[crackers and cheese}

We had an impromptu Valentines snack this weekend. We made love-inspired lunchables with turkey, cheese, crackers and cookie cutters.

A scrumptious little snack that filled our hearts and our bellies.

A snack that had little A and myself grabbing for more.

yum yum! Hope your Valentines weekend was filled with love and delicious goodies!

[aRRRR you ready for some...]

It's finally here! A day I've long been awaiting. A day when little A will be sent off to school with a bag full of Valentine booty for all his little preschool mates to enjoy.

Oh how I love Valentines. Hands down some of my favorite memories as a child were cutting doilies and red and pink construction paper hearts and applying them to a self-made mail/shoe boxes of sorts in preparation of the wonderful flood of cards and candy to be received by peers. When it was all over I'd sit in my room sorting through my loot, picking out which cards I liked best. I remember Garfield and Peanuts cards were usually on the top of the list. Oh what magical school memories (second only to the Halloween costume parades and cotton ball Santa beards).



In honor of this momentous occasion little A and I have decided to share our Pirate Valentines with all of you. Simply download the boy and girl pirate sheets and get started.



You can then print these onto white or colored card stock. From there you simply cut out felt heart eye patches and then stitch across the paper, write a cute piratey saying such as "you're gRRReat!" and the front of the card is complete.



You can get creative with the candy. Here little A and I did variations of gummy hearts sealed in sewn wax paper and lollies stitched right onto the back of the cards.

Little A can hardly contain himself. He can't wait to dress up as a pirate and deliver his treasure to all his friends. He also can't wait to have a lolly, so I slipped a little card in his bag just for him, from mommy.

Now all I need is a box (or two) of chocolates, conversation heart cookies and a night out with Jon and my V-day celebrations will be complete.



** All downloads are for personal use only. Please do not use for resale, or commercial production.

[raiding the toy bin...]

I find that fashion inspiration can come from just about anywhere...and at anytime. But I have to say, I didn't expect it to come from Little A's toy box. Today, while working on fine motor skills, I pulled out his lacing beads. I started to make patterns on one strand, and he did the same on another. After I was finished with mine, I thought "hey, I love these colors" and then, "hey, I might actually wear this". So I put it on and what do you know, I loved it, and wore it for the rest of the day.

Who knew my craving for chunky, geometric necklaces could be satiated just by raiding my sons educational toys?! I'm not sure if it will be obvious while walking through the grocery store that I'm wearing toys around my neck but I think I'm OK with it either way. Little A sort of wanted his beads back (I might have to purchase another set for myself!) but Baby O was all about it. Talk about a necklace that you are finally OK with letting your one year old play with!

[join Cafe Mom and the...]

For a little sneak peak inside our bat cave, fly on over to Cafe Mom and take a gander. Sheri Reed of Cafe Mom was kind enough to interview and invite me to give a mini tour of our new South Pasadena apartment, and truly, I was delighted to accommodate. It was a wonderful opportunity to document moments and places in my life that I hold dear. I hope you enjoy them as well!

[we've gone giddy for...]

Our Little A is a budding mathematician (or at least that is what his very biased mother thinks) and we are more than encouraging it (hey, the arts are great and all, but any other way to make a living and we say go for it!). He's been obsessed with puzzles for quite some time and is especially fond of shapes and matching, etc. We have a lot of Montessori toys that he enjoys but I've had this idea for a geometric art puzzle that I wanted to try with him. Last summer (yes I've had this project idea stewing for far too long...seems to be the way things go around here) I went to Home Depot and had them cut a large sheet of 1/4 inch hardboard into five inch squares. Just this week I finally managed to paint them into colorful triangular shapes. I used acrylic craft paint and a sponge brush (don't use a bristle brush, it will just frustrate you).

As soon as Little A saw them, he went to town and I loved what he came up with. The amount of beautiful designs is truly endless. I have to confess that I'm having just as much fun with them as he is!

My original plan was to apply Velcro to the back of each square and then mount them onto the wall as a movable art piece (an idea I got from a friend, Amy Palmer, while living in Brooklyn. She had various shades of blue squares hung above her couch and it was true eye candy). However, once I saw the "out-of-the-box" designs that little A made, I knew these were better suited as a floor activity.

I might still hang them on the wall as a visually appealing home for them while they are not in use, but for now we are enjoying sliding them about, mixing and matching, this way and that. Talk about just the thing to do while cooped up indoors during this week of California rain storms.


*To get the sharp diagonal I took a ruler and made a pencil line from corner to corner before painting. From there I just eyed it (taking advantage of the clean line a sponge brush can give you) but if you are a perfectionist you might want to try taping it off.

[he'll fit into it...]

As part of my New Years resolutions I'm trying to reuse as many things around the house as possible. Little A is growing by leaps and bounds as of late and has been in need of a new sweater/jacket/hoodie or two. So I scoured our closets and found a few sweater vests that Jon never wears (the fit is off) but that I have always loved. As the wheels started turning, the scissors started snipping.

Being jazzed about this and ready to go, I didn't want to go out and purchase a pattern (I don't feel comfortable enough to do it without one...yet) so I went through what I already had. I came across the Finish Ottobre pattern book that I have had for some time but have been slightly intimidated by (due to a lack of visual step-by-step instructions, metric sizing and the fact that you have to somehow decipher your pattern pieces from a frenzied maze of differing, overlapping pattern lines).

It was now or never so I dove in. The pattern sizing is all in cm so I took a wild guess based on what I thought would fit Little A. I know, I know...taking a random chance isn't the best idea when you are planning on investing time, fabric, effort and more time...but I was ready to go, and ever so slightly impatient.

So after piecing together Finish pattern instructions and various discarded sweaters found around the house I ended up with a very fun yet very over sized sweater hoodie.

He still looks darling in it and when he's, oh say, five or six years old...or even older...he'll fit it perfectly. And as excited as I am for him to wear it, I certainly can wait...a very long time...for him to grow up and into it.

[Christmas 2009 round up]

For Christmas this year (or I should say this past year) Jon and I decided to exchange gifts that wouldn't cost anything. It was an exciting and delightful creative journey of suspense, surprise and serendipity.

We are going for an old school scientific/ecological environment in our living room and I've been obsessed with all things entomology as of late. Jon (who has always been an entomologist at heart) picked up on this and decided to create an insect showcase complete with butterflies, a dragonfly and a beetle. He did this by carefully selecting decorative/textured papers and then printing black insect drawings onto them. I was completely enamored when I opened the gift and from far away they actually look real (everyone thinks they are!). One of my favorite things about this gift is the story behind the shadow box frame. Because this exchange was not supposed to cost anything, Jon got creative. He found some old Euros from our 2007 Paris trip and took them in to be exchanged into US dollars. The total ended up being just the right amount for the frame. So technically it wasn't zero dollars, but I think his ingenuity makes up for it.

Jon has been asking for a painted family portrait for a little while now so I thought I'd better start working on it for his Christmas gift. I was originally going to have us all together on one canvas but I thought it might be more fun to have individual portraits scattered about the wall (which will also make it easier to add any new additions down the road).

I only managed to get Jon's completed by Christmas but I'm excited to finish up with the rest of our family. I am happy with how this turned out and really feel like I captured what I see and feel when I look him. When I walk by this painting I think, "that's my Jon". He likes it too. Win, win.

I think I like this zero dollar gift idea. Might just be doing it again next year...

[Christmas round up]

It truly has been the most wonderful time of the year for me. With cookie-exchange parties for hosting and caramel apple cider for toasting and caroling around in the car (albeit a little too late on Christmas Eve....oops), I could not have asked for a better Christmas.

We didn't travel anywhere this season because of Jon's work so I tried to get in the holiday spirit by hosting a cookie-exchange party. It was both delightful and delicious. I made Martha's Tree-Sandwich Cookies (found in the 2008 Handmade Christmas special issue). I only managed to get pics pre-sandwiching but they were loads of fun (Little A went nuts poking holes into the trees with a straw) as well as scrumptious (I used nutella as a filling as well as a friends' homemade pomegranate jam...yummy).

I also managed to finish up the boys stockings...just in the nick of time, of course. Inspired by a wee wonderfuls embroidery pattern I had seen a few years ago, I decided to make my own version using a couple of my illustrations. Little A LOVED that he was a reindeer and Baby O is often called O-bear, so his was a polar bear.

And in the spirit of up-to-the-last-minute, I made pajama bottoms for the boys (I will finish the tops..someday) and the boys were as cute as ever. I had so many other crafty Christmas ideas that will have to wait until next year. I decided it was OK to let some things go and just to enjoy the time with my family. I didn't even go crazy with the wrapping (talk about some serious restraint). I was so relaxed on Christmas day and enjoyed every minute of it. My brother was in town and we did visit aunts, uncles and cousins after opening gifts so we were not completely by ourselves, which made things all the merrier.

Jon gave me some incredible gifts that I can't wait to share with you all in a gift post that will be coming soon. In the mean time I'm going to catch some z's and start making my New Year lists...

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas as well and our enjoying time with loved ones!

[our colorful...]

For one of our advent activities we made a Christmas village (OK so we only have one house done) out of old cracker boxes, butcher paper, permanent and prismacolor markers.

I sketched a loose drawing on the house and Little A had a magical time coloring it in. He's just at the right age to really get into it and I loved watching him. He was especially into coloring in the individual roof tiles and continually asks to draw on his house.

It's been an ongoing project and the house gets more colorful each day we get closer to Christmas.

We ended up placing it behind our little nativity (and vintage bias tape trees) where I think it fits perfectly. It's a scene that makes me happy every time I walk by, reminding me of all the wonderful things about Christmas.

Like you, I've got a lot to fit in this week and will try and post what I'm doing as much as possible. I can't believe the days are counting down so fast! The Christmas season always go by much too fast and we're trying to enjoy every little moment we can.

[knee deep in...]

I'm swimming in wrappings and trimmings and loving every minute of it. Never mind that I was a half an hour late to the Christmas book club party (my sitter was stuck in a Cosco line for 20 min!) or that after giddily wrapping up my book for the giveaway I ended up driving around for another half an hour trying to find the home of the host (my GPS wouldn't register the address). Never mind that I gave up when it was time to put the littles to bed.

I tried not to think about how I would not be able to talk about one of my favorite classics, Jane Eyre. No comparing Mr. Rochester to Mr. Darcy (Mr. Rochester totally wins. Swoon....). No memorable discussion about the admirable character and moral of Miss Eyre. No commiserating over the the hero and heroin's heartache. No talk or drooling over the new all-time favorite cinematic Masterpiece Theater representation of the novel (I made Jon stay up all night watching it with me-they nailed the characters so well! Top of the Christmas list for sure). No, none of these things can bother me for long. I have a pretty package. An additional gift for my list. And many more pretty papers, ribbons and tags to immerse myself in. I'm happy. Christmastime is here. And having it ushered in by Mr. Rochester and little Jane Eyre...well, what more can I ask for?

[the wait is over]

OK, so now the dolls are really in the shop...no really...they are there. And because I've taken such a silly long time to get them there I'm offering up another sale!!
Purchase a little mod rag doll and bring home a print or your choice for free. Just enter the code MODDOLLS and mention which print you want in a message and I'll be sure to ship it off along with your new little darling. The sale will go on all weekend and dolls will ship in time for Christmas (can I just say they make the cutest stocking stuffers!).

(a big thanks to my mini mod models, Little Lucy and Camilla!)

[random...]

I've had a magazine clipping of an advent calendar in my Christmas "genious files" that I have adored for some time. This year I decided that it was time to make one of my own. I also wanted to do something a little different to count down the days. Instead of just goodies (which will definitely be in there on some days) I wanted to add a few small token gifts.

Some of these would be physical gifts, but most would be gifts of self. This year I really wanted us to try to bring the Christmas spirit into our home by giving of ourselves and our time. Each day a member of our family will get something. Most will be simple things, such a kiss under the mistle toe or cuddle on the couch with hot chocolate and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Others will be more involved such as foot rubs and a trip to the Marina del Ray Holiday Boat Parade.

I made little cards that fit into each pocket, waiting to deliver an act designed to bring a smile to the face and a bit of holiday cheer.

If you too are interested in doing something similar I've made these cards available for you to download. Just click here and get started. (You can of course also use these for gift tags, address labels, etc).

I'll let you know how this little idea turns out. Hopefully our month will be bursting with love, magic, excitement and adventure.

[Cyber Monday Sale! Now let's...]

I've been a busy bee bringing to life evie, camilla, beth, ella, jane, elanor, milla, izzy, anna, and elsa. These thoroughly modern gals are just the right size to slip into a little one's stocking and more importantly, right into their heart. They will be available to you this week in my little shop.

Each mod rag doll has her name sewn onto the back and fabrics range from vintage/vintage inspired to personally hand drawn, such as on elanor and milla, posing below.

And as for more shop news, I've recently added a new print, Love is Spoken Here, in a variety of colors into the shop. I created this little poster back in September of 2008. It's been such a joy to have in my home so I thought I'd share it all with you.

And for the final Cyber Monday fun, I'm having a little shop sale

Buy any print (or a custom portrait, etc.) and receive a print of your choice for free. And get, this...this sale is not just for Cyber Monday, but will be going on all week!! So get your holiday orders in now. Just enter promo code: CYBERSALE and I'll be sure to reimburse you for your free print. Happy holiday shopping!