Amazing Raffle to fight cancer & free teacher printable

My good friend Jen is a big supporter of Relay for Life / American Cancer Society, in memory of her late husband Chris York. This sweet little girl is their beautiful daughter. 

Check out this blog. Jen and her "Team York" put together an AMAZING raffle to raise money for Relay for Life / American Cancer Society. They have amazing prizes including $300 amazon gift card, $100 Destinations Inn gift card, $50 Target gift card, $50 Olive Garden gift card, and many others, including a family drawing or cards from me (okay, okay, I know maybe a $300 amazon gift card is just a tiny bit cooler than a doodle from me, but I'm excited to be a part of it). All it takes is $10 to enter!! The blog explains how to enter and all the prizes.

RAFFLE ENDS MAY 15TH . . . HURRY!!

Here is a little bit more about my wonderful friend Jen!

I met Jennifer in high school and she was just awesome. Can't say enough good things about her, I occasionally bumped into her at college but I lost track of her for several years. During this time she met a great guy, Chris York and they married. I am guessing their life was like regular newly weds, great excitement thrown in with "Will you please pick up your socks once in a blue moon." At some point their life changed dramatically when Chris was diagnosed with brain cancer. They gave it a great fight and during this time they had a beautiful baby girl. Chris lost his fight with cancer when his baby girl was only a few months old.

This is when I caught up with Jennifer again. She has been helping with Relay for Life in behalf of her husband for several years now, and I am so proud of her!

This story has a pretty great part 2. Jennifer later met another great man named Steven Andrew and they married and recently they added another beautiful baby girl to their family. 

I love you tons Jennifer, you have always been a rock, but I think through your life experiences you must be one awesome and beautiful rock now. 

Take a look at this blog link where Jennifer and her "Team York" put together some awesome prizes for a raffle. Even if this wasn't for Jennifer I would still donate for these way cool prizes, and to help American Cancer Society - 100% of the money raised will go to American Cancer Society. The blog explains everything.

http://www.relayforliferaffle.blogspot.com/

Best of luck Jennifer!!

Teacher appreciate week was this week, or maybe last week, whoops. But also the end of the school year is winding down. Here is a picture I put together last year for my daughter's teacher. Here is the original post.

 (Click on image and save to your computer) 

I found this original art work (the beautiful wording) at www.bitsycreations.com. I asked permission to add my little doodle to the bottom, but still kept her logo. 

Here is her free printable. Take a look at her website and blog.  She has amazing work. 

I put mine in a 5x7 frame. 

Print this on regular computer paper or card stock and then trim down so you have two 5x7s. (Click on image and save to your computer)

Can't thank my children's teachers enough. Their world is so small - mom, dad, grandmas, grandpas, cousins, a few friends . . . and then their teacher. My FAVORITE thing my daughter's teacher taught her this year was "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit." She started saying it when her brother would complain about dinner. Aww, how I love that line and how it means so much because it came from HER teacher. THANK YOU TEACHERS!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! 

My little one is 7 months old and she still loves to wake up several times at night. Oh it's quite awesome, let me count the ways. I'm awake just long enough to have a hard time falling back asleep. This results in eating delicious PB&J sandwiches at 2am and  . . .  honestly I can't remember what I do. Maybe read, sometimes surf the web, fold laundry . . . ha ha, just kidding, I would never fold laundry - that is truly a necessary evil. It's like working at the post office, it just keeps coming and coming. 

But I found this wonderful little nugget. 

I loved this video so much that I decided in the middle of the night to make my own Mother's Day card.

I'll admit it, the first line in the video (accompanied with the newborn cry) had me in tears.

I've loved lots of people in my life . .  wonderful, amazing people . . . my parents, siblings, friends that felt like sisters, and then my quite awesome husband. 

But that instant love for my child was nothing I had experienced before.

 These 3 cuties each hold a chunk of my heart. 

The last line of the video is the best 

"Life doesn't come with a manual,

it comes with a Mother." 

So happy Mother's Day to all my friends, 

and especially to the dear mothers in my life, 

My mom - every good quality I have I owe to her.

My wonderful mother-in-law- who everyone loves to be around. 

And my sweet grandmas who are no longer here on earth with us, but I think of and miss daily.  

And happy Mother's Day to my sweet, hilarious, crazy wonderful children who each made me a mother. I sure love you, even when I wake up with my left eye twitching from sleep deprivation. :)

A birthday note for my mom

Yesterday was my mom's birthday, and so naturally I have been thinking about her. If you want to learn more about this wonderful lady here is a post I wrote about her last year for her birthday.

This is a bit longer post than normal but this lady is a bit more special than most.

At bed time my children always ask for a story, not a make-believe story, oh no, they want a real story, but not about me, they have grown tired of my awesome stories about my heroics and adventures.  What do they want? They want stories about their Grandma growing up on the ranch. From the bull chasing her and pinning her little brother, to the pitch fork in her sister's foot, to playing in the creek. They are fantastic stories, that I use to beg to hear, heck, even now I love to hear them. 

However there was a downside to this. Because my mom grew up on a ranch that meant she knew how to work, and oh how she could work circles around us. If we were lazy and whining she would let us know that we were "soft city kids" that didn't know what real work was. Yes my mom knew how to work and taught me "Get your hands dirty, you can always wash them afterwards." Thank you mom for teaching me to work hard.  

Now my mom knew how to work, but she is also the kindest, most happy person you will meet. She saw the best in everything and always saw a positive side. She was always kind, especially in the grocery store. We actually dreaded going to the store with mom because she took forever. We would think "Just go in, get the groceries and get out mom!" But oh no, she knew the cashiers names and asked about their families. She always told young moms with rowdy children that they were doing a marvelous job and that children grow too fast. She helped grandmas reach high things on the shelves and made us carry their groceries to the car for them. My mom never thought of it as service, it's just what you do. 

She was our cheerleader. I remember coming home stressed and overwhelmed because I had studied and studied but was probably only going to earn a B in one of my science classes (oh how I hated science). My mom looked at me said, "What is wrong with a B? B's are mighty fine, you be proud of that B!" And I was, darn Chemistry. 

Many of the wonderful things my mom did were small things that I didn't notice until I had children. My mom didn't own many things of physical value, she sacrificed so many things because her children were her greatest treasure. If we needed a vase for a school project she would grab her nice vase and say "Here use this." Anything except her nice Tupperware, don't touch her good Tupperware. :) 

For my mom's birthday I drew this picture for her showcasing her & my dad's greatest treasures . .  move over children, the grandchildren (17 to be exact) have stolen their hearts. 

At the beginning of the school year my daughter, who is in first grade, came home with a pamphlet about building confidence in children. I skimmed over it but stopped when I read "How to encourage your child." It said to say something kind or encouraging before your child leaves for school so they start the day on a good note and to maybe leave a note in their lunch box so they read something uplifting in the middle of the day. I just grinned and thought "Did my mom write this?" That is exactly what she did. My mom would write little notes on our napkins with a little doodle and put them in our lunch boxes. Oh how I loved them. I can't remember any one in particular but they always made me smile or laugh. I had forgotten all about that. That next day I started drawing on my daughter's napkins, and slipping them in her lunch box. I look forward to it every morning. After a few weeks I finally remembered to ask my daughter if she ever read them, and she said with a big grin, "Yep! I like them. My friend Liz (name has been changed) asked her mom to write notes on her napkins because she likes mine so much." Oh ya, I cried. I called my husband at work in tears and told him "I actually did something good today." It was the best mom moment I have had in a long time, and who do I owe it to . .  my mom. 

My friend shared a video about a dad drawing on his children's sandwich bags. Check it out here. It's fantastic!

Every mom is different, maybe she doesn't draw on your lunch napkins, but I am betting she puts your needs above her own because she loves you. I bet she thinks about you more than you know. So let your mom know you love her, maybe sneak a note in her lunch box. 

Happy Birthday Mom. I sure love you!

Fireman family & knight in shining armor

A little while ago I worked with my good friend Dana from MyPoshDesign to make this Big Brother print. I drew the knight in shining armor and Dana designed the subway art. You should check out her work here, she is pretty awesome! 

If you would like to order this digital print check out my etsy shop here. You can also order it from her shop too. (Nice high resolution when you purchase it)

I love this poem! I have 4 brothers that I admire and love, and while they may have teased and tortured me growing up I secretly wanted to be just like them. You can read more about these brothers here. 

The person we made the Big Brother print for liked it so much that she came back and asked me to draw her family. What a sweet family she has, I absolutely loved drawing this picture. 

Queen of Tidy

My good friend Sarah started a blog about cleaning called Queen of Tidy. She asked me to draw her blog header. I am excited about how it turned out. She has great tips on cleaning products, daily routines, and her secret crush on Full House clean-freak Danny Tanner. 

She has inspired me to pick up my game. I use to think I was pretty good at cleaning, at least leaps and bounds above my poor cooking skills. But the other day I was doing dishes, wiping the counters off and my little boy asked, "Who coming over mommy?" Oops, I guess my kids only see me frantically cleaning when I know someone is coming over.

When I replied that no one was, and that I was just cleaning, my little girl then said, "Oh, good job mom, you should give yourself a card." I still don't know if she was sincere or showing off her sarcastic humor. 

So if you are looking for a little push in the right direction, or are already a clean freak check out Queen of Tidy here. 

P.S. Sarah is just as cute as this stick figure, actually probably more. 

Animal love cards

I adore Valentine's Day. 

I know, I know some don't like it, but I think it's a wonderful day. 

Growing up I didn't have lots of boyfriends . . or really any. 

Embarrassing fact, my husband was my first boyfriend, and last. :)

So yep, there were many, actually every Valentine's Day before my husband, that I sighed just a little because there were no extravagant flowers or gifts sent to me. So why oh why did I love Valentine's Day?

Two Reasons

1. Elementary school Valentine's Day parties are the BEST! Picking out your Valentine's Day cards, choosing who to give which card to, decorating your Valentine's Day box, and then carefully combing through all the Valentine's Day cards from classmates deciding if someone secretly liked you. :)

and second reason. . . 

2. Because I had a sweetheart mom who always left the best Valentine's Day notes in our room when we came home from school. Just a simple note with a Valentine's treats. I don't think I ever told her this but I looked forward to that every year, especially in jr high and high school. I still have some of her notes. 

So while Valentine's Day is a great day to tell my sweetheart I love him (check out my Valentine's Day cards for your special someone here), 

I actually love the holiday more because it is a special day to tell my children I love them in writing, and pass on my mom's tradition. 

These would be great for all friends and family!!

"I love you" means a lot. . . but "I love you a TON" like an elephant ton, 

means even more!

(Etsy Shop link)

Not quite ready to say "I love you" to someone, how about "I like you a TON!"

Same for this cute hippo!

(Etsy Shop link)

Hey "I like you a TON!" means a lot too. I love hippos. 

I am wild about this giraffe.

(Etsy Shop link)  

One of the best songs.

 Mr. Zebra, you are pretty cool.

(Etsy Shop link)

"I love you . . .  and all your STRIPES"

 Giraffes LOVE

(Etsy Shop link)

 Maybe an assortment of cards?

(Etsy Shop link)

These cards sell in sets of 5. Just want one? Send me a message and I will get you info for just one card. 

I try to share most of my doodles for free, so here are some elephant Valentine's Day cards. They could be used for your child's Valentine's Day party, or a little note you leave in their room telling them you love them . . . a TON! 

I included "I love you a TON" and "I like you a TON". Wouldn't want certain kids in the classroom to get the wrong idea, Valentine's Day cards are taken very seriously in elementary school.

(Click on image, save to computer. Make sure to scale to correct size before printing)

Valentine's Day love cards

Valentine's Day is around the corner, are you still looking for a card for your valentine?

Did I mention that I worked at Hallmark during high school, and holy cow, you should have seen the husbands and boyfriends pour in Valentine's day evening frantically looking for a Valentine's day card. We usually ran out and whoa, look out, the wrath of a last minute husband. 

Fast forward to when I was married and my husband came home with a spanish Valentine's Day card, the english ones were all sold out. I loved the card so much it became a tradition, now every year my husband TRIES to find the most ridiculous Valentine's Day card, "To my Uncle", "Your 100th birthday" a sympathy card, etc. 

From my years at hallmark it created a love for cards and I bought and hoarded many, I still have some I can't part with (over 12 years old). The best are love cards with a dash of sarcasm. 

I have wanted to create these cards for quite some time and am just a little stoked about them. My husband might receive one of each. 

(These cards are available on my etsy shop with more color options, if you don't see the hair color / skin color you need, you can specify which colors you would like, even dress color). 

I try to offer most of my doodles for free, so I will have a free Valentine's Day card coming soon.

Librarians might not like this card, but it shows how strong your love is. :) 

(Etsy Shop link)

Perhaps you would like a hip blond that has amazing skills at balancing heavy books in one hand, and on one foot I might add. :)

I would just like to quickly state that I only have one husband . . . and yes, he is my favorite husband. 

(Etsy Shop link)

Oh how I love this "got love?" card, of course from the "got milk?" advertisement. 

(Etsy Shop link)

A card to tell your special one that you still check him out. 

(Etsy Shop link)

And last but definitely not least is the beard card. My husband does not have a beard, but I have several brother-in-laws that can grow fantastic beards and I had my awesome sister-in-laws in mind when I made this. 

(Etsy Shop link)

And because not all beards are the same I had to make one in each color. 

And if you would like an assortment of love cards to give through out the year for anniversary, birthday, or random days to say "I love you" here is a link for a set of 5 (better deal). 

(Etsy shop link)

Hope you find a way to tell your special person you love them, or if you don't have that special someone yet, just wait, and start hoarding cards like I did 12 years ago . .  or maybe not, that is kind of weird. :)