cat cat cat !

My favorite plush as of late is hands down Maison de Mieux's Cat Cat Cat. The plush cats come in various (and very appealing) sizes, colors (both fur and eyes), and textures. I love how nice and simple the design is, but completely effective at the same time. Pictured above is one of the smaller pieces which are typically priced around $20 (photo from yoyamart.com), pictured below is the large version (photo from rotofugi.com) which is around $30-$40 on average. Rotofugi appears to be sold out of Cat Cat Cat and I'm not sure if they will get any new stock in. Yoyamart still seems to have some in stock in the $25 - $38 price range. Currently, Yoyamart is the only US based online web store that I can find that has these in stock. If you know any other retailers carrying Cat Cat Cat, feel free to let me know in the comments!

• Cat Cat Cat at Yoyamart
  

• Marie Maison de Mieux website

more sanrio x tokidoki

The next batch of Sanrio x Tokidoki items are now available for purchase on Sanrio.com. The prices seem as crazy as ever and this batch of items comes complete with... a $450 limited edition rhinestone zippo lighter, yikes! $450 is the top end of the price spectrum while the lowest price items are $10 spiral notebooks. A huge selection of older items are also still available for purchase.

• Tokidoki on Sanrio.com
  

2 sales worth mentioning

A pretty good sale going on right now is the All Aboard Toys clearance which has been dubbed "The Big Sale", shipping on the site is a flat rate of $5.95 and you can find toys, accessories, clothes and more up to 80% off. I actually picked up a bunch of Domo Kun stuff- pens & mechanical pencils for $1.95 , notepads for 99 cents! All Aboard Toys carries a really broad range of character items- everything from Seasame Street to Bob the Builder to Hello Kitty to Disney characters. Definitely worth checking out and some really great prices! Great for stocking up for birthdays (or birthday favors) or the holidays.

• All Aboard Toys

• All Aboard Toy's Big Sale

Another thing worth mentioning is that Lesportsac recently added a sale website in addition to their online store which includes prices up to 75% off retail and free shipping! There is a nice variety of items ranging from $8 and up in some of the older prints. The selection of bag designs + accessories looks really good & previous seasons of the Stella McCartney x Lesportsac collaboration are included.

• Lesportsac Specials

Tomie dePaola at the Eric Carle Museum

Storybook artist Tomie dePaola is doing some great events with the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in the upcoming months, so if you're in the vicinity of Amherst, MA in the next few months these events are must!


Here's a short run down, but you can get more information off the museum website:

Making the Invisible Visible: From Ideas to Illustration with Tomie dePaola
Discussion and book signing
July 19, 2009, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm, Free with Museum Admission
August 15, 2009, 1:00 pm, Free with Museum Admission

Annual Educators’ Open House with Tomie dePaola
Discussion and book signing
October 15, 2009, 4:30 - 6:30 pm, Free – All educators welcome!
Reservations are required (413.658.1126)

Meet Tomie dePaola
Discussion
October 17, 2009, 1:00 pm, Free with Museum Admission

Pancakes for Breakfast with Tomie dePaola
Pancakes, story time & book signing!
October 18, 2009, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Adults $10 (Members $6), Children $5 (Members $3), Family of Four $25 (Members $15)

The address of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is:

125 West Bay Road
Amherst, MA 01002

I loved dePaolo's books as a kid and he still remains one of my favorite artists. I'm nowhere near Amherst so I am definitely bummed out that I can't go and get a book signed!

links:

• Tomie dePaola @ the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
• Tomie dePaola's website