Circus themed kids things have been around for ages and aren’t going anywhere in a hurry.  While some of them can be cute, it’s the circus inspired harlequin pattern that I love best of all.  It’s such a simple geometric pattern that has loads of style without any of the fuss.  I love that you can play with many different colours on any harlequin adorned object or you can go for a more minimalistic 2 colour look.  I was reminded of how much I love this pattern when I spotted that circus bunny on pinterest so I went looking for a few more things and here’s what I found:

1.  Decorative bunny…  2.  Harlequin cushions…  3.  Porcelain bowl…  4.  Animal shorts   5.  Circus poster

This week’s picks for mama & baby… let mama decorate her table with these royal blue salad servers while baby enjoys eating on that melamine dinner set.

This week’s picks for mama & baby… let mama decorate with these smooth matte ceramic bowls while baby wears that linen bib with contrasting straps.

Recently I’ve been really keen to take my daughter to the circus.  Last week I discovered the Insect Circus and it sounded like the perfect opportunity.  I was all set to book tickets when illness struck and we ended up going nowhere.  The Insect Circus has since left town so we’ll have to wait till it’s back.  But while I was thinking about going I remembered a lovely collection of circus themed cushions, mugs, posters and trays for kids that I had seen over at Mimi’s Circus shop.  It’s created by Famille Summerbelle, {who’s city cutout maps you may know}, who are an Anglo-French husband and wife team that design a small collection of things for the home.  This ‘Performers’ collection immediately caught my attention because of the bold and bright colours as well as the cool illustrations.  And after all which kid doesn’t like a bit of circus action in their life?  Apart from the kids stuff there are also some colourful and fun tea towels that would brighten any kitchen.  Head over to Famille Summerbelle to see the whole collection and when you’re there, do check out the cutout city maps if you haven’t seen them before.

My little 3 year old is a hugely fussy eater so I’m always looking for ways to make food more fun and more appealing.  Short of standing on my head, I think I’ve tried everything to make her eat.  Not much has worked but I have found that making the food look good and giving it to her on a colourful, attractive plate helps a bit (that’s what I like to believe anyway!).  So I’m always on the lookout for cool plates in the hope that it’ll make her eat more and my latest find is this 3 piece dinner set by Darling Clementine.  I love the bold, bright orange complimented beautifully by aqua blue and pink.  The little mouse is such a cutie too.  If I was served dinner on this plate, I think I’d eat every last crumb.

Darling Clementine is a Norwegian design house that create the most wonderful stationery and goodies for the home.  They combine fun illustrations with lots of bold colour and their unique style to make stuff that appeals to both kids and adults.  This 3 piece kids dinner set is their latest creation called ‘Little wonders’ and it should be available to buy very soon.  Also coming soon are 2 wonderful placemats that are part of the same series.  If not for your own kids, this set would make a great gift.  I know I’m seriously tempted. 

If you visit me regularly, you’ll know that I love all things Japanese.  Be it Japanese toys, or books or homewares, the Japanese are able to create such simple yet stunning objects of extreme desire.  In my quest for finding more Japanese goodies, I stumbled across D-Bros that make little objects and stationery for the home and for kids.  Some of their offerings are so beautiful in a minimalist kind of way, which is exactly the kind of style that the Japanese excel in.

I love these notebooks with their red ribbon detail and the sweetest illustrations.  I think any little girl will be pleased to own one of these but I’m also thinking big girls will want one too.  I know I do!

These little match-box style cards are so unusual and so pretty.  On offer are birthday cards, new baby cards, wedding cards and more.  Just lovely!

These fairytale drinking glasses are just so cool.  I’m loving the illustrations and the way they’re reflected around the entire glass.  It almost looks like the wolf and the wicked witch are floating through the glass.

To see more of D-Bros‘ lovely products visit them.  You’ll find goodies not just for the kids but for the home too.  Unfortunately you can’t buy unless you’re in Japan but you can check out Rakuten, Japan’s global market that ship’s internationally and has a selection of D-Bros stuff.

Spring is here and I can’t see beyond mint green at the moment.  It’s in the shops, it’s in the magazines and it’s on my mind.  It’s such a fresh and vibrant colour and I’m absolutely going crazy for it.  So I went on the hunt for some mint green lovelies for the kids and here’s what I found:

1.  An old wardrobe given a new lease of life by painting it mint green.  Perfect for any kids room, I found this over at style-files.

2.  A cute little summer dress with a high seas print by Winter Water Factory.

3.  I love the idea of having a single wooden letter on display in a nursery and I love this lower case ‘a’ by Old New Again.

4.  Gorgeous little baby ballet shoes by Baby Bloch. You can get these at Bohemia Design.

5.  Beautiful mint green and gold wallpaper adorned with colourful humming birds, perfect for kids or adults too.  It’s called Grove Garden Wallpaper and it’s from Fabrics & Papers.

6.  A sweet little elephant bowl made of stoneware clay and its from A. Speer Ceramic Studio.

7.  I just want to eat these mint green cake pops now! The photo is from Fern Lee photography where you’ll also find instructions on how to make these delicious looking treats.

8.  An adorable little hand made bunny rabbit wearing mint green and polka dots by Timo Handmade.

9.  Last is this lovely, cosy looking quilt with a turtle print on one side and stripes on the other.  This one is by Moo Chic Baby.

If you want to see more in the colour love series, check out these lovely blue goodies and orange ones too.

Ketiketa is a wonderful French brand with a Nepalese twist.  They create clothes, bed linen and accessories for babies, girls and boys using traditional Nepalese fabrics and materials.  The textile in question is called ‘dumbar kumari’ named after a Nepalese princess who brought the technique of block printing back from India to Nepal in the 19th Century.  Today I’m lusting after their beautiful bib and baby wrap sets that come in an equally beautiful gift box.  I’m loving the delicate prints, the softness of the cotton voile and the elegance of the packaging.  Ketiketa have managed to marry French style with Nepalese tradition to create super elegant and chic clothes and accessories for kids.  To get these baby bib sets head to Ola Deco.

And here’s where you’ll find some more chic French baby bibs.

Yesterday I came across Hoto, a small pottery studio in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  They’re only a few months old and so far they make just one thing… this lovely soup bowl, but it’s not just about the bowl.  It’s called Little Red Cap and it’s a bowl with a story.  There are 4 different illustrations within the bowl that tell a visual Little Red Riding Hood type story but there’s more.  The artist has brought the tale to life by creating a background of trees and wolves that come with the bowl.  So while your little one is eating, you can set up the background and tell the story with the lovely props.  I think the idea is so creative, so unusual, so lovely and I hope Hoto make more such themed plates and bowls.  The packaging too deserves a mention… the round box with the hanging wolves is simple but very stylish.  You can find out more at Hoto’s site where you can buy the bowl too and they ship internationally. What a fantatsic idea!

P.S. Have you entered our giveaway yet? $100 voucher to be won!

*Via Imaginative Bloom

Sometimes there are things that land in my inbox that I can’t wait to share.  Tulip + i is just one of those things.  It’s a little Canadian boutique selling baby blankets, bibs, clothes, pillows and more, all made of beautiful washed linen.  The colours are muted with soft greys, purples, pinks and browns complementing each other wonderfully well.  None of the stuff is cutesy in anyway, just simple designs with bags of soft and subtle style.  Many of the cushions have a tiny little animal printed on them in white or yellow, the baby blankets and place mats have some Italian text on them while the bibs have contrasting coloured straps.  It’s these little touches and details that make Tulip + i so special.  Natalie, the mama in question and the designer, definitely has an eye for beauty.  Inspired by life’s little pleasures, her collection evokes a sense of happiness, calm and an overwhelming desire to touch it all!  Head over to Tulip + i to see all the goodies and they’re offering 20% off everything till 19th December 2011.