Aloha

Ryan and I just made it home from our stay in Maui.

10 days

5 other couples {some of our closest friends}

0 children

It was delightful.

In honor of our beautiful vacation and the island we called home for the past week and a half, I’m dubbing this HAWAII WEEK. Each day I’ll share a little something from our Maui experience.

:: photos of our trip

:: our favorites of the island

:: food we ate {yum}

:: fashion

:: and the highlight moment of our vacation {at least for me}

Stay tuned …

indeed

My husband makes fun of me because every time a new holiday comes I adamantly declare that it is my favorite.

But Easter really is my favorite.

Christmas gets all the attention.  We spend months preparing, decorating, shopping for the beloved holiday. Christmas is great, don’t get me wrong.  And without Christmas we would not have Easter. But sometimes it gets a little carried away.

That is what I like best about Easter.

There isn’t a lot of fanfare with this one. No crazy parking lots filled with anxious shoppers. No long post office lines. No wishlists or shopping lists or holiday card lists.

Growing up, our Easters consisted of Easter basket scavenger hunts, Sandi Patti playing on the record player and fancy Easter dresses made by my mom. We ate breakfast {baked blueberry french toast} in the dining room with real cloth napkins and fresh flowers on the table.  We wore our new dresses to church then on to a big family gathering where the cousins overdosed on candy and dirtied our pretty pastel outfits.  Sometimes we did an Easter egg hunt, sometimes not.

But ALWAYS at some point in the day we heard:

“He is Risen!”

to which we answered back:

“He is risen, indeed!”

Did you grow up saying this too? Doesn’t it just make you smile? There is something so happy about that phrase. Spiritually, of course. But also the idea of a fresh start, new life, a sense of hopefulness and excitement that surrounds this time of year.

I was thinking about the phrase a few weeks ago and asked if Lindsay would create a print for us for this Easter season.

What she created is so beautiful – both in design and spiritual truth.  I am so excited to share her creations with you today.

Because sitting down for breakfast at a special table is a favorite memory of mine, I decided to set a few Easter tables of my own {using Lindsay’s artwork as inspiration}.  There are lots of do-it-yourself ideas here as well as simple ways to set a pretty table. Perhaps it can inspire your Easter decorations this year.

{P.S. Before setting these tables, I had to google ‘how to set a table’. That’s how fancy I am.}

linen + white + industrial basket + vintage glassware

and the perfect little place cards

printed paper + ribbon-tied napkin + coordinating chocolates in a pretty dish

with a lovely print to send home with each guest

fresh flowers + pretty china + playful polkadots

paper plates + candy appetizer + crepe paper flower

a name tag tied to a flower makes a special party favor

. . . . . . . . . . .

So does that give you any ideas for your Easter table?

If you would like to use Lindsay’s artwork as part of your decoration, we have put together a great collection for you.

This is a printable file with each of these designs in all three colorways {teal, green, navy}.

You can print as many as you need, give them as gifts or use in your own home.

. . . . . . . . . . .

table setting sources

Happy Easter!

free printable valentines

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be an artist, a talk show host, or a window dresser {you know, those people who create the displays for department store windows}.

Funny thing is, I sort-of pretend to be all of these now that I am a grown up. I record videos of myself for JDC | monthly and even though it is super dorky, I feel a bit like Elisabeth Hasselbeck on a craft segment. I make little displays of products to photograph and pretend to be a stylist. And every once in a while, I pull out my watercolors and indulge the artist dream.

A few weeks ago, I was feeling creative and started painting. These valentines are what came out. I think they are pretty cute.

{sweet love}

{love birds}

{ombre}

{pair} this one is my favorite!

To download these four designs, please subscribe to JDC via email. As a subscriber, you will receive blog posts, occasional extra notes and promotions with discount codes directly to your email inbox. It is sort of convenient. Plus you get free valentines. Sounds like a deal to me!

 

{please check your email inbox to confirm your address and the link will be sent to you}

If you are already a JDC email subscriber, check your email … the download link is waiting for you!

P.S. If you want additional printable valentines {for you or your kids}I have a great selection in the shop.

Purchase just one file for $2.95 or all nine for $7.95.

Click the image above to go to the shop.

share the love

There is something so sweet about taking a day {or month, really!} to celebrate something as wonderful as love.

Valentine’s Day is commercial … yes, I agree … but it is special, too.

It gives us an excuse to bake a cherry pie

 to serve our kids pink milk and pie crust cookies for an after school snack

to sip hot cocoa with heart-shaped marshmallows out of a dainty teacups

and indulge in frosting covered cupcakes.

It encourages us to send our loved ones handwritten notes

and deliver prettily packaged treats to our friends.

I like that Valentine’s Day has turned February into the month of sharing the love.

I was inspired by Valentine’s Day when creating the JDC | monthly february collection.

It is full of red, pink, whimsical flowers and fancy writing.

And is available now.

To receive these printable goodies, and new ones each month, you are invited to join JDC | monthly. It is just $7.99 per month {your first month is free!}.

{to learn more, please click here}

merry christmas

So here we are … just one week until Christmas. It seems like the lead up takes forever, and then suddenly it is upon us.

My babes are nearly out of school and we are looking forward to a nice Christmas vacation spent with family, hopefully some snow and lots and lots of treats.

I am not quite finished with gift-shopping, gift-making or gift-wrapping. Hopefully this will be a very productive week!

image

I’m hoping to make a version of this sweet blankie for my baby doll loving niece.  And probably some miniature burp cloths too.

zig zag

image

The boys’ teachers are receiving personalized mugs that we made using this tutorial and my favorite fancy font. They turned out so great and were really quite simple to make.

image

zig zag

I have a few more batches of the yummiest sea salt caramels to make {and consume}.

image

zig zag

I’d like to wrap my gifts like this:

image

{diy printables from armommy}

and this:

image

{colorful monograms from martha stewart}

and maybe do a few with melted flowers and rolled fabric for embellishment like this:

image

{via prettypetals}

zig zag

I think this is such a clever way to create a time capsule and we’ll be doing this project when the kids are out of school.

image

zig zag

I’m putting the finishing touches on the January collection for JDC | Monthly. If you are already a member, you will receive your january link on the 22nd.

If you’d like to start your new year out in an organized {and pretty} fashion, JDC | monthly is a great way to do it. You can learn more here.

zig zag

I purchased this adorable nutcracker puppet theatre and need to have the boys help me assemble {and play}.

image

Sara Jane Studios has a really great Nativity paper doll set and coloring pages too.

image

zig zag

I love this time of year and am trying to cherish each moment with our little ones.  But I’ve got to be honest and say that amidst the projects, the shopping, the entertaining and busyness of the holiday season, my kids have not been my top priority.   It is time for me to take a break from my computer and spend a little more time just being a mommy.  So I’m going to hop off of the blog for a week or two, close my office doors and take this Christmas vacation to hang out with the family, indulge my creative side and let my babes know how important they are to me.

May you have a joy-filled Christmas with your loved ones.

our family

Related Posts with Thumbnails
Page 1 of 512345
© Copyright Jones Design Company - Thanks for visiting! | Hosted by DreamHost | Powered by WordPress.org | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use