My Society6 Shop Designs

September 9, 2018

Hi Friends! I know I’ve been a little quiet on the blog lately, but there’s a good reason for that.

I opened my society6 shop a few weeks ago, and I’ve been working on some exciting new things to share with you! I’ve been designing all sorts of fun things and I hope that you will like them as much as I do.

5% of anything that I make from Society 6 sales will be donated to a girls education charity ($1 from each sale in my Etsy shop will be donated as well).

Since it’s back to school season, let’s start with the backpacks first!

Backpacks are an essential item for going back to school and these are some of the backpacks that I designed. I wanted them to be really fun and make you happy when you look at them (because school isn’t always easy) and hopefully having a fun backpack can bring a little brightness to any school day.

Each backpack is a unisex size, has a padded back and bottom, and has an interior pocket that fits up to a 15 inch laptop. I would loved to have any of these backpacks when I was a student and heading back to school.

I also designed some fun tote bags – these are great to keep folded in your purse or backpack for grocery shopping.

These are the awesome leggings that I designed! It still kind of amazes me that someone can wear something that I dreamed up. The teal design is in the color scheme “Unicorns Frolic, ” (which I thought was such a sweet and cheerful name). I designed the pattern so that it would be flattering on a lot of different shapes and be bold and eye catching. I can totally see myself running around in any of these leggings, as well as exercising, or relaxing at home in them. Leggings are an all occasion item, and these are sleek enough to wear just about anywhere.

I’ve got a few tops that are available in the shop, and I’ll be adding more soon. I wanted the shirts to look chic and modern and look great on everyone.

This is super neat! I’ve added furniture to my shop recently as well! There are coffee tables, credenzas, benches and side tables in the shop, and many of them allow you to choose between black or gold hardware so that it’s easy to match your existing furniture or design scheme.

Last, but not least are my favorite items in the shop – the duffle bags!

When I was working out the color scheme and patterns I was thinking of what I would want to take with me to the airport. I love duffle bags because you can use them for your work out gear in everyday life, or fold them into your luggage when you go on a trip and fill them up with souvenirs or gifts to bring back for your friends and family.

The duffle bags come in a few different sizes. The two here are in the design “Cherry Blossom Garden” in Deep Blue and Blush Pink shades.

So cute!

You can find more items I designed here.

Thanks so much for looking! I’ll be back with more recipes and DIYs soon.

I hope that you have a great week!

Elaine

P.S. Which one is your favorite item?

Iced Watermelon Cubes – A Healthy Ice Cream Alternative

July 15, 2018April 17, 2019

If you’re living through a heat wave at the moment what you probably want most in the world is something sweet, cold, and refreshing to eat.

Here is the simplest of desserts to keep on hand for a hot day. These little cubes of frozen watermelon are delicious and perfect for popping into your mouth (straight from the freezer) to cool you down.

Refined sugar free, dairy free, paleo, and all that jazz… but what’s really important is that they taste so good!

Iced Watermelon Cubes

Makes lots and lots of servings

Ingredients

1 sweet seedless watermelon (pick the sweetest one you can find)

That’s it! 😀

Instructions

1. Cut the watermelon into 3/4 inch cubes (this is a perfect size as they can be eaten straight from the freezer and they thaw quickly too).

2. Freeze the cubes flat in ziptop bags.

To serve, scoop about 1 – 1.5 cups (or however much you want) of the frozen watermelon cubes into a bowl and eat with a spoon.

Ta-Da! I hope that these little cubes of watermelon joy make your summer days a little more awesome. 🙂

Glorious Orange Berry Blitz-ish Smoothie (Mango, Pineapple, Blueberry) – Vegan, Paleo

June 10, 2018April 17, 2019

When I was a youngin,’ I once went to a summer camp. The camp was located on a college campus and close by was a Jamba Juice. So most days (during the few weeks we were there), I and some of the other students would go to Jamba Juice for smoothies and a scone for breakfast.

My favorite smoothie was the (now discontinued) Orange Berry Blitz. I loved how the orange juice gave the blueberries and pineapple smoothie a wonderful brightness.

It’s funny how food and flavors can sometimes take you back, and suddenly, there you are again, cocooned in a marvelous memory.

I smile now just thinking of how happy I was that summer, and and this berry smoothie is still the perfect thing to drink on a nice summer day.

This is my version of that glorious smoothie. I added mango because I think that it gives the smoothie a little more of a tropical flavor (and an extra little bit of sweetness as well).

Feel free to play around with the ingredients. Sometimes I replace the apple juice with water, or add in a few handfuls of baby spinach (if I want to get my greens in for the day without having to give it too much thought).

Make the smoothie that you want to drink (though I will say that this smoothie is pretty awesome as written) and have fun!

Glorious Orange Berry Blitz-ish Smoothie

Makes 1 generous serving

Ingredients

3/4 cup ripe mango (cut into roughly 1 inch cubes, about 1 mango)

3/4 cup fresh pineapple chunks (cut into about 1.5 inch wedges, canned pineapple works too)

1 1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup apple juice (I used the Martinelli’s brand)

2-3 tbsp orange juice

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

This is what the plate of fruit looked like after I added the fruit into the blender. I think that it’s quite beautiful in a wabi-sabi kind of way.

I hope that you have many happy summer days drinking smoothies with your loved ones.

Enjoy!

The Etsy Shop is here!

May 12, 2018

I’m so excited to share that the Hope and Butterflies Etsy Shop is now open!

Starting new adventures and not knowing where they will take you

When I started this blog, I had no idea where it was going to go. I knew that I loved to cook, and that I wanted to share my recipes because they were the kind of recipes that I wanted to have when I first went on a dairy / gluten / refined sugar free diet.

I had so many food sensitivities, and I missed eating the things that I loved. It was really hard to be in more pain, or just feel ill because I ate something as normal as a blueberry muffin. My list of food sensitivities was so extensive that I couldn’t even eat most of the recipes on other gluten free websites.

So I started writing recipes, and eating gluten free versions of the foods that I loved again.

What I didn’t expect when I began this journey was that as my list of recipes grew, and as I cooked and ate my way through this rough patch, I felt more and more like myself again.

Not having recipes that worked for me meant that (for a while) the foods that I ate were boring and bland, and eating those foods brought me no joy.

I hadn’t realized how much brightness food had brought to my life before, and learning to eat the new versions of my favorite foods gave me that brightness back, and nourished not only my body, but also my spirit.

Baking and cooking have always felt very meditative to me. When I’m in the kitchen I can get lost in a recipe, and no matter what I’m going through, I always feel better (and like I’ve accomplished something) when I’ve created and eaten something delicious (especially if it’s a muffin or a brownie).

That’s what I wanted to share when I started this blog, to help other people with food sensitivities find a way to nourish their souls with the joy of creating something that they really enjoy eating.

What has also been exciting is to see how many people have visited the blog. Hope and Butterflies has had visitors from places like the UK, Australia, India, France, Ireland, Kenya, The Netherlands, Germany, and even our friendly neighbor to the north, Canada.

It feels amazing to think that this little cooking blog that I started 6 months ago would reach (and hopefully help) so many people in so many places all around our big world.

I’m also incredibly lucky to have so many good friends and family who have cheered me on during this time. So many people in my life have reached out to tell me that they enjoy reading the blog, or think it’s cool that I’m writing it, which has been amazing.

There have been many times when I think I’m out of ideas and am in doubt if I should keep trying to write recipes, and their encouragement has really cheered me on. I’m so glad that I kept writing, and I’m excited to see how the blog grows and evolves in the future.

The Prints

The Hope and Butterflies Etsy Shop sells posters / prints that you can download and print at home.

Each shop listing includes 7 high resolution JPG files (300 dpi, RBG Color Format)

– 4″ x 6″
– 5″ x 7″
– 8″ x 10″
– 11″ x 14″
– 18″ x 24″
– 24″ x 36″
– Wallet Size (the size of a credit card)

Most importantly though, $1 from each sale will be donated to support girls education.

When I was designing, I wanted to create prints that would be encouraging, and most of all, kind. Many of the designs encourage self care, self acceptance, and cheer you on in difficult moments.

Life can be really hard sometimes, and you’re always doing the best that you can.

Sometimes it’s nice to have a reminder of that, which is why the prints all include a wallet size printing option as well.

Because sometimes you do need a pocket sized reminder that “You are AMAZING” when things aren’t quite going the way that you want them to. Take it from someone who knows, storms pass, you will grow from them, and things will get better.

And whoever you are, you matter too. Your dreams matter too.

I hope that in some small way, these prints will cheer you on when you start down the path towards your own dreams (even if you have no idea where it will take you).

Starting the blog was scary, but also exciting and so so rewarding. I wish you that same scary excitement (and fun surprises, and joy!) along your journey.

Girls Education

Right now, this little Etsy Shop and the Hope and Butterflies Blog are my dream.

I decided to donate part of the proceeds from each sale to support girls education, because not only is it simply the right thing to do, but also because I want to do what I can to help other young women and girls accomplish their own dreams.

I was lucky enough to be able to go to school and learn about the world around me.

Every young woman should have the right to do the same. This shop is my own little way of trying to help make that happen.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be posting more recipes soon.

And remember :

And you are wonderful, just as you are.

And Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing moms out there!