The Joy Cottage

Free Valentine's Day Tag

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:18:50 PST

Hello all! I created these Valentine's Day tags for Gavin for his class party next week. I thought I would share it with ya'll too.

For a long time, I didn't like Valentine's Day. I know it's all part of the corporate greed to try to get us to buy their products. So how do I take part in this holiday without giving my money to these companies? DIY, I say! DIY! (or buy handmade!)

I printed my tags out on off-white paper that I got from the scrapbooking section in the craft store and then cut the tags out with my exacto knife and hole punched them. Scissors will be fine too. I will be using these tags to tie around small brown bags that has a sugar cookie inside that I've baked. I think they'll be pretty cute! G will give them out to his friends and to his teachers.

Hope you guys like them!

Click here to download a "friend" tag.
Click here to download a "teacher" tag.

xo,
Anna Joy

God Carpe Diems

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:40:38 PST

*Disclaimer: This article has nothing to do with sewing or quilting. Eek!*

I read this article awhile back. I understood what the writer was trying to express. Motherhood is hard. There are those times where you do not want to enjoy the moments with your little ones because they ran away from you at Target or they are back talking to you in front of strangers. I totally get that. But I don't agree.

I felt out of the loop because a lot of people felt enlightened by her article but I was not. Nothing against the writer because I find that I do like a lot of her articles. I think she is a great example of a Godly woman. But at the end of the day, it all came down to my "Life Verse":

Be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

In my hard times, which when we think about it are not really that hard in comparison to what others are going through in their lives, I am always reminded that I need to be joyful ALWAYS. Not sometimes. Not when it suits me. Not when things are going really good. ALWAYS.

Even when G trashes his room right after I cleaned it for him? ALWAYS. Why? Thank you, Jesus, he has a room to call his own and toys that I put up after he was able to play with them.

Even when I find out that we are about to spend $1000 on our truck? ALWAYS. Thank you, Jesus, we even have a truck and that he has provided us the money to cover our expenses.

Even when I am 27 years old and still have another year in school and I just want to rip my hair out over it? ALWAYS. Thank you, Jesus, for my education. For allowing me to learn about the things that I am passionate about and to meet amazing designers who also know and love you. Thank you that I am never too old to go to school.

And no, I'm not perfect. I'm not good at remembering to be joyful always. I lose my temper and act just like my three old does when things don't go my way. But thank you for God's grace that he's already forgiven me and in my anger, he reminds me, "Be joyful always." And I will choose, even while grinding my teeth, to be do just that.

I read this article this morning that sparked this topic again for me. Ann Voskamp summed up every feeling I had over the first article. I encourage all mommies, daddies, girls, and boys to read it.

xoxo,

Anna Joy

"Instragram"

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:51:38 PST

I have an Android smartphone. They don't have Hipstamatic or Instagram for us yet. Will this ever change? They say it will. But I've yet to see the app. Hmph.

But there is an app called FxCamera which has the retro-feelish type pics that I like to use. And I guess my "Instagram" for now will just be emailing the pictures to myself to post it for all to see. Here's what happened to me last week.

We are drinking Green Smoothies. They are delish. We are doing a Green Smoothie Cleanse this week. More on that later.

My sweet friend, Brit, baked me cupcakes for my birthday and put them in a pretty striped box that she painted. I love her.

I found this pretty book with Katie Daisy illustrations all over it!

Making laundry soap. G was demonstrating for me so I could take a picture.

Our Dixie cat.

Play time.

Even G loves a Green Smoothie.

At G's school, the kids told their teachers who they loved. G picked me. :) Sorry, Papa! (Although G loves him very much too.)

And a special gift from my bbff (blogger best friend), Lesley. I love it. And guess what? Lesley is selling them in her new etsy shop! Hooray!

Have a great day everyone!

xo,
Anna

So...Blogging...

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:02:38 PST

If you can't tell, I've become really bad at blogging. Like...really bad. One reason being I'm busy and putting blogging behind seems to help me stay on task with everything. Another reason is I am really lazy about getting my pictures off my camera, into my computer, editing them, and then uploading them. The other reason being is well, I don't know what to talk about.

I'm going to sit down this weekend and think about the different things I want to blog about. I'm going to be better at taking my pictures and immediately uploading them on my computer. And I'm going to be more consistent about posting every week. If not everyday, then at least every other day. I can and I will!

Ok, enough of my pep talk. Here are the things I made this week.

A full size quilt. This is my first time to stipple a quilt this big and it was not that bad. I love the fresh white all over with the pops of color. There's a bunting pattern on the back but I didn't get to take a good picture of it. I love the pillows that match.

Beautiful name pillows.

And I finished the Memory Quilt.

I hope next week I can show you a couple of graphic designs I've been working on for my clients and my school project. Also have been working on some prints that I want to add to the shop. Yes, prints, finally!!!

Happy weekend!

xo,
Anna Joy

The Shop Is Open!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:46:49 PST

Good morning. Today is my birthday. I am 27. It feels really old. I'm not sure why. I think it's because I am technically in my late 20's and that just sounds weird cause I still feel like a kid. So far, I've been having the best birthday week and I'm excited to open up the shop again this morning!

I added two new items.

Custom Half Square Triangle Pillow.

And Custom State Pillows.

I have two more custom pillows to list in the shop later this week so I'll show them off then!

Help me celebrate my birthday with a 27% off coupon TODAY ONLY. Enter "IAM27" in the coupon code box while checking out.

Have a great day everyone!

xo,
Anna

Pattern

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:34:31 PST

I designed my first pattern this weekend.

I like it. Ultimately, my career goal is to be a textile designer. This is just the beginning of it.

xo,
Anna Joy

Knocking Out Those Orders

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:24:24 PST

Did you order and are anxiously waiting for your item? Don't worry. I'm working as fast as I can to get them to you!

This set is for my dearest friend and her new baby.

And a Memory Quilt in the making.

I am looking forward to the day where I see the "0" in the pending orders section in Etsy. Then, the real fun begins. :) Quilt designs and prints, oh prints, are in the making! But only when I clear out all my orders.

I hope everyone is having a great week and will have a great weekend. One more week until the shop opens again!

xo,
Anna Joy

I Will Probably Not Take Christmas Orders Again

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:00:32 PST

So the holidays...let's just say, I did not anticipate how much work it would be. I got flooded with orders which I'm very grateful for but the month of December was not one of merriment and joy like it's suppose to be. I was sewing all day and all night, pulling 2 all nighters, and didn't get to do much with my family. I had plans to do the Advent Calendar and other traditions I wanted to start but between orders and finals, it was too much. I'm still catching up on orders but I'm happy to say I'm almost caught up. I'm looking forward to this 2 week break. I'll be working on all pending orders but once those are done, I'll have a 2 week "break"! I say break but I'm pretty sure I'll create projects for myself to keep me busy. I can't help it!

I made some pretty pillows this past week. Everyone's been asking for some pretty spring time colors...it makes me count down the days until it's warm again!

This pillow is for a dear preggo friend of mine. I hope she likes it!

Don't forget this is your last day to place orders before I close my shop for the break. I'm already working and finishing some new products for the shop once I open again which will be January 30. Let's say it involves states and couples. :)

xoxo,
Anna

A Clean Slate

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:53:30 PST

There are changes going on already in 2012. The first one is clearing out the things that are not important or beneficial to me, my family, or business. As I looked at all the things I did for this blog, I couldn't help but feel that CrazyJoy was one of those things. I had this feeling for a while but I ignored it. Lesley and I said we were doing it for 52 weeks and we still had 20 weeks left to go so I thought I'd just stick it out. But when Lesley approached me and said that she had been feeling the same way as me, I knew it was time to stop. It's kind of bittersweet - bitter that we didn't finish the series but sweet because it was getting to be a burden on me. I want to continue taking pictures but probably on my own for my enjoyment. So thank you to all of you who participated with us. It was so much fun looking at everyone's pictures and creativity on each word. Maybe one day Lesley and I can do another project together but for now, a clean slate is probably the best.

And don't forget I'm closing the shop on January 14 for a couple of weeks. I predict to be back January 30 but we'll see. I'll keep everyone posted. So if you've been wanting a product, now is the time to purchase it!

Sorry to be a downer today! Hopefully I'll have a more upbeat post for you to enjoy this week!

xo,
Anna

Plans for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:00:07 PST

I hope everyone had a great New Year! We rung in 2012 by taking a weekend trip out to Winnsboro, Texas and stayed at our friend's ranch house with a couple of our friends and our kids. It was so peaceful and relaxing. It's nice to getaway every once and a while! The men built a 25 foot bonfire while us ladies took care of the kiddos. It was a great weekend!

Just a reminder that I am closing the shop on January 14th for two weeks. I'm taking time off to finish all pending orders that I have so when I reopen, I can have a fresh slate. I have many plans and new products I want to start working on to debut for spring!

Not only do I have plans for For The Love of Joy but also for Striped Feather Company. I have been sketching and designing for the past 2 weeks and I have about 8 new quilt designs I like to complete and make patterns for. I am hoping to take a great portfolio to Quilt Market this fall so it's time to get to work! Because of this, I am no longer taking quilt orders. I am also going to be retiring my Birthday Mini Quilts and Library Tote Bags. I absolutely love making these items for my customers but they take a lot of time and commitment and for this year, I am committing myself to design instead of production. Fear not, I am still taking custom orders for pillows and boppy covers!

For the blog, I'll be only posting here and there for this month. I am redesigning my blog right now so be on the lookout for a new look soon! I also want to make this blog not only about the things I make, but about my personal life. And my personal life includes my family, school, and above all, Jesus. That might sound corny or lame and that's ok. I guess you can say I really like corny and lame and the things that happen in my life is meant to be shared to those who want to listen because, after all, it is Good News.

I am also doing freelance graphic design work. I am offering branding packages which include logos, banners, business cards, letterheads, etc. I am also able to design invitations, posters, flyers, and pretty much anything you can think of. You'll be getting professional quality designs for half the price of since I am still a student. I will also be presenting my projects to professors and other design students for quality feedback to insure I am designing to the best of my ability. I am putting together my portfolio and resume in hopes to get an internship this year with an agency. So if branding/rebranding is something that you have been wanting to do for your biz, contact me! And you can view my portfolio here.

Lots of planning and scheming is being done over here but I love it. I am always curious on what the future holds. However, I am always reminded of this verse while doing it:

"Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will we will live and do this or that."
-James 4:13-15

It is really fun to plan. It's fun to make lists and goals and to dream my dreams. But what does it really matter if it's not the Lord's will for your life?

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
-Jeremiah 29:11

I want the Lord's plan for me because whatever I am trying to scheme, it's not nearly as cool and awesome as what God has in store for me.

Happy Wednesday!

xo,
Anna

Good Bye 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:28:37 PST

Hi everyone! I hope everyone's Christmas was wonderful. Mine was great! Kind of sad it is over but ready to embrace the new year. I feel that 2012 is going to be epic - I feel it in my bones. I have a New Year's Resolution list that I want to keep private until the end of next year. It'll be fun to look back on it and see what happened and what didn't! As for 2011, I am so grateful that my family has been healthy and safe and all together. Many of my career-related prayers had been answered: I got to operate my shop full time, attend Quilt Market, meet my favorite designers, and work with Ann Kelle! The biggest prayer was answered this year? God saved our family. Talk about being far away for 5 years and to come back to a loving and merciful Lord. He's doing great things in our lives and I can't wait to see what happens in 2012. Thank God for a great year!

Just a couple of pictures of the last of the orders that shipped out for this year!

My favorite boppy by far. These colors are awesome!

And look what Ann Kelle sent me for Christmas:

Be on the lookout for some awesome sewing tutorials next year!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me this year. I am so blessed by you all!

See you next year!

xo,
Anna

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:55:44 PST

We'll be back next week with another CrazyJoy challenge but for now, I wish you joy, peace, and love for Christmas!

xoxo,
Anna Joy

CrazyJoy{Sighting}

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:32:53 PST

Hey ya'll! Here's our results for this week's CrazyJoy Challenge.

Sighting. Every time we walk in the kitchen, my cat gets all wide eyed and quickly looks up from eating. Cats are funny.

And here's Lesley's.

Link up with us if you want to play!

And don't forget my 50% off coupon expires on Christmas. Enter "FORHISGLORY" in the coupon code box while checking out.

xo,
Anna

A Little Photo Shoot

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:24:08 PST

Last week, I took Gavin to my friend, Sara's house, to get Christmas pictures taken. He doesn't like his picture taken in the first place and mix it in with being sick all week...it didn't go quite well. He threw a huge tantrum. Sara had to call in her own 3 year old son to entertain Gavin so he would at least be happy. I got the pictures and I am in love. You would've never had guessed he was so grumpy the whole time!

Gavin's best friend, Big Bear, got to participate in the photo shoot too.

I added the text to the last one. So in love with this little guy. :)

If you're local, check out Sara! She's specializes in children and uses only natural light. Amazing work from her!

xoxo,
Anna

CrazyJoy {Dark}

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 07:39:46 PST

Whew. Finals week. Need I say more? Because it is finals week, I have not even taken my crazyjoy picture yet! AHHH!!! But I will tonight. ;) So for now, I will post Lesley's and the link up thingy. ~~Mine will be available tomorrow to see on this post.~~ Posted!

My photo has no meaning behind it except I wanted to try a blurred out photo. I sat in Gavin's room while he was sleeping and took a picture with the tree peeking through. Yayyyy.

This Lesley's.

Hmm...apparently P thinks it's cool to party it up at 3:30am! Hope she snaps out of it soon...for mommy and daddy's sake!

Have a great night!

xoxo,
Anna

CrazyJoy and A Thank You

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 10:22:14 PST

First off, the world did not end. Praise the Lord! The beginning of this week was a dark one for me but around Tuesday evening I could feel the heavy burden lifted off of my shoulders no doubt in thanks to everyone's prayers and thoughts. I am grateful for the support and love of you all...I would not be where I am with out you!

This week's CrazyJoy challenge is:

Come join our challenge:

Think on the word, photograph it, draw it, make it, whatever you want to do to represent it
Come back Monday and I will post me and Lesley's photo and you can link up through Thursday with your interpretation
Then check out Lesley's blog on Friday where she will post our favorite entry and the new challenge word

And this is our favorite from last week's challenge, "twinkle":

Thank you to Stephanie and everyone else who participated!

Hope everyone has a happy weekend!

xoxo,
Anna

Have You Ever?

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:35:28 PST

Have you ever had a week where everything just seems to fall apart? Just when things can't get worse, they do. Kiddo keeps getting sick, money is running low, design and work does not meet expectations of others...it's the kind of depression that eats you up inside. All I want to do is lay in my bed and cry but that is not what is demanded of me. I have to shake it off, continue my day, and lean on the Lord to pull me out of the storm.

Being a designer/artist is hard. Everything you do is on the line. I could receive a thousand praises but the one negative feedback will make me fall apart. I dwell on it. I doubt and blame myself. I wonder why I was called to do this. Why couldn't I do something else that wasn't so personal? My emotions are so low...it really feels like the world is ending.

"Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:27-29

One thing I know, that no matter the circumstances, God is constant and His love never fails. This is my prayer for anyone else who is struggling.

This has been a hard season. If you feel led to, please pray for me and my family. We need the Lord's favor more than ever.

From now until Christmas, I am offering 50% off all orders. Enter "FORHISGLORY" in the coupon code box during check out.

xoxo,
Anna

CrazyJoy {Twinkle}

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:44:06 PST

Hello! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was...so so. Great as in I finally had a weekend where I didn't have to go somewhere and I spent time with little boy and getting work done. Not so great as Gavin had another ear infection and we had to go to CareNow again. Now why can't this happen on a week night where we can call his regular doctor in the morning? Me and him slept out on the couch Saturday night so I could keep him upright to relieve some pain in his ears. Poor guy. I fear tubes in his ears are in the future...

Here are our results for this week's CrazyJoy.

I love the twinkle in Christmas lights. And I love to play with bokeh with them on my camera!

And here's Lesley's.
Yay, we thought ALMOST alike again! ;)
Link up with on her blog if you want to play! We love to see everyone's photos!

Happy Monday!

xoxo,
Anna

25% off Sale This Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 07:50:45 PST

Howdy! To kick off the weekend, I wanted to do another fun sale for you all. Let's just say I'm feeling very generous this season. :) Enter "MERRYCHRISTMAS" in the coupon code box to receive 25% off anything in the shop!

Also, I am closing my shop for a couple of weeks in January and won't be taking orders. I know sometimes it's hard to buy handmade because of the prices so I hope this coupon will bless someone this weekend to be able to purchase something they've had their hearts set on for a while. I hate for anyone to miss the opportunity to buy one of my products!

Also, I am taking quilt orders RIGHT NOW. I can split up the payments 2-3 times within a 2 week setting to help. I can do just about any design that you desire as well.

And don't forget I have READY TO SHIP items in the shop! Perfect little handmade goodness to gift to that special someone.

I hope you like what you see. :) Have a great weekend and I'll be back with the CrazyJoy word challenge later today.

xoxo,
Anna

Patchwork Stockings Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:35:53 PST

Happy December everyone! I can't believe the end of the year is almost here. Time flies for sure. Let's kick off the holiday season with sewing goodness, shall we?

You know you want to make these. They're so cute I could just eat them! Click here for the easy peasy tutorial!

Happy Thursday!

xoxo,
Anna

12 Days of Christmas Starts Tomorrow!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:08:44 PST

Hello hello hello. How is everyone? I'm swell. Little one is feeling better but has a nasty cough going on. Sigh. Praying it goes away with some good ol' home treatments and we won't have to visit the doctor. I'm approaching the last week of the semester. My last project and last test is tomorrow in two classes and that will be a big burden off my shoulders. Just one more project and final to go! And of course, I've scheduled myself to stay up very late this Friday and Saturday to work on everybody's orders. So if you'd ordered before October 31, I'm working on your stuff! Everything is due to ship out at the LATEST December 16. Plenty of time to make it for Christmas! :)

Not only am I doing that, but I'm doing a fun project over at Striped Feather Company called 12 Days of Christmas!

From December 1-12, we will be making Christmas crafts using fabric. Some of them are sewing intensive and some are not. Lots of great projects for everyone to do! And to kick the project off, I'll be showing my tutorial on how to make pattern stockings with Ann Kelle's fabrics! Here's a sneaky peek:

So join us, all you craft gals, tomorrow!

Happy Wednesday!

xoxo,
Anna

CrazyJoy {Buy}

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 07:47:48 PST

Hi all! Finally, here are my results for CrazyJoy's "buy".

When I look at my budget, the number one place my money goes to is food, especially here! It's located in the art department at school so it's hard to turn it down for breakfast and lunch. My favorite is the cinnamon sugar bagels in the morning and then a veg out sandwich for lunch!

And here is Lesley's. Pretty bow!!!

Link up with us!

Happy Tuesday all!

xoxo,
Anna

CrazyJoy Tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:39:47 PST

Sigh. Little one is not feeling well and I'm also working hard on a project that is due tomorrow. So I will post my photo tomorrow with the link up. Sorry folks!

Also, my sale is still going on. I forgot about Cyber Monday and since my day was a little bit hectic, I let the sale continue. ;) Your welcome.

Hope everyone had a great Monday!

xoxo,
Anna

CrazyJoy

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:19:31 PST

Are you all stuffed with turkey and other goodies from yesterday? Did you eat left overs from yesterday for breakfast? Did you contemplate putting on maternity jeans before feasting? I raise my hand to all of those. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and my baby boy had the best birthday. Yesterday was awesome.

Time for this week's new word.

Want to participate?

Think on the word, photograph it, draw it, make it, whatever you want to do to represent it
Come back Monday and I will post me and Lesley's photo and you can link up through Thursday with your interpretation
Then check out Lesley's blog on Friday where she will post our favorite entry and the new challenge word

And here's our favorite picture from last week's word, "edge".

What a cool picture. Thank you, Mirys, for playing and for everyone else who participated. We have loved looking through everyone's photos and seeing all the creativity and different interpretations of each word every week. Ya'll rock!

Don't forget I am having a Black Friday Sale at the shop! Everything has been reduced by 30% (unless they've already been discounted which includes all the combo items). I have a ton of new items that are ready to ship and have also been discounted by 30%. I hope ya'll have fun shopping!

xoxo,

Anna

Birthday and Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Joy) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 06:54:06 PST

Happy 3rd Birthday to the sweetest, coolest, funniest, kindest little boy we've ever known. How you've changed our lives when you entered our world and we thank God everyday for you. Mama and Papa love you more than you'll ever know.

Thanksgiving Day 3 years ago.

3 years old.

And have a Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers and customers. You will never know how much I appreciate everyone's support and business. I hope you all will come by for my Black Friday Sale! :)

xoxo,

Anna