RE-POST: Christmas Book Advent Calendar

This is a post from last year, but it's been so popular that I wanted to post it again in case any of you need ideas for an advent Calendar this year! You will most likely have everything you need....so you can start today! Here's the link to the original post from 2010.

I've been wanting to do this advent calendar for years...and I finally get to do it!  This will be our first Christmas home since having children, and I've wanted to have this be a family tradition of ours since I saw this idea from a neighbor of mine years back.

Children's Picture Book Advent Calendar: What is it?

24 Christmas Picture Books, all wrapped up and marked for each day leading up until Christmas. This way, we will be reading one Christmas story a night!

Now don't panic...getting 24 Christmas Books isn't as hard as it looks. When you can check out Christmas books from the Library for 3 weeks at a time, it makes it rather simple....you may need to renew one time in there, but it still makes for a lovely tradition! And inexpensive too!

And Book #24......is the Bible, so that lessens the load a bit. But you'd be surprised how many Christmas books you already have.  Really, I am sure you have more than you think you do. I think books on winter can even count too... And don't forget any Christmas Anthologies with short stories in there too.

Here's a list of a few of mine in there:

A Christmas Goodnight

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

I'll Be Home For Christmas

The Polar Express

The 12 Prayers of Christmas

Christmas In the Manger

Christmas is Here

Christmas Day in the Morning

Snowmen at Christmas

A Wish to be a Christmas Tree

God Gave us Christmas

Who is Coming to Our House?

Olive, the Other Reindeer

Oh there are SO many Christmas books that I want to get my hands on....I have so many favorites that I don't even have own yet! But this year, most of the books in our Advent Calender we DO own (thanks to the need to have a few books for "research" when working on my book) but even still....to the children, these books will be like new since they are all wrapped up.

These books are now in our open bookcase in the basement (thus the really lousy photo...sorry!) But this way, they are in plain visibility. Another good place is the hearth of the fireplace...or in your child's bedroom.

Anyways...I wanted to share in case anyone needed a good idea for an advent calendar this year. And the best part? It's either "rented" or a good reason to add to your already established Christmas collection.

Have any of you ever tried this one? It's a new tradition for us this year, and I think this one is here to stay!

Happy Christmas!

xo

sarah

Lucky.

A bit of news:  LUCKY magazine, the seasonal LUCKY KIDS insert to be exact, featured my blog in their best blog round up!

Wow. That was fun to see!

And what made me smile, is that the thumbnail image is my son's head. He has a cute head. But he's 5, and I don't know if I'll show him that his profile is shared with Jessica Simpson. Not just yet at least. Don't want him to get any ideas, you know?

No, really...I'm really so flattered that they'd choose my blog as "The Best Blogs" in their Winter issue! Wow. Really. Wow. Thanks so much Lucky!

As part of the feature, I'll be GUEST BLOGGING this week at LUCKY KIDS with a daily round up of handmade, creative, and great finds for the holidays. I used to blog more about my favorite things...but now thanks to twitter, pinterest, etc. I can post things like that there. So this was fun to put together! Come say hi!

And as promised, I can't finish a post with out a sketch from my current sketchbook.

I've been thinking about cold bunnies lately. You?

Mood Boards

I like to put mood boards together. Inspiration boards. Story Boards. Whatever you call it, it's really good for me to put my ideas in one place, and make little families.

My brain is always so full of information, it really helps to put bits and chunks in one place and see how they work together. Sometimes they are digital, sometimes they are on my wall in my studio...sometimes they are cut and paste, or printed out on paper. Pinterest is awesome for collecting ideas...you name form, and I have collected ideas there.

This one is for a top-secret mission and I can't say anything about it.

Just kidding. I'm working on new fabric again (!) and this is a peek at just the ideas behind it. Too early to show anything just yet...but it's rather fun to see how it all gets started. The conception of ideas usually starts with random bits of information in my head (information for me = sounds, colors, shapes, people, phrases, memories...) and plop them down on the table and then I start to see where and how they work together. I move the pieces around like it's a puzzle, and eventually pieces shift, get thrown out, come to the front...and I have something to work with. The conception stage takes the longest for me. Like a really good, slow simmer!

But I'm liking it so far! I think the octopus is blushing...and it makes me smile to wonder at what! Cute little guy!

And PS: The Cyber Monday sale is still going on here and here! Read more here. Happy Holidays!!! Yipee!

Black Friday/ Cyber Monday Weekend sale!

I'm still full from yesterday, and happily lounging in my PJ's with my family this morning, but had to stop in real quick and let you know (if you didn't get the memo in my newletter) that this weekend we're having an awesome sale!

The best part about this sale, is that when you make an order with the code thanks15 you'll get a code for a 20% off coupon in January! And if that wasn't fun enough, all orders with the code thanks15 will be entered to win a $100 gift certificate to the shop that I'll announce on Tuesday!

(On ETSY and the new shop!)

So, I know you are all doing shopping this weekend, but stop on in enjoy the sale!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

See you soon!

xo sarah

Just one more thing...

Ok. So I promised that I was going to include an illustration in every post. But my blog has been down, and my hands have been tied up in web-stuff.

But I had to share this one last image from our trip to HANA. The tide pools below the house are covered in black lava rock formations, and then broken up bits of coral from ages of wear. My parents and Kenneth and I spent an hour searching and wading through pools looking for the best letters to make the phrase. A task that simple seemed like play...spend an hour looking for the letter "E?" That's when I started to realize that I really do have a lot going on in my life, and slowing down is a very theraputic, wonderful thing.

Right now, I've been in the middle of some more website battles..and so I'm really, really sorry if you've emailed me, visited the blog or site and gotten error pages, or broken links.  We're still working on some issues! And they've made me go a little crazy...cause it's like having a house with no drivway or address...but things are getting there, and if you had trouble this week so far...I'm so sorry. Today I'm shifting my mind back to that trip where I truly felt nothing else but being mindful of the present moment, and that is a good way to go into this Thanksgiving holiday. But I'll be back with some exciting BLACK FRIDAY sale notices, so you can be ready for shopping after Turkey day.

I hope you all have WONDERFUL thanksgiving plans! We do. We have family in town, and a new baby nephew who I can't get enough of. I just love this holiday. So much.

God bless, and have a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

(But don't forget to come back and find out about weekend sales...they'll be all done by monday!!)

Love to you all,

sarah

Be Smart & enter a quick giveaway!

Quick Weekend update!

Soule Mama is hosting a HUGE giveaway from my shop today only, as well as offering a 15% code for all her readers.

If you hop on over today, you can enter to win:

1) 1 signed copy of A Christmas Goodnight

2) $100 Gift Card to the shop

3) a 15% OFF CODE for Sarah Jane Studios this week only!

Visit Soule Mama Blog here.

Have fun entering! (I LOVE her blog. I'm such a lover of all that she does!)

There is also a brief interview with me, and some interesting things about me and how things tick around here!

Thanks Amanda for this wonderful feature!

Happy Weekend!

(I'm off to play in the SNOW!!)

xo

sarah

*"Be Smart" Print here.

Naptime and new blogging.

Confession: I don't draw very much. Well, for how much I really should be pulling out pencil and paper as an illustrator, I just don't.

I can think of a few good reasons:

3 busy children. Laundry. Cooking. School Lunches. Sleep. Studio deadlines. Email. Homework. Driving. Errands. Phone calls. Church service. Dishes. Playing with kids. Cleaning.

Well, all that said, I really wish I had more time to just draw what I was thinking. Cause that's how I think. In pictures and words.

But at the same time, as an illustrator, I need to be working at it every day if I ever want to get where I want to be.

I've tried to think of a motivation for a long time...but I finally found a way give myself the motivation to sketch every day.

I really like blogging. It takes time. I'm fast at it now, but it still takes time. I'm not willing to give up blogging to make more time to create, so I've decided to do what my blog actually says: "Illustrate Childhood."

I hereby commit to having an illustration in every single blog post from here on out!

There. I said it.

Ha ha. Just watch...I won't blog as much now:)

No...this is just what I need.   I need be sketching every day, and I'm telling the universe so that I can't slack off. And if anything...this place will get a lot more interesting:)

I'll still have photos...but I'm always going to have some art.

Deal? Deal.

And speaking of the lack of time I have to illustrate, here's what my darling sweet 2 1/2 year old looks like when she is supposed to be napping: She comes out of her room, tip-toes oh so daintily down the hallway, and freezes in this very pose as soon as she sees me.   And then she stands there..arms out, tongue out, avoiding my glance...completely frozen in place until I pick her up.

You know when you want to laugh so hard, but you can't ... so you turn your face away and hold it? But the tears are coming and your stomach hurts?

That happens to me about 1:30 p.m. every afternoon in the family room. Just me and her.

Right now, she's winning. I mean, how can you get upset? It stinks to have cute kids.

Hana red.

Getting away to a gorgeous part of the earth was a  total rebirth for me...being around color was so energizing! Literally! I mean, really....I had a love affair with color every.single. day.

Every where I turned there was color-color-color! Like laughter all around me! I could just drown in it.

You know, it's interesting. I have color in my head all the time. But I haven't really colored our home yet.  I don't even have many indoor flowers and plants, and I'm feeling rather ashamed about it! I've decided to invest in flowers for garden, and totally investing in cut bouquets through the winter. I must have color!

Can you believe these shades of red?

No photoshop here!! Straight from my camera. Amazing.

Man. Hana bleeds color.

Must have more color around me! Official mission of 2012: Color bursts!

Ahhh....Feeling better already. I think I'll go paint something red now.