Sweet Sweet Life

beautiful art and a sweet deal

Hello, all! 

May I introduce you to a friend?  My sweet friend Caroline is an artist, and she's certainly offering up some loveliness in her shop these days!   Take a peek at her collages--perfect for a child's room, but I would hang them anywhere in my home...:

 

Toucan

 

Twisty-Twirly Town

 

Aquarium

And I adore these digitally colored ink drawings.  They would so appeal to toddlers, don't you think?

 

Finale

 

Houseboat

 

Balloon Seller

Caroline is such a sweet, sweet soul.  She's from Australia, but is currently living in England, raising her family.  Here is what she says about her life and her art:

"Well, I'm just a stay at home Mum who has only ever wanted to be an artist and a mum! I love the whimsical and colour makes me happy, really soul deep happy. My ideas just pop into my head at random moments and I have to scribble them down quickly before I forget! I love simple, clean lines and have always been totally overwhelmed by a blank piece of crisp white paper as it is so full of potential, until you make a mark on it - scary!!"

 

And guess what?!  (So cool.)  Caroline is offering a great deal just for readers of Sweet Sweet Life in her etsy store!  She's kindly selling her prints at buy 2, get one free...Just purchase 2 prints, mention Sweet Life and the third print you would like in the notes to seller, and then check out!...Easy-Peasy!

 

And do visit Caroline's flickr for many more sweet images.

 

Cheers!

i love me some books, any way I can get them

I've been all about books lately, it seems, or "interpreting" them, anyway...so it's fitting that I am now in love with a little blog called We (heart) Books, which is filled with all kinds of lovely suggestions regarding quality books for kids.

And on said wonderful blog, I found this print, which is so simple and so genius all at the very same time:

 

By wonderful artist Jane Mount, it is called "Ideal Bookshelf 1."  Of course, we are huge Olivia fans around here, but there's lots of other lovely titles to gaze upon and remember fondly.  What would be on your ideal bookshelf, I wonder?  

Here's another one I love, if only because it has several Golden Books in it:

 

And there's plenty of bookshelves for adults, too!  See?:

 

 

 

Here is a true book-lover after my own heart (or, I am after her own heart.  Whatever!)  I could, and plan to, spend lots of time pouring over these prints at  Jane's lovely website and etsy store. 

Care to join me?!

more dolls I love

Look at these sweet, sweet dolls by Erika over at Miko Design!  (I know.  I'm not at all convinced she sleeps.)  She's been making lots of girls, and they have all kinds of wonderful little outfits that you can take off and on.  I'm smitten:
 

 

This is my favorite (above).  Something about that kerchief... 

But, here's what's great!  Erika is having a give-away over at her blog!  All you have to do is come up with the best idea for a doll, like these:

 

(The nurse really is to-die-for, don't you think [no pun intended]!?)

Check out Erika's wonderful blog for all the goings-on.  I'm going to enter, of course, but you couldn't torture my idea out of me.  You all are going to have to work hard, my friends!

Back later...!

you said it, girl

 

Totally awesome poster (and a mighty fine photo, I might add) from Katie Daisy, proprietress of the wheatfield. 

Awesome in so many ways.  Go see!

wee australian abode

Just who are Snugglepot and Cuddlepie?  Well, as mentioned in the last post, they are little fairy-like creatures (called gumnuts) created by May Gibbs in 1918.  They live in the Australian bush, and have all sorts of adventures outwitting humans and other villains.  May Gibbs also illustrated these books, and her drawings have captivated generations of young Australian readers.

 

Part of the incredible success of May Gibb's little stories is the fact that they are set in settings that are instantly recognizable for all Australian children.  While she may have borrowed parts of the narrative structure from European fairy tales, the bush and its flora and fauna were something that every child, no matter what part of Australia they lived in, could relate to.

 

"Since eucalypts and banksias, not to mention all of the bush creatures, are found right across Australia, Gibbs had created images that appealed to the entire nation. Seed pod hats, gum blossom skirts, gumleaf and sea shell houses, leaf boats and stick chairs, set imaginations running wild. Children everywhere couldn't help but wonder when they saw such things, whether Gumnut Babies really did live there, especially when they could actually see their scribbly writing on the trees. Gibbs took what every child could easily find and gave it a fantasy life of its own."  (via bibliodyssey.)

 

 

Thus, they are beloved in Australia and I was a bit hesitant to try to create a house that could be their home, knowing how important they are to so many readers.  But we tried very hard to do well, having read the books twice, and we certainly mean no disrespect if anything is "wrong!"  I am sure they would not have had so many "found items" from humans, but we only have so many natural items that would be appropriate, so we improvised a bit. 

Here goes:

 

The kitchen, with Snugglepot (he is slightly rounder than Cuddlepie).  We can't decide if the items in the back corner are mortar and pestle, or butter churn.  But they seemed rugged, so we went with it.

 

Both brothers posing before their tea.  The seed pods in the background (and the tree bark) are from our melaleuca trees, which are native to Australia.  It was the closest we could get to eucalyptus!

 

In the books, they sleep in little pods, but we didn't have those, so we used a nest filled with moss.  They seemed happy enough!

 

Their writing desk, where they write very important notes like this (below) to leave for humans--we copied this from the book (and that's our hummingbird nest in the background!):

 

"Humans, Please be Kind to all Bush Creatures and don't pull flowers up by the roots."  Amen.

 

And lastly, this is their sitting room where they smoke their pipes (!) and think.  We made the bench and chair out of melaleuca branches and bark, and the coffee table is made from pipe-cleaners that look like pine branches that are left-over from last Christmas.  More pods in the background, and tiny, tiny pine cones and dried flowers on the table.

Well, I hope you enjoyed that "home tour" as well, and that I didn't alienate too many of my friends from Australia.  Really, we meant no harm...;o)

Catch you tomorrow, friends!

snugglepot, cuddlepie, and the dollhouse tutorial

Good morning, everybody! 

I worked most of the day yesterday with Olivia getting this little tutorial ready..I do so hope that it is helpful, and becomes a part of some wonderful memories with your children!

Okay!  So.  For one dollhouse, you need, as stated in the Cookie magazine instructions, a standard 20" x 30" piece of foam-core.  Get your cutting mat, straight-edge, and a sharp utility knife.  You'll also need some spray-glue, a pencil, and scrapbooking or wrapping paper.

 

 

This is the scrapbooking paper I used for the Charlie and Lola house.  It's available here.

Using a straight-edge and a utility knife, cut two 10" pieces off one of the shorter ends of your piece of foam-core so that you have two 20" x 10" pieces:

 

measure over 10" from the edge...

 

use your straight-edge to cut...

Next, lay your two 20" x 10" pieces out like this:

 

On one of your pieces, measure over from the side 10" and make a line, from the top-down, 5".  Then cut a 1/4" wide notch where you drew your line:

 

Measure in 10", draw a line down from the top 5"...

 

Cut a 1/4" wide notch along that line...

Do the same thing along the bottom edge of the other piece.  Your two pieces will look like this:

 

Next, along the bottom of both rectangles, measure in 4 1/2" from both ends,  and cut doorways 2" wide and 5"tall:

 

measure in 4 1/2"...

  

and cut out a door 5" tall and 2" wide...do this from each end of the bottom of both rectangles.

Yay!  That was the hard part!  Now, you get to decorate!  Put your pieces together like so:

 

Mark on each wall what room it will be (kitchen, bedroom, living room, etc.), so that you know where to glue your pieces of paper...Take the pieces apart, and get ready to glue.

***(Gluing must be done outside [believe me, you do not want this stuff in your house].  I am not showing how I did it outside, because it was windy and hot.  But do take the time to go out.  It doesn't smell good and, as all good glue should be, it is very sticky.)***

Anyway, spray your chosen paper, lay it on the room you are doing so that it just half-way covers the notch:

 

Do the same for the other half of the side you are doing, and line it up so that it is touching your first piece of paper, covering the notch completely:

 

Next, turn it over, and using your straight-edge, trim all around the doors, edges, and the notch:

 

Make sure that you only do one side of the board at a time, or it will be very difficult to cut your doors and notches out!

We (Olivia and I) chose this time to make the home of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, beloved Australian gumnut babies created by May Gibbs in 1918.  They are almost like little fairies, but they are based in the Australian Bush, and their home reflects this. 

So, for this second dollhouse, we used a kind of nature-y, Borrowers kind of feel for our papers, as if it was in the woods (or Australian bush) and had been patched and decorated with found items and papers.  This works with the story of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.  Obviously, my papers were very different for the Charlie and Lola dollhouse--sort of shabby British chic (!?)...Do what works for your characters.  (I think a log-cabin paper would be very cute, for instance, for Little house on the Prairie.)  Have fun with it!

For both houses, I used iron-on transfer paper from the craft-store to make my dolls.  I just copied the pictures from the books.  If you do not want to do that, MamaKopp has (or can make) some wonderful wooden dolls that would be perfect for this!  And, of course, small Barbies or Polly Pockets would be super too, as shown here.  There's absolutely no need to get fancy, if you don't want to!

Hope this is clear...I'll be back just a little later with more pictures of our Snugglepot and Cuddlepie dollhouse.  Cheers!

green (and pink, and red, and yellow...) with envy

Check out this new-to-me website found via Desire to Inspire! It's a company called Rice, with showrooms in Europe, and apparently they are ridiculously inexpensive, bursting with color, filled with fun and whimsy, and...unavailable in the United States.  

Oh, well.  Still lovely!:

 

 

They sell everything from linens, toys, and Christmas decorations to kitchen-ware, bags and jewelry.  Wow.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm totally loving it.  Can't buy it, but totally inspirational.  This one's my favorite, because I love the painting and the white walls:

 

Rock on, Rice, and how 'bout some stores in the U.S.?!  Even just a stateside warehouse would be fine--I'll gladly pay a bit of shipping for stuff this cute.

Later, friends...

106 is not my favorite

 

Good morning to you!...

Okay, let's get down to (my) business, shall we?  It's about the weather here in California...

Oh, my word, it is so hot!  Really, I will try to continue to behave in an adult and responsible manner, but it is getting difficult.  Mostly I just want to lay down and cry like babies do when they get all sweaty and sticky (I feel their pain).  But, it was 106 degrees here yesterday!  In San Diego.

Granted, we are a good 20 minutes from the coast, but still.  It was so hot that at school, they put the kids on a "rainy day schedule" and kept them in the air-conditioning for recess and lunch.  Poor things.  Poor teachers.

Anyway, above is a so, so cheerful image by farmerjulie that makes me happy.  I will remember it at work today when I am stuck in a class of 20 antsy third-graders with no chance to take a bathroom break.

Is it cool and heading toward fall crispness where you are?  Or perhaps you are on the other side and it is moving from cold, rainy weather to spring warmth?  Whatever and where-ever, I do hope it is beautiful, in every way.

Have it a great one, my friends!

a close second

I just can't stop looking at these adorable baby shoes from LaLa Shoes.  Can't stop.

 

 

When my girls were little, it was socks or bare feet for them, because what's cuter than baby feet?  Nothing.  But these come close...

 

 

 

 

And you know what's awesome?  They make women's too!  Look!:

 

Oh, my.  I think I'm in love. 

Take a peek, won't you?!

Cheers, all!

a lot on my plate...

...and that's a good thing!!!

 

This adorable photo by my sweet friend is just my way of telling you that I'll be off teaching for the next two days, so blogging will be light (but hugs from very small people will be many, so there's that!).  In the meantime, if you are new here, from B:kids or elsewhere, please make yourself at home!  Take look around, and see if it's comfy.  You are welcome here anytime.  Here's some Orange Pekoe, and the cookies are in the oven...

I am delighted that so many of you liked the dollhouse--pleased beyond words!  I will be doing a tutorial (I can't wait--I have an excuse to do it again?!), but not until the weekend.  It should be posted by Sunday, if you are looking for it...

So have a lovely, lovely day, my friends.  I'll see you in a bit!