october craft club

We have a group of other homeschooling families that we get together with on some of our Fridays--to hike or field trip, and once a month to have a 'craft club" for the older girls. We take turns planning and hosting, and October was our month...Tessa was excited to decide on a craft, and since I wasn't up for a big shoppping trip, we relied on online research to help us find something simple and fun. We ended up getting felt pom pom garland kits from Benzie Design for the girls to each make their own garland. It was such a fun morning! 

Tessa also showed everyone how to make "babies in a basket" out a handkerchief...my grandma taught me how to do this when I was a little girl, so we thought it would be fun to show the other girls too, and Hudson and other younger siblings got to help with this part as well.

I love that each of the girls made their garland differently, but they all ended up looking so cute! :)

 A picnic lunch on the deck in the lovely fall weather was an added bonus of the day!

 And the big brothers who spent most of the morning outside in the "dugout fort"...such a fun morning for everyone!

t-shirts for sale

Have you read that book Caps for Sale? This post has nothing to do with caps or monkeys, but it is a cute book and the title made me think of it and I can't turn down a book recommendation opportunity. But, back to the topic at hand...I decided to make some t-shirts. 

And by "I", I mean me doing some hand-lettering and then getting them screen printed by someone who actually does that. :) My husband laughs at me just a little because of the amount of "cute t-shirts" I think I need, and he is probably right, but I've had this idea to make women's t-shirts for quite awhile, and I am finally FINALLY doing it (or at least giving it a try, I guess.) Awhile back I designed some kids' t-shirts and had so much fun with it which only made me more excited about designing some for women. I had a bunch of ideas, but wanted to narrow it down so I asked awhile back on Instagram for some ideas of what people might like. When two people suggested quotes or verses that I had already considered, that settled it and I got going. A whole bunch of lettering and editing and decisions and details later, I am happy to finally have them finished and available in our ETSY shop.

So without further adieu...

Option 1: BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD

This one is a fitted gray t-shirt with black lettering and has quickly become a staple in my wardrobe. I love this quote especially right now because it's so applicable in a time when it seems like there's a lot of crazy all around us. Maybe I'm not doing big, dramatic things to change the world, but if I wish the world would be a kinder, happier place then I can do my part to be kinder and spread happiness to those around me. 

*This style runs small, so if you're wondering about sizes, consider going up a size or two.

 Option 2: FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS

This is a black flowy raglan tee with gray lettering and is so comfy. Ever since reading through the book of Esther and doing the She Reads Truth Study that went along with it, I have loved this verse. I used to sort of think that Esther was just a beautiful girl who used her good looks to help how she could and ended up being a heroine, but there is so much more to the story than that and I am such a fan of the way Esther followed the plans God had for her and was so brave to do what He asked and had ordained. Esther shows us that God can and has created each of us "for such a time as this" if only we allow Him to direct our story.

*This style has a bit more of a scoop neck so it fits true to size, but is definitely a looser fit.

So. 

There you have it...t-shirts for sale. 

You can buy one if you're interested right HERE .

There is a limited supply now, but I am able to order more if there is demand and you should definitely be able to get them before Christmas if you're looking for gifts, too. :) Thanks to those of you who have asked me about these or purchased one or encouraged me in this already, it's been fun and I appreciate your interest and encouragement so much. 

 And as an addendum...things I've learned about the t-shirt business before I've even started:

1) This is not a big money making venture...Justin (my super smart businessman husband) has been telling me that I'm barely going to make enough money to cover my costs (especially if I keep thinking of people I want to give them to) and I know he is right, but that's not really what this is about. We're focusing on cute shirts with good messages that aren't super expensive going out to make people happy, so that's okay with me.

2) It's probably a good idea to actually see a sample of the shirt before you order because sometimes the way they look in the catalog isn't how they actually turn out fitting. A whole order of shirts redone, and I have learned my lesson. :)

3) Who knew standing in front of a brick wall attempting to model a t-shirt could be so awkward? I'll spare you the 37 outtakes that were too ridiculous to be seen. I guess it's good my photographer was my sister who knows how dorky I am already. 

4) And, just in case you like cute t-shirts as much as I do, you may also want to visit these shops for a few more shirt options (and a bunch of other goodness, too) that you might want to check out...

Oh, Sweet Joy!

Scarlet & Gold

Thirsty Hearts Design

Readerly

Sevenly

(and feel free to let me know where else I should be looking too!)

valentine goodness

I'm a big fan of Valentine's Day and I refuse to be ashamed of it. 

I know there's the whole "this is a made up holiday"  and "it's only for people who are dating/married" camp that scoffs at the sentiment and vows to not spend any money on the pink and red ridiculousness, but I am not one of them. While I may not spend a lot of money on this holiday nor do I expect a gift or fancy date from my husband, I do like fun little activities, sweet treats that make the week special, notes of kindness and appreciation, and an excuse to do something festive in the middle of an otherwise not-so-exciting month of winter blah. 

Not to mention, an excellent excuse to impress the importance of loving others upon my kids (ahem your siblings and your parents) and If I'm being honest, on myself as well. 

Tell people who you love that you love them. 

Love others even when they may not seem deserving of your love. 

Remember that the best example of love was the one who loved us perfectly, Jesus.  

So yes. Maybe my definition of a Valentine's celebration is not the same as Hallmark's, but celebrate I will. Here's how it looked at our house this year.

Valentine "cookie tea parties" with our verse hearts from church...

 Cards and packages and pictures to our faraway family...

School Valentines...
For Luke's Valentine's we bought the jumbo box of Goldfish packs at Costco, printed out these little tags HERE, washi-taped them on, and called it good. For Tessa, we stuck with the "Have a Ball" Valentines that Luke did for his preschool classmates a few years ago, which are found HERE or HERE. I bought these balls at Target in the clearance section at the end of the summer for 70% off, which made them a whopping 30 cents each for a two pack. 15 cent Valentines?
Yes, please. :)

Heart painting and penguin making with cousins Molly and Hazel...

Heart garland and treat bags for my small group girls at school...

Special cards & treats from grandparents that made my kids pretty happy...

 

 Helping two friends with crafty/chalk art projects and doing my own wall art for the kitchen chalkboard...

 

 Our "special" valentine food...powdered/chocolate donuts and chocolate milk (much loved treats that don't happen often) for breakfast and heart shaped pizza and pepperoni for supper.

 And, we can't forget a nice dose of the stomach flu for Tessa and then Hudson, though there were a few sweet moments even in this, like when Luke offered to let Tess wear his jammies as a consolation for missing her Valentine party at school, and when Hudson actually slowed down long enough to spend some time snuggled up with his mama...

And just for fun, here's two love/Valentine related posts that I thought said it well...

Love Looks Like [2:07a.m.] by Sarah Bessey
(this one was especially fitting since is has to do with the middle of the night sickness wonderfulness, but I had read it and loved it even before we had our own bout with that kind of midnight fun)

and I'm Looking for Real Love, Baby by Shannan Martin
(because this is pretty much how I feel, but written better than I could say. )
Hopefully you and yours had a happy V-day and keep celebrating the love around you all month long!