MARIONETTES swatcch web I didn't get a chance to really talk about my Let's Pretend Collection that came out last spring. Mostly because I was very sick with my pregnancy, and just little bit preoccupied:)

But I want to share with you the story behind one of the prints that I just love. This print is called Marionettes, and I wanted to create a retro inspired marionette print that felt like something reminiscent of puppets from a little bit of France & Italy but with a taste of retro book illustration with fresh color. When I went looking for inspiration online, I came across this elephant marionette that I just FELL IN LOVE WITH! He is so perfectly perfect. I just had to have him. So I bought it on the spot, and put him in my studio to get inspired.

elephant marionette (image courtesy of Oh Albatross)

I included this print into two of my pieces from Let's Pretend. The Marionettes print, but his shining moment is in my Panel Print that I love so much.

Kids and puppets just make me smile. I wish we had more of a venue for this. Puppets are the best toy. I just love the theatricality behind it, and the endless imagination, coordination and play time. Anyways, I wanted to celebrate this part of childhood, and there he is!

MAKE BELIEVE PANEL swatch

elephant marionette swatch

Then, a few months later, while I was waiting for my fabric to be printed, I was watching the BBC Persuasion with my husband (He's a good man. He tolerates my choices:) and I stopped the movie! Look! There was my Elephant! How cool is that?

This little elephant has a fabric collection AND a movie. What a guy.

So that's the story behind this sweet little print. He still hangs in my studio, and I just love him to bits. Maybe he'll find his way into some more art of mine!

Let's Pretend is still available, and can found in any of the stores here.

So much of what I create has a story. A story of how it was made, but more so, the story of why I made it. Wee Wander was such a fun collection of fabric prints to create because it was part of MY story. And I wanted to share that with you today. So gather around. I'll tell you a story:)

I lived on the West Coast until I was 6 when our family moved cross country to the East Coast where they are today. We lived first in Massachusetts and then in Maryland. As a child on the West Coast, I remember loving to climb the peach trees in the back yard, and the orange trees. I dreamed of having strong enough legs and feet to climb palm trees someday.

But when our family picked up and moved into the forests of Massachusetts, I knew I found my home. I remember having to stand in the middle of our street and look straight up into the night in order to see any sky at all. Lightning storms were simply flashes of lit up trees from my paned bedroom window. There were so many trees in my yard that we spent at least 2 hours every Saturday as a family raking. I love my trees. So much, that when my husband and I decided to buy a home in desert and rocky mountain Utah, it took us 15 months to find the right house....nestled in the trees.

When we moved to Maryland when I was 9, the trees were a little farther back from our house. The forrest began just past our property line, and I spent many summers wandering in the woods behind our house. In the hot, humid summers, we'd go outside and chase fireflies. There was so much magic in those cricket chirping, frog groaning summer nights....all lit up by lightning bugs. And when I'd finally go to bed at night, I'd look out my window at the forest across the pond, and see the trees literally all lit up from the fireflies. I can still feel the thrill of that scene. It was like fairies, and the trees would wink at me all night....I still marvel at how magical that was. Sometimes we'd sleep outside on the trampoline and I'd watch shooting stars and fireflies in the trees as I'd close my eyes.

So when I knew I wanted to design a collection of children wandering through summer days and nights, I knew I had to illustrate the fireflies in the trees. And children in the trees. That was my childhood.

The best part of debuting this collection has been hearing YOUR stories. When we were at Quilt Market, so many people would stop in the isle and gasp and say, "That was MY childhood! Oh my gosh....summer nights in Illinois were so magical...." and their stories would go on and on. It was so thrilling to see people get nostalgic for their childhood memories outdoors on those hot summer nights.

The real magic is taking a feeling, putting it in print, and watching someone else share that same feeling in their own way.

I just feel honored.

Sarah

PS: LightningBugs or Fireflies? It's a hot debate.