Printable Card

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This printable card is from Ginger & George.  So colorful, so simple and so sweet.  

Happy Friday :)

Colorful Packaging

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What a simple, easy and colorful way to wrap a package.  The Twinery sells beautiful baker's twine in so many colors.  Their blog offers a ton of creative ways to use twine.  I love it and want every color!!

Egg-spiration

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I bought the goodies to dye eggs with Ava later this week.  We didn't dye any eggs last year.  I tell myself it's because she wouldn't have remembered it but really it was just me being a bit of a slacker and not getting around to it.  I vowed that this year we would definitely dye lots of eggs. Will they be as beautiful and elaborate as the eggs above?  Heck no!  But those eggs are gorgeous and maybe something for us to try a few years down the line when Ava's eye dying skills are more advanced ;o)  

Go check out Alisa Burke's blog for directions on how to make your own watercolor eggs.

Naturally Sweet Valentine's Idea

Images: Twig and Thistle

We go through a lot of fruit around here.  Right now our big kick is anjou pears which have been really, really good in the stores lately.  When Ava wakes from her nap she usually wants a small snack and instead of reaching for Teddy Grahams or pretzels, she wants fruit.  I'm happy to oblige her.  We share with Simon, our bun, too.  He couldn't be happier with that snack option either.  

As I was reading through some blogs, I ran across these stickers which are adorable and a nice departure from the sickeningly sweet candy that most people are forcing in your face around Valentine's Day.  Go check out her blog, Twig and Thistle to download these and several more stickers for a healthier holiday.

Free Desktop Wallpapers

Super cute and free January wallpapers for your computer over at We Love to Illustrate.  The adorable little mice are now gracing my computer for the month.  Such a talented group of ladies who share their work with us.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Happy New Year & a Freebie

I think almost everyone's New Year's resolutions (if you make them) have to do with eating more healthy, exercising, etc.  I know my body is craving fruits and veggies after all the obnoxious eating of sweets I did over the holidays.  

While browsing the blogosphere the other day I came across this amazing calendar that highlights what fruits and veggies are in season each month.  This artist designed a new font and drew each image herself, and they are stunning.  Go check out her wonderful blog, Cottage Industrialist and free calendar for the new year.  Here's to keeping those resolutions for longer than a few weeks!

Thanksgiving Printable Freebie

Image Source: Paper Glitter

The very talented Linnette over at Paper Glitter is offering up a free downloadable Thanksgiving/Fall set that is so adorable.  She has thought of everything from menus to place cards, cupcake toppers to activity sheets.  This gal even made up a water bottle wrap.  How cute could the kids table at Thanksgiving look with all these little touches.  Go check out her adorable blog/website and all her other free printable goodies she offers.  What a talent!

Gifted Magazine

*Image from Creature Comforts

I am a sucker for presentation and packaging.  Gifted, a new holiday online magazine from Creature Comforts, knocked this one out of the park.  The EZine is well thought out, organized and easy to navigate through on the computer.  There are loads of inspiration ideas, projects, free printables and even the occasional recipe.  There are so many great packaging and gift-giving ideas in this magazine I don't know where to start!  The gift guide at the end I love, love, love.  All you have to do is click the name of the company and you are taken to their website.  How much easier can shopping be?  I also like that a lot of the companies involved are small businesses and bloggers.  It always makes me feel good when I support small business.  They have thought of everything including gifts for your pets.  Do yourself a favor and go check it out.  Trust me you'll love it and come away with at least one idea to use this holiday season.

Freebie From Good Gravy

So just how cute are these?  Lelan over at Good Gravy has a design style that I adore.  Clean lines, great colors and she's always coming up with free printables.  I've already printed these off and can't wait to put them in my books.  Go get yours here.  I love this gal's style so much she did the invites and thanks yous for Ava's butterfly party and I couldn't have been happier.

Quiet Time Coloring

More super cute coloring pages over at Vale Design.  Her coloring pages are always so cute and just the thing for a few quiet moments for mommy.  These work great while I'm trying to fix dinner.  If I give her some stickers too, she's in heaven and quiet for a whole 10 minutes...15 if I'm lucky!

Screensaver Freebie

*Photo from Real Simple website, Craig Cutler

I have this clock as my screensaver, and I love it!  How About Orange blogged about it a little while ago and I read it about it in Real Simple.  It's a great idea so I thought I would pass it along.  Go check out her blog (if you haven't already).  She has lovely taste and always passes along good finds and great ideas.

Printable Easter Goodies

These two ladies posted adorable Easter Freebies on their sites.  Check out Lelan over at Hello, Good Gravy to get her printable seed packet tags.  I'm going to whip up some of these for the little ladies in my life for some non-sugar fun for Easter.

Photo from Lelan's Blog

Then head over to Erin's site, Leo on the Loose, for some coloring sheet fun.  Ava is at the age that she could color for hours if I let her, so I know these will come in handy the next few days.

Picture from Erin's Blog

So, so cute and such generous ladies for sharing their talents with us...for free!!

Bunny Bowling!

Serious cuteness above, right? Ellen, over at The Long Thread, wrote up a great how-to article for Etsy last year for these colorful little guys. I'm running out of time to get these done for Easter this year but bunny's are in season all year. At least at our house they are! I love how their little ears stand up, too. This is also a great gross motor skill game for the wee one.

Yet another fun project to add to my ever growing "need to make" list.

Photos from Etsy and The Long Thread

Heartstrings

During Ava's nap last week, I cut out a few felt hearts from white and pink felt.  They are all different sizes.  Some are tiny, some are fat but all are definitely far from perfect.  When she woke up from her nap I had her hand me hearts to string on some embroidry floss.  We hung them from the mantel to spread a little Valentine's cheer in our house.  I cut out way to many hearts so I put the rest in a baggie and those little hearts have provided hours of entertainment for Ava.  She discovered they stick to anything else cloth so she sticks them to me, the couch, her blanket and anything else she can think of.  She then "counts" them in a way that only she understands but is so stinkin' cute. 

*Idea for this project came from A Pocket Full of Posies blog.  I will readily admit that hers is more chic than mine.  I just used what I had on hand during nap time.  Check her out...she's Christian too! 

More Adorable Freebies

Print these cuties out for this holiday gift giving season. Check out Kristen's site, Domestifluff, here.

Bookmark Freebie

Sharon Rowan has an adorable Etsy shop and a great blog too. I found these on her website and thought they were too cute not to share. They would be a perfect gift with a great book for the reader in your life. Get the *FREE* download here.

She also has a great desktop calendar too. Check it out too!

Crazy Good Ideas

I am a sucker for a good party. Not just how great it is to get people together and mingle and catch up but the actual party planning. I know that might be a little weird but I enjoy planning the menu and coming up with table decorations and flower arrangements. I like to make sure all the little things count too. I like to plan how the food will be arranged and what font I will print my food labels out in...like I said, yes, I know that is a little obsessive and weird. I *love* it though. I do have to truly watch what a spend and now that is part of the planning too. Being down to one income does pose a bit of a challenge at times. As I have been planning my little Thanksgiving get together, I wanted to share a site that I have a blog crush on. If you haven't visited The Party Dress please make a stop over there for some great eye candy and photography as you can see above. She covers everything from kids parties to weddings. Love her!!

Sweetopia

Seriously...how adorable are these? I love all things baking, and cookie decorating seems right up my alley. I've never tried it before but it combines two of my loves, baking and creating. Marian, of Sweetopia, has an amazing site that is dedicated to helping others learn how to decorate cookies the way she does. She also talks about all other things sweet such as cupcakes, cakes, gingerbread, etc. It's a well organized site that is easy to navigate and find her wonderful tutorials for decorating. I spent quite a bit of time just drooling over her amazing cookie designs. This site will definitely serve as inspiration for me over the holidays. What a talented lady!!

Made Me Smile

Every morning after Ava goes down for her morning nap I have my half hour me time. I get my cup of coffee and sit at my computer. I have several blogs that I like to read and spend more time than I should on Facebook too. I saw this today and it made me smile so I thought I would share with you. I now hear the pile of laundry calling my name and my honey-do list left by my hubby. The half hour goes by way too fast...

So Happy Together by Rachel Herbert

Family Photos

We are finally getting some professional photos taken of our little family. Steve did a great job taking pics of Ava at the house during her first week home, and we have taken plenty of pictures of Ava. Trust me the kid thinks the camera is her other sibling! The problem is Steve and I are never in the pictures. I want Ava to be able to look back and see her parents when she was young. After all, every kid needs to be able to laugh at how goofy their parents hair and/or clothes were. The photographer looks amazing. She took pics of a friend of mine and the photos turned out great. She does all natural light photos which I think makes all the difference in the world. Using the flash seems to make people look unnatural. Check out her website at http://www.emilysoutherland.com/ . In the mean time here are a few pictures of Ava that Steve took. I can't believe just how fast they grow!