Thanks for all the Amsterdam and Paris love you guys! These are continuing to be so fun to illustrate.

Speaking of the Amsterdam and the Netherlands....

A few years back, I fell in love with something I just couldn't have.

I thought maybe I only loved it because I couldn't have it. But then, I found a e-friend who lived in the netherlands who was willing to send me a copy of it and....I loved it.

Ariadne at home is a popular magazine in the Netherlands....kind of like a Better homes and Gardens Magazine, or a Domino Magazine. All Dutch interiors. But they also have a Children's magazine that is delightful: Ariadne at Home-Kinderen. (Don't you love that word? Kinderen? I am telling you. I will learn Dutch someday.) But you can't get it sent to the states!

So when Nicole of Follow the White Bunny (ETSY embroidery designer in the Netherlands) offered to send me a copy, I was so thrilled! And look what she sent me along with it! Some dutch fabrics and ribbon, and a fun illustrated card. There is just something about getting something from a penpal that makes opening it feel like Christmas Morning.

But the magazine is full of such fun ideas and colors for children. I love the creativity invested....it just has it's own flair, and I love that it's not tainted by American branding. They do their own thing, and I get so inspired by that.