Today I wanted to share a few things and spaces I found and fell for:

Beautiful vintage inspired kids room and I’m going crazy for that chequered floor.

How cute is this mouse ballerina?

Loving the colours and the simplicity of this kids space.

That sheep soft toy is just adorable and I love the black, white and grey nursery too.

Have a wonderful weekend and try to stay warm!

Meet Fedor… a cute Norwegian forest cat who likes to try his hand at various professions.  When I first saw this creature, I thought the idea of a cat taking on all these different jobs was too cute!  He can be a seaman, a painter, a woodsman, a janitor and probably any other profession you can think of.  What fun for a kid to play with this friendly cat and dress him up in a new outfit every day.  Dress up dolls are always great fun and even better when they’re as creative as this adventurous cat.  Fedor is handmade by a Russian designer called Ania Druzhinina who doesn’t have an online shop but you can contact her through her website where you’ll also find Fedor in his many other guises.

*via Petit Poulou

It feels like the weeks are flying by and Christmas is coming sooner than planned!  So I thought it was time to share my next gift guide where I’ve picked out some cool and unusual soft toys and dolls:

1.  Handmade baby alpaca wool doll called Balthazar by Lucky Boy Sunday from Lapin & Me.

2.  Felt elephant bag with baby elephants by En Gry & Sif from Sisters Guild.

3.  Lambswool Gerald the Giraffe by Sara Carr.

4.  A well dressed dachshund by Jipi Jipi.

5.  Knitted lambswool mono cat by Donna Wilson.

6.  A cloth lion wearing a fluro orange tee by Cloth & Thread.

7.  A pillow soft toy with one little pig by Pink Nounou.

8.  Retro mickey mouse cushion and toy by Atsuyo et Akiko from Serendipity.

9.  Pretty little hand made jade plants by Cocon.

10.  Tutu adorned dancing dolls by Evangelione from Les Petits Boheme.

11.  Mouk hand crochet doll by Anne-Claire Petit from The Kid Who.

You can also check out my other guides: gift ideas for boys, gift ideas for babies and gift ideas for mamas (who like to cook & entertain).

How adorable are these teddy bears?  They’re made right here in London by Mia who is a mama of 2 with a huge imagination.  Each hand made teddy comes with a little set of it’s very own and very cute belongings.  Most come with sweet little dresses and coats, a picnic set including little crochet food, quilts and pillows, moses baskets or beds and even a family photo album.  Could these sets get any sweeter?!

Each teddy bear is beautifully dressed complete with a coat and sometimes a complimentary scarf and handbag too.  These little sets would be great for hours of imaginative play.  All the bears have bags of personality so I’m sure you can make-up lots of creative stories about each one’s life.

Sometimes I am just wowed by the creativity of mama’s that I stumble across and this is definitely one of those times.  The bears and their accessories look like they’ve been made with lots of love, imagination and they’re super stylish too.  To see more or to place an order you’ll find all the information you need over at Manomine.

*Via bloesem kids

I’m a sucker for soft toys, especially the ones that look like they have a story to tell and a personality to match their little story.  In this house they don’t often get played with but they’re always welcome here as they look fabulous piled up on a shelf or just dotted around a room.  These characterful soft toys are my latest discovery and aren’t they the cutest?  They’re all entirely hand made from cotton and linen and their faces are hand embroidered on.  These adorable creatures are made by Furze Chan, a Hong-Kong based designer.

In addition to these delightful soft toys, Furze Chan also makes some paper goodies including stickers, paper puppets and cards all of which are wonderfully illustrated.  Back to the soft toys though, I love their simplicity and I love the red bottoms some of them have.  Since each toy is hand made by Furze herself, they are sold in very limited quantities and some of them are already sold out.  But there are a few left at Furz Chan’s etsy store so you can take a look. Before I go, I’ll leave you with one more picture of this cutest little pig.

Via Petit Poulou

A while ago I shared some whimsical mouse mobiles with you which proved to be a popular find.  Those mouse mobiles were the creation of Laurence Bonnet, a French lady with a penchant for making delicate little treasures that are oh so beautiful.  Today I’m lusting after her newest hand made creations which include these adorable pajama clad mice that come complete with a little wire frame bed and can be suspended from the ceiling… perfect little eye candy above a cot or toddler bed.  These sleeping mouse mobiles are a limited edition creation where each piece is unique and numbered.

All of Laurence’s mobiles and soft toys are hand made with the greatest attention to detail and lots and lots of imagination.  Another of her new creations are these cuddly and cool looking bears.  I love the whole father son thing and I love how cool and collected papa bear looks with his scarf, top hat and suspenders ensemble.  Laurence sells her creations under the Rose Miniscule name and that’s where you’ll find all these gorgeous little treasures.

I was browsing etsy as I often do when a thumbnail of one of these dolls caught my eye.  I clicked to have a better look and I was confronted by these whimsical hand made dolls.  I love that they’re so quirky and unusual, I love their long dangly legs and I’m also feeling the love for their ‘stand out from the crowd’ outfits.  These contemporary dolls are hand made here in the UK by a lady called Kiran Patel who says ‘their clothing style is borrowed from modern trends… and translated with intricate style detailing making each piece interesting and original in their own way.’  These dolls are large, measuring around 40cm’s and would make funky soft toys or would look cool as decorative dolls too.  To find out more, head to Kooky Handmade on etsy.

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.

I’ve had my eye on Jane Foster’s goodies for a while now.  When I first spotted her wares dotted around a kiddy room on Ohdeedoh I liked what I saw – bright, bold, happy designs with a strong retro vibe that will appeal to mama’s and kids alike.  Jane is a Devon based mama of one who has a love for style from the 50′s and 60′s and this shows through in her work.  She makes soft toys, kids room art and some homewares too.  I’m loving the handmade softies especially the alphabet dachshund and the love cats.  Soft toys they may be but they’re equally cool decorative pillows too.  You can visit Jane Foster Designs to check out the entire collection.

I love Etsy!  I’ve been known to disappear in to the world of Etsy for hours on end, which is exactly what I did this weekend.  There is so much creativity and talent on there and that means I always find something that I can’t wait to share with you.  Today it’s all about Colette Bream, a store filled with super stylish, cool and quirky goodies for the kids.  On offer are hand made soft toys that can double up as playful cushions too, there are some dressing up bits, some lovely toddler bedding sets and the most adorable party hat.  For now, I’m concentrating on the hand made softies that are on offer… I love the little house cushion and the bird in boots one is pretty cool too.  Then there is the tree cushion and the clouds which are also just lovely.  I could go on but I’ll let you discover the rest over at Colette Bream’s Etsy store. 

P.S. If you’d like to see some more hand made soft toys from Etsy, check out these cool lions and this gorgeous elephant and his friends.