I Was Featured at Cutable!

My Basic Noah's Ark was featured in the ever so cute blog, Cutable! 

I am ridiculously excited when I get positve feedback.  Check out the blog for all kinds of cute stuff.

Summer!

Returned home from traveling west to be greeted by our warm summer air.  The air in the south feels very different on your skin than it does other places.  Our air is heavy, it embraces you.  Walk outside and it feels like the very air is giving you a big warm hug.  Stay outside a while and it starts to feel like a big, warm, wet, hairy hug!  It's the price we pay for green vegetation and mild winters.

While visiting a couple of the BLGrandchildren we went to one of the best Childrens Musem, ever.  If you're near Ogden, Utah and have a child you must visit the Elizabeth Stewart Treehouse Museum.  (You can't be admitted without a child.) The musem's stated mission is " To be the magical place where children and families "Step into a Story"".  Every exhibit links to developing literacy skills.  That sounds intense but it's the most fun ever. 

 The center of the facility his a multistory tree you climb into and can slide down.  Along the way there are costumes to dress up in (fancy being a bear, anyone?) and lots of imaginative play areas.  BL Grandson loved the place where you can drop parachutes and try to hit a bullseye on the lower floor.  The treehouse is big enough for a grown up to enjoy the fun also. 

BLG (age 3) had been there before and knew exactly what he wanted to do first!  He wanted to dress like a fireman and climb over the play fire truck and pretend to drive it.  He even let baby bub have a turn.

 We pretented to be knights and played with puppets:

My boys even milked and cow!! 

It was a pretty realistic cow - and I have milked one before.  I know that the family has a hard time believing me on that one.  Grandpa Livingston always kept a cow whenever he could because "It's not that we need the milk but the boys need to milk to build their character".  I'm not sure a squirt or two built much character but it sure was fun. 

After lots more exhibits we went to the Castle Theater for an interactive presentation of "Stone Soup" with the actors pulled from the children in the audience including our own kidlet.  He was a woodcutter. 

Sometimes a distracted woodcutter.

Note the woodcutter who wandered off to sit by the tree.  He was thrilled just to be there.  The BL Daddy of our kidlet felt that the narrator and facilitor of the theater area was someone who "was born to do the job he's doing".  He was fabulous with the kids and they all were great and had a good time. 

There were too many areas to tell about.  The decor is enhanced by quotes written on the walls throughout.  Some of my favorites:

 Also: (My photo was blurry)

A HERO IS NO BRAVER THAN AN ORDINARY MAN, BUT HE IS BRAVE FIVE MINUTES LONGER.  Ralf Waldo Emerson

If I can't say enough - WE WENT ON A FREE ADMISSION DAY!!!  Yes, free!  There is another free day comming  August 7, 2010.  Check out the web site. 

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Mama Bear, Papa Bear & Little Baby Bear

I've loved the classic story of the bear family that is invaded by a little girl since I was a little golden haired girl.  As an adult, I'm not sure what the moral of the story is.  Bears with a fine home should lock their door when they leave? Watch out for Bears if you're a little girl? 

Goldylocks at the Bears Door

If Goldy was my child I would like Mama Bear to call me to let me know she's safe and ask me to pick her up.  You can bet Goldy would be compeled to deliver a heartfelt apology to the Bears and her pocket money for some time would be used to get Baby Bear a new chair.  I would have to apologize to the Bears for my lack in supervising Goldy.  Hopefully they would be understanding and Mama Bear and I could have lunch.  Once-Upon-A-Time may have been simpler.

Bear House

I think I like best the idea of a pretty cottage in the woods.  In that spirit I designed this set and it's in my Etsy shop now.  This is the 2nd version of this design.  One of the BestLoved Grandbabys got the first.  I am incapable of making the same thing twice so both are completly unique. 

Interior of Bears House

Fully Furnished with chairs and beds fit for each bear family member.  A table (with lacy tablecloth) and a large, medium size and small bowl of porridge. 

Porridge in Mama's Best Bowls

A chair for each family memeber

Decorating in small scale is just as much fun as decorating a people size house.  Only cheaper.

Goldilocks Tries Papa Bears Chair

Pretty Beds Upstairs

I'd move in!  At least I'd explore it if I came on this cottage in the woods. 

Best Loved Child Site & Shop Improvement

There is nothing like getting some sales to get me motivated. I've been doing alot of reading on Search Engine Optomtimization (SEO). This is a scary bunch of words that just means that I'm trying to get my little Etsy store and thus my Arks & Stuff seen by folks that might want to buy them. As a result of this I've taken the advice of the sage experts and done the following:

1. Changed my Etsy Shop Title. I'm still Best Loved Child but the Shop title is the first line after the banner and is what Google and others use in their searches. Mine now reads "Wooden Noah's Ark Sets, Handpainted Decor".  Before it was something fluffy and irrelavant- even I can't remember what it was.

2. Changed all my listing titles. All the Ark stuff listings start with "Wooden Noah's Ark" then tell exactly what the item is.

If you're like the me I was yesterday you are saying "?" or "Who Cares" or other things less flattering. But as a result (This is the Big TA-DA) If you open our best friend Google and type in "Wooden Noah's Ark Set" I'm on the first page. (You have to do "Set", without it I'm MIA. Working on it.) On Etsy if you search Noah's Ark my listings appear easily. Big improvement. I was so excited I called the BL Hubby.  He was properly proud.

I also had an Etsy Showcase today and I wanted to feature my Wooden Noah's Ark Basic Set but  I needed new pictures as I had sold the other Basic Set.  I've been struggling with my photos.  I've never been great with the camera (always wanted to be).  The BL Kids have been some of the least photographed children in America.  Back to research.  Etsy had a blog post that was full of pointers (and made me feel better as some Etsy pros showed their early "bad" pics).  

One of the suggestions was that natural light was the best light for your photos.  Natural light is a problem for me.  When I say I live in the woods, I mean my  house is on a lot with literally a forest of trees.  It gets pretty dark in the summer with all the leaves, etc.  BL Hubby had built me some screens and some clamp on and overhead lights that I've been using but my pictures kept comming out dark - even with computer editing.  I tried to take a pic of my set-up last night but the pictures were so dark you can't see anything.  This morning I had good light from my east kitchen window so I set up my background screens and went to work.  I've been using a white cloth background but it often looks gray.  Looking at my fabric stash I chose a couple and snapped away. The how-to articles were also enlightening as to EV and White balance.  Mine were set completly wrong so I played around with them.  See what you think.

 Original Photo- This was the 2nd set of pic I'd done. I still wasn't happy with it.

This morning's Pics.  Here I used two different fabric backgrounds.  Looking here I like the green one the best but I used the blue clouds in my listing. Got me so delighted I took some more angles. 

This view I used for the listing.

This I used to redo the blog heading and I made some business cards.

Improvement is slow and hard won! Is there such a thing as a personal trainer for the camera?

Memorial Day Gratefulness

Not so many years ago I was a Cub Scout Den Mom.  We lived in Gresham, OR which is a wonderful suburb of Portland.  On the Thursday before Memorial Day it was the custom for all Cub Scouts in the area to go to Willamette National Cemetery where the boys decorated each grave with an American flag.  The day we participated was a "good" day for Portland - only a little mist.  With another mom we packed six or seven boys including my oldest son and reported for duty. The event started with some opening ceremonies that included a local politician making a speech that went too long and bored the boys (and the moms), Also presentation of flags and playing of taps.  "My" boys were well behaved but unfamilar with Military ceremonies or customs and I was deluged with wispered questions throughout the ceremony.  Fortunately, a military representative of the Cemetery focused the Scouts with brief and impressive instructions on how putting the flags on each grave neatly was a way to honor men who had served each of us in protecting our country.  We were off to work.

Our group was assigned a shady area of the cemetery where the graves had been created in the 1950's.  Some were clearly graves of veterans that had returned from WWI and died of natural causes.  One was a vetran of the Spanish American War.  Others were men who had died in battle in Korea.  The boys were reading out the names and dates on each grave and questions were still comming - "Is there really a body buried here?", "Where's Korea?", "Why did they die?".   As they happily posted a flag on each grave I was nearly in tears as I thought of these beautiful boys perhaps sometime in the future becoming soldjers and possibly ending their life in the service of their country.  I could imagine the Mothers of WWII wearing their pins with silver stars representing their sons in the military and their worry.  I imagined the sorrow of a mother who's pin had a gold star for a boy who had lost his life.   I prayed that these sweet boys would be spared the horrors of war.

I was touched to see here in the Oregonian that this is still the tradition for this cemetery.  Scouts have been decorating the gaves at Portland's National cemetery now for 42 years.  Some of the graves now are for boys who once placed flags to honor the men who went before them.  Perhaps they were with their mothers when they came to decorate the cemetery as Scouts.
 
All our gratitude cannot be enough.

Spring Overhaul

I've finished an overhaul of my Etsy shop.  I've got some great feedback and it seems that price is a barrier for many of my fans. (I have some.  Isn't that the coolest.).  Even though my Arks are priced way below the comptition I feel that the economy dictates I lower my prices a bit.  I've also posted some "Starter Sets" that will allow buyers to start with an ark and four animals and then add more animals over time.  This should make it easier to afford an heirloom quality set.  I also think this will be easier for several people to gift a new baby or a favorite Sunday School teacher or your Best Loved Child with a fabulous set that will be coveted by generations yet unborn. 

I do have some new designs that will be in the shop soon.  Some of the BLOffspring have indicated that they get my prototypes and the product improves when it goes in the shop.  It may be true.  I do tweak things after making it a few times.  In this tradiiton.  My girl in AZ is getting this set for her one and only #7 Birthday.   

It's very much a prototype.  I know I'm changing the shape of the house so I won't post pictures until I do the next one.  Happy Birthday sweet girl.

Most Unappreciated Wild Flower

I've been visitng family and while in New England the BLGrandkids wanted to take us on their favorite day trip - the Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour in Vermont.  It was a perfect day and I do love Ben and Jerry and their ice cream.  What I loved the most was the wonderful graphics the brand uses.  Everything at the site is decorated with their bright cloud and cow designs.  The factory tour is brief (and ends with ice cream) but they don't let you take pictures.  I'm sure this is less for industrial spying and more so no one will post  a picture of an employee doing something inapropriate on the internet.  This was unfortunate because all the walls in the areas you tour are covered with painted graphics.  I was so more interested in the walls then how they make the ice cream.  The tour views the factory floor from a small glassed in loft.  The hallway leading to it had yellow and pale blue graphics all showing Artic themes.  Penguins, polar bears, etc.  It was wonderfull!  They did tell us that if your favorite grocer doesn't carry the flavor you most want your grocery store can order a six pack just for your.
After the tour we had more ice cream at the Scoop Shop and let the kids blow off steam at the playground.  On this perfect day I noticed that the grassy hill before the playground was decorated with dandelions.  It looked like how you would paint the hill if you were producing a picture in the same style as Ben & Jerry's official graphics. 

They were adorable!  I swear it was as if they were planted.  Which made me wonder, why do we hate dandelions?  They are beautiful wild flowers but we hate on them fierce.  Look below. Can't think of anything prettier

.

Maybe my Ben & Jerry's socks