Silhouettes

Click the image for more detailed view. Blogger has compressed these terribly!

New in the Shop: Wedding Invitations! GIVEAWAY

I'm really excited to bring my newest product to the shop! I've been brainstorming ideas for what would be fun to make and that people might actually want to buy. Since my custom silhouettes are selling pretty well, I thought I would expand on that idea and offer custom wedding invitations with one of a kind silhouettes! I have a lot of ideas in mind for designs and whatnot but for now, this is what I have come up with to place in store and I will keep working at other stuff in the meantime. I'm hoping that these will appeal to somebody out there! I know I really like them :)

You can purchase this design here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/75542623/custom-printable-wedding-invitation

Colors and fonts are also customizable to match you personal tastes and wedding color scheme.

Keep in mind that, if you are interested, I can also create matching RSVP cards, mailing labels, candy wrappers, programs, whatever, just ask me and I'll let you know if it's doable! The invitations cost $30 for the design and you print them yourself at home or at a print shop. Also included in that price is the silhouettes of you and your sweetheart in an 8x10 size, suitable for printing and framing.

Let me know what you think and if anyone out there has any requests for a design I would be happy to chat with you! Email me at ashtinafayelou at gmail dot com

And I'm sure there are some readers out there who would like to win their own custom designed silhouette wedding invitation! Just leave me a comment here for one entry.

Additional Entries:

"like" ashtinafayelou on Facebook and leave a comment here letting me know.

Tweet about this giveaway and link back to my blog: http://ashtinafayelou.blogspot.com then come back and leave a comment for me.

Blog about this giveaway. Then come back and leave a link to your post.

Follow my blog and leave a comment to let me know.

That's it! I'll design this with your silhouettes and your wedding colors. I can design it in a different size format if you prefer, as well.

Ends June 30, 2011

Good luck!

I have been putting off crafting with the kids for so long and today I wondered why?! Why do I get so paranoid about the mess it creates? Why do I let my laziness get in the way of the good times I have when I create with the kids? Why have I let myself miss out on seeing how creative my kids are?! They really surprised me today with their cleverness. I even stole some of their ideas for my own Valentines!

I started by showing them a craft I remembered doing when I was in school. The classic heart guy with accordion arms and legs. Do you remember making these? So simple and the girls really enjoyed putting their own twist on these little characters.

Then we made monster valentines for any boys on the list. These were fun and turned out so cute! I love the details the girls came up with.

Mine was totally the most plain and boring!

I made a silly little feathered bird just for the heck of it.

Marah made her own heart girl for her cousin and a little book to send to her as well.

Alex hasn't gotten in on craft time yet (though I do let him paint on occasion) but he was in a much happier mood today. Looks like those antibiotics are working their magic. Thank the good Lord for medicine!

What are you doing for Valentine's day? Be sure to check out my cute little Valentine printable cards over on my design blog: http://ashtinafayelou.blogspot.com

Just so you know

I want to say that I have not given up on the challenge. I just have had to deal with a sick family and it's taken up most of my spare time. I did make a couple of things, I just haven't posted them yet. I also had some paid jobs I had to take care of. Here are some silhouettes I have done recently:

If you are interested in purchasing a custom designed silhouette keepsake, please check out my Etsy shop!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ashtinafayelou

Here is what people have been saying about these silhouettes:

"I absolutely love it!

And I adore the little curl. :)" - Becket

"These look great!

The glasses on the man are fab!" - Tara

"Ashley, these are darling...thank you so much for all your hard work. I will definitely use you again." - Lorie

"Ashley, You captured him perfectly, this is beyond what I expected. I'm going to place 3 more orders for my other kids." - September

"These are so fantastic. I love the girls eyelashes. You captured Brooke's pouty lips perfectly. I can't thank you enough for such beautiful work." - September

For the Boys

Alright, 2 days down, 26 to go! Here is the boy valentine card for you to print and share. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD!

again, there is no weird blocky stuff in the middle of this card. I don't know why they keep showing up like that in the preview, but it will download blank for you to add a photo.

A Challenge You Say?

Today I made a plea to my Facebook friends: made it through the first month of 2011 without drinking any pop. Now... what to change for February? Any ideas?

If I can be honest here, I still haven't come up with the perfect February change. However, my

brother did sort of challenge me to create something every day. Of course, I use the word challenge

in a loose sort of way since he didn't actually challenge me, but he did throw it out there. A

suggestion, I think, but I'll consider it a challenge and take him up on it, thankyouverymuch.

I have been creating bit by bit, here and there. Seems I always am moving from one thing

to another, rarely completely finishing. Perhaps I need to focus on smaller, bite size pieces rather

than trying to finish something on a large scale. Maybe my flighty personality requires a bit less to

chew on. I don't know. All I know is that my plan for the next month is to make something, anything,

every day. Some days it may be completely ridiculous, but that's okay! Just something to get my

creative juices flowing, I suppose.

I'm going to try at least. I know that I rarely follow through with these things. But I really will try. I also

will not give up if I miss a day or two. I will keep going. :)

I decided to make something and give something here on this first day. So here you go. If you like,

you can add your child's photo to this card and print them out for Valentine's day. They can sign

their name on the back or tape some candy to it or you can send them to friends and family,

whatever. I think they're cute. So enjoy :)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE .PNG FILE.

PS. Not sure why the file looks like it has random blue squares on it. It does not. Just a weird preview from 4shared.

Halloween Things

I love Halloween! This year I have been having a bit of trouble getting into the spirit of the holiday due to a bit of a battle with depression that hit me with no warning. Today, however, is the last weekday before Halloween and I want to take advantage of the last couple of days with my kids to do fun, spooky, cute crafts! I've been scouring the internet for fun craft ideas and printable projects to do with the kids. Here are a few things I am looking forward to playing with this weekend:

Come on! The cuteness is almost too much! :)

From babalisme

Check out all her awesome printables while you're there!

I think these Halloween shadow makers are so cool! Spooky and fun, perfect for some Halloween puppet show theater! I know my kids will love them.

from mini-eco

I'm planning to make a haunted house with my oldest today. We'll probably start on it while my kindergartener is at school and then work on it with her when she gets home. I found these cool tombstone templates that I plan to cut out and have the kids decorate for a little graveyard by the haunted house.

from cheeky magpie

I'll have to post pictures of our haunted house later. Maybe tomorrow.