» Halloween 2017: William Shakespeare
02/11/17 18:59 from sweet juniper!
I asked my daughter to write her own explanation of why she wanted to be William Shakespeare for Halloween. "When I went to camp last summer, I chose Shakespeare as my minor. Not because I was already interested in Shakespeare, though, b...

» Halloween 2017: The Ghost of Harry Houdini
01/11/17 16:08 from sweet juniper!
The magician and escape artist Harry Houdini died in Detroit 91 years ago, on Halloween. Before his death, Houdini had added "spiritual debunker" to his resume; he was disgusted by mediums who used the same sort of trickery he employed o...

» 2016 Sweet Juniper Holiday Card by Claire Bédué
23/12/16 20:04 from sweet juniper!
Happy Holidays to you all out there. The Christmas holiday really crept up on us this year and we're busy sewing and hammering to get everything done in time. This year we are so happy to share the family portrait that French illustrator...

» Halloween 2016: Half Pint
02/11/16 17:43 from sweet juniper!
Last summer she decided she wanted to be Laura from the Little House books for Halloween (after seeing a woman playing the role of Laura Ingalls Wilder at Greenfield Village). I am proud to say I had nothing to do with this costume: over...

» The Twelve Labors of Little Hercules
01/11/16 19:08 from sweet juniper!
He says he wants to be Hercules for Halloween, so I say let's start the lionskin. Lots of heroes wore lionskins, I tell him. Samson wrestled a lion with his bare hands. Gilgamesh killed lots of lions with his friend Enkidu and when Enkid...

» 2015 Sweet Juniper Holiday Card by Yinfan Huang
22/12/15 14:10 from sweet juniper!
It has become our tradition to commission an artist every year to do a family portrait for our holiday card. Part of the fun is looking at the portfolios of so many amazingly talented illustrators out there and then working up the nerve ...

» Eye of newt, and toe of frog
03/11/15 20:11 from sweet juniper!
My daughter wanted to be a witch for Halloween. Not a striped-sock witch, she said. A real-looking witch. A creepy one. The classics are classic for a reason, I said (and got to work). We found a Victorian mourning jacket with puffed sho...

» Werewolf in Sheep's Clothing
02/11/15 19:58 from sweet juniper!
My son decided to be a werewolf for Halloween. So I made him this mask out of felted wool. Then I made him those arms out of felted wool. Then I made him wear his wool suit and take some pictures in front of a flowery wall. We go to all ...

» 2014 Sweet Juniper Holiday Card by. . . sweet Juniper
26/12/14 03:10 from sweet juniper!
This year our daughter asked if she could draw the family portrait for our holiday card. She worked very hard and we're proud as heck to share the result. Hiring a favorite illustrator to do a family portrait has become one of our favori...

» Halloween 2014: Cyrano de Bergerac
01/11/14 02:27 from sweet juniper!
This past summer my son wanted to learn to fence. At six he was still too young for most of the area fencing classes and camps taught by people who actually know what they're doing, so all he had was me. We bought some used fencing gear,...