digital files for sale

I finally did it.  I finally put a few digital files up for sale on my Etsy shop.  This has been a goal of mine for a while, but not a priority.  Changing diapers, feeding my kids, breaking up fights, helping with homework and cleaning the house has been a bit more important.  ;)

A few weeks ago a nice lady who found my blog asked me if I had the digital file for sale for the lollipop angels I made 2 years ago.  This was the motivation I needed to get started.  I obliged and thankfully she purchased it.  Ask and you shall receive.  Kind lady, to you I am...

Available for purchase now are two digital cutting files that will work with any cutter, but especially on a Silhouette.  And two printable PDF files that can be used to make 5x7 cards or framed as artwork.  These are perfect for the upcoming holiday season.  I have more 5x7 scripture art in the works and will make them available as soon as I can.  Enjoy!

Summer Lovin'

Um...yes, it's been Summer for over six weeks now. Better late than never, right? My four kids and I have been having fun swimming, picnicking, visiting the park, beach and museums, swimming, having play dates and swimming some more.  My sanity saver this Summer was to keep my freezer stocked with meat, vegetables and popsicles so I wouldn't have to run to the grocery store as often with four kids in tow.

After a few weeks of my kids reminding me, "It's not Spring anymore, Mom, it's Summer!", I found the motivation to change out the seasonal banner we hang on our mantle.  The design changed a lot from the original plan I had for it, but such is life.  This was cut from cardstock on my Silhouette and the letters were attached with adhesive foam dots.

I also found a bit of time to make some little girl gifts. I saw a super cute dress-shaped hair bow holder in a catalog and thought I could make my own personalized version.  I used scrap fabric with interfacing to attach it to stiff felt and another piece of regular felt for the back. For the skirt I glued tulle and ribbon between the felt with Aleene's tacky glue and then stitched it all in place.  The name was cut from my Silhouette and ironed on after the sewing.

The first one came out nice, but I thought it needed sleeves.  So I added puffy sleeves made from tulle for the next one.  Much better!  The whole project took less than 2 hours.  Not too bad for a simple and useful gift.

Although I feel very busy with all the kids home 24-7, I will miss them when they go back to school.  I will not miss their fighting and little spats.  I will miss their peaceful playtime babble and unstructured days of fun.  And my two little ones at home will still be around to keep me company.  Time for focused learning, time for my own Bible study group to start again, time to pray for my kids at school.

"There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens"
Ecclesiastes 3:1

Spring things

I’m loving the perfect California Spring weather, blooming Amaryllis and little hummingbirds that visit our yard.  Last week I put up my new SPRING banner to welcome the season. It ended up a bit different than my original computer sketch. I wanted to use a new shape for the background and then I found a new font (Sancreek Regular) that reflected the budding life of Spring.

They were created in Adobe Illustrator and cut out using my Silhouette Studio software. Silhouette Studio can do a lot more than the older Craft Robo program, but I still prefer drawing everything out in Illustrator, since I know it like the back of my hand. The letters are popped out with foam tape to add dimension.

I also made these little cuties for my girls recently. I used a free pattern and tutorial, called Fluffy Stuffy Bunny, from a blog called Allsorts. My friend introduced me to this blog, and it’s so inspiring for someone like me, who once wanted to be a children’s book illustrator. I love how she makes everything so colorful and fun.  How nice it would be to have time to design cute projects like this! For now I am still busy changing diapers, wiping noses and sweeping under the kitchen table several times a day. But, yes, my kids are totally worth it!

I didn’t follow her instructions exactly. Not wanting to buy any new fabric, I used what I had – no fuzzy material, just cotton prints. The dresses are reversible and my kids have fun changing them every so often. I also wanted to make each one to fit the unique personalities of my girls (as much as a little stuffed animal can) so I added an embellishment to each head and let them choose the dress fabric.

For the face I didn’t want to embroider much, so I only stitched the mouth. I hole-punched a brown scrap of heat transfer for the eyes, and used a heart punch on pink heat transfer for the nose. No Silhouette needed for cutting this time! This was a great way to use scraps of heat transfer. My girls were excited to take these to school for Stuffed Animal Day. And my little one sleeps with hers every night. Priceless!

Today my kids and I were talking about all of our fun Easter traditions and how it wouldn’t mean much if we didn’t have faith in Jesus. Isn’t it nice to know that Easter is about more than just plastic eggs, Spring flowers, and fuzzy bunnies and chicks? It’s about the new everlasting life we can have in Jesus Christ. What hope! Here are some Bible verses I like to think about during this season:

“Come now, let us settle the matter,”says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-6

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” Mathew 28:6a

If you want to know more about new life in Jesus Christ, click here. Happy Spring and Happy Easter!

Winter paper banner

It's February already? The months are flying by! I had to ignore my blog during the holiday season (as usual). We hosted Thanksgiving at our house, made lots of memories during Christmas, then had a birthday explosion and anniversary in January. Yes, there are 7 birthdays in our family (not including 2 other out-of-state family members). We quickly took down our Christmas decorations (some can be seen on my sweet friend, Janiene’s, blog) to decorate for all the birthdays and now we are ready for Valentine’s Day. This seasonal paper banner, from a previous post, was designed in Adobe Illustrator and cut with my Silhouette. I made sure to include some red with the cool winter blues because I LOVE RED. It’s such a beautiful color that never gets old.

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  John 15:13
This is what Jesus did because He LOVES you! Happy Valentine’s Day and a warm winter to everyone!