My sister in law was creating a box of encouragements for a friend the other day and asked if I have ever designed "promise cards". I had never heard of such cards, so I quickly did some research and figured out what she was talking about.

A few posts ago I mentioned the memory verse cards that I was creating for myself, to help me memorize scripture, well these are a lot like that. They are cards of encouragement with verses specific to the promises of God, which he has given to his children in his Word.

I am going to challenge myself and try and memorize these 6 verses I've designed. I hope they can bring some encouragement to you as well. If you'd like to purchase them for yourself (to use as a bookmark in your bible, or maybe to encourage a friend) you can find them as an easy digital download in my etsy store. Just print them out yourself :)

My friend Nicole came over the other day and was sharing with me an idea of felt books made for children (find examples here), they are SO NEAT!

Nicole inspired me to make a board book for Emma, one which I was going to buy here. But WHY NOT create it myself. Its no gorgeous felt book, but its really great for her age right now. I'll work on the felt when she might appreciate it more (2 years old maybe?)

I used this post that I found via pinterest as my guide. She takes a real board book that she got for free from a Wendy's and simply covers it with her own design on card stock, so simple. So that is what I've done.

I've been thinking about what to do with my Christmas greeting this year. Since we are on a new budget (as I recently resigned from Compassion to stay home full time with Emma - yay!) I decided that getting cards printed, even though I design them, is a bit more then I would like to spend this year, so I am trying to get resourceful.

I decided to do a fun little "year in review" page that I can send out to far away family in a simple letter envelope on 8.5 x 11 printer paper. I was still able to have a little fun, especially with all the hand drawn titles and little vector graphics. I can't wait to send it out to our loved ones!

Here is a little sneak preview of my design:

I took this picture at sunset on a fall day in Port Elgin.  Andrew and I were sharing a few days at a cute little cottage with my parents. We were celebrating my Moms victory in surviving breast cancer that year. It felt so sweet to walk with her and Dad through the harbour, savouring God's goodness and beautiful creation. I will always cherish this time, full of beach walks with Mom, warm hot chocolate and just relishing in her company and wonderful wisdom.

This design will soon be available in my etsy shop as an art print for download.

Here are some fun Memory Verse Cards I designed to keep on my nightstand and in my bible.

His birthday was at the end of September, but I think he might have this card hanging around for quite some time on his desk ;)



Photo cred: Sarah-Bear Van Kruistum (snapped up North on Labour Day holidays)

As autumn and thanksgiving are my favourite time of year, of course I have designed some pieces for fall in my etsy shop. Check the left sidebar to see more or if you are interested in purchasing the digital files to these fun new pieces.

Since we moved Emma into a new bigger room I've been trying to fill up the space and make it cozy.

I've finally opened up a little Etsy shop to start selling digital copies of various designs that I have created in the present and over the years.


I was struggling with opening up a shop for quite some time because I work full time as a designer and couldn't see how I would be able to fit in the grunt work of orders into my current schedule. But then I realized that Etsy was offering a great new feature of letting artists or creators simply upload a digital file (usually pdf or jpeg) of their work to make it available for simple download. This way I could charge less for my designs and my customers could use the print however they wanted.. and on whatever card-stock or paper choice they preferred. It makes the process so simple - Buy - Download & Print.
In the future, if I ever have more time, I might start making physical prints and possibly venture into mug designs or textiles (and we all know I also enjoy embroidery). But for now, I am just happy and excited to be able to share my art with others :)

I've been working on some thanksgiving designs that I'm pretty excited about. Autumn is my favourite season. So stay tuned for those designs coming up in the shop, and I'll blog about them here.

Please go and check out my etsy shop at lovelyinkdesign.etsy.com or you can find links to my shop in the left sidebar right here on the blog. Hope you have a lovely weekend!!

Emma is busy learning how to stand up and we think she will be walking by 12 months which will be so much fun this summer! I kinda missed the mark with her 8 month pictures.. but here she is at 9 months.



I have been busy learning embroidery, and LOVING it. I started with a simple hoop design for Emma's door, and now I am working on pillows for our bedroom. If spring gets here fast enough I might have to postpone this "winter" craft and finish the pillows next year, but we will see. Check out my pinterest "Embroidery Love" board for fun and inspiring ideas :)

This year Andrew and I decided to make homemade gifts for family. I designed some "Hodgson Homemade" labels and we made Carmel Corn, Nuts & Bolts and Chocolate Almonds :) I found it hard not to keep these treats for myself, but it was lots of fun designing and package everything so pretty for our family!

For the labels, I made up the font and label shape, printed it off, drew the leaves and details, and then scanned the whole design. I then added the colours in photoshop. After a few drafts, I finally ended up with a design I loved - with a round "Hodgson Homemade" stamp look.

There are three fabulous crafts that I would love to create before Christmas!

1. Mini Wreath Garland (cute little Christmas decor item)

My desktop background has always been important to me. This past year I came across the blog Design Love Fest - Bri has a series called Dress Your Tech where she features beautiful wallpapers that are always free to download. Love it. Next time your due for a new desktop background - check it out.



For more links to pretty wallpapers - check out my pinterest board - I like a pretty desktop.

While on mat leave, I've been able to design a few fun items for friends and family.

Earlier in the year I created this warm wedding postcard.

Emma's 3 month old pictures are a little late, as our iMac hard drive decided to kick it at the beginning of September. Leslie (as we call her) has been an amazing iMac for me since i bought her in 2008, so I'm not going to complain too much about the repair. Leslie came home yesterday, so I quickly put together some of the shots I took just after Emma hit her 3 month mark (as Nana was bugging me that I never put any up).

Hope you enjoy these as much as my mom will :) xo

I found a bit of time in the first weeks to design up a quick announcement for Em. I even incorporated some pink (well, I call it peachy-pink) which should shock many of you!

My mom and I got a chance to spend a really nice week together. We celebrated both our birthday's, had coffee with friends, and dyed some Easter Eggs together before our whole family showed up on Sunday. The whole pinterest "lace trick" worked beautifully on our eggs, although we got the idea from Mom's Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

I've been searching online for a cute mobile to put in the lil' one's nursery.. but they tend to be pretty expensive and I couldn't find any cute airplane ones that would incorporate into our very warm and neutral nursery theme.

So as usual (sometimes I need just a little push) A said "why don't you just make your own?" So we did. It was a fun project and really got me excited about the arrival of our little one. Its also a cute way to bring Andrew into the room - as he is a pilot. I wanted to include airplanes in a way that would be cute and non-cheesy.

Supplies: White (65lb) Card-stock, White String, Wreath Frame, White & Beige Acrylic Paint, Double Sided Tape, Ceiling Hook.