ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

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.

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...

i thought it would be fun to start offering a free printable every month. what do you think? this was inspired from Sunday's She Reads Truth devotion. we're going through "Living the Surrendered Life" in the YouVersion app. on day 11, the author set out to change our thinking when it comes to the popular sentiment  "follow your heart" . i've always been uncomfortable with this saying, because Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things, doesn't it? anyway, i was relieved she mentioned it and reminded us that instead of following our hearts, we should be guarding our hearts [proverbs 4:23] because everything flows forth from it [luke 6:45] . in case you need that reminder too... mint: or coral: two more things and then i'll let you go... 1) i have two new prints in the shop !  " Trust in the Lord " and a loooong-overdue redesign of " Fruit of the Spirit ". 2) i...

so, my birthday is in about ten days. and i figured what better way to celebrate than  by offering a discount to YOU !? so from now until July 9 [my birthday] you can get 28% off your order using BDAY28 at checkout...  can you guess how old i'll be? if you guessed 28, you're right ;) here's a little sampling of what you'll find in the shop [there are lots more color combos in each piece, so make sure to look at all the listing photos!] oh, and before i forget, Leslie is doing a little giveaway over here . i think there's still time to enter! you can win either 2 prints OR one hoop . your choice :) and yes, i do realize i have not written one thing in this space in over a month... have a good weekend! 

** don't miss the discount codes and free printables at the bottom of this post :) ** so if you follow me on instagram [alyallen1] , you know that Reese turned three last week.  May 14 was her big day, but since my husband had a meeting that night and wouldn't be able to celebrate, we just acted like her birthday was Tuesday [which was the 15th].  since she can't read a calendar and has no idea either way, it totally worked! Tuesday morning she woke up to balloons in her room we made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and sang happy birthday and she blew out a candle and i hid her little gifts around the house. since i spent a total of $10 on all the "gifts", i thought this would make it more exciting. i don't know if i'll do this every year, but it was fun... so i probably will. so that evening, all her grandparents & great-grandma came over for burgers/hot dogs and cake. oooohhh the cake. i had seen the rainbow ca...