DIY Gratitude Tradition:

 

One tradition we have in our family, is the I LOVE YOU BECAUSE game. Each birthday, we go around the table, and say I LOVE YOU BECAUSE..... to the person we are celebrating! I love this tradition, and it's one that we bring to every birthday...regardless who is in attendance. I love it.

So forThanksgiving, I thought it would be fun to start a new tradition, and WEAR the reasons we are loved.

Each person gets as many feathers as there are people at the table.

Each person writes down what they are grateful for about that person.

Then, all the feathers are passed to the recipient, and they get to wear all the reasons people are grateful for them.

We often don't know why, specifically, people are grateful for us. This year, I'm making sure my kids know that everyone in their family is indeed....grateful for them.  And more importantly, why.

You can wear these, hang them, pin them, or make a piece of art.

Either way, I hope it helps us all take time to show gratitude for the people in our lives who mean the most to us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

God bless.

October 31

I have a print out for you, a sketch that I made a while back actually. But I never made it available for download, and now it is!

It prints out at standard paper size. It looks great in a frame, or maybe pinned to a surface. (The water mark is NOT on the print out, don't worry:)

Happy decorating!

I'm off to finish off putting Halloween costumes together. Any one have ideas on how to make a horse costume for my 3 year old? I've been persuading her to be something else, cause well, I have no clue how to make a soft horse costume. But looks like I'll be figuring it out tonight! She's not backing down:)

Lunch Notes

IMG_3914 copy

School lunches have started. We're having a lot of fun with them this year too! (We're bento boxing for the first time...any of you bento fans? I'm loving it!)

Anyways....my mother was an AMAZING school lunch mom. Looking back, and especially now that I'm packing lunches daily, it amazes me that she packed notes each school day for 20 years in all 5 kids lunches.

Ya. I'm living in a tough shadow:)

So now, I send my kids to school with a note every day too. On their napkin. But it's always in pictures (which are faster for me than words most often:)

And it's always rushed. (What? School mornings rushed?)

So I thought I'd start sending some more prepared little notes too. (We might actually get to school EARLY with these printed notes lying around for emergencies!)

Could you use some ?

I’ve made THESE PRINTABLE LUNCH BOX NOTES for you grab in the shop…180 ready to go illustrated and designed notes…as well as 72 blanks notes!

Or, feel free to download the free pages below! There are 2 pages of notes, and it’s great in a pinch!

lunch quote 2 sarah jane blog

FREE PRINTABLES

Happy lunch making:)

xo

sarah jane

OUT TO SEA BLOG TOUR: Milly the Mermaid Doll part 1

Hello lovely people!

Time for yet another free tutorial from my OUT TO SEA collection.

This mermaid was THE HIT of the booth...you should have seen the dramatic people over at Michael Miller come over to the booth JUST to show off this little doll and her detachable tail.

A.dor.a.ble.

Merrillee who blogs at MERMAG is a crazy talented illustrator and crafter, and she asked to use my fabrics for a pattern she is releasing!

She's so generously offering the doll pattern for free, with the doll clothing being offered as a PDF pattern at a discount for Sarah Jane readers tomorrow.

It's seriously the favorite toy at our house. I just love it!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE DOLL PATTERN

And stay tuned tomorrow for information on the mermaid outfit!

Thanks Mer! 

*All projects in the Out to Sea Blog tour are made especially for the OUT TO SEA Fabric Collection produced by MICHAEL MILLER Fabrics. Fabric will be shipping First week in August. For more information about the fabric visit this post or my stockists page on how to find the fabric!

Magnetic Paper Dolls

We interupt the hustle and bustle of getting a fabric debut and quilt market set ready.....(because frankly, I'm a little slap happy, and need a good play break) and bring to you....

More paper dolls! We love paper dolls at our house. And it's about high time that there were new ones for you!  I have never made magnetic paper dolls before (I know a lot of you do!) and now I'm hooked.

I printed them out onto magnetic printer paper, and voila! I guess you can also use magnetic craft paper and glue the doll down and cut out around the edges. This brings a whole new level to paper doll playing. Seriously. This is high tech.

I have a magnetic board for the kids where we post charts, and notes. But initially, the idea came to use a cookie sheet. Too bad I have the same cookie sheets since my bridal shower, and they are rather beat up and well loved. Not much magnetic stick left!

Magnetic dolls are so great, because they make it really fun and easy to "set" up. This collection has small little cups and treats that are fun to layer up and play with from a cookie sheet, or hanging magnetic board.

And here is a little doll and outfit FREE! The gingham blanket is so fun as a magnet:)

It's been forever since I've grabbed some Children at Play fabric to sew with. It was so nice to grab some of this again. Drawstring bags are a no-fuss sew, and now we can keep them off the floor:)

Have fun playing! I'm off to whirl and twirl and prep for another quilt market show! I'll be spilling the beans soon...but you know the drill. No peeking until it's done:)

FREE DOWNLOADABLE doll & outfit HERE

PURCHASE FULL TEA TIME PICNIC  HERE

Sing the song you were born to sing

Ashely Anne Photography has been a favorite blog of mine for a while. She is the one that posted this great tutorial of how to stitch over the LIVE YOUR LIFE ON PURPOSE print that I know so many of you have printed out and used. And I've been wanting to make more illustrated quotes now for a while, so when she asked me to illustrate a poster as a gift for those who donate money to the orphanage where her daughter is coming from in China, I jumped at the chance. You can read more about the project here. There are other prints for those who donate, all themed around the word "song." Beautiful and inspiring.

I came up with this phrase a while ago, while I was looking back on the paths I've take as well as the paths that I want to take. So often, when making decisions, I tend to look at those I know and love to see what has taken them down their roads. But in the end, I always take my own. We all do. It can be scary, not knowing what your particular road will be. Even though we forge ahead year after year, there are still moments when we have to step back and make sure we are making this the path that we were truly meant for. And it really is an adventure, isn't it?

And so there we go. Sing the song you were born to sing.

Thank you Ashley for bringing awareness to yet another great cause, and enjoy!

This print is 8 x 10. Print it out and pin it up...frame it....trace it and stitch it...whatever suits you! Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD PRINT HERE.

New Products, Sale & Huge Giveaway!

Wow! I have been working on this update for weeks and weeks. After the survey you filled out a couple months ago, I've taken to heart a lot of your suggestions. Poster size prints and framed prints were a #1 request. And they are now in the shop!

These poster sizes are amazing. See the shop for specifics, but now you can get giclee prints in larger sizes, as well as matt poster size prints. Do you remember this nursery that featured my art over the crib?  I'm pretty thrilled to think of full size art in rooms all over the globe. I'm smiling pretty big.

Folded cards are back...and now that's all I'm offering as far as cards go. I'm slashing the prices of my postcards to get rid of them! No more flat cards...all folded cards. Yummy.

I am most excited for this update. Framed prints!! Horray! No more buying prints and letting them sit around for months because you never get to finding a frame.

This also means that the calendar set that has been #1 best seller for nearly 4 years now can be mounted easy-peasy. Because it's a square image, you don't have to worry about searching high and low for a frame that fits!

I designed these frames specifically for the style of my art work...simple and fresh. You can also buy the frame empty if you still have unframed prints laying around. Eh-hem.

And the calendar card packs are back! They've been a #1 seller too, but have been out of stock while we've been rearranging a lot of things in the shop. 24 cards - 2 for each month.

And dun...dun...dun....

They're here! Finally. These have been a LABOR OF LOVE! While PDF's are great and easy to use, Iron-on transfers take the fuss out of harder to trace line work: like little eyes on faces and the sway of a dress. Since many of my images include figures, I've found that transfers are so much better for getting the lines "just right." These iron on super easy, and you can use the transfer up to 7 times!

NOW HERE'S THE FUN PART:

As part of this huge update, I'm also including some free stuff, some sales, and a GIVEAWAY!

Yes. Overkill. I know.

• All blank journals, bookplates and postcards are on clearance. Once they are gone, they are gone.  No more. They are priced to sell out, so get them fast!

• All orders that come in this week (July 19th-24th) will receive a free folded card of my choice. Think of it as a thank you card from me:)

• All orders that come in this week (July 19th-24th) will automatically be entered into the HUGEST giveaway I've ever had, when you use the code: #winsarahjane

3 WINNERS will receive:

4 yards of Children at Play Fabric

1 framed 8x10 print of your choice

3 packs of greeting cards

1 blank journal

1 pack of bookplates

And other little random surprises from the shop that I'll throw in for fun.

HERE'S HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

• Leave a comment below

• Make a purchase in the shop and enter the code #winsarahjane in the "note to seller" box at the time of check out. One order will equal one giveaway entry.

• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about all these new items in the shop as well as the giveaway with the hash tag: #winsarahjane

• Like me on Facebook and post about the new items or giveaway to your wall. Then leave a comment on my facebook post mentioning your post.

• Giveaway closes on Sunday July 24th, at 10 pm Eastern Standard time

So, the more you do, the more chances you have! To enter, you must comment. Everything after that just increases your chances!

Best of luck to you, and thank you so much for all your support! To offer my illustrations and designs to the world is really so fulfilling to me, and appreciate all your support! Your support is what helps me keep doing this, and allows me to stay at home with my kids.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

xo

sarah jane

{COMMENTS CLOSED! Winners will be announced on Tuesday!}

EDIT: Winners have been released! Stephanie, Tracey and craftymom2princessC are the lucky winners!

How I chose the winners: I compiled all the comments, tweets facebook entries and purchases with the code #winsarahjane, and numbered them all 1-829 taking great care to make sure everyone's entry was accounted for. I then used Random.org to generate 3 random numbers. Congrats to the winners, and thanks to you all for showing such awesome support.

Live Your Life on Purpose & Free PDF

Oh I just hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July...well, I guess if you are in the United States, that is. Isn't it amazing, the WWW? Sometimes I just have to marvel that this whole planet is connected and that we're all friends from the short distance of our computer screens. Amazing, really. I still can't get over it. Kinda like when you look at an airplane flying, and you find yourself thinking, "How does that work again?" But anyhow, it's just marvelous. Ok. I am going off on tangents...but really. Very cool.

Ok, so where was I? We did have a great 4th of July. According to my kids, the best yet. Here in Utah, it's spread out over like 4 days. I love it. It started out with sneaking on top of our roof while the kids were asleep, and watching an amazing firework show (some of the best in the country, really.) Well, it might have helped that I was sitting next to a very cute boy in the dark, mountain air on top of our roof at 10pm with a warm summer breeze blowing...all while promising me that I wasn't a dork for being terrified to climb back down again. Have I mentioned that I'm terrified of ladders? OK. I'm digressing again. But the weekend was full of family time: gardening, melting popsicles, sidewalk chalk, horseback riding, sparklers, family reunions, swim suits, cooking, swimming and paper hats. I love this time of year!

I've also had some time to just listen and step back a bit. I'll be honest. Really honest. When I had the (crazy) idea to start selling art prints out of our teensy-weensy apartment 3+ years ago, I really hoped it would grow and flourish and develop...but I could really only see one step ahead. I just wanted to do well with that first step. Well, that first step turned into a second, and into a third, and faster than I knew it, we were in a house with a basement dedicated to this little business that all the sudden isn't so little any more. Sometimes I look back and think, "How and when did that happen?" and other times, I know just how. It was inch by inch, row-by-row (Do you know that song? It's been in my head all week, and I just love that it's stuck there. Forgive the Muppets link.). But at the same time, I've had some time to wonder this month. I've wondered about motherhood. I've wondered about motherhood and business. I've wondered about motherhood and business and creativity and how that all bundles together and has figured itself out over time. I have moments where this is just a really fun ride and I can't get enough, and then I have moments where I wish there was a self help book called "How to be a designer and illustrator and mother of 3 with your own at-home business full of creative making which you blog about in the few spare moments when you should be meeting deadlines and still get clean underwear in your kid's dresser drawers before it's too late." That might be a really long title for a self help book. But I'd read it. Although, I have a feeling that if I read it, it would be reading my own thoughts...something in the voice of: Take each day at a time. Answers come while you are busy keeping your priorities. Listen to your kids. Work really hard. Love what you do. Create from your gut. Dream big. And do the laundry on time. But have a spare pack of underwear tucked away just in case.

{DOWNLOAD HERE}

I've been thinking a lot about this phrase this week. It's been on my mind and slowly changing me from the inside out. Sarah Jane Studios, in some ways, kinda happened by accident. It was happy accident, or an "on purpose" accident. And lately I've been asking myself the questions that have these kinds of answers. "Live your life on Purpose."

Just the mantra I needed.

Hope you like it too, cause you can download it here. It's a good thought. And it's sticking.

Happy July everyone! It's one of my favorite months...for a certain birthday kind-of reason:) Cake any one?

xo

sarah j.