september screensaver

Happy September! The kids are in school, we're back into our routine and we can start looking forward to when the heat is slightly kinder.

Here's a new calendar screensaver for you to start off the month.
Download the screensaver here.

• • •

Psst! If you downloaded my box calendar freebie please forgive me! I just realized that the dates were wrong. The correct version is now online here.

mother's day pop-up card

I have a little treat for you today! 

You can download a free printable and see the tutorial for this mother's day pop-up card on the FedEx Out of Office blog. Enjoy!

valentine's day (easy) treat boxes

Here's a free printable for those of you running a bit behind and it's free!
All instructions and downloads available at the FedEx Out of the Office Blog. Go check it out!

I have a fun announcement for tomorrow which I think you'll like. See you then!

freebies + inspiration

Only fun things and freebies for today. I'm off to do some shopping today—I've never been this far behind in my Christmas shopping and I'm entering a total panic mode. Ack!! 

Today's weekly freebie is up! The texture I added to the red paper is a Stampin' Up Square Lattice embossing folder.

Friday Tidbits (haven't done them in so long!)

- Gift card holder freebie - Here's a downloadable freebie that I designed exclusively for FedEx. The printing and thick paper made it feel like something I'd bought at the store. Loved the richness of color (fyi - they paid me for the project—not for saying this).

- A cheery Santa download - Download this cheery Santa for your desktop, iPad or whatever! It's illustrated by a friend and very talented designer Von Glitschka.
- Paper lamps - Gorgeous lamps and video about the artists. I posted this on Twitter I believe but I have to repost it here just in case you missed it. Well worth the watch.
- How to score lines with the Silhouette - a an easy to follow tutorial of how to score lines in your paper cut projects. Thanks for the great tips and mention Linda! 

BTW - thank you so much for all your comments this past week on my Facebook page. I read every single one and they all make me smile. You're all awesome!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! 

mom, mum, mami, mamá

No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother's love.  It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star.  
~Edwin Hubbell Chapin

• • •

Mom, Mum, Mami, Mamá - you can find them all in the SVG and DXF files below. Download them for free and make the Moms in your lives something crafty and beautiful.

Download SVG file.
Download DXF file.
After you click on these links, save to your computer.

Enjoy!

mother's day - free download

I haven't posted a printable in a very long time so I thought Mother's Day would be just the right occasion.

Mother's Day is very special but why limit the card or note giving to just that day? You (ok we!) have no excuses with this simple design. You can send you awesome Mom a quick message any time of the year.

The PDF has 8 pages (I couldn't decide between raspberry/pink and orange so I included both. I also included options in English (mom and mum) and Spanish (mami and mamá). All you need to do is cut the card out (outline included) and fold it in half (optional - I used the We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper on my printouts).

You can download the entire PDF (just delete the pages you don't need) right here.

For those of you that have cutting machines... I'll be posting cutting files for the "Mom" titles tomorrow.

Enjoy!

a little hut has a new web site!

 

We're starting off 2012 with an awesome completed project. The new site for A Little Hut is here! It has been a long time coming and I'm very excited about this big improvement.

It was a LOT of work. It was a total team effort—I don't know what I'd do without my Mr. Z who did all the programming. He's so patient with all my requests! So, so patient.

Improvements:
- You will no longer need to wait for an email from me. You will be able to download all files immediately after paying for them. Only freebie files will need to be approved internally by me—which only means you'll just need to wait a bit (like with orders on the old site).
- You will be able to see your order history. You will have a handy list to remind you what you have ordered in the past.
- Products will be easier to find. The navigation from one section to another is quite simple.
- More photos and views will be available for products that I upload in the future. For now they have about the same amount of photos that I've used previously.
- I've added the icons below to clearly describe files that are available for each product. Some of you like to use cutting files, some of you want to print and cut by hand, some of you want to print only. Now you will know what is included in each set. The Product Information page explains these symbols in more detail.

For previous customers:

For those of you that have registered and made purchases on A Little Hut in the past don't worry, your information (personal contact information - not previous order history) was transferred to the new site. The only thing you'll need to do is create a new password. Sign in with your email address, click on Forgot Password, you'll get an email with a temporary password. Use that password to sign in and in My Account you can change your password to whatever you prefer. That's it! If you have any questions just use our Contact Us page. 

I think we accomplished what we wanted—a better experience for visitors and a more efficient and up-to-date site. I happen to like how it looks too! Hehe. 

If you find any glitches, typos or anything that you think we can work on please feel free to let me know. I want to make the site the best that it can be.

Stop by and visit the A Little Hut to check it out. I hope you like it! 

a little something for you

I have a little freebie for this month. The details are in October's newsletter. If you haven't subscribe you can do so by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page. I only send out newsletters once a month, so don't worry I won't be flooding your inbox.

Yes, I said I wasn't going to add any fall-ish items to my Falling Leaves set... but I couldn't resist a little acorn for this one. Enjoy!

• • •

Thank you so much to eHow for including me in their 100 Shift List! So honored!
The full list of inspiring women is here.

Have a great day everyone!

m is for make

Type and print out a large bold letter that is at least 4 in (10 cm) tall, trace the printout on card stock if you can't print out just an outlined letter, cut out random shapes—but be sure to leave a border so it won't fall apart. Done!

Great for:

- a card

- gift tag

- framed artwork

- practicing some cutting skills

I've seen comments about paper cutting projects that include phrases like:

- if only I had the patience

- if only I could do that

- if only I had the time

- if only... (you fill in the blank—I know some of you probably have something else to add here!)

Cutting doesn't have to be complex and no fancy tools are needed. See it as a relaxing thing to do and just go slow. Make something and you'll see it isn't as hard as you think. If you'd like to practice cutting out this M, download it here. It's in reverse so that any black borders you don't cut out won't show up in the final piece. Print it on card stock and use the reverse image as your final piece.

Happy Monday!

july!

Can you believe that the year is half-way done? It has been going way too fast! To help you keep track of this month I've made this free desktop for you—download here.

We have a four day weekend ahead of us here in the States so its going to be a busy one. For starters, I'm going to be enjoying a hot afternoon watching Tangled with my little C. I'm a total sap—I love the lanterns scene. We all deserve bright lights in our lives—wherever they come from.

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

[Who says a card needs to be flat? I'm going to be giving this to a friend tomorrow. The flower is part of my Petal Collection, the leaf is part of the LD Hawaii collection and the box is a simple origami box. And yes, even if it looks like a gift box, I'm calling a card.]

valentine's day matchbox card

If you're still looking for an idea for Valentine's Day check out my new project on Craft . It's not as difficult as it looks and you'll get some good practice with simple paper cutting.

This photo is a just a little teaser. But there is a little more than meets the eye. I'm fond of this project because it has several of the elements that I like to use:

- Using paper in 3D form
- Multi-layered work
- Trees. Of course!
- Multi-functional
- Can be customized (you'll see! - it's tiny)

There will be more of these soon and they will be available in SVG format in the shop.

Head on over to Craft to see the whole project, so you can make one yourself—and let me know what you think!

• • •

Welcome to those of you that are visiting from Craft or Lifehacker (memo holder feature)! If you'd like to see other DIY ideas please use the menu at the top above my blog banner.

It feels like it's going to be a very productive week. Happy Monday!

happy new year!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful year!

If you'd like to send anyone a new year's message here is the file for the 11 card. I know... it doesn't quite look like numbers but that's what I like about it. It's subtle and you can use it at any time of the year and maybe add some weaved ribbon through it.

Downloads :: SVG file | PDF

You'll excuse me while I go back to some very laid back time with the family. It's been slow around here and I love it. I think we all needed it.

Happy 1.1.11!

if I may be so bold...

I have an enormous favor to ask. I've been wanting to do this for a long time, but I didn't want to impose. However, I think the time has come to go for it. So here's the deal...

I love working on this blog very much and I want it to make it even better. More importantly, I want you to enjoy your time here. I think that one of the best ways to do this, is to ask you directly, what you'd like to see. I want A Little Hut to be a place where you can come and learn or be inspired by something new—but I need to know what that means for you. This isn't to say that my ideas and projects will change drastically, but it would be helpful for me to learn more about all of you and why it is that you stop by.

In the coming months I have some plans for improvement, so a simple survey will help me tremendously in moving forward. I know... a survey. Blah. Not the most exciting thing in the world. But I promise it will only take you a couple of minutes because it's only 5 questions long and it's completely anonymous. That's all! Painless and easy.

Although I can't wait to hear from you, I'll admit that I'm still a bit nervous—which is kind of funny since I've never had anything but kind messages and comments from all of you. So... if you would like to help me out I would be so very, very grateful—and thank you for making what I do so rewarding.

Click here to answer the survey.



As a small way to show my appreciation for you being here, whether you answer the survey or not, here is a new thank you card that you can pass on to someone that you think needs to hear from you. Download here.

And again...

Thank you!

EDIT - I will leave the survey open indefinitely. If you're reading this days or weeks after the fact I still would love to hear from you.

halloween cards for kids

Friday Tidbit
I typically share links to other people's work on FT. Today I decided to post a small freebie that you can share with friends that have festivities and birthdays this month (for personal use only - pretty please!).

I haven't made these cards in a while so the start of October gave me the perfect excuse to make them. I couldn't decide what color to use for the witch's feet so I left both cards. I like the idea of little hands learning how to write their own messages so that's why I also kept the lines.

Download the sheet here.

• • •

It's been a long week and I have so much to share. It just isn't the right time yet. I've been feeling really conflicted about how to balance the work that I'm doing with not disappearing from the internet altogether (at least for a while). It's a constant tug of war. I want to be around but a part of me just wants to unplug. I think that's why my posts have been only project driven—not much about me, about us. So excuse me as I muddle through. I think what I really need is to just get up and walk away as far as I can get from my computer, grab my cup of coffee and put my new bookmark to good use. Thank goodness for weekends!

Have a good one!

thank you

For those of you that still have kids in school, I put together a freebie PDF of lined thank you cards (or gift tags) that your little ones can include with teachers' gifts. I tried posting this a couple of weeks ago but that obviously didn't happen. Some of you can still get some use out of it, I hope.



To all of you that are teachers a huge thank you! I don't know how you do it. I'm always amazed with everything you accomplish in a few months and you truly deserve all the gratitude and appreciation in the world.



The summer has barely started and I already feel much more at ease. The daily driving to and from school, homework and lunchboxes has been replaced with a much slower pace affecting everything—this blog too. I'll be checking in now and then but for now things will slow down quite a bit around here. You get it right? :)

A bit of errands and a promise to take the kids to the pool await.
Have a great day!

Download printable here.

recycling project - mother's day card

Last week I shot two segments for the local show called Going Green with Yolanda Green. One was a how-to for an extra special Mother's Day card/gift (which could work for Dad as well) and the other for a 4th of July project. The first one aired this past weekend and below is the video which, by the way, does not show up on Google Reader (psst! you'll be able to see me with my new haircut).



Materials:
- Empty cookie or cereal box
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Scissors and/or Xacto blade and cutting mat
- Tape
- Tissue paper (can be wrinkled/used)
- Mod Podge or craft glue (slightly watered down)
- Bowl
- Brush
- Leftover cardstock or colored paper
- Ribbon
- Round corner paper punch (optional)



I completely forgot to take photos of the process as I made the project so I created a project sheet that you can download below. To save paper just print the first page and then the second on the back side of the same page.

Download here.

If you like the format of these project sheets or you have any ideas on how to improve them please let me know. I'm thinking of continuing them for the projects that I post from now on. Thoughts?

thank you

:: Double-Bow Gift Topper project found in Home, Paper, Scissors ::

Congratulations to Allison W. and Meghan! The random number generator selected you as the winners of the copies of Home, Paper, Scissors.

Thank you to those of you that shared your recent projects and recipes. I'm jealous of all the crafty work that you're doing. My hands are getting antsy to try something myself.

As a very small thank you for all your support I made this free printable of two thank you cards. I hope that you'll be able to use them in sending anyone else in your lives a little note of gratitude. Download here.



Happy Wednesday!

holiday stationery for kids

I was on a roll and planning ahead so here is another holiday goodie. It'll probably be my last for a while, so fear not, I won't be bombarding you with more of these. I remembered the kids' tags that I started last year and decided to make a new holiday set. I did keep the snowflake though as a wistful reminder of winters long past. This Texas snow-less weather makes me sad for the kids. However as an adult I wouldn't look forward to the driving in snow thing.

Of course, in the 'real' retail world this would've been designed six months ago but in the time lines around here are off a bit. Ha! This new PDF set includes printable materials for four different letter-sized sheets (maybe for those lists), note cards (can be used as large gift tags), four small gift tag designs and a template for an envelope suitable for the note card (A2 size).



Yes, I did offer a similar set of tags as a freebie last year. Why are they in my shop this year? It's a long story and not a good one at that. I love sharing my work with all of you but there are those few that ruin things for everyone else. As you can tell, I don't want to go into detail because I've always considered my blog my happy place. I thought I'd mention this in case you were wondering about the change in 'philosophy'.

It is now obvious that I have revived my Etsy store again. I've stopped and started twice or three times before. I've never had that much luck with it. The stopping/starting probably doesn't help one bit. But I've always gotten noticeably more results through my regular site. I'm not sure what that means but I've decided that spending a bit of effort on Etsy won't hurt. This will be the last time I give it a shot (famous last words).



Speaking of holiday things. I'm in charge of coming up with a holiday craft for the kids to make during their Christmas party the last day of school before the break. For now I'm thinking that I want the kids to work on an ornament. I want it to last, so I'm not sure what material to use with just yet. I'll have to do a little craft research or come up with something myself. We shall see.

Gotta run. Little C has been home all day with a fever. Illness prone season has begun in this household. Yeah.

ready for summer parties

Happy Monday! I come bearing a small gift for everyone. The kids have been invited to some birthday parties throughout the summer so I thought I'd share the gift tags/cards that we're using to accompany our gifts. You'll find the download here. Enjoy!



Have a great week!

put it all in one place

I just realized that I never posted another idea I had for the pattern I used in my note card project. So here it is: a to-do list sheet. Click on the last link here for the download.

Thank you to Amanda for including in her article about 50 interesting Blogger design layouts. Link.

Now I'm off to work on the things on my list!