{Fabric Friday} fabric smiles...

Do you remember Kari, the winner of the Creative Bundle Contest? Well, she's been busy creatively making smiles on her son's face lately with a new fabric creation that  I just had to share! She made this soft flip book for her son, Max, for Easter. Each face represents someone in their family! I was so tickled when I saw her blog post about it yesterday. 

She even used some of her prize klt:fabric bundles for this project. Isn't this the greatest photo? I love how he's so into his family of faces. He also looks adorable in his new squirrel tee! Kari, Max is one lucky kid! Thanks for sharing your cool project!! Happy Fabric Friday everyone! Do you have any fun projects lined up for the weekend?

{Real Life} Tea for Two...

Not too long ago, I received a beautiful catalog in the mail. You know, the kind that kicks around on the table for awhile because you are never quite finished going through it? The pages were getting more & more dog-eared as time went by until finally, I made an order. The great thing is, not only did I order some cool things for Sayer, but I ordered for me too! Because honestly, sometimes we need to wear something other than our favorite klt:works tees around here & Mother's Day is just right around the corner, right?

If you haven't guessed yet, our special, Mother's Day inspired order was from the gorgeous, San Francisco based, Tea Collection. While you may be familiar with their wonderful children's clothing line, did you know that they have a women's line too? Sayer & I were so thrilled by our mother & son Tea parcel that we decided to try out our new clothing right away (& of course, I brought my camera along). We romped in the alleys downtown...played at the beach, & goofed around in the studio a bit.

It's safe to say, that the Tea Collection fits into our Northwest way of life really well. Sayer's painter roll up pants are great & so practical! He's pretty much lived in them since they arrived at our doorstep. His little surfer hoodie & shirt  became instant favorites as well. I have to say, I'm really happy I bought myself the tunic too. It's so nice when I can find a creative company that compliments klt:works so beautifully. For you moms to little girls out there, go check out their girl collection- it's so adorable! So, here are three big cheers to a favorite west coast company!  In addition to having stellar products, their customer service was top notch too. 

Stop on by :: www.teacollection.com

{Music Monday} Draw...

Three main ingredients for a fun rainy day inside with kiddo: 

1. chalk board wall (with plenty of chalk included)

2. Ed Emberly drawing books

3. Barenaked Ladies, Snack Time cd 

Mix all together & DRAW!  Happy Music Monday! What's your favorite rainy day activity?

{Vintage Reads} The Seiden Bunny Mystery...

On this Easter Eve, I thought it would be appropriate to share a little mystery about bunnies. It's no secret that I'm a vintage book nut. I'm always on the hunt for a new treasure to add to my collection. But when I find a book illustrated by Art Seiden, my heart pitter pats a little bit extra. My collection has even doubled since my last Art Seiden post - I've had good thrifting karma lately. Well, I made a discovery a while back that has me puzzled. Did Art Seiden have a wife who illustrated books too? 

I'm what you might call a research or information junkie. I love to research about illustrators, authors, artists, designers, musicians- you name it. If I find a person's work inspiring, I'm always curious to find out more about the process & influences in that person's work. I'm particularly fascinated in couples that are both artists. When I stumbled on a book illustrated by a Bea Rabin Seiden- it really got my wheels turning. Her illustrations were done for Wonder Books around the same time that Art Seiden did illustrations for Wonder Books. They both worked with author, Alf Evers too. I thought there was a definite style similarity as well. Unfortunately, there really isn't any information. This book seems to be the only one on record that she has illustrated. I even checked in with my two vintage expert friends, Alix (modern kiddo) & Heather (3ring circus) to see if they could help me shed some light on this puzzle. Either way, I love Bea's bunnies. Here are some of the illustrations from the book, The Hungry Baby Bunny.

The illustrations for, Sonny the Lucky Bunny, are pretty great too. My favorite is probably the lion dancing with the bunny. I'm always drawn to Art Seiden's lions. Here are a few of Art's illustrations. (His is the very first illustration of the post too.)

Yes, this is the sort of thing that occupies my mind. I know, it really doesn't matter whether they are related or not. I just found it an interesting coincidence & fun to think about the two of them in their house together, happily drawing bunnies.  Happy Easter everyone! 

{Fabric Friday} Earth Day Favorite...

 

Happy Earth Day! On this Fabric Friday, it seemed perfect to feature one of my favorite eco- conscious fabric designers/makers, Umbrella Prints. I discovered this lovely fabric last year & it continues to be on my top 5 list. Amy & Carly's gorgeous fabric is printed by hand  on hemp & organic cottons, with water based, solvent free inks.

The palette & imagery used, is beautiful & truly able to inspire any sort of project. There is also exciting news for you quilters out there. Umbrella Prints has some new quilting weight fabric called "Oasis" that will be out in May! You can pre-order it on the Umbrella Prints Etsy site now.

Pop by Amy Prior's blog for more inspiration & beautiful photos here. It's one of my favorites. All photos used for this post are from her blog & etsy shop. Happy Fabric Friday! Hope you all have a wonderful Easter Weekend! 

{Everyday Inspiration} family night out...

Ok, so I've been posting a lot of pictures of the tulips & daffodils lately, I know. But, we are surrounded by all of these colors & I really can't resist. Right now the Tulip Festival is going on so there is tons of traffic in our little town & the fields are swarming with tourists. However, every year, the Tulip Town fields hold what they call "locals night' where the locals are invited to roam their fields, take tractor/trolley rides, & enjoy the sites for free.  It's always crowded & a fun evening. We started a tradition with my parent 2 years ago & last night we headed on out to Tulip Town adventure like years prior.

While the tulips are beautiful, I sometimes find the people attending this event more interesting & colorful. When taking a tractor ride though the fields, these lovely ladies were in my view. I was taken with their individuality, smiles, & friendships that they were enjoying.

There were also lots of other things to explore. The kites & flags were flying & spinning like crazy in the wind (it was chilly) & on the outskirts of the tulips was this tent. It was intriguing & we let our imagination go a bit. Was it a mini circus in there? I don't know, but we hung around it for quite awhile. No clowns left from tent that we saw.  

All in all it was a nice evening out. We saw some familiar faces, got to play in more puddles, & enjoyed our local surrounds.  How is your week going?

{Real Life} Big Boy Room Part II

The transition from Sayer's nursery to his big boy room is ongoing in our house. We've been tackling projects one at a time. But, I think we are finished for a little while. He finally has the space & appropriate storage solutions conducive for tons of play. The great thing, is that we didn't really need to change things up much. We also made or found (in other rooms of our house & thrift shops) most of what we needed. I love watching my little whirlwind play so I decided to take some photos of him enjoying his space, while giving you a tour.

This bookshelf house is one of my favorite things in his room. It was originally my old doll house that my dad made me. He also has the old doll bed that my dad made me too. Chris renovated it before Sayer was born to make it into a changing table/bookshelf. Now it's still a storage space, but also serves as an extension fire house, emergency station, & deluxe garage. Click here for the before & after post. 

I love the fact that Sayer still has his klt:mobiles in his room & that he still enjoys them. His bed is the conversion of his crib which I have to say is so great! The book corner is another favorite part of his room. He can look at his books from his bed too- which I think is nice. Chris made the book ledges & the shelf/toy storage is from ikea. The Eames chair isn't always in his room- it really floats from room to room. This week it's in the living room.

The vintage toys & vintage Marimekko quilt sort of took the palette of his room from, orange, green, & turquoise, to more of a rainbow of colors. It's a happy room that I enjoy hanging out in. It also gets beautiful light through the windows. In my opinion, it's the best room in the house for sure. I'm curious to see how this room evolves over the years. In the meantime, I'm content  just watching Sayer enjoy his space. What's your favorite colors for a toddler's room?