52 Books: Lindsay Ward's Please Bring Balloons

March 30, 2016


Book number four in the series 52 Books is another wonderful book from our personal library. It's called Please Bring Balloons and is by the author and illustrator Lindsay Ward -- I mentioned her once before here, and we also have another wonderful book of her's that we enjoy called When Blue Met Egg.

Please Bring Balloons tells the sweetest story about a little girl named Emma and a polar bear from the carousel in the park. It all starts with a simple note that Emma finds tucked under the saddle of the polar bear, and continues into the most fantastic adventure. This is one of the sweetest stories that I have read to Little Boy, and it has such fantastic illustrations. I love Lindsay Ward's use of a variety of papers and mixed media.



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Shop Update: The Pop-Up Shop

March 28, 2016


I've got some exciting news from the shop today! We will be doing our first pop-up shop at a local coffeehouse called City Perks on Friday April 8th between 2-9pm. Of course there will be cards, art prints, and brooches, but there will also be a few new items that you have never seen before and will be announced just before the pop-up shop -- hear about it first by signing up for the newsletter here. See you there!
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The Ballet: Thoughts on Going Home Star

March 25, 2016


I love the ballet. I love the music, the costumes, the movements, and I am always in awe of what the dancers are capable of. It is something that my mom and I always enjoy attending when we get the opportunity to do so. This week we had the privilege of watching a ballet that was performed by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet called Going Home Star: Truth and Reconciliation that is about the residential schools, and inspired by the writing of author Joseph Boyden. Going into the theatre, I knew it was going to be hard to watch as it covers a heavy subject that is part of Canada's history, but I didn't anticipate how they were going to portray it all.

There are not enough words to describe the emotions that I felt, the quiet of the theatre as the audience watched the performance of such heavy subject matter, and the beauty of the dancers and the music working together. It was powerful, raw, emotional and beautiful, and we all learned some very important lessons that night. I walked away with a greater appreciation for what the Aboriginal peoples did for the settlers to guide them through living in a foreign land, and a better understanding of how cruel people can be.

I know that there were a lot more people from all walks of life at the performance that wouldn't typically attend the ballet because they were drawn more to the subject matter, and I was grateful to see them there. I hope that they have developed a love for the music and movement of ballet, and will continue to explore the art. I also hope that the people in the audience that day learned powerful lessons as well, and we can turn our hearts towards helping everyone heal.



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52 Books: Lois Ehlert's Eating the Alphabet

March 16, 2016


I recently started a new blog series called 52 Books where I plan on sharing, that's right, 52 children's books with you. The books could be from a selection that we have made at the local library, or they could be part of our library here at home. One of my addictions is taking my son to the book store and purchasing at least one book while we are there.

One of our favourite books to read right now is called Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert. I first heard about it at a conference I went to about the importance of teaching children about moving their bodies, and putting the right kind of food into their bodies. I knew as soon as I saw the book that I had to get it for myself. It's quite amazing how many fruits and vegetables they have for some of the letters, and it has started a trend at our house to discover and try the fruits and vegetables that are in the book. This week we chose a papaya at the grocery store. To me, this kind of expansion is part of the importance of books.



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On The Hunt: U of S 2nd Annual Bunny Brunch and Egg Hunt

March 13, 2016


Last February I received an email from my alumni association letting me know that they would be hosting a brunch and egg hunt for alumni and their families. I unfortunately looked at the email, completely forgot about it for a couple of weeks, and then missed out on purchasing tickets for the event. Not this year! As soon as that email arrived in my inbox, those tickets were mine!

We have been looking forward to the egg hunt since then. Little Boy has been talking non-stop about going on an egg hunt -- which I attribute to his love for the Curious George Easter book...books for the win! There were plenty of activities for the children to do while waiting for the food to arrive at brunch, and while waiting for everyone to finish eating and the egg hunt to begin. Little Boy badly wanted a dinosaur balloon from the Balloon Guy, but was not very interested in the face paint or the crafts. I was able to get him to sit down an colour a bunny picture to eat up more time before we were told the egg hunt was about to start.

The rules were to stay in the perimeter indicated by the ribbons, and that you could only put five eggs in your basket -- once there were five, you could help other people find eggs. It didn't take us too long to find the eggs, so we wandered around the area and played in the icy puddles. It was a lot of fun watching him wander around and get excited whenever he found an egg. I will definitely be watching my in box closely again next February.



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The Shop: Little Shop of ElleSee is 5!

March 01, 2016

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Today Little Shop of ElleSee is 5! It's actually kind of unbelievable that the shop is already that old. I still remember the feeling of excitement like it was only yesterday. I had such a sleepless night -- not just because I was pregnant -- because I was so excited about the name that had popped into my head the night before. I was so anxious when I typed my shop name into the shop creator on Etsy. I'm just giddy thinking about it now.

There has been so much evolution throughout the history of the shop -- and behind the scenes. From the change in photography style, to the first time I used the Fabriano paper. Since the shop has opened, I have had opportunities to participate in handmade markets and from that have come even more opportunities and relationships. I look forward to what the next five years bring to the shop, and can't wait to share with you the next stages in our evolution.




 
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