Mother's Day Free Printable

Well friends, Mother's Day is right around the corner! It's a special day to honor your mom, or significant women in your life. I know we all love to be celebrated, so let's make sure the women in our life are celebrated! I've put together some gift tags, and a simple notecard for you to use for free! I wanted to make a simple, free and easy way for you to add a special touch to any gift or note you are sending for Mother's Day. 

I know how finding the perfect gift is hard, and when you do sometimes you have completely forgotten about a card or a way to add a special touch to your gift. Don't worry! I'm way ahead of you! This free printable has three different gift tags, and a flat notecard you can cut out. 

There are three gift tags with hand lettering and designs done by me. You can pick the one that is perfect for your gift to mom, and save the rest for another gift. You can color in the flowers, add some color, or leave them simply black and white. 

The notecard also has a hand lettered design made by me, especially for you all. Cut out the card and write on the back, color the front, or use the whole thing as a gift tag. 

Grab your scissors and string to make these easy gift tags // Mother's Day Freebie // Machelle Kolbo Design Studio.

To get your free Mother's Day printable just click the picture below. In a new window your printable should show up. You can print it right away or save it to your computer to use for later. When you are ready to use your printable, print it out at home, grab your scissors and follow the light outlines to cut out your items. 

Click Here to Download Mother's Day Free Printable // Machelle Kolbo Design Studio

I'm so excited to see how you all end up using your freebies! I hope this helps you create meaningful encouraging gifts for the mom's or women in your life you want to honor. Let's celebrate those we care about and make them feel extra special. 

This printable item is free for you to use for personal use. Please don't try and sell them, steal images off of them, or upload them as your own. Thanks for understanding! Appreciate you all!

Also, in case you missed it I also did a free printable last year for Mother's Day. Check it out here, and make simple intentional gifts! Looking for any last minute gifts for mom, explore the etsy shop. Enjoy!

3 Additional Ideas for a Successful Quiet Time

Back in January I posted about  3 Tips for a Successful Quiet Time. I posted this because I know how easily I can get distracted or discouraged with my own quiet time. We recently launched the men's version of the Dwell Deeply Journals. These journals are quiet time companion journals that help you to dwell on truth. So, I asked my husband, Alex, for three additional ideas he had for a successful quiet time. 

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Hey there, it's Alex. First, off I wanted to ditto what Machelle said in her previous quiet time blog post. Her three tips were to 'set the mood' or create a space to have a quiet time, ditch your phone (unless you need it for the Bible app), and leave your Bible and/or devotional material out. I thought these tips were very helpful, and wanted to contribute some of my own.

1. Leave Out Your To-Do List

This may sound very goofy to some of you, but hang with me! I am very easily distracted - let me repeat that - I am very easily distracted. Frequently when I sit down to do my quiet time I will read something that reminds me of something I need to do. It can be tempting to quick pay the bills before I forget, or quick reply to that email. So, as a solution I leave out my to-do list. That way if I remember something I need to do while I am trying to focus on the word, I can write it down instead of jumping to get it done. So, if you get distracted like me leave your to do list out to quickly jot down thoughts, to-do's, and ideas so you can get them out of your head and continue to concentrate. 

2. Be Okay With A Short Quiet Time

I love the days when I can spend an hour in the word. The reality is that usually only happens on Saturdays. It can be frustrating on weekday mornings when I run out of time for a "full quiet time". Here is what I have learned, it's okay to have a short quiet time. Being hard on yourself for not being able to have a lengthy quiet time every day can defeat the purpose and intent of letting the word be a part of your life. If you find during the week you only have ten minutes every morning - then embrace that! Taking that time to pray or read a devotional is so much more fruitful than being upset with yourself. Embrace those ten minutes, and embrace a short quiet time on occasion. 

Men's Dwell Deeply Journals // Quiet Time Companion Journals // mkolbodesignstudio.etsy.com

3. Use Your Time Creatively

I mentioned in the last post that I have learned to be okay with shorter quiet times on occasion. This tip goes along with that. I have learned to use my time in the morning while getting ready creatively. For example, every morning I wake up and go sit on the toilet. I know that this toilet pit-stop is going to take me ten-fifteen minutes. Instead of scrolling through social media while I sit on the pot, I now keep a devotional book in the bathroom. My phrase for this is "meeting God on the throne, while on the throne" (Machelle is going to hate this). My point is that there is probably time where you are standing around, sitting around or waiting on something (breakfast, coffee, etc.) where you could be reading the Bible, a devotional, or praying. Think creatively about how you can utilize your time, and create space to be in the word. 

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I hope these tips from Alex, and the previous tips I shared on the blog help you dive in and have a successful quiet time. If you don't know where to start or need some help along the way our Dwell Deeply Journals are a great resource. 

Have a great one friends! We are cheering you on!

 

Free Desktop Wallpaper Download

I am always on the hunt for cute desktop backgrounds and iPhone lock screens. It is a bigger bonus if they are encouraging, or inspirational. I spend a lot of time at my computer or with my phone, and I'm sure the same is true for some of you! So, I took one our most popular prints and made it into a desktop background or iPhone lock screen. 

I'm hoping to bring you new free desktop and iPhone backgrounds every month (we will see what happens)! Up first is 'You are so Loved'. I know this is an easy truth to forget. So pop this background on your computer or phone as a constant reminder that you are so loved! I know I need to be reminded of this on occasion and thought there might be others in need of this reminder as well. Download instructions for each background are below. 
 

Desktop Background // Click to Download

iPhone Background // Click to Download

DESKTOP // MOBILE

To Download Free April Wallpapers:

1. Click on the photo above - this will open a new window with the background 
2. Right click and "Save As" to save on a computer. For mobile click image and save to phone.
3. Set as your desktop or iPhone background.
4. Enjoy!

The original 'You are so Loved' print can be found in the Machelle Kolbo Design Studio Etsy Shop. Enjoy!

These images are available for personal use on your phone or computer. Please don't steal them, try and sell them, or put them on your own products. Thank You!

Why You Should Check Out Our New Spring Designs

The new spring designs over in the Machelle Kolbo Design Studio Etsy Shop are a collection I am very excited about. I approached this collection knowing that I wanted a core group of products that were intentionally designed and created to complement the other items available. Read on to find out why I felt like this was important. 

One of the things I realized after one year of business was that I had gotten a little scattered in what I had available. I love all of what I created last year, but if I'm being real I don't know if it was all cohesive or a representation of the heart behind my business. I still love it all and believe in the quality of those designs. 

As I thought through my new designs I knew I wanted them to be intentional. My designs needed to encompass some elements of faith, as well as elements that would encourage and love customers. This also means I wanted to design items that would assist customers in loving and encouraging those around them.

What came out of that intentional design process is a collection of art prints, cards and journals that I am very proud of. It is my strong desire that these products in some small way can be an encouragement to you all. I love that I get the opportunity to enter your home and life through paper goods, design and lettering. 

Check out the photos below for a sampling of our new spring designs available over on Etsy! Don't forget if you are local and would like to arrange to pick up your items you can use the code LNKNE2016 at checkout to remove shipping costs.

Beloved Art Print // Hand Lettered Print + Watercolor Flowers

Hand Lettered 'Be Still and Know' Print // Inspired by Psalm 46:10

Watercolor Thank You Cards // Created to easily send thanks!

Sweet Floral Cards // Set of 8 cards with envelopes - perfect for snail mail!

There are also some great stories about the inspiration behind individual products. Check out these past posts for more of the heart behind specific products. 

• Story: Welcome Home My Love Print
• Men's Dwell Deeply Journals
• Dwell Deeply Journals

This spring collection is fairly small, but we are excited to add to it intentionally throughout the year! Enjoy!

INTRODUCING: MEN'S DWELL DEEPLY JOURNAL

We are excited to announce that we now offer a Men's Dwell Deeply Journal! After personally using the women's Dwell Deeply Journal, and letting my husband Alex use one as well (he tried to make it a little less feminine), it became apparent that there was a real need for a similar men's journal! 

So why did we think this was so important to create? Read on for some thoughts from Alex on the creation of the men's version. 

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Hey - Alex here - when Machelle launched the women's version of the Dwell Deeply journal it was exciting to watch women around her use these journals to process truth. I also loved watching how it was helping her process, and grow more consistent in quiet times and prayer. So, one day I asked if I could use one of the journals. So, I did. I loved it, but she designed them to be more feminine. I took the liberty to make some adjustments to the one I was using to give it cleaner lines and a more geometric feel.

The more I used the journal the more I saw how it was leading me to become more disciplined in my quiet time, but still giving me freedom to study anything. I also found that because I was writing things down and sketching them out they stuck in my mind more. This allowed me to recall things more easily and then share it with others. This recall was especially helpful for the areas of my life where I am leading others. 

Another cool thing was that Machelle and I were processing scripture, and writing prayer requests in a similar way. It gave us a great way to share truth and scripture with each other. Even though we would be studying different things we could encourage each other and share how we felt different scripture applied to our lives and specific situations. So, I wanted to create a men's version so that husbands and wives, or families could be processing scripture in a similar way. 

Most of all, I saw how this journal was helping Machelle with her quiet time, and I wanted that. Not only did I want it for myself, but for other men as well. So, we talked about the need for a men's journal, and I was enlisted to create the cover lettering, and inside lettering/graphics. 

Overall, the bones of the journal is the same. If you have used a women's journal all the sections are there. I just created graphics and different wording to make the journal less feminine and give a more gender neutral option for men. 

I hope you will take a look at the men's journal, and give it a try. My prayer is that this would help you be more disciplined in your quiet time, and ultimately help God's truth dwell in all areas of your life. 

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Like Alex said, we are super excited to have these Men's Dwell Deeply Journals available! It has been such a cool way for us to process and share with each other. We created because we know sometimes you need a way to process what you are reading, or don't know where to begin with a quiet time. Interested? Check them out HERE.