Draw Me A Lion

Draw Me A Lion is at Ainsworth

2012-03-06T16:56:00.006-08:00

If you've ever been to Granville Island you know that there are so many neat little shops to look at and of course there is also the Public Market and theaters and distraction all around.

Which is why it can be a bit tricky to just sort of bump into the eclectic Ainsworth Shop & Studio located a tad past Opus and the Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design. It's run by it's owner Karen Ainsworth and her mom (cuuute!) and there are tons of original local artists work to be had there! Amongst them is now also the Draw Me A Lion line. Our whole line of limited edition prints is showcased upstairs (yes, there is an upstairs!) and the owner even devoted a little table to the Story Activity book. How great is that?

Here are a few pics of the inside of the shop. There is even a ceramic and welding studio in the back where some of the artists represented there have their studios. One of them is the talented Mary Kim who has a gazillion neat things for sale at Ainsworth and who is also featured in one of these pics here along with her cute wee little one.

Inspiring Creativity - Guest Post for Dilly Dally Blog

2012-03-02T13:11:00.008-08:00

Here is Penelope, bear in residency at Dilly Dally toys where you can find all sorts of treasures; among them the full Draw Me A Lion line.

I just wrote a guest blog post for Dilly Dally Toys on Commercial Drive on the subject of inspiring creativity, and what I think makes a 'good' creative activity.

It's always a pleasure to write about something you really care about. In this case the importance of creativity, which is so much what Draw Me A Lion is based on.

Also, check out the super cute Dilly Dally blog in general! I am very much in love with their 'toy adventures' section, in which super cute toys that are available at Dilly Dally go on all sorts of fun little adventures, as the name would suggest. There is long term dilly dallier Penelope the bear and also an Otter named... Otto:) Check out their blog to see what Otto brought home and what Penelope did because of this. ...

Reading this section of their blog is very much like reading a picture story book and Claire (one of the co-owners of Dilly Dally) is very talented at sharing these funny stories of the inhabitants of her shop. Thanks Dilly Dally! I think you're grrrrrreat!

The Big Prize goes to the lovely Åsa!

2012-02-27T13:45:00.004-08:00

So just a tiny bit after my own birthday and me having opened a bunch of great presents, what do you know... the Draw Me A Lion facebook page got it's 112th like, and so now it's a little bit like it's Åsa Cedarholm's birthday because she was the big winner! Yaaayyy Åsa!

I just got back from the post office where I shipped off a limited edition print, a colouring postcard booklet and of course a set of Thank You cards to our lucky winner.

Åsa is a very talented lady and has a very lovely website of her own. Do check it out! I am especially a very big fan of her illustration of 'Jaine, the writer' who just so happens to be a dog. You just never know who's a writer these days...

Åsa discovered Draw Me A Lion when she went to Collage Collage and bought our colouring cat poster for her friend's little girl Hannah. She even sent me this pic here of her and Hannah checking out the poster before the colouring session. I'm so excited and happy that the prize goes to someone as cool as Åsa! Cooool! I even know how to make a neat umlaut on the A now to spell her name properly.

Thank you Åsa, and thank you Hannah for making Åsa find out about this little shop of mine!

Parades!

2012-02-20T23:55:00.013-08:00

A while back it was once again Chinese New Years and this year I finally got the chance to go and check out the parade! I had missed it the last two years so I wanted to make sure to catch it this time around because I sure to love parades and luckily so does my friend Rebecca. We made a whole day out of it. Parade, Chinese food, more Parade, more Chinese food and then end of parade where the dragons eat the lettuce off of the shops that wish to have good luck. Pretty great day. I took a whole bunch of pictures of course and wanted to share some here, especially the ones with the kids who were in the parade and doing such a great job but also the kids that were outside of the parade watching it. I always think that it's so great for kids to see other kids do cool stuff and perform and be part of things publicly. Not just adults.

Of course it also reminded me of the 1•2•3 Duck Parade Print here in the shop. Check it out:)

These girls here were the cutest little dragon ever!

Fun DIY Project: Mr. Paper Valentine

2012-02-14T18:43:00.000-08:00

So I was going to Not make anything for Valentines this year, other than the 'I Valentine You' card I made in the Draw Me A Lion shop... but then I got a little bit of a hankering to do a fun 30 minute Valentine craft project. "What was it" you ask? Why I decided to recreate Mr. Valentine from the card in the shop.

I took some photos along the way so that you can do it too at home. And really it doesn't have to be Valentines day to make Mr. Valentine. I bet that whoever you want to make it for will be just as happy, or maybe even happier when you give it to them in the middle of summer or winter sometime, because really, we should think of how awesome all of our special friends in our lives are every day, not just one day a year.

So here's all you need, explained in pictures. Looks mighty good propped up on your desk, or you could make a tiny hole in the top of the hat and thread a needle with some colourful thread and hang it on your wall that way. Or you'd like to make a Miss or Mrs Valentine? If you do send me a pic won't you? I'd love to see her... and so would Mr. Valentine I'm sure. <3

NEW Retailer! ROOM 6 in Deep Cove.

2012-01-25T11:05:00.000-08:00

It's so nice to be able to count Room 6 amongst our growing list of retailers. Located in Deep Cove it sure appears to be a spectacularly lovely shop with special attention to detail! If you're in the area swing on by and check out our Draw Me A lion Story Activity Kits, Cat and Dog Colouring Posters, colouring postcards and cards first hand! Of course they're in great company! Room 6 has heaps of beautiful things that are, as Megan the shop owner states ... "for nice people... and you are nice aren't you?"

Here are some pics of the shop, the bigger one is courtesy of Pinecone Camp, an also very nice photography blog.

I especially love all the pics of Megan's dogs on the Room 6 site. Oh, and there's this very cool video on Room 6's site where the dogs star just as much as part of the shop as the owner and the things in it. Love it! :)

Fun DIY Project: Colourful Pinecone Pendants!

2012-01-18T12:07:00.000-08:00

It's snowing and it's fun to go outside and build a mini snowman with the snow we have here in Vancouver. But once you're out there for a few hours it's also really nice to come back inside, get warm again and maybe... colour in a pinecone that you just happened to pick up outside!

If you feel like it all you'll need are some acrylic, poster paint, or guache in tubes, a brush, some newspaper, a string and of course... a lovely little pinecone! You could make a bunch and line them up on your window sill or save them till next year and have the cutest Christmas tree ever!

Great Interview with our retailer COLLAGE COLLAGE!

2012-01-18T11:59:00.000-08:00

Here is a great interview with Erin from COLLAGE COLLAGE on Broken Pencil Magazine! I was just going to read a bit and then read the whole thing later but then it was so good that I that just read the whole thing right away! Go Erin!

Also really happy to see our Dog and Cat Colouring Posters making an appearance in the article! So great! Another thing I found great was this mini terrarium featuring ...a lion(!) that Erin has at the shop! Of course I have to post a pic of it here! Roaaarrrr!

Even MORE FREE STUFF!

2012-01-14T16:21:00.000-08:00

Hello Hello!

We're still doing our FREE GIVEAWAY of 3 cool items to the 112th person to like our Facebook page and to sweeten the deal... I'm also going to pick ONE RANDOM PERSON FROM THE LIKES who will receive a free colouring postcard booklet!

Tell your friends!

Here is a pic of our colouring booklets to entice you with;) It includes 12 cards that you can colour and send of to your bffs!

Happy New Years! FREE GIVEAWAY!

2012-01-01T16:19:00.000-08:00

A very creative and Happy New Year to all of you! Here at Draw Me A Lion I'm excited for this upcoming new year and hope that it will bring our little company only good things that will make us grow into a strong little lion! But in order to grow stronger we're going to need your help!

So, we're starting the year 2012 with a FREE GIVEAWAY!

The 112th person to 'like' our facebook page wins these three cool Draw Me A Lion products!

Pass it on! Help us grow and someone else get a whole lot of nice things shipped right to their doorstep! Hurrah!

YMCA Small Business Showcase Pics

2011-12-27T15:03:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas!

I sure did, but now alas it is time to once again return to the land of working. This morning whilst organizing my computer a bit I noticed that there were tons of things I meant to post but did not get around to yet. This is one of them. Back in November Draw Me A Lion was part of the YMCA Small Business Showcase. Here are some pics of the Draw Me A Lion booth and visitors, our little colouring station that we set up as well as some pics of a few other vendors and pals that were part of the event.

*Some of these pics are courtesy of Adele Lewin Photography who was also part of the event. Thanks!

Blog Post for Vancouvermom!

2011-12-14T11:56:00.000-08:00

A while back I was asked if I could write a blog post for the local blog Vancouvermom.ca. Well, I did, and now it's up on their cool site. Since I was asked to write about the topic of Instilling a lifelong love of art and creativity is was of course the perfect subject! Here is the article and a few images from it. Enjoy!

NEW! Christmas Cards at WINDOW SHOP!

2011-12-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

Draw Me A Lion Holiday Cards! A little late but better than never! You can buy them NOW at The Window Community Art Shop! The cool shop is brand new just like us and doesn't even have a site online yet. You can buy one card at 3.50$ each or the set of 6 for 11$ special Holiday price! IF you haven't bought your holiday cards yet, pick up a set or a few cards at the Community Window Shop! Here are the details:

THE COMMUNITY WINDOW SHOP:

Tuesday – Saturday | 10am-6pm | The Window Community Art Shop (9 West Hastings)

You can also get the cars at these two last Holiday Markets DRAW ME A LION will be at:

Sat. Dec.17th, I HEART CRAFTS, at 1897 Powell St, from 11-5pm.

And

Sun.Dec. 18th, BLIM MARKET, at 50 E. Pender St, from 11-5pm.

Our Colouring Posters are really FUN!

2011-12-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

The other day I finally got the chance to colour in one of my own Colouring Posters! I figured since we already have a picture of our Dog Colouring poster coloured in by Miles, I'd give the underrepresented Cat Poster a shot. And you know what... it was super fun! Put on some Holiday tunes, make yourself a nice little eggnog and do some colouring! It's a pretty relaxing thing to do and when you're done you have a beautiful one of a kind print to hang up in your home. Of course you could always leave the colouring to the kids and just draw in a line here and there while writing some Christmas cards and focusing more on the eggnog aspect. Either way. It's really a win win situation! Colouring posters for all! And to all a goodnight!

More Love for our Free Downloadable Gift Tags!

2011-12-05T19:48:00.000-08:00

We got another super cute gift tag mention on another super cute blog! Thanks Collage Collage! Two coooool blog mentions in one day! Awesome!

Also while I'm talking about Collage Collage, please do know that if you're in Vancouver, it's a great place to check out if you haven't yet! You can even book a Christmas craft party there for your office if you'd like! And of course you can purchase some of our Draw Me A Lion limited edition prints, colouring posters, story activity kits and colouring postcards there!

Here is a really cool video of the shop! Check it out!

Collage Collage - Shop, Look + Learn from Pike on Vimeo.

Our Gift Tags featured on the LMNOP blog!

2011-12-05T16:16:00.000-08:00

Check out how sweet our free gift tags look on the beautiful LMNOP blog! As big fans of the super cool mag we're pretty proud about this!

Free Holiday Gift Tags for YOU!

2011-12-03T15:47:00.000-08:00

On the 4th day of Christmas Draw Me A Lion gave to you... really cute Holiday Gift Tags for you to download, colour and cut-out! Yay!

Yep, we opened up our virtual door one month ago today and so what better time it being the start of the holidays to give you a little gift for being so awesome and supportive?

I just finished making these and printed a page out myself to see if they were as much fun as I hoped they'd be and ... they ARE! In fact, I might have to colour in a few myself soon when I get a chance. So if you're starting to think about wrapping presents for your special ones... don't worry about the gift tags anymore. Get some coloured pencils for your little assistants and you're done and done. Plus: How much cooler are gift tags you coloured in yourself? Like GAZILLION times cooler!

Click HERE TO DOWNLOAD OUR FREE HOLIDAY GIFT TAG PDF

Our Colouring Postcard Booklets are a HIT!

2011-12-03T14:46:00.000-08:00

Our Draw Me A Lion Colouring Postcards are our biggest sellers so far, and it's no surprise really. They are super fun to colour and a really great way to introduce your little ones to the concept of mailing something,... noooo, not via e-mail, via REAL post! Make a whole project out of it! Decide on who you'd like to send a card to, colour in your postcard, write your name on it, and perhaps even draw yourself on top of the animal somewhere! You could also draw the person who you're sending it to on top off, or next to the animal. Then you can explain the way postal codes and addresses work and go to a mail box or postoffice and talk about how the mail gets delivered!

I remember learning about the mail system in school and it's really a pretty neat thing to know just how many people are involved in delivering a special postcard that you made to your Grandma overseas! Plus they make a for a great little stocking stuffer!

Find Draw Me A LIon at DILLY DALLY!

2011-11-28T14:12:00.000-08:00

Draw Me A Lion has a second local retailer! I'm so happy to say that you can now find pretty much all of our items at Dilly Dally! If you're located in Vancouver it's probably the best way to check out All of our Limited Edition Prints in person and pick one up without having to pay shipping fees!

Dilly Dally is a really awesome toy shop and if you haven't been this might just be the perfect time! It's pretty hard to go in there and not come out with a little something something. Claire & Tyler who own the shop are really cool, sweet and helpful. They have a great selection of toys, prints, stationary, colouring books, picture books and games there ... and now of course also Draw Me A Lion Prints, Colouring Posters, Story Activity Kits and Colouring Postcard Booklets! Here are a few photos of our things at Dilly Dally with Claire and Tyler modeling them.

Our Dogs Coloured by Miles!

2011-11-27T13:37:00.000-08:00

Just got this pic sent from Mile's mom, who picked up our colouring poster yesterday evening. That's some Really Great and very quick colouring Miles! Awesome job! I'm so glad that you guys loved doing this! I hope it will make your room look super cool. I wonder what all of those dogs names are!?

Check our Facebook Page for upcoming Fairs!

2011-11-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

Today Draw Me A Lion was at the I Heart Crafts Fair. It was quite lovely and I got to meet lots of cool new people. I think what I will do from now on is post pics from Fairs and all info regarding markets on the Draw Me A Lion Facebook page primarily. That will allow me to use this blog to post fun things that inspire the collection. I'm also trying to figure out how/where to post some free activities for you to download. I might have possibly made a pretty cool sticker sheet to start it off with. Stay tuned for more!

Hurrah! Collage Collage is our first Retailer!

2011-11-26T20:45:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite creative spaces in Vancouver is Collage Collage, and so I couldn't be happier that it also happens to be our first official retailer! You can find a selection of Draw Me A Lion prints, including our cute 1•2•3Duck Parade long format print, cat & dog colouring posters, colouring postcards and of course our Story Activity Kit! Go and check them out and explore all the other beautiful little treasures that are hidden at this wonderful little shop! It's so great for me to see the Draw Me A LIon line up on the shelf along side so many other great things! Here are a couple of pics including Erin, the owner and creator of Collage Collage. Thanks Erin!

Draw Me A Lion at BLIM Market!

2011-11-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the first time Draw Me A Lion is going to be part of the BLIM Market! Fun!

Sunday Nov. 20th, 12pm-5pm at the Chinese Cultural Centre, right next to the Sun Yat Sen Garden at 50 East Pender Street. There is NO admission fee to this market! :)

Come on by and check out our pretty things! Blim Market is always a good time with lots of cool vendors. Perfect time to start some holiday shopping! You can even pay with credit or debit because we have a terminal at Blim! Even simpler. Hurrah!

I will also be selling a few copies of 'The Day it all blew Away' and 'Paulina P. for Petersen'. Picture books for gifts are nice;)

Draw Me A LIon is on Cool Mom Picks!

2011-11-16T21:26:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh! We're not even two weeks old yet and we're already being featured on Coolmompicks.com! Check out their super nice post on our Thank You Card Set and Colouring Postcard Booklet! Thank YOU Cool Mom Picks! We just might have to mail you one of those cards now!

Plus I love that the Draw Me A LIon line reminds them of The Phantom Tollbooth, because of course, I also love that book! You guys rock!

The Lion at the Robert Lee YMCA!

2011-11-15T19:03:00.000-08:00

We're part of the YMCA RLY NVN Small Business Showcase!

Draw Me A Lion will be part of the Robert Lee YMCA/New Ventures Network Small Business Showcase this Thursday (that's in 2 days!)

Date: Thursday November 17^th

Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Place: Robert Lee YMCA Atrium and YMCA Coast Capital Savings Family Development Centre (5th Floor!)

Draw Me A Lion on Simply Read Books!

2011-11-13T22:48:00.000-08:00

Now we're exactly one week old! I can't believe the launch was only one week ago. So much has happened since then that it feels much much longer.

In my other life I am an illustrator and author of picture books. Both of my books Paulina P. for Petersen and The Day it All Blew Away are published by the Vancouver publisher Simply Read Books. Today Draw Me A Lion is featured on their blog. Check it out. It's run by the talented Kallie George who was one of the first people to purchase the Story Activity Kit and who also happened to be my editor for my second book. Thanks for posting Kallie!

First Orders Shipped!

2011-11-11T11:43:00.000-08:00

It's been so busy in Draw Me A Lion Land these couple of days that I forgot to say Thanks to my very first online customers! The first batch of orders were shipped out two days ago already! It was the happiest I'd been to go to the post office in a long time!

The Day of The Launch!

2011-11-08T20:07:00.000-08:00

Well, the Launch went off without a hitch! Tons of people came out and helped celebrate the start of it all. I really couldn't have been happier! I was great. Posters and postcards were coloured in, cupcakes were had, champagne was sipped and everyone was excited about the prints, posters, cards and the story- kit. I even gave a little speech, at which point I displayed myself as a little less eloquent and a little more emotional than usually, but hey, it was a special day and so I'm allowed a little outburst of confused stuttering;)

Of course in the general bumble of launch-happiness I sort of forgot to take photos of people's postcards and posters that were being coloured in, but still, there are a few.

Again, Thank You so much for coming out everyone who did! It wouldn't have been the same without you!

THANK YOU!

2011-11-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

One more day until the launch of my own little shop! It's feels pretty great, I have to say. Almost one year ago now I wrote a business plan for DRAW ME A LION. Now, 8 months later, the products I had dreamed up are actually made and packaged, the website is ready and the invitations have been sent out. It's a bit fantastic:)

Even though I worked really hard to make this happen, there is no way it could have been done without the help from all of the amazing friends that I have in my life! I want to dedicate this entry to them and say "THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING ME MAKE THIS HAPPEN! I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!"

Here are some photos of just a few of the people who helped get me to where I am today. All young at heart, I thought it would be nice to see them here, when they were also younger in years. I have also posted some photos the children I know, whom I would like to dedicate this blog to. Thank you all for your imagination!

The Lion's Launching! This Sunday!

2011-11-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

DRAW ME A LION ONLINE SHOP LAUNCH!

-Celebrate the start of something special, support local business and pick up an early christmas gift!-

Why: Because we need Your Imagination!

When: Sunday, November 6th (3pm-5pm)
Where: Our first Vancouver retailer:

COLLAGE COLLAGE: 621 Kingsway

( 15th & Fraser St)

WHAT YOU CAN DO AT OUR LAUNCH PARTY:

Check out all of our online shop products first hand!
Get a free super cute Draw Me A Lion button and sticker
Colour in some of our cute colouring posters and postcards
Have some delicious treats
Get your hand shaken very sturdily by me for attending
Buy some early Christmas gifts!
Support a small, new local shop

I did it! The Website Launch for Draw Me A LIon is this Sunday! It will be at Collage Collage, and I really couldn't have asked for a better suited place for it to be at! So perfect! Hurrah! All the hard work is finally paying off. I can't wait for the launch and the site going live!

THANK YOU

2011-11-04T13:54:00.001-07:00

And closer.....

2011-10-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

One more month till the shop opens up. Still so much to do, but I'm getting really excited. I have a good feeling about this little shop. It just feels right.

Almost done!

2011-08-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

" ... the work of the imagination shapes and builds the forms of the brain."

-Rudolph Steiner- (Austrian philosopher & founder of the Waldorf School)

This is my first post on this blog, which is up, even though the Draw Me A Lion website is still in the works. Nevertheless, it is horribly exciting to be so close to finally opening up my little virtual shop after working on it for so long. I can't wait for the launch!
As part of a lot of preparation for designing the line of poster prints and products, I have been doing a bit of reading on early childhood development. The theories, and the people behind them. So I will try to use this blog as a means to share my interest in this subject amongst other things and how I feel they relate back to what I want to create with the Draw Me A Lion collection.
So yes, the lion has been let out of his cage.... and I hope that he won't go back in for a loooong time! Here is a picture of the clay lion that I made for the image for this blog in the making. He was almost ready there, just needed to be painted.... just like the shop itself really. :)

-Lisa Cinar-
Creator of Draw Me A Lion