Fave Flowers

This Mother's Day, I got a pitcher full of my all-time favorite flower:



And a new favorite flower:



I also got a long nap. Wonder if there will ever be a Mother's Day when that isn't the first -- and really only -- thing that I want?! Besides Mexican take-out for dinner, of course.

What about you? If you could have a pitcher full of any flower, what would you choose?

All that Glitters

This is not going to be a cutting edge craft post, but recently, I happened upon some sequin confetti, and thought "where has confetti been all my life?" You guys, it's the best. It's so easy and uncomplicated to enjoy, and adds the perfect little embellishment to drawings. We don't do a ton of art projects around here that involve more than paper, markers and colored pencils...and the occasional stamps, but only when M isn't around. Why, you ask? Because of more than one traumatic kid-crafting experience that ended with all of us nearly in tears.

But this. This is an easy, surefire way to make all involved happy. We grabbed some construction paper, crayons and glue, and went for it. I like to cover my tabletops with Kraft paper whenever glue is involved. Spending my evening scraping up glue bits is not my idea of a good time. I'd rather be watching Swamp People, you know?



Can we please just take a moment to observe the state of our crayons:



No matter how many new boxes I buy, the majority are reduced to pieces in no time. This would have driven me batty when I was little.



S is almost always the first one to jump into anything art related.



I love the open-mouth concentration look.



And I love how these little feet don't touch the ground.



At first, H didn't want to fool with the sequins, but I finally convinced him that there are few things scarier than a dragon with sequin eyes.



So in conclusion, it's all about the little things -- especially sparkly little things. And projects that don't lead to tears. And yelling. And locking myself in the bathroom.

Have a great weekend, and be sure to check in next week for a big giveaway! I know, a giveaway? Yes! And it's going to be huge...

Best in Show

Our best neighbor friend had a birthday last weekend, and I enlisted the talents of Yasmine Mol to create custom pet portraits of her two pups.



When they arrived, I literally wanted to hang them straight up on our walls! This is the second time I've worked with Yasmine, and not only is she crazy talented, but she is great to work with. She was traveling through Asia -- in Vietnam -- but completely got it done for me in time for the big day.



I decided to mat them since I was giving them as a gift. White mats, white backing boards, some artist tape, and clear bags to top it off:




I always feel much better once things are wrapped in clear plastic bags. It's only a matter of time around here before something gets spilled or drawn on.

If you or someone you love [wait. isn't that normally followed by "has been injured in an accident?!] has a pup they hold near and dear, I'd highly recommend contacting Yasmine. It's a sure hit!

A Collection a Day: The Book

You know the wildly popular blog A Collection a Day? If no, I'll fill you in: Lisa Congdon started it last January, and for every day of 2010 there was a new little collection of something: stamps, labels, tags, erasers, vintage flash cards, etc. Sometimes the collections were drawn and imagined; others were real objects.





Well now, it's being published as a book by Uppercase! And it doesn't look like any old ordinary book, either. A real stunner this one.

Pictures of the book at press are on the Uppercase blog today, too. Personally I can't get enough of the whole printing process, and find these behind the scenes peaks fascinating.





A Collection a Day will be available this Spring; pre-order here. And did I mention it comes in a collector's tin? Yes sirey Mr. Bob -- it does!

[Top images from A Collection a Day; bottom two images from Uppercase]

Stamp It

Because if you were anything like me as a 7-yr-old, wanting to grab that little date stamp from the lower school librarian and stamp your own books, this is the perfect tip for you. I found it when I was going through some old tear sheets from Cookie magazine, and thought "why why why have I not done this yet." It's genius. Plus there's that added bonus of getting to channel your inner librarian.



Do you have a favorite way to date and store artwork?

Art + Play

Check out this art/playroom from the home of Lisa Mahar, the owner of a shop called Kid O in NYC:





Can we all please take a moment to digest these shelves:



This is what I dream about. Shelves stocked and stacked neatly with oodles of art supplies, and my kids taking down the supplies one at a time, and using them appropriately. Look, I'm not trying to hinder artistic expression and creativity -- a lot of the time art is messy. I'm just saying it would be nice if this type of organization wasn't destroyed just for the heck of it!

In the interview, Lisa mentions one technique she uses for getting her kids to pick up after themselves. She tells her kids, "you put away the things you want to, but whatever you don’t put away, I’ll put it away but when I put it away, I’m going to put it somewhere where you can’t get it for a week..." I've actually tried this once before when the boys' room was a disaster. I told them that whatever was left on the floor was going to Goodwill. You really do get an idea of what they care about. Anyway, it's inspired me to do that on a more regular basis and try to weed out the toys that are just taking up space and causing clutter. I'm actually tempted to head back there with a trash bag right now while they are at school! I don't think they'd even miss whatever I threw away.

How about you -- do you have any techniques for getting kids to clean up their things?

[Images from the home of Lisa Mahar, featured in this article on NY Social Diary]

For Pete's Sake

Not only would I like to tack up this pithy little reminder, but there was much more on C.S. Neal's site that made me smile.

And since we are on the topic of pithy sayings, I can't resist this one:



I laughed out loud when I first saw that one there.* Plus, the stencil and mustard/gold combo is perfecto.

*Print is part of a larger wall collection [below] from Freunde Von Freunden via Decor8; Photography by Ailine Liefeld. Be forewarned: FvF features homes/studios/interviews of creative types, so if you are into that sort of thing it's all too easy to while away a morning over there!

Window Dressing

A fascinating look at the making of Bergdorf's window displays is in the latest issue of Lonny. Be sure to watch the video, too -- fantastic videography and a perfect song to go along.



I love a good behind-the-scenes!

Animal Magnetism, Indeed

I'm a little behind on my reading materials, and just last night read through an article about Renate Muller that was in the NYT last Sunday. Muller is the designer of jute-and-leather animals that are not only adorable looking, but created specifically to enhance the learning environment for disabled children. This just happens to be one of my favorite things: when form and function combine to create something not only smart, but aesthetically appealing too.



[Photographs above show her process]

Living in East Germany, Muller was secluded from the larger design world, which she says allowed her to develop her own ideas. She stresses the importance of designing from your own spirit and power. Important, indeed, because while it's great to have access to so much inspiration from all over, seclusion can definitely help define your voice and clarify your ideas. Check out the full article here, and let me know what you think!



[Images from R 20th Century Design, where the exhibit "Renate Muller: Toys and Design" will be through January 4, 2011]

Little Peeps in the Big World

I got my Monday morning started off right by clicking over to this site. A site showcasing "little handpainted people, left in London to fend for themselves" by Slinkachu, a UK based artist. Seriously, some of them were making me laugh out loud, like this one:







There's also a book if you can't get enough of these clever little scenes!

And You?

I'm fascinated by the book by Kate Bingaman-Burt called Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?. One, hand drawn ink illustrations rock. Two, I love a good journal, especially with pictures. And three, I'm nosy, and I like knowing what other people have been up to.



Here's a little blurb from her website about it:

"I've been drawing something that I purchase every day since February 5, 2006. Obsessive Consumption represents a selection of these daily drawings. I draw objects that are rather ordinary: Coke cans, Post-it notes, toilet bowl cleaner-sundry items that a lot of consumers have a shared experience with; items that we interact with, but don't really think about. I love documenting the mundane and, in turn, putting a personal face on something that is mass-produced. I make work about personal consumerism, market economies, guilt, joy, excess, more guilt, gifts, celebration, repetition, and the community of these shared experiences."



And I see she made a stop at my hometown airport...



When we'd fly in from Boston, we'd make a mad dash to the Chick Fil A on Concourse B. Chicken never tasted so good.

I actually haven't bought anything today, but yesterday I bought Silly Bandz for the boys. Sea Creature ones. Isn't it funny how these things catch on at schools? Reminds me of the black rubber bracelets I used to link together a la Ricky Schroeder in Silver Spoons.

How about you?

[Obsessive Consumption available at Amazon or through the author's website, where you can get a signed drawing to accompany the book!]

My Big Night Out

If the phone rings at our house anytime after 8:00 pm, I wonder aloud "who could be calling so late?" But Saturday night, my friend and neighbor, Bev, invited me to go to dinner with her at the home of Maggie Taylor [some of her work pictured above] and Jerry Uelsmann [some of his work pictured below]. I think this was my first late night out since we moved here. I'm totally not kidding. Anyway, these two are incredibly talented artists/photographers, as well as kind, generous and fun people. We started the evening touring their studios and capped off the night singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" to the tune of their pianola. What could be better?!








Maggie also has an illustrated edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that is stunning. It's available for purchase at Modernbook. The images below are from her Almost Alice series.





It was a perfect way to be out past my bedtime!!

Little Picassos

There is an everyday dilemma at our house involving our kids' artwork -- to keep or to [gasp!] put in the recycling bin. And even the artwork I keep, I have a hard time preventing it from piling up undisplayed. There are some great ideas out there for displaying -- I just need to figure out which one would work for me.

I also really like Darby's bulletin board [also shown here] -- this may be a better route for me because I need something I can do quickly [rotating pictures in and out of frames isn't something I could see myself doing very often]. I also think the next time we are in the ATL I'm going to swing by Ikea and pick up some of these paper boxes -- the perfect size and an easy way to separate out each child's work. Plus, I'll find any excuse for getting more storage -- bins, boxes, baskets -- they all make me happy!

What's your criteria for what artwork to keep? And what do you do with it then?

[Images clockwise from top left: jan eleni on decor8; ohdeedoh; real simple; ohdeedoh; ohdeedoh; land of nod]

The Little Zoo

These Polaroid prints by Elizabeth Soule may be just the thing to hang up in our house to make me smile when my sweet and crazy little monkeys are out of control!

[The Little Zoo series; 6x6" prints $25 each]