Monday, November 18, 2013

Free Printable Today I am Thankful Artwork

Free Printable "Today I Am Thankful" Artwork from B.Nute productions
The holiday season is officially upon us. There is just a little more than a week until Thanksgiving, and then December festivities follow quickly behind. To celebrate this year I've decided to dedicate the next 6 weeks to a free holiday printables spree! I look forward to creating all sorts of goodies you can use through out the season and beyond.

First up is a whimsical, hand drawn "Today I Am Thankful" printable. It's perfect to frame and place on your fireplace mantle, bookshelf, or shelf behind your kitchen sink. When things get really hectic this season, read it (and reread again) and remember to take a deep breathe and be thankful!

There's a lot going on in my family right now, and although some has been quite stressful, I do realize everyday that I am VERY thankful! It's hard to remember when times are tough, but perhaps that's when it's an even better reminder.

So, enjoy this free printable, and the printables to come in the next coming weeks, and today be thankful!

Free Printable "Today I Am Thankful" Artwork
Today I Am Thankful Free Printable 5"x7" Artwork by B.Nute productions
Instructions for Printing Your "Today I Am Thankful" 5x7 Artwork
1. Select the link above at the bottom of the image, and print out the artwork on an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper. Use white card stock to add some weight to the art.
2. Cut out the sign and put in an festive 5"x7" frame. Decorate your space with the art.

Printable items are copyright protected, and provided free of charge by B.Nute productions for personal use only. B.Nute's printables can not be sold, altered, or provided for download on any other site. For questions or inquiries, please contact B.Nute productions.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Free Printable "It's a Party" Invitation

Free Printable "It's a Party" Hand Drawn Party Hat Invitation from B.Nute productions
I'm back from my long weekend in New York City, and ready to dive into the holidays... well, almost! Before the holiday rush, we still have a few birthdays to celebrate around my house.

As I was planning out those celebrations, I had fun doodling various party hats. I just love party hats. My mom has always been a fan as well. To this day, for family birthday celebrations she'll always have hats at the table. Newcomers to the scene may be tentative to put the hats on, but the rest of the family happily grab there's and gets ready to celebrate. There's nothing like a party hat to signify it's time to party!

So in honor of parties and birthdays at anytime of the year, I've created this Free Printable "It's a Party" Party Hat invitation. Just print it out, fill in your details and send it off. A whimsical and playful way to let folks know it's time to celebrate!

Free Printable "It's a Party" Invitation
Free Printable "It's a Party" Party Hat Invitations by B.Nute productions
Instructions for Making "It's a Party" Party Hat Invitations
1. Select link above, and print out the invitations on 8.5" x 11" white card stock from your browser. (Print in landscape mode.) I suggest using a heavier card stock to give the invitations some weight. 
2. Cut out each invitation.
3. Fill in with your party information!

Printable items are copyright protected, and provided free of charge by B.Nute productions for personal use only. B.Nute's printables can not be sold, altered, or provided for download on any other site. For questions or inquiries, please contact B.Nute productions.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Notes from the Studio: New York City Here I Come!

New York City Memories from When I Lived There 20 Years Ago!
Right now, I'm heading on a big jet plane to New York City! I'm off on a girls weekend, meeting up with a college friend for fun. I just can't wait.

It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since I lived in New York City. What?! 20 years? How on earth has time gone by so fast? In some ways, it seems like just yesterday, and in others, a lifetime ago. So many things have changed, but then again, so many things remain the same.

At the top is a collage of pictures I took of New York when I lived there. I was going to graduate art school at Pratt Institute and thoroughly engrossed in computers and art. At the time, multi-media (on CD-ROMs) was blossoming and I wanted to be a part of it. I got my first email address through a very progressive community called EchoNYC. It was dial-up with a command line interface, but the "chat" feature was very cool. The web was in it's absolute infancy. There was talk that the Whitney Museum (in New York) was building a website, and everyone wanted to know more. There were no cell phones, no iPads, no digital cameras, no texting. These things may have been invented, but were definitely not part of everyday living like today. When I think how far technology has come since I lived in New York, it's clear 20 years has passed.

But when I look through the images above, it's fun to see that a lot of what was attractive to me then, still interests me today. Finding back streets with colorful street art, exploring the whimsical Coney Island, the adventure I took to Fulton Fish Market at 5AM, the beauty of the subway that got me everywhere - at any time... For this weekend away, I hope to have some crazy adventures like those back then.

I'll definitely be posting some pictures from the road. As the saying goes, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Look forward to finding out if this is true!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Party Planning 101: Resources for Planning Your Next Party

Party Planning 101: Resources for Planning Your Next Party
My daughter's birthday is coming up, and we are ready to try something different. Now that she's a tween, she's ready to take over the reigns and plan her own party! Although I've always loved to plan my kids' parties, I must say, I'm excited to see what she'll come up with. She already has several themes bubbling in her head, including games, crafts and more. Of course, I know I won't be completely out of the picture (she'll need me to drive her to buy the supplies, food, etc.), I think this will be a great experience for her.

We're going to give her a budget, and I thought instead of reinventing the wheel, I'd look out on the web for party planning worksheets, tips and more she can use.  Within only a few clicks, I found loads of wonderful free party planning resources just waiting to be printed up. There's pretty much a planning printable for any type of party, from your kid's birthday party to your annual holiday get together.

Below is just a partial list of the resources I've gathered. I've also created a Pinterest board: Party Planning 101 with loads more ideas. Such a wonderful party community on the web-- everyone seems to want to help you get plan the perfect party and have fun! So get ready and start planning.

Party Planning Resources from Around the Web

General Party Planning Worksheets, Checklists and Apps

Budget Planning for a Party

Theme Ideas

Places to have a Party

People to Hire to Help at a Party

Food Ideas and Amount of Food Needed

Game Ideas for Parties

Friday, November 1, 2013

Free November 2013 Wallpaper: A Thanksgiving Feast and a Contest

Free November 2013 Wallpaper: A Thanksgiving Feast from B.Nute productions
November is here! Can you believe it? I can practically hear the jingle bells of Christmas and the holiday season taking over... but before it does, I'm here to get you ready to celebrate Thanksgiving.

For this months free desktop and iPad calendar, I've created a Thanksgiving feast, every possible food I could think of that might be served on Thanksgiving arranged in a calendar. I must admit, although there has never been a shortage of food at our Thanksgiving celebrations, it was somewhat challenging to come up with 30 different items. I'd love to know if I've missed one of your family favorites!

Thanksgiving Giveaway Contest
To add a little fun to this months wallpaper give-away, I thought I'd also hold a CONTEST. Yes, a contest with a PRIZE too! The first person to guess the most number of Thanksgiving foods I have illustrated in this free wallpaper wins. Simple as that! And, what's the prize you ask, I'll send the winner a set of stylish notecards, matching envelopes, and matching stickers, perfect for writing thank yous or greetings to friends and family.

So, here's what you have to do to enter:
1. Send me an email to questions@bnute.com with all your guesses of the food items illustrated in my November 2013 Thanksgiving Feast wallpaper.
2. The first person to guess the most correct number of food items illustrated wins!
3. The contest will end November 30, 2013. On that date, I'll tally up all the answers and see who got the most food items correct.

Look forward to your guesses!

Free November 2013 Desktop and iPad Wallpaper
Free November 2013 Thanksgiving Feast Wallpaper from B.Nute productions


To set as your desktop image
Click on the 1900x1200 link above. When the image in view, on a PC, right click and select “Use Picture as Desktop Image”; For a Mac, Control-click and select “Use Image as Desktop Picture”. 

To set at your ipad wallpaper
Click on the 1980x1600 link above. When the image in in view, click and hold. Select "Save Image" from the popup menu. Once saved, select your "Settings -->Brightness & Wallpaper" and change your wall paper to the newly saved image in your photos.





Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween!

Boo! That's me, the ghost with my Sisters and Brother, Halloween 1969
Here's one from a long time ago-- yes, that's me, the happy ghost. As you can see, I was very excited to be out trick or treating with my older brother and sisters!

Are you dressing up this evening for Halloween? Are you heading out trick or treating with your kids? Fortunately, my 2 still want me to trick or treat with them. We'll be heading out with friends trying to get as much candy as possible, I'm sure. It won't be long until they want to be on their own, so I'll cherish these last few Halloweens as long as I can.

Hope you have a wonderful and safe Halloween!

Monday, October 28, 2013

Free Printable Halloween Pretend Witches Spells

Free Halloween Printable: Pretend Witches Spells from an Old Spell Book by B.Nute productions
And the Halloween fun continues... today I'm exploring the world of witches and spooky (or not so spooky) spells! Have you ever wondered where that lost toy, lost phone, or lost t-shirt went? Summon it to appear with this Bring Back the Lost Toy spell (substitute the word "toy" with whatever you are missing.) What about bad dreams? I've created the perfect pleasing spell sure to warrant only the sweetest of dreams!

Print these out and add to a spell book for a witches costume, or frame them and decorate the Halloween mantle or bookcase shelf along with other witch and warlock paraphernalia; an old spell book or two, a magic wand, a few tails of newt, a hat and possibly even a broom.

Free Printable Pretend Witches Spell
Bring Back the Lost Toy Spell
Free Printable Pretend "Bring Back the Lost Toy" Spell by B.Nute productions

Sweet Dreams Spell
Free Printable Pretend "Sweet Dreams" Spell by B.Nute productions
Instructions for Making Your Printable Pretend Spells
1. Select each links above (below the image) and print out the spell on an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper. Print on white cardstock to give the spell some weight. Now just cut out each, and place in a 5"x7" frame. (Each image is 5"x7")
2. Place the pretend spells on your fireplace mantle, or add to a book case for some spooky witch Halloween decoration.

Printable items are copyright protected, and provided free of charge by B.Nute productions for personal use only. B.Nute's printables can not be sold, altered, or provided for download on any other site. For questions or inquiries, please contact B.Nute productions.