i'm alive!

you can now find my gnomes at the super-cute brand-new dilly dally kids on commercial drive here in vancouver!

owner claire hutch runs the cutest place. it's beautiful inside, full of inspiring fun stuff - i really wanted to travel back in time to kindergarten just being there!

(also, post serves purpose to prove that i'm still alive.  october was busy and interesting.  keep tuned in - rejigging ahead and news about holiday events!)

smile - it's sewing cards!

had to reshare the free pdf download for these adorable mini sewing cards for kids, found on the lovely mineco blog via ohdeeoh.  if i can find a needle stubby enough i will try these in our house, stat!

i remember having a toy sewing machine when i was quite small, probably four or so...  it was threaded (by mom) with red acrylic wool and i think you had to turn a wheel so it would punch very slowly through cards.  i wonder if something like that still exists (and not just in my thrift/vintage store dreams!)...

dust jacket blocks

i almost never keep the dust jackets from books.  they're too much trouble to keep track of and as long as the book cover includes the same (or other also good) graphics, i just don't see the point.  most of the time i recycle them, but every so often there's one so lovely that i can't part with it.

one of our most frequently read kiddo books is all kinds of families!  the story itself has a touching message and the artwork by french illustrator marc boutavant, one of my favourites, keeps this at the top of our story rotation.

i kept the dust jacket from this book for a while before finding out the perfect use - decoupaged blocks!

with $2 worth of mini wooden blocks (2.5 x 2.5 x 1 cm) from daiso, some scrap japanese stationery papers and a jar of mod podge, this was a quick project (drying time not included!) and basically free.  they've been played with a lot since i made them six months ago, so they're looking a little scrappy at the corners but they are a favourite around here.  this was the first time i'd found all 16 at the same time so i could finally take the photo!

stuff that stocking: city mini blocks

i love christmas, and at about this time every year i start seeing every small, cute object that i come across through the lens of "that would be perfect for a stocking!".

and so i can't resist the small-size + cuteness factor lure of these adorable city mini blocks from etsy's fidoodle. they would, of course, make a perfect stocking stuffer...

they're made of locally-sourced hardwood maple and non-toxic inks. the images - doodles of rooflines and urban icons and folks - are adorable and on the reverse side is a puzzle of the scene. they come packed in a 3 x 3 inch cube.

fidoodle is based in toronto, by the way. go canada! check out their website as well for more info.

lovely mondays: wooden toys

we've tried very hard to stick to wooden toys around here but more plastic sneaks in that i'd like to admit. i'm ok with duplo, but the rest of it can go. just leave us with our books, handmade stuffed animals, delightful wood toys and our art supplies and i'm happy. there are such fun, unique and handmade finds on etsy that it's easy to see the light!

and i must, must, must have that checker set. pirates vs ninjas? all kinds of awesome. all these delights, clockwise from top left:

pirates vs. ninja checker set from goose grease

vintage graphic choo-choo block puzzle from tiny giraffe

robot parade figure set from moo shoo pork

rainbow of mushrooms collection from wee wood

free stuff for the wee folks: space stickers

found these this morning and thought they were too cute: free space stickers by illustrator lotta bruhn. of the bruhn family design team. just download the pdf and print onto sticker paper.

coco might be distracted by these for a moment or two in a restaurant - a well-placed banana sticker to the hand usually keeps him busy for just long enough to order! ;-)