by Amy | Jul 10, 2014 | Blog, Crafts, The Art of Art, The Art of Design, The Art of Projects
That’s right. When I’m not able to draw out a chalkboard full of awesome stuff by hand {like this, or this, or this…} I turn to the digital stuff. Tonight I’m sharing all my favorites with you. AND they are all FREE!! So get ready to pin, because you are going to want to hang on to these sources–or immediately download them. I use them all the time and L-O-V-E them. Dearly.
I love these Rustic Graphics from We Lived Happily Ever After. She is a genius. She also shared a free chalk background. You can get that here. While I usually try to download things that are okay to use commercially, these are for personal use only. So I reserve them for unpaid project for family and friends.
Next are these adorable laurels and frames from Sunflower Studio. They are under the creative commons license. So they are good to use for commercial or personal purposes.
If you know me weirdly well, you know I have a weakness for fonts. Here are my favorites to use against a chalk background.
Adine Kimberg
Ever After
Little Lord Fontleroy
Rialto
Porcelain
Covington
Champagne
Little Days
Silverfake
Villa Didot
And…here are two more fonts that you should have. They are awesome dingbats for chalk projects.
Remember to check licenses before you use them commercially, but most of this stuff is good to go. Happy chalking!
Amy
by Amy | May 21, 2014 | Blog, Crafts, The Art of Art, The Art of Design, The Art of Gathering, The Art of Projects
About a week ago I found myself in Bismarck. Naturally, while there I was faced with a difficult decision: TJ Maxx or boutique shopping? I went the boutique route and found myself at a darling place called Junk Yard Chic. Their wares boast gifts of the salvaged, shabby-chic, rustic variety.
When I checked out, my goods were carefully wrapped in the cutest Popsicle tissue paper I’ve ever seen. Which got me thinking all about summer’s best treat, and how I could incorporate those fun, sweet, melty colors and flavors into my life this summer. Here are seven great things I came across.
1. I have been itching to host a summer ice cream social. But I might just do a Popsicle social instead. These invitations from Free Pretty Printables are sooo cute I could eat them up. Oh, yeah. And they are FREE!
2. There are a ton of amazing popsicle recipes floating around on Pinterest these days. I fell in love with the wholesome ingredients and easy prep for these made with blueberries, strawberries and honey. Get the recipe here. The blog, In Sock Monkey Slippers recommends this mold.
3. Dreamcicles anyone? Those are soap! Yes, soap. The perfect summer gift for a summer hostess. Get them from Sun Kid Gifts on Etsy.
4. If technology is more your style, sport this adorable phone cover this summer. Get this one and other cute Popsicle prints at Peanutoak Case’s Etsy shop.
5. These aren’t edible at all! They are crayons. How amazing is that? I found this image on Pinterest. Which led me to Etsy…only to discover that the listing is no longer active. I’m guessing you can melt down crayons and cool them in a Popsicle mold. You’re creative. I know you’ll figure it out.
6. I dig these nails from Lacq Lustre. She did them herself and shares all the colors she used. So even if you don’t make the mini Popsicles, you can still have some poppy color.
7. And lastly…I searched high and low for the tissue paper that started this whole thing. I couldn’t find it. What I did find was this adorable wrapping paper from Clementine Store. Now who do I know with a summer birthday…?
Amy
by Amy | Mar 7, 2014 | Blog, The Art of Living, The Art of Projects, The Art of the Kitchen
This week, a friend’s husband headed out for a six month deployment. She asked if I had any ideas. Here’s the truth. When it comes to mailing packages…I’m totally lame.
So I scoured the Internet and found a bundle of folks who are doing the care package thing right. I think we all know someone who could use a care package, whether your spouse is deployed or not. Hopefully this creative list will inspire you next time you need to ship some love via post. (more…)
by Amy | Oct 30, 2013 | Blog, Crafts, The Art of Projects
If you’ve ever visited me here in Practically Canada, or talked with me about this place, or read my blog for a while, you know I like it here. Despite the cold and the remote location, I like it here. Despite the small town living and the limited Saturday-night options, I like it here. I really, really do. I like it because the people are hard core during the winter. They walk boldly into -20 temps without flinching. In the spring when it hits 35 it’s officially sweat shirt weather. I like the people because they have cute accents and they use the phrase, “Oh, for cute,” when they like something. I like the people because they are nice and they have quirky traditions. For one, they refer to wedding receptions as “wedding dances.” For two, often at these dances, the whole crowd does the hokey pokey. I mean everybody. Not just the kids. Cutely, adorably bizarre. Generally the natives are nice and genuinely care for one another. Someone once told me that the cold weather keeps out the riff raff.
Which leads me to the point of tonight’s post. North Dakota, Practically Canada and their traditions. Since tomorrow is Halloween, I thought I’d share a spooky tradition I just learned about. Boo-bagging.
Ever heard of it? The super-cute example above from Simple Girl give you a pretty clear idea of what a Boo Bag is. You can follow the link to get her free printable!!
It’s sweet and simple really. You pack up a bag with Halloween themed goodies. As extravagant, as Martha, or a lazy and store bought as you want. Some people make fancy bags, other people just store bought bags, or just paper lunch sacks.
Once you’ve got your goods, it basically turns into a game of ding-dong-ditch. Go to a door, ring the bell and hide or get away before the recipient opens the door and finds the bag. Cute, right? Speaking of cute, you can also be inspired by this Boo version from I Heart Nap Time. She shows you how to make this bag and how to make candy corn trail mix.
Some folks include a poem that asks those who have been “Boo’d” to Boo someone else. But I’m not a fan of pressuring people into things, so I’d just as soon leave that out. Gifts are more fun if they have no strings attached.
I love this tradition so much, I want to spread it to the world. If I had known about this I would have done it years ago. How about you? Have you heard of Boo Bagging before? I’m sure there are other places that do this, I just haven’t lived there yet. And since I have no plans for 10/31 I think I’ll drop some off tomorrow night. {Mine will be of the lazy, store bought variety.}
Amy
by Amy | Oct 3, 2013 | Blog
I love the library. I love the smell of it, the look of it, the sound of it. Most of the time when I’m there I pick up an audio book or something non-fiction. I’m a constant learner, you see. Sometimes I think it’d be nice to just go to a section and look around for a type of book, instead of looking up a specific title in the catalog. You know, for those days you just want something on dinosaurs, but you don’t know what. Okay. Maybe I’m the only one that has those kinds of days.
Anyway…at the very least you may find this interesting. I think it’s information worth knowing and I spent a bit of time making it pretty for you. So here goes.
This…is the Dewey Decimal System. It’s how books are organized. It’s those little numbers on the spine of all non-fiction books. Big surprise, those numbers actually mean something. Yes, I realize we might not actually need to know this stuff. But one can never have too much random knowledge in their head. And nowadays this kind of stuff is very hipster and trendy. If you’re into that.
The decimal system is divided into three numbers, then sometimes, a few more numbers after the decimal point. As you can see by the graphic.
The first number is a main, umbrella category. You’ll see what all these categories are in the table below.
The second number breaks things down a little more. This is a division number. It gives a little more specifics to the main category.
The third number is the section. A little more specific.
After that, if the book is even more specific there will be a decimal point and some more numbers. These classify the book even further. If there are more than one books on the same niche topic they will then be sorted by author’s last name. In the example above, I’ve pulled a book on knitting.
{Art | Decorative Arts | Textile Arts | Knitting}
This little graphic breaks down every division. If you want even more specifics check this out. I’ve got this image saved to my phone for reference. Here are a couple decimals I like best:
640’s–this includes home improvement and cooking…so I obviously spend a lot of time there
740’s–this is the craft section
000’s–this is the computer section…and I am still attempting to shine up my web design skills
810’s–American lit…hence the Edgar Allen Poe. It is October, after all.
If you aren’t into books, maybe you’ll be into this precious kitten that was left in a book depository. The library staff kept him and named him Dewey. As in Dewey Decimal. You have to be crazy if you don’t think that’s cute.
And if you are still craving more Dewey. Watch this ridiculous homemade rap on it. It’s long. But the first 2 minutes will give you the idea.
Amy
by Amy | Sep 29, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Design
A while back I bought a bag of coffee that was one of those cozy fall flavors, like vanilla-pumkin-hazlenut or something. I really bought it because the bag was so darn pretty. The flavor was technically named “Fall In Love.” On the bag there was a heart shaped formed with maple leaves.
And I did fall in love. I drank the coffee. It was good. But really that bag was pretty enough to hang on the wall. So I made something for us, inspired by my coffee bag, to hang up.
It is sized to print at 8.5×11″. So no resizing needed. You could definitely trim the white space off to make it an 8×10″ piece instead. Either way, it’s pretty cute.
Here is the link.
If you like this, even if you aren’t actually going to print it…please share it with your friends!
Now, go get some coffee…and don’t forget, tonight is the season 3 premier of Revenge! {Golly I love that show.}
Amy
by Amy | Mar 1, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Projects
I know. You’re thinking, “Who is this adorable girl eating meatloaf so gracefully?” Well, paws off. That’s my sister. She rocks. She rolls. She’s pretty much awesome in every way a person can be awesome. {And believe me, I know awesome.}
Here’s the thing with Sis. {I call her that, you can call her Erin.} She’s a lefty, a borderline ginger…and she was born on Leap Day. So, all in all she has really defied the odds. I doubt that happens very often. Since the 29th of February doesn’t come around every year, that means we celebrate her on the 28th. Which is…today.
Given that today is her birthday, I thought it appropriate to share something amazing that she has come up with. Now, this is classic Erin. Lists, organization…that’s her ball game. {She is a kindergarten teacher after all. No organization=no sanity in that arena.}
Recently she and her husband put their house on the market. {Sidenote…if you are in the Elkhart, IN area, or would like to move to the best town in America and would like a super cute, well kept, sweetly landscaped home–hit me up. I know a good one that just came up on the market.} Now they are hunting for their next place.
If you’ve ever bought a house you know the process can be stressful. One showing after another and another and another. Eventually they all blur together in your mind. You forget what you liked and what you didn’t. Even if you take photos, some of the details fall through the cracks.
Not to mention, the tension that can come up between spouses when house hunting. You’ve got your eye on an old, needy fixer upper with good bones. He’s got his eye on something from the last 20 years with a room big enough for his Call of Duty game nights. Uh-oh.
To take care of this issue Sis created a worksheet that they take with them on each showing.
Pretty genius…am I right? They go to each showing and fill out this score sheet as they tour the house. Then they add it up and keep it with any photos of the property. As time goes by they will have a clear record of every property and how it scored with them.
Love this idea? You can download this template right here. Or make your own. You can do it in Word or Paint or just write things down on a sheet of paper and copy it, or if this really hits home for you…you can use this one.
Happy house hunting!
Amy
by Amy | Dec 13, 2012 | Blog, Crafts, The Art of Design
Hi guys. We’ve had a little COP. {Change of plans.} Today I’m giving you six…count ’em SIX free printable gift tags for all your wrapping needs. They were really fun to make. I like to punch holes in the top and string them on to packages. But they are just as cute taped on. Enjoy!
I’ve put all these tags into individual Google Docs. Just save the files you like and print them out. You can save paper by arranging more than one tag onto a Word document. The tags measure 3″ x 1.75″ but the files are high res…so you can make them a bit larger if you like. And, yes…they are free! All I ask is that when friends and family compliment them…you tell them that you got them here, at the very-fun-and-awesome Amy Allender blog.
Here is the Peace Love Joy tag…You’re Gonna Love This…Santa Asked Me…and the Something Awesome tag
And here are links for the You’ve Been Nice tag…You’ve Been Naughty…Ho3…Special Delivery
Merry Christmas. Now, I’ve got cookies to make!
Amy
