Small Pond Graphics

Bring on the April Showers [printable calendar]

· April 3, 2018

I’m back in the studio today after a wonderful Easter holiday with my family. The long weekend also ushered in the start of April with some great spring weather! This month promises to be a busy one for us with school activities, a local conference on storytelling I’ll be attending, and fun community events. This weekend, I took a little time to set some priorities for new products I’ll be working on over the next few months, and make plans for refreshing a few of the ways I communicate with customers. Beginning a new month in celebration of the renewal and redemption of Easter has helped my heart embrace the hope and possibility of spring.

I took the old “April showers” adage as my inspiration for this month’s printable calendar, along with a childhood favorite song from Bambi. Rainy days have no end of inspiration when you hear every raindrop as the refrain of a beautiful tune. Click to download the calendar, and I hope you enjoy sharing the cut-away artwork when the month is over. This month, I’ve also included a free download of a larger version of the printable art. Enjoy!

Categories : free art + printables

Tags : calendars, hang-ables, inspired by spring, printables, song lyrics, watercolor, yellow

grow . Wisteria’s Heart to Endure

Posted by haley montgomery

· March 26, 2018

The scent around our neighborhood is signaling that spring is here, even if the temperatures still can’t seem to make up their minds. It’s the distinct smell of wisteria and the cascading bluish purple blooms that flourish each year in our backyard, and the yards of our neighbors. This year’s blooms seem to be unusually full in our yard. The last year or so, I’ve let the prolific vine have a little more free reign through some of our trees, and in the mass of vines I’ve pulled together on metal stakes. It makes for a breath of sweetness every time the March winds blow.

Categories : grow

Tags : gardening, in my backyard, inspired by spring, lettering, purple, watercolor

favorite things . Dragonfly Glasses from The Potager

Posted by haley montgomery

· March 20, 2018

Happy Vernal Equinox! Spring has arrived, even if the weather around these parts hasn’t been notified. To celebrate the start of a new season, I thought I would share a quick favorite thing that reminds me of Spring… a favorite thing holding a favorite memory, and thoughts back to a favorite shop in Northport, Alabama.

Categories : favorite things

Tags : downtowns, favorite shops, Northport AL, tableware, well-designed products

makers dozen . Green for Wishing You Luck

Posted by haley montgomery

· March 17, 2018

I decided to do a little Maker’s Dozen collection this Saint Patrick’s Day “wishing you good luck” and reminders of friendship, good health, wonderful stories, family fun, finding adventure, and the crazy joy of holding it all together!

Most notable, “The Green Giant does a fireman’s act” in this Woman’s Day December, 1952 ad. I guess LeSueur’s had not decided the giant was “jolly” yet , but he was definitely nimble. Plus, Yosemite on a postage stamp, and a vintage St. Patrick’s Day postcard. In 1909, F.S.L. wrote to Mr. Thomas Bryan on Garden Street in Hoboken, NJ… “Gee I wish I was the Blarney Stone.” Lucky, indeed!

Categories : maker's dozen

Tags : ephemera, green, postage stamps, Saint Patricks Day, vintage design

Welcome to a Wonder…full March [printable calendar]

Posted by haley montgomery

· March 1, 2018

Hey there, March! Here in Mississippi, the new month greeted us with a day full of rain and temperatures expected to shift from unseasonably spring-like to begrudgingly winter-like. That’s the usual fare for this fickle month, but the blooms know, and they always give us a welcome preview of warmer days ahead. This month, I had fun creating a new kind of printable calendar – a day planner for a “month of wonder…full times.” I’ve included some holidays we love to celebrate, and reminders of a few experiences that can help us embrace the wonder of days more fully.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been beginning to flesh out a few of the ideas I’ve had in my heart for 2018. I’m proud of myself for taking steps and putting pencil and brush to paper on some things I’m excited about, and I can’t wait to share some of the results. My Frog Tales series, a new calendar format, new paper craft projects and artwork ideas… I feel like the year is finally beginning to bloom. I guess that’s fitting for the start of this month when buds begin to break free, seeds are germinated, and new beginnings become more evident.

I’ve been stockpiling blog post ideas and photo collections for the last year, so I’m hoping to be able to share a lot of inspiration in the coming weeks and months. Spring and all its regeneration is on the way! I’m ready to embrace it!

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE CALENDAR

Categories : free art + printables

Tags : calendars, printables, watercolor

Hello & welcome! I’m Haley Montgomery, and I’m the designer and owner of Small Pond Graphics. I sometimes fancy myself a frog kisser— a documentarian coaxing poignant moments from unexpected places. This blog has evolved from those moments.

The small Pond FIELD GUIDE is part diary, part sketchbook, and part wish list – an archive of ordinary wonders. For years, this space has housed my stories – creative ideas, vintage inspiration, our forays into curious places, and the simple artifacts of quiet of conscious living. Through watercolor, photography, and illustrated tales, these pages uncover the blessing of ordinary days and the wonder found in authentic places and pursuits.

I invite you to open the boxes.
Peek into the drawers.
Rustle through the pages.
I’m honored to have you here.