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Archive for make – Page 11

make . Saint Nick Stamping

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If you are on the AQUA Creative Journal email list [please SUBSCRIBE!], you were the first to see a new illustration project I’m working on. Through some connections with a high school friend and my online Sketch Journal entries, I’m thrilled to launch a new Small Pond Graphics collection of craft stamps through my friends at CRAFFITI DIRECT! The clear polymer stamp maker launched its custom line of stamps earlier this year with a handful of artists, and in October, they approached me about turning some of my “sketching” style and illustration ideas into a Small Pond Graphics collection.

I’m really excited about the possibilities with these stamps. All the designs are original illustrations with hand-drawn type. I recently received my samples and have had a lot of fun playing around with ideas for how they can be used to create cards, wrapping, gift tags and other DIY projects. The kids and I are enjoying some rainy days at our family farmhouse for Thanksgiving, and I thought I would share a couple of the stamp diversions that have been keeping our creative juices flowing indoors.

One of the stamp sets in the collection we’ve been playing with is one called “Saint Nick.” The set includes all the “parts” needed to make the funny Santa shown below. I’ve also been experimenting with some patterns and cards using his hat and beard. Enjoy!

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Here’s a peek at the first five Christmas sets available in the collection. They can be purchased here. This was my first opportunity to use clear stamps, and it’s amazing how they “cling” to almost any plastic surface. I’ve used clear stamp blocks, stamp pad covers and even silly things like hairspray tops to stamp them! So many possibilities!

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Today I am Thankful For… A Thanksgiving Printable

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Good morning! It’s just a week or so until Thanksgiving Day, and I thought I would post a little printable I shared in the November issue of AQUA, the creative journal I launched this Fall. There is always such a rush toward Christmas this time of year, and sometimes that makes it hard to focus on Thanksgiving.

Several years ago, we started a Thanksgiving tradition at our house — a Thanksgiving Tree. It was a quirky little idea designed to help us all cultivate gratitude during the season. The kids went in search of an interesting branch at our farm, and we braced it with a bunch of rocks in a pot on our dining table. Every day at dinner time during the week or so prior to Thanksgiving, we each shared one thing we were grateful for. The kids were young and couldn’t write, so I recorded their little moments of gratitude on cut pieces of colored paper and hung them on the “tree.” During that year, they were thankful for things like the color red and chicken nuggets and various Disney movies. And Mommy and Daddy. We didn’t end up doing our Thanksgiving Tree tradition last year in all the craziness, but I’m determined we’ll do it this year again.

Although those little slips of paper and metal ring-tags are precious to me, I decided I would make some printable tags this year — ones decorated with Fall leaves, the date and a place to write our grateful praise. The leaves are some I found in my drawing archive from various past projects. I’ve shared them here in case they can make your family’s version of a thanksgiving tradition more special. Just click the image below to download. May your table be bountiful and your hearts be filled with gratitude this Thanksgiving season!

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Smarty Pants & Other Name Calling [printable]

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It’s nearing the end of the first nine weeks of school for my kids, and we’re having a great year so far. Reports will be coming out in a few weeks, and I’m so proud of them no matter how the marks come out. But, at this point in the school year, October’s Fall break is looking better and better, and getting up early each day for reading, writing and arithmetic is getting harder and harder. It’s made me want to give a little extra encouragement to my gang and say, “You can do it!” Kids and grown-ups alike shine when they get an extra vote of confidence. So, a few weeks ago I put together some printable tags to help me do a little name calling… Smarty Pants, Sunshine, Rock Star, etc. They are the perfect way to slip some encouragement into a lunchbox or back pack. And, being called a “Smarty Pants” is just as fun for those OVER eight years old! Click to download, and I hope you enjoy the chance to do some name-calling of your own.

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Welcome October + Printable Calendar

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“Listen the wind is rising
and the air is wild with Leaves.
We have had our summer evenings:
Now for OCTOBER eves!”
~ Humbert Wolfe
{poet 1885-1940} 

October is here! It’s one of my favorite months of the year because (among other reasons) in Mississippi, we finally begin to enjoy the cooler mornings and evenings of Fall! We had that coolness this weekend, and the air was indeed “wild with leaves!” My kids and I enjoyed changing out potted plants for autumn foliage and filling the house with our Fall decorations. We purchased an abundance of tiny pumpkins and gourds to spread across our table, and we even watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” in celebration.

I’ve been wanting to do some pretty artwork for marking time as we turn the seasons to Fall, so on Friday evening I did a few little watercolor illustrations. I’ve put some of them together for this printable October calendar. I hope you’ll enjoy it as you begin the season of pumpkins! Punch a hole and tie a ribbon to hang it just as is, OR trim it apart for a date reminder to slip in a favorite notebook. You can even clip the “Fall for you…” image as a sweet message to pass along and brighten someone’s day! Just click the image to DOWNLOAD, and enjoy a few glimpses of this weekend’s Fall handiwork!

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make . Birthday Circle Banner [printable]

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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

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And, just to recap… Awww!

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

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