New Designs

Hi Friends!

How was your weekend?

I have been insanely busy.

I think it is just because there is soooo much to do over the summer.

Baseball games, water-parks, swimming, hiking, gardening, boating, working on signs, etc.

The one thing I'm not doing enough of is sleeping.

There aren't enough hours in the day with so much to do :)

Play all day, work all night.

I've started to feel really exhausted.

So have my kids.

Dalton slept til noon today!

Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it?

I think I need to simplify my life.

But there are only so many things I can do.

I could quit my shop.

I could quit my blog.

But I'm not quite ready to do either of those.

But I definitely need to do something.

In the mean time...

I wanted to show off my two newest signs in my shop:

I painted this one for my sister-in-law, Joy, for her birthday.

I told her that I would paint anything she wanted and she picked this song.

I love it!

Now my mom wants one too :)

At church, I teach the 12-13 year old girls.

They are so much fun!

One of my girls turned 13 and I painted this sign for her: 

That's what we've been up to around here :)

And next week is already filling up with all of the fun things to do around the 4th...

Birthday Banner

A few months back, I made these pennant flags for Darcy of My 3 Boybarians.

It's reversible with the boy colors on one side, and the girl colors on the other.

She just sent me this birthday photo that she took using the flags.

I LOVE it and I can't wait to see her use the girl side too!

I makes me wish I lived closer so I could have her take all of my boys first birthday photos :)  Too cute! 

Photo Op

How cute is this!!!

This awesome photographer (also named Caitlin) bought this sign for her little boy, but then also used it in a photo shoot.  Now I want to do a photo shoot with my boys and their sign!

Also, Evanne from Simply FABulous is doing a giveaway $50 worth of prizes from my etsy shop and from Brittany's!  Make sure to head over to enter :)

Happy Monday!!

I love you because...

Brittany and I decided to team up this week and each create something RED to support CHD Awareness Week.  This is what I made:

I've listed it in my etsy shop, and the proceeds will go to support CHD Research.  Check out what Brittany did HERE.

Valentine's Day Ideas

Sorry for the absence yesterday, I was sick all weekend and took a day off.

Today, I have some cute Valentine's Day ideas for you! 

First of all, this is a sign that someone custom ordered from me, but I thought it would make a cute Valentine's Day decoration too :)
 "I LOVE YOU BECAUSE..." hand painted chalkboard sign in RED chalkboard.

 caitcreate.etsy.com

  And here are a couple that I found on Pinterest yesterday:


I {heart} U Valentine's Day pop-up card template-

 via
Valentine's Day treats for friends-
"I dig you!" 

via

I LOVE this idea!  Such a cute way to send a Valentine to cousins and Grandparents.
Hope no cousins or grandparents of ours read this post because I think I'm going to send out Valentine's like this :)

 via

 This one is such a cute Valentine's Day decor piece.
I don't have very many Valentine's Day decorations, so maybe I'll make something like this.  Isn't it cute!

via

Are you excited for Valentine's Day yet?
I usually don't even think about it until February, but Valentine's stuff is all over the internet these days and it inspired me :)

Happy Black Friday!

EVERYTHING in my Etsy Shop is on sale for 24 hours only!

Orders over $50 will receive a free Christmas decoration with purchase.

You can also find me here:
Craftaholics Anonymous Handmade Black Friday
Through the Eyes of the Mrs.
Love Stitched
Adventures of My Family of 8

(Limited quantities available)

GIVEAWAY X2

Today, I have TWO giveaways and I couldn't be more excited!

 My cousin Brittany introduced me to both of these cute girls and their cute blogs.

Head over to each of these blogs and enter to win a gift certificate to my shop!

Sumo's Sweet Stuff:

and...

Simply Sadie Jane

Brothers

I came across this quote a few weeks ago and fell in love...

It reminds me of my little guys...
Being a brother is better than being a superhero! 

The boys have a constant best friend, 
someone to play with, 
someone to fight with, 
someone to keep up with,
someone to look out for you,
someone to blame it on,
someone to scheme with,
someone who understands that boys simply can't aim in the toilet, 
someone to help you make it out of the deep end,
someone to help you climb up the cupboards and reach the treats,
someone to help you watch out for cars,
someone to help you team up against mom, 
someone to love you no matter what.


There's nothing else like a brother.

It is now the newest addition to my shop.

Visit cait + create on etsy to check it out :) 
(Also linked up on Tatertots and Jello and Tip Junkie)

A Happy Girl Giveaway

Have you ever heard of "A Happy Girl".

It's one of my favorite blogs.

I love her story, her hope, how she believes in miracles, and her views on motherhood.

I'm so excited to be doing a giveaway over on her blog today.

Head over read Tahnie's story and enter to win a

"Happy Girls" sign from my shop :)

New Fall Collection!!!

I finally have my fall collection up in my shop and I can't wait to show you!

First, I have been working on this one for a while.

It was a TON of work to paint (seriously), but I love how it turned out.

It is the ABC's of family rules.

It would also be perfect as classroom rules or playroom rules.

Inspired by a custom order that I got, I fell in love with this Audrey Hepburn quote:

I first painted just the "pretty girls" part of the quote, but then decided to paint a board with the whole thing...

Trying something new...this "I LOVE YOU BECAUSE..." sign is chalkboard :)

The idea is to leave little love notes behind for your husband, your kids, etc.

I'm thinking of painting a personalized one for each of my kids so that I can constantly surprise them by changing the message and telling them new reason why I love them.

This has always been one of my favorite quotes, so I couldn't resist.

Plus, after painting the extra large family rules, I needed some simplicity.

What do you think?

Another favorite quote and good reminder...and a new color.

"Vintage Plum".  I love it!  I thought my fall collection could use some deeper colors.

ABC - I love you.

Can you find the hidden "I {heart} U".

I thought it was obvious, but I keep having to point it out to people, so it must be more subtle than I thought it was.

I gave you a sneak peek of this one last week, but since, I've painted it in a few more colors to try it out.

The Harvest Collection:

I wanted to add some seasonal items to my shop so Nate and I decided to try out a wooden pennant banner.  I had to go hang it by my garden since that's what time of year it is "harvest."  I also found this darling burlap ribbon that I am currently in love with.  I need to go back to the store and buy out everything they have of it :)

"Pumpkin Patch" painted on weathered wood and sitting on a garden stake.

I put mine next to the pumpkins in my garden, but it also looked cute in a pot on my front porch next to where the Halloween pumpkins will be when it gets closer to Halloween.

"Falling for You - Autumn Leaves".

This was an experiment, but I think it turned out fun.

What do you think?

Once again, on weathered wood.

"Trick or Treat"

hand painted on a weathered wood block.

Can you tell I've been loving my weathered wood this season?

Because this is a block, it can sit anywhere in your house without a stand.

I had to paint this bag to remind myself that I am an artist and not just a painter.

I love making and designing signs, but every so often, I need to really paint.

This one glows in the dark too :)

To celebrate my new fall collection, I'm offering a 15% off discount code:

FALL15

Just enter the code when you checkout from my etsy shop:

caitcreate.etsy.com

Fallow Field Farm Marketplace

This weekend I'm teaming up with Handi Andi and we're going to be at Fallow Field Farm Marketplace...
We can't wait to show off our new designs and be a part of the marketplace!
If you live in Utah, make sure you come by and check it out.
Make sure to stop by our tent and say HI :)

Pretty Girls

I made this sign as a custom order, but I really love it, so I think I'm going to offer it in my shop...

What do you think?

GroopDealz!!!

Guess what...

I'm running a deal over at 

GroopDealz

this weekend!

I'm so excited!  Make sure to go check it out!!!

Coming Soon...

Here's the newest addition to my shop...

I'm going to try to get this listed this weekend.

My sister-in-law gave me the idea because we both have 3 boys.

I can't tell you how many times a day I have to ask:

"Did you flush?"

"Did you wash your hands?"

"Are you sure?"

"Did you brush your teeth yet?"

"What about flossing?"

Now, we have a constant reminder :)

It comes in:

Robin's Egg Blue

Chocolate Brown

Avocado Green

White with Carnation Pink

White with Black

Summer Wish List

A few things I'm wishing for this summer:

Darling "Gondola" Dress

http://www.shabbyapple.com/p-955-gondola.aspx

No snag elastic hair ties

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lizziestarr?ref=seller_info

A great bag for all of my summer stuff.

(sunscreen, sunglasses, camera, water bottle, etc.)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62857224/la-pomme-bicycle-flap-large-dark-yellow?ref=sr_list_7&ga_ref=auto&ga_search_query=summer+tote&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

Reusable Swimmy Diapers.

Our public pools out here require babies to wear a disposable swim diaper and a reusable one.  These ones look super cute and comfy :)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/74365985/snugs-swim-diaper?ref=sr_list_6&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=swimming&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

What do you want for summer?

New Designs

Here's some fun new designs I've been working on:

Love One Another

God Shed His Grace On Thee

Have a great weekend!

Keep Calm and DREAM On

Do you ever go through times in your life when it seems that the pieces just don't fit together?

When no matter how hard you try, it just isn't working?

When every door you try seems locked and every turn is a dead end?

Times like that inspired this:

I was talking to my friend Andi and we were tossing around ideas for my shop.

I said, "Well obviously I can't do 'Keep Calm and Dream On'".

Andi laughed and said "you have to do it!  Paint it for me, it's my theme.  Every time I think something is really going to work out...Dream on!  I will laugh every time I look at it."

So I painted it for Andi and it's become our favorite joke lately:

I thought my kids were going to go to bed on time tonight...Dream on...

I thought my husband would get a raise this year...Dream on...

I thought if I deep cleaned my house today it would stay clean for a while...Dream on...

I hoped we would have been able to save enough for a bigger car by now...Dream on...

I wish I had a house and a big backyard...Dream on...

I could go on, and on, and on...

And yet, despite everything going on, I can't help but dream...

And neither can she.

So one day, it's just got to work out.

And I'll be glad I kept on dreaming big...

attempt #256

Today, we had one of those mornings.

I woke up late (since I was up til 2 a.m. quilting...but that's another story),

so I had to rush the kids to get ready for school (which never goes well).

My kids don't rush.

The harder I push to hurry...the slower they seem to move.

We finally make it out the door, baby still in his jammies, and get to preschool 20 minutes late.

Since I didn't have time to wrap the package I was supposed to mail, and forgot the check I was supposed to cash, we opted for a trip to the gas station and a large diet coke instead :)

Bridger and I each picked a drink and I bought a pack of licorice for us to share.

Sure enough, I left the licorice on top of the car when I drove away.  

So when I had visions of a photo shoot with Bridger this morning, holding my newly painted "I am a child of God" sign, smiling, sun shining, birds singing, beautiful spring weather. etc...I should have known better...

So while holding the baby in one arm (still in his jammies) and the camera in the other, I tried everything I could think of:

"SMILE!"

"Look at Mommy"

"Say Cheese!"

"I'll give you a treat..."

 After a couple hundred attempts, this is the best we could do:

 "I am a child of God" hand painted distressed wood sign.

Custom colors available.

caitcreate.etsy.com

Ha ha...oh well.

We'll try again another day!

How was your morning?