printable // philippians 4:6-7 coloring picture

Feeling worried and anxious? Maybe you don't feel it as fear, but the fear all around you is still bringing you down. I have two suggestions! First, coloring is often found to help calm anxieties, so I have a free PDF coloring picture for you! But there's more, and it's right there on the coloring page.

Actually, this isn't my suggestion. This comes from the Bible, so personally, I believe it's even better than coloring. A lot better.

"Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)

DOWNLOAD THE PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 COLORING PICTURE PDF

The coloring picture is a shortened version of the verse, and I included the parts that especially spoke to my heart.

And here's the good news! You can color AND pray at the same time! So as you calm your worries with art you can also invite Jesus to carry your anxieties because he cares for you.

May the peace of Christ be with you, my friends!

printable // holy week verse cards

It's almost Holy Week, and I like to find my own Wild Olive ways of remebering, observing, and celebrating the most important week in history. This year I'm sharing these printble verse cards with you. The artwork is based on the Holy Week felt garland I made a few years ago.

These cards are a great way to learn a few verses from this week in Jesus' life, to mark these sections of your Bible, set around in your home to see Scripture daily, or even to add in to your Bible journaling.




All you need is some card stock and a pair of scissors.

I recommend printing the cards at the highest quality setting on your printer. You can also send this to an office supply print shop.

While I ask that you not use these commercially, I do love it when people share my work. Feel free to print as many as you want to give away, whether to a friend or your entire church.

DOWNLOAD THE HOLY WEEK VERSE CARDS PDF

For the cards, I could have chosen a lot more verses and icons to go with them. But I went with Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. I'll also be sharing these on Instagram (I'm @molliejohanson there) on these key days, with some reflections.




Allow me to be candid. Sometimes I question whether I should put face on these objects that we connect with things that are holy. Like, do I cross a line by making communion cute? But here's the thing: my faith — my relationship with Jesus — is in every part of me. Or at least that's my hope! And making things cute is part of me, so why wouldn't I make these kawaii faith icons?

"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work (for me, that means drawing cute things), and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him."

Romans 12:1 The Message (parentheses added by me!)



May your Holy Week and your everyday ordinary life be filled with good things and God things!

printable // jam of the month valentines

I love a good Valentine's Day pun, and I chose a few to go along with some jars of jam! (Because apparently, I can only think about jam things this year...) And hoping that you or your kids are as excited about this sort of thing as I am, I made them into printables!

At one point these were only going to be orange marmalade. Then only cherry preserves. But finally I was like, why am I trying to choose? So you get two Jam of the Month features in one set of cards!




Yes, they're cheesy and maybe overdone, but that's part of the charm of Valentine's Day. In the download, you'll find two more designs not shown here (thanks, printer for running out of ink!). But my favorite is probably "We were marmalade for each other".

DOWNLOAD THE JAM VALENTINES PDF

I'm sure you can think of some fun ways to give things along with Cutie oranges or cherry candies. If all goes to plan, I might even have a fun project to share that would pair well with these!

printable // orange marmalade recipe cards

At the risk of turning Wild Olive into one giant jam fest, I have more jam-filled goodness for you today, in the form of free recipe cards! (And be warned: lots more jam is coming your way...)

I don't know if you've ever made your own jam, jelly or marmalade before, but it's fun and worth doing at least once. To be fair, the last time I made jelly I nearly ruined the stove, but that's a story for another time.

Anyway, since the idea behind the Jam of the Month Club is this picture of little jars all in rows on shelves, I thought it would be fun to encourage some food crafting too. So today you can download 4x6-inch orange marmalade recipe cards! Fill them in with your favorite orange marmalade recipe (this one from Alton Brown is sure to be a winner) or any recipe you like.

DOWNLOAD THE ORANGE MARMALADE RECIPE CARD PDF

Now tell me about your favorite marmalade or jam...

printable // kawaii christmas lights garland

Today in my Sending Christmas Cuteness pattern advent calendar, the pattern is a few twinkle lights. And I thought it would be fun to share a printable version as well. So in a short and sweet post that will help you get in the holiday spirit, I present my Kawaii Christmas Lights Garland!



You will need:

Cardstock
Scissors
Yarn
Stapler

DOWNLOAD THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS GARLAND PDF

Note: The PDF shows the bulb on the far left as a more teal color, which is the intention. But for some reason, my printer interprets it closer to turquoise. Just a little heads up if yours prints as a different shade too!



Print the PDF on cardstock and then cut out all the pieces.



Fold each lightbulb in half and place them over the yarn. Staple the lightbulb so the yarn is encased above the staple.



Hang your lights and enjoy!

printable // kawaii tie father's day card

Dad might not need one more tie for Father's Day, but this card gives a nod to ties (cute ones at that!) while letting you or your child create a little piece of art. Just print out the pieces and then decorate the tie with a fun and easy art technique.

It's become a tradtition that I give my dad a cute Father's Day card in my Wild Olive style. He loves it...or at least he acts like he does because he's my dad! Last year I gave him this french fry box card, and he still has it! But I mean, who wouldn't want a cute card with a face?

The printable PDF has two ties, so you can easily make a few cards or have a back-up in case one tie gets messed up.

Ready to design a tie for dad? Let's get started!



You will need:

White Cardstock
Colored Paper or Cardstock
Scissors
Markers
Spray Bottle
Glue Stick

DOWNLOAD THE FATHER'S DAY TIE CARD PDF



Print the tie page on white cardstock and the "Happy Father's Day" page on colored paper.

Cut out a kawaii tie (or two!) and decorate it with markers. If you're making this with a child, obviously they would do this!

Instead of using markers, crayon resist is another fun process to decorate the tie.



Fill the spray bottle with water and set it to mist. Spray the tie a few times so the marker ink starts to bleed. I misted mine about three times.

Let the water dry on its own (it doesn't take too long) or blot it with a paper towel. The cardstock will be damp, so let it dry out.



While the tie is drying, fold the card page in half. Add a message and sign the inside.




Attach the finished tie to the front of the card.



Now you can give the card to your dad, a dad you know, or the dad-like person in your life. You know he's gonna love it and wish that he had a real tie just like this!

project // vintage-style pipe cleaner leprechauns

Kitschy, vintage-style holiday decorations are so cute (and okay...sometimes a little creepy). But I love them. And I love making them! These pipe-cleaner leprechauns are a variation on the pipe-cleaner Santas I made a few years ago. They were modeled after a vintage decoration, and I couldn't resist making a new version.

These little guys are simple and silly, and lots of fun to tuck in around on shelves. You could even use them as a little St. Patrick's Day greeting or hide them as a game!



You will need:

Green "Bumpy" Pipe Cleaners
Scissors
Craft Glue
Paper

Printable Leprechaun Faces PDF



Fold a bumpy pipe cleaner in half. At the skinny section, twist the pieces together a couple times. The "bumps" sticking out will be the arms.



Take a second pipe cleaner and fold it in half as you twist it around the skinny section of the first pipe cleaner.



Here's where it starts to get interesting. Fold the head toward the back, then up and around through the two loose stems.



Odds are, the arms will look extra long, so wrap each one across the front to shorten them a bit. Twist the two lower stems at the skinny point, to form the torso and legs.



The legs and lower body look a little strange if you leave them, so let's fix that.

Fold the legs toward the back, then through the torso and back into the correct position. Sometimes it helps to repeat this step twice to get the legs looking right, but you can look at your leprechaun and decide.



We're down to the final details now!

If you want, pinch the fold a little to form the top of the hat. Fold the tips of the arms and legs to make hands and feet. Then, cut a single "bump" to fill in the torso.



Fold the ends of the single "bump" through around the torso so his belly isn't open.



Cut out a printed leprechaun face and have it handy. Dab a bit of glue on the lower part of the pipe cleaner head (this works better than putting the glue on the paper face).



Attach the face and let the glue dry.



These leprechaun friends are ready to create some mischief!



I'm tempted to try making some Easter Bunnies like this too...what do you think?

printable // kawaii floppy disk valentines and notes

Want to send a bit of retro love to your Valentine this year? Print out these floppy disks with sweet messages!

I recently saw a pad of sticky notes that was shaped like 3.5" floppy disks. Being a gal who has a fondness for vintage computer goodness (my first computer didn't have a hard drive but ran on DOS with two 5.25" floppy drives!), I wanted to make something similar. And Valentine's Day was a perfect chance to do so!

Right away I started thinking about phrases that had to do with saving files and romantic things, plus some fun file names. Each disk has one of those messages "written" on it, much like we scribbled labels on these old disks.



There's room to sign your Valentine at the bottom of each label. And maybe you could find some of these old floppy disk conversation "hearts" to give along with the card! Haha!

If you want to write your own note, either for Valentine's Day or any day, there's a page of the disks with blank labels. I think I might just keep a few of these around for using as everyday notes.



I do love my computer (which doesn't even have a CD/DVD drive in it now!), but I get a little nostalgic for the days of changing disks to load a single simple program, crazy modem noises, and file sizes that were downright puny. Adding in some pastel colors and happy faces make those things even better!

DOWNLOAD THE FLOPPY DISK VALENTINES PDF

printable // give thanks bookmarks

I've got plenty to be thankful for...

These are words from a song in the film "Holiday Inn", one of few true Thanksgiving songs. As in, it's not just about being thankful, but it's directed tied to the holiday. And I love it.

Because I do have plenty to be thankful for. We all do. And not just at Thanksgiving.

The bookmarks pictured above are a free printable I made to share as a reminder for us all. You'll find the download link at the end of the post if you prefer to skip ahead. But before I get to that, here are some thankful, grateful thoughts.

In September I had a spot on my face checked and found that it was melanoma. It wasn't deep, but it was creeping wider and removing it was ugly. Repairing the area was the biggest medical procedure I've ever had, and the recovery was much slower than I expected or would have liked.

In the middle of it all, I was grateful for doctors who took excellent care of me, and of course, I was thankful that we found it early. I was and still am thankful for family and friends who supported me and stepped in when I couldn't do certain things.

Of course, the skin cancer is gone and that's something HUGE to be grateful for. I've also been learning that it's okay to let some things go because I don't need to do everything (pausing the posts on my blog is an example of this), a lesson that I'm very thankful for. And these are a just a few things I'm thankful for. Seriously, there are tons of things. A few that are pretty amazing (but that I can't share just yet...)

And throughout all of this, in the middle of a crazy world and life that isn't always fun, God is good.

Right now, I really don't even need a reminder to be thankful. But since I don't think it's possible to express gratitude enough, a bookmark to keep handy isn't a bad idea.

If you'd like to color a give thanks bookmark for your everyday use, or perhaps to have as a Thanksgiving day activity for the little ones at your house, grab the PDF below and enjoy!

DOWNLOAD THE GIVE THANKS PRINTABLE BOOKMARKS

So tell me, what are you thankful for today? I'd love to hear about the gifts of grace in your life, big or small!

printable // wheekly goals guinea pig list

I love lists. I also love a good play on words. So I've been waiting for the perfect time for my guinea pigs to have their own "wheekly goals" list, and back to school time feels right. Especially because they have their own pencil and crayon to help out!

Besides the pun, the inspiration for this form of list comes from how I've been writing out my task lists lately. I frequently change up my methods to go with what works for me at the time. Often I have projects that I need to work on over several days, and a lot of those things don't have hard deadlines. And I like flexibility.

So I figure out what I'd like to accomplish during the week. I always know which items NEED to happen, especially those that are more urgent. The rest are there to keep things moving forward.



I grab a piece of scrap paper, fold it in half, and list out my plan. Which is why this is a printable list that folds in half and has 10 lines (with room for an 11th item underneath). This isn't a list for all of the little details. This is bigger picture. And you can't usually accomplish more than a couple big items each day. Having less room to write out the list reminds me and you of that.



My scrap paper lists aren't nearly as cute as Captain Cuddles and Lieutenant Nibbles, right? I probably will still use my old method when I have unneeded pattern pages around (so I'm not just recycling without getting a little more use out of the paper). But when I need an infusion of cute, I'll print off a few Wheekly Goal lists and get to work!

DOWNLOAD THE WHEEKLY GOALS LIST PDF

stitching is my happy place

Recently I sketched out a little thought: stitching is my happy place. If that sounds strange to you, and it may, what I mean is that when I can carve out some time to stitch, I'm a happy girl. But what I've found is that even when I have to stitch for work, even when there's a deadline, stitching is a happy thing for me. I'd even go so far as to say that I often feel comfort when I'm doing embroidery and other kinds of hand sewing.

And I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. So I made that sketch into a design that could go on pouches and t-shirts in my Threadless Artist Shop.



If stitching is your happy place and you want the world to know, you can pick order your own zip pouch (which I'd like to point out is perfect as a project bag) right here. The pouch above is the small size and easily holds a 4-inch hoop. If you normally work with a larger hoop, go with the large pouch.

There are also a number of women's clothing options. The baseball tees are my favorite, because they're so soft and also a looser fit. All of the Threadless tees tend to run a little small, so keep that in mind and consider ordering up a size or two, depending on how you like things to fit.

AND through August 26, 2017, all US orders over $45 and all international orders over $80 get FREE SHIPPING! Sweet!



If you don't want to wear or carry this message of stitching bliss, I also made a free printable for you. It's perfect to print out and display in your craft area, or even to use as a flat card to send to a fellow stitching friend.

DOWNLOAD THE STITCHING IS MY HAPPY PLACE 5X7 PRINT

Do you have a happy place? Is it stitching? Do you have a place where you like to do your stitching that makes it extra happy? I'd love to hear!