Mother's Day Idea: Jam

Mother's Day is coming up in a couple weeks and I thought I would put together a post on recipes inspired by my Mom Jam card. Working on this post definitely got my cravings going! Click on the link below each image for the recipes. Enjoy!

Mom Jam

A Beautiful Mess

Kitchen Simplicity

Megann's Kitchen

How cute are these free printable labels and jam jar toppers? Download them here.

Domestifluff

All images via their sources.

Friday Finds

Wishing you a very happy weekend! Here are a few links I've comes across that made me think "wow!" Hope you enjoy!

Inspired by Cannelle et Vanille - I've been following Aran's beautiful photography of places in Seattle on Instagram and recently discovered that she is a self taught stylist & photographer. I have a growing list of places to visit on my next trip across the border.

Encouraging article on taking the leap and conquering fears.

A gelato lover's dream (cute graphics on the site as well).

Stunning wedding photography.

If you haven't already seen this, a great video to watch this weekend.

image by Designs by Val

Book of Notes Volume II

 

Hello! A couple of weekends ago I had a bit of a craft weekend for a special personal project. I was creating a Book of Notes (Vol II). I created Vol I about a year ago last spring. So much of what I do is digital, so it was a really nice change to get out the scissors and glue. My office space was a big mess of paper cuttings, washi tape bits, and envelopes for a few days! It looked like a paper truck had exploded.

The idea for the Book of Notes was inspired by Danni of Oh, Hello Friend. If you haven't seen her books, head on over. They are filled with so much goodness and thought. Some of the prints were from this gorgeous 2014 calendar by Oh the lovely things.

Music Monday

Hello! I hope you had a great weekend. Today I thought I would start a new post on Mondays for music that I love. Starting off is this song by Andrew Belle that has been on repeat for me. Even though the lyrics are a little sad, the melody reminds me of romantic things like cozy nights spent under the covers or an early weekend morning with sunlight streaming into the room. Hope you enjoy.

Image by somethings hiding in here

We're in Stationery Trends Winter 2014!

So thankful to be a part of Stationery Trends' Winter 2014 issue! Our Shoe Fetish and Birthday Ties cards are on p14, and our wedding K-i-s-s-i-n-g card on p45. If you'd like these cards, please visit the online shop here!

Thought of the day

Today I'm thankful for the little things, like these cute mustard coloured slippers my mom knitted me. Every time I look at them, it makes me smile. Thanks mom.

You've Got Mail Project

Hello! Hope you had a great weekend, whether it was celebrating Valentine's with the ones you love, watching the Olympics, or just relaxing. I had a little of each this weekend. Here's a pic I posted on Instagram of a little Valentine's project I made. The white tin mailbox and cute Valentine's heart-shaped lights are from Target. I used a gold Sharpie for the words. The wooden pins are from Cabin and Cub and Fox and Fancy that I got from past Got Craft? events. How cute are those? I wrote a little note for each envelope and placed them inside the mailbox. You can get the love card in my shop here. Even though this was a project I did for Valentine's I think it might be something I would do for any other special occasion.

Introducing Our New Look!

I'm so excited to share the new logo for Designs by Val with you today! I've had the urge to re-brand with something a little more modern and fresh. After many MANY sketches (the pages in my sketchbook can attest to that) this logo came to be. The "Val" is hand-written lettering, with the rest of the text in a round sans serif font. The idea came to mind late one night when my mind was elsewhere. Funny how these things happen sometimes! I hope to share more of the logo with you as I get the business cards and other stationery goodies printed. Would love to hear your thoughts on the new look!

We're in UPPERCASE #20!

Thanks to UPPERCASE Magazine for including my I Button U and Sew Into You card in their latest issue! I was so excited to receive it in the mail last week (my first issue as a subscriber). It's been a little nutty around here these days, so I've only been able to have a quick look through. I love the cover by the very talented Jason Munn (one of my favourite posters of his, She & Him Cassette Puzzle, sits in my living room). I'm looking forward to spending a nice afternoon going through each page, hopefully sometime over this upcoming long weekend. All cards can be found in my online shop here.

All you need is love love love...

As I'm getting settled into the new year, I realize Valentine's is only about a month away! I've started to see pins and cute DIY projects online. Here's a peek at some of new Valentine's cards. They are available in the shop here, along with the rest of the collection and favourites from seasons past. xo

It's 2014!

Hello & Happy New Year (it's nine days in already, but I think it's still OK to say that)! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and 2014 is off to a great start.

Things were busy busy over the past few months. A major part of that was from working on a new collection...And here it is! I'm so excited to share it with you, as some of these design ideas have been sitting in my sketchbook for awhile. 

There are over twenty designs in the new collection, and these are a few pics that I've taken. More to come soon. You can view & shop the full collection over here :)