Christmas Reading Recommendations

There is something special about holiday traditions. Every year I watch A Christmas Story. I don't really watch it anymore, but rather listen to it on an endless loop while decorating or baking or wrapping presents. But nonetheless, the DVD is out every year.

The same applies to holiday books.

Every year, my mother would give me books for Christmas. Usually a book or two for my reading level, but I always received a beautifully illustrated hardcover children's book which had an inscription written in the front cover and dated. We follow the same tradition of books with Little Tomato.

Now entering the month of December, my favorite holiday books are making the scene. Reading by the fireplace is optional, however the hot cocoa is required:

The Christmas Magic

Author- Lauren Thompson

Illustrator- Jon Muth

image credit: ziggityzoom.com

This book has become a new favorite around here. I am a sucker for anything illustrated by Jon Muth; not only do you have frame-worthy illustrations, but the stories are almost guaranteed to be spectacular.

Great Joy

Author- Kate DiCamillo

Illustrator- Bagram Ibatouilline

image credit: amazon.com

Beautiful illustrations and a simple story of compassion and love for others.

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

Author- Susan Wojciechowski

Illustrator- PJ Lynch

image credit: amazon.com

This is my favorite Christmas book of all time. If I could own only one Christmas book, this would be it.

A sad, reclusive woodcarver is visited by a widow and her son. They are new to the town, and she has realized that her family nativity set is gone. She asks the woodcarver to make her a new set before Christmas. He grumpily accepts the job, and is visited the following week by the widow and her son- the boy wants to watch him carve. As the woodcarver works, the boy teaches him about his nativity set- each figure and why it was special. Slowly, as each visit approaches, the woodcarver is softened by the kindness of the widow and the joy of the boy. The illustrations are warm and heartfelt and the story is lyrical and poignant.

My recommendation: Get an early edition! The newest edition has done a hatchet job on the illustrations, both shrinking and cropping them. I was beyond disappointed to see this. The 1995, 1998 & 2000 editions look to have the full sized illustrations.

Other noteworthy holiday reads:

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Dr. Seuss)

A Charlie Brown Christmas (Charles Schultz)

The Jolly Christmas Postman (Allen Ahlberg)

The Polar Express (Chris Van Allsburg

Do you have any favorite Christmas books? 

Christmas Traditions?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Book Review: Press Here by Herve Tullet

Little Tomato has a new favorite book: "Press Here" by Herve Tullet.

The book starts with a simple yellow dot and the instructions, "Press Here." Each page instructs the reader to interact with the dots. Whether by pressing, rubbing, shaking or clapping, each action causes a reaction on the following pages. Little Tomato is squealing with glee at the end, as she is clapping as hard as she can.

Check out the video on Chronicle Books.

Note to parents: If your children have a hard time 'powering down' at night, this may not be good bedtime book material. It is by no means sleep-inducing.

Enjoy!

Littlest Tomato

Nope, not a sister. Just this little doll I whipped up the other day.

Littlest Tomato

She has been complete for some time, but I was completely stuck on how to dress her. So, dejected, she has been moping about my sewing room willing me to 'clothe her in cuteness'. Finally inspiration struck in the unfortunate chocolate stain on a cute Little Tomato shirt. While the shirt was ruined, the soft jersey ruffles on the arms were pristine and just begging to be repurposed. So I grabbed the scissors and away I went! 

So, finally making her debut, Littlest Tomato! In her party dress and pigtails, she is ready for fabulousness. Her 'likes' are tea parties with all the girly trimmings, balloons, carousel rides, polaroid cameras, and Little Tomato. They're buds. :)

If you are interested in making your own, check out Wee Wonderfuls by Hillary Lang. It is a great resource with a variety of plush patterns, not just variations of the same doll. Littlest Tomato was constructed with similar techniques, but I created my own pattern for her. 

Hello Again

Apologies for the silent treatment from my corner of the blogosphere (yes, against my better judgement, I used the word 'blogosphere'). Truth is, it has been a chaotic 2011 with few crafty projects in the works. So, what has been keeping us so busy? Well...

We are moving.

To this:

A farm! 

The past several months have been full of planning, designing, preparing our house for sale, and of course the miserable summer heat wave that has plagued the midwest. While I will be sad to see our house go, as I am very fond of our home, I cannot wait to dig in the dirt and enjoy evenings of cool breezes and cicada songs from a screened in porch. 

A couple of projects I was able to squeeze in and some house sneak peeks are forthcoming. :)

Zoo Inspired Reading

Isabella the tiger cub at HDZ.

Hello Spring!

Little Tomato and I have been stretching our legs outside, enjoying the warm weather. 

This week we visited the zoo and of course we had to visit the tigers.

The zoo has a baby cub who steals the show with her bouncy play. 

However, Little Tomato's favorite animals to see are 'the monkeys.'

Specifically, the Siamang gibbons.

These gibbons are incredibly animated. Their voices can be heard from across the zoo in chorus with the peacock calls. 

At first glance, the Siamang looks like a normal 'monkey'... until it fills the giant pouch in its neck with air. It sounds like the low-key hum you hear when you blow over the neck of a bottle. Then comes the whooping calls and swinging about.

Little Tomato is enamored by them.

In the spirit of our zoo visit, I thought I would share some favorite zoo/ world animal inspired children's books:

Agate by Joy Morgan Dey

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Christian Stead

The Zoo by Suzy Lee

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Follow the Line Around the World by Laura Ljungvist

Alphabeasties by Sarah Forss & Sharon Werner

Pssst by Adam Rex

Who is your favorite animal at the zoo?

What is your favorite zoo or animal story book?

Playroom Tour

Two long months later, the painting is finished! 

See this post for details of the design process.

Light paint + natural light = larger looking room.

I knew this, but it is still amazing how much of a difference it makes.

In case you are wondering: 

Not decals. 

Supplies:

Triangle & Ruler.

Pencil.

Painter's Tape.

Paint.

Sharpie Paint Marker (if applicable).

Sketch out your design to scale. I did mine on the computer, but this can be hand drawn as well. As long as the design is to scale, it will keep proportions of the design accurate to your room.  

From your sketch, draw your design on the walls with a pencil. I used a triangle & a long 24" ruler to keep everything level and square. For the sun, I did the old-fashioned trick of a central point attached to string with a pencil at the end. I drew the largest radius first and shortened the string for the inner concentric circles.

Don't be afraid to improvise! 

If you notice gaps in the design, or you didn't account for that outlet (or wall base, or light switch, etc.), don't fret. That is why you start with the pencil (and a nice big eraser). 

I added a hot air balloon, relocated a car, added a van, and threw in an airplane.

And I like it better.

Once your drawing is complete, it is time to tape! 

For the non-square items (ex. hot air balloon, helicopter, vehicles, sun, etc.), I did not tape, but rather applied several coats very carefully with a steady hand. 

I used Frog Tape for this project, and while it was certainly not perfect, it did a much better job than anything I have used before.

Paint.
I used the Sherwin Williams- Color to Go paint. This paint is about $5 for a quart.
I purchased 5 colors, so for this complete cityscape it was under $30.
And plenty left over for future projects.
(Imagine what this would be in decals...)

Plan on spending a lot of time on this kind of project.
As my colors were very saturated, I needed 2-3 coats + touch-ups after removal of tape.
I also did outlines of black using the Sharpie Paint Marker. It worked great.

There you have it.

Additional details:
Target Itso Bins. I used these for color inspiration (and storage).
I felt color was needed on the floor, but could not find any rugs that would coordinate.
So I got a few carpet tiles, cut into a pattern, and duct taped together on the underside.

The airplane banner:
Light grey felt fabric with thin strips of an accent green felt as piping on the top & bottom.
I used iron-on transfer paper to print the alphabet letters and ironed the letters onto the felt.
I adhered the banner to the wall with adhesive hanging strips (giving the banner a wave off the wall).