Tag Archives: illustration

Christmas / Holiday Gift Tag Freebie

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I’m popping in twice in one day! It’s a record for me since I rarely get more than an hour or two to sit at my computer. But today, I was able to create some holiday gift tags for you to print out. Maybe I have birds on my mind because we just added a new little parakeet to our family or maybe it’s because this world feels like it could use some Peace on Earth.

Without getting too deep, I hope that during this special time of year, no matter what your faith or beliefs are, that we can all have some moments of peace in the world. A moment where we can wake up, turn the news on and not have to sensor it from our children.

I hope your holiday season is filled with peace, love and joy! Click here for the free printable gift tags.  You get 12 per page and can print as many as you need. And I’ve got an idea for a landrover one for those more rugged folk in your life so check back next week for another freebie 🙂

Mail Organizer Secret!

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For years I have had to stare at our pathetic mail organizer on the counter across the kitchen island where a spend a good portion of my day. I have never liked it no matter if it was clean and organized or messy…which was 99.9% usually the case. I’ve always wanted to get rid of the thing, but I have never been able to find suitable homes for those random bits of mail/coupons/business cards/Netflix mover to return or the odd leftover school picture. So after about nine years of internal mental deliberation, I finally came to peace with my nemesis. It won’t go away. Ever. Even if I put it all in the junk drawer below, those random bits of things will start creeping back on the corner in plane view and mock me in my defeat. Soooo, if you can’t get rid of it, why not make it prettier?

IMG_4489This is a picture of it cleaned up in the new organizer – still way better than it was, but I wasn’t happy.

Once I finally got around to finding a prettier version of what I had and one that contained the chaos better, I felt a lot better about my enemy. BUT, it still looked messy!! Aaagh! Then a light bulb went off in my head. If you can’t clean it, hide it. That’s what under the bed is for and those weirdly shaped under stair closets, right?! So out came my ruler to measure and I got to designing a typographic cheeky phrase that was both fun, clean and measured perfectly to hide my eternal chaos. I have to say, I am far more zen every time I look up from my kitchen sink and see my “neatly organized” mail  😉 It’s still all there, just hidden! What do you think?

Easter Art Print: Freebie!!

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IMG_4313Here is a little free a Easter art print! Easter has not been much on my mind like everyone else because we celebrate Greaster (Greek Easter) and it’s not until May 1st this year…way far away!! But I didn’t grow up in a greek family so there is a part of me that still wants to celebrate this week with you all and so I got my Easter pants on and made a freebie printable art print to celebrate the occasion 🙂 And I will for sure be making some hot cross buns for Good Friday! One of my favorite Easter traditions my mom always did.

Click here for the PDF print.  …can you tell I’ve been in to watercolor lately?!

Cocoa and Cookies Birthday Party

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I’m over the birthday party hump with both of my girl’s birthdays under wrapped – phew! My five year old was stuck on having hot cocoa, pajamas and a puppy movie for her birthday party so I tried to tie it together with a Cocoa and Cookies theme (…and where your PJ’s!). I kind of phoned this one home this year with everything we’ve had going on these last few months, but she seemed pleased with her party and the little touches I did do, I think turned out pretty cute. Here are a few pictures of her party.

I was indecisive about having a white border or not on the invitation (see above) and in the end I went with no border. I added a coral colored straw because I’m well aware that cocoa and cookies for a birthday theme in March is not exactly seasonal 😉 and in the end I went with no border.

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I designed little thank you tags for the homemade hot cocoa and cookies the kiddos took home. Simple and certainly inexpensive. Yahoo!

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This number 5 balloon was from her actual birthday the week before, but it survived a week and a half later…barely!

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My attempt at a icebox cookie cake. It didn’t turn out exactly like my #magnoliabakery inspiration cake, but it was a worthy effort 😉 Cake decorating is certainly not my forte!! But it was delicious!

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I’ve fallen in love with these adorable sparkler candles and it adds a fun surprise to the cake!

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Finally making use of our chalkboard wall we have! My husband does a great job at projecting the text from his mini projector and then tracing the text so it turns out level and in the font I want.

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The kids got to decorate their own mugs with a monogrammed letter and take them home with them along with their hot cocoa and cookies goodie bag.

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The two older girls hard at work on their mugs. I wish I got more pictures of the table before it got all messy, but the sun was shining in so brightly that it was hard to see beyond all of the shadows. Oh, and lastly, the kids dropped marshmallows from a chair in a mason jar. They all said how simple it would be, but it was harder than it looked and they all had to eat their words!

Valentine Class Bookmark Cards – Free Download!!!

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IMG_4015With sick kids, half days and a multitude of other unplanned stuff in our schedule, it’s been taking me longer than I would have liked to get these valentine bookmarks finished and shared for a valentine freebie! But, alas, I finished {sigh}.

I really try to limit the trinket quota in our house, but it always seems to be a loosing battle. However, I trudge on and hope someday my house will be a trinket free zone (wishful thinking, right?). That said, for valentine’s day, it’s a mecca of trinkets and so in the past I’ve just done some simple valentine cards (see my Etsy Shop) with a lollipop taped to the back. For fear my kids will get bored with my noncreative valentine efforts (however, I thought their cards were pretty cute, but kids could care less about the design…it was for me 🙂 ), I decided to create some valentine bookmarks. Not as exciting as candy, but my mom conscience feels much better about it! So here you have it…they are a free download for the next week and then they will be available on my Etsy Shop for purchase after that.  Just print (on card stock), trim and write on the back and you are finished! Enjoy 🙂

Christmas Dinner Place Card Freebie!

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IMG_3543This year we aren’t hosting Christmas for the first time in a looooong time. We are going to enjoy the day stress free at my brother’s house this year, which I am kind of relieved to not have to plan and host a big dinner. Aaaaahhhh! That said, I love to decorate the table for Christmas and come up with fun place card holders for the table. I always do something simple and pretty inexpensive…usually it involves my husband going out and picking some evergreen branches for me from some trees outside 🙂 Last year was one of my favorite tablescapes with skinny pine tree branches stuck in left over pieces of wood from what we cut off from our Christmas tree. My husband drilled a hole in the middle of the small stumps so the branches slid right in. It was simple, free and easy. I wish I had some pictures, but I sadly forgot to take any.

BUT, the other dressing for the table were these fun place cards (Click here for the free download!!). You can type in the names of your guests in the PDF or just leave it blank and write them in yourself. You choose! Click here for the free font if it doesn’t show on your computer. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Feather Name Cards: Freebie

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IMG_3342Thanksgiving is just a few days away!! Yikes! I need to be in full planning mode now. To help you out with your table scape, here are the feather name cards I mentioned last week. Print them out for free and you can either lay them flat (cut top off at fold) or write on them. I attempted some calligraphy…not my strongest suite, but it’s fun to try new things.

Also, make sure to print out the free matching gratitude cards as well 🙂

Tomorrow I am going to start a mini set-up of my table and I am going to try my hand with some kraft paper down the table and some white marker decoration…let’s hope it turns out. If it does, I will post pictures 🙂

 

Merry Christmas, Eh?

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I was struggling in coming up with a new Christmas invitation design over the last several weeks and so I was thinking while in the shower – yes, that deep thinking shower scenerio 😉 I’m Canadian by birth right, and while I have essentially grown up American, I still feel my roots there and get comfort in knowing I’m from there. And when I come across a fellow Canadian, there is always something familiar about them.

So back to my thought process…while in the shower, I was trying to come up with something different, because Lord knows there are a million templates for everything and anything out there these days. So I asked myself what makes me unique from my friends…and…well…I’m Canadian. And who doesn’t love some of their quirky words they use?! Within the next few hours, I came up with this bad boy, and I have to say, I am quite taken with it. You can find it in my Etsy Shop and other coordinating items that I will be posting about soon! Eh?