In Silhouette

As I mentioned earlier, I've been slowly collecting vintage childrens books for inspiration and eventually decoration in the boys' bedroom. So this weekend I picked up "The Sleeping Beauty" illustrated by Arthur Rackham. I love that the all the illustrations, minus the cover, are done in silhouette. I love the detail, the play with positive and negative space, and the characters. It's worth flipping through if you can find it at your local library.



Speaking of silhouettes (if all goes well!) I'll be offering a few "Pretty Little Faith" shirts in my shop in a couple weeks. Tomorrow I'll ship the shirts off to a girl in California who has offered to silk screen them for me. Here's a photoshop mock up. There are only a few shirts in this round so if you're interested, make sure to check back often and snatch one up!

Annnd I'm usually not a huge "You've GOTTA watch this youtube video!" kind of person but you've GOTTA watch this youtube video! : ) It's in keeping with the silhouette theme of today's post and it's pretty darn amazing.

Flower Child

I don't mind having all boys as long as they'll sit, sip hot tea, and craft with me like Hudson did yesterday. I've been wanting to try my own little flower felt brooch ever since this post.

Mine is just made from cream colored craft felt, brown embroidery floss and some acrylic paint for that "aged" look. Hudson was feeling a bit jazzier, I guess. He opted for bright colors and glitter paint. I think he did a pretty good job! He sewed it and cut it himself! Too bad about those restrictive child labor laws--I think I could turn a pretty little profit if he just up-ed his production speed a bit : )

They are easy to make. Just cut out a few circles of felt, each one smaller than the previous. Sew them together through the middle, pulling tightly so that they flare out a little bit. Then cut lines from the outside to the center of each layer to create the petals, rounding the edges a bit. I dry brushed some antique yellow and dark brown on mine to age it. And that helped stiffen the felt a little so it holds its shape. But the possibilities are obviously endless. Check out all these for more inspiration and let me know if you give it a try!

Lonely Walk print

Just added this print to the shop today. It's inspired by some of the vintage children's books I've collected from library book sales and yard sales over the past year or two. I have intentions of using them when I get around to decorating the boys' room, we'll see if that actually happens any time soon. : ) Til then I just keep collecting them, admiring them, and wiping off the occasional strings of drool (Jude's of course, not mine)

My Favorite Thing

This is what I finished on Saturday night while Daniel made little paper models of the table he and Hudson are working on. It's inspired by a Benton Paul song that I've been playing over and over the past couple days. It's available in the shop now, if you're interested!

Getting Your Hands Dirty

Hudson is sometimes not super keen on getting his hands dirty. So when we tried this project today, he insisted on using a spoon. I tried to encourage him by getting MY hands dirty (which, by the way, was WAY fun). He was amused but nonetheless stuck with the spoon.

The boys are asleep so Daniel and I are working on our own creative projects. Daniel is sketching a table/desk he hopes to start building tomorrow to replace the plastic folding table that currently holds our computer. And I'm going to work on a sketch I started earlier today. Hopefully we'll have finished projects to show soon : )

Christening the Sketchbook

Got a new little sketchbook today, one to stick in the diaper bag for when I can steal a few minutes here and there to sketch. I love new art supplies. Thankfully our local art store is crazy overpriced so I'm not tempted to buy impulsively ; )
Anyways, here are the first couple sketches in the book. Hopefully there are lots more to come.

Rosa Loves

Hey, just wanted to point out a cool t-shirt company, Rosa Loves, that combines great graphics and even greater causes. Professional goal #235 is to design a shirt for them someday. Keep it in mind when shopping for gifts or for yourself.