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About

CBW Design was founded in early 2023 by Athens, GA artist Catherine Bray Wilfong. CBW Design offers a variety of design and art services to clients. The services include custom fine art, stationary design, pet portraits, home portraits, floral design, and photography. Prints of CBW's most popular paintings are available for purchase.

Services

Custom Painting

Pet Portraits

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Photography

Home Portraits

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Wedding Stationary

Prints

I transformed my Christmas magnolia wreath into an everyday wreath for winter. It was super easy and saved me the time and cost of putting together a new one from scratch. I saved the bow and berries to use next year!

I transformed my Christmas magnolia wreath into an everyday wreath for winter. It was super easy and saved me the time and cost of putting together a new one from scratch. I saved the bow and berries to use next year!

The first painting of 2025 is a beautiful 8x10 acrylic countryside scene
"First Light"

The first painting of 2025 is a beautiful 8x10 acrylic countryside scene
"First Light"

Since I've been sharing a bit more of my life here over the past couple of months, I thought I'd start 2025 off with an introduction. I'm Catherine Wilfong, founder and artist of CBW Design. I live in the Athens, GA area and have deep roots here. I graduated from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business in 2020 with my Real Estate degree. I obtained my real estate license the same year, and have kept it inactive ever since. I married my husband in April of 2023, and since then we have built and settled into our first home. We have the sweetest, loudest cat named Ava who found us in April of 2022.

I've been creating art since I could hold a pencil, and it's always been my dream to somehow do it for a living. I had excellent art teachers in grade and high school, but otherwise I am self taught. I started my own business so I could professionally paint and draw spring of 2023. 2024 was a transformative year for me. I began reconnecting with nature and finding joy in the simple things. God has renewed my heart and mind so much! I've changed a lot and so has my artistic inspiration. Over the past few months, I've leaned in to my love of photography and video creation to create more design related content for my page. I've found so much joy! As I start setting intentions and goals for this year, I plan on sharing more glimpses into my life while still painting and drawing. Thank you so much for supporting me and following along!

Since I've been sharing a bit more of my life here over the past couple of months, I thought I'd start 2025 off with an introduction. I'm Catherine Wilfong, founder and artist of CBW Design. I live in the Athens, GA area and have deep roots here. I graduated from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business in 2020 with my Real Estate degree. I obtained my real estate license the same year, and have kept it inactive ever since. I married my husband in April of 2023, and since then we have built and settled into our first home. We have the sweetest, loudest cat named Ava who found us in April of 2022.

I've been creating art since I could hold a pencil, and it's always been my dream to somehow do it for a living. I had excellent art teachers in grade and high school, but otherwise I am self taught. I started my own business so I could professionally paint and draw spring of 2023. 2024 was a transformative year for me. I began reconnecting with nature and finding joy in the simple things. God has renewed my heart and mind so much! I've changed a lot and so has my artistic inspiration. Over the past few months, I've leaned in to my love of photography and video creation to create more design related content for my page. I've found so much joy! As I start setting intentions and goals for this year, I plan on sharing more glimpses into my life while still painting and drawing. Thank you so much for supporting me and following along!

A very special 5x7 home portrait pen drawing ❤️

A very special 5x7 home portrait pen drawing ❤️

Come make a fresh greenery Christmas wreath with me this evening! I made a few small ones for my dining room windows, but you can make these in any size! Here's what I used:

Grapevine wreath
Fresh Christmas tree clippings
Cedar from the woods
Floral wire
Dark red velvet ribbon

Create small bunches with clipped greenery. Wire together and attach to the wreath using excess wire. Repeat this process and make your way around the wreath. Hang just like that or add some ribbon.

Come make a fresh greenery Christmas wreath with me this evening! I made a few small ones for my dining room windows, but you can make these in any size! Here's what I used:

Grapevine wreath
Fresh Christmas tree clippings
Cedar from the woods
Floral wire
Dark red velvet ribbon

Create small bunches with clipped greenery. Wire together and attach to the wreath using excess wire. Repeat this process and make your way around the wreath. Hang just like that or add some ribbon.

Tips for preparing in advance for a Christmas dinner party to make the day of easier:

•set your table
•cut greenery from the woods
•make floral arrangements
•prepare your candles
•add special touches
•polish silver & wipe off fine china and crystal (of applicable)
•make a to-do list for food prep
•grocery shop
•clean house

Tips for preparing in advance for a Christmas dinner party to make the day of easier:

•set your table
•cut greenery from the woods
•make floral arrangements
•prepare your candles
•add special touches
•polish silver & wipe off fine china and crystal (of applicable)
•make a to-do list for food prep
•grocery shop
•clean house

Today I'm showing you how I made my elevated magnolia Christmas wreath...and I'm only using things I bought at our local Hobby Lobby (except my dark red velvet ribbon)

Here's what I used:
1 24 inch grapevine wreath
1 magnolia wreath
1 large dark red berry stem (you can use multiple smaller ones if you can't find one this large)
1 fir stem
1 pine stem
1 cedar stem with little cedar berries
Floral wire
Hot glue gun
Dark red velvet bow
*See earlier reel on how to tie a wreath bow

Today I'm showing you how I made my elevated magnolia Christmas wreath...and I'm only using things I bought at our local Hobby Lobby (except my dark red velvet ribbon)

Here's what I used:
1 24 inch grapevine wreath
1 magnolia wreath
1 large dark red berry stem (you can use multiple smaller ones if you can't find one this large)
1 fir stem
1 pine stem
1 cedar stem with little cedar berries
Floral wire
Hot glue gun
Dark red velvet bow
*See earlier reel on how to tie a wreath bow

Shop small business Saturday and save 20% on your order! DM for custom print sizes also 20% off ! Shop online or message me

https://www.cbwdesignllc.com/category/all-products

Shop small business Saturday and save 20% on your order! DM for custom print sizes also 20% off ! Shop online or message me

https://www.cbwdesignllc.com/category/all-products

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and it's officially time to switch over the dining room decor to Christmas! Here's how I styled my dining room this year for a cozy, elevated look

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and it's officially time to switch over the dining room decor to Christmas! Here's how I styled my dining room this year for a cozy, elevated look

Happy Thanksgiving! My only sale on prints this year is LIVE! Use code BLACKFRIDAY20 at checkout for 20% off all prints. So thankful for your love and support this year!

Happy Thanksgiving! My only sale on prints this year is LIVE! Use code BLACKFRIDAY20 at checkout for 20% off all prints. So thankful for your love and support this year!

"Jack" 18x24 acrylic install

"Jack" 18x24 acrylic install

For as long as I can remember, I've baked thanksgiving pumpkin pie every year. My grandmother taught me, and we did it together for many years until she just couldn't anymore. We always used the recipe on the back of the can and made our own crust. While making the crust yourself definitely makes it extra special, I have opted for Trader Joe's premade for the past few years to save some time. This year, I wanted to make a version that was just a bit "healthier". My go to recipes for anything are from Pioneer Woman, so this one is adapted from hers.

Ingredients:
1 15oz can organic pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups organic heavy cream
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup organic coconut sugar
1 tsp organic bourbon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk

Premade crust (mines from trader Joe's)

Instructions: preheat oven to 400°F. Place thawed out premade pie crust into pie plate (mine is a beautiful Le Creuset with a ruffled edge which makes the crust edge so easy). Lay non toxic parchment paper over pie crust and fill the pie cavity with dried beans. Place in oven for about 15 min. Remove from oven and remove beans and parchment. Place back in oven for about 5 min.
In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin, sugars, and cream. Add vanilla, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk in eggs. Pour into pie crust.
Bake at 350°F for about an hour. Keep an eye on it towards to end to make sure you don't let it over or under cook. You'll know when it's ready when the outside of the pie is set but the center jiggles a little. It will all set when it's cooling. Cool for a couple hours and then place in fridge or serve.

For as long as I can remember, I've baked thanksgiving pumpkin pie every year. My grandmother taught me, and we did it together for many years until she just couldn't anymore. We always used the recipe on the back of the can and made our own crust. While making the crust yourself definitely makes it extra special, I have opted for Trader Joe's premade for the past few years to save some time. This year, I wanted to make a version that was just a bit "healthier". My go to recipes for anything are from Pioneer Woman, so this one is adapted from hers.

Ingredients:
1 15oz can organic pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups organic heavy cream
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup organic coconut sugar
1 tsp organic bourbon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk

Premade crust (mines from trader Joe's)

Instructions: preheat oven to 400°F. Place thawed out premade pie crust into pie plate (mine is a beautiful Le Creuset with a ruffled edge which makes the crust edge so easy). Lay non toxic parchment paper over pie crust and fill the pie cavity with dried beans. Place in oven for about 15 min. Remove from oven and remove beans and parchment. Place back in oven for about 5 min.
In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin, sugars, and cream. Add vanilla, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk in eggs. Pour into pie crust.
Bake at 350°F for about an hour. Keep an eye on it towards to end to make sure you don't let it over or under cook. You'll know when it's ready when the outside of the pie is set but the center jiggles a little. It will all set when it's cooling. Cool for a couple hours and then place in fridge or serve.

Decided to try something a little different and hang the wreath I would typically put on my front door on the front porch wall. I didn't want to drill into our brick, so I hung a command hook from the molding and attached the wreath to it with a strong fishing line. Video on how I made the wreath coming soon!

Decided to try something a little different and hang the wreath I would typically put on my front door on the front porch wall. I didn't want to drill into our brick, so I hung a command hook from the molding and attached the wreath to it with a strong fishing line. Video on how I made the wreath coming soon!

Traditional plaid tartan, dark red velvet ribbon, poinsettias, needlepoint stockings and gold accents all make up this year's traditional Christmas mantel. If you're like me and typically steer clear of red when it comes to interiors, it can be intimidating to incorporate red at Christmas. However without red, it is difficult to achieve a traditional and cozy Christmas aesthetic! I chose to use dark reds to create softness and elegance, and I encourage you to try it as well.

Tips for a traditional Christmas mantel:

~minimize glitter elements
~incorporate dark red to soften true red
~gold accents
~"natural" elements like berries, poinsettias, or realistic greenery
~traditional stockings (I like to use command hooks to hang)
~lots of ribbon in traditional patterns and materials
~swag your garland for a fuller look

Traditional plaid tartan, dark red velvet ribbon, poinsettias, needlepoint stockings and gold accents all make up this year's traditional Christmas mantel. If you're like me and typically steer clear of red when it comes to interiors, it can be intimidating to incorporate red at Christmas. However without red, it is difficult to achieve a traditional and cozy Christmas aesthetic! I chose to use dark reds to create softness and elegance, and I encourage you to try it as well.

Tips for a traditional Christmas mantel:

~minimize glitter elements
~incorporate dark red to soften true red
~gold accents
~"natural" elements like berries, poinsettias, or realistic greenery
~traditional stockings (I like to use command hooks to hang)
~lots of ribbon in traditional patterns and materials
~swag your garland for a fuller look

Come tie a wreath bow with me!
Materials needed:

Wired ribbon
Floral wire
Wire cutters
Fabric scissors

Practice makes perfect when it comes to bows! I remember my mom showing me how to tie a bow when I was about 7 years old at Christmas time....and I still have had to be retaught a time or two over the years to get the technique just right for me. Hope this video helps! Be sure to save it so you can come back to watch it anytime.
Happy decorating!

Come tie a wreath bow with me!
Materials needed:

Wired ribbon
Floral wire
Wire cutters
Fabric scissors

Practice makes perfect when it comes to bows! I remember my mom showing me how to tie a bow when I was about 7 years old at Christmas time....and I still have had to be retaught a time or two over the years to get the technique just right for me. Hope this video helps! Be sure to save it so you can come back to watch it anytime.
Happy decorating!

✨GIVEAWAY CLOSED✨

It's my favorite time of year, and once again I'm giving away a custom 11x14 wedding venue painting. The winner will be placed on my first scheduled slot of 2025 in January (or if your wedding hasn't happened yet, I will place you on my schedule after your big date). The giveaway winner can use this opportunity themselves or gift it to a loved one for Christmas.
This makes a wonderful Christmas gift for any past bride or bride to be!

All you have to do is....
🎁FOLLOW @c.b.w.design & @cat_wilfong
🎁LIKE this post
🎁COMMENT and tag a friend (each additional comment is an additional entry)
🎁SHARE to your story (don't forget to tag me so I don't miss it)

🎁OPTIONAL BONUS: every print purchased between now and midnight November 30th will give you an additional 15 entries! Prints can be purchased online (use link in bio) or through DMs

Giveaway closes at midnight the night of November 30th. The winner will be drawn December 1st! Thank you so much for all your love and support my second year in business! I'm so grateful to each one of you.

#giveaway #customart #paintinggiveaway #christmasgiveaway #bridalpainting #bridalgiveaway #artgiveaway #athensgiveaway #athensartist #supportsmallbussiness
#weddingpainting

✨GIVEAWAY CLOSED✨

It's my favorite time of year, and once again I'm giving away a custom 11x14 wedding venue painting. The winner will be placed on my first scheduled slot of 2025 in January (or if your wedding hasn't happened yet, I will place you on my schedule after your big date). The giveaway winner can use this opportunity themselves or gift it to a loved one for Christmas.
This makes a wonderful Christmas gift for any past bride or bride to be!

All you have to do is....
🎁FOLLOW @c.b.w.design & @cat_wilfong
🎁LIKE this post
🎁COMMENT and tag a friend (each additional comment is an additional entry)
🎁SHARE to your story (don't forget to tag me so I don't miss it)

🎁OPTIONAL BONUS: every print purchased between now and midnight November 30th will give you an additional 15 entries! Prints can be purchased online (use link in bio) or through DMs

Giveaway closes at midnight the night of November 30th. The winner will be drawn December 1st! Thank you so much for all your love and support my second year in business! I'm so grateful to each one of you.

#giveaway #customart #paintinggiveaway #christmasgiveaway #bridalpainting #bridalgiveaway #artgiveaway #athensgiveaway #athensartist #supportsmallbussiness
#weddingpainting

"The Hunt" 8x10 print (custom size) beautifully displayed in this hallway. Shop online at link in bio or message me for a custom size (no additional charge)

"The Hunt" 8x10 print (custom size) beautifully displayed in this hallway. Shop online at link in bio or message me for a custom size (no additional charge)

There's just something about Christmas decorating that makes all the worries in the world disappear for a little while

There's just something about Christmas decorating that makes all the worries in the world disappear for a little while

How I elevated a simple wreath base. I wanted a traditional, simple Christmas wreath for my living room with a large bow as the focal point. You can apply these steps to any wreath base and any stems! I always recommend searching online for inspiration before you shop for your pieces. I will be going LIVE sometime Thanksgiving break to show you how I'll make my outdoor wreath using a magnolia wreath base. I will also be posting a bow tutorial later this week.

How I elevated a simple wreath base. I wanted a traditional, simple Christmas wreath for my living room with a large bow as the focal point. You can apply these steps to any wreath base and any stems! I always recommend searching online for inspiration before you shop for your pieces. I will be going LIVE sometime Thanksgiving break to show you how I'll make my outdoor wreath using a magnolia wreath base. I will also be posting a bow tutorial later this week.

Creating a very traditional Christmas here!

Creating a very traditional Christmas here!

How to set a *bewitching* autumn table

Placemats: vintage
Dinner plates: @gienfrance @apptsat5
Accent plates: @gienfrance @apptsat5
Silver coasters: vintage
Napkin rings: @apptsat5
Silverware: @lenox
Crystal: @waterford
Water glasses: vintage
Turkey salt and pepper: @by_spode @apptsat5

How to set a *bewitching* autumn table

Placemats: vintage
Dinner plates: @gienfrance @apptsat5
Accent plates: @gienfrance @apptsat5
Silver coasters: vintage
Napkin rings: @apptsat5
Silverware: @lenox
Crystal: @waterford
Water glasses: vintage
Turkey salt and pepper: @by_spode @apptsat5

These antique brass candelabras have made my simple autumn table shine this year. I've enjoyed them so much and am excited to transform the table for Christmas very soon!

These antique brass candelabras have made my simple autumn table shine this year. I've enjoyed them so much and am excited to transform the table for Christmas very soon!

"Whispering Oaks" installed. Prints of this beautiful acrylic piece are available in two sizes at https://www.cbwdesignllc.com/category/all-products

"Whispering Oaks" installed. Prints of this beautiful acrylic piece are available in two sizes at https://www.cbwdesignllc.com/category/all-products

Beautiful marsh scene "After the Storm"
16x20 acrylic

Beautiful marsh scene "After the Storm"
16x20 acrylic

Install of this stunning piece. It's like looking out a window with a Colorado view!

"Fleeting Colorado Views" 18x24

Install of this stunning piece. It's like looking out a window with a Colorado view!

"Fleeting Colorado Views" 18x24

A special wedding venue portrait for my beautiful cousin and her husband! Congrats to the Harrell's!

A special wedding venue portrait for my beautiful cousin and her husband! Congrats to the Harrell's!

Fan favorite (and my personal favorite) "Safe Landing" install

Fan favorite (and my personal favorite) "Safe Landing" install

I'm loving burgundy and muted burnt orange for autumn. I enjoyed making this custom wreath for our home this year!

Autumn wreath making tips:
~You don't have to use every stem in the floral bunches you select...don't be afraid to split them up and use the remainder in other areas of your home or in a second wreath
~Use a grapevine wreath as your base
~Cut the floral stems apart as much as you can before sticking in the wreath base
~Place each piece before you begin to glue them in
~Use hot glue to secure
~Use 2 ribbons to make your bow for dimension and interest. Tie creating one smaller center loop and three larger loops on each side.

Should I make a tutorial for a Christmas wreath later this autumn?

I'm loving burgundy and muted burnt orange for autumn. I enjoyed making this custom wreath for our home this year!

Autumn wreath making tips:
~You don't have to use every stem in the floral bunches you select...don't be afraid to split them up and use the remainder in other areas of your home or in a second wreath
~Use a grapevine wreath as your base
~Cut the floral stems apart as much as you can before sticking in the wreath base
~Place each piece before you begin to glue them in
~Use hot glue to secure
~Use 2 ribbons to make your bow for dimension and interest. Tie creating one smaller center loop and three larger loops on each side.

Should I make a tutorial for a Christmas wreath later this autumn?

Autumn decor that warms my heart! I love these dried limelight hydrangeas for autumn arrangements...they will last all season!

Autumn decor that warms my heart! I love these dried limelight hydrangeas for autumn arrangements...they will last all season!

"Countryside Drive" in the making

"Countryside Drive" in the making

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