Colorful Hand-Painted, Original Art for Babies and Kids!

Looking for a unique gift? Local illustrator and cartoonist Michael Capozzola creates fun and whimsical hand-painted name art that's perfect for the nursery or a child's room. Each personalized creation is made with pen and ink and watercolor on cold-press paper. Inspired by vintage playbills and concert posters, they're bright and colorful, with each letter made out of different objects and shapes.

Michael is a San Francisco-based cartoonist whose work has appeared in Mad Magazine, McSweeney's, and WIRED. His cartoon, "Surveillance Caricatures," ran in the San Francisco Chronicle, for four years, too. He started creating name art as gifts for friends, and soon the commissions and requests came pouring in. You can see examples of Michael's name art work on his website. www.paintedbabynames.com, where you can order your own creation, too! While he refers to them as baby names, they're really gifts delightful for kids of all ages.

Name art is priced by the letter—each letter costs $7, with a maximum price of $50 for one name. Artwork is delivered on a matte board and in a protective plastic sleeve, ready to frame. Shipping is free.

Michael made a name art creation for my daughter for us to review for this article. It arrived in the mail quickly and it's really a lovely one-of-a-kind piece that we both love. It's so nice to have a truly hand-made work of art like this. It's very personal will be a keepsake she can cherish forever.

Order one by e-mailing PaintedBabyNames@gmail.com or www.PaintedBabyNames.com.