Yesterday my daughter had a play date with another little girl and they got hooked on the colour green.  The two girls kept saying ‘green’ louder and louder and then bursting in to fits of laughter.  They then started adding an extra word and coming up with things like ‘green toast’, ‘green dog’… the idea being to pair it with something that most definitely isn’t green.  This produced more laughter and eventually the inevitable bathroom humour ensued followed by the loudest giggles ever!  I don’t know how 4 year old minds work but I do know this little game tickled them pink!  While I didn’t take part in the game, it did get me thinking of the colour green and I realised I’d never done a green post.  I always think that green isn’t a colour I’m naturally drawn to but then again there are so many shades of it that there really is a green for everyone (my personal favourite is mint green) and so I thought it would be fun to look for a few things in different shades of green and here’s what I found:

1.  green linen sunsuit by wolfechild…  2.  minty green toddler duvet set by garbo & friends…  3.  forest green firs pillowcase by fine little day…  4.   shades of green bird poster by silke bonde…  5.  ice-cream green playhouse by lucky boy sunday…  6. dark green book called Grandpa Green by Lane Smith.

Happy weekend all and see you next week!

I remember when I was around 13, there was a girl in my school who only ever wore black.  Occasionally she would wear little hints of white or grey but the dominating colour from head to toe was always black.  I seriously thought she was the coolest kid I’d ever seen!  I’ve always loved black and even several years on this obsession with black has never waned.  When I see a piece of clothing in a shop, it can come in every colour under the sun and I will always be drawn to the black one.  Over the years I’ve taught myself to have more colour in my wardrobe especially for Spring and Summer but in Winter it’s back to black!  Now this black obsession is creeping in to my decorating ideas and I’m thinking of re-doing my daughters room in black and white.  So I’ve been looking around for kids room decorations that are not only black and white but are also simple, unfussy and uncluttered in their design.  These were my top picks:

1.  Heart poster… 2. Polka dot wall stickers… 3. Sheep mobile… 4. Striped blanket… 5. Striped cloud cushion… 6. Tica chair… 7. Mickey Mouse pillow.

Hope you all have a great weekend!  See you next week…

My brother and sister-in-law are total art lovers and wherever they travel they pick up a painting by a local artist as a souvenir.  I think this is such a lovely way of remembering your travels and combining your love of art.  They always try and buy an original because given a choice I think anyone would opt for this over a print and very often you can get your hands on originals for not a lot of money.  While there is a lot of great original art out there, it’s not often that I come across cool original paintings for kids and so when I saw these by Adriane Duckworth I had to share.  The art is delightfully simple yet striking and I love the uncomplicated nature of the drawings.  My favourites are the black and white animal paintings and I love the black clouds too but there are some bright coloured ones available as well.  While Adriane’s style is minimalist and modern, it has plenty of warmth and cuteness too!  You can visit her online store ADOP to see more or checkout her selection at Society 6.

I’m always dreaming of re-decorating every room in the house.  Today I’m loving pink and grey for my daughters room.  Grey isn’t the most obvious choice for a kids room but with a dash of pink I think it works so well.  Personally, I’d even go for just grey with lots of white but today I wanted to add a bit of pink to the mix.  This kind of colour scheme and decor also really appeals to my minimalist side.  When i started putting this board together I knew I would like the end result but I didn’t realise quite how much this colour scheme would appeal to me.  Hope you like it too…

1.  Harlequin wallpaper… 2.  Knitted flag garland… 3.  Circus print… 4. 3D Olephants mobile… 5.  Soft pink lacquered chair… 6. Beauty baby doll… 7.  Sonny angel doll… 8.  Floral print beanbag…  9.  Starry cloud cushion…

Whenever I used to hear someone mention Sweden or when I saw something Swedish I’d always think of one of my closest and oldest friends who is half Swedish.  Sadly we now live continents apart but luckily it’s one of those friendships where this doesn’t matter at all.  Now when I hear the word Sweden, I fleetingly think of my friend and then my mind just gets flooded with thoughts of wonderful Swedish design!  The Swedes, and the other Scandinavians too have a design sense that is second to none and I’m very drawn to their aesthetic.  So when I discover a new Swedish shop I get very excited as I know it’s going to be good even before I check out what they sell.  And that’s exactly what happened with Le Kiosk.

Le Kiosk is a new Swedish store which sells goodies that are sourced from all over the world but each piece has the Scandinavian touch of being simple, light and bright in style.  In their kids section you’ll find fun crafty things like the {make your own} house box and the pretty washi tape covered pencils… {forget the kids, I’d love some of these for myself!}  There are also the cutest kimono baby slippers on offer and some cool mini woollen blankets plus loads of unusual posters and prints.  What I love most about Le Kiosk is that a lot of their carefully selected offerings are handmade and as a result very unusual. 

P.S. Have you seen our Christmas gift guides for kids and mama’s?

I have always wanted to visit the London Design Festival but each year passes and I miss it for one reason or another.  I’ve now added it to my huge ‘to-do’ list.  Unfortunately nothing ever seems to get crossed off this list and instead it just grows bigger and bigger.  But while I’m waiting for the 2013 festival I went and had a browse of their site and found Supafrank.  Nothing excites me more than discovering a new design studio that creates unusual things and that’s exactly what Supafrank is all about.

Supafrank work with various brands to create packaging, stationery and more.  But they’ve also created their own line called Creature Collective which I’m loving.  The furniture is still in prototype phase but the cute artworks are available now.  I love the bright colours and the element of fun they’ve injected in to all their designs.  There’s a bit of quirk mixed with lots of playful style to create products that would be fun for any age.  The artworks are more for kids and would add some humour and brightness to any room.  In addition to this project, Supafrank have also worked on some really fabulous collaboration projects like the Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh ones which you can also see on their site.

Before I started writing this blog I never knew about the wonderful world of kids art.  I knew there was art for kids but I thought it was all about the over-cutesy kind of stuff that I totally shy away from.  When I discovered the range of art on offer I realised how wrong I had been.  I felt like I had stumbled upon a secret world, a world only open to parents in the know.  In this world I found imagination that knew no bounds, illustrations that were a feast for the eyes and magical drawings that were sometimes happy, sometimes poignant and sometimes just plain funny.  Recently I stumbled across Society 6 and found the largest collection of kids art in one place.  I spent ages browsing and found art for every taste and budget.  Society 6 have gathered together a huge range of artists from across the globe that produce work not just for kids but for adults too.  They have so much choice and variety that it’s impossible to choose a favourite.  So, I’ve picked out a few blue-green coloured prints that I was charmed by but there’s a whole load more for you to explore.  I think from now on Society 6 will be my first port of call when I need some art for a child.

I vividly remember the first piece of art that my parents bought for my room.  I was allowed to choose and I picked a colourful painting of a sweet little girl in pigtails.  The painting was very simple even though it had many little details.  The girl was smiling and looked so carefree and happy that I guess I imagined seeing myself in her and that’s what probably attracted me to it.  When I saw this work by Ekaterina Trukhan it reminded me so much of that painting and it took me right back to my childhood filled with happy memories.  I was instantly drawn to her work and really wanted to share it here.

Ekaterina’s drawings are used for children’s books, calendars, parenting magazine articles and more.  I can see the appeal of the illustrations for both adults and kids as there is humour as well as a sense of playfulness to her work.  The illustrations for children remind me of what childhood should always be about… laughing, singing, dancing, playing and just having lots of fun.  Whereas the ones for parents are funny and very telling.  I love the one where the confused child is being pushed into every kind of extra-curricular activity possible; don’t we all know parents like that?!  Originally from Russia, Ekaterina Trukhan is now based in London and you can see her portfolio on her site.  She also has an etsy store where she sells prints, calendars and other sweet little things adorned with her drawings.  {The etsy store is currently closed for holidays but check her blog for the latest news}. 

The 2012 games have been magnificent.  The atmosphere in London has been amazing and I know I’m not alone in saying that I’ll really miss the Olympics.  But as we know, all good things must come to an end… for 4 years anyway (roll on Rio!).  I’m really looking forward to the Rio games and I’m expecting lots of partying, lots of colour, lots of celebration delivered in a way only the Brazilians can.

So as a little goodbye to the Olympics and in anticipation of the next one, I wanted to share the works of an Argentinian artist that sums up everything there is to love about the 2 countries involved.  The ‘Love London’ print highlights all of London’s major landmarks in a cute and childlike way.  Perfect for a London themed kids room or for any kid who has a love for London.  Then there is the ‘Brazil’ print so full of colour and vibrancy just as I imagine the place to be. 

I love the way Migy Blanco, the artist, brings the country/city to life through the use of colour and cute little drawings that capture the essence of each place.  There are many more wonderful prints of other countries and cities on offer but for today, it’s about an ode to the games that were and the games that will be.  Goodbye London, hello Rio…

*Via Creative roots

One of the most fun parts of decorating a kids room is choosing something for the walls.  As there is so much wonderful art out there, picking isn’t always easy.  I’m still trying to choose something for my daughters room and I’ve already been looking for a year now!  But my problem isn’t not finding the right prints, it’s finding too many that I love.  And this is my latest discovery… how adorable is that circus elephant?  I’m also drawn to the simple palette of mainly black and white with touches of colour.  Just lovely! 

These kids posters are created by Kerry Layton, an illustrator from North London.  She is a mama of 2 who recently re-discovered her love for drawing which resulted in her setting up a little boutique to sell her prints.  Called Seventy Tree, the shop sells mainly prints and postcards but there are some super cute pocket mirrors too, all adorned with Kerry’s drawings.  My favourite is the elephant but I’m also drawn to the close up of the bear whose shifty eyes are making me wonder what naughtiness has transpired.  Favourites aside, they’re all quite wonderful.