Maybe it's because I am so lacking in the artistic/crafty gene, but I've always preferred arts-and-craft kits that call for a heavy dose of imagination. In other words, I could never get my final product to look anything like the picture…
No more pretending the Anthropologie catalog is a special delivery--kids deserve their own mailbox surprises. So I'm happy to have found a fun new service that combines original art and stories with good, old-fashioned stamps. Abe's Pean…
Instead of yet another poster for your kids' rooms, I'm kind of digging this take on abc art, from Toronto Etsy shop, bookhou at home. The laser-etched birch plywood of this wooden alphabet would be so cool in a nursery or playroom. And …
There's a box on top of my fridge overflowing with punk-rock ponies, witches on broomsticks, and smiley-faced dolphins, each one representing a special stage in my daughter's artistic development. They're amazing in two dimensions. Can y…
My handbag is sort of a Mom's Swiss Army Knife. Need a Band-Aid? Got it. Hungry? I've got some mints in here somewhere. But when we get stuck waiting somewhere and the kids are threatening to mutiny out of sheer boredom, it turns out tha…
If you know kidrobot , then you know its team of artists create masterpieces of culture. Lots of words have been used to describe the appeal, and I love all of them: quirky, pop-art, Warholesque, cartoonish, comical....the list goes on. …
As all parents know, kids laugh at the word "butt." There is something very funny about a word that is used constantly as a conjunction, a sometime preposition and also as a word for your behind. What could be funnier than that to a five…
Sarah Jane is wildly talented--something Cool Mom Picks discovered way back in 2007. Her prints are whimsical and magical in a way that would make Clement Hurd and The Runaway Bunny proud. I love the simplicity and the talent that beckon…
Back when I was pregnant, I became obsessed with finding the perfect artwork to adorn baby M's walls. I had almost no budget and was put off by most everything in the big stores--hearts, butterflies and safaris? Oh my. So I took to Etsy.…
I bum out watching my daughter draw a self-portrait, or even a dog, stop midway, then scribble all over the entire thing in frustration because her picture doesn't look "perfect." Maybe that's why I am particularly fond of these new arti…
I've been a fan of the fun color-your-own cards from Greenstarstudio since back when I discovered her cool holiday designs. So I'm happy to see some of the new cards at the shop, that can be good for slightly older kids too. The color yo…
I still remember when my mom painted a mural in my room. I was five, and it was a 70's-style jungle scene. I got to help. Seven years later, I took up the muralist's brush myself and even helped pay my rent in college by whipping up Snoo…
Do you love nice, crisp boxes of brand new art supplies as much as I do? And do your kids somehow manage to rip those nice, crisp boxes within about eleven minutes of opening them as often as mine do? Well, take a look at this adorable t…
Just when I thought an artist couldn't do anything new or inspired to the good old but very played out alphabet decor, artist Lorena Siminovich of Petit Collage wows me with her brand new poster prints. These new ABC poster prints are ma…
If you could see the ground-in crayon and magic marker stains all over the back seats of our minivan, you'd understand why I'm so fond of a cool portable drawing tablet that uses nothing more than water, and generates no mess at all. As …
We painted one wall in my daughter's room pink and that pink has annoyed me for the past four years. It's not a good pink. It's a Pepto pink. I would repaint, but the ceiling is vaulted so... I know my limits. I have looked for artwork t…
Green is everywhere this week, from the buds on the trees to St. Patty's Day decorations to the long-awaited green milk served at my table. I'm kind of already regretting that one. But here's a super sweet and foxy way to bring green int…
Well, I do believe I have just discovered the most original new baby gift on the planet . Bold proclamation, I know, but have a look at these new custom birth charts by Amy Karol --yes, she of " Bend-the-Rules Sewing and Bend-the-Rules w…
Having just lived through 80 minutes watching a Shakespearean classic turned into a story involving garden gnomes, I am not exactly itching to head out to see the next 3D "blockbuster" Hollywood has lined up for my kids. But if I can get…
Lovely, Love My Family by the Roots is one of those songs that gets stuck in your head in a good way. My girls discovered it after watching it on Yo, Gabba Gabba! oh, maybe 6,000 times and it's been a favorite around here ever since. So …
The thing about typical art for kids' walls is that it can feel a little... transitory. You know? Like, it's only up for a year or so before the kid moves on to a new thing. That's why this amazing wall art is so perfect. You just can't …
Great art is beautiful, interesting, well-crafted, and has staying power. Surprise! That also describes these cool new temporary tattoos by one of CMP's favorite designers. Our old pals at Wee Gallery have found a fantastic new way to pe…
Oh the red, plastic upside down flower-pot-ish hats, and the throbbing techno beat -- Man did I love Devo back in the day. Frontman Mark Mothersbaugh has always been a visionary and an artist (maybe your kids know him from Yo Gabba Gabba…
See that gorgeous iPhone case over there? It's printed from original art and signed by the artist. Impressed yet? You will be. The artist's name is Anwar, and he's from Kuwait. He's also a child cancer patient. All of the lovely goods fr…