Writers, photographers, reporters, and documentarians travel the world to search for differences and similarities in all aspects of countries and cultures—food, politics, landscape, architecture, and the list goes on. The general consensus is there is very little that is universal except perhaps the basic need for necessities like food, shelter, and clothing.
Alessia – Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
Photographer Gabriele Galimberti travelled the world, examining a very unique relationship— the connection of children to their toys. After 18 months of shooting these gorgeous photographs of children with their toys, he discovered that “at their age, they are pretty much all much the same. They just want to play.” This piece by Ben Machell from The Times Magazine reveals some interesting insight into how the affluence of the kids affected how they allowed Galimberti to interact with their toys and how their homeland and parents influenced what they chose to play with.
Stella – Montecchio, Italy
Bethsaida – Port au Prince, Haiti
Of course this all made me think about my kids, Oliver and Sommer, and their relationship to their most prized toys. At almost a year, Sommer, for the most part, wants whatever her 2 and a half year old brother has, but Oliver’s proclivities are a little more telling. He loves his toy New York City Subway trains, since he knows that Mommy and Daddy ride the train to work. He loves his paints, markers, and crayons; Mommy seemingly “plays” with those materials all day. And I guess for Sommer, I can say that she grabs her one babydoll (we named her Automn), enthusiastically hugging and kissing her; she is probably modeling my desperate attempts to hug and cuddle my baby girl, fearing that she is growing up too fast.
Li Yi Chen – Shenyang, China
Maudy – Kalulushi, Zambia
Do your kids’ toys reflect where you live, who you are, or what you, as parents, do for a living? Do their toys bring you back to your childhood?
There is so much emotion, symbolism, and narrative to decode in Galimberti’s exquisite photographs. I want to know so much more about each child, her family, and what his toys mean to him. Visit Galimberti’s site to see the rest of the series, each one more captivating than the last.
It’s March 14, hence 3/14, hence the reason to celebrate PIE! (If you are math-challenged, read about Pi here.) I’ll take any excuse to eat, talk about, read about, look at pie. In fact, I think I need more pie in my life. I love this image of a potluck pie party from Bon Appetit. I could seriously get behind that. Feast your eyes on some more fun PIE play…
The first time I saw this pumpkin pie Thanksgiving kids’ favor from One Charming Party, I nearly died. It was one of those “I wish I had thought of that” moments!
Cakes get stands, so why don’t pies? I love the rustic look of these galvanized pie stands from BHLDN. They’d be great for the pie potluck!
Ok, I must confess, this is one holiday that I fully ignore every year. I don’t wear green underwear and I don’t buy gold chocolate coins. But it’s 2013, the era of the elevated craft, so of course St. Patty’s Day has taken on a whole new modern, elegant aesthetic. Oleander & Palm has shown me the path of the sophisticated St. Patrick’s Day. I didn’t think it could be done, but she did it. Bravo!
Not just green and gold silhouettes, but green and gold silhouettes of kids holding 4-leaf clovers. So sweet.
Seriously, I could live with this shamrock wall decal on my wall all year round.
Everyone should enjoy a green beverage on St. Patty’s Day. And it doesn’t have to be held with a coozie or make you belch. A lime shebert fizzy drink? I’d drink you even without the cute gold-heart shamrock.
I never had an egg cup growing up (I think that constitutes neglect), and now as an adult, I’m a little unnaturally obsessed with them. From vintage to the handmade to the hipster (yes, there are hipster egg cups), I want all 11 of these egg cups!
When I see buckets of perler beads at Michaels, I move past with no hesitation. I’m not totally against plastic, but I just don’t have a mind for what to do with them. I think my opinion changed after seeing these delicate pastel, perler-bead bangles from Maker Mama. Look at these other amazing crafts made with perler beads! They are not just for alligator keychains anymore!
I’m so in love with these perler bead people, I don’t know what to do with myself. I don’t speak German so I have no idea what/where they are, but I heart them! Via Skidt & Kanel.
Now this is true perler bead genius—3-dimensional perler bead food. I don’t even know where to begin to understand how they did this! From the top, the picnic food is from Fave Crafts, the sushi is from this Japanese site, and the cakes are from here.
More of the traditional perler-bead world, but I still love these heart valentines from Camille Styles.
My daughter Sommer’s birthday falls in early April, and here in New York, there is no guarantee of gorgeous, spring weather. So for her first birthday, I’m just going to do it up at home. We have a pretty big living/dining/kitchen “open-concept” room and I’ve been trying to figure out what broad-stroke decorations I can create to really give the room a transformation. I took this photo last weekend at Erica Tanov (best store!) and decided on pink and yellow, with a splash of navy, for the color world. The store has a Parcel pop-up shop in the back which is where these sweet garlands came from. Depending on how you make and then use garlands, they can do the trick to really take over a room.
My criteria for this project are… (1) Bold & Impactful (2) Quick & Easy (3) Inexpensive & Accessible.
Oh crepe paper, how I love you so! These big fringe garlands are so easy to make and can seriously take over the most blah of spaces. By Oh Happy Day.
I’m a little tired of the circle garland, but the half circle? I’m okay with it. But really, it’s how they used this garland that really works. You can use it to take up a whole wall with this elegant swag. Via Pinterest, by Fellow Fellow on Etsy.
I love the watery, washy quality of these painted book pages from Lilla A. What if they are strung up around a room, sort of like the traditional Tibetan prayer flags? Hmmm….
Don’t rule out paper chains as a totally viable throw-back DIY garland. They are super simple to make and you can craft a lot of them to really fill a space. Via Pinterest, via Parcel Post.
I think adding a little glitter twinkle into the mix is a good idea. I love how these strips of fabric looked dipped in glitter. And the idea of my guests leaving with a little glitter in their hair is just plain nice. Via Pinterest, by Michelle Edgemont.
If you tried to register for Alt Summit NYC, then you know the agony that I went through on Friday at 12pm EST. Servers crashing…error messages…it was nasty. And sadly, I didn’t get a spot.
But, by the grace of the design-blogger gods, I got an email yesterday that, in fact, I’m in! I just had to finish my registration and click submit. Best submit button ever.
This photo illustrates my extreme elation that I get to rub elbows with the craftiest ladies of the interweb!
{Precious bird and bunny garland from Parents.com.}
So, I didn’t grow up celebrating Easter, and every year that I worked at Parents magazine, I needed a refresher as to how Easter worked. What happens with the eggs? Do you hide the ones you decorate? Do you hard-boil them and eat them? And the bunny…what’s his role again? I swear, I have the whole Christmas-Santa-Mistletoe thing down, but Easter confounds me every year.
But, this confusion in no way reflects upon my awe of the Easter Egg. This will be the first of a few Easter craft posts, I imagine…so I’ll start with what is its own miraculous transformation—the plastic Easter egg. Scroll down and you’ll see ways to use it that have nothing to do with Easter!
These play teacups are made from half of a plastic Easter egg and a button glued to the bottom to make it stable. By Creativity in Progress.
I’m obsessed with these plastic egg maracas made by MADE.
Put an educational spin on your plastic eggs with this letter matching game from Playing House.
I believe these are a product, but how cute would this chicken egg be as a craft? Note to self. Found on Lulusoso.
I’m not sure that there has been an invention of a craft material in my lifetime as monumental as washi tape. I can’t get enough of the stuff. I’m hard-pressed to find a tacky washi-tape project. If I see it in a store, I can’t not touch it. Should I see a doctor? Maybe. There are a gazillion awesome uses for the stuff; here are totally clever (and simple) ways to use washi tape on your walls.
I thought I’d just finish out this week of family/photo love with a little post about creative ways to preserve keepsakes. Right now, I have 2 boxes, one for each kid, where I toss all of the little meaningful objects from their short lives…their hospital bracelets, their Welcome to the World cards, their sonogram photos. At some point I’m going to need a new solution. Here are a few thoughts…
I’m so crazy about the lovely shadow boxes pictured above. They are just the right amount of delicate, with their soft colors and simple white edging. For the life of me, I can’t figure out where they are from (if you know, leave a comment!), but I think they are pretty DIYable. Image via Pinterest.
Have you ever seen Darcy Miller‘s (from Martha Stewart Weddings) scrapbook shadow boxes? They’re amazing.
I love the idea of this sweet book keepsake box for love letters, gift tags, or photographs. Image via One Sunny Afternoon.
And for the most nostalgic (read: sappy), I can’t get enough of these clean and modern, enamel lockets. I’d love to wear a few together. (Husband, if you’re reading, bookmark this.)
