Christmas Place Mats for Kids - digital, printable

For those of you with kids, and a lot of holiday dinner plans with friends and family, here's an idea... printable colouring place mats for the kiddos (or easily bored adults ;)  I have two kids, and I know how fast they eat, and then how quickly they lose interest in being at the dinner table.  Why not have printable place mats (like they do at restaurants!). Have a cup of wax crayons at the table for the kids to share. 

I have created a few options for you, an 11 x 17 option (that you can get printed at any print shop), or a 8.5 x 11 option (if you are stuck and need a quick print at home!).   
Links to the PDF files are below each image! Enjoy and happy holidays.  

 

 

11" x 17" Elf in colour
11" x 17" Elf line only
8.5" x 11" Elf in colour
8.5" x 11" Elf line only

 

11" x 17" Woodland in colour
11" x 17" Woodland line only
8.5" x 11" Woodland in colour
8.5" x 11" Woodland line only

Spoonflower Winter Animals - fabric

I got my winter animal series done as throw pillows... and have the fabric available for sale on my spoonflower site, for those of you who sew :)

I envision these as the fronts with some fun geometric patterned back fabric, or maybe faux fur (in fun colours, maybe light blue for the polar bear?) I still have to sew mine (this one is just pinned to another pillow for the photo).  For those of you who know me, I am trying very hard to learn to sew, but it's a work in progress, eventually these will be my throw pillows!

They would also work well as shoulder bags as reusable shopping bags. They measure 16" x 16" (I chose this size because it's easy to find pillow inserts to fit this size (Walmart and Ikea both have them). 

Here are some close ups of a couple of the fabrics, I got these printed on Linen-Cotton Canvas. The print job and detail are terrific, I also love the texture of this fabric, something very natural feeling about these.

 Here's the spoonflower link again if you are interested! Feel free to send me pics of your sewing jobs too, I always love to see what you guys do with my fabrics!

Celeste

Advent Calendar - craft time

Happy December! Elliott and I made an advent calendar last week, to help us countdown to Christmas.  I made the cards out of card stock I had in the house, and Elliott decorated them with glitter, stickers and buttons (again, whatever we had kicking around the house!).

 

Elliott was very proud of his work, and couldn't wait until his big sister got home from school so she could see and share in the fun.  If you are not crafty there are lots of places you can get some really beautiful pattern or ready made calendars (check out Etsy, or if you are good at sewing there are lovely patterns at Spoonflower!)

In the pockets I like to to do something a little different. Sometimes there are treats for the kids (chocolate, or stickers or a small toy...like a lego man), and sometimes it's an activity we will do that day (bake a Christmas cake!). But because Christmas is not only about getting things (something I work really hard to teach the kiddos), at least 3 times a week the message in the calendar is something they do for someone else, for example...

- Bake cookies for a neighbour

- Complement 3 people today

- Write and mail a letter to a friend to tell them how special they are

- Make a small bag of donations for the shelter

- Hug everyone in your family

etc... you get the idea ;)

 

We love Christmas here, and try to make the most of out it for the entire month.  This is just one way we like to have fun with it.  Hope you all have a happy December, and take time to enjoy it throughout all the busy time that comes with it! 

Celeste

Halloween Treats - baked goods

Halloween is always fun with little ones. Now mine are old enough to be having Halloween parties! So I had to put my baking hat on and make some cookies for the kiddos.  For those who know me, I've been forced to get in touch with my domestic side since I've had kids ;) Not doing too badly for someone who never fit this definition (just don't look at my laundry room!). 

These cookies were actually a lot of fun. Once they were baked I just thought of them as tiny artworks instead of cookies and had a blast! The kids loved them too ;)

Celeste

Halloween Pumpkin icons - digital illustration

Happy Halloween everyone! Feel free to use these icons for your avatars if you want :) (Just click on the one you want and save to your computer!) Have a safe and fun Halloween! xo

(if you want to share the love please post where you got them! Always love to have new visitors to my page. Thanks! )

Celeste

 

Happy Valentine's Day! - digital

Enjoy this free Echo desktop wallpaper this Valentine's day. I wish you all a happy day surrounded by people you love! (click image to enlarge and save to your computer)

Celeste xo

 

Free Downloadable Christmas tags - paper, pencil, digital

I already  made a post about these tags, but now I am making a nicer one because I am also posting the link onto Tidy Mom's website . See this post there as well some some other treats from other creative people!  These are made to look like old letterpress gift tags. For best results print on a card stock. I've also pasted a red cardstock to the back to make it look nice, as well as a ribbon for tying it onto a package! These are free, click this link to save a 8"x11" version to your desktop. Enjoy and feel free to pass it along! 

Merry Christmas!

Tidy Mom

Free Printable Christmas labels - digital and pencil

I took a break from work stuff to make these Christmas labels. I wanted to play with texture and try to imitate the feel of a letterpress (which I love, but is expensive to do!) on the computer.  And now I am sharing with you! So if you need some Christmas labels feel free to use these! Just print them up and voila!
Merry Christmas!

 Céleste xo

With the new blogger format, just click on the image, it will appear larger on a black screen, just right click and view image then you can save it to your desktop. It's a page that is layed out to print on an 8.5" x 11" paper.

Free Draw! 

For those of you who love Echo, or are shopping for people who love Echo this is for you! For this week I am going to have a free draw for a 5" x 8" Echo print. All you have to do is leave a comment here on my blog, or like the post on my Facebook page (feel free to like the page too if you want! But I am only taking name that "like" the post on the draw because it's easier for me to keep track that way!)

These Echo prints are printed onto Hahnemuhle fine art Inkjet paper.  It's made with bamboo and cotton, is a warm white, archival grade acid free paper. Because it is bamboo paper it is also made out of a renewable resource so earth friendly too!

Mailed to you from Toronto, Canada in a protective cellophane sleeve and a non bending flat mailer to assure a safe delivery.

You can also visit my Etsy store if you'd like to just purchase a print, they are popular this year! Thank you all for your encouragement! xoxo

 

Confused Crocuses - photo and photoshop

Having a little fun with winter making it's second (...or is it third now?) comeback.

Added the last one just now, really these flowers are exaggerating just a little...!

Merry Christmas! - photo digital illustration

This years Christmas card! Hope you all  have a safe and Happy Holiday season!

Echo Christmas labels - digital illustration

Here are some Echo Christmas labels for you to use, just click the image for a large version (fits an 8.5" x 11" paper) You can print them on card stock, cut them out, and have unique labels for all your friends and family! Enjoy!

Echo Halloween Icons and Sticker page - digital illustration

Here are some free down loadable  icons and sticker page (last one will fit on a 8.5 x 11" page).

Click on icon to download a large version, or click on the smaller ones to get a page of "stickers". Just print on sticker pages and cut them out. Good for Halloween treats, or for use in classrooms!

Halloween stuff - digital illustration

I haven't posted for a while, I've been busy working on stuff that I can't post just yet!  Here is a little something I did for a client that I can show you. Check out her site at www.maplelea.com where you can buy a doll and lots of cool accessories.

Amélie and Elliott's Winter Wonderland - digital illustration

I did this project as a Christmas present for family. It's a 6 part illustration of my little ones, that makes one big winter scape.

December Echo Wallpaper - digital illustration

to download, just click on image and save to your desktop. enjoy!

Echo Christmas Tree - digital paper craft

Hi! Here is the free printable Echo Christmas tree. Just right click and save both pages #1 and #2 of the coloured tree, or the line art tree to put together.

The line art tree is for your colouring pleasure. Or for all you teachers or moms who want an easy activity for your kids!

Enjoy!