Cutest Kid Contest Winner: December 2009

Meet Eleanor! She is the BCK Cutest Kid for December 2009. Congratulations!

This adorable 2 year old, who sometimes goes by "Ellie" LOVES climbing stairs, playing with tupperware, "jammin" on her guitar, "cooking", drawing, painting and general mischief.

Like most 2 year olds, she DOESN'T love being told no, waiting or jalapenos, but I know plenty of 40 year olds that don't like any of things those either.
Okay, this one throws me.  Ellie's Favorite Food? Avocado, hands down. She'll turn down an ice cream sundae for an avocado.

Favorite Color? She seems pretty fond of blue and green lately.

Favorite TV Show? Go, Diego, GO! Although her and mom watched Charlie Brown's Christmas 5 or 6 times the other day.

Favorite Book? Animal Encyclopedia, Be My Friend, Floppy Puppy and Science Outside all get equal love.

Favorite Animal? Again like most 2 year olds, Ellie likes all animals, but Pandas are getting quite a bit of attention at this moment.

As we all know, 2 year olds are like little sponges.  Eleanor is no exception.  She knows and counts to 20, can identify every letter of the alphabet and all the colors.  And, she draws pretty anatomically correct face!
As much as she likes to be pretty and girly, she equally likes to dig in mud and play with worms.  Yep, that sounds about right!

One of Ellie's more charming qualities lately is her social prowess!  She has been grabbing the paws of her pets or stuffed animals or the hands of any person nearby and saying, "Nice to meet you! My name's Eleanor".

She is a sweetie!
Click Here to learn how to enter next month's Cutest Kid Contest.
Click Here to see our past winners.

Retro Goodness: Oilcloth Purses

We love all things retro, especially oilcloth! We just recieved a large shipment of oilcloth purses and pouches . . . just in time for the holidays! 

SO CUTE!  These fantastic purses are just (as my daugthter would say) AWESOME!! Maybe you can pick one up for yourself too!

 

Handmade locally here in Pennslyvania using guinine oilcloth.  Oilcloth is waterproof, versatile and cleans up with nothing more than a sponge and warm water.

 

Okay, so what exactly IS oilcloth?

Originally oilcloth was a heavy cotton canvas soaked in oil or liquid paraffin to make it waterproof (literally "oiled cloth"). In the 19th century it was widely used for tents, rain gear and other water repellent applications. As you might guess, the original oil cloth was highly flammable, and more than a few tents caught fire, often setting nearby buildings, wagons and other structures to the ground.

With the invention of plastic in the 20th century, oil cloth went from being oil-soaked fabric to a soft plastic fused to a canvas backing. The use of plastic allowed manufacturers to print a wide variety of colors and patterns, transforming a once dull brown textile into a brightly colored, inexpensive "oilcloth." By mid-century it was extremely popular for use as easy care table coverings, cook wear and more.

Improvements in plastics manufacturing and printing technologies continued through the end of the century making today's oilcloth better than ever. Modern oilcloth is a now a heavyweight vinyl fused to a cotton-web backing which is not only flexible, colorful and waterproof, but also fire and stain resistant, and slower to fade after long term exposure to the sun.

I think oilcloth just Yummy!  Stay tuned for even more fabulous oilcloth items in the shop including aprons, bigs and splashmats.