I wish us all a happy, healthy, and dare I say prosperous, 2009!

Best wishes to you all!

Daphne and Eamonn say hello.

See you in 2009.

It is back to school time for Daphne and for me! It was time to get Daphne her first backpack, and since she only has snack there she needed a new snack sack as well. I finally settled on this cool backpack from Mimi the Sardine, which I ordered from Reusable Bags.com.

Mimi the Sardine Backpack in Fleur $34.95

Then I found this fun, lead-free lunch sack on my favorite Etsy.com. It is by a uniquely named shop DogboneArt. Lunch Bag in Pear $8.50

My daughter loves it!  The yummy, happy smiling pear makes snack time fun! Be sure to check out dogboneart for their awesome t-shirts, and totes, and everything cute!

Now that my daughter has everything she needs, I just need to get her to school on time!

I thought you should see this little Etsy shop full of sweet crafts…

Tamar has been a Creative Director and fashion Stylist, and has turned her creative eye to designing some very pretty things for her line Nest Pretty Things.

She has purses, fairytale crowns, dreamcatchers, pins, magnets and pouches.

Nothing costs too much, and anything from here would make a really pretty gift.

Boy, it is finally getting cold enough for hats and coats and scarves here on the Central Coast. And that reminds me- don’t miss the Christmas Craft Fair in the Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo this weekend, December 1 and 2. There are always lots of great holiday handmade goodies to give your loved ones, or better yet, to buy for yourself. And while you are there, don’t forget to stop by my friend and SIL Erin’s table to view her Tinerhats. She makes the most fun and fabulous crocheted hats- you just have to see them!

Here are a few of her hats on her pal and her niece:

I’ll see you there!

Today I want to mention some colorful and fun mobiles that you can hang to brighten any room.

Animal mobiles: The first is an Ole Flensted Elephant Party mobile, designed in 1974 and made in Denmark. The elephants are plastic and it sells for $28 at the MoMA Store.

The second is called the Vollabella mobile by Selecta made in Germany. The birds are wood and it sells for $66.50 on Moolka.com.

The third is frolicking Bunnies mobile. I am not sure where it is made or what it is made from, but I couldn’t resist including it, since I am a bunny fancier! It is available through ModernTots for $27.

The next set are of modern and abstract shapes: The first is Orange Circles by Quilt Baby on Etsy. It is made of die cut foam and sells for $46. (There is a nice blue and white one available as well.)

The next is a company on Etsy called pukapuka and they have a bunch or fantastic mobile designs like the Marine kinetic, Sprout kinetic, or just plain Kinetic mobiles. Pukapuka is run by Nina in Melbourne, Australia and the mobiles run from $75 to $120. These are really smashing.

The last are some fun glass mobiles: Mini, maxi and computer mobiles that attach directly to your computer. These are designed by glass artist Leah Pelligrini and are sold on Etsy. The mini and computer mobiles are $25 and the large glass mobiles range from $30 to $350.