He who promised is faithful! {Free Spring Printable}

I recently worked on a fun project for friend, Heather Fignar @ heatherfignar.com. She was invited to speak at a women's retreat on the shore and was looking for something lovely to give the women as a takeaway from the weekend. So we came up with these beautiful art prints! (We always do our best work together!) She blogged about the importance of this truth here and, as always, her words are spot on.

Go on on over and read it! Or, if you have found yourself over here at Lovely Dwelling Design from Heather's blog, let me first say a big welcome! You can get this beautiful free download below after signing up for LDD's monthly newsletter.

GET YOUR FREE PDF DOWNLOAD {Hebrews 10:23}
This download includes 4 color choices and is available for your personal use.

As always, God's timing is perfect. Through the unexpected struggles, decisions and unknowns of the past few weeks, this verse was there as that gentle and quiet reminder that God's got this!  

He is trustworthy, and He is faithful! I've tasted and seen the reality of His faithfulness through His provision, His comfort, His Word and His people this week.

 Where have you experienced His faithfulness recently?

Blessings,
Erin

Hello, Love. {Download your Friday Freebies}

What better way to welcome in the month of February than with some darling freebies?!

I receive love notes from my sweet 5-year-old son almost daily. And I'm loving the the idea of writing love notes to my boys. Use these adorable little cards to count the reasons why you love each member of your family. Clip a note to a little frame in their rooms, or slip it in their lunch for an encouraging note at school.

My oldest will keep every. single. note. ever. written. So I'm in search of a creative storage solution for all these precious notes!

This February, we plan to clip these up on our chalkboard wall in our kitchen or our burlap bulletin board for a little holiday decor.

Ready, set, start downloading!

"I Love You Because" Note Cards

I Love You Because | Blue/Green PDF

I Love You Because | Coral/Peach PDF

I Love You Because | Pink PDF

Hello Love Art Printable

Our "Hello Love" art printable is also a free 8x10 PDF download to get you ready for Valentine's Day. Isn't this font gorgeous?! I'm a tiny bit obsessed, if you hadn't noticed.

Hello Love | Art Printable

All downloads are for personal use only. 

Happy Valentine's Day!
Erin

One More Thing, Please!

We beginning to build a mailing list as a better way to inform YOU just as soon as freebies and new products or collections are released on our blog and in our shop. This is THE BEST WAY for you not to miss out. But I PROMISE you will only receive 1-2 emails a month from me, because that's all I have time for!

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P.S. Please go check out what's new in our shop. Don't see exactly what you are looking for? Contact us for customization.

{5 Days of Giving Handmade} Day 3: Win TWO exclusive Isaiah 9:6 Tree Prints

It's Day 3 of our 5 Days of Giving Handmade series. I'm so ready for a new day after yesterday's craziness. How about you?

Today's giveaway comes from a recent blog post of Christmas freebies. And yes, it's still a great giveaway! This is one of my favorite Christmas designs. I'm on staff at a church, and I designed this as a free Christmas printable go along with our Advent series last year. So that means I can give it away, but you will never be able to find it in my shop.

I'm hearing that so many friends just aren't equipped or motivated to print at home or send a file out to a vendor. So if that describes you, then you need to enter this giveaway!

DAY 3: Isaiah 9:6 Christmas Tree Art Print by Lovely Dwelling Design

We're giving away (2) Isaiah 9:6 prints as a set: (1) 8x10 and (1) 5x7. We have printed this lovely design on natural speckle tone card stock. Just gorgeous! These prints make great gifts, so start thinking of someone who would enjoy it just as much as you!

AND THIS IS DEFINITELY YOUR DAY because we're making it even easier for you by giving you more chances to enter our giveaway drawing! LIKE our Facebook Pages, SHARE our giveaway post on Facebook and FOLLOW us on Instagram to earn entries in today's drawing. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

ENTER GIVEAWAY NOW

Christmas art prints make unique and thoughtful gifts. Who do you know who would love one?

Thanks in advance for liking, sharing, and following!
Erin + Paula

@Gray_Frames_Design

@LovelyDwellingDesign

#lovelygraygiveaway

Free Tools to Prepare for Christmas + Gift GIving Ideas

We kick off the holiday season in two days. Two. Days. I didn't create anything new for my shop or blog this year. I had so many ideas and plans. But then I paused for Thanksgiving. And now Christmas is upon us. I'll just save those ideas away for next year.

In contrast, last November I was very productive in the area of Christmas printables. It was so much fun! In collaboration with a friend and coworker we created some amazing, free resources for the Advent season. All you need is a printer and card stock, or a friendly Staples Copy & Print employee. Mine knows me by name! (Upload the file to their website and pick up your order the next day.)

These sets of Advent Countdown cards were part of a craft kit created for women at our church who hosted Christmas Open Houses in their homes with their neighbors last year. I love these so much! They are perfect for a simple Open House craft, or for making up a small gift for a neighbor, teacher, or friend as we kick off the holiday season.

Download Advent Countdown cards.
Step-by-step guide to creating this Advent Countdown craft.
Download the entire hostess kit on Amy Lively's site How to Love Your Neighbor.

This Isaiah 9:6 Christmas printable is one of my absolute favorites, and we made it available on our church website during Advent last year. I gifted 5x7 prints to teachers, MOPS childcare workers and relatives. It looks absolutely stunning printed on bright white linen or recycled speckle tone card stock. {Trust me, it's all in the paper quality!} This printable is available in three sizes.

Isaiah 9:6 Christmas Tree | 4x6
Isaiah 9:6 Christmas Tree | 5x7
Isaiah 9:6 Christmas Tree | 8x10

One last idea I ran across just the other day... We have a Jesus Storybook Bible and my boys love reading out of it at night. {This Bible would make a great child's gift!} Each story in both the Old and New Testament points to Jesus. The illustrations are beautiful. Faith Gateway is offering a free Advent Printable, which includes illustrations from the book, and an Advent Reading plan. Go here to download the printable and reading plan. I'm really looking forward to using this reading plan and decorating with the illustrations this year!

Besides the fact that they are all free, the best part about these printable ideas is that they are all Scripture and all point to Jesus, bringing our hearts right back to the reason for Christmas. I know I need that reminder daily as my attention is constantly diverted to the lesser important things of this world.

For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And his name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

{I am Thankful for} Free Printables + Scripture Memory Card Collection

The world of social media appears to be skipping right over Thanksgiving. You've probably seen it too: 'Halloween's over, so it's time to put the Christmas tree up...' Some years I would be all for getting a jump start on the Christmas season,  but I'm not jumping on the bandwagon this year. Maybe it's the 70 degree weather this week or the fact that my husband loves Thanksgiving and I love him ...

Spending time reflecting on God's goodness and His blessings is just too important for the health of my soul to neglect it in exchange it for prolonging the frenzied chaos of the Christmas season. Of course Christmas is ultimately about God's goodness to us through His greatest gift, but it's often hard to cling to that reality as the world competes for our attention at Christmastime.

I hope you will consider taking a week or two to pause, reflect and be grateful, setting yourself up for a Christmas season that's all about the gift of a Savior. I've created some tools to help my family and I hope they will benefit yours as well. 

A sweet friend photographed our "Thankful" Tag Free Printable (2x4, 4x4) and our newly added Scripture Memory Card, Thankful Collection in her home for a little inspiration on creatively reflecting on our blessings and expressing gratitude. By the way, I blogged about this friend here.

This first one just might be my favorite because it's so simple and inviting! 

Or decorate a wreath with Scripture....

On a burlap board, mix your own thoughts written on our  2x4 or 4x4 "I am Thankful for" free printable with our Scripture Memory Card, Thankful Collection.

Scripture Memory Cards are printed on beautiful high quality linen card stock and make the perfect gift set, Thanksgiving table favors, or simply a reminder for the refrigerator, bathroom mirror, in your car. You could even use them to write a short note of encouragement on the back for a friend. The Scripture Memory Card, Thankful Collection is available as a set of 16 or as an instant download (8 verses) to print on your own.

Download your free printables and please share a picture showing us how you use them this month. Tag @lovelydwellingdesign on Instagram or post to Facebook.com/lovelydwellingdesign.

*These printables are for personal use only.

I also plan to use tour "I am thankful for" 2x4 printable to decorate a Thankful Tree. Follow @lovelydwellingdesign on Instagram for more inspiration.

~Erin

More fall posts: 

Fall Leaves and Letters Printable

Thankful Tree and Printable 

Fall Mantle + First Birthday

DIY Preschool Valentines via Pinterest {A peek at what we created}

I'm excited to share with you a few snapshots of our first-ever DIY Preschool Valentines! But wait, before you start thinking I went way overboard or feel guilty that you didn't make yours, you need to remember three things.

 1. I like being crafty. A project that I can complete myself and bless someone with
     energizes me. Plus, these were very simple and I did not come up with these myself.
 2. My boys go to a candy-free preschool, hence running to Pinterest for non-candy ideas.
 3. It would have shattered me to watch Levi pick out Spiderman Valentines at CVS.
      {He didn't know that they existed, but I have a feeling he knows now and I'll hear all
      about it when he gets home from school today!}

So, here are our creations, with the help of some great printables I found on Pinterest.

Teacher Valentines. We have about 10 teachers/staff between the two boys, including school day, lunch bunch, after school, etc. When I saw EOS lip balm printables I knew I had to do them, because I'm a little obsessed with EOS myself. And who wouldn't want an extra lip balm this time of year? Fortunately, I learned that Costco sells these in packs of 5 for about $11 each, so I sent my husband to the store to pick them up last night.

In deciding between the two printable options the night before, I chose the one with the fewest steps. I skipped the cellophane, wrapping, tying and attaching a tag. This one only involved the tag and a 1 1/2" circle punch, which I already owned. After punching, unscrew the balm, slip the tag in between and re seal the balm.

Printable from triedandtrueblog.com on Eighteen25.

 

God's Love Bubbles Over Valentines for Silas' class Valentines were my favorite. Two year olds LOVE bubbles and it's a perfect way to share God's love with friends. 

 I might have done these for both boys if I hadn't found the Lego movie idea.

Confession: I forgot to assemble these on Monday night and woke up Tuesday morning in a panic. {Silas only goes to school on Tuesdays} My husband helped me tie the tag onto the bubbles before running out the door to work. He's amazing.

Printable from a cool Christian community of moms I just discovered called
NotConsumed.com. Sign up to download more free resources with your email address.

 You Are Awesome Lego Movie Valentines were posted by a friend on Facebook. Because I'm a little bit crazy, I took two free printable ideas and Photoshopped them together to come up with this. I ordered Lego guy crayons on Amazon that fit right into my 3"x4" bags along with the tag and wrote classmate's names on the labels that I used

to close the bags. 

And, of course, my 4-year-old's contribution was signing his name and
reading the list of his friends to me.

Lego Movie printable here.

Carrieelle.com

So there they are! Did you blog about DIY Valentines or come across a really fun idea? Please share your creations below!

Here are our 2014 Thumb {bodies} Love You Valentines.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Freebies {Part 1, DIY Love iPhone Cover}

I'm so excited about Part 1 of my series of "Love" Freebies for Valentine's Day!

Back in November I upgraded my smartphone to an iPhone and began searching for a nice looking cover. I wanted something fun and stylish but didn't really want to commit to anything expensive as my tastes tend to change on a whim. So I opted for a clear cover that was on sale at Staples for $10 — with the intention of putting my own design inside the cover.

Fast-forward to February and I finally got around to giving it a try! It literally took me 10 minutes or less. I found a tutorial and template online, printed it out, trimmed it, cut a hole for the camera and inserted it into my case. When my husband saw it, he asked me when I bought a new iPhone case. Score!! He thought I spent money on it!

My gift to you is a template to create a Love-themed cover for your iPhone 4s, iPhone 5 or Android phone. All you need is a color printer, a sheet of card stock or matte photo paper (that's what I used), and a clear phone cover. Then follow the directions on the PDF. It's really as simple as trimming and inserting it inside your case.

Download your templates for iPhone 4s, iPhone 5 or Android.

If you aren't into making a custom phone case, don't worry! I've have some more freebies and printables lined up for this week. Please subscribe to my blog by typing your email address into the box to the right so these goodies will show up in your inbox!

Enjoy!
Erin

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Take 25% off any print in my shop. (LOVE25) Offer ends Wednesday, February 5 at 12 a.m.

Proverbs 31 {And a Simple Mother's Day Gift}

As I design these new prints, I am humbled because this Proverbs passage doesn't always describe me. In fact, if I'm being honest, it really doesn't describe me at all. But it's something I can aspire to be (through Christ). And I couldn't help but think about two women who do reflect this passage. 

My mom is the definition of Proverbs 31. As a wife and mother she is hardworking, resourceful, gifted, selfless, loving, a woman of God. We don't get to see each other as often as we would like. But she has still managed to be there in life's most important moments – like the the birth of my two precious boys. And even the less important ones – Sending the best packages in the world...sometimes for no reason! Sharing recipes and cooking tips (which I need often!) Commiserating over a rotten day. Taking calls at 2 a.m. when Tommy is away and I'm awake. Yes, she answers her phone even then! And of course Facetiming with my kiddos. She has always believed in me and cheered me on and I am so thankful for that!

The other woman is a dear friend named Anita. She is a wife and mother. Anita was a very important part of my life for a season while we were coworkers. She was an amazing encouragement when I was about the become a new mother and was anticipating life change. Through our conversations, she always pointed me back to God and His truth and taught me the importance of prayer for our children. I saw firsthand how that played out in her life and witnessed answers to prayer that today I can look back on say, wow, God's hand was in that!

Right now, my mom a thousand miles away in Iowa cheering on my youngest brother (a junior in high school) at soccer games and taking care of the family farm and Anita is sitting in a hospital room in Farmington fighting leukemia with a smile on her face. "She is clothed in strength and dignity. She can laugh without fear for the the future." Proverbs 31

I am blessed to have so many more than just these two godly women in my life. And I hope and pray that I will become a wife and mother like each of them.

So, here's a very simple gift you can give your mother this year. It really only took me 10 minutes to put together.

What you need:
Print (5x7 or 8x10, available here for digital download)
Frame
Patterned scrapbook paper
Solid scrapbook paper
Adhesive
Paper cutter

1. Choose a frame. If you're like me, you already have a few sitting around that can be repurposed for this kind of project. I chose an 8"x10" white frame. If you want to get crazy, you could even spray paint your frame a different color.

2. Grab your favorite patterned 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper. (The largest amount of time was spent raiding my very unorganized craft closet for paper. I'm a paper hoarder, so I knew I had to have something that would work.)  Cut the paper to fit the frame.

3. Then choose a solid colored paper. (I literally chose the first color I could get my hands on.) Cut this paper to matte your print. Since I chose a 5x7 print, the matte is 5.25x7.25.

4. Glue/tape the print to the matte and the matte to the patterned background. Then place in the frame and enjoy or give as a gift! Simple! (Because something in life has to be!)

Two prints based on Proverbs 31 are available for purchase as prints or as a download here. They are 25% off through May 5.