I've never flown in a hot air balloon, but I have a major soft spot for them because the Texan aeronaut Lee Scorsby is my favorite character in the His Dark Materials trilogy. When I saw Madeleine Sargent's handmade hot air balloon mobiles in last month's issue of Milk, I thought fondly of ol' Lee and his adventures in the sky.

Can I just say that though I have no intention of seeing the Golden Compass movie, the casting of Sam Elliott as Lee seems genius. Can anyone confirm? Now onto the balloons!

• This polaroid pillow by Jersey Maids would be perfect for a child to fall asleep on, dreaming of flight.
• Love this Goodbye Plate by Geek Details. It's so pretty but it makes me sad- it means that dinner's over!
• Madeleine Sargent is Made By Mosey, who I featured last year when she made this amazing quilt to benefit East Africa. She's still making incredible quilts, as well as these whimsical hot air balloons. Sold individually or in groups of three, they are charmingly constructed of vintage cotton & hessian.
• Doesn't this photo by Maybe Sparrow's Place capture the wonder of hot air balloons? Though it was taken in 2011, it seems like it could have been taken anytime. Did you know that the hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology? Wikipedia says!
• If you're really crazy for them, you could have Golden Heart Illuminations make you a Custom Hot Air Balloon Luminary Sculpture. I'm skeptical of the little drawing class guys in the basket, but this could make a wonderful gift, especially for a couple that got engaged/married in a hot air balloon. People do that, right?
• I'll bid you farewell with Gold Teeth Brooklyn's hot air balloon card is totally frame-worthy, and would look so cute in a kid's room.

Have you ever flown in a hot air ballon? Would you ever? Who's your favorite character from His Dark Materials?

(All images as credited above.)