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!

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!

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.”

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!

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!

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

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!

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.

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!