Jesse Tree Ornaments

This will probably be my last post on here. Technology is changing fast and I need to keep up. I will be posting more in Instagram now, so please follow me there: @little.design.angel. You can see these photos and more on my Instagram feed.

This past Christmas I was inspired to paint handmade ornaments for our Jesse Tree. It's a newer tradition for our family. Each day for 25 days we read a devotional from "The Advent Jesse Tree" by Dean Lambert Smith. It recounts the story of God's plan of salvation from the beginning (Genesis) to the birth of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross for our sins. It was a great way for all of us to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. I plan to put a printable PDF of all 25 of my hand painted designs on my Etsy shop before next Christmas. Even though I'm posting about Christmas, I wish you a Happy Valentine's Day!

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

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!

our "Million Dollar" give-away

Today is a great day for trick-or-treaters. We are giving away million dollar bills and 100 Grand bars or PayDay bars to each child who comes to our house in costume! Even if you don't have a costume, you can still receive a million dollar bill. The message on each bill is worth even MORE than a million dollars. Here's what it says:

"The million dollar question: Will you go to Heaven when you die? Here's a quick test. Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, or used God's name in vain? Jesus said, "Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Have you looked with lust? Will you be guilty on Judgment Day? If you have done those things, God sees you as a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart. The Bible warns that if you are guilty you will end up in Hell. That's not God's will. He sent His Son to suffer and die on the cross for you. You broke God's Law, but Jesus paid your fine. That means He can legally dismiss your case. He can commute your death sentence: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Then He rose from the dead and defeated death. Please, repent (turn from sin) today and trust in Jesus alone, and God will grant you the gift of everlasting life. Then read your Bible daily and obey it."

You can order your own set of Million Dollar bills to give away at livingwaters.com. They even have Trillion Dollar bills now too. Inflation, I guess! Go shine for Jesus and have a wonderful day!

pretend pumpkins for a faux Fall

It’s been a looooong summer, especially here in SoCal.  Yesterday it was 99 degrees in my area!  But with decorations, we can at least pretend that it’s Fall now, even if the hot weather doesn’t relent.  On my mantle I have six 3M Command hooks left from our Christmas stockings last year.  Well, I may as well use them throughout the rest of the year too.  It turns out that 6 is a great number for many reasons.  There are 6 people in our family.  And there are 6 letters in the words: AUTUMN, WINTER, SPRING and SUMMER.  How perfect!  I love it when a plan comes together!  After a few clicks on Adobe Illustrator and a few snips on my Silhouette (using left over scrapbook paper), here is the finished product for Autumn:

 

Here is my computer sketch for stringing the seasons on my mantle this year.  I will have to post the others later as the seasons change:

 

 

To get the letter cards to hang straight and even, I punched a ¼” hole on the top, cut a 6” piece of twine, folded the twine in half, knotted the ends and then slipped the folded side through the front of the card.

When the seasons change, I can just slip the twine out and use it for the next card.  To quote my 2nd grader, “Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!”

 

And I mustn’t forget my pretend pumpkins. This was a cute and simple craft we made at my last MOPs meeting.  It’s simply a toilet paper roll covered in fabric with a rolled up brown lunch bag stuffed in the middle.  What a great craft for kids too!  I was so inspired by this 2-minute craft that I also cut a roll of paper towels in half to make a bigger pumpkin.
 

 

The best part - everything is reusable and I didn’t buy anything new for these projects.  Yay!  It’s the “little things,” right?  Now I’m ready to light my cranberry candle, sip some hot apple cider and cuddle up in a blanket…as soon as the weather gets cooler.  Either way, I am reminded to be thankful to God for His blessings, with or without decorations or cool weather.  God is good, even if my circumstances aren’t.  This verse spoke to my heart this week:

Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food…
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.
 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights.
Habbakkuk 3:17-19.

 

May you be refreshed by God’s strength today!

creativity in crisis

I love this little drawing by my 5-year old daughter, my second-born. She is turning out to be very good at drawing. I was amazed at her sense of proportion when I looked at this picture of her and her 2 sisters and baby brother after getting their hair cut. Kids rarely draw hair by it's overall shape first, usually they draw lots of crazy lines. Only the girls have eyelashes. :) And those shoes! So cute! Can you tell I'm a pround Mama? She has a natural eye for design.

As for me, I’m having a "mid-life design crisis" of sorts.  In the “X” of my creative life, I’m approaching the middle, trying to find where I came from and where I will go.  For a while now, I’ve been totally uninspired to make or design fun things (resulting in a lack of blog posts).  I see things in such practical ways now.  Is it easy to clean up?  Is it superfluous?  Will it collect dust?  Will it end up in a landfill?  Will it have lasting results?  Is it worth the little time that I have?  It’s really a question of purpose.  Is there purpose in what I’m doing?  If not, I haven’t the time or the heart to do it.

This ultra-practical no-frills perspective has intensified since having our fourth precious child.  Holding him is so satisfying and exhausting at the same time. I’ve been in mommy-mode for 7-1/2 years now, changing diapers the whole time, and for at least another 3 years.  My body and brain have been worn down to mush.  I get an occasional spark of creativity when facing parenting challenges or browsing Pinterest.  Having children has been wonderful!  I mean that!  But it comes with a price.  We counted the cost each time.  The first was to give up an enjoyable job as an art director/product designer and leave the working world for a while.  In this I also lost face-to-face contact with many creative and inspiring designers who speak my language.  I have no regrets – I love being with my kids.  Even so, I still hear the siren song of the next creative project.  I just don’t know what to make right now and I’m too tired to figure it out.

Another cost is that I have to die to myself more with each child.  That is the key: to die to my flesh that says, “I need my own space and freedom!!” so that Christ may LIVE in me.  Over the summer I pushed to disciple my young kids like a “good Christian mother” should.  “Sit down and be quiet!,” I would shout above the constant skirmishes.  “We are going to learn about Jesus and LIKE it!!”  I would find myself so frustrated at times that it was better to plop the kids in front of Veggie Tales and call it a day.  “How do I do this in the Spirit and not in the flesh, Lord?,” I would pray.  “I just want to please You and for my kids to know You.”  And then that still small Voice would whisper, “Just love Me and they will get to know Me through you.  Serve Me by serving your family.”  Talk about purpose!  What is the chief end of man?  …to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

I love how the Lord speaks to me – He is so gentle and comforting.  I want to speak to my children that way.  Knowing the answer is one thing, putting it into practice is another.  For this, I ask for prayer.  That’s where I am.  As for where I’m going, I’m sure creative inspiration will come back in little ways during less busy days.  My creativity is a gift from God.  I just want to make sure it has purpose, and hopefully, eternal significance.

a model baby

We’ve been a bit busy since the year began.  (Actually…VERY busy.)  Our fourth baby was born in January, a sweet little boy who has stolen all of our hearts.  The timing was great to be able to have our friend, Lisa, photograph our newborn at only 8 days old in our own home.  What a treasure!

She has been a professional photographer for years and recently started doing newborn photography too.  Her daughter came along to assist and they were a great team.

I enjoyed watching her gentle technique with my sometimes uncooperative baby boy.  She stayed for 3 hours and patiently waited for me as I nursed him, calmed him and tried to get him to sleep.  He sometimes cried, spit up on her, peed on her, but mostly slept, which is what we wanted.

To create a womb-like atmosphere that would keep him sleeping the house had to be warmed up to 85°.  Lisa brought heartbeat sounds and her own heater that blew on him the whole time.  She also had various thick cozy blankets to put him on.  

I especially liked the cute hats she brought as props – one was an upcycled bunny hat she handmade from an old sweater.  She had such cute ideas!!  The one below is a little "love puppy".  The experience will be a sweet memory for years to come.  For more information about Lisa Joy Photography, visit her website at lisajoyphotography.com.

And here is my little Levi at 3 weeks modeling a new baby shirt design.  Maybe someday this design will end up on my Etsy shop.  For now, our family has been taking time to enjoy our new baby brother.

I'm a Liebster Blog!

What a nice surprise to have been given a Liebster Blog Award from a sweet sister-in-Christ and fellow blogger, Janiene at "A Bunch of Bishops". Janiene writes about her life with 3 little ones and the fun and creative things that interest her. Part of this honor is that I now get to present the award to 5 deserving blogs that have less than 200 followers. It's a great way to help each other get noticed. Here are my five:

My long-time friend, Karen, blogs about her new life in South Carolina. I've enjoyed her recipes and organic gardening posts. And of course, I've enjoyed reading about the beginnings of her parenting journey.

I heard Linda speak at my MOPs group 3 years ago. She was so real and honest about the sometimes crazy life of a mother. I laughed so hard at her stories that I almost spit out my coffee! She loves the Lord and has written a devotional called Spilt Milk. I enjoy the genuineness of her blog posts.

Veronica Walsh Illustration

I had the privilege of working with Veronica years ago. She is an amazing artist and now does a variety of children's illustrations. I love her gestural, light and airy style. Her beautiful art is featured on this blog.

The Painted Page

This blog showcases the work of 4 illustrators who illustrated 4 different classic children's stories: Veronica Walsh (Thumbelina), Jennifer Gray Olson (The Princess and the Pea), Carolyn Le (The Nightingale), Patricia Cantor (The Ugly Duckling). The artwork is beautiful and my children have enjoyed looking at it.

This blog gathers interesting photos of upcycled projects, both big and small. Check out the latest post with upcycled zipper flowers - too cute!

Congratulations to you all! You've done a great job!


~ PAYING IT FORWARD ~
There are a few rules that accompany a Liebster...

1. Post about your win on your blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who presented you with the award (LittleDesignAngel)

3. Copy and paste the award button to your blog.

4. Present the Liebster Award to 5 blogs that have fewer than 200 followers that you think deserve to be recognized.

5. Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

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”.