On the show, Chalkboard China was featured in a wedding segment styled by our talented friend, Kimberly Schelgel Whitman, and the Southern Living team. They shared with brides some clever, ‘cents’ible ways to double up on things they us in their wedding and still be able to showcase their personal style.

The fab ideas for re-purposing things in your wedding included:

• Instead of spending a ton of money on flowers to decorate the reception, once the wedding is over, collect the bouquets from your bridesmaids and pop them in a Chalkboard China Large Vase at the entrance.

• Forget the open bar! Make a signature drink instead that will be 1) more fun for the reception and 2) it can reflect your wedding colors. You could even pick something from the garden like Kimberly did for the featured drink, the Lavender Champagne Cocktail!

• Don’t spend money on a guest book. Instead, have little pieces of paper, an array of pens, have a question propped up for guests to answer(like give advice to the Bride and groom) and, once finished, have them pop their sweet notes into a bucket for the newlyweds.

• For table decor, purchase flowers that are in season and use a single type of bloom to “name” each table. For example, tell guests they’ll be sitting at the ‘Sweet Pea Table’ and have the centerpiece be a vase full of sweet peas.

• Skip the wedding cake! Have family members contribute a signature pie that they always make and then display it on an heirloom cake plate.

• You know after hours of dancing at the reception your feet start to ache and you see piles of high heels by the dance floor. For your guests, place a bucket of inexpensive, rubber flip flops in your wedding’s colors near the dance floor for guests to slip on.

In case you missed it, never fear! You can catch all of the elegant ideas and wedding tips here.

Tell us – what was your favorite wedding idea? Inquiring minds want to know so leave us a comment below!

Last week we had an exciting visit from CRAVE Dallas. CRAVE Dallas, a company all about highlighting and connecting the need-to-know women business owners in your area, stopped by for a photoshoot with our designer, Candace Jean. Candace is so excited and honored to be included in the upcoming Dallas CRAVE Guide.

Photos were taken by the talented McKinney photographer, Katie Cassidy. (And you’ve got see her other work!)

A few reasons why you should pick up the Dallas CRAVE Guide:

• Discover the best of the best in local proprietors
• You have the opportunity to help promote and support female entrepreneurs
• And you’ll get to see Chalkboard China, of course!

All in all, we had so much fun at the photoshoot. We were thrilled to welcome CRAVE Dallas into our offices and can’t wait to get our hands on the Dallas CRAVE Guide!

Do you know an amazing woman owned business? Tell us about them and we would love to let CRAVE know about them!

Photo by Emily Schuman

Starting her blog, Cupcakes and Cashmere, to re-kickstart her creativity, we’ve been huge fans of Emily Schuman and her lifestyle blog since its beginning in 2008.

The name of her blog, which is so much fun to say, helps to highlight only a couple of the topics she writes about. “I wanted to create a name that incited a really positive reaction; something that people were passionate about. I knew I wanted to incorporate both food and fashion and I loved the alliteration of Cupcakes and Cashmere!” Emily told Teen Vogue about the reasoning behind her blog’s title.

But cupcakes and cashmere are not the only things you’ll find on this talented blogger’s site. Emily’s knack for simple, yet incredibly chic, home decor and  home ideas have landed her features, like this one on Apartment Therapy.

Plus, you’ll see that Emily has a love for chalkboard in her home, too!

Emily has also published a book named after her popular blog. Cupcakes and Cashmere is described as “a guide for defining your style, reinventing your space and entertaining with ease,” and covers fashion, beauty, home decor, food and travel in more of a seasonally focused guide of sorts. You can find Emily’s book on Amazon and you can bet that her book will be one of our favorite poolside reads this summer!

As you can see from her entertaining ideas, her “Outfits of the Day”, her yummy recipes (This is one of our faves!), and more, we believe Emily is someone we can truly label as a happening hostess!

We’d also like to send our well wishes to Emily as she and her husband just recently tied the knot in April. Congratulations from the team at Chalkboard China!

Do you have a lifestyle blogger that inspires you? If so, share with us and give them a shout out in the comments below!

Did you know that May 8 is National Teachers Day? And the week of May 7-11 is Teacher Appreciation Week! We love our teachers as they help all of our children grow, learn and flourish every single day.

This National Teachers Day or for the end-of-the-school-year gift, show your favorite teacher how much you care with an appropriately themed gift from Chalkboard China:

1. Daisy Vases with Pens/Highlighters/Pencils

Fill a few of our Daisy Vases with school essentials. Patterned pencils, funky pens, every color of Sharpie, and more, a teacher can never do without enough school supplies. Chalk on a “Thank You” across the vases or draw on fun images like apples, books, and school buses. Then, supply her with her own case of colorful chalk that she can use for both her Chalkboard China and the classroom’s chalkboard!

2. Class Signatures on a Charger or 10″ Plate

Want to give your teacher something that she’ll always remember your child’s class by? Using our Charger or our 10″ Plate, write the teacher’s name and the year around the rim and have every student in the class sign their name onto the surface. This would be a thoughtful way for her to remember her 2011-12 class (and with such a fun gift, it may become her favorite class to remember)!

3. Cylinder/Medium/Large Vase with Flowers

Give the classic gift of “Thank You” flowers, but with a fun twist! Using either our Cylinder Vase, Medium Vase, Large Vase, Rectangle Vase, or a few of our Daisy Vases, pick up some sweet blooms at your local florist or grocery store and arrange them inside. Then, write a fun message for the teacher, thanking her for a great year. On the last day of school and before the final bell rings, have a parent deliver the flowers for a fun surprise and lasting memory the entire classroom can enjoy.

We don’t know if there’s anything better than incorporating a chalkboard gift for a teacher! Shop Chalkboard China today for unique teachers gifts that are sure to please even the strictest professor.

Who was your favorite teacher growing up?

The warmer weather coming our way can only mean one thing — it’s time to start soaking up the rays and Vitamin D (while wearing sunscreen, of course) accompanied with your favorite magazines and an icy treat like strawberry lemonade or sweet tea!

This spring and summer, we’ve compiled a list of our seven favorite hammock and poolside reads you won’t see us without:

House Beautiful

Design ideas from leaders in the industry, the latest in home trends, the must-have colors of the season — that’s what you’ll find in one of our all-time favorite mags, House Beautiful. The photo galleries online are amazing, too!

Domino

Our designer, Candace Jean, without an issue of Domino Magazine somewhere within arm’s reach! Although Domino is not printed on a regular basis anymore, you can still get your Domino fix with this year’s special edition Quick Fixes issue. Part of two part series in 2012, Domino Quick Fixes “reuses the old editorial photos from the original run of issues, with some updated ideas, resources, and shopping info,” shares Apartment Therapy.

Real Simple

Real Simple magazine is one of our go-to magazines for, well, everything! Whether it’s a fun holiday or party idea, a great, new recipe to try out, or even tips on fashion and make-up, we enjoy reading Real Simple from front cover to back cover. We were honored when Real Simple featured our Mandarin Rectangle Vase in the September 2011 issue. So fun!

O, The Oprah Magazine

By now, you should know our enthusiasm over O, The Oprah Magazine! Every issue features Oprah’s wisdom and inspiration and, of course, her favorite things in life, fashion, home decor, and more. We love using her encouraging quotes and chalking them on Chalkboard China Vases around the office!

Food & Wine

You can’t forget one of our favorite magazines that’s dedicated to one of the most important parts of any type of gathering – Food & Wine! The Chalkboard China team has been reading Food & Wine for years and enjoying the highlights and recipes of chefs, dishes and wines from all over the world. For our aspiring chefs, it’s the summer read for you!

Sweet Paul

As many of you may know, magazines are not just for print anymore. There are many digital magazines out there, too, fueling the fun (and convenient) online magazine craze! We’re in love with Sweet Paul, which is based on Paul Lowe’s wildly successful blog Sweet Paul, which ranked 22nd in the London Time’s Top 50 Best Design Blogs. Sharing “the sweet things in life”, Sweet Paul offers up yummy recipes, craft ideas, and so much more. We’ll definitely be catching up on Sweet Paul on our iPads by the pool this summer!

Rue

The entire team at Chalkboard China avidly reads Rue, a free digital magazine that covers everything from decorating ideas, to entertaining tricks and tips, and even fashion. The editors behind Rue, Crystal Gentilello and Anne Sage, are two women we admire and can whole-heartedly agree with the philosophy “that inspiration is everywhere.”

Besides Sweet Paul and Rue, if you have an iPad, Nook, Kindle Fire, or another kind of tablet, don’t forget most of these mags listed above can be read online!

What magazines can you not live without? Share with us in the comments below!

Photo by Dana Tanamachi

There’s no doubt we’ve been big fans of Dana Tanamachi from day one, and we’re talking probably some of her biggest fans! Dana is known worldwide for her artistic talents with something that is absolutely essential to Chalkboard China – CHALK!

Just a little background info on Dana, she is a graphic designer and custom chalk letterer currently living in Brooklyn, NY. She’s a fellow Lone Star State gal who got her start in the industry with a BFA in Communication Design from The University of North Texas. After graduating in 2007, she ventured to New York City to design Broadway show posters and later on, took a job under Lousie Fili at Louise Fili Ltd, specializing in the design of restaurants and food packaging.

Dana now works full time as a custom chalk letterer (That seriously has to be hands down one of the coolest jobs ever!) and has an impressive list of clients, which include West Elm, Rugby Ralph Lauren, Adidas, Everyday with Rachael Ray and more.

Back in February, you may remember some extraordinary chalk artwork that so perfectly graced the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine. Can you guess who created that work of chalk? Why none other than Dana Tanamachi, of course! We were ecstatic when the magazine dropped in our office mailbox — the cover truly showcased everything Chalkboard China represents and it featured someone the team and our designer, Candace Jean, have been a fan of for years.

Candace had the opportunity to congratulate Dana by sending over a Chalkboard China care package. We were touched by the “Thank You” photo she shared with us on Instagram and can’t wait to see what else she chalks up on our Chalkboard China Vases, Candles and Plates.

For our fellow Dana fans, we’re excited to also share that Dana will be appearing at The Dallas Society of Visual Communications in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday, May 2. You can learn more about her visit here.

Who is an artistic icon of yours?

Share with us in the comments below or feel free to show us Pinterest by tagging Chalkboard China, tell us on Facebook or tweet at us on Twitter (@ChalkboardChina)! We love hearing from you!

It’s so much fun having a super cool neighbor and we think we got the best neighbor ever, Neiman Marcus! Fellow Dallasite, our downtown office overlooks one of our favorite places to shop. It’s also exciting to see the employees of Neiman Marcus dressed to the nines in such chic, fabulous outfits every morning on the walk into our office.

Another thing we love about Neiman Marcus is NMDaily, their daily blog featuring everything a savvy trendsetter like you needs to know about fashion, beauty and life. From conversations with some big names in the fashion industry to what’s in style during the current season, we simply love curling up on the couch with our laptops and a glass of iced tea and catching up on the latest NMDaily post.

But Neiman Marcus isn’t merely about fashion. This fab retailer also carries everything essential for the home. We’re currently loving these brands and products available now at Neiman Marcus:

Kate Spade

You know her by her elegant purses and shoes, but Kate Spade also designs tabletop pieces that invite both bold, exciting colors and patterns to your table setting. Pair these gorgeous black and white plates with our Charger for your next dinner party.

Caspari

Anything monogrammed and personalized is a-okay by us! We adore the Riviera Cocktail Napkins by Caspari available at Neiman Marcus. Not only would these be absolutely perfect for a summer table setting addition, but the colors are completely complementary to the color trends expected this summer.

Legacy Home

Fabulous and welcoming, Legacy Home products, available at Neiman Marcus, carry some of the most elegant and beautiful pieces for the home. We’re currently obsessing over the Two “Cirque” Sheers with their soft link embroidery. These curtains would add a fresh and modern twist to any room in your home!

Three-Piece Personalized Spatula Set

And our obsession with personalization continues! Don’t you just love the adorable Three-Piece Personalized Spatula Set? You get to choose the color for your spatula and then add a name and/or phrase to the wooden handle. A fun gift idea: pop these cuties into our Cylinder Vase for a fun Mother’s Day gift, Bridal Shower gift or just a “Because I Like You” gift!

Where is your favorite place to shop in Dallas?

It’s only half-way through spring, but we can’t wait for summer! Backyard BBQs, days lounging by the pool, and sipping cold margaritas – since the Chalkboard China team can’t wait to sit back and enjoy all of those things, we wanted to gather what’s going to be hot (both figuratively and literally) this summer! We see bright colors and nifty neons in our summer’s future, but check out more sizzling trends below:

Wedding Trends

Since Pantone’s announcement of Tangerine Tango as the 2012 Color of the Year, The Perfect Palette has come out with some really original bright wedding color themes. The mixture of green, aqua, yellow, tangerine, and gray is truly “Fun + Fabulous” for wedding accent colors. This summer wedding season, let Chalkboard China help you be a step ahead of the bride and give her a set of our Seaside Plates to match her design. For a personal touch, write a message to both the bride and the groom to really make your gift stand out from the rest. Plus, you’ll totally be the trendiest gift giver with what’s hot in the wedding industry this summer – vibrant colors!

Fashion Trends

While Chalkboard China is a home product, our entire team loves to dressed to a T and a step ahead in the fashion world. This summer, you’ve heard of the LBD (little black dress), but consider the cooler option: the LWD (little white dress). You can stay cool while looking hot in these great options featured on Stylecaster. The best part is you can add pops of color with fab neon accessories, another trend we’ll see this summer. Don’t forget – the chunkier and brighter the jewelry, the better! Wear your LWD to the next dinner party you host and complete the outfit further with not only fun, bright jewelry, but a POP of color by sipping your fave cocktail from one of our stemware COLORS pieces.

Home Trends

Bright colors dominate the summer trends for home decor as well. We’re head over heels for this living room featured on House Beautiful with its fab use of purple, green, and aqua. These lively colors really make a statement in the room while still making the room feel cozy and livable. You could even include some Chalkboard China into the mix and dress up a few side tables with one of our Fern Vases filled to the brim with lovely white daisies.

We’d love to hear what you think your go-to bright will be this summer! Comment below or tell us on our Facebook page. We’ll also be pinning away all of the summer trends to expect to be sure to connect with us on Pinterest as well.

 SHOP NOW!

Mother’s Day is quickly approaching and the entire team at Chalkboard China can’t wait to celebrate this very special day. We know moms are secretly the superheros of the world that keep everyone and everything in order. Moms are also our confidants, our best friends, our mentors and they’re there for us through thick and thin, ups and downs, and rounds and rounds.

So this Mother’s Day, make it extra special with something unique, personalized and straight from the heart. You can fill our Medium Vase with a gorgeous bouquet of her favorite spring blooms and add an “I love you, mom, for all that you do!” Or, if she’s an avid chef, give her our Cylinder Vase filled with a new set of her favorite cooking utensils.

Or give her a set of three Daisy Vases filled with a special trinket like a fun, neon feather, a single bloom, or anything that would be meaningful to her. Or you can also choose from one of the many other Chalkboard China pieces available. Just don’t forget to chalk on a loving, sweet message so mom can see just how much you love her!

So, here’s to all the amazing and incredible moms out there! Start shopping Chalkboard China for a special Mother’s Day gift today.

What are you getting mom this Mother’s Day? Do you have any special traditions?

As you may know, the Chalkboard China team is amongst the millions of users pinning their little hearts out on the world’s favorite new site, Pinterest. But, before Pinterest was ever created, we think we discovered the original version. “Where?” You might be asking yourself this very question. Well, the Dublin- born, vivacious Slim Paley has a lifestyle blog that is everything that reminds us of Pinterest and more! Her blog is a quirky and humorous inspiration board that always keeps us coming back for more.

Slim Paley started her blog because she was looking for a new and creative outlet in her life. Some friends suggested she start blogging and though we aren’t sure which friends to thank, we admire everything about Slim Paley and what her blog has become!

Our designer, Candace Jean, has Paley’s blog on the top of her “Favorite Blog Reads” list. She feels it is truly a place where you can go and gather some ideas for the day. Another thing our designer loves it that Paley has a fun sense of humor about herself while still sounding professional. This has let Paley’s blog become an authority on design, inspiration, travel and dare we say…tons of fun!

Paley effortlessly takes colors and patterns and shows their beauty in everything from clothing and flowers to furniture and food. Best of all, she does so with cheery humor, fun music, and inspiring quotes that leave us feeling a little bit better about the day. (And how can you NOT laugh when Cat Stevens is following you as you scroll down the page?) Not only is she a talented blogger, but a fab photographer, too! We could browse through the photos she posts about her exciting travels all day and she keeps it exciting by posting on so many different subjects.

Be sure to stop by her blog for a worthwhile pick-me-up during your day and connect with Paley on Pinterest and Facebook!

Who has inspired you lately? We’d to love to hear! Share with us in the comments below or show us on Pinterest by tagging us in a comment – @Chalkboard China!