Thursday, December 6, 2018

Holiday Shop and Mash-Up Fun!




I'm trying something new this year and adding my favorite holiday artwork
to some fun goods.  I love mash-ups; they're silly and make me chuckle.





Got some ocean-lovin' friends?
Spread the holiday cheers with these festive sea buddies.
Really, how often do you come across a gingerbread starfish,
snowman whale, reindeer pufferfish, and elf crab?


 Reindeer Pufferfish
 Snowman Whale



And I'm all about the holiday LOVE!
The hot chocolate, reindeer, tree, angel, and gingerbread man
are designed with hearts.


 Holiday Love


From apparel to home decor, visit my shop at Redbubble.

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Mermaids Galore!


My youngest daughter asked for a mermaid birthday party.
This was her second mermaid themed celebration,
and the third one I’ve hosted all together.
I’ll admit, this theme never gets old with me.




I like for my girls to be involved as much as possible
with making their invitations and party favors. 
My daughter used watercolors to illustrate the mermaids.
She did a fabulous job; I loved how they turned out!
I created the seashell template and together we cut, pasted,
and assembled the sparkly invitations.  Click here to
download my seashell template and create cards of your own.




The chocolate mermaid tails were much easier to make
than I thought.  Melt the Wilton candy melts colors separately
and spoon a variety of colors into each silicon mold.
I love how differently each one turned out.




The marbled chocolate seashells made nice party favors.
We melted white and pink candy melts and used a fork
to give them a little stir for the marbling effect.
I’ve had this seashell mold for over ten years now,
and it’s still one of my favorites.




My daughter and I had a great time making these
party bracelets.  I found the mermaid charms on Esty.
She loved selecting the colorful beads and had some
creative ideas for putting together a nice variety.




Since mermaids were on our minds,
and summer is a perfect time to trying something new...
my daughter and I started needle felting dolls.
This new hobby is still a work-in-progress,
but we are having so much fun.



Quiet as a Mouse: And Other Animal Idioms Activities


I love these activities from Toddler Approved.
Swing by their blog and check out the fun animal
idiom crafts and story time ideas.


Monday, January 29, 2018

School Library Journal Editors' Picks!


I'm with great company, with so many awesome board books.

"Urban explores animal-related idioms through a fun guessing game
that pairs bouncy rhymes with close-ups of different faces.
A whiskered, sharp-faced creature describes itself as
"Quick and cheeky, smart and sneaky.  I'm sly as a ..."
A page turn reveals the answer: a fox.  Vibrant images fill each page,
accompanied by large text.  Strategically placed die-cut holes and flashy,
fun details (a red bandana for the ox, a pair of sunglasses for the bat)
add to the charm."  - Mahnaz, Dar,  SLJ January 2018






Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Happy New Year!


Happy 2018 my friends!
I'm kicking off the new year with a book birthday!
It's so awesome to finally see
Quiet as a Mouse: And Other Animal Idioms hit the shelves!
Indeed, I am happy as a clam.
Cheers to an amazing and creative new year!

"It's a visually dramatic and playful exploration
of animals and language - especially the final scene
featuring a very happy clam with mirrored sunglasses."

- Publishers Weekly, November 2017