J is for Joss Whedon

Have you seen most ABC books? Yawn. I wanted to create a book for Olive that would be tactile and interactive. Also, awesome. I wanted to show her things that mean something to her father and I. Important things, like trademarked characters and ice cream.
Thus I raided my stash of felt and set to work with scissors and a hot glue gun. And a gob of fake hair. (See page H.)

I cut every piece by hand, thus the general wonkyness. I created a few pattern pieces, but mostly it was just easier to cut them free hand.

Here are a few of my favorite pages:

S is for Sun and Stars, T is for Totoro. The T page is actually the first one I made.

I'm happy with how Zelda here turned out:

She's one of the few princesses who don't make me want to throw up. Even if she is mostly just baggage to be saved for most of the video games. She really comes into her own around the Majora's Mask era, however. But I digress.

I incorporated a few photos, too:

O is for Olive, of course. The photos turned out being some of the simplest pages to make. Photo, thin sheet of plastic, felt, glue, go.

J wound up being for Jetpack, but I like to imagine that it's Joss Whedon wearing a jetpack. (A million thanks to the lovely people on Twitter for helping me out with J. Other honorable mentions: Jabberwocky, Joule, Jellybelly, Jawa, Jabba the Hutt, and Jock Strap.)

You can check out the whole book here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smallchick/sets/72157626558378113/

Annnnnd deep breath.

I get so frustrated with myself for not being able to do as much as I could pre-baby. A productive day now just means that I was able to get a shower. I was feeling a little down on myself about this when I found this quote on a sticky note:

"Children are gone before you know it.  I would advise artist parents to remember that their work is always there, ready to be resumed, but those first few years with your child can never be replaced.  Through the fog and frenzy, remember to relish the moments and not worry about being “productive” unless your livelihood truly depends on it.  Children refresh us.  Having them is the one truly great nearly-universal human experience.  Listen to them, let them affect you and inspire you as deeply as possible, and just watch how your work takes off."
-Marian Henley

This was just what I needed. Thank you, the lady who brought us Maxine! (No, not that Maxine. This Maxine.)

10 Wonderful Etsy Shops for Kids

I never had much interest in finding cute kid merchandise, but oh, about 7 months ago something changed. Since then, I've been scouring Etsy, and finding new and exciting ways to spend money. (I'm, uh...nesting!) Here's a few of my favorites for babies and kids. Click on any image to be taken to the Etsy shop, and see it larger.

1. Every nursery or kid's room needs art. Bad Bird has long been one of my Etsy favorites. These prints are perfect for wee ones!


2. Eagle Eye Designs isn't strictly a kid's shop, but they do have gems like these tiny Legend of Zelda onesies:


3. Bebe Babies and Friends makes some of the cutest baby dolls I have ever seen. I can't wait to add one to my the baby's collection.


4. Namu makes some of the cutest retro Japanese silkscreens around. And she has an awesome kid's section!


5. Caseybot makes really cute hats, like this vegan coonskin cap:

Come on, how cute would your little munchkin look in one of these caps?

6. How sweet is this foxy lady?

Danielleorama's shop is chock full of unique cuties!

7. Oh man. I love everything in Mi Cielo's shop.

And now I know what to dress the baby in for Maker Faire! (Star Wars onesies!!)

8. Okay, I know we already had a hat maker featured. But can one ever have too many animal hats? I say nay!

Have a poke around Naturally Crafty's shop, and I bet you'll agree with me.

9. If you think that A is for apple, and B is for boring, then you might like this:

Nerdy Baby ABCs! Start that kid off right! I love you, Tiffany Ard.
(Sorry, I know that image is tiny. Click on it to see it bigger!)

10. Finally:

A baby bow tie. The world needs more babies in bow ties, don't you think?
Tiny Ties has all the bow ties and regular ties you can shake a stick at.