1. Happy November! To warm us up, enjoy Korean artist Selynn Lee’s cozy animal paintings. Her earthy brown-rust palette is very autumnal and a nice way to anticipate Thanksgiving.
Selynn currently lives in Frankfurt, Germany, and is all about creating pictures that depict joy and make her laugh.
She loves to travel internationally and learn new languages. She’s been drawing animals since childhood.
Her art caught my eye because of my love of foxes and bears. I like the idea of different animal species peacefully co-existing. 🙂
To purchase cards, prints, and stickers, visit SelynnDraws (Etsy). Larger prints are available at InPrint. Most recent work may be found at Selynn’s Instagram.
1. Few things make me happier than the thought of Dim Sum, so this delectable giclée print by Ellen Blonder pretty much gets me where I live. The watercolor paintings are from Ellen’s wonderful book, Dim Sum: The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch (Clarkson Potter, 2002). Love the precise detail and quiet beauty of her work.
Also available is this print featuring art from Ellen’s award winning cookbook Every Grain of Rice: A Taste of Our Chinese Childhood in America (1998), which she co-wrote with Annabel Low. Both prints are signed, available in several sizes and are printed with archival-quality ink on acid-free paper. Gorgeous!
Be sure to visit Ellen’s website to see more of her exquisite paintings and her impressive list of awards, commercial clients and projects. Prints are available at her Etsy Shop.
*ETA: Ellen is on a short break, and will re-open her shop March 15.
Since 2017 is the year of the Rooster, here’s one of Ellen’s rooster paintings (she lives on Kaua’i where roosters run free).
This inspiring new collection by Margaret Bloom builds on the success of her first book Making Peg Dolls. With peg dolls at the heart of each design, you’ll discover how easy it is to create toys which fly and spin, pin cushions, herbal pocket friends, wall-hangings, and much more. All projects are richly illustrated throughout with hand-drawn diagrams and full color photos.
The easy-to-follow instructions will guide you through a selection of simple and more advanced designs. Many of the projects are suitable for young children and will only take an hour or two to complete. Interwoven with poems, songs and stories, the projects can engage the whole family in the art of crafting and playing with these magical toys!
These dolls, which come from the Waldorf handcraft tradition, are so sweet and will inspire hours of imaginative play and storytelling. Don’t you want to enter this tiny world of enchantment?
Oh, and my foodie self was especially happy to see tutorials for making a peg doll dining table and tiny cakes (!) at Margaret’s blog, We Bloom Here, where she regularly features fun projects for the whole family to enjoy. 🙂
1. Well, now, here’s something I haven’t done before: get my daily dose of Vitamin C from a pair of boots! Orange you just tickled by these? Certainly a fun way to brighten up a rainy day.
In case you haven’t noticed, I have a “thing” for fake food. When I visited Japan years ago, I LOVED all the fake food dishes displayed in the restaurant windows. They looked very realistic and handily solved the problem of not being able to read the menu. 🙂
Ramen
Dan Dan Noodles
Sausage Variety Plate
Fake Food Hatanaka sells these orange boots and other accessories, along with plates and bowls of amazing deliciousness: Chinese, Japanese, or Western food, sweets, fruits, sandwiches, and drinks. They also do miniatures if you’re a dollhouse person. Get Google to translate the Japanese to English on the site, purchase via Paypal, and you’re all set!
Liz and Jimmy Reed, the creators of the Cuddles and Rage webcomic, have whipped up a truly delectable picture book debut featuring the antics of competitive twin cherries who will do anything to outsweet er, outsmart one another.
For this pair of twin cherries, everything is a competition. If Girl Cherry can swing higher, Boy Cherry will boast that he can swing lower. If one is smarter, then the other is cooler. So when they enter a contest to build the best dessert ever, they immediately pit themselves against each other. But when you’re attached at the stem, there’s only so much you can do on your own. Things could be easy as pie so to speak if they put aside their differences and join forces. Will Boy Cherry and Girl Cherry cream the competition by working together or will one try to be the cherry on top?
With loveable characters and laugh-out-loud situations, Sweet Competition is the perfect addition to any child’s bookshelf.After all, there’s always room for dessert!
‘Tis that time of year once again to shift into gift-giving mode. Here are some lovely and fun ideas for the poetry lovers on your list, or for adding to your personal holiday Wish List. Click on each image for descriptions and prices.
Shakespeare’s English Breakfast Tea by Steep Show Teas (Emily Dickinson Garden Jasmine and Poe’s Midnight Blend also available)
Emily Dickinson “Not in Vain” Poetry Book Pendant by Red Quadrant
Handmade letter-stamped poetry quote large serving dish (can be personalized) by LoveArtWorks
Emily Brooch (oil painting on wood OOAK) by Mrs. Peggotty Arts
Robert Frost Miniature Doll by Uneek Doll Designs (many other literary figures available)
Poetry Text Steel Book Ends by Knob Creek Metal Arts
Poe-ka Dots Tote by Out of Print
Rumi Quote Stoneware Clay and Ice Agate Sign in Gilders Paste by Hidden Fire Pottery
Poets Gift Pack (notecards, bookmark, magnet) by artsyletters
Shelley Gold-filled Pendant by Pangaea Designs
Shakespeare Action Figure at Annie’s Tea Time (on sale!)
Fleetwood Mac “Sara” Glass Tile Pendant by Lyrical Lady
Shakespeare Book Purse by Novel Creations
Handmade Cummings ceramic quote tag by Kylie Johnson
Romeo and Juliet Infinity Book Scarf by storiarts
Edgar Allan Poe Porcelain Soup Bowl by More Than Porcelain
Emily “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” Gold-plated Pewter Necklace by Heart Felt by Foxy
Shakespeare Insult T-shirt at Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Haiku 2015 Calendar (Art Gallery of Greater Victoria)
Poetry on Record 4-disc Box Set – Grammy-nominated collection featuring rare recordings of poets like Whitman, Cummings, Tennyson, Yeats, Ginsberg, Stafford, Plath, Frost, and Bukowski reading their own work.
Do you have any other gift suggestions for poetry lovers? Please share in the comments!
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Becky is hosting this week’s Roundup at Tapestry of Words. Click through to check out the full menu of poetic goodness being served up in the blogosphere today. Enjoy your weekend!
Jama's Alphabet Soup 