2014 Christmas Cards are here!

I am so excited to share my new Christmas card designs with you today! Just like last year, it's officially 2 months until Christmas so now's the time to share.

I have to say, these are my favorite designs I have done and hope you enjoy them.

Let's start with the 2013 chalk-style cards.

This is my baby so I have to list it first: Have a holly jolly Christmas.



I designed the typography then printed it and hand drew it all out and added little doodles and flourishes. If you could have feelings for a card, I do for this one. A lot of love went into this guy.

But that's neither here nor there.

Next up, O come let us adore him,



And, then, The weary world rejoices.



Next, Glory to God in the highest.



And lastly, for the chalk-style, Have yourself a merry little Christmas.



Now, onto the colorful cards!

I don't know if you're supposed to have favorites but this might be mine if you can, For unto us a child is born.



This one is also available in red and blue so check the listing to see the other colors.

The next two were designed for instagrammers and the love of square photos. And no, you don't have to use instagram to use this card, I can crop your photos for you.

First up, peace love joy.



And then, Merry Christmas.



This next card has some of my hand drawn doodles in the background and is ideal for horizontal photos.

Merry Christmas.



This one also has my hand drawn doodles, Have yourself a merry little Christmas.




This design is also available with a three photo grid at the top and/or gray. See listing for options.

And lastly, do you save the best for last or do you do the best first? Either way, I'm not saying this is the best but, by golly, I do like this guy too.

Deck the halls.



So there you have it. My 2013 customizable Christmas card designs.



Since I had a lot of questions about the process last year, I'm going to try to explain this as simply as possible.

Who these cards are for:
People that have a family photo that want to send out a unique Christmas card.

Here's how it works:
If you see a card design you like, go to my shop and purchase the listing. There are some steps laid out in the listing but all you need to do is buy it, send me the photo you want me to use and your name to add to the card.

I will then set your design up and send you a PDF copy to review. If everything looks good, I'll send you a print-ready pdf and jpg for you to use as you wish. That means you can print them at home, get them printed at Walmart or you can upload them to an online printer, like Mpix. If you aren't familiar with online printing, don't worry, I offer a little step-by-step-guide to help you through the ordering process that comes with your final print-ready file.

Make sense?

So, you buy the design, I add your stuff and send you a PDF and you print. Got it?


If you saw a design you'd like to have for your Christmas cards this year, hop on over to my shop and get it. You'll also see a few of the favorite designs from 2012 too.

Also, I should let you know that I won't be doing custom cards this year so this is it. And I take the cards down at the first of December so just a heads up.

Oh, and if you're a photographer wanting the templates to these designs for your clients, I have the chalk collection ready and listed in the shop.



I'm still working on the color templates and hope to have those up next week. If there's something you need, let me know.

Thank you for all your support of my shop and I hope you have an awesome day!

p.s. it's important to me to keep Jesus at the center of Christmas and that's why all my cards are either verses, carols or say Christmas somewhere. That's all. Thank you.

Christmas cards - 2013

I have received a few emails and comments asking if I'll be doing Christmas cards again this year. The answer is yes! I was going to wait until Friday, when they'll be up in the shop, to announce it but I decided to do a little sneak peek today.



And yes, like last year, I'll also have templates available for photographers on most designs - more details on Friday.

Some of last year's favorites will be back again, as will a few new fun Christmas related items, like these printable gift tags!



More will be added but for now I'm wrapping up the Christmas card designs so check back Friday to see all the new cards and have a happy Monday!

Everyone Wins

Thank you for all the entries and birthday wishes on the calendar giveaway post! Last night I randomly selected a winner...

drumroll...

Comment number 45 - come on down.

If you are Amanda, and you said,

"Happy Birthday :) Love your prints!! I bought one for my brother earlier this year," 

shoot me an email with your info and I'll get those TWO calendars out asap!

And since tomorrow is my birthday - let's all celebrate with a major discount in my shop! How does 32% OFF sound? Not sure where I came up with that number, maybe it's lucky maybe that's how old I'll be tomorrow - who knows ;) So enjoy 32% off today through Sunday with the code MAKEAWISH at checkout.

Here's a little math to help for this early Friday morning.

Have an awesome Friday and thanks again for all the sweet birthday wishes!

Shop Talk - getting ready for the holidays

Happy Monday friends!

For the last several months I've been working on a few new things for the shop.

First up, my 2014 Bible verse calendar.



I have wanted a little monthly calendar with basic Bible verses for a little inspiration and when I couldn't find just what I was looking for, I made my own. I thought it would be nice to give out to friends and family at Christmas so I bought some little cotton bags and designed a stamp for them. The stamp says "do all things with love."




There are 12 unique designs of a Bible verse for each month and each is printed at 4x6 on card stock. The back is left blank so you can record important events throughout each month and then neatly store the year away in the bag. Each set is packaged in a sturdy box with a little kraft crinkle paper and ready to ship.



The next two items in the shop are digital graphics, aka clip art, and all are hand drawn by myself then digitized for you to use!

I started with a fall set, "it's fall y'all."

There are pumpkins, leaves, banners and some text, all making up 27 graphics and they are available in both transparent PNG and vector EPS. You can click on the images to link over to the shop listing for more details.



The second set it called, "merriest" and is a holiday/Christmas/winter collection.

There are ornaments, packages, more banners and more fun text, all making up 29 graphics, also available in both PNG and EPS formats.



If you have an image editing program, like photoshop or illustrator, you can use these graphics. Some creative uses could include:

• stationary or other printed pieces
• diy cards or party favors
• blog graphics
• invitaions

I have two more Christmas sets that I'll be adding to the shop soon so check back soon!



AND just to make the week a little sweeter, because this Saturday is my birthday and all, I'm giving away two calendars to a random person - one for them and one for them to gift.

To enter:
- leave a comment telling me happy birthday.

kidding. you can comment about whatever you would like

Details:
- one comment per person
- deadline to enter is Thursday at 10 pm
- winner chosen at random and announced Friday
- open to US residents only

That's it.

I hope you have a great week!

i heart art

Happy Monday!

Today I get to celebrate 7 years of being married to the love of my life and best friend! Maybe more on that later but for now I wanted to let you know I'm being featured over at Pen and Paint blog as part of Lindsay's "i heart art" series!!

Lindsay is a great artist and I am honored to be part of her series! So go say hi, get a coupon code for 20% off anything in my shop AND enter the giveaway to win a print of your choice from my shop!

Spring Shop Sale!

It's time for a spring shop sale!

Today, get 20% off your entire order from my shop using the code GETSPRINGYWITHIT!

I've added some new cards, prints and now some 5x7s to my shop since my last post.

Let's start with the cards.

I think these would make a great Mother's Day card!



"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come." - Proverbs 31:25

Get it here. 

Get it here.

And here are the newest prints.

One of my newest faves.

Get it here.

This one came from reading, "Kisses from Katie" - I think everyone should read it. It's amazing.

Get it here.

You just saw this as a card, but here it is as a print.

Get it here.

Get it here.

I started playing with mixing chalk art prints with patterns and colors like these.

Get it here.

Get it here.

And last up for the prints.



Who doesn't need a little Jack Johnson in their life?

Get it here.

Whew, I think that enough for today but there are several prints I've made as 5x7s too so you'll just have to go to the shop to see those. You can see them here.

Also, just a friendly reminder, Mother's Day is not too far away so you may just want to start thinking about what you want to give those special mom's in your life! Wink!

Oh, and I've been told that the "I get by with a little help with my friends" print makes for a fun/unique bridal shower gift or wedding gift - just throwing that out there!

So remember, all day today, use code GETSPRINGYWITHIT for 20% off anything and everything in my shop!

Hey, mom.

It's been a while since I posted pictures of the girls, as my mom pointed out the other day. So, mom, this post is for you.

We got a new kitchen sink about a month ago, the girls loved playing in the box it came in.

Friday donut date at home. I asked her if she wanted blueberry donuts. Her reply, "That's not a good idea. Let's do pink."

Pictures from Chinese New Year, like forever ago.

More Chinese New Year.

1. front yard truck sitting - classy 2. Jim's 3-way 3. "nap" time 4. popcorn sneaker

1. daddy painting toenails 2. egg in a pancake hole 3. doctor waiting room antics 4. annual Valentine's chocolate dipped strawberries from my dad

1-2. lunch at Andolini's 3. Maccheroni pizza 4. new shoe obsession, Sseko

Garden prepping

fairy bed jumping, dress made by her nana

1. she carried the watermelon (dirty dancing anyone?) 2. the day I snuck out for a coffee shop run to Phoenix 3. babysitting some girlie girls 4. her new favorite

1. our land 2. new prints to the shop 3. friday donut date 4. I made coconut milk for the first (and last) time

1. the coconut milk became pork panang 2. they hate it when i clean the sheets 3. oh my word - this cheesecake 4. zoo fun

1. open mouth baby kisses 2. some of my prints and cards are now at Made : the indie emporium shop! 3. more spring rolls 4. it was actually warm enough for swimsuits - and big sister splashing cold water

Whew. That wraps up about 2 1/2 months of photos from the phone! I'll try to do better. But don't hold your breath.

Happy Monday! Also, I'm having a sale in the shop all day tomorrow. Use code TUESDAY20 for 20% off. Also, I'm doing a giveaway on Instagram, so if you don't follow me, @recipeforcrazy, that's your heads-up.

Happy Monday! 

The Dream

That picture was taken on January 7 and was the first glimpse I shared into our dream on instagram of all places!

Most of you remember this post where I shared about my word for the year. It was that first picture and that place where we stood that night that made me want to dream.

Here's a little history before I jump into the good stuff.

When I was in high school I wanted to live in the middle of the city - just minutes from anything and everything. Shopping, dining, concerts, etc. After the husband and I moved back to our hometown after college, we found the perfect little house smack dab in the heart of midtown.

It was perfect. Well not PERFECT. But exactly what I had pictured in my head. We also bought the house before we had kids with the intention of moving out of town after we did the city thing for a few years.

Well, time does what is does best and passed. We have been through some amazing times in the house and area and now, nearly six years and two kids later, we're moving out.

I know what you're thinking. "Whoop-di-doo. That's not super exciting news."

Well, no, it's not really. But it's about to get good.

While moving out of the middle of the city has always been a goal - it hasn't been the Dream.

When the husband and I talk about what we want out of life we always come back to a simpler life with room to run.



We always imagined we would move to a house out of town, maybe with an acre or so, raise our kids there, send them off to college, then and only then, be able to move to a dream-place with wide-open spaces and land - in like 20+ years.

Turns out our dream was a whole lot closer than we could have ever dreamed.



Over the course of several months, the husband spent hours every night scouring the internet for our next home. We found some possibilities and even thought we had found a pretty good option. God closed that door and we didn't get down, we just kept looking - praying and asking for the perfect spot.

God is good, y'all.



A few months later and a gazillion searching hours later, the husband found THE PLACE.

It wasn't anything like what we had been looking for.

Goodness, this place didn't even have a house on it! Ha.

Just 12 acres of woods and a couple ponds! Our little piece of earth to build and raise our family.



So we went to look at the land and just felt a calmness that this would be our place. We prayed and prayed about it and surrendered it to God. We asked for guidance and over the next week or so, we visited it a few more times and eventually put an offer in to buy it.

That's when this picture happened.



Ha. I'm a dork, I know. That's the day we got the call our offer was accepted!!

All we had to do was wait on inspections and closing and then it would be our's.



This past Friday, that 12 acre spot of awesomeness became our very own little place in this world!



And that, my friends, is our big dream.

To have a piece of land to raise our girls on, grow food and bless others through it all and honestly, y'all, it's more than we deserve or could have ever asked for.

There's so much more to this story and I hope to share it one day but this post is long enough and I just wanted to share our big news today.



Thank you to everyone that has encouraged us and shared in our joy. It means so much. Now all we have to do is build a house and sell this one! #nbd

Happy Monday! Oh, and to add to the celebration, head over to Meg's Craft Weekend sponsor post today get a discount code for my shop!