field guide

September 4, 2013 free art + printables

make . Birthday Circle Banner [printable]

hb_bannerdownload1

Last month, we celebrated my Baby Girl’s 5-year-old birthday with her first little “friend party,” held in our backyard with lots of swimming, playing in the sandbox, and eating cupcakes! [Give me a moment, because I can’t believe she’s five already!]

I used some doodles and hand-drawn letters on her party invitations, including a cupcake with plenty of Baby Girl’s signature sprinkles. I thought I would share with you the “Happy Birthday” banner, “Happy” hang-ables and favor tags I made to match. They are a very easy print and cut pattern. I just used scallop scissors to cut them out so it doesn’t matter if you don’t cut a perfect circle. The banner and hang-ables are about 8″ circles, and the favor tags are about 3 1/2″ circles. The downloadable PDFs include one circle per letter for “Happy Birthday,” “Happy,” and cupcake hang-ables, as well as the small cupcake circle tag with an optional “thank you” to print on the flip side. The pieces are in pastel pink (my girl’s fave), green, lavender and blue. Just punch holes and tie or hang for your own celebration. And, really, is there ever a day when we don’t need more “HAPPY” and cupcakes?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BANNER PDF DOWNLOAD

CUPCAKE/HAPPY HANG-ABLE PDF DOWNLOAD

CUPCAKE TAG PDF DOWNLOAD

hb_banner2hb_banner3hb_banner4

And, just to recap… Awww!

maggie1

[originally posted at EyeJunkie.com on her 1st birthday :)]

August 26, 2013 inspire

inspired by . Vintage Vogue Covers

vogue

Recently, I stumbled across the online Vogue UK Cover Archive, and I was excited to find a showcase of cover art dating all the way back to 1916. While it was fun to see some of the styles of past decades documented in the cover photos, the real treasure for me was the older illustrated covers. The evolving illustration styles, innovative compositions and “Vogue” typefaces were an inspiring tour of fashion history and design. The archive includes information about the various issues as well as the illustrators.

My favorite period this week… art deco from the 1920s.

August 6, 2013 my South

photo essay . At the Speed of Summer

amuse9
Is anyone else in shock that summer vacation is over? My kiddos begin school tomorrow, and this year, all three are in “big school.” Our lazy, hazy days of summer have been filled with fun activities, swimming, yard work, relaxed schedules and our own brand of daily celebrations. Never is there another time when relaxing activities move so fast!

One of those week-long celebrations was our second annual trip to Gulf Shores, AL for plenty of sun and waves. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to an amusement park, but we were actually able to spend a couple of evenings at one in Gulf Shores. I had almost forgotten how alive they are with sights and sounds and movement. In between bumper boat showers, go cart races and carnival rides, I took a few snaps. Most of them have some blurred elements, as I tried to capture what you couldn’t possibly grab hold of… Life at the speed of summer. Enjoy!

amuse2amuse6amuse7amuse5amuse4amuse3amuse1