do not go where the path may lead...

...go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

:One of my favorite quotes from Lyric's middle-namesake, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Which leads me to my most recent book for another little boy named Emerson!

I say this a lot, I know, but I really love this one. The oak tree/acorn on the cover was added at the request of the customer and is a theme they've got going with their little one. As in, they are the trees that created the little acorn. This is just about the best baby theme I have ever heard!

earth hour

I just read about Earth Hour on Etsy and am really excited about it. Check out the video and consider spending an hour tomorrow evening with your family by candlelight. I think we'll make some plans for greening up our lives and maybe play a few games.

What will you do?

braaaaazil!

...when hearts were entertaining June.....I've been singing this all week while making this Brazilian beauty in Portuguese and English:

This book occupied every child-free moment of my week but I am so happy with it. I haven't gotten as much done this week as I would have liked but there are a few other books nearing completion and I'm feeling pretty good about what I've been able to accomplish with only evenings to work. Still, I'll be happy when our regular schedule resumes and I can have a couple of full days each week to put a dent in my custom order list. Maybe I'll even find some time one of these days to work on some of the things I've been dreaming up in my head....

out of the city!

With the help of good 'ole Auntie Jill we made it out of the city today, to Five Rivers, a local childhood favorite. I was thrilled that, for the first time in my life-with-kids I didn't have to carry anyone, not on my back, in a sling, or in my arms! It was so nice to get out, get a little muddy and have fun with the kids in a different environment. Thanks, Auntie Jill!
Of course, first we got ice cream. The chill and the wind weren't going to stop us--that's what hats are for, right?
Upon arrival at Five Rivers Lyric found many pine cones that needed inspecting.

So funny to remember a little baby Tigerlily who was afraid of pine cones. I mean, terrified. She's not always as tough as she looks. Case in point:

She's really scared of geese. With good reason, I think; they're pretty mean. Today she was running ahead of us over some drumlins when all of a sudden she came running back screaming--this pair of geese was in one of the dips and she nearly ran into them. She only recovered once Lyric and I chased them out of the path. "Go away big chickens!" yelled Lyric.

And while I have so much work to do and am kind of missing my full days of work time while Skye is picking up more work, it was such a good day with my kiddos and my best gal.

busy, busy bee

I've been working hard and hope to have lots and lots over the next week or two to show for it. Here's a glimpse at the lastest (I could not get a good picture today...):
:A Danish/English book. I really love doing bilingual books not only because I love languages but I love learning more about the world. With this book I learned a lot about vikings (and realize I want to learn a lot more about them, they were really interesting!), I learned that Denmark has the oldest flag in Europe, and I learned that Greenland is actually a part of Denmark (or the Kingdom of Denmark, more accurately)! Is this common knowledge and I've just been in the dark all this time?

no longer in training

Well, it's official. My little girl isn't a baby anymore. Today she decided she would ride her bike without the training wheels and she hasn't looked back since.

Of course, she has yet to fully master steering and her method of stopping is jumping off the bike without slowing down first.

perfect dismount

At first I thought it was kind of cute and then she ran head-on into her little brother (who, himself a happy little wrecking ball, recovered within moments to resume his game of catch with Dad).

We'll have to work on that, but for now I don't want to slow her down, she's SO excited.

And as sad as it is to realize that my little baby is gone I'm pretty excited to see what new things this big girl comes up with. There's something new every day!

bilingual

I just finished one of two bilingual book orders, this one in Spanish and English. I love the color combination, sorta makes me think of Spain (in my dreams, anyway).

Now I'm off to begin a Danish/English book....

getting things done

I'm determined to make some serious headway on my custom order list over the next week. Here's a look at the latest of the completed orders:

Hopefully I'll have more to share every day or two!

kiddos

I won't have any new work to show until tomorrow so thought I would share a video of Tigerlily singing one of the amazing songs she's always making up. Of course, I can't figure out how to do that. Instead, for the Nanas and Grammys out there, here are some more pictures of T.Lil and Lyr:

Tigerlily is so into reading these days

when his sister's at school Lyric loves to run around with her "glass slippers" on!

after being worn day and night for several days, that apron finally came off today

upside down and backwards, and with the ubiquitous stick

sunday stash #3...on monday

Better late than never!
Here are a couple recent additions to my stash, both given to me by wonderful friends (thanks Tracy and Doreen!): mushrooms!

beautiful African tie dye

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Here are some pictures of our afternoon out in the neighborhood:

spring!

Lyric's philosophy: speak softly and carry a big stick

Tigerlily "fitting pipes"

Lyric and Miles making stick art

quiet but productive!

I'm sure all five of you were waiting with bated breath for my next post, right? Sorry to keep you waiting, I've been busy with work, birthdays, kids and SPRING (though I'm bracing for the inevitable big March/April snowstorm...). Here are my latest two books, 8 pages each and the best of boy stuff:

This one's a last name book to go with an already existing first name book. I love the science theme!:
:These were a lot of fun (and work!) and came out so well. I'm excited to send them off today! That R2-D2 just kills me, I'm definitely going to do a Star Wars alphabet.

And speaking of alphabets, here's something new in the shop:

I made these little individual upper/lower case letter quilts a while back and though people seemed to love them they didn't sell. A couple of people remarked that it would be cool to buy them all and use them as a border in a nursery or child's room. I thought this was brilliant and finally got around to stringing them all (in 3 individual strings for versatility in hanging). I kind of love them hanging on a wall in my in-construction studio so I won't be heartbroken if no one buys them! And I'd love to make a set of these for Tigerlily's school.

Off to the park with the boy; I hope it's as beautiful where you are as it is here!