TRINKETS FROM DELHI

My sister was visiting this past weekend and brought the boys and I a few gifts from her recent trip to Italy & India. Aunt Amita (and cousins) brought the boys journals with embroidery stitched covers and handmade paper inside, elephant figures and a cute finger puppet/magnet trinket. She was sweet enough to bring her sister (me) a few things like this beautiful kantha embroidered pillow form and pretty bangle. Kantha embroidery originates in West Bengal, where my father’s family originates (Kolkata). Share → Tweet

HANDMADE BABY GIFT

Lindsay and I met several years ago online through a mutual friend, while she was living in Brooklyn and I was living in Chicago. I immediately was drawn to her eco style, her interest in children’s fashion and her love of Montessori (she is a Montessori teacher)! We would chat back and forth and at one point, she mentioned she was from Cincinnati, where we lived for 10 years prior to our move to Chicago. A small world indeed, as we both moved back to Cincinnati at different times in... Read The Rest →

TINY PHOTO BOOKS

“Wow, so cool. Only an ELF could make something SO tiny!” Under the Christmas tree this year, these tiny photo books were stacked for my seven and nine year old. Their year of fun, adventure and memories filled the pages in snapshots. For all the moments, big and small, shared and documented. And if you have boys, you will know how tiny objects somehow become the most cherished. (To make some tiny photo books like the Elves, visit Prinstagram.) Share → Tweet

A PHOTOGRAPH

When my father visited India last fall, I asked him to take photographs of the inside of his family home, Rajo Villa. I forgot all about this request until I was visiting him over Christmas and we were looking through photos. Many of the images of rooms inside have reminded me of some of the forgotten details. I am excited to use these as inspiration for future creative projects and paintings. I only got a sampling from him in low resolution, so I am anxious to get the high resolution... Read The Rest →

A TINY CARE PACKAGE FOR WINTER

“Take a winter walk on a forest trail, to see what hidden treasures winter has hid so well. Use this clay to make a print of what you uncover and see, leaving the treasures tucked in safely under the snowy trees.” – Joya Logue We lived in the city of Chicago for a few years and enjoyed everything it had to offer, city walks being one of them. Last year when we moved north along the lakefront, we realized one thing we had longed for and missed, which was accessibility... Read The Rest →

VISUAL DIARY FOR KIDS

It seems we always have notebooks or sketch books around our house. I certainly use one daily. The boys have several, one upstairs bedside, one in the dining room, in the car, etc. Journals in a traditional sense are focused on writing. And I think equally important are visual diaries of ideas or feelings or doodles. What I really love is to flip through the stacks of notebooks and sketchbooks and papers my boys fill with their complete ideas from start to finish. Like the ones above from this past... Read The Rest →

INDIA ON MY MIND

My grandmother celebrates her 90th birthday today, and my father traveled to India to celebrate with her.  In the photo above, my grandmother is in the middle, with my grandfather behind her and my dad (the baby) on my great aunt’s lap. My sister had prints made of these family photos for all of us and I finally ordered a beautiful magenta linen to make custom mattes for them. Stunning 1940′s family in India, right? Happy Birthday Thakuma! I spoke to her this morning on the phone, and it seems... Read The Rest →

BIRD WATCHING BIRTHDAY

BIRD WATCHING PARTY, Celebrating 9 years and where science and art collide! Inspiration: Both of my boys love bird watching. My oldest really got into it earlier this spring. He filled notebooks with all the birds that he observed just in the backyard and on nature hikes, then ones he just read about in books. His drawings were nothing short of amazing! When his birthday rolled around this past May, we picked up a few gifts for him to better pursue this interest-  new binoculars, travel sketchbook, sketch pencils and... Read The Rest →

MINI TRAVEL ART ROLL | COLORED PENCILS

Last week I posted a DIY on how to make a Travel Art Roll with paint supplies. This Mini Travel Art Roll is similar but with colored pencils, a mini notepad and Hello Kitty stickers in a cute monogrammed pocket. A great gift for our Goddaughter & niece. Anyone thinking about making one? One addition I would make next time would be a velcro closure for younger hands to close independently!   Share → Tweet

DIY TRAVEL ART ROLL

For the amount of time the kids and I create and use art supplies, I have yet to make a travel case. We usually put supplies in a resuable zipper bag and grab our sketchbooks. Now we are in the middle of summer with everyone traveling on vacation in need of small activities to take along. I decided to give it a go and make a travel art supplies roll as a gift and specifically for painting supplies. I didn’t follow any directions myself while making this for my niece’s... Read The Rest →

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