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This year marked Julianna and my 4th annual sisters’ Spring Break.  Admittedly, I’ve never lived in very cozy places for her to visit in March during any of those years, but that hasn’t stopped us.  This year, for our art day, we spent one afternoon on the Vandercook letterpress at Kala in Berkeley.  Here’s Jules wiping the ink from some of our set type, and some up-close glamour shots of those gorgeous lead letters.

Jules was working on a series of prints showing side by side words that are easy for a dyslexic person to confuse.  Above, you can see the beginning of LUNCH, which was paired with UNCLE.  And below, borrowing on this theme, is my “crooks and nannies” which was something Andrius once said instead of “nooks and crannies”; the former being so much more fun to say than the latter.

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We miss you, Jules!

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Over the years, Cathy has acquired some great tips for emerging designers out there – especially those of you who are just starting to license your own art.  You can find the guest blog here.  You’ll also meet DaVinci (above) at his 1485 Surtex booth, who shares some good tips for putting together your own booth this year…

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The lucky, randomly-selected commenter who has won an Alex Collection baby book, calendar with stickers, and brag book is #10.  Congratulations, Amber!  We’d like to thank everyone who participated for all of your great comments.  Please stay tuned for more giveaways, and have a wonderful weekend.

Being neither Irish nor a great lover of beer, I like to think of St. Patrick’s Day as an homage to the color green.  In honor of this day set aside to celebrate a visual experience, I was making a list of green things that I love, only to discover that the the top two items on this list no longer exist.  So, with nostalgic abandon, here are some little odes to my top three green-thing happy memories:

#1 The Crayola crayon called “Magic Mint”

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Was discontinued in 2003.  I remember a particular summer spent on the Texas coast – swimming, getting salty and a little burned, watching Blue’s Clues, the smell of vitamin E gel, and a box of 120 crayons with an accompanying swatch list for every color in order.  Magic Mint was a translucent light green, a bit more on the blue side than the yellow.  It was light enough that you had to press down till your fingers hurt to get a nice layer of color, but it was worth it.  Goodbye, Magic Mint!  The children of today don’t know what they’re missing.  (As consolation, Crayola introduced “inchworm” that same year, which is not only a nice color, but also a great name.)

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Note to readers: the top photo is not of Magic Mint.  I couldn’t get my hands on the now-vintage real thing (although there might be one in the crayon box at Cathy’s house).  These are new crayons from the 120-color box.  That extra wrapper you see there was my attempt to more accurately show the user what color they’re about to get since Crayola only prints 16 different wrapper colors and judging by the wax color alone can be very misleading…

#2 Kirsten Larson the American Girl, and her dusty green dress

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Reality check aside, there is still a place in my heart for this doll, and her dress, and 9-year-old suburban imaginary pioneers.

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#3 (not discontinued, but green and wonderful) Lava soap

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It’s perfect for cleaning paintbrushes since there’s a little pumice in there, but not so much to chap your hands.  Plus, a soap that’s wrapped in paper is always fun to open – carefully – like Charlie opens the chocolate bar that contains the golden ticket. I used to have a soap collection – a huge Rubbermaid under-bed box filled with molded, scented fat and lye.  Mmmm.  It was actually a pretty great (and eventually useful) thing to collect, but maybe that should be another post…

What I love most about Lava soap is that it smells like Trident cinnamon gum, of which Cathy (my mom) used to keep an endless supply in a man-shaped tin near her desk.  When I smell it, I think of visiting my mom at her drawing table, pulling off the tin man’s head (his head was the top of the tin and his body was the bottom), getting some Trident, and probably leaving the wrapper someplace that wasn’t the trash…  Happy memories…

If you have any green, vintage, or Crayola-scented happy memories, we’d love to hear ‘em!

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Here in Austin, we are right in the middle of SXSW (South by Southwest Music & Film Festival) and recently we discovered that one is not as cool as one thought if one is calling it by its full name.  So, if you are in Austin, be sure to say, “South By.” ie. “We thought we would catch a couple of films at South By.”  If you are a carpooling soccer-watching mom, like me, you will earn some instant street cred with your kiddos.

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In the meantime, here is a link to the trailer. And, if you are not in Austin, don’t worry, because we think there is a great chance that this little film will make it to a big theatre near you.

Click below to see the trailer:

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Emma’s brother collection, Alex, just arrived in the studio, and it is such a handsome group … perfect for the little man.  We are so pleased with the final outcome that we are giving away a group of three Alex keepsake products to one lucky winner at the end of this post.

Just as planned, the soft blues blend perfectly with the muted khakis. The navy accents are spot on.  We are imagining that someday, the recipient of this group will be pictured inside his baby book wearing his first navy blazer and khaki pants … and we’re pretty sure there will be some snips and snails in the pockets, so be sure to check before you throw them in the laundry.

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Above is one of the illustrations from inside the baby book … This dapper gator cracks me up with his little top hat perched on his knobby noggin.  He’s all dressed up for the Alex Collection debut.  (Well, really he is dressed up for the Baby’s Celebrations page, but he’s multi-tasking today.)

Below are some of our favorite embellishments. From top left clockwise: 1. We are loving this embroidered argyle elephant on the brag book.  2. Another favorite is the embroidered zebra on the cloth frame, especially his broomstick tail.  3. The striped gros-grain ribbon and the herringbone giraffe dress up one of the photo albums. 4. The lettering for the baby books turned out great.  We always hold our breath about embroidered lettering until we see the samples … so now we can breathe … it’s readable and it feels great to the touch.

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A favorite of mine is the First Year Calendar with Stickers.  It’s the best way to keep up with important milestones while juggling the little ones making the milestones.  I found that I could at least fill in one little square a day, and then record them later in the baby book.  And sometimes, when you don’t have time to write, just pop on one of these cool stickers.

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So there you go … the Alex Collection!  We think it is appealing to two different kinds of parents … those who like to surround themselves with classic and traditional design and those who prefer modern and contemporary fashion.  Or if you are like me, a little bit of both!  You can find the Alex and Emma collections at specialty retailers around the US, as well as right here from our friends at C.R. Gibson.

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This week, to celebrate the exciting debut of Alex, we are giving away the three handsome pieces above: a Keepsake Baby Book (and you can choose whether you prefer the tightbound or 3-ring version), a First Year Calendar with Stickers and a Brag Book.  Just add your comment in the comment-box below and we will pick a lucky winner randomly on Friday, March 18.   Good luck!

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Congratulations to Sarah W, who has just become the lucky winner of a keepsake baby book, brag book, and calendar with stickers from the Emma collection!  We thank all of you for your sweet comments and don’t worry – we still have one more giveaway in the lineup, so stay tuned…

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Wife: (last summer) Honey, will you spray the Camelia bush with mildew spray?

Husband: Sure.

Wife: (after going outside and noticing that Camelia bush is gone) Where is the Camelia bush?

Husband: I replanted it over there.

Wife: In the sun? They don’t like sun. It just needed mildew spray.

Husband: I think that’s why it had mildew. No sun.

Wife: It just needed a little spray.  It won’t grow in the sun.

Husband: I think it likes the sun better.

Wife: No, I’m pretty sure it likes shade better.

Husband: Let’s just see.  Since I already planted that one there, we’ll plant a new one in the pot in the shade.

Wife: Okay. (Trying not to sound too smug.)

Wife goes to plant store to buy new camelia.  Attendant tells wife that new bush must be planted in wet peat. Husband kindly fills giant bag of peat with water.  It is heavy.  He then surrounds new bush with heavy soggy peat.

Long hot summer ensues.  Camelia bush in sun dies. Camelia bush in shade thrives. Wife feels a little bit nah-nah, which is our word for “I told you so” … however …. thanks to kind and gentle husband planting in well-prepared peat, new camelia bush is much more beautiful than old camelia bush.

Wife: (last week) Wow, look at your Camelia bush … it is loaded with blooms.

Husband: That’s because Camelias grow much better in the shade.

Wife: Are you saying that in your “Yes, dear” voice?

Husband: Yes, dear.

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What is pink and green and cute all over? Emma is here! We just received the samples for our new Emma Collection by C.R. Gibson, and we are brimming in all-girl excitement, so we are having another giveaway to celebrate our new baby girl products. (Be sure to see the end of this post to sign up to win.)

Emma and her brother collection, Alex, were created from patterns and characters by Ellen, co-writer of this blog, studio designer, and daughter of mine, who spent many childhood years wearing pink tutus. Both new collections have an appeal for parents who gravitate toward traditional and classic designs, but at the same time, Alex and Emma offer patterns and characters with a new and modern twist.

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The embellishments for all the pieces turned out beautifully.  Above from top left clockwise:   1. The baby books’ embroidered titles are the perfect amount of feminine.  2. The embroidered cloth frame is going to be a great gift the minute you know, “It’s a girl!” 3. The small photo album features the sweetest snail ever.  4. And, the interiors are pretty and easy to fill in, plus they have been printed on a new paper stock that is pen-friendly (no smudges on your milestones or first footprints…unless you have some wiggly toes!)

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One of our favorite items is the First Year Calendar with Stickers (above).  This is a perfect way to quickly jot down the important events so that a new mom can copy them to the baby book later … like when her babies go to college!

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This week, to celebrate the exciting debut of Emma, we are giving away the three pretty pieces below: a Keepsake Baby Book (and you can choose whether you prefer the tightbound or 3-ring version), a First Year Calendar with Stickers and a an embroidered Brag Book.  Just add your comment in the comment-box below and we will pick a lucky winner randomly on Friday, March 11.   Good luck and we hope you are in the pink on Friday!

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The random number generator picked commenter #8 to win the three-piece Baby Bots keepsake set.  Congratulations, Tracy! We’d also like to thank all of you who participated for your sweet comments, and don’t worry, you’ll have another chance to win a keepsake set for boys when we introduce our Alex collection next week, so please stay tuned…