Bibliosophy Handmade

Monday Pretty

My friends know that I have rather predictable and catholic taste in literature; any English novel, preferably the older ones, or British mysteries: Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers.  So of course I was delighted to discover Persephone Books, which reprints (mainly British) women writers of the 20th century.  And my favorite discovery of theirs so far has been authoress D.E. Stevenson.  She wrote many books, my favorite being Miss Buncle's Book.  All of her books are a delight though, and, as she wrote mid-20th century, you may be able to find a handful of her work at your local library, as I did.  Happy reading!

Vintage Kids Book Fridays: Harry the Dirty Dog

Welcome back for another great vintage kids read!

I recently happened upon a cheap copy of Harry the Dirty Dog at a secondhand store, and I was taken with the cover illustration; it just looked old, and in my mind old=good.  I brought it home and only then realized what a treasure it is.  My children LOVE Harry and his adventures.

Like last weeks book, Harry the Dirty Dog deals with very common, everyday situations in a little dog's world.  It is the writing, and the illustrations that make the story memorable.  This time, Harry runs away from home because he doesn't want to take a bath; comes back completely filthy, and must somehow convince his unrecognizing family that he is really their missing Harry.  It's funny, and sweet, and I love the three color illustrations, very common in old books as a way to save printing costs.

Share your week's find in the comments!

 

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Thursday Pretty: Presents

Aren't these the most delicious-looking felt cookies you've ever seen?  And the little fabric tea bag?  We have some very thoughtful friends; my little 3 year old was gifted these for her birthday, and my kids have all had such fun with them! 

Wednesday Pretty: New cards

New card set inspired by chicken scratch embroidery; now available in the Shop!

Tuesday Projects: Stained glass eggs

We made these oh-so-simple and fun stained glass Easter eggs at art group yesterday.  Here is the process we used:

Mom prepares crayon shavings (use a cheese grater or pencil sharpener), set aside in a bowl

Tear off a rectangle of wax paper for each child and let them color all over with bright crayons.  You could also use this as a chance to teach about patterns, and encourage them to use lines, dots, etc. to form repeating designs.

Then, spread a glue stick all over the wax paper and let the children stick pieces of light colored tissue to their paper.

Now, take the picture to a prepared adult-manned ironing station, and let the child sprinkle crayon shavings over their picture.  Cover with another rectangle of wax paper and iron on low-medium until crayon melts and wax paper sticks together.  Dry, and cut out your egg shape!

Really pretty results for minimal materials.

Monday Pretty: A Third Birthday Party

Oh my.  Do you know how long I've been waiting to throw a little girl birthday party?  Many a long year.  My new big three-year old was thrilled to have a party just for her.  A Mommy and Me tea, with a few sweet friends.

I pretty much used what I already had, my Laura Ashley floral tea set, some vintage hankies, felt scraps to make flowers for their hats (from the $1 bins at Target), and these neat color-page placemats that she got for Christmas.  The fabric garlands were made with scraps from sewing projects, and a few tissue paper flowers.

It was so fun and lovely, and really a thrill for me to see her get to play with other little girls. So very, very different than most of the play around here which is initiated by an older brother.  Much more peaceful, in other words:)

 

Vintage Kids Book Fridays: Flicka Ricka Dicka Bake a Cake

Welcome back for more vintage book fun! 

This week's read is Flicka Ricka Dicka Bake a Cake, by Maj Lindman.  Maj Lindman was a Swedish author and illustrator who created the three Swedish sisters, Flicka, Ricka, and Dicka.  As she descibes them at the beginning of each book, they were "three sisters who lived in Sweden.  They had blue eyes and yellow curls."

Each book in the series follows the girls on a simple everyday advenure; this time they decide, with the help of Aunt Betty, to bake their mother a birthday cake.

I find the illustrations very charming, and I love the old-fashioned settings; it inspires lots of curiosity in my children.

There are so many things to love about this book, but I think the distinctive Swedish design aesthetic that come through is my favorite.  Lindman sticks to a color palette of red and white, blue and yellow, but her illustrations remain interesting.  The stories always have a character-building element too; in Bake a Cake, the girls forget the cake in the oven while they are playing and it gets ruined.  They go through disappointment to perseverance, and try again, being careful to pay attention to the time.

Our local library doesn't have these books, but they are easily accessible through Amazon.  The paperback versions are quite nice, and somehow stay in better condition in our home than hardbacks do.

If you have a great vintage kids read too, please link up in the comments!

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Wednesday Pretty: Pink

(new floral notecard set now in the Shop)

Tuesday Projects: St. Patrick's Day

We host a little art group on Monday mornings for our neighborhood friends, and this week we took some small measures to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  Pepper printing was a hit; super-fun, super-easy, plus the novelty of making art with vegetables never wears off:)

And rainbow collages.  It helps with this project if you use small-ish paper (8.5 x 11" is fine), and precolor a rainbow with crayon on the paper for each child.  Then set out your collection of colorful bits and bobs and glue, and it's easy for the kids to match up the colors.  My very orderly, takes-after-his-engineer-dad son did this collage.  I LOVE how he lines things up. 

Pinterest of course has all kinds of fun St. Patrick's activities, and we will be celebrating again on Sunday with some friends and the true story of St. Patrick.  A lovely read to teach your children his story is Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland, by Tomie De Paola.

Monday Pretty: Party Prep

We've got a third birthday party coming up here this week!