The following post is from Jason & Jennifer Bruce of New Season Design:
As the school year draws to a close, you may be on the hunt for a sweet and thoughtful gift for teachers, aids, bus drivers, secretaries and other admin professionals, Sunday school helpers, dance teachers, coaches or a variety of other people.

These sweet stationery designs can be printed on nice paper and bundled with A2 invitation size envelopes with ribbon or twine for an easy and practical gift.

Or print a set for yourself or to give to a friend who needs a pick-me-up!

source: Jennifer Bruce

Click the links below to download and print your printable stationery:

• Flower Stationery
• Stripes and Dots Stationery
• Blue Stripes Stationery

	Jason & Jennifer Bruce are the husband-and-wife design team behind New Season Design, where they work together to help clients put their best foot forward online. Jason is a pastor-turned-graphic designer, and Jennifer is a teacher-turned-blog designer who also blogs at Saving & Giving to help people save more, spend less, and give generously.

Printable Stationery Packs {Great Teacher Gift!} is a post from Life Your Way

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The following post is from Brad, a web designer and father of quadruplets:

source: 4tunate Design

Jen and I have been working together from home for almost 3 years now. We are still learning a great deal about how to make that work better. But, in that short time, we have already learned some key things that have made for much smoother sailing. I thought I’d share some of those tips.

5 Ways to Make Working from Home a Blessing

1. Don’t try to do anything alone; plan your week together.
This was a huge lesson that took a while for us to learn. I thought 4tunate Design was my responsibility.  We were often misunderstanding each other and our expectations for work time and home time seldom matched up. I finally told Jen that my business was going to fail unless it became OUR business. We began meeting at the beginning of each week to block our time out. This allowed us to better plan to get things done, and it forced us to consider both of our busy schedules and better prioritize.

2. Work time is NOT personal time.
Another struggle we encountered is that our work is always right there in front of us. We don’t leave an office and go home. We work right here, and this makes it difficult to get away from. We have both discovered that we need some personal time to relax, exercise, and spend time with the Lord. We try our best to allow for this personal time each week. It actually takes discipline to avoid using this time to work, and instead get refreshed on important things.

3. Get out!
We have to find time to get out of the house both as a family and as a couple. Since we don’t commute to work anymore, it can be tempting to never leave the house. We try to take the boys to parks, nature preserves, and other adventures to make sure we get out of routine. We also get out as often as possible on dates as a couple.

4. Separate yourself.
It is also difficult to separate yourself from home life to focus on your work. Personally, when I hear a child outside my office door who is in need of discipline, it is hard for me to just leave it to Jen.  However, I have learned that she needs me to trust her with the kids, and I need to get my work done so that she can have a real break, and also time to spend on her consulting/blogging work. It can actually be insulting to Jen for me to stop and help as it shows a lack of confidence in her ability to handle things.  Shut the door, act like you are at work. It’s worth  it.

5. Count your blessings.
If you find yourself working at home with your spouse and children, it might be easy to focus on the challenges. I try to focus my attention on the rare blessing it is to work from home with young children. Are they loud? Yes. Can they be a distraction? Yes. That being said, it has been a tremendous blessing to be home with my young boys and wife these past three years. I have seen more of my family in the past few years than many fathers get to see them in a decade.  Focus on the the amazing blessings, not the few difficulties.

Those are mine, how about you? Have you been mixing life and work at home? Have any tips that could help us navigate this even better?

	Brad is the father of four 5-year-old energetic little boys (quadruplets). He runs his web design business from home which blesses him with the opportunity to be a nearly constant influence on them. He has a passion for leading his family biblically as a servant, and enjoys nearly every moment of it.

5 Ways to Make Working from a Home Blessing is a post from Life Your Way

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The following post is from Jennifer Burke, a lifelong educator:

source: Jennifer Burke

The first few days of summer vacation are exciting:  sleeping in, playing under the sprinkler, lunch at the park, no homework and catching fireflies!  It doesn’t take too long, though, until your ears pick up a whining, “Mom, I’m bored.  What can we do?”

A Simple Idea

Save a jar for each child.  Write their name on it and let them decorate.  Once a day, or when your child complains of nothing to do, let them pull out one of the ideas that you have tucked inside the jar.

Here are some age-appropriate activities to get you started:

For Preschoolers

(They may not be bored, but if their older siblings have a jar with their names, you can be sure that they’ll want one, too!)

• Get a paintbrush and water.  Paint the alphabet on the front porch.
• Make juice popsicles with Mommy.
• Pick a toy that has lots of pieces.  Put them into groups by color.
• Make a handkerchief doll with Mommy.
• Make homemade play dough.
• Fill a pan with rice or dried beans.  Add some cups and scoops.
• Use shaving cream on the counter to practice letters and numbers.
• Make a stuffed animal zoo.
• Practice reading readiness skills at Starfall.com

For early elementary:

• Learn how to sew on a button.
• Use different colored highlighters to mark vowels in the newspaper.
• Find a dozen different containers.  Estimate how much liquid each will hold.  Measure to check.
• Display your friends’ most popular ice cream flavors on a bar graph.
• Make ice cream in a zipper top plastic bag.
• Make butter in a jar.
• Make a map of your neighborhood.
• Draw some pictures for an elderly neighbor.
• Record books on tape for younger siblings to listen to.

For older elementary:

• Find three toys you are tired of.  Check with Mom, then organize a toy swap with your friends.
• Cook dinner for the family.  (Easy ideas:  Salad with pre-cooked chicken on top, boxed macaroni and cheese with hot dogs, or a casserole that Mom can take out of the oven)
• Invent a game using marbles and Legos.
• Write a thank you note to last year’s teacher.
• Write a letter to next year’s teacher, introducing yourself.
• Make paper mache masks.
• Organize a neighborhood Olympics.
• Open a weekly lemonade stand to raise money for a charity.
• Put on a play for your parents.
• Sweep the sidewalks for any single mothers or older neighbors.
• Publish a neighborhood newspaper.
• Play online math games at sites like CoolMathGames.com and FunMathGames.com.

Once you start filling the jars with special activities, you may have to limit your kids to one slip a day!

How do you deal with summer boredom?

	Jennifer is passionate about children and education. She homeschooled her two sons for five years, established and directed a Christian school in Maryland for 20 years, and currently teaches in a public school in a Chicago suburb. She loves investing in relationships and delights in every moment that she spends with her family.

Activity Jars Full of Summer Fun is a post from Life Your Way

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This is a trend I did not latch onto quickly. In fact, I still am reluctant to commit, although I’m getting there.

I remember when my mom wore bow blouses back in the late 70′s. When I first started seeing them pop up again a couple years ago, I said NO WAY JOSE! They conjured up horrible memories of curly perms gone bad.

But I’m coming around to the new, updated bow blouses. Nowadays they are usually made in soft, flowy fabrics, and you can tie them prim and proper high at the neck or loose and casual against the chest.

My mom always wore bow blouses with her business suits, but there are more modern ways to wear this trend.

Of course you can always wear a bow blouse with a pencil skirt for a classic look.

But even better, pair it with a pair of amazing jeans. Try something like this!

Or for a super trendy look, try it with a pair of shorts!

How do you feel about the bow blouse trend? Are you on board for this one? How do you wear your bow blouses??

	Jo-Lynne is a Christ follower, mom blogger, barefoot runner, style watcher, reluctant chauffeur, amateur photographer and aspiring locavore. She writes the award-winning lifestyle blog, Musings of a Housewife, and facilitates the social networking group, Philly Social Media Moms.

How to Wear Bow Blouses is a post from Life Your Way

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