This year for Bean's school's Crazy Hair Day, we decided to "put a bird on it" since that seems to be the overarching theme this spring with the popularity of Portlandia. I have to say that this was a nice blend of teamwork. Bean & I "hatched" the idea of securing a birds nest atop her head and in a desperate pursuit to find colored hair spray because "everyone else at school uses that stuff", my husband set out with her last night to find some; however, none was to be found (thank goodness). Since they couldn't possibly leave empty handed, my husband decided to help her find some sort of nesting material and found this amazing coconut fiber. The stuff is brilliant! It sticks to itself, so it's easy to mold & shape...until...you have a birds nest!

I had admired Amber Alexander's paintings in the past as I would peruse Etsy and loved the way she would dress up stoic animals in bonnets or ruffled collars. As I was checking out Etsy today, I came across Amber's painting of a bear sitting on a loveseat...so charming! Well, now I'm at a loss because I can't seem to figure out which one to purchase with over 180 pieces to choose from. There are about a dozen that have made me smile and I want to bring them all home with me...

Last night my daughter picked out 'An Awesome Book' as our bedtime story. It's undoubtedly one of our favorite books and as I was enjoying reading the inspirational words and admiring his whimsical illustrations, I wondered if Dallas Clayton would ever come up with another book. Ironically, I just opened my email and found a message from Mr. Clayton introducing his brand new book, 'An Awesome Book of Thanks'. How fantastic!! You can enjoy reading it online or you can purchase a hard copy for yourself or for someone else. Bean just read through it and LOVED it! It's over 80 pages with marvelous illustrations and a meaningful, inspirational message once again...THANKS!

I'll admit it, I have NOT been a good blogger lately! Summer has come to a screeching halt, weather and all, and now I'm finding that I have a little more time to get my brain in order and fall back into the routine that I thrive on. I've got so many things I want to do this year and I hope I can accomplish at least 50% of them...aim high, right?

Well, I've been getting a LOT of submissions all summer and I apologize to those whom I've neglected -- it's truly not intentional, I just haven't had the time. Slowly easing back into things, I wanted to share these playful and typographical t-shirts designed by the husband & wife team behind Snug Attack. I'm obsessed with nice typography and and these instantly caught my eye. Their twins were the original inspiration behind the designs. How fun are they? 

Almost 2 weeks ago, I traveled to Portland, Oregon to attend a fabric design class at PNCU hosted by the ultra-talented Heather Ross. I was originally #11 on the waiting list and I whimpered to my husband that I'll never get into the class (poor me). Somehow, the clouds parted, and a space became available. It turned out to be a fantastically informative and fun class that I will write more about in the next day or two. Anyhow, while I was down there, I set out on a quest to find a gift for my girls' to bring home. I spent a couple of hours in Powell's Books (which isn't hard to do) and as I was breezing through the Orange Room, these nesting Babushkups jumped out at me and, naturally, I had to bring them home! Adorable babushka dolls printed on each glass and because they nest within each other they double as great space-savers as well. They were a huge hit in our house!

One of my long-time favorite companies has been ISAK. Sandra Isaksson is an incredibly talented designer of so many beautiful and inspiring things and she recently just came out with her Strawberry Penguin Blanket made of 100% pure new Norwegian wool that comes from sheep on fresh Norwegian mountain pastures (how good does that sound?). Just for a little trivia, did you know that wool can absorb moisture without losing its ability to insulate, is naturally flame retardant and is dirt repellent? I can't think of anything more perfectly suitable for kids!

Oh, I'm not done yet! While I was taking a peek at ISAK's shop, I saw that she's got water-resistant table cloths that are too cool! Too adorable to pass up!

How fun does this My Mini Golf set look?! When my brother and I were kids, we crafted a miniature golf course in our yard using various scraps of plastic and wood that we found in the garage - it's still one of my favorite childhood memories as we collaborated and schemed up fun ramps and roundabouts for the golf ball to follow. We literally played with miniature golf all summer long!

I find myself already thinking about how we're going to keep ourselves entertained this summer and this could quell a few of my quandaries. With an eight year old, the entertainment curve is substantially different than a three year old, so I've got to get creative. What I love about it is that I can envision throwing this set in the back of the car and heading anywhere with it and it's age appropriate for the whole family! Perhaps it's our modern day croquet?

Hi...perhaps you remember me? I started this blog a few years ago and would write incessantly about beautiful things that caught my eye...and then the holidays came and went and my husband and I went to New York City for a brief stint together (without the kids!) and then we promptly took a family vacation for nearly two weeks in Hawaii...and now I'm back. I can't say it was all that bad taking a break from my blog, it was fantastic for family bonding, which is most important anyhow, right? Quite honestly, I'm feeling fresh and back on track! I've definitely got a list of things I want to share with you and will be setting out to do that over the next couple of weeks. I've also begun illustrating after hitting an "illustrator's block" for a couple of months and I will eventually share those things with you too.

But let me just start with this brilliant little Pincushion Pal Ring! It only caught my eye because Bean will be starting a weekly sewing class next Friday and I imagine we'll need little things like this. Well, perhaps it won't be a "need" right away but it certainly adds a little excitement to sewing.

These don't only look pretty but you know they'd be the ultimate stocking stuffer or best eaten on one of those overindulgent, overachieving holiday nights when you make a gingerbread house, stroll the block to check out the neighbors' Christmas lights, make hot cocoa upon your return and top if off with a chocolate dipped marshmallow! Okay...I just got a stomach ache thinking about it but it was fun to imagine how much fun the kids would have prior to the sugar crash.

I was just thinking what a great October we've had around Seattle. Sunny and rather unusually warm weather have made it extra enjoyable (except for dipping temperatures and rain today). I was looking forward to picking up C from school last week so we could have a fun afternoon together. After reading about this nature crown craft project from BKids, it just seemed like the perfect project to do together since we could wander through the yard and pick pretty leaves and flowers for our crown. This was the final result...we added some jewels for added princess flare...

I know it may not be all that practical to give a child a porcelain cup or bowl but how could anyone possibly resist these simply beautiful porcelain bowls, cups and dishes from Hana Blomst? I let Bean start using "breakable" dishes when she was about 5 while we sat at the dinner table and, so far, we haven't broken anything (crossing my fingers). Of course, when they're dashing around the house in need of a snack or drink - I go for the plastic or stainless steel bottles! Blomst's porcelain dishware is very special though and would make a fantastic gift.

Wow! I don't know what to say other than that I continue to be amazed by the power of blogs and friends! My thoughtful friend, Esther, at Babyccino blog read my post about the "Under Her Wing" whale print that I created in honor of my friend Marge. All of the proceeds will go to Kylie's college fund (scroll down for the full story). So far, I've sold 14 whales out of 50 - so we're inching our way up there! Thank you to all who have shown your support and love in my effort to let Kylie know that we're here to help her along the way. xo Michelle

I'm really, really trying hard to focus on creating another series of prints this month and came up with a whale illustration the other day that I think I like...which is unbelievable, since I'm usually a bit tough on myself. It's missing that element of surprise, but I'm getting close to finishing it. Sometimes, it can be such a long process for something seemingly simple. This evening, while searching various online shops for a present for a friend, I found Pottock Prints via Rose and Radish (one of my favorite indie shops). What caught my eye was this fantastic Little Whales Wallpaper - I love the simple silhouettes! Ah, see? It looks so easy but I wonder how long it actually took him to come up with that fantastic design.

I honestly got the nicest email from Shawn at Lullatone telling me about his "Pajama Pop" melodic tunes the other day, but what Shawn didn't know was that I had already dowloaded a smorgasbord of tunes from their various albums a few months ago after getting hooked into his Raindrop Melody Maker a solid 20 minutes. You can make your own music - It's beautiful, therapeutic and fun - give it a try! So, after listening to several of their songs online, I instantly knew that it would be the ideal music to play during or after dinner, while the girls are in the bath, pulling their pajamas on and winding down for the evening. That's precisely what I've done on numerous occasions and the girls love it because it's both mellow but fun. Their newest album, Songs that Spin in Circles, was originally composed for their newborn son and it consists of loopable lullabies for babies -- just listen to "A mobile over your bed" and you'll understand.