Wile Away Designs

11/09/2024

I don’t do much wedding coordinating these days, but tomorrow is special. A special day for a special human in my life. And when your kid asks you to make your macaroni and cheese for her guests, you don’t say no. So coordinating and cooking is this weekend’s theme. Along with a dash of love, fun, and wonderful memories.

03/20/2022

It's time.

Every time I lose sight of who I am and what I love, I drift and get lost. It's been years since I've created frames with any consistency. And inevitably when my focus goes astray, my life gets blurry.

It's time to get back to the basics of who I am. I am a creator and a teller of stories - YOUR stories through art and dimension and depth and words and paper and ink and every detail in between.

Do any of you have a moment in time you wish to commemorate or celebrate or encapsulate? Contact me. Making a frame to capture a special moment in your life or in the life of someone you love is pure joy. If ever there was peace to be found in my world, a cup of my wife's coffee and focusing on Wile Away Designs is where it's at.

Let me know. I am ready to get back to me.

02/01/2021

02/01/2021

Weddings are special. And creating a frame that honors a couple's special day is a fairly monumental task. You want to capture the couple's spirit and highlight their journey, but there's a sort of sophistication that's required for the frame. While cutesy works for babies, too much on a wedding frame and it can go south quick.

One of my favorite couples was tying the knot... a destination wedding in Maine. Their theme was rustic with peaches and corals and a splash of green. I included their Save the Date, wedding invitation and one of the custom napkins they had made all in the frame. They loved the photo I used in the frame so much that even though they were suppose to replace it with a wedding photo, they left it in.

01/21/2021

Because my friend and customer is a great daughter, she commissioned me to make a frame for her mom too.

01/21/2021

Even though when I started Wile Away Designs, I had intended that my frames would showcase babies, my customers and friends had other ideas in mind. And why not. Life consists of all kinds of moments and events that deserve commemoration. My dear friend and customer, Jennifer finally ordered a frame from me for herself. She was celebrating the extraordinary event of earning her degree and I was honored to make her a frame in which she could treasure that moment and time in history forever.

01/03/2021

While 2020 had some ugly moments, there was beauty in it too. I only made one frame this year, but I loved how it turned out and I think it's beautiful. I believe the recipient thought it turned out pretty good too. :)

07/02/2017

A trio of coworkers approached me and requested a frame for their coworker. The theme of the baby's room was going to be hunting and fishing and room's colors were greens and browns. The challenge was to be consistent with the theme and colors of the room but still soften it up and make it cutesy as only a baby's frame could and should be. The recipient of the frame was quite pleased and within a day or two had it hanging in the baby's room.

07/02/2017

While making beautiful frames is certainly my main focus here at Wile Away Designs, we also coordinate special events. Recently we had the chance to coordinate a good friend's wedding. They had a beach wedding on Saint George Island. It was a long day to be sure, but worth it in the end when the groom says, "Ya know, this day went by without one hitch." Well of course it did! That was the plan. As a gift for the couple, I detoured a little from a traditional frame. Since it was a beach themed wedding, I used a wood slats as the backdrop for their "frame." Their colors were yellow and blue which I incorporated as well. This was my first attempt at making a banner (see the date). I think it might be my favorite part about their gift. Wood is a fun medium to work with and holds unlimited posibilities.

02/20/2017

This was a very very special project. I hope that my work touches peoples hearts, but every once and again, it is my own heart that is truly touched.

Brenda approached me about doing a frame for her husband. She herself had been gifted a frame and her husband's admiration of her frame prompted Brenda to commission a frame for him as a Valentine's Day gift.

Sargent Jackson had recently taken a job with Gadsden County helping veterans. She wanted the frame to adorn his new office. Obviously it had to be somewhat masculine but given that it was a Valentine's Day gift, there was a certain soft side to the project as well. She provided me with the newspaper article and the four pictures you see showcased on the frame. When I met with Brenda, she mentioned how much Sargent Jackson loved his country and clearly by the pictures, he loved his wife as well. Thus the theme of "My Two Loves" was born.

After reading the article, there were certain elements I just knew had to be included on the frame. Hence the patches for the Army, 101st Airborne Division and the 82nd Airborne Division. Unbeknownst to Brenda she herself provided the "quote" for the frame or the "Army Values" when she mentioned these were all qualities her husband encompassed. She requested the "Soldier's Prayer" be added as well which was indeed the perfect touch. Finally, I quoted Sargent Jackson himself when he said "helping veterans was an honor."

While this frame may have been for Sargent Jackson, by the end, it was I who truly felt grateful to him, not only for his service but for the deep and abiding love he clearly has for his fellow military brethren, veterans and country.

This was not a frame or theme I had ever done before. I am grateful to Brenda for encouraging me to step outside of my comfort zone and to challenge myself and to Sargent Jackson, whom I have never met, but feel a kinship with regardless.

02/20/2017

02/20/2017

I completed a new baby frame over Christmas for a former co-worker/friend. She wanted to give her sister the perfect Christmas gift. She commissioned me a to make a frame for her sister's new baby, London Rain. The colors were teals and purples and the bedding had little birds on it. Even though the baby shower had passed, I included the invitation on the frame as a way for the parents to memorialize the event. London's mother was so pleased with the frame that within an hour of receiving it had her husband hanging it in the baby's room. London's mom said, "It looks like it was made for the room," to which my friend said, "It was!" Thank you, Ann McCaughan for allowing me the opportunity to make something special for your sister and niece.

02/20/2017

London Rain

12/05/2016

My nephew graduated highschool this year. On his graduation frame you'll see a theme of baseball almost more than graduation. That's quite simply because baseball is a large part of his life. When I saw his mom post a picture of him holding a baseball while riding in the car and taking a nap, I knew that photo would reside squarely in the middle of the frame. His graduation announcement sort of set the tone with a past and present theme. Adding that to the baseball part made it easy to create a "plan" for the frame. Pictures of him hitting and pitching and a quote from his coach represented the "past" - his high school career. His acceptance letter to college and his own words about wanting to play ball professionally represented the "future." My goal was ultimately to have the frame serve as a reminder of where he'd been, how far he'd come and where he wanted to go. This was one of those rare frames that turned out far better than I could have hoped.

12/05/2016

08/16/2015

I finished a new frame this weekend. My wonderful cousin-in-law is expecting a little girl. They decided to wait until her arrival to choose a name. That is always a little challenging as part of what makes the frame special including the baby's name. Never-the-less, I was not to be deterred. Jennifer chose to go with an intricate vintage theme for the baby's bedding and very much wanted the room to be soft, sweet and girlie. The vintage piece was new and I was excited to try my hand at creating the right feel for the frame. Below is the finished product. Please let me know your thoughts. I felt like the photographs of this frame showcased the frame really. Photographing frames is a huge challenge for me, but I felt like these pictures were a step in the right direction.

08/16/2015

Baby Jones