{Good Read} Dr. Seuss...

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! We had a little birthday celebration of our own this morning with the Cat in the Hat. But tonight we will be reading some of our favorite Seuss books.  I have been tripping down memory lane with some of these books lately. I recently bought Sayer, "In a People House" & "The Best Nest" which are two of my childhood favorites. I remember studying every picture & memorizing every phrase. "Sam the Firefly" is another one that evokes fond memories.  Well really.... they all do! 

I stumbled on the annual Read Across America campaign today & they have a great way to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday. 

What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book?  It'll be nice to read with you tonight!  

{Everyday Inspiration} A good day for a circus...

One of my all time favorite artists is Alexander Calder. While he was probably best known for his mobile sculptures (he coined the word "mobile"), he also had a lifetime love of the circus.  One of his early jobs as an illustrator for the National Police Gazette, sent him to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus to sketch circus scenes for 2 weeks in 1925. Later when he moved to Paris (1926) he created "Cirque Calder". All the pieces were small enough to be packed in a small trunk which allowed him to take it with him places and have impromptu circus performances. They usually lasted for about 2 hours and were very elaborate. Every now and then I like to watch this video & thumb through my Calder books for inspiration. I thought today would be a good day for an impromptu circus performance here (only 5minutes rather than 2 hours). Hope you enjoyed it! 

Photos via: here, here, & here

{Music Monday} Oscar & Kiddo choice...

How could I not choose this Randy Newman song today for Music Monday? Sayer is a big Toy Story fan lately - particularly Toy Story 3. Have you seen it? Oh man, I can't make it through the end without completely losing it. It's that same kind of lump in my throat that I get at the end of School of Rock. Needless to say, I've seen it about 5 times now & every time, I make Sayer promise me that he'll take his Gunk (slug plush) with him to college. He's assured me that he will. The only thing Sayer was at all interested in last night during the Oscar Award show, was when the Toys Story clips played & when, "We Belong Together" was performed. It was so awesome that Disney Pixar & Toy Story 3 won for Best Animated Feature plus "We Belong Together" won for the Best Original Song! -So sweet that Randy Newman won his 2 Oscar (after being nominated 20 times)! Sayer thought it was all pretty darn cool.  Happy Music Monday - this one is for Randy & Sayer! {photo via here}  Did you watch the award show? 

{Everyday Inspiration} Saturday Painters...

It was too cold to play outside, not to mention, the snow wasn't that  great snowball/snowman snow- it sort of just fell apart. Sayer & I ventured out today, but decided that we rather have hot cocoa & paint inside. I love the stage Sayer is in right now- although I've enjoyed all of them so far. He is just so cool & really fun to play with. I broke out my watercolors & painting materials (but was grateful I had Sayer use his own paints). We turned on the music & painted for quite awhile. Being that I've taught college level painting classes over the last 16 years, it was really refreshing to paint with him. His willingness to experiment, play & just enjoy painting- without a care in the world as to what the finished product looked like, is what I always tried to encourage in my students. It's much trickier as an adult to be that way. Sayer was definitely an inspiration to watch & be around. I'm going to love sharing my studio with him over the years I can just tell. When his painting was done, he picked up a pair of Chris' old glasses sitting on the bookshelf & started goofin' around.... 

I really think that the pictures speak better than my words as to what I saw. Let's just say, that I had a really good Saturday & the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Hope you're having a nice weekend too.

{Fabric Friday} KLT:fabric bundles & giveaway...

Those of you that have been following my Fabric Fridays for the last year, won't be surprised to learn that my fabric stash is taking over my studio right now. Boy do I love fabric & I have piles dating back to the late 1990's. The lightbulb finally went off after numerous inquires from customers about buying my fabric to match their klt:mobiles & plush. Part of my new year resolution was to simply & pare down. So, in the spirit of making more space in my studio, I'm now creating & selling fabric bundles from my  klt:fabric stash in my Etsy Shop.

As I was frantically going through my fabric, cutting & bundling, I came up with a fun idea (I think)- a Fabric Friday Giveaway! I thought I would put together some fabric remnants in this KLT owl tote as my giveaway prize. I figured that those of you that are crafty & creative would need an extra tote. So, I will gradually add fabric to this tote over the next week - and announce a winner next Fabric Friday. Sound fun? 

To enter:

Leave a comment under this post about what you would do with your new tote of fabric.

An extra entry will be given to those that follow this blog- & another extra entry if you follow klt:works on FB & Twitter. 

Happy Fabric Friday! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

{shop update} dewey loves orla kiely...

Are you a fan of  Orla Kiely designs? I am & was happy when I stumbled on this shop called Thirtyfive Flowers. Not only does Louise make beautiful cushions & coin purses from vintage & new fabrics (just got this & this in the mail today & LOVE them), but she has a fondness for Orla Kiely & occasionally sells some of her fabric in little packs. I recently purchased a few bundles from her with a plan to make some plush. However, I haven't had a chance to get make them yet. While working on an order of Dewey Birds yesterday, I was able to squeeze in the time to make this Dewey that I had dreamed up the minute I received my Orla Kiely fabric. See, having our house buried in snow isn't that bad... I got more time to sew. Hope you are having a great day! 

{Fun} What?

Wasn't I just saying that it felt like spring was around the corner? Now, I know snow isn't  a big deal to most of you out there. But we seldom get snow here in the Northwest. So to look out the window this morning and see snow outside is a bit odd, being that it's just about March. Below is my view from our kitchen window.

Sayer actually went to his grandma & grandpa's house today & I'm sure they are going to have a lot of snowy fun. I was able to snap a few shots before he left to document this crazy snowfall. Meanwhile, Chris is working from home today & I'm going to lock myself in the studio. We are trying out my new mocha pot & drinking our coffee Daria style now (thanks D). We are on our fourth cup and things are really starting to hum. Hope you all are having a great day? What's the view from your window?