I'm so excited! You've been asking, and we've put it together: The 2015 Sarah Jane Calendar. Twelve of my newest illustrations...one for each month. It's lovely! It comes with a string, ready to hang.
There is a limited quantity, so hurry before they are gone!
Happy Holidays everyone, and I hope you are enjoying this lovely month of December.
Calendar available here.
It's been a while since I've made new paper puppets in the shop! They are one of my best sellers, and I know you have so much fun making these! This summer, we had an amazing Midsummer Event that I helped to host, and I made these articulated puppets for the event. And now you can print and download them! It's a little late for Midsummers, but these puppets are perfect for a folksy halloween!
There are four characters from the play A Midsummer Night's Dream that I felt were the most fun. I actaully was in this play in highschool and it was such a great experience! It's so playful and fun, and timeless!
The story is that The King of the Fairies (not shown) wants to seek revenge on the Queen of the fairies and orders Puck, a spritely elf, to make a magical flower potion and use it on Titania so that she falls in love with the first thing that she sees. Puck has mischieviously turned Nick Bottom's head into the head of a Donkey just for fun, and places him in view of the Fairy Queen. Puck requires the help of the fairy to carry out the plan, and it ends up being a hilarious whimsical practical joke!
I hope you enjoy making these puppets! They are printable on any home computer, but I do suggest that you print on heavier paper so that the puppest can hold their own weight when help upright. You will need to purchase mini-brads to fasten them together (available at any craft store in the scrapbook deparment). You'll also need a pushpin, scissors, tape and a wooden dowel or stick to hold the puppets upright if you so wish.
The download also includes a procenium incase you would like to create a staged event!
These videos below were SO fun to make. Stop Animation is a new creative addiciton of mine, and it makes everything come to life! Trisha Zemp and I had so much fun putting this together. She's amazing to work with, and we had a l ittle too much fun.
(there are two videos FYI...the second is a white starting screen:) My kids love making stop animation videos on the ipad, and these puppets would be so much fun to make movies with. Check out all the other puppets I have in the shop! I hope to be adding more in the weeks and months to come!
Purchase and Download your puppets here, and you will get an email automatically in your inbox with the 7 page document ready to print out!
This thought has been consuming me lately. And it's been changing the way I think, and do things.
As I've been focussing on living more diliberately in all aspects of my life, this thought has been my anchor. Life is so full, isn't it? While I'm constantly recentering and focussing on my priorities, it's easy to feel like it's all consuming! All good things mostly:) but even too many good thing can be daunting!
But then I remember that "this" is what I was designed to do! And it's amazing what that simple thought can do.
Whatever your "this" is, know that you were designed for greatness and that you have access to everything you need to be who you were designed to be!
Love to you all this weekend!
xo
sarah
This week marks 7 years of being my own business. 7 years? Crazy. More on that later. I have lots to share!
But it seems like after all this time, with more and more work to do, I'm finding it harder and harder to share here in this space! With the loads of work that goes on behind the scenes here in the studio, it's just not happening as much as it used to at the moment. When you are illustrating books, designing fabric, writing books, finishing up custom work, and designing new collections there seems to be little room for anything else at the moment:) It might be time to hire some interns for that. Something to think about!
But there is still time to doodle! Here's a little doodle that makes me happy today.
I'll be sharing more about my 7 year journing this month! And I'll be celebrating with you! Yay!
xo Sarah
I'm so excited to be announcing my very first line of wallpaper! This has been a secret I've been keeping for a while, and I can't wait to show you!
Wallpaper and wall decals are something I've been wanting to offer for a long time. I've gotten so many emails from you over the years begging me to make wall decals and wallpaper for kid's rooms, but the right opportunity never arrived. I wanted to be very selective in the product that we chose, and the company that we would collaborate with. But now it's all here, and I'm thrilled! I know you will be too. The wallpaper and wall decals are all fabric, peel and stick, resizable, removable, easy to apply and take down, made in the USA and incredibly high quality, which makes for gorgeous colors as well as making them easy to wipe down. While I was applying one of the wall decals, the sticky parts got stuck to themselves, but there was never any damage or tearing when we "unstuck" the sticker. You're going to love it!
I'm loving that this wallpaper is stick on, peel off. It makes for the perfect kid's decor because it's a non-perminant commitment. No glue and no mess!
The designs I've created all come from three fabric lines you might be familiar with: Children at Play, Out to Sea and Wee Wander. It's been so fun to resurrect some designs that are from my first collection. So, Children playing dolls, playing rocket ship, on parade, mermaids, pirates, ships, horses, deer, tree climbing and fireflies. I hope there is something for everyone!
Thank you so much for all your excitement on Instagram and Facebook...it's been so great to hear your responses. I hope you love this as much as I do! Now to figure out how to deal with my kids who want one of everything in their rooms!
The family tree is one of my favorites! It's up in our house right now, and the kids love it. You can use it as is, or with the custom
boxes (which are separate stickers that can be placed where you like) you can display your family names and family heritage. It's a great way for your children to know their family heritage in a playful, beautiful way!
I'd love to hear your feedback, and answer any questions you have! For a list of basic questions, we have a FAQ page you can glance over, or feel free to email us on the contact button above on the blog. And feel free to share! When you hover over the image, you can easily pin or go straight to the listing when you click.
I hope you enjoy! It was so fun to create, and now it's your turn. You can click here to see them in the shop. I can't wait to hear about your lovely spaces! xo Sarah Jane
And a special Thank you to Meta Coleman of One More Mushroom for styling and Cassidy Tuttle for Photography!
I love working with print magazines. And while I've had features, or interviews, or reviews in magazines, I've actually never had the privilege of illustrating an article before! So this is a first! This month, Parent & Child Magazine asked if I'd illustrated an article on mindfullness in kids. It's a great article that you can read online here. I'm a huge believer in teaching children meditation and giving children the tools they need to control their bodies and minds in order to be happy. So, naturally, I was thrilled! My kids saw the magazine on the table before I could show them my feature, and Addie ran up to me and said, "Mom! Great article! I saw your drawings, and it looks great!" I love that I get to share my art with them, and that it speaks to their level of understanding.
Have a lovely week! We are busy in the studio with tons of orders, and getting ready for BYU Women's Conference this week. Will any of you be there? We have a booth at the BYU Bookstore....more on that later! xo sarah . .
So I'm a little more than excited today to introduce you to my latest collection of art prints. It's been a year since I've launched a new collection of art....and this collection is really special.
The Wee Wander fabric collection was so lovely to create and I've put together art prints that either come directly from the fabric themselves, or are inspired by it. These are available as fine art prints that will grace your walls for ages, leave a lasting impression of whimsy in your little one's spaces, and tie in beautifully with my Wee Wander Fabric line.
In addition to new art prints, I'm also offering Fat Quarter Design Kits for the very first time ever!
(Very limited Quantity...and I'm not sure about when they'll restock)
Each kit will include a Wee Wander print of your choice (choose from the 4 below) in a standard 8x10" size.
Each kit will include a Wee Wander print of your choice (choose from the 4 above) in a standard 8x10" size. It also includes a full FQ set of the fabric line, as well as a free download of this lovely lattice quilt using all the pieces for a full project. Or you can use the fabric as you please, and save the quilt for another project down the road.
In Addition to the Wee Wander Design Kits, I have lots of new art to grace your walls! Ready for visual overload? Good.
Catching Fireflies available in 4 sizes
Bareback available in 4 sizes
Play for Me available in 4 sizes
Dancing Bear available in 5 sizes
Be Friendly available in 4 sizes and as part of a set
Be Patient available in 4 sizes and as part of the set
The new "BE" set is now available as a set of 6. Sets of any 4 are still available as well.
Dear One available in 4 sizes and in a set
Gentle Giant available in 4 sizes and in a set
Soft at Heart available in 4 sizes and as a set
Spring Bunny available in 4 sizes
Wild Horse #1 available in 5 sizes and as a set
Wild Horse #2 available in 4 sizes and as a set
Wild Horse #3 available in 4 sizes and as a set
Set of all 3 horse prints available in 4 sizes
Horray! New Art and New Fabric Design Kits available! Wee Wander has been such a lovely collection as I've seen so many of you create amazing spaces and products. I hope these art prints bring whimsy and magic to your little spaces! As always, I love seeing pictures of your interiors, and you can share them with me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!
And as always, I love it when you share what you love with your friends! Be sure to Pin and share what you love....I love seeing your groupings!
Enjoy, and Happy Spring!
xo
Sarah Jane
I was able to head "home" for the weekend for a quick visit with my husband and all my siblings and their spouses to surprise my Dad for his birthday. It was so precious to be all together without our kids, and to reminise being kids ourselves...something that I don't think has ever happened with all my siblings being adults.
Funny how we as adults can just go back to being kids again when we are all together. My mom bought cold cereal and ice cream like she would have while we were under her roof. It was adorable.
Reflecting on what it felt like to be a child, with all those floods of memories and funny stories, reminded me that kids are kids. And meant to be kids. Not adults-in-training. I grew up in a house full of play....and looking back...hard work and education felt like play to us. Learning how to create an awesome history project was play. Music lessons were play. Learning French was play. Even math practice was play (up to a certain point:). And our creative free time was just as much learning as play.
Being home reminded me that education and learning was such a vital part of my parents' parenting style.. But it was hidden in a family culture of expecting excellence as well as creative play. I grew up with parents who are truly children at heart and were so curious about the world in a playful way, yet my father has degrees from Cambridge, Oxford, among others. It's something that I want to achieve as a parent....to let them play. And to not forget that children are children and through playing and fostering curiosity, they will learn and absorb the entire world around them.
- Gottfried Benn
It's also important for me to let go of that tendency I have to feel those pressures of adult life, and remember to play myself. The mind is full of expansion when we are open and curious, always learning. The world is still my playground, and I hope to never....not ever....loose that sense of wonder.