber that I find out just what she was up to before she went to sleep: 

 Apparently Bunny likes a bedtime story and prefers to sleep under the covers.

One of these things is not like the others... 

Brynn later told me she was pretending to be a teacher and the motley crew pictured above was her class.  I asked her if she wants to be a teacher when she grows up, and she said, "I want to be a mommy when I grow up because I'm a good mommy to my animals."  Unlike when she told me using half a roll of toilet paper to wipe her teeny tiny bum eliminates the need for handwashing, I couldn't argue with her.

If you'd like to participate in your own Project 52:  Glimpse Into Motherhood, click on the link below:

Something new

I got a phone call from a bride on Monday saying she was having the hardest time finding a gift to give her parents on her big day (which is Saturday, mind you!).  Of course the sarcastic voice inside my head immediately says, "Somehow I think neither a piggy bank or plastic plate and bowl set seem appropriate here," but the professional voice sweetly says, "What did you have in mind?"  

The bride was able to find a set of wall frame/shadow box type things for a steal, and she was hoping I could make them a little more personal and sentimental by writing a quote on each.  There were three frames, so one would have a quote for her mother, one for her father, and one about the two of them as parents.  Such a sweet idea, right?  A well-known personalization store wanted to charge her $3/word (!), but she Fancied up her frames at the bargain price of $15 total.  Here's the finished product:

All three frames together.  Lots of options for arranging them on the wall. 

"A mother holds her children's hands for a little while, but she holds their hearts forever."

"I'm everything I am because you've been there to support me."  Bride and groom's names and wedding date at the bottom.

"A father raises his children to be as good as he meant to be."


Sweet.  Subtle.  Fancy.  Congratulations, Stephanie and Benjamin! 


Email me at karen.psimas@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook for calligraphy information and pricing.

Getting girly

It's been a while since I've made a piggy bank for myself to give as a gift, but I had the chance to get Fancy for friends of my own this weekend.  Ellie Reese was turning 1, so I came up with a tropical themed piggy for this beautiful beach baby.  Hopefully this piggy will stay with Ellie as she grows, no matter what color her room is.  Take a look:

 Every wahini needs a flower in her hair, right?

 I was too scared to attempt drawing a flamingo, so I took the safe route and went with hibiscus flowers instead. 

I was also asked to make the "deluxe package" (aka, piggy bank and plate set) for a former co-worker whose daughter just had her first baby.  I couldn't find the baby's bedding on her registry, so I drew my inspiration from this adorable gift set:

Here's how Eva's piggy turned out:

For Eva's plate set, I used a color scheme and pattern that somewhat coordinated with the piggy bank for a gift with a cohesive look.  

Large piggy banks like Ellie's and Eva's can be purchased for $25 each, while plate sets (includes 1 plate, 1 bowl, 1 personalized insert for each) are available for $15.  Email me at karen.psimas@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook to place an order.

Project 52: Week 18

I'm a firm believer in life being what you make of it.  Think positive thoughts and surround yourself with positive people, and positive things happen to you and for you.  We don't always get to choose what comes our way, but we do choose how we react to it.  I know full well that sometimes when my girls are acting up, it's because of the stressed out vibes they're getting from me.  The more laid back I am, the more laid back they are.  To some extent, I think my awareness of this concept helps us have more good days than bad around here.  And sometimes, the stars align just right and we have a really great day.  I don't question it...I just enjoy the heck out of it, most of the time from a small distance with camera in hand.

If you don't have one of these water tables yet, GET ONE!!!  I can cook and clean while keeping an eye on them just outside the back door.  Throw some towels on the kitchen floor and bring it inside during the winter, too! 

I can't get enough of their little bikini bods! 

 Brynn played with some plastic animals while Camryn was content just filling her cup and dumping it out.

Dining al fresco 

Camryn would most likely swat at me if I tried to feed her, but she thinks it's great when Brynn helps out. 

Happy kids = happy Mommy (not a bad picture considering the 4 year old photographer!) 

Cam wasn't feeling the group shot and wanted "DOWWWWN!" 

"B!  Puuuuush!" 

World champion slider 

 Camryn's new trick...abs of steel on that kid!

Love that smile! 

"Wing, wing!"

If you'd like to participate in your own Project 52:  Glimpse Into Motherhood, click on the link below:

M-I-C...K-E-Y

When faced with another challenging theme for a piggy bank, I once again turned to Google Images to come up with some inspiration.  This piggy is for a little girl who just loves Mickey and Minnie Mouse.  Knowing my artistic limits (Walt Disney I am not), I came across an image of this darling duo's silhouette and shouted "That's IT!" to my computer screen.  Totally adorable AND totally doable.  I do believe this little piggy would have Goofy saying "GAWRSH!"

Large piggy banks like Madeline's can be purchased for $25.  Email me at karen.psimas@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook to place an order.  

Fancy flowers

I had every aspiration to Fancy up a piggy bank tonight after the girls went to bed, but it would end up looking like a 1st grader's creation if I did.  I woke up not knowing what to do today.  It was a little too cool for the beach, yet way too nice to tackle the mess inside my house, so the girls and I took a trip to Home Depot and stocked up on some plants for the front yard.  We came home with a flat of petunias for around the mailbox, and two flats of impatiens for under the tree out front.  When all was said and done, 96 flowers were placed into 96 holes dug by yours truly.  Even though I had a hard time clenching my fist when I was done, my pretty new flowers made the hedges along our walkway look even more obnoxious, so I trimmed those too.  It was my first time using the electric hedge clippers, and even the lizard who lives in said hedges came out as if to say, "You're new.  Where's the other guy?"  Ryan came home from helping some neighbors and finished up the job by trimming some other bushes and mowing the lawn. I'm so proud of my Fancy work (because a green thumb I am NOT), and I know that unlike a clean house, my flowers will be pretty for more than an hour.