Ski Cap Candles

If these don't make you giggle, I don't even know why we're talking. Its a white ceramic candle. With a ski cap on! And one of them is named Ralphie, for corn's sake. And another has my son's name!

Anthropologie does it again. Find these beauts here.

From the Desk of A.J. - Happy Birthday Sesame Street!

One of the things that I enjoy most about being a mama is introducing things and experiences that I loved as a kid to my little dude. I watch his face and wait for the expression or noise that will let me know he loves it too.

The boy wonder is just about to turn 16 months and we are just starting to watch TV. Not a lot…but he knows what it is and if I let him…I think he would have it on all day long. This is tough for me….because T.V. is like my crack. So…I turn it off and thank the powers that be for DVR.

The first and only show that I was excited to sit down with him & watch was and still is Sesame Street. Of course you all say. Every morning, we wake up…get dressed….head downstairs. I pour my coffee (uh…first things first…am I right?), pour his milk, we have our breakfast…then sit down and watch who and what is happening on “The Street”.

I love that he loves it…scares me how quickly he became obsessed with Elmo (that little dude must have some sort of Jedi mind tricks…how does he hook those babes soooo fast?). Watching Sesame Street as an adult…I have a new appreciation for it. The artistic value (uhm…every sort of medium is used in, like, every single show…amazing)…the music, the morals…all of it. I am happy to say…I am a born again sesame-er…and loving it.

This week…the whole gang celebrates its 40th anniversary. New shows started this week (thank goodness…as much I love it…I was soooooo ready for some new letters and numbers:). I logged onto the website (I know…first Diet Coke…now Sesame Street)…and I was not disappointed. It’s amazing of course. Free games, videos, songs, coloring pages to print off of your ‘puter…goods to buy (which all of the proceeds go directly back to the Sesame Workshop) parenting tips ( “Are You Ready To Potty?”)…& ways you can give back to the Workshop (‘cause these muppets give and give and give to millions of children around the world).

For one hour a day…we watch together. He and his sippy cup…me and my coffee cup, with Muppets of 40 years and other mamas and babes in over 140 countries. That is one big block party:)

Find Sesame Street here. (hey, I just told you how to get to Sesame Street!) :)

Bit of Whimsy - Dolls and Patterns

Are you thinking about Christmas presents yet? Because I am! I found these dolls a while back and stored them away in my bookmarks, filed under presents, and am sooooo excited to get to work on some of these goodies for Christmas presents!! While she does an amazing job on all her dolls and little creatures herself, Bit of Whimsy also sells PDF patterns for all of her creations! I've bought two patterns (and I'm not saying which two yet!) and am so pleased with them. She emailed the patterns, I printed them out and I'm already half way through my first creation. Simple, sweet, and handmade. Who wouldn't love that for Christmas? There's a pattern for almost every little one on your list. Cute dolls, animals, and monsters, boy or girl you're covered!

Check out Bit of Whimsy here.

Happy Weekend!

Its starting to feel a little more like fall around here. With the temperature dipping all the way into the seventies and all. ;) It has been so nice to be able to take our afternoon walk without needing to shower after, and we've been able to stay out longer so we can accomplish very important business like building fairy houses and hunting for owl pellets. I picked up these potted dahlias above and love them so much I don't want to put them outside like I planned. We've also been enjoying this book my Nana recently passed down to us, My Book House. Published first in 1934 it has the loveliest illustrations and collections of short stories and poems. It tickles me to read poems by Keats and William Blake to my rapt three year old! My pictures here really don't do justice to the illustrations. They take me right back to an old collection of Fairy Tales I had when I was little, I would pore over those intricate illustrations of princesses and monsters. How about you, is there a certain book or type of book that you remember loving when you were little?

Hope you enjoy your fall weekend! We're off to collect pine cones, my daughter has demanded we need them to make bird feeders. I've never done that before, so we'll see how it turns out! :)

Heart Tattoo

Snapped a pic of one of our orders this week. Hope this mama loves her gift as much as we do! :)

From the Desk of A.J. - Unique L.A.

So…we are sooooooo excited to announce that Pinky Swear Designs has been accepted to the UNIQUE LA gift show. What’s UNIQUE LA you ask? Here’s the 411…

Last year a fabulously creative gal (founder Sonja Rasula) who is a do-er not just a talker, put together a gift show featuring up and coming artisans. She got loads of fabu people to support her (uhm…Etsy, Barefoot Wine, Oh Snap…I can go on and on) and she brought together about 300 vendors in the winter and spring and brought said artisans goods to the mass of shoppers...and I mean shoppers, who are the ones who get the "steal this look from the streets" pics into the mags. (*shhhh* one of Oprah's editors was seen at the Spring show looking for "her favs"...and tons of celebrities...I'm just sayin').

Held in downtown LA in a glorious penthouse (hello…just under 10,000 sq ft!)…you can shop your heart out…and know that your moolah will be going to private, struggling entrepreneurs who are taking over the world…one creative juice at a time. I love, love, love, that there are more and more platforms for us small business owners to strut our stuff, side by side , and really make a statement.

UNIQUE LA will have a lounge, (yep…for all you alchies…the beer and wine is FREE), café (snack time anyone?) , craft room ( compliments of ETSY…for kids and kids at heart), green room (for all eco-friendly merchandise), women’s, men’s, and baby sections for you to shop…along with new food lines, stationary, and accessories of course…really…you name it…and you can buy it here ( All while listening to some kick ass music provided by an onsight DJ). What a great way to get all your holiday shopping done. Also…prices are from A to Z…so your wallet…however big or small…will be happy.

It will be the weekend of Dec. 5th and 6th. Tickets will go on sale shortly (oh...did I mention...they'll be about $5-$10 bucks...but all goes to charity , we'll keep you posted) so mark your calendars…even though this will be the first of many reminders:)

Again…we are super excited and honored to be chosen as their “best of the best” vendors…we think we’re unique and awesome…but it sure is a great feeling when someone else thinks it too;)

Find more information here.

FontCapture

*my son filling out his form to create his own font

I'd read about fontcapture awhile ago and thought it was cool, but didn't really see how I could use it till I saw this idea from Filth Wizadry. Fontcapture allows you to create a font on your computer using your own handwriting, all for free. The mama behind the blog at Filth Wizadry came up with the brilliant idea of creating a font using her young children's handwriting. Her girls were old enough to write their letters and numbers, but still to young to write words and sentences. So she created the font and now uses it to write thank you notes and letters from her girls to whomever. So cute! I can't wait to create a font for my son, I think he'll be really excited about seeing his letters create words and sentences.

Find Fontcapture here and the post by Filth Wizadry here!