Merry Christmas to you & yours. I’m excited to make this free download available for you for your last minute decorating or gift-giving! It’s sized as an 8×10 and can easily be printed either at home or at your local printers. If you’d like to post a photo, please tag me #delainajdesigns or tag…
This past August I lost my very best friend. What I haven’t said publicly is how I lost her.  Tragically, Louise lost a life-long battle with mental illness and took her life. While I will never understand why this happened and will forever be heartbroken - I have peace knowing she is forever in the…
This past summer I took up a new hobby - hand lettering and modern calligraphy. I’m mostly self taught and have greatly enjoyed practicing - especially with my monogram & rap lyrics. (I’m not sure why but writing rap lyrics in calligraphy really cracks me up). One of my friends bravely allowed me to address her…
Over the next few weeks and months as I am able I will be posting a series of blogs related to my journey through the painful grief of losing my friend Louise. I want to focus on a broad range of topics - sharing genuinely what the weeks and months post loss have looked like…
While the grief is tough to carry, I wear it like a badge of honor. For it means I loved you and you loved me, too.
“There’s a balance of grief and healing, of joy and brokenness, and you have to move through both to make your rough edges smooth again. You have to wade through the thick waters to heal your broken pieces, and it will happen - gradually, steadily, sometimes with setbacks, but you’ll slowly mend.” - Lexi Behrndt…
I’ve said it once I’ll say it again - I seriously have the cutest nephew in the whole world. Not only is he cute he is smart, strong and looks just like his beautiful mama. At the beginning of August I was able to spend the day watching Bub. Obviously, when Aunt ‘Naina brings her…
I have mad respect for all of you with your fall decor out already. Since both my sister and I have August birthdays early September has always felt more like Indian Summer to me. Plus living in Chicago we don’t get many months of nice weather so I try to hang onto #SummertimeChi as long…
Last Sunday I spent the afternoon with a friend crafting and being. I forgot how much comfort and peace that being artistic brings. I was lucky enough that my friend had a box of canvases just waiting to be painted and lettered. I was trying so hard to figure out what I should write and…
One thing I took for granted growing up in a small town is the time spent in the summer gardening. We always had a big garden at my grandparents house next door full of squash, pumpkins, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, Brussel sprouts, green beans& asparagus. There’s a lot of behind the scenes work that goes…
