A Merry Thankful Christmas to you

Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas is here!! It’s easy to get caught up in the flurry of activities these fun holidays bring. As a busy (and pregnant) Mom, I’m trying to keep things simple, which is challenging! While running between school and church events, I’m trying to focus on the true meaning of the season – that Jesus Christ came to dwell among us in absolute humility because He loves us so much.

This Fall I went through the Beth Moore Bible study, “A Woman’s Heart, God’s Dwelling Place”. The message was clear – since the beginning of man’s sinful choices that banned us from the Garden of Eden, God has desired to dwell among us, to be close to us. In the Old Testament, it was through the Jewish tabernacle. In the New Testament, Jesus is the “tent”, the fleshly tabernacle, His way of dwelling among us. And now, because of Christ’s sacrifice, he can dwell in our hearts until we see Him face to face in heaven. What a precious gift! This makes me want to shout:

This was the Christmas card I designed in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for our family this year. It was a fun typography project, using the font family Champignon. It has lots of fun swashes and curly cues. It’s available for free here.

This year we made some angel lollipop holders for Christmas, in the same vein as our Valentine butterflies. The angel was designed in Adobe Illustrator and cut with my awesome Silhouette SD. It was a nice handout for my kids’ classmates.

I also used my Silhouette SD to cut out some fun gift card “purses”. The shape is available on the Silhouette online store.

And I made this gift card holder at my last MOPs meeting. I don’t know who originally designed it, but it’s super cute! The best part is the handy 2-pocket “file” inside. We used an A-2 envelope with the sides cut off, sealed it, folded it in half and glued it to the middle of the folded card. One pocket can be for a note, one pocket can be for the gift card. Or put dinner and movie gift cards inside for a “date night” package. Such a great idea!

Back to the real reason for celebrating Christmas - can you imagine putting your vulnerable newborn baby in the hands of sinful humanity? Never! And yet, that is what God did. And He does that every time a new baby is born to an imperfect human being, of which I am about to experience again. Our fourth baby is due in January. It’s a boy! For this blessing, we are truly…

My silly daughter wore this to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. They were available on my Etsy shop for a short while too. A custom order for “Thankful” is always available, just contact me through my Etsy shop.

I don’t know how I’m going to juggle four kids and design work, but I know God is bigger than all my shortcomings. I trust that He will surely guide me! As Colossians 3:15 says,

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

what's in a name?

Or rather, what’s a name ON?  The beauty of making your own heat transfer designs is the ability to create personalized gifts.  I was inspired to make my first adult size shirt for my Dad, who is very proud of his heritage.  For the design, I used his last name in the font “Bickley Script” with some swirly capitals in the background.  Unfortunately, I didn’t photograph it.  But I do have photos of “his and her” shirts with the same design, just a different last name.  These were gifts for my brother-in-law and his new wife, who I’m sure is proud to be a Takahashi.  “Who wouldn’t be?” my husband would say.

I’ve also been making these personalized canvas bags for my wee little family and friends.  They add a nice touch to a birthday gift tucked inside.  The inspiration first came when my friend’s daughter was turning 2.  She’s a book-lover, so I thought a book bag (filled with books, of course) would be a nice gift.  It was also the first time I used silver heat transfer, which I LOVE on dark colors.

Since then, I’ve developed three name designs using Adobe Illustrator (my favorite program EVER).  Some work better for short names and some work well for longer names. Experimenting with color combinations has been the most fun.  I complete each one with a colorful ribbon attached with hot glue or FabriTac.  They are now available on my Etsy shop if you would like to order one.  To receive 10% off for visiting my blog, please use the coupon code “THANKYOU10”.

rhinestones to the rescue

It’s been a while since updating this blog (again).  We’ve been enjoying the summer with swim lessons, VBS, play dates and lazy days.  I’ve been using the time to nurture my kids’ relationships with each other.  It’s such a blessing when God gives us siblings – built-in friends for life.  I will be sad to see my oldest going back to school for the full day now that she is in first grade.  Time goes too fast. *sigh*

My Etsy shop is now up and running too.  It’s been an interesting learning adventure.  Mostly I’ve learned that I don’t have a whole lot of time to run an Etsy shop with 3 little kids at home all summer.  (What was I thinking?)  But I’m glad I plunged in and started it.  I like that I can go at my own pace, so for now I’ve been lying low and not relisting my items as much as I should.  When school starts and life settles down a little I can spend more time on it.  In the meantime, I’m still perfecting the art of making shirts with heat transfer designs.

A good friend of mine asked me to make her daughter a shirt for her 1^st birthday.  And, being the super stylish diva that she is, she wanted some bling on the shirt too.  Here’s what I came up with and a couple of rhinestone placement options:

She chose the bottom one. Her little one looked so cute at her birthday party.  I was so glad she “inspired” me to try it.  Originally I used FabriTac for the rhinestones after researching online what would be best. Unfortunately they came unglued in the wash.  I think the rhinestones were too small. In the end, regular super glue worked best.  Unless I can find a cost-effective way for these little rascals to stay on permanently, I won’t be offering rhinestone studded shirts on Etsy.

Remember the "LOVE" shirt I made for my daughter for Valentine’sDay? Well, the first time she wore it she got some marker on it that wouldn’t wash out – oops!  It’s a good thing I got good photos of it before that happened.  Since I had all the supplies for the rhinestones, I decided to use some to cover up the little mishap.  I had to come up with a pattern to make it look intentional and this is the new and improved shirt:

For a last little bit of fun, I discovered a simple way to add bling to paper projects.

This quickly made birthday card was pre-printed with a pattern. I added a solid strip and used my Silhouette to cut out the “Celebrate” shape (bought from their online library). I cut little pieces of adhesive foam tape to make it pop it out. For some bling on the flowers, I used little adhesive foam dots to attach sequins.

And that’s it! Simple, quick, and cheap – my kind of craft these days.

mother's day "parade"

Happy Mother’s Day to all the dedicated mothers who make sacrifices daily to love and care for their children! I made this little digital scrapbook layout to honor my own sacrificial Mom whom I love dearly. I was stunned that it only took me an hour to make! I found this cute little freebie digiscrap kit at Delicious Scraps, downloaded it, scanned in two old photos and it came together pretty quickly.

As a mother of young children, I know how hard it is to keep up with child care, housework, shopping, school activities and maintaining a good marriage. So I’ve compiled a “parade” of my favorite resources that have helped me tremendously in hopes that it may help you too.

CHILD DEVEOPMENT:

Focus on the Family Complete Guide to Baby and Childcare – I love that this book covers childcare from the newborn to the young adult stage. It has helpful advice on all aspects of child rearing: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs.

Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child by Marc Weissbluth - As any Mom knows, naptime is golden! This book has useful sleep strategies for all stages of childhood. It has helped me to help my kiddos sleep regularly and sleep well.

Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp – This book has straightforward advice on training and disciplining children according to Biblical standards.

Babycenter.com – I started receiving weekly updates on my child’s development when I was pregnant with my firstborn. 6-1/2 years later I still get them, for each of my children. It’s a nice little “heads–up” of what’s coming around the corner next.

BABY YEARS:

Baby Bjorn baby carrier – Sometimes a child just needs to be held…for a long time (especially tiny babies). This clever contraption allowed me to multi-task when I had a newborn and other kids who needed me at the same time. I was even able to nurse my baby and clear clutter all at once, though I don’t recommend doing that regularly. It’s too bad I can’t put my 4-year old in one of these during her fussy days when I still have so much to do!

Graco Mosaic stroller – I’ve used several kinds of strollers and I like this one the best. It can be used as a travel system when you click your infant carrier into it and secure it with side straps. It has a decent sized storage basket on the bottom, reclines for napping toddlers, and folds up like an umbrella stroller. The space saving design is a winner in my book!

Amazon Mom – I recently joined this awesome free program where I get diapers and other baby essentials shipped to my house for free. When you sign up with Amazon Mom, you get free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime benefits and 30% off diapers and wipes with “subscribe & save” delivery as well as other offers. I’ve been able to shop for last-minute birthday gifts and have them shipped to my house in 2 days without having to drag my 3 kids to the toy department at the store. That in itself is worth it! I’m tempted to postpone potty training my 2-year-old just so I can stay in this program.

PLAY & EDUCATION:

Automatic bubble blower – This little machine is worth every penny and every battery! Just set it in the backyard, push a button and your little ones run around like crazy chasing bubbles for quite some time. It depletes their energy in the safety of your home and leaves them ready for naptime – yes!

Starfall.com – My children love this free website where they can learn to read starting from basic ABC’s. I would click through the website with them during lunch time until they learned their phonics. When my oldest grew out of napping, we would use that time to go through the more complicated steps of putting letters together and reading the silly “short vowel sound” stories on the website. She was able to read by the time she was 4 years old. Now my 2^nd child begs me to let her click through it on her own.

Alice in Bibleland books – These little books teach youngsters Bible stores and are short enough to hold a preschoolers attention. The illustrations are beautiful. The stories are written in prose, so it helps your children recognize letter sounds through rhyming. Right now my 4-year-old turns everything into a rhyme…it’s been quite a time…she’s starting to shine…her words are sublime.

Seeds Family Worship – Music is a great vehicle for learning. I still remember songs from 30 years ago when I was a little girl. This series of well-written songs helps the whole family to memorize scripture. The music is contemporary and catchy (listen online for free here). My children love to listen to these in the car. If you buy the CDs, they come with 2 CDs each – one for you, one for a friend. We split the cost with friends from our church.

Ikea’s Smaland – Need a break? Need time to talk to your spouse without interruption? Want to eat a meal in peace? Head over to Ikea, sign your children into Smaland (supervised play area) and grab a bite at their cafeteria or do some shopping. It’s free! Kids have to be 36”-54” and potty trained. You can only leave your kids there for an hour, so don’t get too many ideas. But sometimes one hour of peace is all you need to feel recharged.

DOMESTIC DUTIES:

Household management binder – I started using one of these a few years back, then stopped, then found inspiration to take it off the shelf again. MoneySavingMom.com has a daily docket, cleaning schedule and chore charts you can download for free to get started. It’s a great way to organize all your responsibilities, schedules, kids’ chores and school info all in one place. I also created a master shopping list so I don’t forget important items when I’m at the store. If you haven’t already, give it a try. It may change your life!

E-mealz – A great solution for the 5 o’clock stare into the pantry. This service shops grocery store ads, finds recipes, compiles a shopping list and a meal plan and then emails it to you each week for only $5 a month. I haven’t actually signed up yet (I’m waiting to get out of the picky toddler/preschooler stage) but the whole concept has inspired me to get ahead of the dinner rush.

Glad Press-n-Seal – Fuss no more with clingy plastic! Once you start using this product, you will never go back to plastic wrap again. It’s microwavable too.

Rotary apple peeler/slicer – A gift from my mother-in-law, I use this smart contraption almost daily. It’s also a great help when making apple pie.

Rotisserie chicken from Costco – Need I say more? For $4.99 my family gets a whole chicken cooked to perfection. Yum!

I don’t have servants like the honored ladies in the Bible did. Instead I have the help of modern technology. These little things just make life easier for me and help me focus on the important job of training my children in the way they should go.

pennant pizzaz

Spring is here and with the warm weather we have gotten quite busy with fun events. It seems like the older my kids get, the more birthday parties they are invited to. So this year they wanted to have one of their own too. To keep things simple we had a 2-hour party, really limited the guest list, and enlisted help from family as much as possible. There were crafts, games, food, and cupcakes. Although it was fun, I'm hoping to have a 2 year break before the next party. It's already been a while and I'm still recovering!

In preparation for the celebration I discovered a cheap and easy way to make pennant banners by hand. I chose some papers from my plentiful stack of 12x12 scrapbook paper that matched my color palette. (I really need to use that up now that I'm doing digital scrapbooking.) Then I marked the paper at 3" and 9" on one side and 6" on the opposite side. I used my handy x-acto knife to make 4 cuts on each paper (shown in blue), which yielded 3 pennants per paper. The dotted lines are where I scored each pennant, folded them over simple curling ribbon and taped them securely. This made it easy to slide them around as needed.

I LOVE my x-acto knife! It does take some practice at first. Always make sure to use a cork-backed metal ruler to guide the x-acto when cutting and watch your fingers! Use a self-healing cutting mat to work on. It seems like a lot of money up front, but it's so worth it. I've used mine for 13 years now. (Which reminds me, it needs to be replaced. Time to clip my 40% off coupon and visit Joann's.) For scoring, I use a bone folder that I also LOVE and have had for years now. But for simple projects like this you can use a pointed chopstick or the back of a plastic knife.

I was happy with these cute pennant banners - one is still hanging outside on our patio surviving all the rain we've had lately. My husband was happy that we didn't spend much for decorations. The kids were happy to see their friends at the party. A win-win for all of us!

And many thanks to Auntie Lucy for her awesome cupcakes!

seeing stripes (and solids)

I've decided to really, finally (hopefully soon) open an Etsy shop. I've been making these little shirts as gifts for my friends' kids for about a year and now I've got a library of designs I can use. My husband thinks I should do it too, so here we go. First I have to build up an inventory, then photograph, figure out my prices, shop policies and all that good stuff. So it will still take some time. At least I'm committed to actually doing it, which means I've been buying supplies for new shirts. It's hard to find time to work with my 3 precious princesses, since I'm their only "lady-in-waiting". But a slow start is still a start.

Pictured below are some of the gifts I've made recently. I design these in Adobe Illustrator, cut them out of heat transfer paper using my Silhouette machine, and then iron them on t-shirts. So far, they hold up after washing several times. The design challenge is creating 1-color designs that have enough line weight for cutting. Adding a scripture reference, if applicable, is very important to me too. The little scripture type can be tricky to cut and peel off of the backing paper, but it's worth it.

I also designed a little tag with washing instructions on the back. Presentation can really make or break a product! I'm grateful that my years of working as a product designer helped me figure out some of this stuff already. Most importantly, I really want my Etsy store to glorify God and shine as a light for Him. To God be all glory!

monkey love

This year my 4-year old wanted to make some "monkey" valentines for her preschool class. She seems to be as active as a little monkey, so it seemed appropriate. :) We picked out some foam shapes at the store and some cute valentine pencils. Add it all to a simple card with a Bible verse and we're done! I set-up my file so there were 8 cards on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of cardstock (2.75" x 4.25" each), then printed the verse and trimmed it out. We punched the top and bottom with an old heart punch. It really helps to print a little circle where the punch will be so you know where to place it. I punched the corners with a corner rounder so little hands won't get scratched. My little girl had to do a lot of work sticking on foam stickers and writing her name 17 times. That's quite a lot for a 4-year old. We made these over 3 days so it wouldn't be overwhelming.

By the way, the foam shapes make great pencil toppers too. Just stick 2 large hearts together around the pencil top and squish like crazy until it's stuck. Then decorate with more foam stickers - the more the merrier. My 6-year old has been doing her homework with her special Valentine pencil, which makes it more fun.

"...if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:11

How ought we to love each other? The way God does. God's love is sacrificial, always giving, never-ending, not based on feelings, but based on His enduring commitment to us even when we don't love Him back. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) What a great love we are called to show to each other, even our enemies! I know I can't love even my own husband like that without God's help. The good news is that He is ready and willing to help us. All we need to do is ask Him and believe that He will.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Christmas past

Happy New Year! Christmas is over and once again it's time to gear up for the new year. I don't like to emphasize resolutions very much - they are too easy to fail at and be discouraged by. But I do have a goal to start getting up earlier in the morning. And I started a "New-Testament-in-one-year" reading plan. It's only about 1 chapter a day - so far, so good. Aside from resolutions, we are spending time going through old toys and things to give away. The kids made out with A LOT of new toys this year. I feel like I'm constantly cleaning up their new toys, trying to keep little pieces together as long as possible before they vanish.

This year, our "stock" Christmas gift was a bag of cinnamon pecans, tied with a ribbon and tagged with the recipe. I found the recipe in my Mom Sense magazine (by MOPs). The kids had fun helping me make the pecans too. They were delicious! Some people used them in salads and some just snacked on them. Pecans were a bit more expensive than I thought (even in bulk), but it was worth it for a nice and easy gift. Here's the recipe:

Cinnamon Pecans

1 egg white
1 teaspoon water
1 pound pecan halves
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 25o degrees. Beat egg white and water until frothy. Add pecans, coat well. In a small bowl, mix sugar, salt and cinnamon; add to nut mixture, stirring well. Spread on large, flat, buttered or greased pan and bake for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.

Enjoy!