Thompson Family-Life

Start early with your holiday shopping (& get a discount)!

I released this printable kit in March of this year, and in case you missed it, I wanted to share it again. This is a fantastic gift for those beloved kiddos in your life (I've also had a few adults purchase this for themselves!). If you're like me, you might often find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the amount of toys (and junk!) that your kids get for the holidays (or birthdays!).

What I love about this printable, is that it isn't a plastic toy they'll just end up not using. And this kit encourages so many positive things like writing letters the old-fashioned way, sending mail, practicing handwriting and learning about new cultures and people through pen-pal communication!

These can be printed at home or at your local printer. I include printing tips for both.

I'm offering a special discount for a limited time for Earlybird Holiday Shoppers! You might have multiple kids you want to buy for - the more you buy, the more you save. (these coupon codes only apply to the FULLY CUSTOMIZED Printable version. Not the PARTIALLY customized version. Read below for more details.)

HOW IT WORKS:

For example: If you want to buy 3 printables for 3 different kids, just contact me through Etsy letting me know, include all the description information for each child, and I'll create a Custom Reserved Listing for you. Then you input your "20happymail" code at checkout. Easy-peasy. If you're just buying one, then you can go ahead and purchase the listing in my shop and input your "10happymail" code then.

As you can see above, you have lots of options for "building" your child in his/her likeness.

There are two options available for this printable:

No. 1: A Fully-Customized PDF with your child's likeness, name and address added to all the elements in this printable kit. It is ready for you to print at home or print at your local print/copy shop.

No. 2: If you are very familiar with Photoshop, you can purchase the Partially-Customized Kit in which  I give you the illustration with your child's likeness that YOU add to all of the appropriate materals. You also add name and address. This is the more economical version for those that are very familiar with Photoshop. (If you are not well-versed in Photoshop, I do not recommend this version.)

Go to the shop to see them both!

Below are some sample gift Pen-Pal sets I put together so you can see all of the possibilities: one for a girl, one for a boy. (Details on where I bought everything are included in the printable.)

  I'm putting together some customer testimonials on their experiences with this printable... those coming soon!

Published: Christmas Ideas Magazine from Better Homes & Gardens

*picky disclaimer: apologies for the less then stellar quality images above. I scanned them from the actual magazine.. but you get the idea!*

So, you might be thinking, "Please no Christmas stuff yet, PLEASE! It's not even October yet!"... well, I agree. But I wanted to share this because it's on newstands now! Which is probably much more exciting for me than you. But I thought I'd share anyway. wink

If you've been reading since January, you might remember me posting that our holiday decorated home was photographed for a publication. I posted some behind-the-scenes pics of that day. It was really so much fun. Exhausting, but fun! And keeping our holiday decor up through January (with it being up since end of November!) was quite something.

So, this is how it all came about... I posted photos of our holiday decor sometime in November last year, like I do every year. Design Sponge posted about our mantel on Christmas Eve in 2009. And now that I think about it, that was TWO years ago. All this time I had been thinking that Better Homes and Gardens saw my decor on Design Sponge. Now I'm realizing they probably didn't.. ha. Well, the editor for the special "Christmas Ideas" issue found it somehow while blog hopping last year and contacted me.

It was such a cool experience working with photographers and stylist. The nice thing is that they didn't change a thing with my decor and they encouraged me to be a part of the styling and photography. Many photos and decor ideas weren't shared in the magazine (you only have so much room in a magazine) so I'll be sharing some of those as Christmas gets closer. Most of the decor and projects you've seen on my blog already including my Felt Trees and Pom Pom Wreath.

One of the newest vignettes I created specifically for this shoot was our dining room. This is my favorite photograph they took that day (which is included in the magazine).

They photographed the place settings which didn't make it in the mag, but I'll be sharing those in November sometime.

 Thank-you for entertaining my geeky excitement over this. I've had a lot of experience with being published in magazines and books (of the scrapbooking/crafting nature!), but there was something about this one that is extremely special to me. It was such an honor to be a part of something like this. Interior decorating and design is hands-down my favorite thing to do. 

How to find it: If you have a Better Homes & Gardens subscription, I don't think these "special issues" are included in that, unfortunately. You can find it pretty much anywhere now though, at Target, grocery stores and bookstores.

My Home, the Portrait Gallery

I shared this room with you recently and I thought I'd share more of the portrait wall. I've realized I'm quite obviously drawn to portraits, as they are taking over my home. In a good way. : ) I think more than anything, I'm drawn to the history behind them, especially original drawings and paintings, and even paint-by-numbers. Who painted them? For the originals, who's the person in the painting? Did a child paint the paint-by-number? I remember painting many of those as a child.

I've always been drawn to the human face and figure - that was my favorite thing to draw in college in all of my fine arts classes. Figure drawing classes were always my favorites. And even as a graphic designer, I've always noticed the warmth that a human face lends to any layout.

I love the girl on the record sleeve. She reminded me of Joan from Mad Men. My good friend Karli told me that she thinks the charcoal drawing on the right was probably done at an amusement park, I'm thinking possibly in the 50's? Maybe Disney?

I added the crewel pieces to add interest. As with portraits, I think adding anything with typography really enriches a vignette as well, whether it be embroideries like these, graphic posters or industrial signage, for example. I realize more and more that the same fundamental principles in graphic design truly apply to interior design as well. Or any design for that matter! Interior design is just a larger canvas.

I found the below charcoal portrait at a flea market. It was newly framed (I took it out of the frame), so I'm not sure if it was a new drawing of an old photo maybe? Or if it was taken out of an old frame and newly framed? Not sure. But the actual drawing is in stellar condition. I want to reframe it somehow one day (maybe in a vintage oval frame?), but for now I have it pinned to this old frame I had filled with vintage wallpaper a while back.

I have portrait prints lining the walls in our hallway, and I have two new original acrylic paintings of Native American children I found on ebay, painted in the 70's. I'm hanging those soon. I think this obsession with portraits won't be dying anytime soon and that's okay with me. Although when you walk through my house, you might feel like you're being watched. Hopefully the eyes won't start following you or figures won't start moving in and out of the frame, Harry-Potter-Style.

Then I might get worried. ; )

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

P.S. Thanks for the nice comments on my hair in my last post and I'm glad you enjoyed the crochet pattern love!

Crochet Pattern Love (& hair woes)

Sources: (from top left to right going down) Daisy Loom, Puffy Daisy, Daisy Stitch, Roman Holiday Scarf, Daisy Stitch Cozy, Vintage Bedspread & Pillow Pattern, Chrevron Blanket, Bobble Scarf, Clock (this is a knit pattern, but you could easily do this in rows of single crochet!), Pop Stitch Scarf, Granny Stool Cover, Crocheted Edge Vintage Card Box, Log Cabin Quilt, Bubblegum Scarf, Crocheted Lampshade

I've been on a crochet kick lately with all of these crochet projects I've been working on. I've fallen down the Ravelry Rabbit Hole all week and it's addicting! Of course, like any crafter, I have a looooong Crafty To-Do List that is always growing, but I never seem to be chipping away at it much. And even though I have TOO MANY unfinished projects and shouldn't be looking at new ones, it's still fun to browse and dream.

As you can see above, I love anything with the Bobble Stitch (or Pop-Stitch?)... I guess there are variations on this look, but the combination of crochet and that cute gumball shape is irresistable.

I've been eyeing vintage macrame lampshade patterns online, and was happy to find a crochet version as well! (bottom right corner above) Totally love.

The log cabin red/white/blue blanket motif is so totally mod! I love it! 

And I've always wanted to crochet the edges of old vintage cards. I always love those projects when I stumble onto them.

 I've never tried that daisy stitch.. it's pretty adorable.

The puffy daisy is SO AWESOME. I could see adding those to the middles of granny squares. That talented lady over at Eclectic Gipsyland came up with that. She is so inspiring.

And the "Roman Holiday" neck tie is pretty perfect. I'm going to make that soon because I think it will go well with my new super short hairdo. 

In the Old Navy dressing room. (I needed jeans badly! But how cute is that top?)

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably heard my whining about my haircut this week. (I apologize.) I have had MANY a bad hair experiences over my lifetime. Those deserve a post of their own. I had the same girl that always does my hair cut it this week. It was the same haircut I've been getting for a while now, but it just didn't have that edge I was looking for. Not that I have edgy style... I'm retro girl remember?

But it was still long enough on top that I'm always having to put my hair behind my ears. So what's the point of that? It's like having long hair but you always put it in a pony tail? Know what I mean?

So I was like.. I just want that hair gone. So that I don't have to put it behind my ears. So that means, shorter and layered on top. This look pretty much:

(You may look at my pic and say "well it looks the same".. but it's so not. My hair is like almost SHAVED on the side & in back!)

SOOOOO...

I went to a different salon to get someone to "fix" it.

This was probably a mistake and a good thing all at the same time.

A mistake because: the guy gave me a hipster-'do. I am no hipster.

A good thing: because I do think this salon (and stylist) "get it" with styling.

The other salon I go to is more of a "pageant" type salon.. kwim? If you live in the South, you get that. ; ) These people just don't have edge. It's all fake tans and poofey hair.

So, while my hair is WAY too short on one side and in the back, it will grow.

But I do feel quite odd walking around with my hipster haircut. It's not me. But I'm trying to channel more of a Twiggy or Mia Farrow.

I feel like a hipster-dude actually. Like I need a tiny mustache, with skinny jeans, a scarf around my neck (or bowtie?).. or maybe I'm out of touch with what a hipster dude looks like? In my head though: I am hipster-dude.

Sigh. I'm going to the best, high-end salons in Atlanta, folks. These kinds of things should not be happening.

Hair woes aside.. it's hair! And it GROWS. In a month or so it should be just right. Hallelujah.

Feel free to share your hair nightmares in the comments. We can all commiserate.

Have a great weekend!

Barbarella: at the Fair

I was looking through my photos that I took at the County Fair this past weekend and remembered how much I loved this ride with this cool retro space theme. Even though I have never seen the movie Barbarella, I thought to myself "That kind of reminds me of Jane Fonda's Barbarella". So I started googling images of the movie and realized..

...that IS Jane Fonda's Barbarella!

How odd. For a theme park to have a ride with this image on it. I don't think it was a Barbarella themed ride. Did they just rip off the images? Who knows. I don't know much about the origin of Barberella.. maybe it was a comic book before? 

Either way.. I LOVED the images on this ride. It was a nice change from the typical fair stuff. You know how fair rides are. Pretty grotesque, tacky, garrish stuff. One ride had airbrushed pop artist faces all over it like Gaga and the Biebs. 

Eww.

We didn't ride Barbarella because this Mama gets motion sick. And Cooper is still in his cautious phase. Ironically, now that I think about it, we aren't much of an amusement park family. Ha. We're all wimps! But the candy colored imagery at the fair is just too hard for this color-loving lady to resist. 

Here's my photo below along with some vintage Barbarella images.

Wouldn't Barbarella be a fantastic Halloween costume? Er, you know, pre-baby days (for me at least)? Although I once was Hedwig (of the Angry Inch) for Halloween.. ya know, pre-baby days. Kind of similar outfit. ; ) Maybe I should dig up the photos.

Or maybe not. O_O

Off to see if Barbarella is on Netflix. Stat.

photo sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5