And the winner is.....

Andrea has won the bear giveaway! As you can see, it was a bit of an aggressive draw, because paper is fun to eat.

I will be contacting you shortly for mailing instructions, Andrea.

Thank you to all who entered. 

But wait! There's more!

I am a big fan of consolation rounds. 

As promised in an earlier post this week, there will be a bonus draw. So just when you thought this giveaway was over, it isn't!!! All of the original entries (minus Andrea) will be once again thrown into a bowl and a second name will be picked at random. The winner will be the recipient of another original Koo & Poppet creation, to be unveiled on Monday!

Just a reminder.....

You can do so here

The winner will be chosen at 12pm PST on Friday, July 31st!

Cat on a Wire by echarrow

What's not to love about this mischevious cat on a wire? I love his scraggly claws the best (click to enlarge). And I love the tail feathers. And the off-kilter eyes. And the unlikely traitor. See more in echarrow's Etsy shop.

Luminara in the Park

This past Saturday was Luminara, the annual Lantern Festival in Victoria. Anyone and everyone is invited to make a lantern and wander about Beacon Hill Park in the night. Unfortunately we didn't get to see everything lit up in the dark because a summer thunderstorm passed by overhead and lit up the sky instead! There was even a rainbow at about 8pm......very appropriate for the colorful masses of people who come out for this event. It's kind of like Halloween, Mardi Gras, and Chinese New Year all rolled into one.

Christmas in July

I have been listening to this song "Skinny Love" all weekend, which is strange because it couldn't feel more like summer here on the west coast and Bon Iver literally means "good winter" (close enough). The songs on this album (called For Emma, Forever Ago) were written while Bon Iver was holed up in a cabin in the woods over a span of an unspecified number of chilly days. My friend Leah would call this track "hauntingly whimsical." Myself, I can practically feel the cozy scarf wrapped around my neck and smell the firewood......but I also think it has a real summery quality to it too. I imagine listening to this song at dusk on a beach after a long hot day, the majority of which was spent barefoot.  

There are certain albums that will forever conjure up memories of seasons for me. Sarah Harmer's I'm A Mountain is pure winter. So is Norah Jones' Come Away With Me. Ron Sexmith is Autumn, and Bruce Springsteen, The Shins, and R.E.M. are summer, summer, summer. Tracy Chapman's title album is the summer when I was seven, if we're going to get specific.

I'd love to hear which albums represent seasons for you, or even certain years of your life. And what do you think about "Skinny Love"? Is it a solstice? Or perhaps an Equinox?

Chance's fifteen minutes

I hate to admit it, but it's sometimes hard for me to part with these little creatures. I get attached to them, even though I know it's foolish.

But here is proof that Chance (likes: taking risks, dislikes: naps) has found a wonderful home. Word is, he's patiently waiting for the birth of his new BFF, whose parents took Chance along with them for a photo shoot with Rebecca Wellman.

This little misfit fellow is soon to be well-loved, and he knows it.

::www.rebeccawellmanphotography.com::

Featured treasure

Oh, how I covet these lovely items I've recently received from afar!

Strawberry pancakes felt food: BeckyM

Learn-to-Sew vintage cards: foundpaperco

Matching While I Hike: mamakopp

Turquoise flower earrings: BeadinBabe

I heart you, Etsy.

And Jennifer (check out her gorgeous shop) was kind enough to pass along the heads up that Fredrick the Fox was featured in Etsy's Woodland Gift Guide! Do us proud, little Fred, do us proud.

p.s. Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY! I am in such a great mood that I might just have to choose two winners! Wait and see.......

Koo & Poppet GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to my first official giveaway! I'm very excited. The winner will receive this one-of-a-kind Koo & Poppet bear:

This bear is made with a very beautiful dark green (almost black) natural wool fabric, and accented with a beige linen tummy and beige wool face. 

Now, I'm assuming many of you are very familiar with how these giveaways usually work, but here's what you need to do to qualify:

1. Post a comment (make sure you leave me some way to contact you) in which you provide a name for this little bear;

2. Link back to this giveaway either from your blog or twitter page (or even facebook);

3. Join the friends list down the right sidebar of this page

I will name a winner on July 31st from a random draw! 

Two Years

It isn't easy to pick the best memory that came out of our wedding day, two years ago today. There's the one about the impromptu "Party Bus" that provided the stage (literally) for the afterparty; the flying snot monster I accidentally blew out of my nose while trying to hold back tears during my thank you speech at the rehearsal dinner - that's worth mentioning too; and I also like the one about the small group of out-of-town wedding guests that found themselves skinny-dipping in a lake (quite far from the wedding site) at three-thirty in the morning.

But of all the memories from that day that I like to think back on to conjure up some 07.21.07 magic, there is one little tale that stands out for me.....

Before we officially booked the date for our wedding one year in advance, I checked the weather history - or more accurately, the precipitation history - for every July 21st since 1998. On that day in Victoria, BC, there hadn't been a speck of rain in nineteen years. This was good news, considering our plans involved an entirely outdoor event. 

And then, about 3 weeks before the wedding, I started checking the long range forecast. It wasn't looking so good. In fact, the week of the big day it poured rain harder than it had in a Victoria summer in years. It felt like November and I was a ball of nerves. 

Enter, ironically, the nuns....

My friend Ivan, who was also my boss at the time, is from the city of San Luis Potosí in Mexico. Everyday at work I would express my growing concern for the weekend forecast. So Ivan got an idea. He knew just what to do. 

"I have a cousin," he said. "She'll take some eggs to the nuns. They'll pray for sunshine."

Um.......come again?

Ivan explained that there is a place in Mexico called the Santa Clara Orphanage. The orphanage funds itself through the sale of wedding cakes made by the nuns who run it. Eggs, being an integral part of the recipe, are very expensive in Mexico, so the Santa Clara sisters offer the power or prayer in exchange for this necessary ingredient. 

I'm not what you'd call a religious person, but I'll admit to being moved nearly to tears at the thought of Ivan's cousin in Mexico carting a dozen eggs to the orphanage, offering them to the nuns and putting in a request that they do some bargaining with The Boss so that the sun might shine for Scott and Sarah somewhere up in Canada on their wedding day.

In the end, it rained anyway, and it didn't even matter. The sentiment meant more to me than any unexpected weather system. I bet those eggs made one fine cake. And when the day drew even closer and it still wasn't looking good that the sun would come out, I'll never forget Ivan reassuring me....

"I sent another dozen."

Wee Gallery Art Cards

These animal art cards from Wee Gallery have been delicious eye candy for Sadie since she was born. We have them hanging in mobile form in her room and the bee has proven to be her favourite. The other themed collections include Garden, Woodland, Sea, and Safari to name a few. I'm dying for the Woodland set. The high contrast graphics are so great for babies, and they kind of remind me of the WeeSee DVDS, a collaboration of graphics and music like no other for those needing "a gentle introduction to our visual world."

Get ready for a shop update on Tuesday! I have been doing a LOT of koopoppeting lately (how do you like my new verb?) and there are several new creatures ready for their debut.

Featured on Kenziepoo!

Rachelle of Kenziepoo has kindly featured Koo & Poppet! You can check it out here. I am honored to be mentioned on her modern, all-things-baby blog. 

Also, there will be a shop update next week. I'm thinking Monday or Tuesday but I'll post again when I know for sure. Here is a tiny teaser in the meantime......little bows to be adorned to the bottoms of several Cute Bunnies....

Black, white, polka dot, gingham....I find these bows irresistible! 

I'm gonna go with......CUTE

I ordered these bow headbands for Sadie from Kristen's Etsy shop and I must admit, though offensively large, they are quite possibly the cutest embellishments to ever grace her sizeable noggin. 

Very "avant-garde-meets-little-bo-peep" don't you think? 

Thank you, Kristen!

Illustration Friday - "Hollow"

Okay, so this is more of a sketch than an illustration, but here's my second submission for Illustration Friday (two in three weeks, not bad, I say!)

This week's topic is Hollow. 

Flit

This little butterfly found her way to Flit's forehead from the garden patch that grows on Flit's back (after getting caught up in a seam, that is).

I love the fabrics used for this Kollector Koo. The blue tiny-dot corduroy used to be a men's shirt I found at a thrift store. And the Minky dot pants are the softest around.

Woodland Nursery

Sadie's room:

Foxes, rabbits, and little birds live here.

Scott and I designed her crib and change table and he built them. We saved A LOT of money on modern baby furniture!

And that's a real tree branch on her wall, scavenged by my mom and I after a windstorm last October when I was nine months pregnant. We gave it a coat of paint and nailed it to the wall. Within short order, a family of birds had made it their home.

The poppets will be pleased

Thank you so much to Shirley for passing on this sweet token to my wee blog! 

Shirley is a talented illustrator and you can see some of her work here: http://www.shirleysillustrations.blogspot.com. She employs some beautiful watercolor techniques, and many of her pieces are well suited to children's illustration.

I used to work in the Marketing department for a children's book publishing company here in Victoria, BC, and Shirley, I'm telling you - this one's right on the money! 

Furthermore, I would like to pass on the award and give a shout out to the following inspiring and lovely blogs:

BurgerArts

Cabin + Cub

Camarilla Designs

Cance

Creative Juices of Ariel

EDub Graphic Design

Felix and Jayne

Found Paper Co.

Hello Lollipop

Les Jou Jou

Meade Design Group

Paisley Jade

Spearmint Baby

Sweet Ambs

Theo Design

WildeDesigns

Yellow Goat Design

Thanks for the great reading and visuals everyone, happy blog-hopping!

Here are the rules:

**Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. **Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you have newly discovered. Remember to contact them to let them know they have been chosen.

This little piggy had none

Meet Piquette. She likes mud baths and dislikes soap. She's really too pretty to be a pig and hopes that in her next life, she returns as a pony. 

Illustration Friday - Worn

I've wanted to participate in Illustration Friday for so long now! Here's my first submission, "Skipping Away".

(some of you may have seen it here)