New Printables!

Hello friends!

How are things in your corner of the world? I know I've been super quiet over here on the blog, but if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you know I've been keeping myself busy with lots of new projects. And I have an exciting one to share with you!

I'm super excited to be back in the Illustrated Faith Print & Pray shop with some new printables! "Give it all you've got" is my motto these days, and all of these designs were created with motivation and encouragement in mind. 💛 

The first set is full of fun ephemera including rainbows, lettering & of course coffee cups, washi strips, and lots of cute hexies. 

And the second is a set of four patterned papers...

There are so many fun projects you can create with these sets! They are fantastic for not only bible journaling, but scrapbooking, adding to your paper planner, card-making, art journaling, and really any sort of paper crafting.  

You can check them both out, as well as my other printables, here!

XO,

A Dose of Encouragement

Oh yes, it's Friday friends!

Thanks goodness.

How are you doing over there? I wanted to share a bit about what's going on with me lately, and a few links to inspire and encourage you.

I've been blessed with commissioned artwork requests the past few weeks. The serendipitous thing about this is that just when I decided to take a break from working at the crazy pace I had been, some really wonderful and meaningful projects came my way.
This is the most recent one:

When this request came to me, I immediately knew how I wanted the finished piece to look. One of my favorite things about these pieces is that they stretch me to draw new subject matter. I had never drawn an amaryllis before, and it was a fun challenge. 

This dog portrait was a surprise birthday gift which made it even more fun to create...

And how fun is that name?! I used one of the owner's tattoos for inspiration for the flowers and color palette. 

And finally this piece was created for the shared bedroom of two young sisters. Do you see the little bee and lady bug? Those represent them...how sweet is that?! 

I'm sharing all of this with you to prove that the universe has your back. Just when I felt discouraged and that my art wasn't the quality it should be, or reaching the audience I wanted it to, these projects came my way. 

That validation means everything!

And as I promised, here are a few links to encourage and inspire you...

• What it takes to Turn a Hobby Into a Career at Age 40 with Lisa Congdon
• Jen Hewett on Letting Go of Perfection and Growing Multiple Skills to Enrich her Creativity
• And finally my FAVORITE podcast for creatives - check out the latest episode of Creative Pep Talk! The 6 Step Process to Unlock Powerful Creative Business Momentum

Hope you have a fantastic weekend friends!

XOXO,

New Product Alert

I have a super exciting new product collaboration to share with you today!

I'm over the moon to share that I'm creating monthly printables for The Reset Girl! 

Holy cow. Yep...that's what I'm still thinking as I share this news even though I've been working on this for weeks. #dreamproject

My first set, Happy at Home, is available now!

I've been a long time fan of TRG and am pinching myself that my creations are now a part of their store. Ahhh! I can't wait to get started on my next set. 

If you have themes you would love to see send them my way. I am always collecting inspiration!

XO,

Holiday Permission

This is your permission.

Permission to be fully you during the holidays.

Permission to be sad about what isn't, while joyful about what is.

To not allow others' anxieties, hang-ups, and issues to become your anxieties, hang-ups and issues.

Permission to feel lost and yet found.

To be whole. To be rooted. To be free.

To feel grounded in the middle of everyone else's chaos.

You get to decide.

You are in charge. 

And isn't that a lovely thing?

Sending hugs, peace, and light to you,

Coffee Talk

If we were having coffee this morning, I would tell you that whatever you are struggling with, you may think you can't handle, but you are most certainly qualified.

I would tell you that you are growing and learning, and through this hard stuff you are becoming even more of the person you are meant to be.

I would tell you to keep moving forward, to remember to take deep breaths, and to not feel guilty for that extra dash of cream and sugar in your cup.

Wishing you an encouraging, cozy, and joy-filled Friday friends!

XO,

New Class!

Have you ever been given an opportunity that is so in line with your biggest goals and dreams that you start to doubt yourself?

Those annoying internal questions start chiming in, "Why did they choose me?" "Surely there is someone more talented to do this!"

(Helloooo imposter syndrome!)

You know what? Yes, there probably is someone more talented than you. There is always going to be someone ahead of you. 

And still, the opportunity belongs to YOU! 

IT IS YOURS. 

End of story. 

So take it all in, throw all of the thank you's you can out into the universe, and rock the sh*t out of it.

YOU GOT THIS.

If you want an example of my latest version of this story, head over to Big Picture Classes on May 1st to check out my newest class with them, Mastering iPad Lettering! Seriously...we are going to have SO much fun lettering on our iPads!

You can check out my teacher page here--->

https://www.bigpictureclasses.com/users/mandyfordart

Hope you have a fantastic Thursday! 

New Printable!

Hello friends! Happy Friday!

Oh my goodness are you as glad as I am that the weekend is here??

I've been busy over here drawing all sorts of fun Valentine's Day goodies to share with you for my newest printable set, which I added to my Etsy shop today! 

If you love February and Valentine's Day, I think you are going to love this set as much as I do. I mean, there are letter boards AND vintage typewriters. SO fun!

This set includes:

*Two patterned papers
*Six letterboard stickers (LOVE these!) including four blanks to personalize 
*Four journaling/quote cards
*Nine bullet point/list stickers
*Three tabs
*Six banners
*Six "coffee date" stickers
*Six "remember" stickers
*Two ridiculously adorable typewriters
*Three washi strips
*Three scallop strips
*Over twenty other stickers/images

I used it in my Happy Planner for my February monthly spread...

I can't wait to use it throughout the month too! That's the great thing about buying printables...you can re-print the pages/images you want to use more than once! 

I don't know about you, but I think I need about 10 copies of that "treat yo self" sticker. 

You can check out the entire set and purchase it here!

I'm also sharing more peeks into how I'm using my planner over on Instagram...come hang out with me over there! 

XO,

For You

A bouquet for you...

Just because.

Maybe it has been a rough morning, or week, or year so far.

Maybe you are doubting yourself or your talents.

Maybe you simply feel like crap.

You are OK, friend.


XO,

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays friends! 

I hope no matter what you are doing today, or who you are with, your day is filled with love and light!

XO, 

Cyber Monday Sale!

Are you ready for Cyber Monday shopping? 

Society6 has already pulled the trigger on their sale and it is a GOOD one friends! 

Everything is on sale up to 40% off + FREE shipping! 

That means mugs start at $11.99 shipped, tote bags start at $14.69, and a throw pillow WITH insert is $20.99! 

The sale will go through the day tomorrow! 


XO,

Autumn Lessons

Happy weekend friends!

I saw this quote yesterday while scrolling through Instagram and had to letter it.

Another reason to love autumn!

I'm getting ready to head to our local orchard and treat myself to a cider slushy. Yum! Hope you're having a fantastic day!

New Fall Printable

Happy Monday friends!

How was your weekend? Mine was filled with board meetings for work, BUT I'm off today and enjoying a quiet morning at home so that certainly helps. 

You know what else helps? A cute new fall inspired printable set in my Etsy shop!

I created this set with scrapbooking in mind, but it would be lovely for using in your planner, art journal, or journaling bible!

The set includes over 30 stickers/die cuts and four patterned papers. 

I like to print the image sheets on either white or clear full sheet label paper to create stickers. And I used white cardstock for the papers, although you could certainly use sticker paper if you wanted to!

Last night I pulled out a mini album to start working on a fall instagram photo book (even though I haven't printed any photos yet - those will come!)

If you want to see a bit of my process with this, you can check out my Instagram stories, but hurry because they will only be available through today!

This set also coordinates well with my latest Illustrated Faith set. A girl can never have too many fall leaves or coffee cups in her sticker collection, am I right? 

Sending lots of happy fall vibes your way,

Lots of News!

Hello friends! Happy Tuesday!

How is your week going so far? The past few weeks have been so crazy with the hurricanes and wild fires. If you've been in the path of any of them I certainly hope you and your families are doing OK.  

I wanted to share a big update on what's been happening in the world of Mandy Ford Art & Illustration!

Things have been busy and so good. Feeling really thankful. 

First up is my September printable set with Illustrated Faith!

I have more and more fun each month creating this kits, and when I realized I could draw all things autumn for September I was over the moon happy!

It is chock full of fall goodness and I hope you love it! I printed these out on white sticker paper and plan to use them in some fall scrapbooking projects.

Next up is a new product for me - CANDLES!

Yes, candles! 

I am super excited about this collaboration with The Candle Creative.

I have three different designs available with them, and you can choose from lots of really yummy scents. I am partial to the lemon poppyseed and the pumpkin roll. Mmmmmm!

Grab them today through 9/17 and get 15% off with code "MANDY" & enter a super fun giveaway over on their Instagram account for $100 shop credit, an 8x10 "sweater weather" print from me, and lots of other goodies!

And finally, a reminder to check out my first class with Big Picture Classes, Doodling Nature!

Did you know BPC is a subscription site, and you can do a free one month trial? So there is absolutely NOTHING to lose. And there are so many super fun and inspiring classes on there. Soon to be added in October - a lettering class from me!

(Sneak peek up there)

Ooh and ONE more thing! If you are a local friend, save the date for October 20th! I'm going to have a booth at this fun event again this year!

Working on some brand new goodies for it including TEA TOWELS! Eeeeek! (<---kinda sorta excited about that one.)

Sending the happiest of Tuesday vibes to you!

XO,