Decemberley 2016
Yes, I got behind on sharing on my blog near the end of last year. But let’s just say that I felt that writing some other things in December mattered more than this particular warm-fuzziness. And our December was chock full of the warm fuzzies. Like, it has been one of the most reacted-to-by-adults theme that we’ve ever done.
But lemme back it up a sec.
When we were trying to figure out the second Decemberley celebration, we realized that Ed Embereley’s work could only go so far. So we knew that the next time we’d still call it Decemberley, but focus on other famous children’s book illustrators. And in 2016 we decided to pay homage to Jan Brett’s The Mitten.
With that choice we inadvertently tapped into some major nostalgia for many parents. I mean, we want adults to feel just as inspired when they enter our space as the children are, but this time? I think the parents enjoyed Natasia’s work more than their kiddos did. One dad, as he was walking in, excitedly said “I remember this book! I LOVED this book!” I also suspect that Brett received a bit of a bump in sales as a result of our décor. Tee-hee!
Without further ado, here’s our The Mitten homage:
Looking at it again almost a year later, I still get the warm fuzzies.
The animal faces are actually masks that Jan Brett provides for free on her website – Natasia just printed them larger than a typical child’s head. She drew/colored everything else: Jaw. Drop.
Despite my lack of photos, I hope that our annual December celebration inspires you to think outside of the holiday box. It truly frees you to tap into some unexpected ways to cheer others up during one of the coldest months of the year.
WARM FUZZIES FOR ALL!!!!!
I failed to get a nice picture of the cool giant pair of mittens that Natasia made for above the reading bench. But I do have one where you can see what she did.
The mittens are mainly white craft paper, but embellished with a braided white yarn that also connects the two.
To the right of the clock, you can see one of the scavenger hunt pieces which were small versions of the masks.
