Quirky Love Message Freebie

Sometimes you just need to publicly declare your love...via your blog...via a gnome...in a jar.  Here's a little freebie for just such occasions:

You're welcome.


*Special thanks to BoBoBabushkah for allowing me the use of this great image!

Photography with Jessica - Minimizing Under-Eye Circles

Here is another awesome Photoshop tutorial that I hope you will find really helpful!  This is the method I use for minimizing the look of under-eye circles.  Please know that I'm not an advocate of extreme retouching or fake looking pictures like those you see in fashion magazines.  All people have circles under their eyes to some extent.  That's just the shape of the human face and there is nothing wrong with that!  This video shows how I maintain a natural look while smoothing over any deep, dark, distracting areas...

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Vintage Valentine Cup Wraps!

In my vintage loving world, Valentine's Day is the cream of the crop, as far as holidays go.  With all the adorable vintage Valentine cards available, it's just so hard to choose which ones to share.  I am So in LOVE on how these little pretties turned out! :)

You can Find and Download the entire set HERE

Easy Download Directions:

 1.Click actions

2. Click on View All Sizes,

3.then select "ORIGINAL SIZE"

4.Save to your computer and print.

And Guess what!?!

These little wraps have a whole Other SET to go with them!!

I made them for a Lovey Friend to share with you all.

For any of you that want more Vintage Cup Wraps to give to that special Valentine, HERE are the ones I did Last year.

Till next time my Pretties!
xo,
Keren
www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Photography with Jessica - Photoshop Touch Ups

I wanted to continue with some more tutorials on post-processing.  This little video is all about the cloning tool and the healing tool in Photoshop.  They are great for getting rid of blemishes on skin, lint on clothes, small unsightly objects in the background, etc.  I hope it's helpful to you in touching up your photos!

Soul Spilling (& a freebie)

I almost forgot what a computer is over the holidays.  We went from Michigan to Arizona so we could spend some time with my husband's family...and we even hit New Mexico to visit some of mine.  It was a whirlwind trip, but so worth it.  I really have the coolest family and family-in-law on the planet.  I've also got some super fantastic friends.  It was lovely getting to see Jessica during our time in AZ.  I wish each of you could do a shoot with her or take one of her workshops just for the chance to spend some time with her.  She's that cool.  Feeling rather blessed...and also a little lazy.  I brought my laptop, but didn't touch it once.  Not even a peek.  It was lovely!  Since I've been home, I've been trying to slowly ease myself back into cyber world.  But not very hard, if I'm being totally honest.  :)

2011 was all about acceptance for me.  I didn't particularly intend that, but it just happened that way.  I feel like I learned so much about accepting myself- the good and the bad, and just being cool with that.  I hope to be a better person in the future, but today I am rather hopelessly flawed...and I'm okay with that...mostly.  Ha!  It takes practice.  This year I am going to try my best to simplify.  I've already put some of my big plans on hold so that I can make my life a bit easier and spend that much more time with my little girls while they are still little.  I love Shabby Blogs, but the majority of my heart will forever be with my family.  I hope you understand!  I'll still be releasing new goodies and posting here, but it just won't ever be at the expense of my family.  Not that it ever was.  It's just so easy to get sucked into Cyberspace.  Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest...all of it.  Even just having an iphone makes me feel like I am plugged in 24/7.  I don't like that.  My life is here...in my own home...with my own family...in my own mind and heart and hands.  Everything else can wait.  Simple as that.

Speaking of my own family, I snapped a few pictures of my dear in-laws during our trip and these particular shots inspired me to create a little goody for you...

Aren't they the cutest?!!  And I love these frames because they are neutral so they go with everything.  Just click on the png image below for the full-sized version and save it to your computer.  Can't wait to see how you use these!

Sorry for the soul-spilling, but as long as I'm sharing, I just want to say thank you to each of you who follow this blog and our website.  Your support and friendship means so much to us.  We truly thank you for being such amazing fans and friends.

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Shabby Pink Christmas Tags

Hi there everyone! It's been WAY too long and I've missed you all so very much!
Like Megan mentioned, I was in the middle of moving cross country and let's just say moving cross country  will never be in my To Do List again. EVER.

In the mist of all the madness, I did manage to sneak away and create a very LAST minute Christmas Freebie, for you all! I've always loved a man in Pink, and Ol' Saint Nick never looked so good! ;)

To download this vintage goodie click Here!

vintage clip art credit: Two Crazy Crafters
 PS custom shapes: Starsunflower Studio

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

xo, 

www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Serious bang for a buck!

I'm not a money person.  I don't like to think about money, budget money, handle money, or even really make money as you can see by my lackluster approach to chasing down blog and website sponsors.  I do love a good deal though.  I like to see how far my pennies can stretch while finding things I love.  A vintage treasure here, a Target coupon there.  Nothing too fancy, but it's fun sometimes to see what a well-placed dollar can get you.  Having said that, I'm pretty sure I have come across the best deal of all time.  Seriously.  Have you ever heard of this?

I just recently discovered Give 1 Save 1 through my friend Alisa and it is AWESOME!  In a nutshell, you give one dollar to save one child.  ONE dollar.  I've bought several things throughout my life with a dollar.  A diet Coke at McDonald's, a carousel ride for my kids at the mall, a couple fake mustaches from those little machines that spit out the little plastic egg things.  None of that can even compare to helping a child in need of adoption unite with a family.  Maybe my little dollar or your little dollar alone can't do all that much, but together, we can do really great things.  What do you say?  Will ya give a buck?  Okay, actually, will you give two?  Because I really want you to do this right now so you can download Alisa's gorgeous printable art, but I also want you to give one a little later when Yours Truly will be posting over there.  :)

Please go here and be a little bit more awesome today.

Free Printable Calendar Awesomeness

Things have been a little quiet at Shabby Blogs lately.  Jessica and Keren are still so busy and I have been totally selfish with my time.  I feel like November is a time for counting our blessings and December is a time for cherishing them.  I've been busy doing work for some upcoming things, but I have mostly been just cherishing being a mother and a wife.  Snuggling my little ones, trimming the tree, watching Christmas movies, doing fun little projects together as a family.  Last night my husband and I stayed up until 4am just laying in bed, laughing over the silliest things.  I love my little family and the coziness that falls upon our yellow farmhouse this time of year.  I hope you've been able to slow down and enjoy a little loveliness too!

I've been wanting to do a really special freebie that is December-worthy, but I haven't been able to think of anything rad enough.  Then it occurred to me to hit up my dear friend Adam of Fall Down Tree...who is practically bursting with awesome.  Holy smokes, has he delivered!  Do you remember that adorable printable calendar he was good enough to share with us last year?  Well, he has made another one and it is to die for, friends!  It's going on my wall TODAY.  It's only available to download until Tuesday the 13th so click quick, people!  :)

Give yourself the gift of AWESOME!

{click the above image for the download link}

Thank you so much, Adam!  You are full of talent and generosity from beard to toe.  :)  Also, I have it on good authority that there is a sale going on at the Fall Down Tree Etsy shop right now where you can buy two prints and get a third one free!  Sweet, huh?  I don't know about you, but I am aaaall over that.  Happy December!!!

Treasure Freebie

I know that not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving, but it is one of my favorite holidays.  I just think you can't be happy without being grateful and you can't be grateful without being happy.  A holiday that makes us slow down and think about our blessings is a cool thing.  My life may not be perfect (I keep expecting the pile of dirty clothes in my laundry room to sprout legs and come after me!  I swear I heard it growl.) but I am so grateful for all that I have been given.

Here is a photo frame/collage freebie for you to use in case you'd like to display your treasures with a bit of flair.  :)  Just click on it for the full-sized version and then save it to your computer!

 Thank you to each of you for visiting us and supporting us and being so kind to us.  We are grateful for you!

Blog Necessities Freebie

Whew.  Things are crazy in Shabbyville right now!  Jessica, Keren, and myself all have sooooo much going on!

Our brilliant and sweet photographer Jessica has got a brand new look and a brand new name.  Sierra Studios Photography is now Jessica Downey Photo.  She's launching her new site with a MASSIVE array of giveaways too long and fabulous to even list here!  Keep an eye on her blog and facebook page for all of the details!  It's going to be so rad!  Go Jessica!!!

Our talented and adorable Miss Keren is in the middle of a cross-country move from California to North Carolina.  That's all.  No biggie.  Ha!!!  She's taking a little time to get settled in and I can't wait to hear all about her new digs!

Me?  I'm working on some top secret shabby awesomeness.  I can't give details yet, but just trust me when I say that some really cool stuff is coming soon!  :)

Ooookay.  So on to the freebie...

I don't know about you, but when it comes to writing new blog posts, I have found that there are certain things I need over and over again.  I created this freebie pack for you with the necessities in mind.  Included are 3 arrows, 2 speech bubbles, and 1 label.  There are two versions of each- one with shadows and one without.  These are so great for before and after photos as well as quotes and titles and whatever else you can think of!  They can be your go-to goodies and I hope you have fun with them!  Just for the heck of it, here's a little example for you:

Shabby Blogs Necessities:

Download