design. wash. rinse. repeat.

freebie :: jam jar dress ups

I have vivid memories of my mom spending entire afternoons bottling the fresh peaches, apricots, cherries, grapes, & tomatoes from our yard. as a young child i didn't understand the attraction of slaving over a hot stove on a sweltering summer day, but i always enjoyed the results. and now that i'm a mom, with a garden and beautiful fruit trees of my own, i realize how much love went into each and every one of those jars. so last year i started learning the age old art of preserving, and i must say there's nothing more satisfying than the familiar "pop" of a freshly sealed jar.

this week was harvest time for our apricot tree. a late snow (mid june!!) killed off most of the blossoms on our neighborhood trees, but luckily our little fighter was able to make it through with some beautiful fruit. a few days ago the littles and i filled our buckets to the brim, and with the help of nana we whipped up a couple batches of fresh apricot jam. (we particularly liked the pineapple-apricot recipe from the kraft website)

cupcake wrappers or fabric swatches make lovely quick & easy toppers, but the artist in me needed custom labels. so while i set to work on a design, the littles sat down with a bowl of jam and ritz crackers (a favorite treat at our home for sure). while packaging up our goods in preparation to share with loved ones, my 3 & 5 year old daughters took it upon themselves to help with the "dress ups", and surprised me with foam stickers adorning a few of the bottles. such an adorable touch that i never would have thought of, and a fun way to involved the kids in another step of the process. hopefully as adults, when they hear that familiar "pop", they'll be inundated with childhood memories of beautiful summer days spent in the garden (& in the craft room!) with their mother.

to spread the love even further, included below is a free download for the labels we used in our project. enjoy!

lastly, in the interest of full disclosure, i must admit the entire bottling process wasn't all rainbows and unicorns perfect... in a whirlwind of scorching hot pans etc, i ended up melting the side of my precious vitamix!! eep. i won't be forgetting that experience soon enough.

freebie :: owl box

whooooo loves owls? this bitty valentine freebie is just for you! born from the same random whim that created my favorite little bird box. 

RECIPE:

1:: Follow the cut lines to trim out the printed pattern.

2:: Score the fold lines, (i pressed lightly with an xacto) and gently bend to crease.

3:: optional: braid a 10" length of yarn and insert as legs.

4:: Adhere together, and fill with a favorite treat.

enjoy!

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freebie :: holiday tags

freebie printable holiday tags. just for you. mwah!

freebie :: holiday card

How adorable is my newest little nephew?! his sweet baby santa photo (captured by my lovely and talented sister-in-law Becky) was the inspiration for this year's freebie holiday card. Sadly my own bitty photo shoot didn't go quite so swimmingly. notice anything wacky in the photos below?? Only i would get my three Littles all dolled up for a magical holiday photo op and mindlessly put my one-year-old's shoes on the WRONG feet. ack. i can't stop giggling at these photos! i wasn't going to show them... but in the end, freaky feet or not, they're such cute kiddos, and who knows if i'll get around to shooting something new. happy holidays.

{scroll to the bottom for the free 5x7 card download. & if this design doesn't quite fit your family photo, perhaps one from the past year or two will be just the thing. enjoy!}

 

freebie :: creepy Halloween treat labels

It would be an unfortunate October if the month went by without at least one free printable download. So despite a hectic work week i toiled til the wee hours of the morning creating some dreadfully vile Halloween treat labels. Four loathsome options are included in the download, plus one "fill in the blank", so that all of your wretched needs may be met.

freebie :: mother's day card!

 

My Mom has always been one of my dearest friends. even during my rebellious purple haired, black clad teen years (yikes, fingers crossed my children won't follow in my footsteps!!). The long hours i spent drawing and crafting alongside my creative Mother are surely what inspired me to become an artist, and nowadays i consider myself incredibly lucky that i get to live just around the corner from her. If ever i'm in need of rescuing, be it babysitting help, crafting help, fashion dilemmas, dinner ideas, or just someone to talk to, i can always count on my mom. so this year i thought i'd take some time to design a card just for her... and anyone else who needs something special for their mom! This sweet little bird card includes colorful eggs for tucking into the nest, and you can personalize the back with your own message. since many of us are just as close to grandma, there's a version for her as well. enjoy!

freebie :: chains of love

 

I LOVE garlands, and having seen a few cute heart ideas floating around the blogosphere i thought i'd put my own spin on this hot décor item. why not set the mood this valentine's day with a decorative craft that even small children can help with? in fact, I did this with my four year old's playgroup (8 kids!), and they all loved it, even the boys! pre-cut hearts were scattered around the table, and the children enjoyed picking their favorites and arranging them for sewing. once sewn, the little artists went crazy decorating with stickers, bling, and markers, and then we hung them up to admire. i must admit, the house looked so festive with strings of hearts hanging all about that it was sad to see them slowly trickle out the door when we said our goodbyes. we need to make more! these can also be stuffed in an envelope for a slowly unfolding surprise.

ingredients: 
  • patterned paper (i mostly used my Two Scoops line from BasicGrey, 
     which sadly has been discontinued) 
  • various cardstock scraps
  • round and heart-shaped doilies
  • felt scraps (funky colors of heather bailey felt would be divine!) 
  • thread

recipe: 
 • cut a variety of small, medium, and large hearts from the scraps of
    paper and felt.
 • start stitching down from the top of a heart, leaving a length of thread
    to use as a loop for hanging. 
 • continue stitching through all of the hearts until you reach your desired
    length, leaving a bit of space between each one (the space allows the
    hearts to rotate whimsically) 

 

For a quick start, i've included a download containing the 3 sizes of hearts i used. the template is even filled with patterns from my "Rapture" digital scrapbooking line (available on pcLayers). print and trim these out and you're half way there! 

xoxo

freebie :: to do, to do, to do

  

My obsessive list writing is pure comedy to my husband T. According to him, i make notes on just about every scrap of paper within reach. sadly, a quick peek at my office would reveal he's not far off. work deadlines, design ideas, blog inspiration, dinner plans, grocery lists, contact info, kindermusik class options, fonts i plan to eventually purchase, home and garden projects... these are just a few i can see from where i'm sitting at this very moment. Frequently i'll even get up in the middle of the night to jot down a quick list. i swear sometimes it's the only thing that stops my brain from spinning out of control! so i thought the perfect freebie to kick off the new year would be a "to do" list design. complete with sweet little elephant, and my favorite color combo of the moment: ice blue and red. maybe now i can keep all my notes a bit more organized.

enjoy!

{this download is an 8.5 x 11 pdf with 3 designs on the page}

freebie :: holiday gift tags

As promised, some freebie holiday gift tags! unfortunately a bit late for the overachievers who've had their packages wrapped since thanksgiving and already baked and delivered their holiday treats (yes, i'm talking about you MOM!). but everyone else, download and enjoy. wouldn't these be the perfect tags for hot cocoa? as for me, i still need to finish my shopping... yikes.

{note: use a 2" circle punch for quick and easy trimming of the circle tag design}

freebie :: holiday card

 
I've been working on various letterpress looking Holiday photo card designs (for a fantastic client!) since mid summer, so with my head brimming full of ideas i was determined this would be the year our family postcards would actually make it in the mail... um, sure, talk about overestimating myself. here we are mid-December and still nothing. no address list, no stamps, no card design, and no photo. yipes! luckily magic was in the air today and all three children decided to nap at the very same moment. happy Christmas to me, i actually got something done! and when they all woke up cheerful and well rested i tortured them with an outdoor photoshoot (it was only mildly unbearably cold in Utah today... luckily they love an excuse to sport their winter coats). hallelujah, i feel so accomplished! now if only i could master the "focus" button on my camera... but that's probably too much to ask for one day.

happy holidays everyone, thanks for all your support and kind comments over the last year. click below to download this 5 x 7 card template (or click here for last years design!)... and if magic is in the air again in the coming days i'll post some coordinating gift tags. xoxo