ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

i can't believe it's been almost a month since i've posted anything on this here blog... i guess i've been busy? here are some of the things i've been up to though, that i wanted to share with you: first of all, i added some prints to the shop as instant downloads. so you can buy and download right away, to print it yourself from home. the great thing about this option is a) you don't have to pay for shipping b) you don't have to wait for shipping c) you can print as many as you want! if you have three gifts to give...   like maybe a last minute mother's day gift?  you can print out four for the price of one download (one for yourself of course)! find the instant downloads here second, i've been busy making some announcements and invitations for my zazzle store . with zazzle.com, you get to personalize and customize everything yourself, right on the website, and then order straight from them! i make a little royalty from every sale, and...

that's right, the shop is open and filled with brand new designs! lots of scripture, a few re-designs of some oldies-but-goodies, and just overall something for everyone. i hope you love all the new stuff and find something that's perfect for your home! i'd love love if you tell all your friends, too! yep, just enter in that code and you'll get 30% off your entire order! first come, first serve. when the first ten orders have come through, the code will be deactivated (and i will update this post). so act fast!  most of all, have fun, and no trampling each other ;)

some of my favorite things on zazzle.com right now [use code MAKEYOURYEAR for 50% off the price you see listed here]     found here             |           found here            |           found here            |           found here [first three are some of my new designs, the fourth one isn't mine but i loved it] found here              |            found here             |            found here             |            found here [none of my designs, just thought they were super cute] and then use the same MAKEYOURYEAR code for 30% off iPhone cases! here are my faves: ...

okay, so i'm know i'm not alone when i say that i love getting happy mail. whether it's a simple hand-written note, a little goodie, or even a christmas card, i LOVE opening anything that isn't bills. amen? so i put a bunch of notecards  in the zazzle store . they're really inexpensive [and on super sale today] so why don't you grab one of each! i love having them on hand for whenever i feel inspired to jot a little note and send it along to a friend [which really needs to happen a lot more often]. anyway, check them out: buy here: 1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8 buy here:   9  |  10  |  11  |  12  |  13  | 14 | 15 [click here for more notecards] all cards are 75% off today! that includes christmas cards that i showed you here oh, and iPhone cases are 40% off today , just thought i'd throw that out there :) these are t...

new in my zazzle store this week: buy it here buy it here buy it here buy it here buy it here ** updated: use "DAILYDEC1113" for 40% off

there's nothing quite like a rainy morning. we always open up the window and listen to the rain and lay in bed a little bit longer. the cool air and the smell. mmmmm the smell of rain. it just smells fresh and new and promising. plus it signals that fall is finally letting her guard down for us. i do love the rain, but sometimes it's a bummer when it rains on your pumpkin patch plans [say that ten times fast]. that's what happened yesterday. we'd planned for a few weeks to head up to the pumpkin patch with some friends, but the minute we woke up, it was rainy and the forecast said rain all day long. we'd been looking forward to it, but i was not excited about the prospects of wetness and muddiness with the kids, so we decided not to go. i was bummed, not because i needed to go to the pumpkin patch so badly, but because i crave quality family time. something other than sitting around the house, since that's what we do most of the week. i always feel ...

do you ever get the feeling that God is bombarding you with a specific message? you know, you'll read a verse and it lingers with you all day. you hear a sermon or read a blog post or a book. then a song pops into your head. you didn't hear it playing, it just popped in there and sticks with you for two weeks? and you have a stirring that He wants you to do something. and it's a stirring you've felt before. for years, really. and then you have this idea that you should start praying in a certain direction, by faith, that God would allow something specific, or fulfill a desire that you believe He gave to you? just something specific but also out of the blue? well it happens to me often, but this time i'm listening and doing. do you know that song "Hosanna" by Brooke Fraser ? that song popped into my head a few weeks ago. but just this part of the chorus: show me how to love like you have loved me break my heart for what breaks yours everything i am...

i've always wanted to be a "real" artist. you know, one that can actually draw the things onto paper that i see in my head? well, one day i just started doodling in my bible study journal, on my chalkboard, with any available piece of paper and free moment i could find. it got addicting.  and now i have six prints in my shop that i've drawn myself. it feels like birthing a new baby, yet somehow i feel really vulnerable. probably because i really want to be a real artist and i don't know if this counts. i know. i'm crazy but it's this strange feeling that i'm evolving and growing in an area i would have bet you money i'd never be good at. i still wouldn't call myself an artist, but i do really like these little prints i've made. it's a weird feeling. but i hope you like them as much a i do :)  i have at least 3 more coming soon, and a few more dreamed up in my head... monday only, take 25% off for labor day using ARTI...

so i haven't been back to the blog since i shared july's free printable! it's a barely-blogging season right now, which is okay. sometimes it's nice to live out life instead of constantly thinking about how i could blog about this or that, you know? anyway, this months free paintable is one of my favorite quotes because it reminds me to have hope. it reminds me that there is beauty from ashes, a light at the end of the tunnel, a reason for every single trial, and God's Grace is sufficient for me: it is 8x8, so i'd recommend printing it out on regular paper, and trimming the sides until you get to 8x8 [1/2 inch off each of the short sides, and 1 & 3/4 inch off each of the long sides]. 8x8 frames aren't very common, but sometimes it's fun to forget the frame and just use washi tape like katy did in her baby girl's nursery or.... Source: modernparentsmessykids.com via Becca on Pinterest ...

hey friends! so i'm officially on Facebook... not me personally , but blossom & vine. right here . would you mind heading over there for a quick sec and clicking "like"? i would be so happy!!  [there's a coupon code for you over there, just look at the very top left] and then take a little look at these new prints. i can't stop: i know, technically this isn't brand new...  but i changed the regular stripes to chevron stripes and it's just so much more awesome. so don't forget to "like" the fb page .  i'm thinking some kind of giveaway will be in order when we reach 100 or something fun like that.  the other cool thing, that you may have recognized over on the sidebar, is that you can now buy my designs through zazzle.com . i have a store , and you can get cool stuff like mugs, poster size enlargements, canvases, necklaces, iPad cases, magnets... and SO much more, all with blossom & vine on it...

i have always loved this verse in Isaiah 66, and just ran across it again the other day: "This is the one I esteem: He who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My Word." i learned [from Beth Moore, obviously] that "esteem" means to "have respect". God has respect for the humble, contrite in spirit, who tremble at His Word. wow. here it is in printable form: as always, go here to buy.

okay, i think this is my new favorite. i made it for my daughter's room, since we sing "Jesus Loves Me" every night before bed [at least 3 or 4 times] so naturally, i've added it to the shop too! [find it here]

1 corinthians 13. a classic, right? i think we tend to dismiss it because we hear it so often but its message is really important. here's what i came up with. i love it, and cannot decide which color-way i want to hang in my house: you can buy here , and then i'll email you the high res jpg file.