modern bird studios

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It’s Art! For the Tots! A ModTots Giveaway!

by Jill
written by Jill

Hard to have a case of the Mondays when I get to post this lovely giveaway for you all from my  friends at ModTots. If their work seems familiar to you, it’s because ModTots is the newest branch of Modern Bird Studios, offering the hippest, happiest, coolest ART for the younger crowd. This ain’t your granny’s cross stitch, folks.

These two robots now grace the wall next to Kendall’s bedroom door, overlooking his planet mural and his rocket ship tent. I love his room. It’s perfect for a little boy’s imagination, and now he gets two robot friends to talk to. Last night I had to tell them goodnight and turn them off. “BeBoop,” I said as I pushed each one’s imaginary button.

There are three lines of ModTots art so far; Animals, Robots and Monsters. Dinosaurs are also coming soon. They start at 6×6″ (that’s the size our robots are), and you can choose from about 20 colors to customize the background.

Each ModTots design starts as an original illustration by artist, Gregg Deal, and is created with a combination of digital, hand, and painting processes on an Oak composite.  Each piece is handmade, one at a time, with love and consideration going into every one.

Another fun thing to note is the first person to buy each animal, robot, monster, etc. gets naming rights and the fun of coming up with a few sentences to describe them. If you have a blog, they’ll even link back to you on the description page (like the fox my friend BethAnne got to name). How cool is that?

ModTots just launched at the beginning of 2011, and already they’ve been featured on Babble and ohdeedoh. These pieces will be popping up in all the coolest kid’s rooms, playrooms and nurseries before you know it, and you can be one of the first to bring them into your home (what a trendsetter you will be). The winner of this giveaway gets $100 credit for any ModTots piece(s)!

How to enter:

Tell me which piece is your favorite and why. Do you have a personal, deep connection with raccoons? Do you lovingly refer to your toddler as a monster?
Follow @Mod-Tots on Twitter
Like Mod-Tots on Facebook
Follow @BabyRabies on Twitter
Like BabyRabies on Facebook

Please leave a separate comment for each one you do. No need to do all of them, but you must do the first for the others to count. I moderate comments, so please be patient if yours doesn’t show up right away. Check back in a few hours.

Contest is open to US and Canada. Previous winners are not eligible.

Entries close Monday, March 7th. I’ll use Random.org to draw a winner.

ALSO, even if you don’t win, you can still get 10% off through March 14th with the code BABYRABIES.

**Disclosure- ModTots sent these 2 handsome robots to us to review at no cost to me.

Entries are closed. The winner, according to Random.org, is commenter #228, Kiki_Dawn!

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Home Decor & DIYReviews

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like… A HUGE Giveaway!

by Jill
written by Jill

Okay, I’m not going to say it because I RESPECT THE TURKEY, but I can’t deny that I’m starting to *think* about, you know, that holiday that’s coming up in 49 days and what to get everyone… and what to ask for for myself (other than a huge bottle of wine to celebrate this child finally exiting my uterus). Sure, I’ll admit I’m making lists already.

And you know what was at the top of my list? Another Modern Bird Studios piece. Remember that kick-ass piece of art I got at the beginning of the year, the artsy/funky reproduction of one of my favorite pictures of Kendall? It hangs prominently in our front room, the first thing you see when you walk in, and I am still head over heels in love with it. Problem? Well, I’m, of course, going to need another of baby girl to complete my adorable-kids-make-stellar-art collection.

So I SQUEED with excitement when Meg of MBS emailed me to see if I’d be up for another giveaway to kick off the holiday season. (They’re hooking me up with a multi-colored piece after baby girl gets here!)  Sort of selfish of me to be excited that I get something off my list already, I know, BUT there is something in it for YOU, too! One of you will win a $250 gift certificate to Modern Bird Studios to use toward the piece of art of your choice! If you don’t win, or can’t wait to find out, you can still get 15% off a piece of art with code BABYRABIES for a limited time.*

And if you haven’t checked out MBS since my first giveaway, you will be blown away. They have really expanded what they have to offer and have some phenomenal pieces under their belt (nearly 150!). I just adore Meg and Gregg and their story. Modern Bird Studios has had such a great year and grown so much. I can’t wait to see where they go in 2011.

Now, the details. Here’s how to win:

Leave ONE COMMENT FOR EACH

1. Tell me who you would get the MBS piece for (and it’s totally OKAY if it’s for yourself).

2. Follow @BabyRabies on Twitter

3. Follow @Modern_Bird on Twitter (If you aren’t already, seriously, you are missing out. These people do social media right. The are a hoot!)

4. Like MBS on Facebook

5. Make a donation (monetary, time or food) to a food bank (honor system here, people, and remember SANTA is watching you)

That’s it. You don’t have to do them all, but you can, just please leave a separate comment for EACH one. This contest is open to US and Canada residents. I will draw a winner with Random.org on November 19th. *The 15% BABYRABIES discount expires November 26th. Oh, and if you’ve won one of these fantastic pieces from any other blog giveaway before, sorry, you’re not eligible for the giveaway, but you can use the discount.

Please keep in mind that I moderate comments, so it may take a little while for yours to show up. Give it a few hours before trying again, please.

OH! If you’d like to get your piece in time for… THAT holiday, you have to submit your order to MBS by December 1st.

**Comments are closed and winner is drawn. Congrats to commenter #192- Michelle. Enjoy!**

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Reviews

Announcing the Modern Bird Studios winners!

by Jill
written by Jill

Yes, I said winnerS!  Megan and Gregg decided, in addition to giving away one free piece of custom art, they would also give out two 50% off discounts to two random commenters.

The winner of the free piece of art with SOUL is commenter #105 – Amber!

The winners of the 50% 0ff discount are Diana and Ashley, comments #372 and #215.

Thanks to everyone who entered and gave Modern Bird Studios a warm welcome into the blogosphere!

DON’T FORGET you can still get 15% off with the code “BABY RABIES” until February 26th!!

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Modern Bird Studios – custom art with soul

by Jill
written by Jill

Every now and then, through these great mediums we call social media, I make a really, truly wonderful connection with a blogger, a reader, and occasionally a company. I call so many of these small business owners and entrepreneurs “friends” now, and I’m excited to introduce you all to Megan and Gregg, my friend and her amazingly talented husband who is the artistic master behind Modern Bird Studios.

Megan reached out to me on Twitter just a few weeks ago. I took a quick moment to check out the link in her bio, and was blown away by the art featured on their website. I said to myself that I would LOVE to have something like that for our house someday. I loved their style. They turn nearly any photograph into a modern, simple piece of art. I was honored when they offered to send me a custom piece for review, and even more thrilled when they said they want to give one away to one of my readers.

Over the next few weeks, countless emails flew back and forth, and I had the chance to really get to know Megan and all about her family. Not unlike so many of us, they have been affected by the recession- Gregg lost his job. Not ones to sit and sulk, they turned their misfortune into inspiration, and a swift kick to get Modern Bird Studios up and running. In Megan’s words, “The economy sucker punched us about 5 months ago, and we are trying to retaliate with a bitch slap and two big, fat middle fingers.”  You can read more about Gregg and their business here.

What I can tell you all for certain, over just the small amount of time I’ve known them, is they are incredibly kind and soulful. At first glance, their art may look like something you might be able to reproduce on your own with some creative Photoshop skills, an inexpensive print studio and a piece of canvas, but look deeper. I will tell you this is ART with a soul. This comes from someone’s dreams and desires, hard work and sweat. It’s quality. It’s painted on maple/birch composite, not canvas. It’s sturdy, and there’s no need to frame it. It will be around 20 years from now. You’ll have to note in your will who gets the piece when you die. Gregg even signs the back!

They can work with any picture taken with lots of natural light, which means you don’t have to submit anything taken professionally. In fact, I love how they can take any “ordinary” picture and make it so artistic.

After much hemming and hawing and annoying the shit out of Scott, we (well, I… of course, *I* had the final and basically only say) decided on the colors and the picture. There are SO MANY color options! Really, the possibilities seem endless (I’m sure they actually do have an end, but math major I am not). We decided to keep it pretty neutral with gray and black. It goes great with the color of our walls now, and I can see it matching at least some part of our house for many years to come. For the picture, I submitted one of my absolute favorites of my chubby cheeked little man. He was maybe 3 or 4 months old, I think? I just love, love, love this one.

Megan and Gregg sent me a digital proof within a day, and about a week later I received this beauty. (Their usual processing time is about 2 weeks, including shipping, but may be longer due to volume. If that’s the case, they will let you know.)

Are you done Ooohing and Awwwing yet? It’s 12×24 and seriously freaking amazing. The craftsmanship is superb, and yet I love that it has a bit of a rustic, handmade feel, telling you it’s got SOUL.

I had the best of intentions to have it beautifully hung on the wall in our work and play room, but unfortunately Scott had to go out of town for the weekend, and I haven’t had the courage to try to hang it myself.  Here it is sitting directly below where I think I want to hang it, just to give you some perspective. It will be the first thing people see when they walk in. O hai!

This size piece sells for $280, and they have several other sizes starting at $165 for a 6×12, up to $620 for a 46×46. Yes, I know this is not your everyday purchase. It’s certainly not an impulse buy for many, and something that much thinking and saving up for is needed. That being said, consider the following:

This is not just for baby pictures. It’s not even just for people pictures. They can do pets, skylines, or your favorite snapshot of the mountain range you grew up seeing out your bedroom window.

This is an investment piece of ART that you happen to be able to customize.

The just launched the first of many predesigned series “Bloom”, giving you the same quality art at a lower price (not customizable).

Also, you can get 15% off your purchase with the code “BABY RABIES” until February 26th! (This includes the predesigned Bloom Series.)

Now for the really fun part, the giveaway!

Modern Bird Studios is giving one 12×12 piece to a lucky winner who will be randomly chosen on Tuesday, February 23rd by Random.org. To enter, please do one, a few, or all of the following.

THIS IS IMPORTANT. PLEASE ENTER ONE COMMENT FOR EACH THING YOU DO. Also, please understand that I moderate comments and it may take a while for your comment to show up. Before submitting a duplicate, please wait a couple hours and see if your first shows up. This makes it easier for me to operate this in the fairest manner possible.

1. Comment telling me what color combination you like the best based on their color chart. (You will not be held to this if you win.)

2. Become a fan of Modern Bird Studios on Facebook

3. Follow Modern Bird Studios on Twitter (@Modern_Bird)

4. Become a fan of Baby Rabies on Facebook

5. Follow Baby Rabies on Twitter (@BabyRabies)

(If you are already following us or a fan, just let me know.)

6. Tweet about the contest- something like “Just entered to win a custom piece of art by @Modern_Bird on @BabyRabies”

7. Blog about the contest (feel free to lift the button in the left sidebar if you’d like).

8. Make a donation to Haiti relief or The Lance Armstrong Foundation. (Note: If this is how you win, you will be asked to provide a receipt for proof.)

After the winner is chosen, Megan and Gregg will work closely with them to design their custom piece.

This contest is only open to residents of the lower 48 states.

Good luck everyone!

Modern Bird Studios sent me my custom piece of art at no charge for review.

Contest is closed and winners have been drawn and notified. Thank you for entering!

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