A heads-up for Junior Society readers in the NYC area, one of my favorite ‘kindie rock’ bands, The Jimmies, will be giving a FREE (the magic word) concert this Saturday, June 21st at Washington Irving High School.  These guys (and one gal) are so talented and funny and thoughtful.  If you’re geographically impaired, like myself, and too far away to attend check out their website and give a listen to their most recent album Make Your Own Someday.  I’ve also embedded two of their videos below the concert poster which can aslo be viewed here.

John W Golden admits to having been an artsy kid and we all know where that can lead…artsy adult. In the past 30+ years he’s created quite the catalog of work including commercial design and animation that’s been seen on the Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Animal Planet among other outlets.

He’s received allot of online attention recently for his By Order of the Management series, sign art reminding kids to ‘Play Nice,’ ‘Keep Your Elbows off the Table,” and ‘Don’t Talk with your Mouth Full” all directives issued by order of the management, of course.

But I confess my favorite is his Critter series, simple stylized portraits of animals (hailing from air, land and sea) each with a loopy scalloped border and identifying text. Think vintage educational chart meets classic storybook, so rather than finding the latin castor canadensis below the image of our flat-tailed friend, he’s identified as The Industrious Beaver. There’s also meet the Patient Seahorse, the Crooked Fox, the Sensible Owl, the Curmudgeonly Badger and the Relentless Squirrel among many others. Get to know John better on his blog or purchase reasonably priced prints in his shop.

Regular Junior Society readers are likely aware of my fondness for play food. And those who’ve met me in person are likely aware of my fondness for actual food. So you can only imagine my delight this past week when the Crafty Crow announced their Funny Food Contest, a competition combining the charm and humor of play food with the tastiness of edible food! Brilliant. Read all about their call for entries by junior culinary crafters (and their adult helpers) here. The deadline is June 23rd, so I’ve included a few images below to help get you cookin’!

1. Bee, 2. Funny food for kids, 3. Playing with food, 4. Playing with Food #2: The Reindeer, 5. Don’t play with your food!, 6. Carrot & butternut lion, 7. Veggie Animals, 8. The vegetable men are coming!, 9. Pizza Mau, 10. courgette tortoise

On what seems like the heels of my Mother’s Day post, I did a little digging to see if I could learn anything about the origins of Father’s Day. As I understand it, the celebration was the brainchild of Sonora Smart Dodd – an idea that came to her while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Her mother had passed and so she was raised by her father and, rightly so, thought there ought to be a day to honor him. His birthday was in June and so it was that Ms. Dodd chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in their hometown of Spokane, Washington.

Well, the idea was a hit and in 1926, a National Father’s Day Committee was formed in New York City. Father’s Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956 and in 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of the day to be held on the third Sunday of June.

Nice, right? I like that it’s a holiday born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with a special day vs. an invention of the greeting card company.

So as you may have guessed that’s my father and I in the picture above - I think taken in the back yard of our home in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. (Is that right, Mom?) While it should come as no surprise, side by side comparisons of this photo and those of myself in my early twenties bear definite father/son similarities. Same full head of hair, similar glasses and I can only hope to carry on the snappy tie tradition (Father’s Day gift, perhaps?). Well, in his honor, I’d like to wish him and dads everywhere a very Happy Father’s Day. (Now go call your dad!)

Thank you to all of the lovely ladies who attended my Little Laundress Workshop this afternoon! We had a wonderful time initiating Sweetpeas’ new bunglow classrooom with cupcakes and crafting.

I had a ball compiling the take-home class kits which ended up packaged in little hatboxes tied with ribbon and topped with a flowering clothespin. And of course I’m kicking myself for not taking a photo of the contents, but needless to say each was filled with all of the clothespin doll basics. The most fun though was preparing a ‘materials tree’ loaded with millinery flowers, miniscule flower pots and baskets, old cake toppers, tiny birds, bells and charms. And I’m pleased to report that everything was put to good use - look at the amazing dolls! Such a creative bunch!

And as there’s no rest for the wicked crafty, I’m now prepping for a new class in two weeks on June 28th: A Vintage Baby Shower! Scroll down for details.

Everyone you know expecting? Soon to be hosting a shower for your favorite infanticipating parents?

Throw an event as special as your guests of honor! Join me on Saturday, June 28th and learn how to create spectacular vintage-style decorations: sewn crepe ruffled garlands, hanging vintage wrapping paper globes and a crepe paper stork centerpiece that will steal the show. A hands-on tutorial with gorgeous take-home kits will arm you with everything you need to recreate these crafts to fit your baby shower’s colors and theme. And making the deal even sweeter, we’ll be crafting in the dining room classroom of Sweetpeas’ new arts and crafts bungalow on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice Call the shop to reserve your space! 310/490-0434.

Artist Joe Chang likes a good paper toy and he apparently he likes a good challenge as well. Every day for a year, Joe will be designing, constructing and posting a new paper toy from a basic template on his blog Toy-A-Day.blogspot.com.

What’s so great is that he’s also posting downloadable pdf files of the toys - so that if you were so inclined at the end of the 365th day you could have 365 new paper toys gracing your shelves. The basic template is pretty straight forward and could be tackled by a kid with decent scissor skills. AND if you or Junior have a favorite character you’d like to see in paper toy form, Joe’s open to suggestions (My vote’s for Max and a cast of Wild Things!) So pay a visit to his blog and offer up your ideas.

Online:

Among my favorite design blogs is the Canadian based Poppytalk written by the lovely Jan Halvarson - and the sister site Poppytalk Handmade which operates like an online street market featuring the “handmade goods of emerging design talent from around the world.” The beautifully curated mix of goods is addictive and I want to make certain you know about their summer-themed market “Here Comes the Sun!” which launches today and runs through July 4th.

Brick & Mortar:

Friday evening marked the grand opening of Sweetpeas new location on Abbott Kinney Blvd. in Venice, CA - an amazing and eclectic street with great shops, restaurants, books stores, design studios and coffee shops. Owner Mary Smilove scored one of the few remaining arts and crafts style bungalows for her craft and paper emporium, that now architecturally echoes her vintage flair and thoughtfully curated selection of goods.

And something for you Southern California locals to keep in mind - Mary throws a brilliant party and part of her business is hosting events, so if you’re scouting an über charming location for a baby/wedding shower, afternoon tea or crafty birthday party treat yourself to a Venice pilgrimage and pay a visit. 1507 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291, 310/490-0434.

And I’m exceptionally excited about Sweetpeas’ new home as it will also serve as the location for my upcoming craft workshops! The bungalow dining room has been designated the official classroom and is the perfect scale for family style crafting around a big table.

My first class is this coming Saturday, June 14th and I’ve been hard at working compiling really beautiful class kits for our hands-on tutorial reworking the vintage craft of clothespin dolls. There are a few remaining spots available, so if you’d like to join us from 11 - 2 for crafting and cupcakes, please call the store at 310/490-0434 to register. Upcoming workshops will be announced shortly.

Below are examples of dolls I’ve created and that attendees with be learning to make.

Given the choice between a handful of Jack’s ‘magic beans’ or a wardrobe full of Christine Visneau’s ‘baby beans,’ the decision would be simple. This beautiful line of ‘vintage daywear’ for little girls ages 6 months to 6 years is the creation of one industrious and talented Dallas based designer and mother of two. I love that the collection is handcrafted by Christine and a small group of stay at home moms entirely from carefully culled vintage fabrics - each more delicious than the last.

I’ve posted a small sampling of their Spring/Summer line below along with a sneak peek at pieces from their Fall/Winter selections. Place an order between by June 16th and receive a free Berry Patch Tank with any purchase - no minimum order size required, simply mention the desired size in the comments section during checkout. Visit the online shop - Baby Bean Vintage Daywear.

I recently published a post on Chasing Fireflies‘ treasure chest of great pirate gear. Always a sucker for a thoughtfully realized theme, my inner Old MacDonald compells me to also share their barnyard of farm-centric bounty. For clarification purposes, I’ll mention that it is a hooded chicken towel (neatly rolled) in the upper left hand corner of the image and an oh-so-brilliant hen bean bag chair pictured just below the red rooster tee. E-I-E-I-Ohhhhh!