Gift Guide: Easter Baskets

If you're going to fill an Easter basket for a child this spring, think small - small gifts from small businesses for those sweet small hands!  

Start your planning with a custom made Easter basket by Rhymes With Smile.  These baskets are made from simple clothesline and thread, and stitched in any color of your choice.

For a different twist, fill a screen printed organic cotton tote bag from and Morgan or an art supplies tote from Little Fingers Gifts.  

Now, on to the little things!  Fill a few of these Sports Star Push Pops by Queenvanna Creations with your child's favorite candy (and if a few M&Ms happen to spill out into your hand while you're putting these together, it'll be our little secret).

Next, tuck in a set of the Woodland Critters Magnets by our secret treehouse.  These little dudes can pull double duty as refrigerator artwork holders and pretend playtime/storytime actors.

Be sure to include a set of Little Notebooks by River Dog Prints.  Notice that this is a set of two ... so, ehem, you can keep one for yourself.

And since children love seeing their own name in print, consider including one of these Personalized Bag Tags by freckle paper.  After spring, the sturdy little tag can go on backpacks, luggage, diaper bags, and more.

What basket would be complete without some eggs?  The Felt Haus has durable felted wool eggs that your child can hide, hold, and play with for along time.  And with colors like these, they'll win the "Most Likely To Be Mistaken For A Rainbow" award at the neighborhood egg hunt, and you can walk away proud.

Show your local connections with a screen printed baby onesie or shirt from Hartford Prints!

Finally, tuck in an Easter card by Laura's Paper Creations - and there you go!

Happy Easter!  Think Spring!

Katherine Lile is the chief basketeer and queen bee of Rhymes With Smile. She learned coiled rope basketry and quilting from her mother, and hopes to pass on some awesome crafty skills to her own two children. For now, baskets and quilts take up most of the magical Kid Naptime Hours. When not at the sewing machine, you can find her growing tomatoes, enjoying the outdoors with her family and dog, or trying to drink an entire cup of coffee while it's hot.

A Day in The Hartford Prints! Studio

Running a card on our Vandercook 4T press.

Hartford Prints! is first and foremost a letterpress printmaking studio. We create all of our cards, art prints, and other retail paper products, along with all of our custom work, the old-fashioned way. We use a vintage Vandercook 4T printing press. Our press weighs an actual ton and started life as a newspaper proofing press handling small runs of the daily paper for the writers and editors to proof by hand.

Hand-setting a row of type.

Our designs are always a collaboration over many iced coffees and multiple Pinterest boards. We use the humor that our mom gave us and our dad’s attention to detail to bring our stationery to life, blending illustration, hand-lettering, and modern graphics. We usually start by getting together and talking about what our store customers are looking for- a print of a particular Hartford neighborhood, a certain type of card, more of a specific color- and any ideas for new products that we’ve had. We’ll brainstorm and hash the ideas out together and then get down to the nitty-gritty of designing. We love seeing our work in action and hope it inspires people to get a pen, lick a stamp, and know their local mailbox!

A hand-carved plate secure in the press.

We might hand draw or digitally design a piece, then we’ll make any further tweaks. Working as team is how we come up with some of our most successful products. A lot of times a joke or weird pun one of us makes will end up as a card, or a favorite neighborhood landmark will become an art print.

Mixing ink colors.

After nailing down the final design, the next step is to create the plate. Plates are either made digitally, by rendering our drawings and turning them into polymer plates, or by hand-carving a wooden plate. We also use hand-set type and have an enormous collection of different styles of type. We’ll prep the paper that we’re using by counting it out and cutting it down to rough size, and hand-mix the letterpress inks. Then we’ll secure the plate in place, ink up the press, and run each sheet of paper through, piece by piece, carefully setting each aside to dry. If the design contains elements of multiple colors, then this process is repeated for each color with a separate plate. We also have to print a backplate on our cards with our logo, so each card individually runs through the press at least twice.

Inking the press.

After the ink is dry, we cut everything to the final size. Then everything is painstaking folded, paired with an envelope (which has often been custom-selected for each unique design) enclosed in a plastic envelope for safekeeping, and labelled. Then it’s off to the store, where the item is given it’s very own item number, entered in our inventory system, and added to the floor displays, with extras stored carefully in our back room. After that, we photograph each piece and craft a listing for it on Etsy, so that people near and far can find us.

Finished prints hanging on the gallery wall of our studio.

Hartford Prints! is a letterpress studio and stationery store that is all about family. We are three sisters and a press, making pretty paper in our home city of Hartford. Addy, Callie, and Rory joined forces in 2012 to create unique letterpress stationery that is modern and fun. From stunning wedding invitations to offbeat greeting cards, our printing prowess, killer style, and graphic genius work together to make effortlessly beautiful designs.
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | contact@hartfordprints.com

Nutmeg Pets: Pieper and Puma

Malt-Poo rescue, Pieper, and Black New Zealander rabbit-rescue, Puma

from Suzanne Urban

Shop Spotlight: Rad Dad Tees

Kevin is a 28 year old graphic designer/illustrator from Connecticut, and the creator and owner of Rad Dad Tees. When his wife, Renee, became pregnant with their first child, Canaan, in November of 2012, the excitement of becoming a dad quickly gave way to the inspiration to start a tee-shirt company just for dads. Before long, Rad Dad Tees was born.

"I'm passionate about being the best dad I can be and I strive to encourage men who have kids to be rad dads. My vision is for Rad Dad Tees to be the platform in which to cultivate a community of family-focused dads who are devoted to raising their children with love.

When I'm not doing Rad Dad Tees stuff, I'm either spending time with my family and friends, hiking, running, listening to or making music, enjoying a cold beer, watching TV, and/or eating cookies. I also really love pizza, and burritos. Like, a lot.

I came up with the idea for Rad Dad Tees shortly after my wife and I found out we were having a baby. That was back in November, 2012. I noticed that there were plenty of dad t-shirts available online, but none of them were ones that I, nor any of my dad friends, would wear. I felt like not much thought or time went into the design of the majority of dad shirts that were available. So, I thought I'd start my own 'dad t-shirt' company. For the better part of a year, I spent much of my free time designing t-shirts, and the Rad Dad Tees branding. I set up a website and store. I got my friends to model my t-shirts as I took photos with a borrowed Nikon camera. I had stickers made, a custom stamp made, I ordered boxes, and fabric tags. I bought a sewing machine to sew those tags on with. I set up social media accounts for Rad Dad Tees. I spread the word to all of my friends on Facebook. I was super excited.

I launched raddadtees.com on November 22, 2013. Shortly after that, I launched the Rad Dad Tees Etsy shop, at the suggestion of my super supportive wife. I've been running both completely by myself ever since. From design, to ordering inventory, to customer service, packing orders and logistics, to marketing, social media, and bookkeeping; I currently wear all of the hats at my young company. I even sew the small fabric RAD DAD TEES tags onto each and every t-shirt. It's a small touch, but I believe it makes a big impact on my customers, and one of my main goals is to make my customers happy and keep them coming back and telling their friends. 

My t-shirts are screen-printed at a Connecticut print shop called Print Indie. Two of my very good friends just so happen to be the owners of Print Indie. They do a great job, and I couldn't be more satisfied with the quality of their work. I currently use American Apparel t-shirts exclusively. Everyone likes American Apparel because their t-shirts are very well made. I also love them because they are American-made and sweat-shop free. That is very important to me. I want to run a company that is recognized for it's ethical practices. I'm not interested in purchasing inexpensive foreign-made supplies if it means that the people who made those supplies were exploited in any way, including unfair wages, unsafe working conditions, unreasonably long workdays, and/or physical abuse. I and my company are strictly against the contribution to those types of business practices. I want to actively avoid treading on anyone for my own advantage, even if it means my company grows at a much slower rate than the average successful company.

To further drive the above point home, Rad Dad Tees donates 10% of every item sold at full price to a non-profit organization called Love 146. Love 146 exists to help put a stop to human trafficking and child exploitation. As the founder/owner of Rad Dad Tees, I believe I have a responsibility to give back. As I've said, my company is still very small, so the amount I'm giving back is not relatively substantial, but as Rad Dad Tees grows and becomes more and more successful, that 10% of profits will one day be a good chunk of change. Enough to make a change.

Rad Dad Tees's website and blog.

See more of Kevin's work in his Etsy shop or connect with him

on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

*****

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Treasurypalooza Winner: Rose Gold

We have a winner!

Huge congratulations to Jennifer from Nutmeg Naturals and The Felt Haus for her winning February treasury collection Rose gold.   Jennifer's eye for style and color won her almost 50% of the vote.

With its mix of soft dusky rose and copper-gold hues, this collection features the following Nutmeg Collective members:

Petite Maus

MSD Design

Designer Dwellings

Post Porter Photoworks

The Tiny Wren

The Copper Fox

Freckle Paper

Easton Place Designs

Make sure and visit Jennifer's Etsy shops, Nutmeg Naturals: your one-stop-shop for all things clean, featuring 100% wool dryer balls, natural laundry soap powder, cold-process soaps, and more; and The Felt Haus: home to fun and original needle-felted wool creations and felting wool in a rainbow of colors.  Everything in her shops is handmade in Connecticut, and Nutmeg Naturals is a professional member of the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetics Guild.

February Treasurypalooza!

As we previously mentioned, the Nutmeg Collective creates curated collections of items found on Etsy in an effort to get to know each others' shops and to help show off out beautiful work to others.  So much thought and consideration goes into putting these collections together that we decided to show off some of the top groupings from February, and we want you to vote for your favorite.  Please choose one of the collections below:

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

A Day in Windsor

Today we're spending a day in Windsor, Connecticut's oldest town and home of our own Evelyn Pelati, who makes the most amazing art deco, art nouveau, and craftsman-style jewelry, and Suzanne Urban of Smirking Goddess, whose wit shines through on her original magnet and pinback designs.  Join them as they show us what to do on a day in Windsor.

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The Luddy/Taylor Connecticut Valley Tobacco Museum opens this week for the season.  Life in Windsor was very much (and is still, to a lesser degree) intertwined with shade tobacco farming.  The museum is housed in an old tobacco shed on the grounds of Northwest Park (see below).  The building houses antique farm equipment, a small library, and a small art gallery. 

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Northwest Park is a gorgeous 473-acre park that is loaded with lots of fun things to do throughout the year. Right now, you can enjoy cross-country skiing on the park's beautiful nature trails. Or, attend one of the fantastic Coffee House Concerts, featuring artists like Connecticut's own DeChamplains, a wife/husband duo schooled at the University of Hartford who perform standards from the American Song Book. A popular place for walkers (and dogs!), nature seekers, and those wishing to visit the Nature Center, which is great for kids, or the Tobacco Museum (see above).

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The Windsor Historical Society is packed with history of Connecticut's oldest town. Comprised of the museum, a roster of historical houses in town, a history learning center, a library, plus a museum shop and bookstore, the Historical Society is the perfect place for those interested in learning more about Windsor's past.  They offer events throughout the year as well as book school trips and other tours.

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A local favorite, Nat Hayden's Real Pit BBQ is conveniently located in Windsor Center and offers some of the best barbecue around.  An eat-in establishment and for catering, Nat Hayden's is the spot for pulled pork, brisket, ribs, catfish, chicken, and sausage, as well as the perfect accompanying side dishes.  A taste of the South (though the owner's from Hartford!) right in Windsor.

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Right around the corner from Nat's is Get Baked, a must-stop spot for the best baked goods around.  Owner Emily Woodward keeps a rotating menu of breads, cupcakes, cookies, scones, brownies, and all kinds of other sweet and savory goods, with local favorites and new creations making the daily rounds.  A Windsor native, Emily has set up the bakery with a cozy seating area great for sitting and chatting- there's even a kids' area complete with crayons and books.  Go stop by and relax for a bit- and make sure to buy a challah bread.

This is just a small sampling of what you can do in Windsor.  On a nice day, the Center is a great spot to walk and explore and then find some good food.  Make sure to check out CT's oldest town!

See our other A Day In posts here.

Written by Kristen of Milo and Molly.  Kristen runs her business while staying at home with her two small children. Fueled by an endless supply of tea, she sews late into the night when the house is quiet, most often accompanied by her faithful poodle, Casey.