asg letterpress print by andrea everman

As you may or may not remember, I love artwork with graphic style. Give me something inventive, beautiful or clever looking with some cool words on it and I will totally put it in my house. It looks like I’ll be giving my credit card a workout today, now that I’ve taken a look at the latest Art School Girl (ASG) letterpress print available in the monthly series. It’s called Comfort and it was designed by Andrea Everman, the creative genius behind those adorable shadow puppets that I know you all have seen, right?

I like the geometry of powerlines.

Here are a few puppets, just in case I made the wrong assumption up there in the first paragraph:

I don’t have personal call for the puppets right now, but they haunt my dreams. This print will definitely stave off my desire to own them, at least for now. I think.

Purchase the limited edition print at Art School Girl, and see more of Andrea’s mastery of puppetry (ooh I like that!) at her Etsy shop and her website.

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boogie man rug by jellio

When I was a kid I was totally terrified of boogeyman monsters in my closet and under the bed, and now as an adult if I watch Dexter or True Blood too late in the day I have a hard time getting to sleep that night. Too bad I didn’t have this wildly colorful Boogie Man rug from our friends at Jellio back when I was young. Maybe I would have been emboldened with more pluck to face any ogres that came my way, instead of hiding under the covers. Or maybe it would have scared the monsters away on its own, also a positive thing.

Purchase the 8′ x 10′ hand tufted wool rug and see more nostalgic designs at the Jellio website.

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erica sanders fabric collage

I am enjoying these fabric collages by Australian artist Erica Sanders for her line, little birdie. She uses vintage fabrics to tell personal childhood narratives by combining them on canvas. The bright colors and little stitching details remind me of my own childhood sewing projects, though they never were as nice as these.

Purchase these pieces and more at the kindergallery where you can see more fun artwork from high quality artists.

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tummy mountain’s art prints (charming)

psssst. ever wanted to feel like a kid again? then come with with me to a magical place where all you do is play outside all day, eat cake and make harmless mischief. the place is tummymountain, a charming place created by talented australian artist and imaginative raconteur lloyd. if the happy imagery doesn’t whisk you away to that far-off place you used to inhabit as a carefree child, the wonderful storytelling certainly will!

browsing his collection at first i thought these prints, made from original paintings, would be a marvelous addition to a child’s room. the more i look at them though, the more i think i just want to move up to the mountain and live in harmony with these wee little characters. i can totally relate to the girl on the slide. i think we’d be best friends.

visit the tummy mountain blog right here, and purchase these prints here (where you will read, among many other things, that the artist’s favorite material is chocolate).

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anna woltz illustrations

beloved readers, you may find the little snippets about my life to be a tad dull, but hey, for me this is a creative outlet and a place to seek inspiration and a space to get personal. is that not the essence of the interweb? anyway, today i will tell you that when i was a youngster, i went to a small school where i was the only asian kid. in the whole school. and i can’t really even call myself asian, i am a halfsie pacific islander, being a happy-go-lucky filipino half the time! knowing i was the only one there made it a surreal experience at times, especially when kids would try and guess what nationality i was. i wonder if the reaction would have been the same if this wonderful illustrated book from colorado artist anna woltz had been available then. anna has created a playful soft cover illustrated book and toddler tees which feature a multicultural culinary alphabet lesson for her company, wondertoast. check it out:

i think this is such a terrific way to engage a child’s curiosity while educating them about food and other cultures. maybe if these had been around back in the day, i wouldn’t have been bombarded with that pesky “are you hawaiian?” question all the time. and i actually think the whole alphabet featured as a fun oversized print would be a marvelous piece of art in a kid’s room, or anyone’s kitchen for that matter.

thank you so much for the photos, anna!

buy her adorable and very affordable items at wondertoast, and find anna on her art blog or baby blog.

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fun plant peeping with the plantarium garden lab

check it: the nifty plantarium garden lab allows you to see all stages of plant development, starting from seed!

nasa scientists collaborated to create a beautiful and nutritive transparent gel that allows you to watch plant growth from above and below the surface.

once the plants reach the top of their teensy (4.75″ h x 1.75″ w x 1″ d) respective plantariums, they can be transplanted into larger pots, and continue to grow.

the kit includes basil, cucumber, and tomato seeds, three plastic greenhouses, each with a different colored gel, and little mini pots with peat pellets for transplant.

great for kids (and adults!) age 6 and up.

manufactured by globus international, you can find it at fat brain toys.

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