Snow Day Crafts

The day started off a little shaky. The mounds of snow determined to keep us indoors made me worry about what we'd do today. Through clenched teeth and spilled milk (literally everywhere), I scrubbed the stove top in protest of another day inside. It's winter, I thought to myself, get inspired. Deep breaths and a cup of coffee while O played trains and I had a simple idea. Let's make something kiddo. 

Our craft shelves are overflowing with things to do, I just have to actually do them. I have to come up with the ideas, this kid would happily just watch T.V. on a day like this but I didn't want to start that up.  We gathered up the X and O stamp, some nice craft paper, a glue stick, and scissors and made Valentine's Day cards together.

I helped with the cutting and the tape, and stopped my inner control freak from intervening beyond that. They look great and he was really proud of himself and listed off the names of friends and family that he'll be giving these to. Plus we easily spent a good hour on them.

 

"Don't worry, mama, the ink will wash away." It's tough sometimes to find an activity that we both want to do, I can only play train chase for so long before I'm bored…so  crafts are always a great alternative. Now I just need to stay motivated for the rest of winter. When't it over…April? Happy Friday!

The Chalk King.

If you are ever on Pinterest, you've most likely seen the chalk crown pictures. It's probably the first thing I ever saw there that stuck in my mind way before this little O was born. Sunday we were drawing on the driveway and I remembered it. It's just as cute in person as I imagined. Just look at that mug. 

I was thinking it would be funny to draw all sorts of hats, ears, and antennae for a full blown photo shoot. O thought it was really hilarious. 

This one here is the picture that he took of me wearing the crown...I'll spare my husband the shot of him. He did get his face but it's way too close for comfort.

And naturally he had to take a sleeping one. He loves to pretend to sleep. Have you done this yet? It's a nice break from our normal rainbows and scribbles. Thanks for taking a look.

Art in the Petit Parc.

This fall marks the first time that I made a collection for the season. I have an incredibly tough time narrowing down fabrics so I usually just buy what I like in small quantities. This time I wanted to try something a little different. So I'm happy to unveil the Simple Hands Fall Collection. I'm obsessed with patterns, shapes, and colors. I found these lovely linens and picked out a few that I hope you like!

You'll be able to come and see them in person next week. I am really excited to announce that I am taking part in this fun event again! Please come and join me and lots of other creative and amazing Cleveland makers for a fun night in Lakewood! Here's the info!

It’s that time again friends! Join us for the 4th Annual Art in the Parc; a celebration of summer and creativity at Chartreuse.  This show and sale is a way to showcase our fellow like-minded artists and designers who support our studio and create fantastic art. Please stop by for a few summer sweets, treats and libations as you peruse the “Art in the Parc.” Some of this years artists include... - Erica-Frazier Young of On the Lookout Jewelry - Alicia Costello of Simple Hands, bowties for all the fellas - Brian Jasinski of Grey Cardigan : illustration & prints - Sara Hoover of Small Screen Designs - Piper Toth of One Sydney Road : home accessories ...to name just a few Please invite your friends, the more the merrier!

September 2013 5 5:30 - 8:30pm

Sunday Funday!

Another post about Sunday, you ask?! This time I'm inviting you to join me! This Sunday, August 11 from 12:00-5:00 I will be joining some really fun local artists, musicians, and entertainers for the 12th Annual Cedar- Fairmount Festival. Some of those people include Grey Cardigan, On the Lookout, and Three Little B's! Come and ride the rocket car and check out the fun in Cleveland Heights! I'd love to see you.

Tiny Artist.

Yesterday was deemed a pajama day. At least for the first half of the day. It was cold, windy, and snowy and we really didn't have a reason to go out. Sometimes days like this can be fun and sometimes we both get tired of one another and stir crazy. So I tried to keep things interesting.

We did some stamping and drawing and unavoidable face painting. I tell myself each time we start a project that I have to keep my expectations to a minimum, because let's be real...I'm not the one in charge. He had a fun time with the stamps, toilet paper roll, and glue stick. Then we cut up the pictures and turned them into notecards for toddler correspondence. He has really good penmanship.

Shameless Self Promotion Part 2

Tomorrow I'll be here from 10:00-6:00 with a dozen or so other awesome Cleveland artists! Come out and support the arts and shop local this season!! 

And while you are out and about check out Banyan Tree's 12th annual Hot Toddy Party! It's a fun day of shopping, eating, and hot toddies! Tomorrow also marks our very first holiday party of the season and I'm excited! Have a very happy Friday friends!

P.S. This is a three part series...

A Sunday Trip

To end our long holiday weekend we took a Sunday morning trip over to the Cleveland Museum of Art with hopes to check out the Balloon Installation and the fully opened Atrium. Unfortunately, the wait for the exhibit was two hours  so we opted to just walk around and see other things.

We watched other people walk through the balloon filled room. Little Man was pretty impressed with all those purple balloons! We looked at the William H. Johnson painting exhibit, the Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal, and the ancient artifacts. 

Then we decided to enjoy lunch in the Atrium and then let O run around a bit. The Cafe had lots of nice choices and we got a discount since we are members so that was a nice treat! It's so nice to have a free and fun family thing to do that is so close to us!

A Beautiful Monday

Happy Monday friends! I'll be spending most of my day at the Cleveland Clinic while my father gets a kidney transplant. It's an amazing blessing, a selfless gift and we are truly thankful. I stumbled across this artist, Andrew Holder on Pinterest a while back and wanted to share some of my favorites with you.

         

They are beautiful and capture some of my favorite elements of print. I would gladly fill my house with his work. Hopefully one day we can! Have a great day!

Images: Andrew Holder 

HEX

HEX was quite a party on Saturday night! For us it was triple date night with our friends and we made the most of it! We had a fabulous dinner at L'Albatros before the party where we dined on amazing fish, meats, and a savory french toast that will seriously have you coming back for more.

The new MOCA building in University Circle is really cool. The whole scenery down in that area of town is so remarkably different it's amazing. We walked over from dinner and ran into friends on the way. It made the event seem really special for me to see so many of our friends there celebrating art and the city. Above is a The Orbit and Inside Out and From the Ground Up, two giant pieces in a shared space.

The outside party area was a little too dark for me to get any good shots of the crowd so you'll have to just believe me that it was packed! I'm always a fan of cool steps so I took this awkward angle of the spiraling staircases. And I'll leave you with my favorite photo of the night. These two are quite the models. I hope you had a great weekend too! I'm still tired from all of the fun! Happy Monday!