Rock on!

When I was a child, there was no better way to spend my day than to go searching for rocks. River rocks and any type of rock on the shore were my favourite. I loved rocks so much that when other girls were getting barbies and other girly presents - I got a rock polishing kit. It is by far the most memorable present of my youth (that and my record player that I shared with my sister and much later my stuffed ET, may it rest in peace).

My passion for rocks has not remotely faded over the years. When Mr. K and I were just married (and without children) I would easily spend half of our week's cottage vacation trolling the water's edge and filling two backpacks worth of back-breaking and beautiful rocks that now have a permanent home in my - you guessed it - rock garden!

Both of my children share my love of rock collecting - particularly Little K , who last week was taken to the hospital after she casually announced "Mommy, I put a little rock in my ear and it not come out." She is fine now, however, to keep her ever growing collection of rocks from venturing where they shouldn't, I came up with a temporary solution.

The child folk gussied up raisin tins with a little decoupage and ribbon. We cut holes in the lids to drop smaller rocks in. We made check lists of items to find and off we went on our adventure.

Thank you for stopping by.

Petit

In my search for adorable red and white mushrooms, I stumbled upon the work of Anne-Claire Petit. A former designer for Esprit, she began her own label which includes several lines - toys and decor for children and the young-at-heart.

The mushroom is not cheap, but can be purchased here , from kidslovedesign.


"Each piece in the Anne-Claire Petit collection is crocheted by hand and is therefore completely unique. Designed with a smile in mind, the collection is crocheted from the finest materials, mostly organic cotton. This is, without doubt, a cheerful design brand. A great deal of the crochet work is done in Asia. Thanks to the work they do for Anne-Claire petit accessories, the women are able to generate an income, from which the entire village benefits."

I love this pouffe!

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Weekend Forecast

Sunny Day by bebojo featuring Miu Miu sunglasses

Finally ... the warm weather has reached us up here in the Great White North (aka Canada). Little K and I picked up big K at school for lunch and headed down to the park for our first picnic of the year - soccer, sand, swings and sunshine, who could want for more? I mean really!

This weekend we hope to do more of the same and I plan to get to work on the DIY play area in the backyard for the child folk. It involves sanding, sewing, staining, digging and ice cream eating - not necessarily in that order.

I always have big hopes for what I should be able to accomplish on the weekend, but considering Japanese school takes up most of Saturday and Mr. K generally works at least part of every weekend I inevitably accomplish much less that I set out to. Oh well you've gotta dream big, right!

Have a great weekend.
Thank you for stopping by

Find and Seek

I love it when this happens - you start poking around the internet to find something and you end up seeking something else entirely.

On the weekend I was searching around for some diy outdoor play structures for the child folk when I stumbled on to Lottakind's fabulous flicker postings. I am really drawn to the crisp colours and warm details in her home and crafts. Definitely check it out.

This is what drew me to look further - an amazing little kitchen she and her clever husband created for their daughter.

Here are Lottakind's kitchen inspiration photo's. Please see the details here.

She has so many lovely inspirational mosaics for the colour and craft minded - pay her a visit!

Thank you for stopping by.

Have you met TED?

Let me begin by saying that this is not a promotion for youtube.com despite the fact that it was here that I learned the Japanese technique of shirt folding and now can fold a shirt with the speed of light. It was on youtube.com that I stumbled across TED.


TED is a conference that began in 1984 in the U.S. that brought together internationally acclaimed speakers from the areas of Technology, Entertainment, and Design (hence the name) for a lecture series which has grown substantially over the years. Each lecture is approximately 20 minutes in length, and are well worth every minute.


I will be posting some of my favourites over time - here is my first.

Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity? Mr. Robinson gives a compelling lecture on why he believes this to be true and explains why "creativity is as important as literacy."

As a mother of two young children, and as an artist who is also married to an artist - this particular lecture struck a chord. I will save you my opinions and let you draw your own conclusions - yes pun intended.

Watch it here and enjoy!


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How do you like them apples?

These are the vintage apples that I own. The large one is a plastic storage container and the small green and red ones are tin and hold sewing notions that I always forget about but stumble upon them while looking for something else, feel surprised for a few moments and then forget them again. Ha! They are cute though.


The bicycle is plastic and purchased at a cake decorating shop on etsy LayerCakeShop.etsy.com and the wood doll is vintage and well I just couldn't resist a close up. I purchased it from Alyssa -a fabulous vintage seller and artist on etsy as well. Check out her shop BrooklynRehab here and her blog here.

Thank you for stopping by.

An Apple A Day

I love apples.
I love to pick them, to eat them, to draw them, and to look at them.
There is something so wholesome about images of shiny red apples that inspire memories of school days and childhood and innocence for me.

It goes without saying that I am smitten with Shinzi Katoh's charming apple series:

To purchase and view more of Shinzi Katoh's adorable designs visit here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Easter

Eggs + Colour + Imagination + Bunnies + Chocolate + Family = Easter Fun.

The child folk woke up to find one egg each and a note from the Easter bunny which lead them on a treasure hunt to find all the other eggs. This was our way of keeping it fair for little K who was concerned that big K would find all the eggs. The Easter baskets had a few sweets, but were filled with beads, jewels, crafts, and a new tooth brush, tooth paste and flossers - what a clever bunny!

We emptied all the treats that the kids found in the hidden eggs into one bowl and then packaged some up for our friends with whom we shared a lovely Easter dinner.

I hope yours was as 'hoppy' as ours was.

Thanks for stopping by.

Birdie Says

Tweet Tweet by bebojo on Polyvore.com

Really? Snow in April, are you kidding me? I wish it was nothing but an April fool's joke gone wrong, but alas it wasn't. The return of winter gave a blast so harsh our poor crocuses called it quits - that paired with a week of sick child folk has made for a rather gloomy start to the spring.

On the bright side, being stuck indoors with the young people has made for the perfect Easter crafting atmosphere. I hope to be back blogging more soon and post some pictures of all the messy glory.

Thank you for stopping by, and a good day to you.

Le Celerie - My studio in the Cellar (Part Two)

Here is the cellar to home-studio renovation. It comprised of an enormous amount of paint and the following:

Primer
White on White Paint (Behrs)
Subfloor
Laminate flooring
More Paint
CraigsList scores:
Antique Card Cabinet - $100
Hutch and Buffet -$100
Ikea desk - $50
Two wooden chairs -$10
Ikea Termosfar lighting system-$79.99
Ikea cork boards painted ... white on white $5 each
Portable heater/ dehumidifier depending on the season
10 000 hours of sanding and three layers of skin from each hand
More White on White paint

(prices all in CAD)

Et voila - Le Celerie

I adore this little space. When it was first done I would just go and sit in my little white room. I think Mr. K worried that I would soon request one of those fancy white jackets that do up in the back and pads for the white walls, but no. This was what I really needed - my space. Truth be told, I would have been happy with a small quaint desk in our bedroom - but this was so much better. It even has a door that miraculously keeps anyone under the age of six out and repels felines too.

I will confess that because the space has been designated as 'non-essential for the sustainability of the human race' it has the propensity to become cluttered over and over and over again with displaced household stuff; it also had the misfortune of being completely disassembled (furniture, flooring and all )when the main water valve to the house took its own life - but I am all settled in again and ready to work.

Thank you for stopping by.