Happy Thanksgiving! xo, Thomasina & friends!

Okay, it's a couple days late... 

I am especially thankful this year for wonderful supportive friends who make all the difference when life isn't so perfect. You know who you are and you're great. Thank You! I'm lucky :)

Hope you enjoyed a lovely time with your family and friends!

xo, A

Margaret, the early years...

My good friend, Margaret Heidenry wrote this fascinating article for the Sunday New York Times Magazine. On newsstands and online now- 
My Parents Were Educational (Home-Schooling) Anarchists 

The Heidenry family in Mexico 1975 (Margaret on railing at 4 years old)

"Tired of the constraints of the 40-hour workweek, my father, in 1972, quit his job in publishing. My parents were in their early 30s, and they had four children under 7. “But we still wanted to explore the world,” my father recalled recently. They bought six one-way tickets to Europe, leaving only a laughable $3,000 to subsist on. Young and idealistic, they thought they could easily educate us along the way. “Life itself would become a portable classroom.” Read more ...

One of  my favorite pictures of Margaret with her dad, Jack walking her down the aisle.

It's a great read, whether you are for or against (any amount of)  home-schooling. I've enjoyed reading comments after the piece online,  some of the conversation gets quite heated! I had to add my two cents about one of my favorite families-

I've been a friend of Margaret's for over 20 years and know her family fairly well, too. Over the years I've heard bits and pieces about their unorthodox upbringing, but this was eye opening. The transition from home school to public school sounds rough, but the early years of travel and a curriculum that included yoga, tea time & Spanish sounds great. Maybe that combination of experiences with a formal education paid off, because Pat and Jack raised four unusually charming, intelligent and well rounded people! They're an enviably close knit family which must have contributed a great deal to their success as adults. It's inspiring to read about people willing to break from the norm and also recognize when it's time to try something else.

It was a thrill to see this in print this morning. I love looking at the old photos with Mary, James and John as kids & of course the anarchists themselves, Pat & Jack Heidenry ;) 

Nice job Margaret! No wonder you're such an interesting fun lady.

If you don't have a copy of this Sunday's New York Times, you can read it online here. 

Have a great Sunday! 

xo, A

For the Love of Etsy!

I have a renewed, refreshed, revived love of Etsy, the world's most vibrant handmade marketplace :) 

Not sure why I was gone so long as a seller. As a consumer, Etsy is often on my mind. After purchasing jewelry from favorite shops, Nest Pretty Things and Sora Designs a lovely carved elephant from Sandra Healy and plenty of fabric, trim and craft books from This & That from Japan (despite my lack of sewing ability) I decided I should give my shop another go. Up top you can see my new header and here is a sampling of the cards and  prints I recently added. 

See more at my store and check out a few of my talented friends' new shops too- Jordan Spilman, JaneKirby and Kristin Brenneman Eno's Halflight 

Below are just some of my latest faves--

                                                   

                                                         Doberman Print by Jordan Spilman

                                     

                                                           Earrings by Nest Pretty Things 

                                      

                                                           Art Print by Little Brown Pen

                                      

                                                  Toddler Fox dress by Wild Things Dresses

                                     

                                                          Woodland Bear by Sleepy King

                                     

                                               Painting- Nautical Menagerie by Lisa Congdon

                                     

                                                      Crochet Small Monkey by Millie Fern

Click to see more of My Favorites :) Trust me, you'll see some really cute, pretty and fabulous decor, jewelry, toys, art & photography! I love that you can easily bookmark faves, just in case you can't afford to buy it all at once.

*and don't wait til it's too late to order your Christmas & Holiday Cards!! 

xo, A

Hello November!

Yesterday, I painted my monthly door for If I Were A Toy store here in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Some of you will remember last November's door, Thomasina Blows Outta Brooklyn! She made it out in the nick of time. This year, she enjoys a vegetarian Thanksgiving with her friends in the forest :) 

Dinner was my mom's lovely idea, I just knew I'd like to show Thomasina again. Somehow her feathers this year are blue, not red. hmmm

I love lanterns and dogs in hats :)

Cat trying to get in on the action!

I hate being in the way of people walking into the store, but everyone is so nice and I love hearing what kids think.Yesterday, a little boy asked me if I was painting the wind. I'm glad he could tell, since this sky is pretty active looking.

This is my sketch.

Hope your November is off to a nice start! 

Don't forget to turn back your clocks Saturday night. 

Have a swell weekend!! xo, A