ACD Freebie: Indiana State Parks

With the weather getting warm and summer drawing near, I think we are anxious to get out and about.  While it's still not something we can do at shops, restaurants, and museums, we can get out in the great outdoors.  A few times in the last week or so Indiana State Parks came up in conversation.  I was reminded that I made a map and list as part of my father's birthday gift last year.  I figured now is the perfect time to share the love with everyone.  If you want to download a copy and use it as a check list for adventures, feel free to here.  Be sure to check guidelines and properly prepare for your adventure before you leave your house.  

Stay safe and happy adventures to you! 

ACD Freebie: Christmas Movie Checklist

If you are anything like me, it doesn't truly feel like the holiday season until you binge on your favorite Christmas movies.  I made a checklist to make things easy and I'm sharing it for free! Download yours here and pop the popcorn!  It goes along with the Advent activity calendar that I shared at the end of last month.  I'm also include this fun Instagram story template too! What movies have you watched so far this holiday season?

ACD Freebie:Nutcracker Advent Activities Printable

For many years now I have wanted to create an Advent for Wyatt and I filled with activities rather than treats.  I've stopped and started several times but this year I finally did it! I combined my desire for an advent printable with my love for the Nutcracker and I could not be more in love with this final product!

Included in this calendar set:

This fun Nutcracker themed advent calendar set includes the envelopes and activity cards.  You can use one or both of these to fit your needs! You will need a printer, paper, scissors, and a glue stick/tape/glue dots/etc. to complete this DIY project.  You can download just the envelopes here or download the complete set here.

I also like the idea of displaying these.  You can use clothespins to attach to ribbon or a frame with chicken wire.  You can also use pushpins to attached to a bulletin board or punch holes and tie ribbons on them to hang from a tree. There are so many fun ways you can display your advent.

Printable Envelopes

These DIY envelopes are easy to make! Simply print these out on paper of your choice.  You then just cut, fold, and glue together using whatever adhesive you like the best.

Printable Activity Cards

The activities I chose are some of my favorite holiday activities and traditions.  Since I decided to share this, I tried to make some for little ones and families as well as some for couples.  There are also a few blank activity cards for you to fill in with your own special activities.

Planning Ahead

I like to look at the list of activities and do some planning ahead.  I gather necessary items and collect them together so they're easily accessible when we are ready for that activity.  Gather your Christmas movies, your hot cocoa mix, snacks and throw them together in a basket to have ready. You can do this for any activity that requires supplies.  That way you know you have it on hand when that activity comes up and you don't have to run to the store.  Go ahead and purchase tickets in advance for anything that may require an entrance fee.  Since December is a very busy time of year and we typically go on a trip with my family, we really have to plan out when we can do some things so I also like to look at our schedules when selecting what advent day gets what activity.

I hope these bring you as much joy as they brought me while creating them and I am excited to start these activities soon!  I had so much fun putting together a fun little holiday care package for my bestie's boys.  I wanted to send this Advent activities calendar to her after we chatted about it when I was still finalizing the design. I decided to put together something fun and to send them an assembled version of the Advent calendar.  I included some festive holiday cups and hot cocoa mix and add-ins.  I also grabbed a couple of plastic nutcrackers because I couldn't resist them and some fun children's games to include and sent along a Christmas movie list.

Find other ACD freebies here.

Adobe Draw

I recently got back into playing around in Adobe Draw.  I have had it on my iPad for a long time but haven't used it in quite a while.  I found that I love to use it to draw pictures.  I use a photo in the background as a base and use layers and different brushes to re-create that picture.  It has been a relaxing way to unwind.  I am still a novice and have a long way to go but I love these photos that I have done so far. Faces are hard for me but I'm learning.

I am only using a iPad mini and stylus.  If you had an iPad pro and the Apple Pen you could do so much in Adobe Draw and Procreate.

Etsy's Cyber Week

Etsy is having a Cyber week of sales. You can find the holiday items in Amanda Condra Designs participating in this sale now through Cyber Monday.

Be right back, now I'm digging all these prints out to display in our house!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing moms out there!  I am lucky to have one amazing mom who has taught me so much in life! Not only do I have my mom but I have Wyatt's mom too! You could say we hit the jackpot with amazing moms!

ACD Freebie: Mobile Wallpapers

I hope everyone is getting into the holiday spirit! Lord knows I am! Today we are going to see the Nutcracker as our advent activity!  In the spirit of decking the halls, I am offering a free phone wallpaper so you can also be festive on your mobile device! Choose from two and download here (and get access to all my past freebies)!  What fun things do you have in store for the holiday season?

Happy 1st Birthday Max!

My best friend's youngest son turned one recently and we drove down to Indianapolis to help celebrate Max's birthday!  Devin, once again, planned the cutest little party.  She picked the best theme for Max...Where the Wild Things Are!  I loved all her sweet details.

We enjoyed hanging out with everyone and getting to see the cutest kids and dog.  You may recognize them from Carter and Toby on Instagram. 

I was excited to give Max his birthday present.  For his big brother's first birthday, I gave him the ABCs of IU.  I gave Max the 123s of IU.  I must say, this was a difficult task to finish, but with some help from friends while in the brainstorming process I managed to get it done in time to give to the little guy.  I absolutely love how it turned out!

As a follow up to his big bro's first birthday gift, I made this 123s book for Max. Starting my bff's boys off early with @iubloomington everything! @iuaaofficial #amandacondradesigns #iu #hoosiers #iub #123sofiu

A post shared by Amanda Condra (@ascondra) on Oct 21, 2017 at 1:29pm PDT

Unicorn Themed Baby Shower

We hosted a co-ed baby shower for our friends, Dan and Kalysa, who are expecting their first baby in August.  When we first asked if we could have them a shower, Kalysa mentioned liking unicorns.  She's using the theme of unicorns, mermaids, fairies, and dragons for the nursery so I decided to choose unicorns to go with for the theme of the baby shower.  I designed an entire party suite for the shower.  I pulled out some of my old favorites from the first shower I hosted a few years ago and updated them to fit the unicorn theme.  I made wishes for baby cards for guests to fill out, scratch off cards, and a Price is Right game. I have had the Price is Right game in my shop for a few years but had not yet used it so I was happy to finally get the chance to use it personally.

Once again, I created a diaper cake only this time I played up on the unicorn them! I also made a diaper wreath for my front door to greet guests as they arrived. I decorated the mantle by framing the baby's name and hanging some banners.

For food we decided to grill hamburgers and hotdogs to keep it simple.  We had veggies, pasta salad, chips, and desserts! I made a unicorn pull apart cupcake cake, sugar cookies in the shape of onesies, unicorn bark, and we had fresh strawberries.  I also put together an infused water bar! I made lemon lime infused water and cucumber mint infused water and also created a do-it-yourself station to create your own flavors with citrus, cucumber, and mint!

After we all visited and ate, we played our games and then Kalysa and Dan opened the gifts.  We had such a fun time having everyone over to celebrate and shower the parents-to-be and baby girl with love!