where the wild things are: FORTS

Good morning and happy Friday! Are you going to see Where the Wild Things Are tonight?
I have an early flight to Boulder tomorrow morning, but I think I may drag my dear husband out to see the movie anyway tonight. It looks so good!

I *loved* the book as a kid (and still do-- doesn't everyone?) and I was definitely a fort-maker, so I was excited when I saw this project over at Booooooom. It's a fort-making contest! Booooooom and Weloveyouso (Spike Jonze & Co.) teamed up for the contest, and the submissions are incredible. Pictured here are some of my favorites, but you really have to go check out all the entries. People went all out. It makes me want to build a fort in my living room right now!

CLICK HERE to see the winners, who were announced yesterday!

{ps-- I'm going to be in Boulder through Tuesday, so I'm taking a mini blogging break. I'll see you back here on Wednesday!}

animal growth chart

good morning, my lovelies! it's monday again! did you have a good weekend? mine started out by waking up with a swollen, itchy, red eye (the eczema is striking on my face now...), and i took a benadryl at ryan's suggestion, which turned out to be a bad idea. i've never taken benadryl before (like i said last week, i'm not really one for medicine), but i was desperate! so, about 20 minutes later, i felt like my body was going to sink through the floor and i was dizzy and couldn't stay awake. so i crawled back in bed, got up an hour later, moved to the couch, and slept for another hour. then i made ryan walk with me to the coffee shop down the street so i could get an americano to try to shock my system out of the benadryl haze. the picture of health, i tell you.
needless to say, i'm never taking benadryl ever again!

aaanyway, enough of that! my friend jennifer recently suggested i make a growth chart (she has 2 sweet little kiddos that are growing quickly!), so i decided to go for it! i feel like i could possibly get rather obsessed with making these. it was so fun! i'll have to get one printed out to see how it looks in real life. and if you have kiddos and are in need of a growth chart, maybe this is just the thing for you...!

alphabet poster

one of my favorite memories of being a kid is when my mom used to draw my name on a piece of paper in big bubble letters and then we'd turn all the letters into animals and monsters and people... it was just the most fantastic thing in the world to my little artistic self, and we made new drawings this way all the time. so when i started thinking about creating an alphabet poster, this was the natural solution for me!

i'm so so excited about how this turned out--it just makes me giggle. i mean, look at the 'L'! and the 'A'! it measures 13x17" and is printed on 16x20" thick, matte, white paper. (it fits perfectly in an ikea ribba frame.)

i think i'm going to make a pink version, too-- this one is sort-of boyish, and i imagine a girly version would be a nice complement to it.

this will be just adorable all framed up in a child's room-- it's in my etsy shop, so if you have a little one (or know a little one!), perhaps this could be perfect for him/her.

anorak magazine

goodness, i'm totally digging this magazine for kids called anorak that i just discovered over on stickers and donuts. the illustrations are all so colorful and fun-- no wonder it's called 'the happy mag for kids'! i totally want to illustrate for them. do you think maybe they'd like my girl in a bear hat character?

anyway, the mag is based in the uk, and is a treasure trove for kids. the website features games, coloring sheets, stories, videos, and more, and i can imagine the real-life version is much the same. i'll have to go to borders or barnes & noble to pick up a copy!

here's part of the magazine's mission:

anorak’s main philosophy is to encourage children to make their own decisions and is here to amplify their voices. it has at the core of its offering a passion for words and images that challenge and stimulate.

whenever i have kids, this will definitely be at the top of my list for them! it reminds me of how much i used to love highlights magazine as a kid-- this seems even better!