sewing fun

What does it mean when I've been invited to a birthday party and a baby shower (besides a full calendar)? Another opportunity to make some fun gifts for my sweet friends - yay!

For my daughter's 3-year old friend, I designed a shirt using heat transfer with my Silhouette and a matching skirt. For the scripture reference on the shirt I used Matthew 19:14, which says, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Children are truly precious in His sight! As always, I had great fun picking out the fabric too. I love looking at various color and pattern combinations. Luckily, I was able to find just the right combination using fabric and trim that I already had.

For my dear friend's new baby, I made another tag blanket. Since the gender was a surprise, the challenge was to make it neutral yet exciting (while using fabric and ribbon I already had). The colors I chose were a bit unconventional, but babies like to focus on things with high contrast. This time I made it a bit smaller than my first one, hoping that it can double as a "lovey" in a stroller or crib if the baby so chooses.

I had lots of fun trying to photograph these in an interesting, eye-catching way. I'm practicing in case I can actually find a way to open up my "Little Design Angel" Etsy store someday. Right now it seems impossible with my needy (yet precious) 5, 3, and 1 year olds. But I trust that God will provide the resources necessary for a little business if and when He wills it. For now, I'm focusing on being a Mommy to the little ones God so graciously gave me.

royal shirt designs

Wow! I had such a busy summer (and now Fall). When I started this blog, I had high hopes of updating it weekly, then I went down to monthly, now it seems to be only seasonally. With 3 little kids and a strong conviction to be intentional in discipling them, I’m constantly having to re-check my priorities to make sure I’m spending enough time with them. For now, that means less time on my computer, more quality time with my kids. These early foundational years are short and I don’t want to have regrets in how I spent my time.

Of course, this doesn’t mean I can’t do ANYTHING fun for myself. At times a good creative break is just what I need to be a better mommy. In addition to spending time with my Lord, it’s a great way to re-energize myself. With that said, I’ve been having so much fun with the heat transfer material for my Silhouette. I used the $50 prize I received earlier this year to buy a roll, along with some other items. Below are the first t-shirts I designed for the heat transfer.

These were made for some of my friends’ precious little kids and one for my own daughter. I was concerned about how the shirts would hold up in the washer/dryer and now I can officially say that they have been product-tested for 4 months. My 1-year old daughter has made all kinds of messes on her shirt. I’ve probably washed and dried it 20 times now and the heat transfer is still intact with no peeling or bubbles - even the tiny scripture reference on it. Kudos to the Silhouette people at QuicKutz! I have more t-shirt/heat transfer designs, which I will post a little later (hopefully before Christmas ??). You can also see some apron designs here.

For the "Little Princess" and "Little Prince" designs, I used 2 Corinthians 6:18 which says, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord."  The context in 2 Corinthians is about being unequally yoked with unbelievers. So, this promise is for those who are believers in Jesus Christ, His deity and His atoning work on the cross.  It's a reminder that because God is our Father and He is a King, we have a royal inheritance.  With such an inheritance, let's not live as beggars! We have been given EVERY spiritual blessing under heaven (Ephesians 1:3).  Let's take these blessings and use them for God's glory in our lives. :)

baby boy shower

My sister had a baby boy in June, which was an absolute miracle from God. She and her husband dealt with infertility for 5 years before conceiving. We are so excited for her – the first boy in our whole family! He is definitely fearfully and wonderfully made. (Isn't he cute? The picture above was created with elements from a free digiscrap kit from Digital Freebies.) Of course, her baby shower was a very meaningful event. I had fun designing a bunch of stuff for the shower. And I definitely got my money's worth out of my Silhouette digital cutter.

The invitation and Thank You notes (using elements from a digital scrapbooking kit from Shabby Princess)...

Banners for decorations (we had an ocean theme)...

 The signs for the shower and games...

For the “Name the Baby” game I found a cute onesie shape from the Silhouette online library and diecut pretty paper for writing name suggestions.

 The baby shoe party favors filled with M&M’s - also a shape on the Silhouette online library. I've seen plastic ones at the party store (no assembly required), but paper is so much cooler...

I had a bunch of extra material I was able to use to make cards...

My sis labored for 17 hours before having a c-section. The recovery was difficult at first, but she's doing much better now. I know the joy of bonding with her new baby will make her forget any pain she felt (eventually). She and her husband have begun the sanctifying process of being parents. The Lord surely knows how to build character in us!

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."  Philippians 1:6

being creative

I just read a little devotion (from Proverbs 31 Ministries) about rediscovering creativity and how it's a gift from God. It encouraged me to enjoy being the creative person God designed me to be. It's easy sometimes to think that I'm just piddling aournd with all my little craft/computer design/decorating projects. Of course, I need to keep my priorities straight - spend time with God, love my husband, feed my children, clean the house, etc. But being creative is part of how God made me in His image, since He is the Master Artist. Being conformed into His image includes being creative. Exodus 35:30-33 has always encouraged me too..."Then Moses said to the Israelites, 'See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts - to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship.'"  Now that's the kind of spirit-filled Christian I want to be!

Just a side note, the painting above was made my my sweet little daughter in preschool. She was supposed to paint a planet, but she likes hearts much better. I guess you can say it's a very loving planet. God gave her lots of creativity too. :)

teacher gifts

My daughter graduated from preschool this month. *tear* She had wonderful teachers who helped her immensely, especially in her struggle with Selective Mutism. She was able to make some friends and even (finally) speak to her peers this year. With all her newfound bravery, her teacher “predicted” that she will become a motivational speaker someday. She tells me she wants to be a mom when she grows up and being a motivational speaker is a certainly a big part of mothering. ;) She’s already practicing on her little sister. We are so proud of her and so grateful that God placed her in just the right class with just the right teachers. I made them some aprons as thank you gifts…

Naturally, I was short on time so I purchased blank canvas aprons at Walmart, designed heat transfers with their names, ironed them on and sewed “puffy” pockets on them. I’m still learning a lot about my Silhouette machine and its products. This time I learned that it requires a lot of time to iron the heat transfer material on canvas so it really sticks. For each apron I had to iron for 60 seconds at a time, 4 times. Hopefully the aprons will stand the test of time. *fingers crossed* The filigree art was from my "Dover 922 Decorative Vector Ornaments" clip art book. I LOVE this book. It's been such a time saver and has beautiful and classy designs.

back in business

Okay, I guess I’m officially back in business. I finally got some business cards printed and put my portfolio online in hopes of picking up more freelance work. We could use the extra income and, quite honestly, I could use the mental “mommy break.” I’m not sure how I will be able to juggle everything. Am I spreading myself too thin? Will my kids wish I wasn’t so busy? Will I regret this later? Can I handle this? Instead of paralyzing myself with questions, I’ve decided to press on and try. I can always stop if things get too busy. And if it’s not God’s will, I’m sure He will make that clear to me somehow. My husband has been very encouraging about it and willing to care for the kids while I work, even though it keeps me up late at night. I have some mom friends who have to work part-time outside the home to help make ends meet. That would be impossible in my situation. So I’m grateful that God has provided a way for me to work at home, even with all its domestic challenges. I have to choose daily to stop worrying and to simply trust Him.


“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

manly designs

Recently I was asked to create a logo/t-shirt design for the men’s group at my church. It’s always a challenge when I have to put on my “masculine” lens and try to design something that will appeal to men. My husband is a great help. He is soooo picky! If he likes it, then most men will. On the flip side, the men’s group at my church is not too picky and usually like the designs I give them. This time, the t-shirt went through a few revisions.

For my first pass, I found some vector clip art that I was able to pull elements from and combine for a unique design. (I would love to say that I created this all from scratch, but with the reality of caring for 3 little kids I use all the shortcuts I can get.) I also referred to C28 shirt designs for reference. I wanted to use the “grunge” style that is so popular right now. This is what I came up with:

At first, the feedback was great. They loved it. Shortly after, they asked for thorns instead of “grass.” That makes perfect sense – it’s more manly and reflects the crown of thorns that Christ wore. I’m a bit embarrassed to share this, but I found a clip art of roses with thorns to replace the grass. It was a lazy solution, but, hey, I’ve got enough to do already! This was the next draft:

You can guess what the feedback was at this point: it looked too much like branches from a rose bush. I needed to make the thorns bigger, like they really hurt. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. The shirts needed to be ordered ASAP, so I stayed up one night and pulled the points of each thorn, editing curves in Adobe Illustrator. I altered the artwork until it was truly my own. This is the final result:

A lesson learned once again – when I am flexible and allow myself to be shaped, the result is much better than I could have come up with on my own. I started with cloudy vision for this project, but with input from others, it turned out to be just right. It’s the same in my life. I need to be in community with others. And I especially need to let the Lord speak to my heart so the fruit of my life turns out better than I could have made it on my own. That takes vulnerability and flexibility. Sometimes I’m embarrassed and sometimes it hurts. But it is always better!

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

Thank you, Lord, for always teaching me. Thank you for caring enough about me to speak to me when I need to hear You. Thank you for people who influence me for good, for Your glory. Make my heart soft so You can use me.

a pony party

It's been a long time since my last post. I've gotten swamped with design projects. But I'm back now and have lots of new stuff to post.

My sweet little niece recently turned 4 years old. As if I wasn’t busy enough, I agreed to design the invitation. I just can’t help myself – I love making invites! My niece loves ponies, animals and cute princess-sparkly-stuff. Of course, there were pony rides at the party. So I made 2 versions with custom pony designs. She picked this one with the big pink pony. I’m grateful for Digital Freebies and Shabby Princess for all the free digiscrap elements I was able to use. I also found a cute "handwritten" font from Kevin & Amanda. I printed them on a color laser printer, glued them to pink cardstock, used fancy corner punches and ‘voila’, we had a custom invitation for just pennies.

My sister-in-law, Grace, and her friend made the cutest bandanas for the kiddos, complete with matching sheriff stars. She also made adorable little cowgirl outfits for her girls. (I mentioned before that she is crazy when it comes to this kind of stuff.)

All the kids and parents had a great time. My next big project has been a baby shower for my sister. I’m working on preparing all the photos of her shower to be posted soon. So...Ya'll come back now, ya hear!

crowning glory

I have to showcase some amazing handiwork by my sister-in-law, Grace. She's a very talented artist in many ways: hair & makeup, sewing, painting, beading and anything she sets her mind on. I'm really proud of her creative efforts! Her friend recently had a bridal shower and Grace made her a beautiful crown with about a thousand SEED BEADS on wire. Yes, she is crazy! It says "bride" on it and has a veil attached. I keep telling her she needs to sell her creations on Etsy, but of course some are too labor intensive for what people are willing to pay. She also did her friend's bridal invitations, hair and makeup. Anyway, enjoy the photos and be inspired...

Photos by: Chaz

On a personal note, my daughter loves to dress up and wear crowns. I tell her that someday we will cast down our crowns in worship to Jesus - the only One truly worthy of any crown.

Revelation 4:9-11 says...
"Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

“You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”

I won!

I was so excited to learn that I won the Silhouette Design Trading contest! (See my post on February 16.) I don't know how many people entered the contest...I'm figuring not too many? The best part is that I get $50 that I can use for new supplies for my machine. I need some new cutting mats and I want to try some designs with vinyl, maybe even their new heat transfer for fabric. Can't wait to create more things!

Thank you, Lord! You send little blessings my way every day. Please open my eyes to recognize them and especially the One who gives them.

amazed by technology

I have to confess that I’ve been spending way too much time on my computer lately. The reason? I recently discovered digital scrapbooking and free “digiscrap” kits that can be downloaded. For a while, I was checking almost daily to see how many free downloads I could get. I found the best ones at Digital Freebies and Shabby Princess. Then I use the pre-made elements in Photoshop to create layouts in a jiff. I could create the elements myself, but why? With 3 kids ages 5 and under, I have an abundance of digital photos and a serious lack of time (not to mention sleep). This whole new industry has amazed me. We have come so far with technology advancing at an exponentially fast speed.

By trade, I am a graphic designer. I’ve been designing on a computer since 1992. I started on a 286 PC creating my own clip art for Print Shop. I didn’t have a mouse, I just used the arrows on my keyboard and the enter key to turn pixels on or off (see above). From an artistic standpoint it was crude, but so cool that I could make something digital that could be printed over and over again, even if it was with a dot matrix printer. Then I got a mouse and a new 486 PC. Wow! I was amazed by Windows. I think I spent hours changing the color scheme for the desktop. In college I learned how to use a Mac. In a typography class we worked on those tiny 4” screens that make you feel like you’re looking out of a submarine. For my first job in the real world, I worked at a magazine publisher. We still did paste-up with x-acto knives and a wax machine, but we designed on Macs and used the new super duper Syquest 44MB cartridges to back up our work. Then the Iomega 100MB zip disks came out and we used those to transfer clients’ files back and forth. In time, we were burning the whole magazine onto a CD (which took about 2 hours) to send to the printer. Now, you can just export them as PDFs and email/upload files to a printer. I can also download an 80MB digiscrap kit in about 30 seconds. It takes longer to warm up a frozen burrito! All this change in just a span of about 15 years. Amazing!

That said, I hope I can jump on board and become a digiscrap designer someday too. I have the Photoshop and Illustrator skills, now I just need the time! LORD, please multiply my time so I can create things that are pleasing to You, according to Your perfect timing and will. In Jesus name, Amen.

Here are some things I've made using my free digital scrapbooking elements...

Trading for love

The Silhouette blog is having a design trade contest right now. You can submit a die cut design and then get one from their online store for free. I decided to try it and see if my "LOVE" design ends up on their store. I think I'll submit my butterfly sucker holder too. From a money standpoint, they are making way more off of free submitted designs than the price of a $1.99 download. But, it's my first time trying this out so I don't mind. One lucky person will be picked to receive a $50 gift card to their store. That's what I really want! I found the cutest little strawberry box design on there as my trade. I'm not sure when I'll use it - maybe for Valentine's day next year.

Speaking of "LOVE", Valentine's Day has always been my favorite holiday. Maybe it's because of all the pink and red (my favorite colors) sprinkled around. There's not much to it, just a simple day of showing love to the people in your life. And if you have a special someone to share it with, that makes it much more fun. I have a friend who calls it "Single Awareness Day." LOL. But when you look at the holiday with childlike faith, you realize that God is the one who loves us each one of us without abandon. He longs to be our special Valentine. This year I gave my kids simple Valentine hearts with "Jesus Loves You" and 2 verses on them...

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for His friends." John 15:13

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

I want them to know the Biblical definition of true love. And that love has been perfected in Jesus Christ. When I allow myself to be a vessel of His sacrificial love (not my own imperfect love), my family is happy, I am happy and God is glorified. Now that's what I call a real design trade - trading human love for God's love! Surrender your imperfect love today and let God perfectly love others through you.

valentine butterflies

Love is in the air!  I have too much fun re-living my childhood when Valentine’s Day rolls around.  My daughter has to bring 15 signed valentine cards to school this week and we decided to make them by hand instead of buying them this year.  I saw a cute idea in Family Fun magazine to make butterflies out of old fashioned candy sticks.  So we took the idea and changed it so suit our own needs.  I found valentine message suckers at the store that would make a perfect fit.  First, I scanned in a mock-up butterfly shape and traced it in Adobe Illustrator.  Next, I printed some of my digital scrapbooking papers on cardstock.  Then I used my Silhouette to cut these out.

You can also use traditional means.  Trace the shape on paper and cut it out with scissors.  Then hole-punch the center 2 times so a sucker can be weaved through.  Use a 1/8" hole punch if you have one. My 5 year old practiced writing names on each one.  We both had fun.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

baby girl gifts

I will take any excuse to break out my sewing machine and sort through my stash of fabric.  My cousin is about to have a baby girl.  Joann’s was having a sale on flannel.  What a wonderful excuse to be creative!  Knowing that my own little baby loves the tags on toys, I decided to make a soft play mat with fun little ribbons to play with.  I really don’t like to spend a lot of time cutting fabric, so I made the mat 44”x 44”, since the flannel is 45”. For the ribbons, I folded each color a little differently to add textural interest.  I also heat sealed the cut ends with a lighter before I sewed them in, to make sure they don’t unravel.  The prep work took the most time; the sewing went pretty quick. I was finished in about 2 hours and pretty happy with the results.  I’m planning to make another play mat for my sister’s baby this Spring.

I also made a nursing cover – one of the most used baby items I have.  The secret to the nursing cover is a 12” piece of corset boning slipped into the casing on top.  This makes it pop out just enough for you to see your baby while you nurse, but still keeps everything private.  It’s just a rectangle with straps sewn to the front and D-rings for closure.  Super easy – a great project for beginners.  If I can get more corset boning, I will make another nursing cover too.

I love babies…precious gifts from God that are fearfully and wonderfully made.

high-five party favor

My daughter recently turned 5 years old. Her birthday is right after the holidays, when most people are worn out from celebrating, so I try to at least make it special for her at school. This year I used my handy dandy Silhouette SD digital cutter to make some cute boxes to hold treats. It was so nice to see her happily handing them out to each child in her class. To fit the sticker sheet, stamp and candy inside, I needed to make a box that was at least 5" long. The design time was minimal because I was able to find a triangular box design on the Silhouette website. (Now that I have 3 kids, I take any shortcut I can get!) Then all I had to do was add a "5" as a window cut-out and a print a cute little celebratory strip to wrap around the box. It says "Jump and jive, 'K' is..." The result was a perfect little party favor that was quickly ripped open by each excited child. Oh well. I knew they wouldn't last forever. That's why we take photos, right? The important thing is that it made some special little kids smile, especially my daughter.

comfort food christmas gift

Yes, Christmas is over. But I'd still like to share an idea for a Christmas gift you can save for later. This year we gave out a lot of these inexpensive edible gifts. I didn't really have a master plan for this. The recipes and ideas just came to me from various places all at the right time. Isn't that often how life is? So I'm grateful to God for helping me put these together without much stress. What really tied this all together and made it special were free customizable recipe cards (that included a family photo) and gift tags from Shabby Princess. I used Photoshop to edit and insert a photo and InDesign for typesetting. Then I sized them to fit on the lids of reusable take-home containers. Package it all together with a pretty bow and...voila, you have a fun gift for special people in your life.

CONTENTS of the homemade "comfort food tower" from top to bottom:
- 3 tea bags (individually wrapped)
- spice rub container
- granola container
- Mrs. Field's chocolates (from the dollar section at Target)
- soup mix container
- Christmas kitchen towel

RECIPES:
The following recipe is from my MOPs group...
Tasty Spice Rub
1/2 cup Kosher salt
2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp garlic powder

Dust this dry rub on steaks, chicken breasts and fish fillets, and let them rest for about 30 minutes before grilling or broiling. You’ll notice that the spices bring some moisture to the surface of the food. This blends with the seasonings and creates a delicious glaze when cooked.

The following was adapted from Miserly Moms Healthy Meals For Less by Jonni McCoy, with some of my own variations...Cinnamon Raisin Granola
Stir in large mixing bowl:
5 cups quick-cooking oats
2 tbs. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
Set aside: 1/2 cup raisins
Mix in small saucepan:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup frozen apple juice concentrate
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1/3 cup honey

Directions: Heat ingredients in saucepan over medium heat only until sugar dissolves. Pour sugar mixture slowly over dry ingredients in mixing bowl and blend well. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375° for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and stir in raisins. Bake another 5-10 minutes. Options: Make your own special flavor by adding peanuts, sunflower seeds, coconut, sesame seeds, peanut butter or whatever else your family enjoys.

The following is from my kids' Highlights High Five magazine, December 2009 issue...Soup to Share
Ingredients in box:
1/4 cup barley
1/4 cup green split peas
1/4 cup white rice
1/4 cup red lentils
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp onion powder
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
3/4 cup ABC pasta

Directions: 1. Pour the contents of the box and 7-8 cups of your favorite broth into a pot. 2. Chop one stalk of celery. Slice one carrot. Add to the pot. 3. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat until the vegetables are tender (about an hour). 4. Before serving, add one cup of chopped tomatoes.

cheap photo cards

I thought I'd share a little secret about the holidy photo cards that I send around to my family and friends. They are 3" x 4", the perfect size for inserting into cards or pasting onto quarter-sheet notes for use with an A2 envelope. I design my 3" x 4" layout using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Then I copy the design and make it 2-up on a 4" x 6" high resolution document in Photoshop. That's the perfect size to take to any photo printer, like Costco or Walmart. I personally like to use Winkflash and Shutterfly. Winkflash has prints for 9 cents each, but often has a 6 cent sale, which makes each photo card only 3 cents each. Can't beat that price! The quality has been fine for most of my projects. I've noticed that Shutterfly prints are more crisp looking, so if you need high quailty, use Shutterfly. Just know that you will typically pay 15 cents a print.

When the prints are home I simply trim them in half. And that's my little "secret." Shhh - don't tell!

paper ornament craft

My girls and I had fun with a quick ornament craft this Christmas. Even my 3 year old was able to do it. We took a Christmas catalog and cut it into 2" strips. Then we made a "sandwich" out of 5 strips in these lengths: 11"-8"-5"-8"-11". The ends were then lined up and stapled. The result was a colorful oblong paper ornament. I strung 5 of them together to make a garland for my dining room. The clean up was easy and the girls were delighted to show their Daddy when he came home. These would make great party decorations too - just use colored strips of paper to match your party decor. Hang tassles or ribbon on the bottom for extra flair. The idea came from an Etsy shop called Bookity, that recycles old books into interesting crafts. Thanks for the inspiration, Bookity!