love week: printable stamp valentines

Now we're getting pretty close to Valentine's Day. And I don't know about you, but I still love the silly little Valentines that come in the flat-ish boxes. I think they are way cool, and I wish that I had saved some from when I was young.

Even though I'm "all grown up", I'll be giving away a few of these stamp Valentines this year. They are based on my Teeny Tiny Commemoratives, and I thought you or your littles might want to print some too.

Download the PDF with 4 designs, then trim around them (but don't worry about the shaped edges!).

Have fun!

love week: this is how we know

People often have unpleasant things to say about Valentines's Day, because we can't stand the idea of forced, frilly, fluffy romance. When I decided to have Love Week here, romance was not a part of it at all. Love week is about cute and crafty, the things and people we love, and the many ways we can express that love, and it will continue to be that. But even though these things are fun, they're still kinda frilly and fluffy. What is love really?

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.

That is love. Serious love. The kind of love that would give anything and everything for someone. My everyday life doesn't usually encounter the kind of situation that would require me laying down my life for another, but it does bring opportunities for small sacrifices. Can I show love by walking away from my computer and doing the dishes instead? Can I love another person enough to not say what I'm thinking? Can I demonstrate my love of God by memorizing His words?

Those little acts of love can feel as difficult as the big ones. But I'm working on it.

At the risk of going off-track, I want to share a quick craft to go along with one of these little ways of showing love. (It's a bit frilly, but with a deep intent.) We made some little magnets for our fridge. They have short scriptures printed on them, and I'm going to make an effort to learn these, and add to them. Perhaps you'd like to as well?

Print out some short verses in a small font. Cut or punch a heart shape around the verse (I used my new Fiskars scalloped heart punch). Glue the heart onto cereal box cardboard.

Cut around the heart shaped, then add a magnet strip to the back. You're ready to take God's Word to heart!

And if you'd like a reminder of what love is, feel free to download the "this is how we know" image, and print it out. Keep it handy and think about what you're doing to demonstrate love, real love, to your family, your friends, your community, your God.

love week: make a valentine award

A few weeks ago, I was thinking about the fabric yo-yo button pin that I made, and I noticed that it looked a bit like the top of an award ribbon. A light bulb went off, and I had to try making a ribbon pin with a fabric yo-yo. It worked! And it's perfect for Love Week and awarding your heart to your Valentine.

Here's what you'll need:
a scrap of fabric (at least 4" square)
thread
a small wooden disc (about 3/4")
paint
1" wide ribbon (about 5")
a pin back
hot glue


Here's what you'll do:
Start by making a fabric yo-yo. I like Heather Bailey's easy tutorial for this, and I made my circle 4" to start. Then, paint a simple heart onto the wooden disc.

Trim the ends of your ribbon with a notch, then fold the ribbon at an angle and secure the fold with a dot of hot glue.

Use hot glue to attach the disc to the gathered side of the fabric yo-yo.

Attach the folded ribbon and the pin back to the back of the yo-yo.

Now your award ribbon is all finished and ready to give. I've made a printable that you can attach your ribbon to when gifting it. There's a blank space for pinning or taping the ribbon in place.

Download the plain printable here.

Or, if you want to award your valentine, but aren't up for making a pin, I've made a version with an illustration of the award in place.

Download the ribbon printable here.

You could make this with an embroidered button, or with more hand-sewing, but I opted to simplify this a bit, because now it goes together faster. Fast enough that you could even make them for everyone at a Valentine's party!

print: cookies for santa paper chains

Do you love paper chains as much as I do? When I was little my mom would get me these little packs of paper strips that already had the glue on the backs and you just licked them to make the chains. Pure delight to this young crafter in the making!

These paper chains that I made for printing aren't exactly lickable, but they do have yummy treats on them! I chose a few of my favorite Cookies for Santa, and added them to stripey strips.

By placing plain white strips between the Cookies for Santa links, you can be sure to see the Cookies facing the right way. That may be silly, but it's important to me when I make things like this.

Anywho, download the printable paper chains, then print and link some fun!

Oh, and for a chance to win some printable Cookies for Santa ornament tags, hop over to my Facebook page. I'm giving away a bunch of sets that would look nice with your paper chains!

printable cupcake decor...

Cupcakes are probably my most favorite birthday (or every day!) treat, and even the most plain variety is good. But when you fancy them up, they get even better!

And so, I have for you some printable cupcake decor! Just download, print, trim, and...
-For the wraps, wrap them around a cupcake and tape them in place.
-For the picks, tape to a toothpick.

There are a bunch of designs in the PDF, which you can download here.

Have fun decorating your cupcakes!

Cate's printable elf house...

I'm a longtime fan of Cate Anevski. If you haven't seen her work, then the first thing you need to do is visit her blog, her shop, and her site for fun stuff (it's the Bee's Knees!).

You visited, right? See what I mean? Now you can be a longtime fan, too! And I'm sure you can imagine my glee when she agreed to do something fun for the blog party today. Look at what she cooked up:



It's a printable box that looks like it might be just right for a little elf to live in! And there is one for each of you...just download, print, cut and assemble.

Get the printable house box here.

Thank you soooo much, Cate! I'm going to be finding all kinds of uses for these this Christmas!

sonia's giveaway and printables...

Have you met Sonia? She's super sweet, and she has some birthday lovelies all the way from France!



Sonia started out making a pincushion to give away. Beautiful, yes? The back is natural linen, and it is filled with kapok.

You can win this special gift by leaving a comment with where in the world you would like to spend your next birthday (along with your email address so we can contact you). The giveaway will be open until Sunday night, and all winners will be announced on Monday.

And...that's not all!



Sonia has also made some printable birthday planning sheets, and EVERYONE gets a set of these! There are four pages of date planners, and one page of gift helpers.

Download: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5

Thanks, Sonia!

last minute thanksgiving decor...

You may remember this printable banner from last year. It was available on The Sampler's website, but the site has changed, so I'm not sure that you can even find it anymore. I thought it would be good to have it be available here.

It's sort of a just in time sort of thing, because you can download, print, cut and hang it, all before your Thanksgiving guests arrive!

Download the banner.

Also on my list for last minute Thanksgiving fun is these pinecone turkeys from Danielle Thompson. (And just a little hint: you can find a few free printable feathers from her digital kit in this post for making arrows.) I think they are the cutest!

more ways to keep your spot...

A few weeks ago, I made some printable bookmarks, and they were a hit! I had ideas for more of these, and at last, I made some! You can refer back to the post with the first set for more detailed instructions, but essentially you'll trim, add magnet tape (the really thin kind), and fold it over your page.



This new set includes a clothespin, watercolors, a traffic light, a birch log, and a rainbow.



But the best part is, my genius sister discovered a new fun way to use these!



Anna has an inspiration line on her wall, which has a few strands of crochet thread draped. Then she uses clothespins to hold pretty pictures up there. Guess what? The magnet bookmarks also make wonderful magnet clips! Yay!

So, now you can keep your spot, and keep some inspiration around!

Download Set 2 of the Magnet Bookmarks/Clips.

keep your spot...

Today I have a little printable for you! This is really easy, and so fun!

Let me start by telling you that the inspiration for this little printable project was a lovely item called Master Magnetics® Flexible Magnetic Tape. My mom gets it for school things, and it is so cool! It is very thin and comes on a dispenser roll. It isn't especially cheap, but you'll love it!

Download the PDF with five designs (bacon, pencil, pickle, bandage, and ruler).



Print on either paper or cardstock. Cut out your pieces.



Fold in half.



Stick a piece of magnet to one side, then take another magnet piece and let it attach (sticky side up) to the first magnet. This is because it needs to find the spot where it will shift and stay.

Now you can fold the paper down to stick to the second magnet piece.



Ready to hold onto a book! This bacon one is my sister's favorite, and is now holding her spot in a Civil War textbook. Love that!

I've got plans for more of these, so if you like them and want more, let me know!

UPDATE: More designs can be found here!

decorating for the 4th...

July 1st means it's nearly the 4th! So to celebrate Independence Day, I have a little printable for you. This bitty banner can be printed, trimmed and attached to some string. It's perfect for even the tiniest spaces!



I used tape to hold the pieces to crochet thread, and tied the ends to skewers. On the 4th, I plan on putting the skewers into something like glasses of rice so that they hold. It'll go on the table near desserts.

What fun decorations do you have planned?

Download the Happy 4th Bitty Banner!

bar-b-qued cupcakes...

Memorial Day is just a week away already...can you believe it? And what do you think about when Memorial Day comes? Cupcakes, of course! No? You were thinking more of grilling? Ah, well, then these are perfect:



1. bbq cupcake with shish-ka-bob, 2. 4th of July Hot Dog Cupcakes, 3. BBQ Picnic Cupcakes - Hamurgers, 4. BBQ Cupcakes, 5. BBQ Picnic Cupcakes, 6. BBQ Cupcakes

I'm really quite amazed by these. But there's one thing that would make them perfect. The addition of some Bar-B-Cute cupcake wrappers!



I've been thinking of adding printable cupcake wrappers to my shop, and thought this would be a fun way to try them out. So, do me a favor. Print these out and wrap some cupcakes with them. Then let me know if you like them, and if I should make more for the shop. Have fun with them!

Download Bar-B-Cute! Cupcake Decor

springy journaling cards...

Oh, how ready I am for spring! This time of year is so hard, because a) it has felt like winter for a long time, b) it looks like spring outside, but c) it's still pretty chilly. I suppose that means that it's best to look forward and keep making springy things...

Like some Springy printable journaling cards! You can use them for journaling, or little lists, or scrapbooking, or sweet little notes, or...you get the idea. There are four designs, and they come in two formats. Download and have fun!

PDF for easy printing

PNG for digital uses
(the frames are cut out so you can add them to a photo!).

a little bit of love...

It's amazing the difference that a little note can make. About ten years ago, I was having a rough time at a job, and just feeling really discouraged. One day, my mom packed me a lunch (a very nice thing for a mom to do for her 20 year old daughter), and included a short note. She was just letting me know that I would always be loved, appreciated and accepted in our family. I'll never forget that.



When you have the opportunity to leave a little bit of love for someone, anyone, do it. They will be encouraged. And to help you along with this, I've set up these sticky notes for you to print!

I saw the idea of printing on Post-Its here, and after I tried it myself, I knew that I needed to set up my own version. A Hearts Day (or any day!) version that is made for leaving a little love note. A little encouragement note.



This is really easy to do. First download the PDF template. There are instructions on the page, but here's the quick summary:

You print out the page, and then place a sticky note in each square. (Make sure you center them really good.) Then you run the page through the printer again, and this time, it will print the heart and speech bubble right onto your Post-Its! (You can reuse the page to print more notes on...just add more sticky notes!)

Now you can leave little notes everywhere!

hearts day origami paper...

Since paper folding has been a little obsession for me lately (I like looking at it and thinking about it even more than folding it!), I wanted to help share that love a little more. I used some of my Hearts Day illustrations to make my own printable origami paper!

Now you can fold little designs that feature little designs! And of course, you could use these printable patterns for other things too. Just please don't use them for commercial purposes.

There are two PDF files. The first has the top two designs, and the second has the bottom two designs.

Hearts Day Printable Origami Paper 1
Hearts Day Printable Origami Paper 2

If only my printer was up and running right now, I would get to folding!

printable thread bobbins...

As promised, here they are! These Wound-Up Thread Bobbins are all set for you to print out on card stock and wind up your own embroidery floss on. The PDF has 20 bobbins, each with a different color floss on it...but of course, you can use them for all your lovely colors!

Download, print, and smile as you stitch!

help for me...a download for you...

Wonderful friends of Wild Olive:

You know how I talked not too long ago about having some Spoonflower fabric printed? Well, I've started working on designs, and plan on ordering some samples tomorrow during their free swatch offer. In the meantime, they opened up their Christmas fabric contest to anyone. I've entered, and my Cookies for Santa pattern is in the first round of the contest! Here's what it looks like:



Would you be a dear and go and vote for me? Please? If I win, I'll receive some free fabric, plus the fabric will be available in the Spoonflower Etsy shop for a while, and anyone can buy it! Woo Hoo!

VOTE HERE.

Now, something for you.



I'm all about the index cards right now (it's the back to school spirit!), so I've made some Ice Cream Socializers printable index cards. Download yours here!

Thank you in advance!

printable ice cream...

Since I've fallen in love with the ice cream (well, that happened long ago...here I'm talking about my new pattern), I've been thinking that I'll never get tired of them. I have a feeling there will be a few things showing up around here with the Ice Cream Socializers.

Like this free printable bookmark! It comes in two stacks of flavors. And I promise, it won't melt on your pages...

Oh, and the shop update is finished! I'll be replenishing listings as needed, so if you miss something, don't worry...it'll be back!

UPDATE: If you'd like to color your own, here's a B/W version!

be long-winded (aka make a pinwheel)...

Brrr! I can't remember a colder start to July! I know that some of you are sweatin', and last week I was too. But now it's gone and gotten cold.

Anyway, I have for you a fun new printable! You can make your very own Long-Winded Pinwheel. Just print out the PDF, follow the included instructions, and you're good to go!

I tried making mine with two kinds of pins, and I think it depends on the thickness of your paper, and the softness of the pencil eraser. A push pin can work, or a straight pin may be better for you. Try them both.

Have Fun!

Download the Color Pinwheel
Download the B/W Pinwheel

for dad...

Get ready for a weekend of freebies! I've been working on things and now they are about ready to find their way to you!

We're starting off with a celebration of Dad! (To give you a couple days before Father's Day) Show your dad, husband, brother, friend that he's the best dad in the world with a printable World's Best Dad coloring sheet! It would also work well for making cards or even embroidery. Download the PDF.

And then here's the rest of the weekend lineup:

Saturday: June's Workshop (including a "Stretched Embroidery Hoop" pattern!)
Sunday: New Fair Weather Friend pattern
Monday: Printable Notecards going out to the Mailing A-List (sign up in the sidebar!)

Yay! I look forward to sharing these goodies with you!