{holiday cards in the shop}

I'm super excited to announce that my two holiday card designs are now available in my Etsy shop!

 Merry and Bright 

Merry Christmas Dear

They both include coordinating greetings inside...

I'm so proud of how these turned out and I hope they bring you some extra holiday cheer! 

XO,

{CraftFail book review}

Happy Friday friends!

I have a fun book review for you today. It involves crafting and humor, which are two of my favorite things. CraftFail: When Homemade Goes Horribly Wrong, by Heather Mann, is a super fun compilation of Pinterest projects and their real-life counterparts. 

I love the caption on the back...

So funny!

Heather is the founder of CraftFail.com and gathered fails from fashion to food, holiday to home decor, to share the humor that can be found in "embarrassing and often pathetic crafting attempts." But she also points out that even if a craft is a total failure, we should still celebrate being brave enough to give it a shot, and laugh at ourselves if the outcome is less than what we expected.

Here are a few of my favorite fails from the book. Oh the beloved sharpie mug...

And the hanger-turned-scarf-organizer...I can tell you from personal experience this doesn't work like Pinterest said it would. And the plastic shower curtain rings snag your scarves. You've been warned! 

I don't sew, but if I did I can imagine my 20-minute T-shirt dress turning out quite similar to the ones on the right...

And this not so angry birds pizza...so funny. My boys would get a kick out of this!

I love how Heather finds the humor in these craft fails, and still encourages all of us to keep on crafting. I've had quite a few craft fails of my own, but I'll never give up my scissors and hot glue gun. :)

Happy crafting friends!

XO,

{4 gifts link-up: want}

Have you heard of the "4 gifts" idea of gift-giving? 

My friend Alyson introduced it to me, and I'm joining with her and some other bloggers to share a series for the next month based on this concept. 

Here are the "4 gifts" categories:

Something they want, something they need, something they'll wear, and something they'll read. 

I really like this approach to gift giving, especially for kids, because it takes some of the focus off of TOYS and adds in things they need and will still enjoy, like a book, sweater or craft supplies. 

Each week we'll be focusing on one of the 4 gifts, starting with wants this week. {Of course those are the most fun, right?}

Here are some fun wants for everyone in our family this year, and hopefully they'll give you a few ideas for your list...

Beyblades / Transformers / Magnetic Building Tiles / Telescope

My boys are OBSESSED right now with Beyblades, which are a fun spinning toy, like a top, that even Dan and I enjoy playing with them. They have a lot of fun with the Transformers Mashers, which have interchangeable parts. They also enjoy building all sorts of creations, and the magnetic tiles allow them to use their imagination. And finally, this telescope would be an entertaining and educational gift. 

Now for my husband Dan...

Podcast mixer / Whiskey Stones / Desk Chair

He is usually super tough to shop for but this year he's already given me some ideas. Yay! He's currently working on starting a podcast, so he wants a sound mixer. He's also started a hobby of whiskey tasting and I thought these whiskey stones would be a fun addition to his bar cart. And finally, this IKEA chair is a bit pricey but a fun dream item for his desk. 

And finally, a few of my wants...

Coffee sign / Pillow / Poncho / Keen shoes

I always have lots of handmade items on my wish list, and you know how much I love coffee, so this cute sign by my friend Emily is at the top of the list. And how cute is this granny square pillow and vintage colorful poncho? Yes, please! And to finish it off, I have been searching for some fun casual shoes, and these mary janes from Keen are perfect. 

So there are some of our wants this year...I hope they've given you some ideas as well!

What is on your "want" list? Link up with us below!

An InLinkz Link-up

XO,

{gift giving with UncommonGoods}

Now that November is here, I am in full-on-wanting-to-buy-everyone-a-Christmas-gift mode.

Gift-giving is one of my major love languages, so obviously Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. But I also hate rushing or having to settle on a less-than-stellar gift for a family member or friend, so I like to start early. And I also really love buying unique and if possible, handmade, gifts. One great place I like to go for gifts that match both those criteria is UncommonGoods. 

I've been a fan of their shop for years now, and am super excited to team up with them today to share some great gift finds for everyone on your list. 

Let's start with some super fun stocking stuffer ideas from their website, because that is my favorite part of Christmas.

Landon would go crazy over this stapleless stapler, and I wouldn't worry about him impaling his fingers...

My hubby has taken on a new hobby of whiskey tasting, so these whiskey stones would be a fun gift for his stocking...

And my Benny would love this robot stencil kit...

They also have a great under $25 gift guide here...

This idea is genius...bags that you can use to make grilled cheese in the toaster. Yes please!

This owl eyeglass holder is beyond adorable...

We love to play board games at the holidays, and this Awkward Family Photos game would surely be a hit...

And now for something a bit bigger, their under $50 gift guide which you can find here. I picked out a few things I think my family and friends would enjoy.

My friend Amy would adore this literary themed scarf...

After making grilled cheese in our toaster we could enjoy it with some tomato soup on these awesome plates...

And this upcycled Indonesian batik satchel is so stunning...

These are only a few of my favorite things you can buy on their site. And do you know what I love most about UncommonGoods products? Most are made in the USA, many are handmade, and lots of them are made from recycled or upcycled materials. 

This is from their mission statement: "At the core of our company is a great respect for the integrity of the creative individual and the belief that it is our responsibility to use our business to impact the world in a positive way." How awesome is that?! 

So head on over to their site and get your Christmas shopping on! 

I was compensated by UncommonGoods for this post but all opinions are 100% my own. 

XO,

{Society6 sale}

Happy Tuesday friends!

Did you know that I have a Society6 shop where you can buy my doodles on mugs, phone cases, pillows, tote bags and lots of other goodies?

Right now they are offering $5 off each item AND free shipping! 

Mugs start at $10 shipped...and you know how I love a good mug. 

This is such a great deal and a perfect time to grab a few holiday gifts. 

Happy shopping!

XO,

{fun press}

I was so flattered this past week to be included in our local paper's business section, in an article about local artists and handmade business owners.

We have some great talent in our little town, and I'm having fun meeting other "makers" and becoming a part of our art community. With such a great online group of friends I've gotten lazy about making friends with local artists, but nothing can replace face-to-face contact with other creatives. 

Forcing myself a bit out of my shell is always a good thing. Have you done any of that lately? I highly recommend it. :)

XO,

{hello friday}

Happy Friday friends!

I'm off work today and the boys are on fall break which makes it an extra happy Friday at the Ford house. We've been soaking up every bit of fall possible around here including a trip to the orchard this past weekend...

Oh how I love those goobers. Ben is such a poser and it cracks me up. 

I can't help but take lots of photos of the beautiful colors in nature around here
...especially the area around my office. It is just gorgeous this time of year!

The gingko trees are my absolute favorite...

And the view out our front window this morning was a pretty sweet greeting...

I've also been working on some more patterns including this cute owl one...

I'm having so much fun with these!

I also started a new doodle series I'm calling #mugmessages, because I like to think my coffee gives me compliments. :)

I think these will make a fun set of notecards!

So here's to the weekend friends...I hope you have something fun planned!

XO,

{patterns!}

Pattern camp update! 

I'm only a few lessons in, but I'm already so excited about turning my doodles into repeating patterns. It is addictive!

Here are three of my patterns so far....of course the first one is coffee themed. :)

None of them are perfect and could use some tweaking here or there, but I'm still super excited and proud of myself for taking the leap to join this class and learn how to do this. And I still have a lot left to learn so get ready for lots more pattern sharing. 

Yay for patterns!

XO,

{ooh baby designs scarf giveaway}

Scarf weather is here!!

This makes me just a tad giddy. Do you love scarves as much as I do?

To feed my habit, my sweet friend Stephanie, owner of Ooh Baby Designs, sent me a gorgeously soft and warm flannel number a few weeks back and it is one of my new favorites...

It is like wearing a blanket around my neck and makes me want to go to a high school football game and drink hot chocolate, even though I could care less about high school football. :) 

Not to mention she included the adorable monogrammed messenger bag up there. 

I'm dying over how cute and roomy it is, which are two of my top priorities when picking out a new bag. Cute + roomy = perfection. 

AND it is lined in matching turquoise fabric which makes me smile every time I open it. 

That Stephanie sure knows how to spoil a girl!

But enough about me friends, what about you, you ask?! 

Well, Stephanie is offering one of my lucky readers a choice of flannel scarf from her shop! I'm partial to my turquoise and grey one, but she has some other great color choices in her shop...

Enter below and good luck friends!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



XO,