We are proud to announce that Tot Trends Weekly Magazine has put together a special article on Cathy Heck Nursery Art for this week’s product showcase! The piece introduces Cathy, explains a bit about how the interactive website works, and comes with a very nice coupon for 25% off personalized nursery art chosen online.

Being “tot trendy” never felt so good…

I just received this fun sample … don’t you just want to touch it!  This is a 12” x 12” Scrapbook made by Tapestry and just out in Michael’s. We illustrated the cover with our Noah’s Ark Two of A Kind design, which you have seen on fabrics made by Springs Creative, and combined it with some of the coordinating patterns in muted safari tones.  Several of the animal buddies are tipped-on for a wonderful 3D tactile experience.  I can’t wait to start filling up the scrapbook with photos two by two, four by four and … I better get to work!

We’ve all seen it before:

Boy meets geese. Boy likes geese, and approaches…maybe a bit too quickly…

Geese fly away.

But happily, our studio geese like little kids, and they turn out to be much better playmates anyway.

(These guys keep using our local baseball diamond as a rest stop on their way down south – much to the joy of the local little leaguers.)

Just a bit of seasonal news from the California office. Have a great day!

We at the studio would like to wish you all a happy Labor Day today! May it be filled with relaxation and fun (and maybe a little bit of barbecue.)

In the “California office” we are grilling fish and cleaning up the apartment.  What are you up to over there in Austin?

Well… Dad and Margaret got their flu shots, I’m working, Dad’s fixing dead hard drives, and Margaret’s writing an English paper. But Neville is enjoying Labor Day with a long, doggy nap!

And we are planning on grilling hot dogs this evening…

Okay, fine.  You win.

Max, this is Neville.  Neville, this is Max.  I am happy to report that Neville survived his first introduction to the species, dog, of which he is a member.  I am also happy to say that he loved every minute of it.  After lots of sniffing and running and running and sniffing, Neville realized that he wasn’t a people afterall, but rather a real dog.  Although Max was much bigger and extremely lean and fit, Neville was very brave, and exceptionally cordial.

Okay … well, there was one moment during which Neville had to take cover between two chairs to regroup.  But, he returned to the pouncing exchange with all his puppy heart.  It was also a little hard for him to share his water bowl.  But, since he is 5 months old (I guess, in dog years, he’s actually in his terrible twos) it was time for him to have his first sharing lesson … one small raised lip and a tiny growl from Max … and he got it!  You might suggest that tactic to your little ones!  It really works.
So that was Neville’s first playdate, and now he is taking a very long nap.

On our way home, we stopped into the Jo-Ann store that is in walking distance from Ellen’s studio.  (Lucky!)  And, we were happy to see that our fun Zoophabet cross-stitching kits were there. Dimensions produces them and they include kits for making bibs, quilts, and birth records. Seeing that fresh collection of floss just makes my fingers itch for stitching.

This is what the Zoophabet needlework looks like when it is finished! P is for Pretty Darn Cute.

Our Little Princess patterns were also still at Jo-Ann’s, just in case you are needing to whip up a perfect present for your own little princess.  The birth record panel can even be finished as a decorative pillow fit for a queen.

Speaking of princesses, we recently sent this group of nursery art canvases from our studio in Texas to a little princess way up in Oregon!  We hope Mia is enjoying her fairy-tale room!