Printables – mamasbrush

Letting Go of the Past Year

As I sit here in the last days of 2023, I like to take a few minutes to look back over the year. Actually, I don’t love it, but I find myself doing it anyway. What I really want to do is look forward to how I’m going to make the next year better, but as I start to do that, I find myself realizing that all the “new” things I hope for next year have their root in the disappointments of the year rounding up. Yuck. It’s full of failure, sin, and shame! I feel like the list of things I want to get better at and the sins I want victory over is longer than the success list!

Each year as Christmas ends and I really start thinking about it all, my mind travels back to a New Year’s from years ago when it happened to be on a Sunday. Our pastor preached a sermon that touched my heart! Instead of talking about setting goals for the new year, he focused on letting go of the old one—saying good-bye to all the mess-ups and sins we still carry around even after repenting from them.

This years sin and shame nailed to the Christ of Jesus as we step clean into the next year! | mamasbrush

He reminded us that when we ask God for forgiveness, those sins get nailed to the cross. Not only doesn’t carrying them into the new year make sense, we aren’t supposed to do it! All the guilt and shame that I tend to carry around without realizing it need to be put off.

It was a simple but powerful reminder to start fresh and not drag the old stuff along. That sermon inspired a painting that I’ve remade many of the years since. Here is this year’s for you to download if you would like! I hope it is a blessed reminder to your heart as it is to mine!

Download your freebie! (personal license only please!)

Won’t you please pin and share the graphic so others can be encouraged too!

Gathering here.

Daily Chore Chart – Beta Version

I never expected to create anything, myself, that could be called “beta”, but here it is. I’ve been inspired by suggestion and personal need to create a chore chart for you all. I plan to share some more details when things are finished, but today I wanted to introduce you to my latest project. A work in progress, if you will. It’s one of those big projects, so I thought I’d introduce the first little part to you in “Beta”. I’d love it if you’d download it and give it a try!

Large Family Chore Chart Free Printable | mamasbrush

For a while now I’ve been using this chore chart with my children (though I’m not great with being consistent!) and when we use it, things run so much more smoothly! The only real change I made to it was to dress it up and add my signature cuteness to it. This is the fall version. It makes our chore time so much more fun! I hope you will take the opportunity to try it out and let me know how it all works.

Page 2 has the weekly, monthly, and quarterly chores on it. Both pages are available as PDFs with editable forms. You can type your own chores into the lists and print them out. That’s the part I would love the most input on for those of you who are willing. Sometime this month I’m hoping to have the designs finished and to list them in my Etsy shop, but for now I have some time for feedback.

These are different than other forms I’ve seen online. I put all the different jobs I want my kids and me to do each day (or at least most every day) on the daily chores page. Then, during chore time, the kids come over and pick what job they want to do, put their initial in the box for that day and run off to do it. Some of the jobs are longer, others shorter. Some are better for the older kids and some for the younger. If we finish all the chores that day, then we try to do a few of the weekly jobs. If some get missed, we pick those up first thing tomorrow.

This system has worked so great for us for a few reasons. First of all, I’m not consistent and this allows for missed days or slow days. Second, I don’t love doing the same things every day and this list allows the kids to switch it up each day as they want to. Also, it encourages them to come pick their job quickly and get started before someone else gets the job they want. 🙂

I’m sure I haven’t done a perfect job explaining this. I plan to write up a full post when I go live with the completed product. For now, please leave any questions in the comments and I’d love to answer them. 🙂 I’d also love any feedback on how to make this easier to use and what you think of it!

Oh… one more thing! This system is great for a large family such as mine, but I think it would work great for any sized family!

Download yours here for a limited time!

Legal stuff: please don’t claim it as your own or distribute it.

Pin me!

You can find me gathering here.

To Celebrate or Not to Celebrate: St. Patrick’s Day

I’ve been very careful about what I teach our children from the beginning. In some things I’ve altered course as they have grown and I have matured as a mother. Spoiler alert: I’m still new at this mother thing… this stage of it that is. I’ve never before had 6 children in these specific stages and I’m making this up as I go. It may seem silly to you, but St. Patrick’s Day is something I have in limbo right now.

Christian St. Patrick's Day Cards bundle.

bookmarks, cards, stickers, clipart, cross, Jesus, four leaf clover, shamrock, luck

My kids have never been exposed to St. Patrick’s Day like I was growing up. As a homeschool family the only way they would have been is if I introduced it… and I didn’t. Just kinda skipped it. I have always taught the kids that there is no luck. So why would I focus on a holiday that highlights it.

Then when my forth was born March 18th, I figured it was perfect… why try to squeeze another “holiday” in such close quarters. Therefore, we’ve never done the whole green thing. I don’t decorate for it, we don’t wear special shirts or pinch if there isn’t green. As I mentioned, we strongly discourage the idea of luck!

Now I must admit to you that we have discussed the day over the years. I don’t think there is anything wrong with St. Patrick’s Day in general. And nothing wrong for those who choose to enjoy the fun of celebrating it. We’ve done our share of reading about who the actual man was (it comes up on world history after all). We learned about Ireland and even some about what leprechauns are.

In recent years I’ve started reconsidering St. Patrick’s Day and have been less of a stickler about luck in general. Don’t get me wrong, the children have all heard me ask them, “Is luck real?” They know that the idea of luck started with people who didn’t know God. Now that my youngest is 7 and can answer all the questions, I didn’t worry so much about showing them the movie Luck (super cute by the way! We used the free trial on AppleTV to see it.) So as Valentine’s Day was getting near, I started looking forward to what was next and I couldn’t help myself. I designed some cute cards for handing out on St. Patrick’s Day.

We still won’t do much, but how can I resist printing out these cute bookmarks and setting a cute green themed table for their breakfast??? I can’t!

My message hasn’t changed (much)… I’m just taking this opportunity to spread it even further! 🙂 And to bless my kids with bookmarks… something they are way into right now by the way! Now the only question I have to ask myself is what color background am I going to use??? I like them both!

Pop over to my shop for 30% off in the next 7 days if you want some! Use coupon code STPATTYS or click here.

Chicken Clipart – New in the Shop

Chicken Clipart Set in color or black and white | mamasbrush

chickens, roosters, chicken coop, chicken signs, transparent background, old truck, flowers, chicken eggs

I’m super excited about my latest addition to my Etsy shop. I’ve been toying with the idea of designing some clipart for a while now, but something else keeps taking it’s place in line. Finally, I pulled together some of my favorite designs from the chicken egg counting sheets and other designs I had on hand. To those I added this brand new chicken coop design and wala! Chicken clipart for you to use in your diy projects.

Do you want to create a sign? Perfect!

Do you want to make your own forms or recording sheets? These are for you!

School worksheets or your class or homeschool? Yes!

Bullet Journals, coloring books and more? Of course! Available in color and black and white!

These have a personal license, but you can use them for anything you want (distribution of papers created for your classroom or church is fine, but please don’t take credit for yourself and don’t share files with others.)

Best of all, if you already have my Egg Counting Sheets and you want to add other forms to use in your homestead binder, this clipart pack matches!

Discount alert!
I’m giving you all a coupon code to use for the next week (just for my readers!) For 30% off through February 9th (2023), click here or go to my shop and enter coupon code CLUCK at checkout.

God Honoring Pumpkin Wreath Printable

I know it’s already the end of October, but I just have to sneak this fall printable in before it’s too late. This is an updated version of something I painted with watercolor years ago (if you look close, you can see it in this post). I’ve always loved it and wanted a way to share it, so here it is!]

Thanksgiving and Fall Decor | mamasbrush

Pumpkin Wreath with phrases: gather together, give thanks, and glorify God.

I have plans to print this at various sizes and mount it to a block of wood or a little wood house for the Christmas Market coming up (I often sell a handful of fall decor items since it’s right before Thanksgiving!). I may also do some larger scale on plywood and add a frame myself. It will take a bit of time, but keep my costs low for resale since I’m able to use scrap.

I just love love love it framed up simple. Download, print, and place it in a frame. It’s quick decor or a great last minute gift (as many gifts as you want for one price!) Offered in vertical, horizontal or square formats.

Want to add this to your fall decor this year? I’ve set up a coupon code for my blog readers. Enter PUMPKINS30 or click here for 30% off this item through November 1st!

You can find me gathering here.

2023 Mini Illustrated Chicken Calendar

{My new 2024 calendars are now also available! Find them on the blog or in my Etsy store!}

Back by popular demand, I have illustrated new mini doodle calendars for 2023! I did a couple of them years ago (here too) to sell at our Christmas market. They take a lot of time to create, though, so it’s been a while since I’ve done one. This summer I took up the challenge with my mini illustrated chicken calendar.

While I am hoping to sell them at our Christmas market next month, I also have them in my shop as digital downloads. They are downloadable as a PDF with three different sizes: mini, 4×6, and 5×7.

The larger sizes can be framed for display or clipped up, but I love the mini size on easels and tucked on a shelf or in a windowsill above the sink or stove.

You can find them in my shop here.

I have dreams of posting a second design before the end of the year, but I haven’t decided what the design should be. Any ideas? Flip through some of my past content to see ideas of what sort of artwork I’ve done in the past and post your suggestions in the comments.

Christmas Decor – Seek Him Wall Art

Seek Him Christmas Wall Art Print.

Matthew 2:2: "We have seen his star in the east and are come to worship Him."

Christmas decor, Christmas pano,
Star, wisemen, baby Jesus, Seek Him — Pictured here as a 10×30 print.

As we come to the end of our Christmas in July, I have discovered that there are a couple items in my shops that I haven’t highlighted here. One of them is this “Seek Him” wall art. I love this one for a mantle or hung over the couch. It’s a little moodier than what I usually do… I love that too!

This is based on something I did years ago on wood (a lot of my stuff started hand painted on wood!) I also turned it into a vinyl project for our Christmas market a couple years ago (you can find it in the middle of the white cube shelves in this post. Not sure why it didn’t get highlighted that year.)

The focus of this piece is Matthew 2:2, the words of the wisemen: “We have seen his star in the east and are come to worship Him.” I hope it reminds all who see it that Christmas is ultimately about seeking and worshiping the King of Kings!

It is now available in large (or small) format for your digital download pleasure in my decor shop! Available for 50% off till the end of the month. It’s also available in a 1×2 format.

You can find me gathering here.

Printable Christmas Card – Let Your Lights Shine!

When I shared my personalize-able “Family: Shining our lights together” wall art last week, I told you that I had Christmas cards in the works. Here they are with just a few days left in the Christmas in July sale. (Grab now, print later!)

Seriously, I do love when you guys hop over and purchase something I’ve created, but I also really appreciate when you guys share your encouragement and support right here on the blog, whether that is through a “like” or a comment! Thanks so much for being along for this creative adventure I find myself on!

I really love this card! It’s a cross between minimalist simplicity and colorful fun! It references again Matthew 5:16 and encourages us to live our lives for Jesus as brightly as possible.

You’ll find the verse on the back of the card, but as you can see here, I’ve made two versions, so the verse is optional.

Our Christmas in July sale runs through the 31st, so if there is something you were thinking about getting, grab it now at 50% off. (Also on sale in my decor shop!)

You can find me gathering here.

Personalized Gingerbread Kid Christmas Ornaments

This past Christmas, we were celebrating a new baby in our church. I’ve mentioned before how we love to celebrate babies, and this one was no different. Well… okay, it was a little different!

Christmas Tree Ornaments with Gingerbread family, personalized with names and year.

Gingerbread kids, Gingerbread baby, brown, red

This baby was being celebrated in December! I just love gingerbread men, so I set up our sprinkling table and invitation with a gingerbread theme. Are there pictures? No… because it was December and apparently there is too much going on to remember to take pictures. Oh well… I did make this cute ornament for them though. I love how it turned out. I printed it out on card stock, mounted that to a piece of a cereal box and glued it to a homemade frame.

When I started creating Christmas-y stuff for my shop, I tweaked them a bit.

I’ve removed the adults… who needs them anyway?! And I can personalize to fit your kids or grandkids, large families or small! Get “Our Little Cookies” or “Our Grand-Cookies” in my shop!

They are on sale with the rest of my Christmas in July items for one more week. These will make great gifts themselves or be great for tying to the top of the package like I did.

You can find me gathering here.

Christmas Wall Art – Mistletoe Let’s Stay Home

Do you decorate your master bedroom for Christmas? I’ll be honest… I don’t. At least not yet.

(Warning: Tangent ahead. If you don’t want the story, scroll down for the details on the Mistletoe print!)

For the past 8 years we’ve been sleeping in our beautiful wood 4 post bed in one of the smaller children’s rooms while the real master bedroom awaits renovation. It’s no one’s fault. When we moved into this room 8 years ago, it was because the “good” bed had been moved in there after our 5th was born and Husband’s parents came to visit. The bed had been waiting in a storage unit. After they left, we were like, “ummm… yeah!”

Later that year, we demolished the floor in the master (it was bad!) and removed the closets and bathroom to prepare it for renovation. After the floor was replaced, the kids slept in there on mattresses for a while, so we could work on the room they were sharing. Then it acted as storage for a time. The next winter, Husband was trugging his large construction equipment out into the snow to get the kitchen project done. When the weather was really bad, he couldn’t work at all. Since that time, the large master bedroom has been our upstairs workshop! Several years ago, he got a team and surprised me by moving everything out and finishing the demo while I was away for the weekend. The plan was to finish the space next, but we ran into some problems and realized a couple other projects needed to be done before we could get to it… and those depended on still others. It goes on and on until now… we are still in a bright yellow bedroom with one wall missing and another waiting for drywall.

That said… I don’t really decorate that room… I barely spend time in it at all. But I dream of the dark grey walls our future room will have with the dark wood accents and furniture. I see the beautiful bed with it’s white comforter and picture how I will decorate it for the seasons… especially Christmas.

***Re-enter here if you skipped to the bottom!***

I love the cozy, romantic feeling I get when I see all those “let’s stay home” signs all over the internet. That was just the feeling I was going for when I came up with this design.

I love the way the mistletoe adds a bit of whimsy and a touch more of the romance I was looking for! I can see this hanging above our bed in December (once our renovation is complete) with white lights draped around the room. I smile just thinking about it.

You can find this in several sizes in my Etsy shop for 50% off through the end of July!

Grab it now to add some extra romance to your spaces this Christmas!

You can find me gathering here.