Hello, friends.  Once again, I have made a pdf download of all of my personal sketched notes from the October 2023 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You are welcome to use these without cost for personal, family, or classroom use as long as you give attribution to me. Please do not sell these in any format or try to pass them off as your own. You are welcome to print them and use them for your own study in whatever way you wish of course. As long as everyone plays by these rules, I can still offer them for free for all. O ..read more

 Hello, friends.  Once again, I have made a pdf download of all of my personal sketched notes from the October 2022 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You are welcome to use these without cost for personal, family, or classroom use as long as you give attribution to me. Please do not sell these in any format or try to pass them off as your own. You are welcome to print them and use them for your own study in whatever way you wish of course. As long as everyone plays by these rules, I can still offer them for free for all. O ..read more

 If you read my blog post last fall, you may know that... Children go hungry in America every day, particularly in rural communities, where statistics show food insecurity to be as high as 25%. This means up to one in four children in rural communities lacks nutritionally adequate food or the ability to acquire it on a daily basis. In one of the wealthiest countries in the world, this appalling statistic is unacceptable.  To raise awareness, provide information, and help connect those suffering with much-needed resources, I wrote and ..read more

Putting out a new valentine in case you've used all the other free ones I've offered in the past and want another option.  Print them and use them for yourself or your kiddos. All you need is cardstock, the ability to print double-sided, and a pair of scissors or a paper cutter. Click the link below for the various PDF printables or go to my PRINTABLES tab in the menu for more free designs. Happy Valentines Day! 4 cards per page PDF 8 cards per page PDF ..read more

Really, Phil? Six more weeks of winter. I am NOT looking forward to that. But, I know how we can pass the time... READING BOOKS like... Tickle, Tickle! Itch, Twitch!   (click the title above for a link to the book) It's perfect for Groundhog Day and for teaching little ones not to judge others by their outward appearance. Enjoy ..read more

Once again, I have made a pdf download of all of my personal sketched notes from the October 2022 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You are welcome to use these without cost for personal, family, or classroom use as long as you give attribution to me. Please do not sell these in any format or try to pass them off as your own. You are welcome to print them and use them for your own study in whatever way you wish of course. As long as everyone plays by these rules, I can still offer them for free for all. Of course, I would really really love it if you’d foll ..read more

Children go hungry in America every day, particularly in rural communities, where statistics show food insecurity to be as high as 25%. This means up to one in four children in rural communities lacks nutritionally adequate food or the ability to acquire it on a daily basis. In one of the wealthiest countries in the world, this appalling statistic is unacceptable. But how do we mitigate food insecurity for children and its resulting effects on a child’s physical, mental, and social development? This project proposes to educ ..read more

Here's a new How to Draw video for you. PUPPIES! Enjoy ..read more

Are any of you feeling the pressure, the pinch, the stress of helping our kids navigate their schooling from home? I'm sure the teachers providing the lessons are. Ours seem to be throwing everything they have at us in an effort to see what sticks. The problem is, my kids get overwhelmed. I finally emailed the teacher and said, "Are you okay if we choose one thing in each subject each day instead of trying to do EVERYTHING every day?" He said, "of course." Honestly, if he had said no way then I would've done it anyway for my sanity and my child's. The way I release stress is to draw. I don't ..read more

I have a very special offer for you!  Instead of my usual 10% off Parade Portrait Christmas sale, I am offering a 15% discount for the first 7 parade portrait commissions booked. I've never done this before, but I thought that since this has been an especially difficult year for everyone, you could use an especially good discount.  What is a Julie Olson Custom Parade Portrait?      An 11x14 (or longer depending on number of people portrayed) hand-drawn and hand-painted depiction of children or an entire family which actually will look like the person. Opti ..read more