Category » holidayJones Design Company

Feb

08

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.

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Posted by emily | 24 comments

Jan

24

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}

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Posted by emily | 24 comments

Dec

19

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!

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

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.

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

I’d like to wrap my gifts like this:

{diy printables from armommy}

and this:

{colorful monograms from martha stewart}

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

{via prettypetals}

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.

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.

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

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

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

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Posted by emily | 33 comments

Dec

12

the stockings are hung {our house tour}

monogram on front door

Have you seen all of the gorgeously decorated homes around blogland? It has been so fun to see how each person fluffs their house for Christmas. Today I thought I’d share our home with you.

There are plenty of photos ahead, so I’ll keep the words to a minimum. Enjoy!

entry

entry table

chair in snow

christmas package

bath roses with paper flowers

living room

nutcrackers

living room 2

christmas packages

the sofa

garland

coffee table

fire place

living to piano

piano

kitchen

kitchen to dining

jdc art print

cake plate

candy canes

hot cocoa

o holy night

dining room

christmas tree

Merry Christmas from our {finally} decorated home to yours!

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Posted by emily | 91 comments

Dec

09

the nativity set

We have a small nativity set that my aunt gave to our family several years ago. I put it out with our christmas decorations each year, but it is usually placed up high out of the reach of our children as it is breakable and they are, well, kids.

But I decided this year to put the nativity lower. Within reach. Surrounded by teensy flakes of snow. I fully expected that the boys would take interest in it and that there would probably be snowflakes all over the place, but I didn’t really anticipate what my no. 2 did yesterday afternoon.

First, he rearranged all of the figurines so that they were in a tight circle around baby Jesus. He fixed the snow so it was just right and stood staring at it for a short time.

Next, he went to the table and started a little craft. I thought nothing of it. He has a short attention span and moves from activity to activity like a whirlwind.

Only later did I realize that my sweet boy’s craft time consisted of taping a star to the amaryllis plant.

Because every nativity scene needs a star.

“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

“the magi went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2

It is hard to find ways to keep our focus on the reason we celebrate Christmas. I love the carols, the lights, the shopping and decorating, the baking and parties. I even love santa. But most of all, I love Jesus. And I want so badly for my children to love him too.

My son making a star for the manger scene tells me he gets it. In his own six-year-old way, he cared enough about the story to make it right.

When I saw that star, I was overjoyed.