Candy Bar Wrapper

 Here's another fast, free Valentine's Day printable for you. Pick up a candy bar that has a foil wrapper (this one is a giant Hershey bar) and remove the candy bar's outer wrapper. Click on the image below for the full version then right click or drag to your desktop to save it. Print it, trim it to the right size, tape it in place, and there you go! I embellished this one with a cute little ribbon, a metal rim key tag (got mine at an office supply store) and a heart sticker.  And there you go! A quick, easy, little Valentines Day gift : ) You could even write a message on the inside of the wrapper if you wanted.

Do you have any Valentine's Weekend plans? As much as I love my husband and celebrating holidays with him, I get just as excited about doing fun things for our boys. I bought their presents awhile ago. I've got a fun Valentine's Day breakfast planned and we're going to have a fancy, family dinner at home on Valentines Day evening. Good stuff. Hope your weekend is special no matter who you spend it with!

Arian : )

Bag Lady

 My dad is in town for the weekend! He got here late last night. Snow somewhere along the way in West Virginia set him back a couple hours so I got out the sewing machine to keep me occupied while I waited up for him.

 I've been wanting to pair these two fabrics together for awhile. So I made this simple tote bag. The inside fabric is a retro-licious remnant from Granny's stash and the outside fabric is soft and sturdy upholstery fabric from my favorite discount fabric store.

 I'm definitely a "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of sewer-- no pattern, no planning, no measuring...just wing it.  It's good for my soul that way.

The boys (and I!) are glad to have PopPop in town, as you can tell by today's pic-a-day. It promises to be a good weekend : )

Muuuuuch Love,
Arian

Coping

Thanks for all the love, hugs, prayers, etc. And thanks for sharing about your losses too. I wish there weren't so many women who can relate! It's quite a bummer to go through.

 I have some moments when I feel like super woman--like it's no big deal and I'm totally fine. And then there are other moments, like when I go to reach for my maternity jeans, that I feel a bit lost. It's an odd transition to go from pregnant to not pregnant without a little baby involved.

 But we're coping. There are a few songs I've been listening to on repeat, like "Season of Rain" and
"After the Storm".  I'm diving into some creative projects and keep yarn and a crochet hook with me most of the time to fill quiet moments.

And we're making good use of all the Starbucks gift cards I got for Christmas (thank you!!). Coffee shops are good because you can be surrounded by people but you don't actually have to talk to them : )

 We sketch, and listen to music, and craft, and sip our drinks and let time pass.

It's good.

Thanks again for the love : )
Arian

ps-- I'm probably gonna keep wearing the maternity pants anyways. Skinny jeans with elastic waist bands are a blessing that need not be reserved only for pregnant women ; )

Was loved. Will be missed.

I hadn't told you guys yet (was waiting til next week!) but we we've been expecting our third baby since December. We found out yesterday, though, that our little one probably never made it past more than a few cells big. My body just didn't catch on until yesterday.

I'm well. We're all well. And we've been getting lots of love, including long-distance love from my sis in South Africa.

Tiny four-celled baby Armstrong was deeply loved, greatly anticipated, and will be missed.  We're grateful for the two sweet, healthy babies we already have and are excited about the sweet, healthy babies to come!

Arian : )

Valentines Day Cards!

I just added little Valentine's Day cards to the shop! Get a set of 8 (2 of each design) with 8 round, white stickers to seal them closed for $8. OR, get a set of 4 FREE WITH ALL PRINT ORDERS THIS WEEK!

So if someone you love has had an eye on a print (or if you want to treat yourself to a little art this Valentines Day), hop on over! Your print and cards will be sent out Friday : )

Arian : )

Love Letters

I love Valentine's Day! Even before I had an official Valentine to share it with, it was a day to exchange cute cards and chocolate with friends or buy myself something pretty) ; )  So here is some Valentine's Day cuteness I made for you guys!

Click on the image below then right click or drag to your desktop to save it. Print as many as you'd like and start writing some love letters! I've got more Valentine's goodies for you coming soon!  So check back!

We spent the weekend on a couples retreat with a bunch of great friends. It was so refreshing to get away and spend some time with Daniel and other adults sans children. I feel blessed to have so many couples/families/individuals in our life who love us and build into our family regularly. It's very good for my heart : )

Arian

Those Eyes

 I'm finally coming out of the cloud of sickness that had me down for awhile. It's cute to see your kids go into parent mode when you're sick---getting you drinks of water, recommending their own home remedy ideas, lovingly patting your face with their sweaty, sticky hands : )

 Jude and I spent the afternoon catching up and reacquainting ourselves with the outside world. It was sweet.

 He's a perfect gentlemen of a lunch date, offering me bits of his damp cookie and sips from his cookie crumble water.

 His entertaining tales of good robots and bad robots and his plans for the future ("When I'm free (3) years old, I can have gum! And when I'm a grown up, I can drink coffee!" ) are good company.

 Plus he has nice eyes : )

Well, lots to catch up on! More soon : )

Arian