ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

goodness this blog has been neglected... i'm here because i wanted to tell you about the holiday/christmas cards that appeared in the shop today! there are 8 different designs to choose from and THIS WEEK ONLY they're on sale at 50% off , as sort of a grand-opening-early-bird special. the fun part is, even if you don't have your family photos done yet, you can still order a card today as sort of a pre-order, but wait until you have your photos ready to customize and finalize everything. if you order one card and decide after getting photos taken that a different card will look better, we can easily "exchange" designs! (i won't issue refunds, though, just a switch to another one of my designs). here's how it works: 1) go here and buy the one you like 2) send me an email or etsy convo with your photo and last name you want on the card (first names if applicable)... if you don't have your photo yet, no problem, just let me know! 3) i'll m...

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...

mother's day is always tricky in our family. both my mom and mother-in-law's birthdays are within one day of each other, and always within a few days of mother's day (if not actually falling ON mother's day some years). that's a lot of gifting and sometimes it's hard to come up with new ideas each year, you know? we usually do photos of the kids, a photo book, or something else meaningful. my mom always told me growing up that she'd rather have a gift i made her (no matter how lame) than something i bought. so i'm going with that. i usually always tuck a little print into their gifts, too. because that's sort of like a gift that keeps on giving, i think. plus it falls into the category of something i made . so i thought a 25% off sale would be fun, because maybe you want to gift a lovely print for mother's day too? use MAMA25 at checkout  from now through May 1st to guarantee delivery before mother's day. click here to shop ...

well happy valentine's day, friends!  i know there's been a lot of shop talk this week, but i'm pretty sure you'll like today's topic! just in case you've had your eye on one of the new designs this week, i wanted to sweeten the pot a bit. in honor of valentine's day, i put together a box of my favorite things, some that i collected myself, and some that i begged my favorite friends to send me so that i could share them with you.  every single order that was [or will be] placed this week, monday thru friday , will be entered to WIN a whole box of.... what's in this box of things i heart, you ask? well, i'm glad you asked. brace yourself: Hannah from Happy Days has included these beauties from her shop Laura  from Splendor Shop  sent this. how much do you love arrows right now? Alyson from Vintage Sunshine sent over my favorite hoop ever [except the colors are different than the one pictured here] Kirtley...

designing prints really isn't the easiest thing for me. i mean, i absolutely love it, but it's not like i can just sit down and say "i am going to make a print out of john 3:16 right now". it just doesn't work that way. more often than not, it has to be a verse or quote that i'm passionate about  at that moment  that i just have to put onto a print or else my brain will explode. it's out of the overflow of my heart that the verses are chosen and the prints are designed. sometimes i hate that i'm this way, because it makes custom orders really difficult and because i will often be right in the middle of my day when inspiration strikes. at that moment, it feels like i have to drop everything and open photoshop elements before the inspiration is gone. the actual design process is pretty organic. there's no magical formula, i just try different things until it looks right. that's another thing i sorta hate, that i can't whip something up in...

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 ;)

Christmas night is one of the most bittersweet three or four hours of the entire year, don't you think? you've just spent two or three solid days celebrating with family and friends, and it's about to end much too soon? it's just not fun. so i'm having withdrawals today. i figured i might as well offer you free shipping through the end of the year. ya know, to cope? maybe you got an etsy gift card for christmas [lucky you] and you need somewhere to spend it? i gotcha covered . free shipping and all. oh yeah, and you might notice the blog looks a little different. not a huge difference, but just a little more cohesive and organized. i'm not really sure why i thought Christmas eve eve was the perfect time to redesign? but oh well, there ya go.

can you believe christmas is only 12 days away? it always sneaks up on me. are you done with your shopping? i'm not either, but i thought i'd help you out a bit. tomorrow, december 14, is the very last day to order to ensure Christmas delivery.  every order that's placed by friday at midnight will be shipped out saturday morning and you'll have it in time to frame and wrap and give! as a little incentive, and a great way to cross off those last few people on your list, the shop is on sale. yep, i know. you're welcome.

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...

the Christmas season has finally arrived at our house! the tree is up, gifts are being wrapped, and the  advent calendar  is printed and hung! the only thing i have left to do? to give YOU a little gift, of course!  FIRST: here are a few 5x7 [and 7x5] christmas printables for you. yay! download and print without watermark here download and print without watermark here download and print without watermark here SECOND: every order from the shop today through December 15th [the last day to buy for Christmas delivery] will receive this little extra (5x7) tucked in their order! so while you're buying gifts for family and friends, you get a little something free for yourself :) [of course, you could give this one away and keep another for yourself. i won't tell] you don't have to enter any code, it just appears. little elves or something, i guess inspired by yesterday's post ... and yes, i did a quick redesign in case you were wonder...

40% off everything. today only. shop here .

i cannot believe it's already thanksgiving week. every year, it seems to sneak up even faster than the year before, doesn't it? well, i have something fun for you today. if you haven't started your Christmas shopping yet, this post is for you. if you have a few more people to buy for, but you're losing momentum,  this post is for you . if you're the kind who likes to tuck in a few little extras into someone's gift, this post is for you . if you do lot's of stocking-stuffers, this post is for you. if you're on a tight gift-giving budget this year [like me]  this post is for you. and since every one of you will fall into at least one of those categories...  this post is for you :) i wanted to show you a few gift ideas for those hard-to-buy-for people on your list this year. everyone's got one or two of those right? first up, the obvious: prints from the shop! second, i wonder how many of you know that you can get blossom & v...

it's Thursday night and i just climbed into bed with my laptop. my sweet girls are all tucked in and sleeping soundly, bellies full. i have the heater going and extra blankets ready because it's finally fall here in San Diego, which means it may drop to 40 degrees or so. call me a wimp, but i don't know any different. i look around at the laundry and the little toys scattered across my floor. there's a sink full of dishes downstairs and several messes that still need to be picked up. i know i'll have to deal with it in the morning but i'm tired now. we had a full day and i'll be up at 3am with the baby i'm sure. i'm sitting here thinking about this: there are people - regular old American people just like you and me - who just happen to live on the east coast. and right now they would do anything to be experiencing everything i just described above. just to return to some kind of normalcy and familiarity. but they can't. the hurricane of the ...

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 ...