Freebies and Crafty-Stuffs

I've been following a TON of crafty blogs lately (I'm sure you'll see them on our sidebar at one time or another) and I'm totally smitten.
I am definitely not a crafty person by nature. I'm artistic, not creative. Which means I can draw or paint something well, but I lack direction, I need someone to tell me what to do.
And I have found that craft blogs are perfect for that! They have tons of crafts, layouts, designs, and ideas all ready for the taking! I can take their freebies and ideas and make them my own. #Love

Freebies? What freebies you ask?
What I'm talking about here are:
Printables (so-called pre-designed cards, tags, labels, posters, and party decor that you can download free and print out at home),
and Fonts (for your computer, blogging, and graphic designing)

I have found a few AMAZING sites in the time I spend combing through blogs that offer all kinds of freebies like these. I'm bringing you my current TOP TWO faves.

My first fantastic site for printables can be found here at: It Is What It Is: Pictures, Projects, & Printables.
You can find everything on her blog from Big Sister/Big Brother favor tags, Posters, and Thank you cards, to relevant material for nearly every conceivable holiday.
Some examples:

As you can see she has some pretty darn adorable printables. But the real charm is in the crafts she does with them. Swing over to her site to grab the printables, and find out just how easy it is to create the Valentine Paper Chain, or the Springtime Candy Flowers. Your every holiday (or any day) at home can now be decorated with ease and whimsy!

My second fantastic site for printables can be found here at: eighteen25
Aside from printables they also happen to have free fonts and all kinds of crafts and tutorials for creating computer-made or home-made items.
These girls are SUPER creative. (I'm loving the emergency clutch made out of a potholder! Amazing!) And they also have some great fonts. They do a fantastic job of detailing for you (if you aren't as tech savvy as some) how to download and use them yourself.
I'm going to show you some pics of their printables, fonts, and craft ideas:

And those are all just from the 1st page! I think these sisters might just be the craftiest women on the face of the planet.

They are sponsored by the Silhouette (see my previous blogpost about it here) So they do have a lot of crafts that need it at least in part, but many of them can be improvised if you, like me, have not yet won the lottery.
As you can see, they too will keep you in decoration style for each and every holiday. For example, the picture in the top row, right-hand side is subway art in honor of Teacher Appreciation week.
And the picture in the bottom row, left-hand side? The pot-holder clutches! How cute right? They'll tell you how to make them yourself. SUPER easy!

I hope you enjoy these sites and utilize them to your full advantage. Not many places are giving out their ideas or designs for free these days. Enjoy!!

Jessica at J.LiLy

Etsy Shop Promo: Three Yellow Starfish

Our Etsy shop of the week is up! And as always you can find the link in the upper left hand corner.

I'm particularly excited to bring you this etsy shop!
Two reasons.
The first one being that I bought a "pinnie" from the Three Yellow Starfish for Alexis to wear in our family pictures back in 2009, when she was just under a year old. It quickly became the star of the photo session, and it is still my favorite piece of clothing she has ever owned. It's handmade, great quality, durable, reversible, and adorable. So I know for a fact that I'm promoting a good product here!
The second one being that the seller has graciously agreed to give our readers FREE shipping on any product! For the entire month of may! I'll tell you how to redeem this discount using our exclusive discount code further in the post.

But before that, let me tell you a little about this awesome shop! Your screen just bursts with bright, springtime colors, and whimsical patterns the moment you click the link to her shop. She uses the most popular and current fabrics (I remember being in love with the fabric on my daughter's pinnie before I even found the shop), and has several offers where you choose which fabric you like. And you're getting more for your money, from the durable handmade quality, to the reversible nature of the pinafores. Sizing is simple, and as always with Etsy, customer service is wonderful. The entire shop is a breath of fresh air!

You can scour for even more discounts and deals, (and even giveaways!) at her blog Three Yellow Starfish
You can find more information at her website threeyellowstarfish.com
And if you love her stuff as much as we do, and want to stay updated or view more pictures, you can pop over to her facebook page here and become a fan. We are!

Alright, it was very difficult for me to choose images for this one! I was torn between showing you her various items, or showing you my favorites, so I chose my favorites!

Shown here are ruffled bloomers, some with a matching tee or onesie, knot-dresses, and a few of her hair accessories. 

These are just a few of her products, however! She provides all of the following: 

Pinnies, Bloomers, Ruffled Bloomers, Skirts, Petti-skirts, Knot-dresses (my current favorites!), Tees, Onesies, and Accessories (hats, hair pins, headbands, and bracelets). 

As you can see, her products are simply adorable! Modern, bright, and perfect for the upcoming seasons. 

And her pricing is fantastic. $24.00 for a ruffled bloomer? I'm there! 

Aside from the knot dresses, I am also in love with her charming little 1st-birthday sets of ruffled-bloomers and matching onesies. They're definitely worth looking at if your little one hasn't reached that milestone yet!

Now, how do you get that free shipping we talked about earlier?

When you purchase something from threeyellowstarfish look for a box that says "Note to Seller". 

In that box, type in: FreeShipMay .

That's it!

And your shipping charge will be refunded via paypal.

We hope you enjoy this shop, it's products, and the discount!

We'll leave you to go peruse through the goodies, but before you go...

My little Alexis in her Three Yellow Starfish pinafore back in 09.

Isn't she just adorable?

Enjoy!

Jessica at J.LiLy

Etsy Shop Promo: Tea Rose Company

I'm making a prophecy.
Yes, a prophecy.
I see cottage style coming back!
And in the spirit of that style, I bring you:

The Tea Rose Company is an adorable etsy shop, featuring hand-made products that are crafted in a soft, earthy, and feminine cottage-style (or similarly, the mori-style of japan) that will make you think of summer and wild flowers. The seller is a mother of three (no easy feat), has her own business, 'Just a Stitch Away', writes a blog, the Tea Rose Home, and still finds time to design and create these items for her etsy shop. She's one busy and creative woman!

Here are some of my favorites from her current shop inventory:

  

                       $18.00                                            $18.00                                           $13.50

That's a basket handbag, a patchwork pillow, and a little girl's handbag respectively.

I'm in love with the cozy, hand-made, cottage feel of all of her items, and as you can see, her prices are phenomenal! You'd pay upwards of $20-30 almost anywhere else, and without the durable and  hand-made quality.

I know that mod is the 'in'-style for home decor right now, with simplicity, straight lines, shocks of bright colors, and geometric patterns, (and don't get me wrong, I love it!) but I foresee the cottage look making its way back into the mainstream.
Light, airy, feminine, comfortable, cozy...it reminds me of being home in the summer when I was a little girl. Playing outside with the neighborhood kids, rolling in grass, picking flowers out of the neighbors yards...Oh, to be young again!

It's already injected the fashion world, as far as dresses, skirts, blouses and accessories are concerned.
One of these handbags would look fabulous with a flowery sundress, or a loose blouse with a high-waisted skirt and a cardigan.

Cottage style. Its definitely coming back, and soon. Get ready!

Once again, you can find the link to this etsy shop in the upper left-hand corner.

Jessica at J.LiLy

Promotion Spot: Etsy Shop

Our Etsy shop of the week is up! In the left hand corner you will find the link to Little Elephant & Co, an etsy shop selling charmingly packaged onesies, washcloths, bibs, and other goodies. I recently had the good fortune of finding the shop and bought this little box (and bouquet) of sweetness for my cousin who just had her first baby, and I'm super happy with it!

It's called the 'cupcake set and washcloth bouquet' and I think it is just the funnest way to give simple necessities like onesies and washcloths!

And the price is fantastic! Lindsey and I recently went to a baby shower for a mutual friend, and I spent 30$ at walmart on a package of diapers and a small outfit. Well, whoop-de-do basil. Not such a fun gift. In fact, I was a little embarrassed at having to give it when everyone else was giving her bags full of stuff. I'm not sure how all of these families are doing it, but I'm living on a budget people! A very tight budget, and I can't just go spending forty dollars here and fifty there. I'm sure some of you can relate.
Well lucky me, I just happened to get this item on a sale day which gave me 15% off, so along with tax and shipping it came out to about...da-dada-daa! 30$. That's it! For the exact same price, I was able to give a much cuter gift that's just as practical as it is adorable. And while it may not be a bag full of new outfits and accessories, I can feel good about giving onesies, bibs, washclothes, and burp rags because those will undoubtedly be needed and used. And you know she's just going to love the packaging!

Here are some other goodies from the shop:

Lollies, indiviually packaged cupcakes, a sushi platter, and a stand-alone shot of her adorable cupcakes respectively. I'd like to note that most of her items are topped with hand-knitted or felt little treasures to help add to the adorable-ness.

So there you go, a perfect go-to shop for any babyshower or new-baby gift, and very reasonably priced. ♥

Edit: littleelephantandco is back open and better than ever! Go check her out!

Jessica at J.LiLy