Construction Trucks - Cement Truck, Backhoe, Dump Truck

Inspired by the Eddie Bauer bedding "Little Builder," this cement truck is simply every little builder's dream. My 3 year old wanted to to keep it for his own collection of shapes, as he loves Tonkas in general.

The cement truck's cab and body are a denim blue with a light blue and sage green cement mixer. The window is white and layered onto the truck. The wheels I handpainted onto the body in black and then layered the sage green center of the wheels on top.

A perfect addition to the backhoe and dump truck in my
regular line (or have the regular shapes custom painted, too, like this set), the custom handpainted cement mixer will complete any Little Builder's nursery decor.

Contact me today to custom order your own cement mixer. Remember, nearly all designs are available in nearly all my products - wall letters, growth charts, curtain holdbacks, and more!

modern handmade child is officially here!

Custom Clouds for Pottery Barn Kids "Stork" bedding

Even though Pottery Barn has discontinued their "Stork" bedding, I had a chance to create a couple beautifully detailed clouds to hang the precious quilt in the bedding set.

These particular clouds are a special laser cut shape that coordinates with the "Stork" bedding very well. I then painted them a light blue and added chambray blue polka dots and navy blue lateral stitches.

Each cloud measures 3" x 5" and can be used to create any of my other nursery decor items - wall letters, curtain holdbacks, a growth chart, wall plaques, and more.

Contact me today to special order a set for your baby's nursery!

Edited: September 26, 2009

This summer I created another version of the clouds for the PBK Stork bedding. This version is also light blue, but it has tiny white swirls going in two different directions and meadow green lateral stitches. This version has become the more popular one, traveling across country and into Canada even.

Original Canvases and Prints

New to the Little Elephant Company are handpainted original canvases (and their prints) by artist (and dear friend of mine) Mary Hoven.

Mary has an eye for such beautifully detailed creations. I just love the brush strokes in her skies and landscapes. A few of her pieces are available now to add to your shopping cart! See them here.

A little bit from Mary -

"I'm so grateful to be alive every day. And I love the Lord for all that he has done in our life. Bob and I love our farm, and can't wait to get animals. We now have two kittens (Jack and Jill), cattle, chickens, and horses maybe next year." read more...

As always, if you don't see what you want, just ask! I know Mary would be delighted to create a special piece of artwork for you.

Modern Handmade Child - Handmade Living in a New Way

"A fun and valuable resource helping families to embrace the handmade way of life."

Look for the first issue early August 2009! This exciting publication is truly an international publication, as the editors and contributers hail from all over the world - Europe, Australia, Canada, and many parts of the Unted States - including myself.

As one of the managing editors and the Explore editor, I know first hand the array of information that will be coming your way. I'll let you know as soon as the first issue is here in August!

Polka Dots - a Modern Touch

Geometric shapes, specifically circles, have been the "mod" design for a bit. And, it will probably stick around, since circles are clean, simple, and fresh.

So, I have painted the cutest polka dots for quilt clips! They can be any combination of color that you desire. Have a set all the same, or mix it up.

My first set was for the Land of Nod's "All Creatures Great and Small" bedding (love that set!). The colors I used are light blue, denim blue, and white. Other colors that I have done the polks dots in for this set are light green, aqua, burnt umber, orange, pale orange, and cream.

Kidsline's "Mod Turtle" bedding is another adorable set that the polka dots look fabulous with. For this bedding, I did pale blue, with burnt umber and white.

See my website for more color combination samples, and then order your own mod polka dots today!

Beavers for Enchanted Forest by Lambs and Ivy

This bedding set is so refreshing! The Enchanted Forest is unlike other baby bedding in that it has a forest theme to it, perfect for nature lovers. The modern touch of geometric shapes of teardrops and circles in most of the squares and the neutral colors with splashes of light blue sets off the animals in the quilt.

A customer wanted the little beavers to hold up the baby's quilt, so I had the shape custom cut to match. I then handpainted the beavers to coordinate with the bedding. I used a bambi brown and country twill on the beavers' bodies, and then nutmeg brown and black on their tails. Of course, I couldn't forget the white buck teeth!

Other options for this quilt would be owls, birds, mushrooms, polka dots, or leaves. Or even custom cut squirrels or leaves.

Nearly all of my designs can be done in almost any of my nursery decor items!

Contact me today to handpaint a set for you!