Kids Haus

An Awesome Book of Thanks

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!

Hungry Monkey

"Hi".

Well, yes, that's the only word I thought appropriate after being gone from my blog for so long. It's summer and it's also been a time of vast change for our family. For me. I've been taking a little breather from writing since the wave of the restaurant washed over our heads (it's all been very positive and good, by the way). I've also been trying to figure out where my blogging about inspiring kids design will take me. I still get inspired about art & design -- especially if it involves kids, yet it's simply been a time of transition and reflection in recent weeks and I've basically realized that I've truly, madly, deeply missed illustrating and need to get back to the part of my soul that makes me excited. So there will be fewer posts while I nurture that piece of me but when something truly strikes a chord, I won't resist the urge to write about it - and it will be written from the heart. 

Which brings me to my book club this evening. Robin, one of our fearless book club leaders, asked Matthew Amster-Burton, the author of Hungry Monkey, to make an appearance at our book club this evening and talk about his new book. He actually didn't talk about it but rather read excerpts from the book that were so down-to-earth and heart-warmingly funny that we didn't want him to stop reading from the various chapters and telling us stories about his five year old daughter, Iris, who sounds like a little fire cracker! I sadly didn't get the chance to read the book beforehand but from the bits and pieces that Matthew read and after meeting him in person, I'm going to read it as soon as I can get my hands on a copy. It was a unanimous crowd pleaser. This is how Matthew describes his book: "...a memoir on the wild joys of food and parenting and the marvelous mélange of the two, Hungry Monkey takes food enthusiasts on a new adventure in eating (with dozens of delicious recipes!).

Rag & Bone Bindery

A few weeks back, I was in our local toy store (Clover) and saw Rag & Bone Bindery's beautiful baby books on display. It's refreshing to see handmade and uniquely designed baby books in contrast to the typical ones that are predominantly found in the marketplace. Sometimes I've wondered if it's too late to start another baby book even though my babies are well beyond those years but then I discovered Rag & Bone's "Twelve Wishes for Baby" books.They come with twelve fill-in-the-blank pages that read “I promise I will always keep…,” “A special place I hope you'll visit someday…,” “My wish for you…,.” among others. It also features photo pages and a “five simple rules” section to write down basic rules for any child as they begin their lifelong journey (perfect!). Rag & Bone bindery is a collective group of artisans out of Rhode Island who make their books all by hand - a true art!

Happy New Year!

Hello again! It feels like weeks since I've said "hi". I don't know about you but I'm feeling invigorated about kick-starting the New Year. I was mentally preparing myself to bound out the door Monday morning, excited to get to work, particularly since it seemed like an unusually long December with the addition of snow keeping us trapped inside but what do I see out my window? yes...more S-N-O-W-! I have a feeling it may be one more day of snow angels but that's hardly something to complain about, isn't it?

After two months of writing about holiday preparations, gifts, crafts, etc...I found myself a little puzzled as to what I would write about my first week of 2009. There are a couple of fun things I will show you this week but since I stumbled back upon Little Overcoat's shop, everything seemed so cheerful, whimsical and fun -- it seemed appropriate to share with you on a Monday and because I dearly miss the sunshine...

I'm also going to show you some of our favorite gifts this year...the tried and true and maybe even one that didn't perform as well as we had hoped. On my great gift list for our 6 year old, I loved The Giant Play and Learn Book. It is loaded with such wonderful activities that involved stickers, coloring, drawing, story telling, puzzles...and more. The book is vibrant and so FUN! Bean played with it for over an hour today with frequent interruptions from her 2 year old sister who was trying everything she could to peel the stickers off. It's great for traveling and keeping the brain busy. The pictures below aren't the best representation of the book but you get the idea. There's also a downloadable activity kit here for a little taste.

Petite Picasso

Donna from Petite Picasso had such exuberance when she wrote to tell me about her business that began out of a pure desire to preserve her children's own artwork. She says that their masterpieces all face an inevitable fate. The lucky ones end up on the refrigerator, only to be later boxed up and filed away, never to be seen again for many years. Donna takes your child's artwork and compiles and prints it into a professionally printed and bound book. The art can be printed chronologically, grouped by themes, colors or the background can coordinate with the colors in the artwork. Each book is a masterpiece of it's own and what an amazing way to keep your child's artwork as a memento or a coffee table book -- something that they would be proud of too. Donna was also so sweet to custom make Ms. Bean an art tube and pencil case (thank you!) and...yes...Bean is a pseudonym for Sabine (the cat is out of the bag).

 

An Awesome Book!

You know when you come across something so inspirational or so sweet that you feel like you just want to gush? Or have you ever read a children's book that touched your heart so deeply that you read it over and over? I can recall The Giving Tree was like that when I was a child. As a mama, there have been a few books that I covet and love to read to my girls because of the message that they deliver -- though the concept is usually too big for them to understand yet (someday!). Today I purchased one such book by Dallas Clayton entitled "An Awesome Book!". Dallas sent me a very brief email with a simple link to his book (I like brief emails these days) and when I clicked the link to read all of the pages, I nearly cried. It was the sort of book that has a profound message about big dreams, imagination, individuality, choices, life and love and it's beautifully illustrated. Dallas has a five year old son whom he wrote it for. I know this book will be a HUGE hit with Bean -- she'll LOVE staring at the intricate illustrations and will certainly inspire her to come up with a book of her own. You'll have to give it a read, I have a feeling "An Awesome Book" will be big when the world discovers it!

 

 

It's True, Really

I said I would upload pages from Ms. Bean's freshly written book from last week entitled, "It's True, Really". The school that she attends puts a heavy focus on reading books so she's engrossed in reading everyday -- which I love (who wouldn't?). The only homework she has every night is to read one book to us and, in return, we read her one. So, I think the combination of her love to draw and reading has spurred on the creation of her many, many homemade books. I'm going to start photographing and storing them digitally so I will have them forever and they won't get ruined. It's hard for me to pick a favorite page here but it's a close tie between the girl and kitty on the trampoline and the 3 girls' eating. You have to read the sentence for each page to get the full effect *smile*. Oh, and a Mommy Disclaimer: I helped draw the silhouette of the cat upon request but she made their faces.* Anyhow, without further ado...here is "It's True, Really"...

A Few of My Favorite Things

Whenever the holidays are upon us, like clockwork, the song "These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things" pops into my head and is nearly impossible to shake (I'm not kidding!). So, instead of muffling that catchy tune, I've decided to embrace it and select a handful of my favorite things that I've found on my searches. These "things" will be unique and special and will hopefully help you in your quest for holiday gift giving. Enjoy...

1. Felted Woolen Booties
2. Wooden Rabbit Puzzle
3. Gustave, a pocket fairy tale. Book no.
4. Creature Mask - Little Fox
5. The Wooden Spool Doll Kit

For the Record

For the Record is a mom/architect living in Singapore who embroiders these beautiful photo album covers and also makes fun blankets and baby onesies. I love the layers and textures of the various fabrics, flowers, buttons, ribbons, etc. that make up one of her creations. They would make a fantastic baby gift...

Streamline Bookends

I have a thing for giraffes and elephants -- in fact, I've been drawing quite a few of them lately. These adorable faux-leather elephant and giraffe bookends by Streamline are hand-stitched and weighted with cotton and iron fillings. I've got my eye on that giraffe, he would be so much fun on our bookshelf...

Personalized Children's Books

I had a personalized book as a kid that was about a mouse named Ellechim. For you sleuths out there, that is Michelle spelled backwards. I loved the mouse character so much that I truly believed that she lived in my house. Naturally, I built her a suite of furniture made from spools, popsicle sticks and match boxes (seriously). So, the reason why I had a momentary flashback was due to this personalized children's book by Custom Made for Kids. You plug in the child's name, birthday, friend's name,etc. and you get a beautifully personalized book to give as a baby gift or keepsake. Speaking from experience, I can tell you there was nothing cooler than having a book with your own name in it.

DIY: Little Book

I was at the bookstore this weekend and found this nicely done craft magazine "101 Hip, Handmade Gifts" from the editors of Creating Keepsakes. The first several pages of the magazine were geared toward fun crafts that you could make for or with kids. This mini board book will be the perfect project to do with Ms. Bean during winter break (she is unstoppable when it comes to drawing and making her own books of paper and staples). You can purchase blank, pre-made mini board books from Creative Imaginations. All you have to do is come up with the artwork. Step 1. Create your own cover and inside images. Step 2. Cut to size. Paint boardbook edges with acrylic paint to match your cover. Step 3. Use adhesive to secure the cover and the pages to the book. (Easy!)

Baby Books

So, I'm in a position where I desperately need to buy a baby book for Mini or I will lead a life of regret. Okay, it's not all doomed but she's already had her first birthday and my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be. How will I ever remember the date when she first crawled? Her first giggle? Panic is starting to set in! I have a baby book for Ms. Bean that is probably half full and I don't have anything to show for the Mini as of yet! So, I managed to drum up a couple of lovely choices, plus stumbled upon a gorgeous book especially for adopted babies.

First off, there's Binth! Need I say more? Everything they do is absolutely beautiful. It's just a bit pricier than I was intending to spend but I may end up springing for it (as the guilt settles in)...

May Papers created this lovely baby book with photographs that tug at the heart strings. Seeing some of the photos brought many of those fleeting baby memories back. Love it...

boygirlparty illustrated an utterly gorgeous baby book for an adopted child. The pictures speak for themselves (shhhh...)

Then there's Nikki McClure's "Baby's First 1000 Days" baby journal which might be a good idea for me since I'm already behind on baby's first 365 days!

Opus Shelf

I absolutely love this Opus Shelving, designed by Sean Yoo. How fun would it be filled with a bunch of kids' books and accoutrements? It's unconventionally shaped cubbies add so much character to what would otherwise be a basic shelving unit. Apparently, Yoo was inspired by a Roman wall technique called "opus incertum" and then found the same pattern repeated in dried lake beds and broken sidewalks. You wouldn't think that this shelf is super lightweight, made from 100% recyclable polypropylene, and can be stacked or set side-by-side using a strong tape.

School Year Memories

This handy School Years Keepsake book may just solve my quandaries about storing all of the mementos, pictures, report cards, etc. that you tend to accumulate through the years. Of course I could probably buy a standard folder contraption but this keepsake has so much more style. The one thing worth noting, however, is that the size of this book is 9.4" x 7.4" (surprisingly). Nevertheless, I think it will still be helpful in corralling all of my scraps.