Maternity Leave

Wondering where The Monogrammed Monkey has gone? Well, nowhere, really! I'm just taking some time off to get ready for the arrival of my newest baby monkey! :) I'll be back to monogramming (and hopefully better blogging) sometime after the first of the year. In the meantime, here are a few photos of the things customers have ordered lately. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season enjoying all the blessings God has given each of us. Happy Holidays!

New Applique Fonts

Here are pictures of a couple of new applique alphabets we've just added. I love alphabets because you can do so much with them! Names, just a letter, a number for a birthday....you name it!



The one above is called "cade" and also comes in a zig-zag stitch. It's very cute, especially for boys!

This was a customer request, and she's doing coordinating brother/sister holiday shirts in the font. I like it because it comes in several sizes and is great for longer names (like my sons have!)

It's Greek to Me!

A customer of mine recently told me that she had several former sorority sisters all due with baby girls around the same time. She wanted to do something special for them and came up with the cutest little onesies. These Kappa Delta legacies will be starting off life right!

Of course, as I told my customer, I guess that since I'm having boys I won't be making these precious outfits in my greek letters. However, I do see some "Future KA" t-shirts in their future! :)

We Love Birthdays!

One of the most fun things we get to work on at The Monogrammed Monkey is birthday shirts. Birthdays are so fun anyway, and we love seeing what themes our customers pick out for their little monkeys! We also love seeing the inspiration pieces...be it invitations, photos, or fabric scraps. I'm even keeping a list of some of my favorite designs to use in the future for my 2 boys!

The starting design of a recent birthday theme.......

....and the finished product. We love how it turned out!

What Have We Been Up To?

Well, it's been a wild few months at The Monogrammed Monkey! First, and most importantly, I'm having my own Monkey #2 in December! We're super-excited about our newest addition, and can't wait to meet him (and making him lots of adorable monogrammed stuff, of course!). We have also grown LOTS in the last few months, and are currently slammed with orders. We love our customers, and we are having lots of fun seeing what they pick for their little monkeys! We've also upgraded to a commercial monogramming machine, although we haven't really learned to use it yet. I'm hoping to have some time to learn it while I'm on maternity leave.....well, at least that's what I'm hoping! :)

Here are some of our newest appliques and fonts..........

Giveaway!

We've teamed up with Miss Southern Prep to do a fun giveaway! One of her readers will be getting one of our new personalized license plates. Head over to her blog and find out how to enter. While you're there, we know you will think she's as adorable as we do! But don't delay....the giveaway ends on Monday, April 25th!

Specialty Appliques

Most of the time, appliques fit into a certain theme. Holidays, beach, boyish, girlie, etc. But, sometimes you might be looking for more of a particular item. That's where our specialty appliques come in! These may not be "all the time designs", but when there is something special that you need, we probably have it! We've put a few below to get your creative juices flowing. As always, if you're looking for something specific, please email us at themonogrammedmonkey@gmail.com and we'll get busy working for you!

Awareness ribbon that could be made in any color for a variety of causes.

Would look great in yellow for Memorial & Veteran's Day!

Card characters that would look super-cute on kitchen towels for a bridge hostess!

We're thinking this blueberry would look cute with letters inside for an upcoming festival!

This quirky mushroom would look cute on just about anything!

Put this stethoscope applique on a set of play scrubs for your Doctor-in-training!

Jon Jons

Can you believe it's almost summer? With warm weather approaching (or already here, in our case!), jon jons become must-haves for little boys. They can wear shirts underneath now and sleeveless once it gets really balmy. At only $30 each, including monogram or applique, what a great item for those memory photos....especially with all the warm weather holidays and vacations that are just around the corner! If you want to look at more of our jon jon creations for inspiration, check out our Facebook page.

Bird Is The Word!

Birds are just so cute and girly! They look cute on everything from tees to kitchen towels. Here are a few of our newest bird appliques, so just let us know if we can create anything special for your sweet little monkey!

peacock

bird on spring branch

tropical bird

simple bird

Where Has The Week Gone?

Somehow the week just got away from me! Mostly, my to-do list seems to be growing, not shrinking. I have scraps of paper everywhere listing the things I need to do.....I just hope I can remember where I put all my notes! I'm pretty sure my husband is ready for me to get the vinyl machine and all it's extras off the dining room table, but since I'm still working on orders, it might be hanging around for a little bit! I'm trying to get everything ready to mail tomorrow. It's going to be a very big trip to the post office and I'm dreading it! Luckily, my husband will be able to help me, so that's great news!

Of course, I don't get as many of my tasks completed as I'd like sometimes because I spend most of my time with my little monkey. I wouldn't have it any other way! I stay home to be with him....and this time is fleeting. I don't want to wake up one day and realize that I've missed this precious time because I was too busy with whatevers. He is my priority, and I am thankful each day that I have been given this gift. I don't want to waste it! So if that means I'm not as productive, then so be it! The little monkey and I have gotten to get out and have some fun this week, and we're looking forward to lots of fun this weekend (after the post office, of course!). I hope you guys have a great weekend, too, making lots of memories! Isn't that what it's all about? :) See you next week!

A couple of the monogrammed gifts we delivered this week......

Great Day

Yesterday was just a GREAT day! I got to visit with one of my favorite customers, who didn't disappoint with the pile of goodies she brought me! Also, got some fun news....2 different things...about The Monogrammed Monkey that I'm not ready to share just yet (since the details are still being worked out), but they're exciting! A few other good things happened too, and it was just one of those days that everything goes right.

Those don't happen too often around here, so I'll celebrate them when I can! One of the happies was that my vinyl order arrived, which was WONDERFUL since I got an order yesterday on a color of vinyl I was out of! I was scrambling until my husband opened the door late last night and found the package full of what I needed. Hooray! The UPS man must have delivered while we went out to dinner. I'll tell you, our UPS man works hard and late, bless his heart! So I'm off to start working on these vinyl orders, so I can get to work on monogramming. Naptime just isn't long enough some days! :)

This little sippy is for a customer's soon-to-be baby girl. So sweet!

Wild Weekend and Wild Week Ahead!

We had a wild weekend this weekend! Saturday we ran errands until we just couldn't take it anymore, and then Sunday was filled with honey-dos around the house. I've been so busy with The Monogrammed Monkey and my own monkey lately that our house needed a little attention! The vinyl machine has been going non-stop, and I'm waiting on a reorder of supplies to arrive. Of course, I got a rush job, so off to the craft store I went! Luckily, Hobby Lobby had some transfer paper that wasn't exactly like the kind I use, but it will do in a pinch!

This week is shaping up to be wild, too! Today I'm meeting with a customer who has told me she's bringing me 15 things to do. That's going to keep me busy! She wants to look at some of our other monogram fonts as well, since we don't have all of them online. So, we're going to pour over our 3-ring binder filled with ideas and come up with some cute designs for her little monkeys. It's so fun to come up with cute ideas for other little monkeys.....I love seeing how ideas turn into finished products! We've also got lots going on in our "real lives". I've already been emailing this morning trying to juggle playdates with other plans....whew! I'm so thrilled that it's spring and that we are finally well and able to get out and play!

Speaking of fonts, here are a few of our fonts that aren't listed yet. One of my to-dos is to get the applique and font pages updated...I've got a huge file on my computer full of pictures that no one has seen yet! I'm going to get back to work now, and I hope you all have a great day!

Vinyl Lettering

My, how time does fly! We told you about our vinyl creations back in January, and I had every intention of being on top of things and getting pricing and all together. But things never work out the way you'd planned, do they? We have been busy creating fun stuff, though, and snapping pics along the way. Here are a few of the things we've done lately. But what about the pricing, you ask? I've done that, too! I've even made the vinyl it's own page. Click HERE for all the info!

Pirates A-Plenty

I have a secret. I've always had a thing for pirates. Not the serious-African coast-thug-gangster kind, but the really-cute-Captain-Hook kind. Maybe it started when I was a kid and loved Peter Pan. Or maybe it was Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean (wink). Anyway, now that I have a little boy, I just love all things pirate! Our little monkey even has a pirate map hanging on his playroom wall and his own pirate's chest. So with all these adorable pirate appliques, I'm like a kid in a candy store. Here are a few of my current faves...

Pirate alphabet comes in every letter AND number. Soooo cute for a pirate birthday!

X marks the spot to the cutest appliques! love this island design....it can also be made without the X and dotted line

Another treasure map to guide you to cuteness!

My Little Monkey's Wardrobe

Well, I promised that I'd show you what I'm creating for my little monkey this spring, but I realized that I have NO idea! I have some Easter stuff ready that I'll show you soon, but beyond that, I'm a little clueless! That's the problem with having so many designs.......it's near impossible to make up your mind. Here are a few definites, though. I've actually already made a red tee with this on it for him. I left off the smile and put in his monogram. I used a small red gingham to match some pants that he has, as well as some shorts. This is one of my all-time favorite designs!

Baseball, baseball...catch the fever now! (That is the lyrics to some song, but that's the only part I remember!) Anyway, I'm wanting to put this on a jonjon. Unfortunately, I'd already cut out the pattern when I realized that he's grown out of that size! :( So, we're moving up sizes and hopefully, I'll have a similar fabric....

I'm hoping to put this anchor on a tee to go with the swimsuit that I'm ordering this weekend. I say hoping, because I'm praying that they haven't sold out of the swimsuit yet!

Now that I've shared some fun ideas, I've got to run errands. Boo! It's been raining here all morning, and it looks like it's stopped for a minute. Time to head to the grocery to pick up snacks for church tonight!

Weekend Warriors

This weekend, my dad, husband, and father-in-law worked tirelessly to put up our swing set. We'd been planning this for months, so we were very excited that our little monkey could finally swing and slide in his own yard!

Since they were busy doing boy things, we were able to get some work done! We had a couple of fun projects in mind, and we busily worked on a new upcoming thing for The Monogrammed Monkey. We also were able to get some last-minute customer orders done, so that was great!

The weather change has definitely gotten me in the summer spirit. I've been busily going through H's closet to see what he still needs for the season. Sadly, I found out today that he definitely needs a swimsuit! Luckily, I'm going to one of the clothing home parties on Saturday, so I'll pick one out then. Tomorrow, I'll share some of the other things I'm thinking of for his summer wardrobe. Why do I not get near as excited when I inventory my closet? Hmmm.......

A cute little shortall that a customer brought us for her little monkey.

We added the polka dotted alligator to give it a little something special!

Patch Work!

Maybe you're looking for a way to personalize something, but don't want a plain monogram? Look no further than a patch! These make monograms, letters, or names stand out a bit more. Plus, you can spice them up with cute fabrics to make them coordinate with shorts, skirts, you name it! Here are a few of our designs, but as always, you can check out more on Facebook!