CUSTOM ORDERS
I would like to let everyone know that in order to enjoy some time with the family and kids, I am not taking any more custom orders for the rest of 2014. The listing on the shop for them have been removed but I will reactivate them and start taking orders for them on January 5th 2015. 

BOXING SALE
Use coupon code "BOXINGSALE" and receive 25% off everything in the shop between December 26 to 28 2014.

HOLIDAY SHIPPING
Any orders received between December 26th - January 1st will be shipped on January 5th 2014.

EMAILS AND INQUIRES
I will continue to respond to all inquiries and emails over the holidays, as I can do that from almost anywhere, 
so if you have any questions please feel free to email me or use the contact form here. 

THANK YOU all for your orders and support, it means the absolute world to me and may you all be enjoying the holidays!
Merry Christmas! 

xoxo
Karen

There are tons of sales going on right now and guess what? We are having one too! 
If there has been anything that you have been thinking about getting in the shop, now is the time to do it! 
We only do this twice a year so take advantage now. 
It would seriously warm my heart to package up one of our prints for you, so pop by the shop and shop :)

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." 

I truly love to work on prints about love and for me 1 Corinthians 13 is full of truths and inspiration. I remember hearing these words when I was single and thinking that they were beautiful. Now after ten years of marriage the words are still beautiful but I now better understand the depth of the words....the truth of those words...and find them comforting and inspiring. 

That was my inspiration, a print that touches the heart of newly weds as well as those celebrating  years (and years) of marriage. Corinthians, I think, was the right choice. 
What do you think?  

My oh my, where has the time gone!?  It has been too long since I was here but I have had my hands full with my two little ones over the summer! This has been the first time since my last maternity leave that I was able to spend the summer with them and it was fantastic! We worked on summer journals, sewing projects, went strawberry picking, to baseball games, had picnics, took a train trip, went camping, hiking, swimming, etc, etc, etc....but alas...it has come to an end. 

The kids are officially back in school and the house is now so very quiet during the day which is very odd and a little sad. The upside is I have time again for the blog and to work on a list of new prints that I have been scribbling down in my notebook all summer...it's only been two days but I have been busy in the studio and happily creating!

I hope you'll join me here again as I have missed being in this place and have missed you. Come back later this week as I will be posting about my son's Super Hero party that some of you might have seen glimpses of on my instagram account.
It was a grand way to close off the summer. What were your summer hightlights? 

It is the almost the middle of May and that means that the end of the school year is just around the corner. How did that fly by so quickly? 

Parents are booking summer school, summer activities, summer camps and soon enough the last day of school will be here and the kids will be saying good bye to their teachers for the last time until September rolls around again.

I enjoy seeing children buying soaps, suds, mugs and chocolates for their teachers. I think the effort and the gesture speaks volumes....my teacher is appreciated and is worth a little extra. 

I also know from personal experience, in a general sense as I am not a teacher, that there is no better feeling than having someone tell you why you are appreciated and why you are worth that little extra effort.

It is these two observations that served as my inspiration for this customizable Teacher Appreciation print. The print contains the reasons why teachers are special to us, the impact they have made on us and lets them know we are appreciative and thankful for everything they do. I gifted these prints, customized with their names, to the educators in our old preschool and to my daughters JK teacher last year and the reaction was exactly what I had hoped for...they were impactful and certainly well received. 

A simple print, a simple frame and a simple message; We appreciate our teachers and we thank our teachers...
for everything they are and for everything they do. 

All right, perhaps sexy isn't the right word but as a mother of two young children, I fold a lot of laundry.  Sometimes I see families with three, four or more children and I shudder to think of the laundry that is produced with those numbers! Regardless, there just isn't anything sexy about folding bed sheets, little itty bitty socks and little feety pyjamas... warm and fuzzy, yes....sexy, no. 

Now coincidently there really isn't anything appealing about out laundry room either, which is something we will be tackling as soon as spring actually shows up here. We will be moving things around, painting, organizing and of course leaving room for this print. 
It is all truth with just a touch of naughtiness to make people take a second look and well, that just makes me giggle. 

As I said, perhaps sexy isn't the right word, naughty might have been better but either way, this print will add some humour to the room and put a smile on my face despite the piles (and piles) of laundry that await me there. 

What do you do to make your laundry room more pleasant? Art, music, colour? 
I'd love to know while I am still in the planning stage :)

Being in love is really a nice place to be, it can be intense, overwhelming, exciting but sometimes it can just be funny. One of the things I like about being in love, being married, especially being married for over 10 years now is the freedom and comfort to just be me. 

The problem is that this same comfort also shows on your face, in your eyes, in your reactions without really thinking about it. In my case, I have found myself talking to my husband and finding that 'look' on his face. What look you ask? The look of him deciding if I have lost my mind or not. 

That is what inspired this print. 

You think I would be offended by the look but honestly, I do have some 'quirky' moments and some 'lofty' ideas. He is the anchor that keeps my feet on the ground while my head is in the clouds, the voice of reason and no matter what, my biggest believer and supporter…so I don't take offence to the look. In fact I am grateful to have someone I can be so true and free with. That is why I love him, love him like crazy…

Have you seen this look from your partner before? Or are you the one who has had this look on your own face?
Please tell me I not the only one ;)

K.

Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating in the United States. I sincerley hope that you will be in the presence of your friends, your family, while enjoying some delicious turkey, stuffing and maybe a few sweets (perhaps even a nap)! 

 For us Canadians, Thanksgiving was over a month ago and although we may not be basting our turkeys this weekend, we certainly are looking forward to a different tradition...enjoying some of those great Black Friday sales! As I did last year, I have a list of small business online stores I plan to visit and support and in turn cross some items off my shopping list.

As a shop owner, I too will be having a sale. Starting Black Friday through to Cyber Monday, just use the coupon code "BLACKCYBER20" in order to receive 20% off anything in the shop. Stop on by the shop and take a look; there is something for moms, dads, spouses, new mothers, tired mothers, your personal trainer or even that truly unique person in your life...perhaps one of my prints might just be right for them!

If you'd like to check out some other shops, fromhousepartiestohousewife.com has a great shop list to check out, Marisa from Omiyage will be having a Black Friday sale round up posted up on Oh My Handmade Goodness and while you are there, don't forget to check out the Holiday Gift Guide Pin Party and the pre-sale of the simply wonderful  2014 Community Letterpress Calendar. 

No matter what you do this weekend, eat, be merry or shop…I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving, I wish you a happy weekend and if you get out there (physically or virtually), I hope you have fun shopping the Black Friday/Small Biz Saturday/Cyber Monday sales! 

If you have any links or sales we should know about, post them here in the comments…we'd love to check them out.

Thank you for popping by!
K.