Having just recently moved to New York, I'm scheming the ways I can add a splash of color and pizazz to my new place. Here are some of my FAVORITE pillow designs from the newest Young Swan Designs Pillow Collection that I'm considering, would love to know your thoughts in the comments below:

For the sea lover... "Magical Medusa"

For the floral lover... "Fall Up"

For the violet room... "Drfit Away II"

For the children's room... "Let Go"

For the city lover... "La La Land"

For the SoCal beach lover... "Jump In" 

So... pillow pillow on the couch... who's the fairest of them all? Leave a comment below and let me know which one is your personal favorite! 

See all my pillow designs here: Young Swan Designs Pillow Collection 

Spending the holidays in New York has been a surprisingly heartwarming experience. I couldn't help but giggle to myself inside about how much I love it here... the old architecture, the serendipitous run-ins with old college friends, and the warm chocolate churros in Bryant Park. 

As 2012 comes to a close, I'm looking forward to 2013 in this wondrous City of Dreams.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!! 

*20% Sale on all 2013 calendars, enter discount code: NEWYEAR at check out. 

See some of my Los Angeles themed cases below, they make for a great stocking stuffer gift... for the city lover or beach lover :)  

See all iPhone case designs here, can be purchased in the 5. 4S/4, and 3/3G models: Young Swan Designs iPhone Case

It's been kind of a Jelly Jam party at the Young Swan Designs HQs :) I feel like I've made some groovy friends and I'd like to introduce you to them every month with my new 2013 Jelly Jam Calendar.

... Swimming into some exciting news:

Please join me for the debut of my Jellyfish Photography during the Opening Reception of The Next: Emerging LA Artists Exhibit at the Perfect Exposure Gallery on November 15th, 6-9 pm (Thursday)

Location: The Perfect Exposure Gallery, 3519 West Sixth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90020
Exhibit Dates: November 16th – December 22nd, 2012
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 11am-4pm

Hope to see you! 

- deborah :)

I'll be selling my work here and enjoying the festivities. Come partake in the music, food and fun... it's a beautiful garden scene. My booth is #40 by the waterfall. Looking forward to seeing you!

Fresno seems to be filled with hidden gems... Take a look at the ones I found including some from my new "Forever Fresno" 2013 Calendar. My favorite find was the unexpectedly exquisite Fall foliage. Looking forward to exploring more this Autumn season.

For more treasures of Fresno, see the complete "Forever Fresno" 2013 Calendar that is now available. 

It has been quite the year since opening up my shop and what better news than to receive an email that I've been included in One Kings Lane's Emerging Artist Event this month! With 2 Days and 18 Hours to go, please help me celebrate my 1 Year Anniversary by sharing this with your friends and family.

As a big thank you, I will be giving away my newest 2013 San Francisco calendar featuring some of my favorite photos of the city including the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the Golden Gate Bridge. 

To enter:

• 1) Just visit my Facebook Page to share this link with your friends on your Facebook Wall 
• 2) Win! 

Entries must be made by this Friday, August 31st at 9am PST*, and one winner will be chosen at random.

If you didn't already know, I am offering a special Buy 1 Get 1 Free Sale through August 31st as well at my print shop.

Good luck! — deborah

Recent Update: Congrats to Veronica Juarez in Houston, Texas for winning the Giveaway! A big thank you to all those that participated! 

2013 San Francisco Calendar:

A meditative dance, hypnotic and exotic... these melodic creatures of the sea enchanted me for hours. Let this spell not be broken.

... I sketched out this logo and came up with the name "Young Swan Designs" for my shop. As you can see above, my website logo has evolved quite a bit since my early ideation phase. 

To celebrate the amazing year that has zipped by, I am having an epic sale - Buy One Get One Free - of equal or lesser value of your purchase. To score a free print, type in the title or URL of the print you'd like in the message to seller at check out, piece of cake! Sale starts today... hop. sKiP, jump on over!

A summer of freedom and fun, oh Santa Cruz, I'm so glad you're not that far.

Some of my favorite scenes of San Francisco all together in a polaroid style print set. Would make for a great little gift :) 

Who knew that summer at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk could be so magical :)

One of my favorite summer memories was moving to Santa Monica and being able to play volleyball on the beach. So on my recent trip back there for Father's Day, I was happy to be near the ocean again. To celebrate this beautiful warm summer, I will be giving away one print of your choice from my newest collection of Santa Monica prints. (The winner will choose one from below)

To enter:

• 1) Just visit my shop Young Swan Designs, 
• 2) Then leave a comment below on this blog post with the title of your favorite photo from my shop 
• 3) Win!

Entries must be made by this Friday, July 27th at 9am PST*, and one winner will be chosen at random.

To bring more smiles, I am offering a special 15% discount from today through July 30th on anything in my shop excluding already discounted items. Simply enter the code SUMMER15 at check out. Good luck! — deborah

*Recent Update: Giveaway open worldwide, not limited to the United States. 

**Winner Announced - Hooray Yolanda! Congrats on being the winner of my first giveaway! 

"Up and Away"

"Summer Time"

"The End"

How many different ways can you snap a picture of the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles? It was hot, it was messy, but we took the challenge!

My fiance, Derek, strikes a pose. Thumbs up Hollywood :)

Oh La-La Land, the City of Dreams... we miss you, and will be back for more fun ;)

The Painted Ladies:

Victorian Architecture:

The Coit Tower:

Haight & Ashbury St:

Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Shop at Haight St: 

San Francisco is a joy for architectural gems and Victorian beauty. If you're in the city, stroll by one of these places... and make it a fun weekend excursion :) Happy Friday!! 

If you don't already have plans for the 4th of July holiday, I'd venture to where the famous Route 66 trail ends - at the Santa Monica Pier! It's such a fun place for the family or for a date :) The "End of the Trail" is really just the beginning of sweeter adventures to come :) 

While in San Francisco, I had to get dimsum in Chinatown and ofcourse take photos of these red lanterns. I wish all streets were a canvas for cultural celebration.

You can see the Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco's tallest skyscraper, from this angle. 

These prints are available as a set of four:

Did you know that in the Chinese calendar year, 2012 is the year of the dragon? It is a special year because it is also my dad's 60th birthday and the big 60 is an important one in Korean culture. It's coming up soon, so i'm scheming of ideas for his birthday and for Father's Day... welcoming any suggestions!

I visited San Francisco for the 75th Anniversary celebration of the Golden Gate Bridge. If any of you also went, weren't the fireworks amazing! I stayed a few more days after to venture around the city. Here are photos of one sweet place I explored - the San Francisco Carousel at Pier 39. Merry-go-rounds bring back fond memories of when I used to visit my grandparents in Korea during the summers as a child. We'd always go to fun fairs and carnivals with my cousins. It was a joy to start my summer with a trip to SF :)

I love how the carousel has painted images of all the places and things San Francisco is known for, like the cable cars! I adored seeing people have such a jolly time riding cable cars around the city, so iconically SF!

The Flying Horse photo above would be lovely for a nursery, don't you think? :) I'll be back again soon San Francisco!

I was recently at Fresno State Vintage Days and it was a wonderful place to shop for my upcoming mother's birthday AND Mother's Day! 

Here's the sign I painted for my booth. Like the rose from my garden as an added touch to my banner?

The Fresno State students made tons of effort to put on a good event. Kids got free balloons and you could even get your face painted!

The most fun I had was meeting other artists there and looking at some really unique handmade finds. If you are still shopping for Mother's Day, here are some great ideas!

For one, have you ever smelled beeswax candles? They smell heavenly!! I think I even saw some bees buzzin around Lorrie's booth at Your BeesWax!

Such beautiful candles, in all different shapes and sizes. Did you know that beeswax candles clean the air as they burn?! How eco-friendly is that!

Below are the various lip balms Lorrie makes. I'm currently using the lavender one. I was so surprised at how smooth it went on, love that! I hear the coconut one goes on extra smooth! 

Randy was one of my neighbors. He makes amazing pottery. I personally loved the egg beating one that comes with a mixer. I've always wanted my own pottery wheel to throw pots. One day!

I also loved this!!! Since I'm a huge cupcake-lover! I can imagine having these pieces in my backyard garden while having some tea and cupcake :)

My last stop was Cobble Creek Soaps. I LOVE their plumeria soap!! They smell unbelievable and remind me of back home on Guam where sweet smelling plumerias grow everywhere. Barbara and her husband hand make all their soaps :)

Their popular soaps are Applejack & Orangepeel, and Blackberry Currant. You can purchase them on their Etsy store. 

That's a wrap on a very hot & humid weekend! Hope this gives you some ideas on Mother's Day, coming up this weekend. It was SO great meeting all those that visited me!! I look forward to keeping in touch with you and sharing news of my travels on my newsletter. Thanks for signing up and connecting with me :)

I stumbled upon this beautiful website of nursery inspirations, called Lay Baby Lay. Was thrilled to see my persimmon photo in their "Citrus Delight" collection... such unique finds, so thoughtfully put together.  I love the gold & orange colors, designs and pattens.

If you want to know a little something about this Persimmon Tree... it's kind of special because it's in our home! I'm so happy when they bloom! The photo is available in my Etsy shop, entitled "Persimmon Days" and would make for a nice baby shower gift or even a Mother's Day gift, which is coming up soon!

Koreans love persimmons by the way, in every way - freshly cut, dried or in tea. If you really want to impress a Korean mom this year, try to see if a local Korean grocery store carries dried persimmons. It would be a very traditional and thoughtful gift!