Your Place, Your Story, Your Sketch

From the beginning, the idea behind Stoney Bend Prints has always been simple: capture a special place in a sketch and honor the story behind it. Most of the time, that place is a home — the center of our world, the backdrop of our childhoods, or the place where we raised our families. Sometimes it’s a cottage, a cabin, or a family retreat that holds years of laughter, quiet mornings, and traditions.

A place becomes meaningful not because of the walls or the roof, but because of the moments we build inside them.

The Emotional Journey of Moving

Recently, I stepped away from Stoney Bend Prints for a short time because of a move of my own. Selling the home I’d lived in for the past ten years — and packing up the memories that lived in each room — was more difficult than I expected. The process of relocating, downsizing, and reshuffling life is stressful in all the obvious ways. However, it's the emotional part that stays with you: saying goodbye to what shaped you while opening the door to whatever comes next.

That experience reminded me exactly why people reach out for custom home sketches, personalized house portraits, and cabin drawings. A hand-drawn sketch preserves a meaningful place exactly as you remember it — long after life has shifted and moved forward. It freezes a moment in time. It lets you hold onto a piece of your story.

Recent Custom Requests

Over the past few months, I’ve had the honor of creating several custom sketches that beautifully represent why meaningful places matter so much. Each one came with a personal story — one filled with family history, legacy, and love.

Northwest Retreat

Honoring the family home built 54 years ago.

This custom request was a gift for parents who built this home more than half a century ago. Over the years, it has become the setting for countless milestones — a place surrounded by towering trees and views of Mount Rainier from the porch, cherished by the entire family.

Sketching it felt like honoring a family legacy. Every line and shadow carried the weight of memories built over decades, the walls holding stories known only to those who lived them.

Cabin in the Woods

A family retreat.

This Indiana cabin, tucked among trees and quiet, was commissioned as a gift for a daughter-in-law. It’s a place the family loves deeply — a retreat that offers rest, reflection, and a sense of peace.

As I drew the log beams, stone fireplace, and the metal roof angled against the trees, I could understand the connection the family has to this place. Cabins like this aren’t just getaways. They’re sanctuaries — spaces where time slows, families gather, and life feels lighter.

742 Washington

Commemorating the family home.

This sketch request of a beautiful Michigan home was commissioned as a gift to parents in honor of their long-time family house — the place where so many memories unfolded. The porch, the windows, the trees that seem to stand guard around it… every detail speaks to the history inside.

Capturing this home felt like capturing a family album in a single image. Homes like 742 Washington hold decades of stories, and it was an honor to sketch it before life carries everyone into their next chapters.

Why These Places Matter

After going through a move myself, these custom requests take on a deeper meaning. It’s clear that people come to Stoney Bend Prints not just for a drawing, but for a way to hold on to something they don’t want to lose: a memory, a moment, a piece of their history.

That's the heart behind everything I sketch.

Your Place. Your Story. Your Sketch.

If you have a place that has shaped your life — a home, a cottage, a cabin, or somewhere in between — I would be honored to help you preserve it. Just hit the link below.

Request Your Sketch

Thanks for reading!

Scott Norman