Sunday, January 07, 2024

Habit Tracker Bundle

My most popular habit tracker digitized and made into a bundle. A GREAT VALUE! GO check it out here in my Etsy Shop - The Lost Button


This bundle contains: 

*365 and 366 Day Calendars (Leap and Non Leap Years) in 3 sizes (US Letter, A4, A5, and Poster 12"x18").  

*Individual Months (2 for Feb- leap and non leap years) enlarged to color in as you go in 3 sizes (US Letter, A4, and A5). Each month contains it's own unique motivational quote to help keep you inspired in the ways you are working to grow.



These are perfect for putting on your wall or in your favorite planner or journal. It gives just the right encouragement for helping you reach your goals. I developed this calendar design back in 2014 and my little family of 5 has really enjoyed using it over the years to keep track of our goals and cheer each other on. It's a fun and easy way to keep track of your year on just one page. It allows you to fill in the days and can be adaptable to any goal for the year or one goal to focus on each month. I created this because I am the type of person that has a hard time picking only one. This made it so that I could choose one intention each month and commit fully to it for that month instead of losing steam half way through the year. It is a printable PDF.  


This is a digital product. It will be ready to download right away! Purchase once and its yours forever!



Friday, December 29, 2023

Book of Mormon Reading Coloring Chart Printable

 


Do you have a goal to read the Book of Mormon this year? Just in time for 2024 Come Follow Me reading. It's encouraging and fun to track your progress with this simple reading coloring chart that I designed for my family and the kids in the primary that I teach. It is perfect for all ages and can be tracked as an individual or as a group, like a family. It's a great youth, seminary, or primary hand out. It's in my Etsy shop - The Lost Button (here) for digital download and is super cheap.


This chart comes in 4 sizes- US Letter, A4, A5, and 12"x18" (Poster) - that way you can print it and put it in the place you'd like (regular paper size, journal, poster to hang on the wall, etc.) 



The picture above was of the prototype before I had added finishing touches and President Nelson's quote at the bottom, but my daughter has enjoyed using it. You will too!


Wednesday, December 27, 2023

2024 Habit Trackers (Leap Year) and 2,000 SALE CELEBRATION SALE

YAY! I reached a really great mile stone in the last week in my Etsy shop (The Lost Button) of 2,000 sales! To celebrate I have put all my habit trackers 25% off (here). 




This has been an important year of growth! I began my shop in 2009 to sell my Halloween advent calendars, but hadn't done much with it since then until this last year when I realized I could be selling the little things for little prices. At first, I was really shocked and sad that someone had taken my stuff that I had put out there for free and was selling it without my permission. I was even more disappointed when I reached out and they wouldn't take it down. Instead of being angry I decided to look at the situation and say, "this is happening FOR me, not TO me." I got to learn from it instead of feeling like a victim. What a great gift to learn that I could sell my small stuff for small prices and not just the large stuff that took weeks to make for large prices. It filled me with confidence and happiness to know that I had good ideas- great and small. :) So thank you for all the support and love!

As an update, I wanted to share...

My most downloaded habit tracker is back, but updated for the 2024 Leap Year (here)

I've also updated the design (here) for those that asked for me to make it with digital numbers instead of the hand-written ones. The numbers are slightly larger for ease in reading as well. 


Both of these come in 4 sizes (US Letter, A4, A5, and Hobonichi Weeks Journal) and they can be found in my etsy shop https://thelostbutton.etsy.com


If you want to break it up into months, I also created these bundles for a year of months (2 different Februrary months so you could use it for leap and non leap years). These bundles are sold in the 4 sizes as well- US Letter, A4, A5, and Hobonichi Weeks Journal. They are in the shop on sale too. 


They are fun to color in. You can keep track of up to 6 goals- perfect for groups like your family, work, teams, to keep track of goals or for an individual working on a few things at once, like in the 75 Hard Challenge.


Whatever you are wanting to grown in this year, I have a few different types of options according to what fits you best. Even though these sell for really cheap, you can grab them now for even cheaper. :) 

I hope you have a wonderful 2024 filled with growth and happiness!

Thursday, November 30, 2023

First Vision Art Piece Christmas Sale

I have made more of these unique pieces of art in time for Christmas sales and have them up in my Etsy Shop - The Lost Button. They are on sale until December 13th at midnight (the last day to order them to guarantee delivery before Christmas) marked down 18%. They make wonderful, one-of-a-kind, meaningful Christmas gifts. Order soon, before the sale and current supplies end!


I sold of bunch of these 2 years ago when my sister and I took apart one of my personal lightbox designs and created a pattern for replicating them. From those sold I was able to get my own laser cutter and now I can make them here instead of my sister cutting them out and sending me kits to build of my design. :)

Here is the background behind this piece:

Testimonies come in layers of light. This representation of Joseph Smith's First Vision came to me a few years ago before I knew how to create it. The process came one layer at a time, drawing backwards and cutting each layer out by hand according to the piece I had cut just before. I didn't know how to make it work in the end, I just knew one step at a time and moved forward that way- just as we do with our lives and testimonies. 


We lived in Palmyra, NY one summer near The Grove where this vision took place 200(ish) years ago. I used to wander it with my family. We'd stop to paint, sketch, journal, read, and ponder/play. I based this particular section of my favorite little corner of the grove. This sacred event means everything to me and I am so happy to be able to share my heart with others this way. The original that this smaller piece is based off of is much bigger (3 feet tall) and has been in a bunch of art shows over the past 3 years. This smaller design is 11x9x4 inches. 


It has been such a special experience to have this piece lit and in my front room. The beautiful flow that plays off the layers of paper brings a quiet loveliness to my heart and home (simply stunning in the lower lights of the evening). I am not often bold in declaring my testimony, so I have loved how this has given me the opportunity to share an inner piece of myself with all who enter my home and see it.


With building them each individually it can take up to 2 weeks to make and send off to you. Often it's a one week turn around, but with the holidays it can extend the time. Each box comes with a safe led light/plug for longevity and plexiglass in the frame to protect the delicate paper layers. The light clips into the back where there is an engraved account of Joseph Smith's vision in the scriptures. 

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Black Sketchbook Drawings and Happy Thoughts

In the past 5-6 years, I've kept track of my art more on my Instagram page, The Lost Button. Recently, my middle daughter mentioned how much she loved reading my blog when I used to post more here and asked if I would pick it up again. I'm not sure how much blogs are used anymore, but I miss having this as a gathering place of art and happy moments too. So, I think I'll catch up on a few little happy thought drawings that I have created the last year or two in my black sketchbook. These drawings are almost always made while wandering in the mountains and so naturally become organic mandalas of some sort or another. 

Here's one I began on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the late summer next to a river my youngest daughter played in the entire time. 


I came home and finished it at my desk and it turned out like this.



Here's one I made for my husband's sketch club prompt last fall. I added more to the design later, but didn't like it as much so I'll only share this part of it. hahaha





This is one I began on a hike in the mountains while in a field of wild flowers.


I brought it with me on a vacation later that week and finished it while sitting on a large rock structure above a koi pond at a train depot. This particular spot was a favorite place to sit and play the guitar in my teen years and so special to share with my family while visiting in August. 



This is one I made for my cousin's daughter. I had started it while at a family gathering and she liked it so much I decided to give it to her when I finished. I created it in her favorite colors.


Here's a few random ones I made while out and about with my youngest daughter (she's my usual mountain exploring buddy). She's got a secret power of attracting little flying creatures to visit her and land on her fingers and head. They've found her since she was just a toddler. We've decided they are fairies in disguise and visiting her for being a kindred spirit.  





Here is a series of pictures of a little green flying insect meeting her and her surprise when he flew off. So fun to have captured that moment.


Here's another lucky shot. If you look closely at this photo of her sitting on a rock in the middle of a river, you can see that a little butterfly had landed on her finger. 


The last sketch/happy thought to share is from my most favorite time in the mountains. One this day in July, while in the mountains and working on this sketch that I had started at church, we witnessed a group of Greek women dancing in a circle. They were singing/praying in a ritual for their grieving friend who cried in the center of the circle on the ground. They invited me to join them. I didn't know their language or what they were saying. They were all singing different words and even in different tunes, but it was apparent that they were singing in replies to each other and they were there for their grieving friend and wailing with her. They changed their tune part way through and it built speed and became lighter until they were stomping and clapping and reaching down to their friend and lifting her up. It was beautiful. Our hearts were connected and I was crying with them. I gave them my unfinished sketch and hugged them. In broken English they told me that it was a special prayer for women and to be done outdoors. As my new friends left, the grove seemed to explode with butterflies and many flew to my daughter and landed on her. It is one of the most sacred experiences of my life. I knew it would have been extremely inappropriate to take pictures while they were dancing (even though it was so beautiful and I wanted to remember it forever), but I'm so glad I got a picture of the sketch before giving it away and of Pip with one of her butterflies/fairies. 




Wednesday, February 01, 2023

Other Kinds of Habit Tracking...

I've always been the type to love making goals and create ways to track them. That's why I made that year calendar broke up into months back in 2014 (here). I've made a few other ways for tracking; like when my family wanted to track their progress all together so I designed a form to hold a spot for all of us and our goals. I adjusted it a little when I did the NEW 75 Hard Challenge and needed 10 spaces to track. It could also be a fun way to work together as a group to reach goals for up to 10 people (family, co-workers, friends, etc). 


That chart was created to use the same sheet for each month by printing it and circling the new month at the top. I updated them a little and put them in the etsy shop (here) for Digital Download. They are also just $.99 so that anyone could get it if they wanted to. 


I hope it helps you reach your goals and form some new habits. :) 

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Valentine Puns (Digital Downloads)

 

For the last week or two I've been having fun making these little watercolor paintings with the thought in mind of making them into silly Valentine puns and putting them in my Etsy shop (TheLostButton) for digital downloads. Well... they are live and ready to print! Follow that link and go check them out :)

Here are a few photos to show what they look like up close and complete. 

They come in 4 designs and 3 different sizes/formats to print them in. The small and medium size has a back to them with a little Valentine's message and a place to write who it's to and from. There's even room to attach a treat for passing out at school. 


The large size is set up to print like a regular folding card. All you need to do is download it, print, fold in half, then cut the cards out, and write your message in them. They are the perfect size for putting in an envelope and sending off. 


I am having so much fun that I've decided to make more styles and themes... so if you have any requests, let me know! Go check them out and have fun getting ready for Valentine's Day :)


Monday, January 02, 2023

It's a New Year! Habit Tracker


I was kindly notified by someone that the calendar that I created back in 2014 and posted to this blog for people to use for personal use had been taken and was being sold on etsy as theirs. It was their best selling item in their shop. That can be frustrating when you love creating things and want to share it with others and find that you have had your work stolen to make money from it. I'm dealing with it, but am also grateful for the lessons I learned. 

1. It's ok to sell my stuff.

2. My work creations are worth buying.

3. There are good people out there that don't know you, but want to see that good/justice is done for you (thank you Jackie!)

4. I learned that I should still put stuff on my blog here. hahaha It's been a while since I mostly moved to my art Instagram page (here) under the name The_Lost_Button 

5. It's easy to move on and I'm excited about the many other things I can put in my shop that I hadn't thought to do. I guess I figured it had to be only big things. So thank you to the stealer of this calendar... you taught me another avenue I can use Etsy for. :)


Happy New YEAR! If you are like me and like to keep track of goals by something you can substantially touch and color in, then you'll love this calendar. I made it because it's hard to narrow down what I want to do in my life. I get excited about a lot of things. I can burn out when I do that though, so this calendar can be used for one goal for the whole year, but it can also be to choose a new focus every month. If you'd like to download it, go over to my etsy shop here- it's super cheap- only $1.35, because I still want basically anyone to use it that would like to- unless they are the thieving type. haha 

https://thelostbutton.etsy.com


12/4/23 Update: If you are wanting a new calendar for 2024 that can be used for the leap year- I have created that and put it in the shop (here). Some people had mentioned that they wanted an updated design- more cleaned up, larger numbers and not handwritten. So I made a 2024 version of that as well and put that (here) in my etsy shop. You can print them in 4 sizes (US, A4, A5, and Hobonichi Weeks journal size to spread across 2 pages. I've made other kinds of calendars and habit and health trackers for my etsy page too this last year. 



Thursday, April 16, 2015

Glowing Fairy Gardens: Our Spring Break Project

 So this is how our Spring Break began...  waiting on the grass while my car was getting an oil change.  I was texting on my phone and looked up and saw two of my girls on their electronic devices and then saw a happy little Pip picking tiny baby flowers and singing to herself.  She looked up at me and smiled and handed me the little fairy bouquet.  I got the message... she was living in a more real world than we were.  I knew we needed to "be together" this week and not spend it all on electronics.  I knew this week was going to be tough because the beautiful home that we've been renting the past two years was going on the market.  The owners need to sell.  I knew this week would be filled with stress and tears as we learn to deal with people walking through the house all the time and keeping it perfectly clean.  I decided that our Spring Break was going to go a much different way than it was beginning.


As soon as my car's oil had been changed I took us to a craft store to pick up some supplies. Pip has had an indoor fairy house all winter and for a month or two she has been saying that the fairies would be moving outside in the spring and that we needed to find a good spot for an outdoor fairy house.  I knew we would find the supplies we needed at the craft store.  We did!  There were little $1 bird houses, shiny tiles, balsa-wood for creating things, and boxes to put the homes in (Michael's Crafts).  We stopped at a local nursery to buy some flowers and dirt.  We wanted these spring fairy homes to be transportable for when we move when we find our new home (it also came in handy to bring inside last night when it got a little too cold for the flowers).


We got home and got right to work, painting, cutting, gluing, creating.  :)  We pushed the little strings into the bird houses and took them out so they would look more like homes than bird houses.  Then we cut archway doors out of the holes for windows by cutting straight down from the sides of the circles leaving the arch on top.  We painted them and then hot glue gunned whatever we wanted onto them. Most of Tuesday was spent this way too.   It just wouldn't be a painting kind of day without Kenz painting something on herself. (She also found some silver hair spray in the art supplies- lol)



 In the end we ended up with two little villages for our garden fairies.  This first village has two homes, a school house, flowers, painted pink rocks, stepping stones and a glassy brook with a Troll Bridge going over it.  This bridge was with Pip's indoor fairy house- one morning I overheard her making a wish for a bridge to connect two plates in the dining room fairy house and by the time she came home from school it was there!  Such a lucky kid!


 I love that little toadstool house Pip painted with the door ajar.  :)
This basket of garden fairies are more of a "city folk" kind.  


 This next basket we made were the "country folk" kind.  There homes seem to be built more from nature than from little bird houses being covered in moss and wooden shingles (strips of balsa wood painted in various shades of brown and orange, cut into rectangles and glued on the roof in layers going from the bottom of the roof up to the top of the blue chimney).  They have flowers in their garden too, but they are also growing strawberries right there in front. 


 They have a glassy pond, a wishing well, glass mail box to hold letters and jewels, and a fairy ring.  At first the fairy ring was just a few stones, but when we came back to check on them we could see tiny red toad stools all over both gardens that the fairies had left- some of the toadstools forming a real fairy ring.  :)  Pip was thrilled!


One of my favorite ideas was the little battery operated led lights strung throughout (Christmas Tree Shop for $10).  We built a bottom layer of glass tiles under the houses and cut a hole in the bottom of them so we could stuff lights through and line the baskets like this...


 The results are MAGICAL!  The lights are on a timer and come on every night at 6pm.


 I love how the glass bottom portion of each house lights up along with the windows and doorways!  Here's a close up of the fairy signs. 


 Here's the cute details of the Wishing Well and "Surprised French Man" fairy house that Makenzie made.



 So here's our front porch.  You know what I love best?  That the day this lock box was placed on our door the girls barely noticed.  They were too busy looking at their fairy gardens, adding to them, and thinking up new creations that a fairy could need.  :) 


Another great thing about this is that it is something that keeps bringing fun.  Yesterday the fairies were so grateful for their new houses that they left a little note in the glass jar mailbox telling the girls that and left a beautiful necklace that holds powers for the person wearing it and a huge pink diamond ring just for Pip right in the middle of the fairy ring.  She had wanted one at the store a few days back and her mean ol' mommy said, "not today," like she does so often.  :)  Those fairies just knew it would be perfect for her.  She's been asking for a pink diamond ring for a few years now.  What luck!


 

This morning Pip left a surprise for me!  She created a fairy ring out of golf balls in the front yard right next to her basket with the toadstool fairy ring.  What a cutie. Let me know if you make your own fairy garden or if you need "how to" details on anything we did.