{new coloring page}

Hey there! Happy Tuesday!

A quick email today to show you a new coloring page that will be going out to my email subscribers...

Are you on the list? Sign up here and you'll get it in your inbox!

XO,

{free printable intentions worksheet + cards}

Happy Friday friends!

I want to talk a bit today about intentions and how I'm setting some for myself during my sabbatical. I shared earlier this week about how having all of this free time has felt scary and paralyzing, but now that I'm a few full days into this break, I already feel lighter and know I'll be able to make wonderful use of this time. 

With that said, I'm not a huge goal or list maker. I tend to follow my intuition and what feels right for me on a given day. So instead of making a ginormous list of goals or tasks for my sabbatical, I'm writing down my intentions - areas I want to work on like practicing my hand lettering, branching out into different areas of illustration, pulling out my wacom tablet and trying more digital drawing, exercising, cooking more, and spending more time with my boys and husband.

Each day I want to be aware of these intentions and focus on the ones that come up for me the most strongly that day. 

To help me along in that process, I've created an Intention Worksheet and Intention Cards that I also want to share with you! 

If you follow me on Instagram I gave you a peek into the doodles I used to create them a few days ago...

I'm having lots of fun with new lettering and used some of those new styles in these. 

The finished printables are colorful and I hope they inspire you to set some intentions!

{click on the images below to download}

You can use these daily, weekly, monthly or any which way you want to help you focus on your intentions for your life, work, or creative goals.

Pin the worksheet up over your desk, in your kitchen, next to your bathroom mirror - wherever you need a reminder of the things you want to be intentional about with your time.

Fill out the individual cards and choose one or two each day to focus on. 

I would love to see how you make these your own. You can tag me on Insta and use #thisgirlsintentions to share how you are using them!

Wishing you a March full of fulfilled intentions and time for rest!

XO,

{free Christmas printable}

Hello and happy weekend!

I have a fun free Christmas printable for you tonight...

You may recognize this doodle from the December calendar. I did a little tweaking and turned it into a chalkboard print in two different colors. Perfect little addition to your holiday mantle, entryway, cubicle or frame it as a quick neighbor gift!

Get the green version HERE

Get the black version HERE

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

XO,

{free summer printable}

I'm just a tad obsessed with doodling right now.

If you didn't know that, just check out my Instagram. :)

And of course I had to share one of my latest pieces, which is perfect for the season we are in, with my lovely friends!

Click on the image below for a free 8x10 PDF...

If you hang it up in your home I would love to see a photo!

xoxo,

{that thing called hope}

I've always been a fairly optimistic person. 

I try to see the good in others and in all situations. Emphasis on try. ;)

I believe that God has a plan for my life and every day I do my best to stay on the track that He wants me to be on. 

I don't know if it is a by-product of how my parents raised me, or just my DNA, but I tend to have a lot of hope about life in general. Even when things look bleak and aren't working out the way I want them to, I have hope that the right thing will come along when I most need it. When my family most needs it. When my friends most need it. 

Sometimes I think about hope, and feel silly or naive about the whole concept. 

Do good things, and good will come back to you. Does that always happen?

Well, honestly, not always. Sometimes we do our best and we still get crap dumped on us. That's life. But I think we have to see the beauty amongst the crap. OK...that's a horrible illustration. 

How about we have to see the shining light in the darkness...even if it is just a small flicker in what seems like an enormous black hole. 

It IS there. 

Sometimes we just have to work REALLY hard to find it. And I think all of that extra work is God's way of refining us...getting us ready for what's to come...making us a better version of ourselves.

If anything so far in my life has taught me that, it has been my journey so far as a mother. I didn't even realize how much refining I needed until those two boys came into the world. You would think there would be nothing left of me after all of the shaping, chiseling and polishing God has done to little old me. And I do have to admit that I lost hope for a few weeks right after they were born. But I'm SO thankful it came back.  

To quote one of my favorite movies...

"Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of good things. 

And no good thing ever dies."

-The Shawshank Redemption

Two things happened over the past few weeks that got me thinking a lot about hope, and the blind faith I tend to carry in my heart. One was hope for a better financial situation for our family. An opportunity came up that ended up not working out, and to be honest, I did get frustrated. I cried a bit. But then I thought about it a bit more and was reminded that we are doing OK. Yes, the money would have been very helpful. But we're doing OK. The right think WILL come along. 

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

-Romans 12:12

I also took quite a big step a few weeks ago to heal a personal relationship. It was quite a scary leap...taken after much prayer and difficult contemplation and talks with God. Much to my surprise some baby steps have been taken toward healing, and for that I'm grateful. I believe I was rewarded for that crazy, scary leap I took. 

And I have hope. 

"For in this hope we are saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. 

For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, 

we wait for it with patience."

-Romans 8:24-25

If you can stand one more quote about hope, I have a free printable to share with you today. I love this quote from Emily Dickinson, and I am obsessed with feathers, so it makes me happy...and I hope you will find it an encouraging reminder...

*Click on the image to download*

So tell me, what gives you hope friends? What do you lean on when things get tough. Le's encourage each other!

Linking up with...

{Diner Inspired Valentine Printable}

For the last month, I have been pinning Valentine's Day ideas for the boys like a MAD WOMAN.

To say that I love Valentine's Day is a bit of an understatement. So....the fact that the boys have their first school Valentine's Day party has had me just a bit excited.

And I must say, left me a bit deflated when Ben decided he wanted the boxed Spiderman cards.

Waa waaa waaaaaa

But...we did find fun Spiderman candy to attach to them. AND THEN Landon decided he wanted to give all of his friends these cute little diner notepads...

So I said, "Sure!" And then I thought..."What the heck am I going to do with these?!"

No one on Pinterest had provided me with a printable for such an item.

So I made my own!

 These are super simple to put together.

All you need are diner notepads {I scored mine for 25 cents each at Party City}, pencils, clear tape, and this printable.

Simply tape the pencil to the side of the notepad, wrap the printable around the whole shebang, and tape it in place.

SUPER simple and so cute, right? 

I even included a place on the back for your child to write their name and the name of their Valentine.

Download it HERE!

To use the printable, simply cut them out lengthwise and fold in the middle. I cut mine so there wasn't a white edge around the design, but it would look cute either way. 

I can't wait for Landon to give these to his friends!

{Valentine's Day Free Printable}

Who doesn't love some good chalkboard art?

I know I'm a *tad* bit obsessed with it. Whether it be the real thing or some cute "faux" chalk art. 

I've been trying to come up with a Valentine's Day quote to write on our entryway chalkboard...something with a meaningful message. While listening to one of my favorite songs, I found it...

This quote is from the song Broken Hearts and Shooting Stars by Kaitlin Klotz. If you haven't heard of her, you can check out her music here. She is one of my favorites, and she is a fellow Hoosier!

You know who "the author" is, right? :) It is very comforting to me to know that God created my heart and my soul, and knows what will make my heart truly happy. I deeply believe that He leads us in that direction as long as we listen to Him.

So I'm very excited to be sharing this free printable with you...designing is one of my favorite hobbies. I will definitely be adding more down the road.

You can download it HERE!

And I would love it if you would pin it and share it with your friends. You all are awesome like that. :)

Remember, this is just for personal use friends.

What is your favorite quote for Valentine's Day?

Linking up with...