Kids Haus

Summer Play, Welcome May!

It's officially true, time literally flies! We'll be welcoming the month of May tomorrow which means that summer is on it's heels, which means that we can kick off our boots and slip on the flip-flops! I've learned that I can't dive into summers in Seattle without zeal because it will be over as quickly as you can say "SPF 60". I'm already feeling it. You know what I can't wait for? The beach! Taking the kids and the dog to the beach, having picnics and feeling the warm sun on my back. Letting the kids explore different things, playing without (much of) a time limit and going to bed feeling that satisfying type of exhaustion -- the kind that makes you realize that you probably just created some great memories. So, I couldn't help but pick a few things to inspire those thoughts...

Top left: Teak Swing, Top Right: Noted Matchstick Garden, Bottom Right: Beach Ball Sprinkler, Bottom Left: Terra Kids Key Ring Magnifying Glass

Mother's Day Idea: SpoonerZ

Aren't these hand-stamped, hand-formed spoon pieces from SpoonerZ adorable? (Ahem, I only hint being that Mother's Day is on the horizon). A little personalized treasure for all those dedicated mothers out there...hint, hint...

Miller Goodman ShapeMaker

This has got to be one of the coolest toys around and I honestly don't think I could have understood how imaginative the ShapeMaker was, had it not been for their excellent video. My girls have watched it a half dozen times already and found it completely entertaining -- I don't think we could get tired of the fabulous, organ grinder inspired music that goes along with it either, it's so fun. The Miller Goodman Shapemaker is essentially a set of 25 colorful, hand printed, environmentally friendly, rubber wood blocks with thousands of geometric possibilities. Enjoy!

Sleep Safari

There's something about Spring that inspires the feeling of wanting to buy new bedding. Some crisp, bright colored bedding and fluffy new pillows. Well, in reality I don't buy new bedding, of course but it sounds nice, doesn't it? Instead, I'll just tear off everyone's sheets and duvets, give them a good cleaning and throw some colorful pillows on the bed to make it feel like new. I love practically all of the bedding that Anthropologie has to offer and thought this bright Sleep Safari bedding was so darling! Hello spring!

{GIVEAWAY} Couture Lab

Hello everyone! Kids Haus sponsor, Couture Lab, is having a very cool giveaway for this hand-embroidered teddy bear. The most admirable and awesome part about this teddy bear is that it's hand-crafted by women artisans in deprived, HIV-struck areas of Africa. These craftswomen are part of The "Forward" Group, an artistic community which spans across regions such as Zimbabwe, Zambia and the Congo. The Forward Group involves more than 60 artisans, who are now able to generate an income and gain confidence in moving ahead with their lives. Each one unique, the bears feature cotton thread embroidery and patchwork appliqué, depicting happy scenes in bright colors. Each one of these teddies is a one-off collectible piece. With that in mind, I think it makes these bears very special and it's very inspiring to hear that Couture Lab is supporting these women.

So, all you need to do is click here and sign up for the Couture Lab newsletter to enter to win. Good luck!!

Pouch Pals

One of my favorite online toy stores is Romp. Their selection of amazing toys is endless and I always discover something new-to-me. So, I came across these fantastic Pouch Pals and would love to have a couple, though I'm not even quite sure I'd want to stuff things into their pouches yet. I'm simply drawn to the pelican & kangaroo silhouettes and I love heavy-duty wool felt -- I would just like to hang them on the playroom wall and let the girls' use their imagination.

Anne-Claire Petit Crocheted Clock

Once you become familiar with Anne-Claire Petit's things you can almost spot her beautiful designs a mile away. Her style is very distinct in that everything she does is cheerful and has a handmade quality to them, usually crocheted. I wrote about her hand-crocheted dachshunds about a year ago but now I've got to mention her hand-crocheted cuckoo clock made from mostly organic cotton -- which reminds me of a funny story that my mother likes to tell about my younger brother when he was about 4 years old: Apparently he woke up quite early and tugged on our wooden cuckoo clock's chain. My incredibly mellow brother (still is) quietly went back to bed after this early-morning mishap and didn't make a peep. The only evidence was the broken cuckoo clock on the floor and an egg-sized bump on Chris's forehead. At the time, it probably wasn't as funny as it seems today. I can't help but smile when I see this soft cuckoo clock...

Art Sale: Hadley Hutton

I fully intended on writing a blog post last night but, as luck would have it, I went to the dentist on Tuesday to find out that I had 2 cavities and one of them being dangerously close to the nerve -- so I had to make an immediate appointment to have that nasty problem fixed. So yesterday was that day and I had underestimated the pain involved with getting a filling so I took the rare opportunity to slip into bed and watch a lot of good, bad TV last night (it was sooo nice!). I'm feeling great today though, so the pain was at least short-lived.

Anyhow, I wanted to alert you all to a wonderful art sale going on today. Hadley Hutton is selling her beeeeautiful pieces right here. I wish I had budgeted a little cash for some art this month but, instead, I will have to live vicariously through you. I'm in love with the dreamy, ethereal style of her birds...so pretty! Amy Ruppel is also having an art sale that will kick-off at 11am this morning...on your marks, get set...GO!

Paper n Stitch

I got a really nice email from Brittni from Paper n Stitch, a relatively new shop that showcases work from artists and makers. She introduced me to one of their new designers, Stitchface, that has some ridiculously adorable, eco-friendly stuffies. Their disproportionate features make them even more endearing and loveable...

Personlized Appliqued Pillow

Hey there! I hope you all had a great Easter. As spring in Seattle would have it, it rained from the moment we woke up to the time we went to bed. The early morning egg hunt left us all wet and soggy, especially my husband and I as we tried to follow the girls around our sloping front yard, trying to keep up as they searched for their hidden eggs, which is when I unfortunately discovered that my favorite rain boots had a hole in them. This was the first year that both girls' understood the Easter egg hunt concept -- C was a little too young last year, so we had the fortune of experiencing the magic through their eyes. So fun!

I haven't posted anything about my friend Jana in while -- she always tends to have a craft project or two up her sleeve . Remember her chore chart and concentration game? Well, she's done it again with an appliqued pillow case that she made as a birthday gift for her daughter's friend, Avery. I think giving anything with the birthday girl's name on it will add that extra special, birthday touch and I'm sure Avery already covets her personalized pillow case...really, who wouldn't? It's such a simple idea and one that will be remembered and used for years.

Easter Eggs

This year, we repeated our Easter egg dying process from last year simply because we loved the marbled finish. Now, I must admit that last years eggs looked a little fancier somehow. The marbling was more fantastic. The only reason I can hypothesize for the difference is that it was because we used food coloring this year vs. the color tablets from last year OR the temperature of the water wasn't warm enough. Either way, the girls' didn't know the difference and they turned out pretty, nevertheless (those are our eggs pictured below). We got the idea from Martha, of course...

Kireei Cosas Bella

One thing I love about writing this blog is the wonderful connections I've made. A couple of weeks back, I Twittered (yes, I have a Twitter account that I'm just beginning to warm up to) about a logo that I needed to work on for my husband's current project. It's been a long while since I'd done a logo and I was feeling rusty and grumpy about the whole thing. For some reason, I was compelled to Twitter about this and from that tiny message came a warm response from Elena, who lives ALL the way in Spain, who offered to help me with the logo. I was so overwhelmed and touched by her generosity and then came to find out that she's got 4 children and was working on starting a blog with 4 other people, Kireei Cosas Bella, which just launched this week (congratulations!). It's all about crafts, photography, decor, children, and more. Elena designed the logo and graphics for the blog as well. How does she do it all? Anyhow, I can't speak or read a bit of Spanish but the pictures practically speak for themselves, you'll have to see for yourself. There's a fun Easter egg project worth a peek. Enjoy!

Fugu Fugu Press

Last month, we visited our dear friends in Venice Beach and we came across an awesome little card store (gosh, I wish I could remember the name) so Fiona and I dropped a wad of cash on some adorable handmade cards while waiting for dinner reservations. I couldn't resist the "Thank You Tree" card -- I had to buy two. Lucky for you, Fugu Fugu Press has an Etsy shop with my favorite card and more. I seem to have a soft spot for the bold shapes of color and cute faces on their little creatures.

Couture Lab: Bonnie Young

Hi! I would like to welcome a brand new Kids Haus sponsor, Couture Lab. What I've never known about Couture Lab is that it was developed with both famous and undiscovered designers, artists and artisans worldwide over 20 years ago by Carmen Busquets. Couture Lab protect the designers, artists and artisans who produce one-off creations and small collections, and because the product ranges are very limited, they cannot be offered to a large group of people -- so what you see on their website is entirely exclusive.

Couture Lab introduced a new collection of clothes for boys and girls by designer Bonnie Young, the former Creative Director for Donna Karan. If you know a thing or two about Donna Karan's classic style, you can certainly see the uncomplicated perfection in Bonnie Young's new line. The dresses are luxuriously beautiful! Read an interview with Bonnie Young.

Foxy & Winston

I nearly had a post about our Easter egg coloring venture this evening but, unfortunately, I muddled things up by buying brown eggs instead of white which left most of our sad little eggs looking anything but bright and cheery for Peter Cottontail. It was a good trial run because I was quickly reminded that you can't leave a 2 year old alone with a bowl of colored water and eggs for more than 15 seconds. If you do...well, you probably already figured it out. Of course, we'll be repeating this process tomorrow with white eggs and we'll certainly let you know how it goes.

Now, onto some truly bright and cheerful things. I'm so happy to share Foxy & Winston with you if you've never run across her screen printed works before. Jane Buck, originally from England, where she studied Fashion & Textiles, started Foxy & Winston in 2005. Her illustrations are inspired by nature and the creatures she meets on her travels. She's got a wide selection of cards, limited edition prints and organic tee shirts for kids. I can almost guarantee you'll enjoy clicking through her fun prints in her shop, they just get sweeter and more fun as you go...

Hijkids

Hijkids is a rather new shop on the block that has a carefully selected, beautiful array of classic apparel and room decor elements. Kristine, the founder, had her first child four years ago and always dreamed of having a shop of her own someday. She searched high and low to find quality handcrafted products that resonated with her own sense of style and, from that, Hijkids was born. When I first perused her shop, the dress that my eyes immediately locked onto was the darling green Sugar Cookie Dress (on the left). Then as I spent more time looking around, I discovered the Vintage Lion Artwork which is from Kristine's personal collection. Say no more! I'm even contemplating bringing him home with me. Enjoy perusing Kristine's shop, you can clearly see that it's a personal labor of love...

Pizza for everyone!

For the first time in a very long time, my girls' were SO excited about dinner last night. Because I've been having a tough time pleasing everyone's taste buds lately, mostly my husband because he's turned "Vegequarian" (fish & veggies) on me in the last couple of months, I realized that homemade pizza could be something we could all agree on. I made the dough myself, which I probably won't do next time because it took me far too long, and put various pizza toppings in bowls so everyone could pick & choose their own ingredients. The result? A hit! The girls watched as their pizzas bubbled up in the oven and they ate every bite, including the crust. Involving them in the creative process certainly made the pizza taste better. Here's a shot of C carefully placing mushrooms on hers...

Thursday On My Mind

Well, I have chosen a random winner for my "My Deer" Gocco print Giveaway using Random.org. Moxie, who is also coincidentally a Seattle girl, wrote "gocco rules! i too, wish everyday were an art day. very lovely". I want to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in the Giveaway and for your incredibly wonderful comments -- it's good fuel for the fire!

Since Easter is right around the corner, it's time to start thinking about coloring Easter eggs soon. We're not quite ready for that yet but we're getting there -- somehow April snuck up on me and I have a feeling the long, gray winter may have something to do with it. So, to get the ball rolling with Easter, let's just start with some beautifully designed packaging by one of my favorite illustrators, Lisa DeJohn, for Godiva. I know, it's not something I would normally write about but since it's Lisa, I think it's noteworthy. I would also show you her awesome place mats that she illustrated for Land of Nod but they don't seem to be available on their site at the moment -- I don't want to send you on a wild goose chase so, instead, I'll update you when I find out more.

Then, to top that off, I discovered that since Lisa is Land of Nod's catalog cover artist, they've turned her cover art into prints that you can buy here. They're too cute!!

Sam & Bellie Lolly Chalkmat

"Smart & practical" just about sums it up for the Sam & Bellie Lolly Chalkmats. The idea of a travel placemat that has a fun design on one side and a chalkboard on the other sends fleeting thoughts of "why didn't I think of that?" and "I wish I had known about this sooner" as I count the numerous times we've sat in a restaurant drawing on napkins and crumpled receipts from my purse. It's a brilliant idea and the designs are lovely! And you want to know the best thing? They're PVC-free, BPA-free and free of harmful metals. Sam & Bellie manufacture their products in an environmentally friendly way and choose materials that are good for our children and the eco-system. Sam & Bellie is also hosting a giveaway on their blog so you can try to win one yourself...