Bats!

The Columbus Zoo has recently added a bunch of cool new exhibits. Our new FAVORITE are these bats. They are so awesome and creepy at the same time!

It's hard to tell from these shots, but they have a wing span of 6 feet!! If one happened to chase me, on a dark night, I would definitely be afraid!!

There is lots of vampire talk in our house, and the bigger kids were super excited to meet these guys. {D} is even convinced that one waved at him.

Comfest Weekend!!

We headed out to Comfest for the day. It was super HOT, but lots of fun. For my Friday show and tell, I'll showcase a few of the lovely ladies I got to chat with today at the event.

For anyone local, who has never been to Comfest, come on down! It's three days of great live music, a tons of talented artists and crafters and beer..what more could you want?

Check out these cool artists on Etsy or at Comfest this weekend:
Mary Moon Designs , AmyD, Wish ArtGlass, Little alouette...and there are TONS more to see.

See you tomorrow at Goodale Park!

Pucker up!

The kids pine cone collection, freshly picked off a tree.

Thanks to Anne for the great sun hat. They kids took turns wearing it all day. It was decorated it with pinecones at the end of the day.

-Edited to add some pictures from this year.

Once Upon A Time...

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess. She spent her days drawing, laughing and trying to convince someone to play wedding with her. [ANYONE-anyone over the age of one that is]

The convincing part was not an easy task, and many days would pass between the time she finally got someone to agree.

Finally the groom broke down and said, yes. Yes, I will play wedding with you for 10 minutes! The problem now was a veil, for the perfect pretty princess, bride needs the very most perfect pretty bride veil ever!

This one is too long says the sad girl.

This one is too short!

What do you think of this one? Is it just right? This is what you get when the groom has to watch you try on veil, after veil after veil.




Yay!! Finally a smile and the very most perfect, pink, pretty princess veil!




And the groom............after he gets the bill for all those veils!

Goats & Dad

We spent Father's Day at the Zoo. The Columbus Zoo has a really fun petting farm for the kids. It's mostly goats and sheep, but the kids could care less, they are just excited to get to touch something at the zoo!
It was a fun way to get out of the house and spend some quality time with Dad.

This was {L}'s first time inside the petting farm. I am so in LOVE with this shot. It's hilarious!!! His face says everything, " Yeah, I heard them say you were safe........but I'm keeping and eye on you SIR! Don't make any quick moves" .

I was really surprised that he was a little apprehensive about the animals. This from the child who has never been afraid of anything in his life. Normal "scary kid" things make him laugh.

Also they had this ever so lovely log for the goats. {L} squealed in delight and ran over to it as if it were his long lost twin. Yes, he enjoyed the log just as much, if not more than the animals. Sigh, what can I say?

Happy Father's Day to all the great Dad's out there!

Friday Feature!

Today's Feature Friday highlights some cool artists I have recently met. While collecting promo's for the Westerville Show, I've had the chance to chat with the lovely women from Stymiepie Studios and Happy Cloud Moments. Enjoy!

This Lucite Calla Lilly hair comb would have been THE perfect touch for my wedding. Calla Lillies were our flowers. Happy Cloud Moments $18.00

Happy Cloud Moments have some beautiful glass jewelry that any fairy would covet. I love the use of color and sparkle in this piece: Princess Mori Necklace

Hand painted, personalized wipes case. We "need" them, so why not have a really pretty one!! $12.00

My kids are so into fairies right now. You can find them searching our yard for fairies or clues that they were here. This beautiful print is from Stymiepie Studios. You can find a great selection of art prints and personalized banks, pictures and frames. Check her out!

Have a great weekend everyone! Anyone have any fun plans?

moustache

While drawing today, {D} accidentally made a small mark in pen on his face. He came to show me and was SHOCKED when I drew him a moustache to hide the mark. The kids are often told not to draw on themselves, so my actions went directly against my own rules.
I guess it's a case of do as I say, not as I do!

The baby has been trying to grab it off his face all day-hilarious!

A small peak into my studio

With the studio starting to come together, I'd thought I'd share a glimmer of what's happening inside the Kunklebaby space. I've been working on some colorful new blankets. [I'll debut a bunch of new stuff at the Westerville show next month]

My curtains and a print from Art and Ghosts. I am SO in love with this artist. I have two of her pieces in my studio. Her work is beautiful, very detailed with a dream like quality.

New fabric covered bulletin board.

Quilt pieces--these two are some of my most favorite work so far.

Meow-kitties getting ready for the show. I'll have a whole litter waiting to be adopted at the show. Although if these two don't find new homes, my kids have called dibs already. I found that awesome glass jar at a yard sale for $1! Score!

Buttons and thread. That doll was mine when I was a wee one. It's from either Mexico or El Salvador [I don't remember]. It's cool and I love that I still have it.

My dress form and a print from YumiYumi- another Columbus artist. Her work is awesome and she is so nice too! I got to meet her at Tiny Canary last year.

Bits and pieces on another yard sale find. A Kromex serving tray-made in Cleveland, Ohio, my home town. It was only $2 and still had the cool, vintage box

Some books for inspirations and patterns.

Hope you like getting a peak at my work space. I spend so much time in here, I cannot wait until everything is done!

Happy Weekend!

Yay-the weekend has arrived! I don't think I have ever been so happy. It was a long week and I am looking forward to spending some time with my husband. We have the farmers market in the morning and then we are going to go scouting for textiles to upcycle at some yard sales and thrift stores. Which reminds me, I've found some awesome stuff the past few weeks. I need to take a few pictures and show it off here.

I have so much sewing to get done too! {L} is in need of some shorts/pants. Nothing from the store that fits in length, ever fits in his waist. I've given up looking and just make all his pants for now.

I have to get going on my inventory for the Westerville Music & Arts fest. The show is July 11-12, and it's coming up quick and I can't wait to mingle with some new customers and show off my new work. This will be the first time Kunklebaby will be at the event and I am excited!

Here's a glimpse at a piece I am currently working on. The fabric is from the Momo Wonderland line and it's so pretty. Floral with bold colors and shapes, but oh so girlie. -love-

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Garden Wish Flags

Lately I have been really inspired by Tibetan Prayer Flags. They seem to wander into my mind at the strangest of times recently. I enjoy reading the Maya Made blog and she made some for her family garden.

We had been talking about a few different things to spruce up the garden, and I knew this would be it. We had to put up a large piece of lattice to block the dog from the garden. We tried several other things last year and with a dog that jumps and Bowie would just charge anything....this was our final solution! It works great, but it's ugly.

I used upcycled sheets cut into squares and had the children decorate them with fabric markers. There is a flag for rain, sun, growing, no bugs and some flower ones. After each square was completed, they were sewn together with a strip of bias tape. Quick, fun and meaningful to both the kids and parents!

I love looking out the window and watching the children's artwork dance in the breeze. Whenever I am in a grumpy mood I stare at them and realize how much I have to be joyful about. I love the creativity and love that is always present in our home.

Shop Update

Some fun new things have been added to the shop, including the Blue Lotus Gift Set below. I have more ready that I will be adding throughout the week. Lots of pretty girl bibs and some really great blankets for baby boys.

I also have a number of works in progress, like the mermaid blanket shown. Although I'm not sure it will ever make it to the shop because I am SO in love with it. Hmmm....maybe we need to put in an order for a baby girl. Then I'll have a reason to keep it...other than for myself.

Faces

The many faces of {L} enjoying the festival. We had some some smiles, drool, shock, anger and boredom. He's super dramatic and always making silly faces. It was fun to just sit fora bit and capture them!
Enjoy your day-smile, laugh and giggle.

Egyptian Royalty!

{D} is really into zombies, vampires..and Mummies! He's been asking to go to the latest exhibit at the art museum.



We have been so busy that we just didn't have time to fit it in. I was so excited we made it for the last weekend.

At the very end, they have a room filled with clothing, crowns and head pieces that all showcase the clothing of the emperors and queens. The kids were thrilled to dress up. I snapped a few quick photo's in their new roles. {M} said ALL day long, I'm and Egyptian Princess-that's so cool!



It was fun and the pieces they had were really interesting.

Columbus Art's Fest 2009

The annual Arts Fest was this past weekend. It was so much fun! I got to see all kinds of awesome, unique artists, listen to some music and have fun with the kids.

We typically only go once, but this year added another trip. Friday night we checked out all the work and just kinda hung out. Saturday we hit all the kids activities and finally got to see the Egyptian Exhibit at the Columbus Arts Museum.

The kids made tie-dye flags, origami books, badges, bug masks and had their faces painted. {M} went with the Egyptian princess, and {D} picked and arm plate with the eye of Ra. He didn't want to smudge his work with his sunglasses-lol.

{L} was happy as always. He spent the day waving at dogs and other children....and smiling, at everyone!

Summer Weather!

The roses are blooming, the plants are growing in the garden, seeds are sprouting, kids running-plenty of simple fun to be found in the yard.

It's so fun to watch {L} experience everything for the first time. The other day while planting, he was really interested in the dirt and mud. I gave him a clump so he could feel the texture and weight. He took a GIANT bite! With a mouthful of mud, he ran off. After chasing him and having to extract the dirt [yes, you'd think he would spit it out-no] he has a dirt smile for the next hour.

It's silly memories like that I cherish. Taking the time to stop and think what is really important is so useful. Sometimes when life seems difficult this will help us realize things are not bad after all!

We value the time we have together more than any objects, or a bigger house. We don't need more stuff, just each other. I think Summer is a great time for this. Children can play with grass, bugs, dirt-lol. It's the time and experience that makes it fun, not stuff!

Have a lovely weekend everyone! We will be visiting the Columbus Arts Fest. So many great artists showcased there and a HUGE section for kids to create and interact. They have a tent for the kids to purchase art donated by the artists. It's so awesome. Only kids are allowed inside and the most expensive pieces are $5. This starts the love of art early! My kids are always THRILLED to bring home their very own original art. [Mama too].

One of my favorite events in the city....and in a few weeks, Comfest! YAY!!