Three little birds...

The past few weeks have been so great as I've been working on new embroidery patterns to be release OH so soon. I've just loved turning drawings into patterns for needlework!

I've always LOVED needlework. When I was a little girl, my mother's best friend embroidered a piece that was on my wall. It was a "one-two-buckle-my-shoe" design on stretched linen. I think it was a Sun-bonnet Sue kinda design...but I loved running my fingers over the bumps and texture. It was like touchable art!

So, the trend of hand-embroidery that is coming back oh-so-strongly has me tickled! The possibilities! We all want design for our kids, right? But to make it yourself, and have it be something that they can touch and feel and see....and something you made? Perfect fit if you ask me. It's so theraputic to stitch too....and much easier than it looks if you haven't tried yet.

This design, stitched by the amazing Julie (I've had to divi out some of the stitching with the deadline of Quilt Market coming up soon!) is inspired from this design.

And I have to say that the phrase from this song is always a huge pick me up. Especially this version makes me happy EVERY SINGLE TIME! Do you love it as much as we do? If you come over in the mornings at breakfast, you will most likely see me and my kids dancing in the kitchen to this sweet song. So I had to design something for me to always think of it.

And there are more designs coming based on the new fabric collection coming out next month....oooh....eee...ahhh! Can't wait to show that one!

Ok. I'm a little excited. Sorry...but I just had to show you just a little. Stay tuned for more!

Julian Hector: Book Review and Giveaway

{EDIT: I'm extending this giveaway through Monday! Good luck!}

Are you loving these picture book reviews & giveaways? I am.

Today is another special, special treat.

Julian Hector, illustrator of The Gentleman Bug, The Little Matador and This is the Firefighter (and one of our family's favorite new illustrators) has just release a new book: Monday is One Day.

Before I tell you a little about the book, let me introduce the illustrator a bit.

I first discovered Julian's work shortly after The Little Matador came out. There is such an innocence in his characters (which I appreciate so much!) and his pages seemed so reminiscent of the original Curious George illustrations...in a good way. His characters are so simple, yet alive and very well thought out. That, and I love a picture book with really great line work (since that is what I lean towards myself!). But he draws you in with his really endearing characters, and just enough going on in the page to keep you looking, but never overwhelms you. It's always fun to see the books that I appreciate artistically be a hit with the little readers: sign of a truly great artist!

And get this: When he shipped me the autographed book I'm giving away, he also sent me some original illustrations! Ahhhh! Can you believe it? These are definitely getting framed and put up in my playroom.

This one of his sketches for Little Matador (about a little boy who doesn't want to be a bull fighter like all his fathers before him...he just really wants to be an artist).

And this is a sketch is from Monday is One Day.

So.....Here's the synopsis: A short and sweet picture book about working parents counting down the days until the weekend....when parent and children are together. But it's more than that...it's about the moments that are cherished EACH day even though there is separation during the week from school and work. So sweet.

It starts out:

"The hardest part of going to work is being apart from you.

Let's count the days until till we're both at home with special things to do."

And then it goes on:

"Monday is one day: One safe snuggly cuddle.

Tuesday's blue shoes day:

Two stomps in a puddle."

And so on.

Don't you love that setting sun?

This is a great "I love you" book for the working family...which is all of us! My kids just don't like it at all when Dad goes to work. It's a perfect Father's Day Book!

So, you want to win a SIGNED copy?

Here’s how you enter:

• Leave a comment below
• Make sure to enter in your email where it promts you so that I can send you a note when you win
• Giveaway ends MONDAY April 18th at 10pm EST
• Winner will be sent this signed copy of MONDAY IS ONE DAY.

Good luck!

{Comments closed. Congratulations to ERICA for winning}

Poster size auction.

So many of you have requested the large poster size printing found here at Aubrey & Lindsey. I've seriously been looking high and low to find an affordable option in a non-glossy cheapy way. I let Lindsey print this for her nursery to test it out. And so while I'm still looking for a large poster option in the shop, you can go and bid for this one on auction for Bloggers Give Back. You can read about it here.

In the mean time, wish me luck at getting ready for Market! I can't wait to show you all that I've been up to!!

Girls

I know everyone has a thing for boy prints (and boy fabric....ooooh....just you wait!) but I thought it'd be fun to add a couple girl prints to the shop since these boy ones are so popular.

I'm sorry, but girls can have fun with wild animals too, right?

New to the shop here and here.

I've got a few more things up my sleeve for April...mostly in the form of embroidery patterns and cards. So stay tuned!

And thanks for all the messy house love. Nice to know I'm not alone!

xo

sarah

Keeping it Real Monday.

Whew! What a weekend. We've been picking up the pieces after having a booth at the Bijou Market, and now getting ready  for our booth at Quilt Market in 4 weeks. And then there have been a few hiccups like having our mini-van in the shop for 2 weeks after a terrible car crash (did you see that one on my twitter?) and oh....did I mention that my brother is getting married this week? Mix in a few colds and normal life with kids and a house and yard, and this is what the house has been looking like:

The one thing that goes first when things get crazy are the normal: dishes and laundry...and floors, and well....it all just seems a blur sometimes. So, lest you think that life behind the screen is as pretty as my blog facade, please take notice: running a full-time shop & business with freelancing books and designs while mothering 3 kids who are home most of the day isn't always roses.

Like these clothes at the bottom of the stairs? I think they've been there for at least 3 days now.

And I'm not even showing you my car or laundry room!

Sometimes, I think we're so used to seeing things with such a pretty spin on blogs these days (and for good reason--it's important for me to focus on the positive when I blog...it keeps me motivated to see the beautiful during every day life...which is oh so needed when life is less than pretty)....it's important for you to know that as glamourous as it sounds to be a book illustrator, blogger, fabric designer, home owner....things aren't necessarily pretty around here! It takes a lot of focus to keep it all in check.

I still don't have it figured out! But since I am the housekeeper AND everything else....the role of housekeeper does take a back seat when things get overly busy. I don't like it at all. I hate a messy house! But....it's the sacrifice you make for running an at home business and being an artist. It just is.

And it goes along perfectly with my all time favorite motto (poem):

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

-by Ruth Hamilton, 1958

And so there you have it. Real life today.  I just went around my house clicking the camera today...no edits here.

But with that, I will say that the combination of your AMAZING responses on the survey (which ends today, FYI), and the need to make some changes around here to let this growing business suit our family a bit better, you will be seeing some changes around the shop. And soon. So stay tuned! It's always hard to make changes, but since I've been in this for my family from the very beginning, changes are inevitable. I'll talk more about that later...

Happy Monday!

April Showers & Advice.

Thanks so much you guys for filling out the survey! (I'm going to have it open until Monday, so come on over if you haven't filled it out.)

So many great suggestions, so thank you!

Some of you suggested I offer a discount for the "Month-by-Month" prints in the month that we're in!

Brilliant.

Every Month I'll be offering the corresponding print 25% off ($17.50).

So, welcome April. We're a little late. But better late than never!

(And a little about this print: It's perfectly easy to take the text off the print as well as to make it an standard 8x10 size. Just mention it in your order!)

*And if you are in Utah this weekend, please swing by the BIJOU MARKET. I'm slashing away tons of stuff: Framed prints, Frames, and lots, lots more!

Take this short survey & get free stuff

Hello! Wow...thanks for all the love on the puppet theater! It was seriously so fun to make and the kids are still playing. Addie has been making the wolf do ballet moves for a couple days now. Love it.

On a more personal level, I've been really interested in making this blog and my shop....what's the word? MORE. More useful, more resourceful, more colorful, more happy. The past few years have been so awesome as I've rather blindly carved out an accidental career for myself. And I really would love your feedback so I can get a better sense of who you are, and what you are liking and wanting to see more of. Would you be willing to take this (very short!) survey? I think there are under 10 questions, and a place for you to leave anonymous feedback with what ever you want to say! I really would love you know your thoughts. For instance, hearing so many of you thrilled about  these PDF Downloads, and how you'd like to do more of these things at home was really telling for me....thank you! So be specific in your feedback....I really read it all!

At the end of the survey, there is a code for a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE coupon to my shop. Yep...purchase just one item, and get a second item of the same price or less for free! I don't ever think I've done that before:) But don't worry...the nice thing is that you can use the coupon through July (since I plan on adding more stuff for you through the spring!)

Ok, so be my friend, and take a small survey. I know we're all busy people here, so I'm signing off now instead of making you read a long blog post. Can you believe it? Not even a picture in the post. That's how serious I am:)

CLICK HERE for the survey.

Thanks a million.....

xo

sarah jane

{SURVEY IS CLOSED. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!}

Peter and the Wolf Puppet Theater

This weekend was snowy (Bleh!). Friday was 72 degrees, and we were enjoying every second of it. Then a good 5 inches of snow dropped on us, and we've been bundled up in the house all weekend.

Spring, and I tend to forget this every year, is like that. You never know when those 'inside' days are going to hit. And I wanted to have some fun.

So, I made a puppet theater for the kids. And it was so much fun to make, I've decided to post it here so you can play too!

Peter and the Wolf is a long time favorite in our house. I grew up listening to the record and my husband, who is 1/4 Russian himself, grew up the same way. Our children were listening to this story before they could even talk! It's just such a classic. You know the music, right?

In case you are unfamiliar, Serge Prokofiev wrote Peter and the Wolf (the first symphony for children by the way) in 1936. It's a narrative symphony about a boy (Peter) and his animals as they encounter a wolf from the nearby woods. Here's a fantastic 1941 recording for you.

Peter and the Wolf Recording with Basil Rathbone (22 minutes)

The story goes like this:

One day, Peter opens his gate to play out in the meadow beyond his house. He meets a bird, and soon his duck and cat come to join in the play.

He comes back inside and his Grandfather scolds him for leaving because beyond the meadow are woods filled with wolves (just like a Russian Grandfather would).

Grandfather locks the gate and tells him to never go out there again. But, Peter paid no attention. "Boys like Peter are not afraid of Wolves."

Peter is inside the gate, but his friends, the bird, cat and duck are still out by the pond. The wolf swallows up the duck in one big gulp and goes after the cat and the bird who are up in a tree.

Peter gets a rope and climbs over the gate and into the tree where he ties up the wolf and catches him.

A hunter comes and sees the wolf and is about to shoot when Peter cries out that he has caught the wolf. They tie up the wolf and take him to the nearby zoo.

In the story, the duck is still alive inside the wolf's belly as they parade heroically to the zoo....and our version, we like to say that the wolf spits up the duck and they all parade together.

And that's the story! But the music is what makes it. I can't get it out of my head. And it's so good for children!

Last Christmas, my husband's parents made us an incredible hand carved collection with all the characters and the book and CD in a hand painted wooden box. We have spent the past year acting out this story at least once a month. The children listen to it over and over again, using the characters to follow the musically narrated story. It's been such amazing play for the kids, I've wanted to do something similar for YOU! But I've not been able to come up with how to do that. I nearly came up with a paper doll version, but it didn't seem to be as fun.

But with paper puppets, the body parts move....and can be played with even outside the stage. Hours of fun.

So here's what you need:

A Paper Stage:

This is a FREE download in hopes that you can use it for more than just Peter and the Wolf. You can cut it out and fit it to any kind of box, but a cereal box works great. The stage is very close to a full size sheet of USA standard paper (8.5 x 11 inches). So find a cereal box that works with that size. The crown of the proscenium is easy to tape on, or even better, fasten on with brads so you can change it out and replace it with others that title the performance.

Download the Stage HERE.

Peter and the Wolf Characters:

I debated on this one....I wanted to make it completely cost free, but since it is rather elaborate, I'm charging just a small fee: $5.50 for the entire set. I plan on making more stories, some of which will be more simple will be a free download.

You can purchase the full PETER AND THE WOLF set HERE.

Other Household Supplies:

Cereal box

Scissors

Tape

String

Small brads (these are used for scrapbooking and are smaller than normal brads used for school or office. You'll find them in any craft store that sells scrapbook materials).

Safety pin (to pre-poke holes before fastening with brads)

Sticks for puppeting These are found at any craft store, wooden skewers used for barbequeing work as well. Popscicle sticks are going to be too wide, so don't try.

MUSIC:

The Disney animated classic can be viewed on You Tube HERE.

Another favorite version is here, but there are lots more.

But feel free to LISTEN OFF THE BLOG for free whenever you want. (It's not the best recording out there, but it is the best FREE recording out there. But the voice of Basil Rathbone? Fantastic!)

So there you go! I really hope you like it....in fact, I'd LOVE your feed back on this one. Please comment and tell me your thoughts....I have been wanting to add this kind of thing to my shop/blog for a long time.

Is this something you'd like to see more of?

Can you think of other favorite (copyright free) stories that you'd like to have characters of?

Would you prefer a PDF download, or a KIT with all supplies included that you can purchase and have mailed to you?

I can see this as a collection you can keep adding too....some with just black and white print outs that children can color themselves, some more elaborate and entertaining.

I'd love to know what you think! I can't think of anything out there quite like this....so spread the word and we'll see if I can't get more little "performances" put together. It's the perfect creative play, and I can promise you it's going to be a big hit at your house. Tell me how it goes!