Giveaway Alert!

Julie Kieras from the blog 'And baby makes three' has a great review of the Wee Gallery Black and White cards, and a giveaway as well. Hop over there to win!

Last Day

Taking a summer break since the kids are off school. I will be making announcements here, but regular posting will start end of August. Today is the last day to make purchases on the etsy shop. Have a great summer!

Happy Fathers...

...are napping fathers in our house. What makes dad happy in your home?

Smile!

I just couldn't resist this beautiful and oh-so-clever Japanese bowl set that I got in NY. The top is wooden and the bottom bowl is ceramic. I am assuming it is intended for rice and miso soup from the drawing on the packaging - there's no English translation anywhere.  I thought it would be perfect for my picky daughter who will refuse to eat most vegetables, but loves rice and dal, the 'child food' of most Indian households. She smiles that she has gotten away eating 'only rice and dal' having no idea that it's got tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, and a whole bunch of garlic in it. And I have to smile too.

Pink Entwined Elephants

The Vintage Section is added to the etsy shop! I have a few handmade items listed, made from this fantastic vintage fabric I found, of a couple of pink elephants holding an ultra-mod flower in their trunks!

Anokhi

This doll has been on my to-do list for ages. She has a set of bindis in her pocket which can be switched out to match her outfit. The fabrics I used are scraps from material I bought from my favourite Indian store called Anokhi which makes in my opinion one of the most beautiful block printed fabrics in the world. 'Anokhi' means 'unique' so that is the name of my doll too.

Two of my Favourite Things

Folk art and vintage frames. These lovely Gond original paintings were given to us by our visiting cousins from India, I love them so much! The Ikea frames I tried first didn't quite work, then I found these beauties at the thrift. So happy! Gond art is whimsical, detailed and colourful, traditionally painted on the walls and houses of the tribes of Madhya Pradesh in India. More on Gond art here and here.

Costume Weekend

Firstly, thanks for all the good wishes for my trip - it went great and I am back home safe. Just before I left, I had been getting requests from the kids for costumes, and I wasn't able to get them done. So the day I came back we went fabric shopping. Here's Anya's mermaid tail, she wanted a tail that she could put her feet into, but I wanted her to be able to hold the tail behind her so that she could walk properly. We ended up doing both with the slits that I left in the sides of the tail. It was really easy to make - took about half an hour and she loves it! And of course she loved posing for pics - check out her backdrop!! Sid's costume next...

Going to NY

I am going to be in New York for the next 3 days for a trade show. I love using vintage props in our displays, it gives it such a unique look. Here I am using a metal toolbox in a fantastic shade of tomato red to hold our catalogs and sketchbooks. Wish me luck!

The best pattern maker of them all

... is nature. Wish I could have told you I found these on our beaches, but I only get so lucky at thrift shops!

Seedlings

One of our wonderful retailers in Tampa has an Annual Baby Shower event - we did this installation last year. This year I will be there showing our Art Cards and Wall Graphics and a few other items. Hope to meet all you Tampa moms there tomorrow!

Excitement

This evening is my son's Spring Concert at our local theater. He has had his outfit ready for a week. So cute!

Soft Books in Ikat

Couple of Ikat surplus samples of our soft book are now listed in the shop. Sold out, thanks for visiting!

Andrew Holder

Fun to see interpretations of Indian ideas. Works by Andrew Holder.

Ballerina Tops

We've been having fun in ballerina class lately. I ordered five unpainted wooden tops from urbanturn.etsy.com, and we painted them to look like ballerinas, and added little matchstick arms to complete her. Now waiting for the boys to come home and put their spin on the three that are left!

Weaving Jewely

Weaving done by my kids according to what they saw on Atelier Pour Enfants blog.
Instructions available here.

Found via Fine Little Day.

Animal Tattoos

Listed on etsy.

Picnics in the Urban Environment

 Who said they can't be beautiful?

Mother's Day Coloring Page

On my most recent trip to India I found some amazing coloring books featuring Madhubani Art. The drawings are probably too detailed for small children to enjoy so I thought I'd create a less complicated version for mothers out there to download. Click on the picture and print.

Camping in Florida looks like this

We went camping on an island for the weekend with 5 other families, at Cayo Costa. Being on an island means that the kids run free without adults stressing about traffic, getting kidnapped etc. That's the good part. The bad part is there's no place to run from the bugs! Oh no!