My daughters birthday is in December, just a couple of short weeks before Christmas.  That means come December we have an overload of new toys, games, books, clothes… the works!  For the first time this past December we had a proper birthday party for her which meant even more stuff.  Come the new year I seriously feel like her things have increased 10-fold.  While the big things always find a home, it’s the little bits and pieces that cause the problems and the mess.  Apart from giving a load of stuff to charity, I’m always on the look out for new storage solutions and when I last went looking, I found these super stylish storage sacks by Varpunen.  They come in 3 different sizes which are perfect for storing small and medium sized toys and besides they look great.  I love their geometric patterns; some subtle some bold but all cool and classy.  I’m loving the idea of having 3 or 4 of these lined up holding a range of different toys.  Of course these Varpunen storage sacks aren’t just for kids, they’d be equally at home in an adult space keeping your things tidy.

Are you a Halloween lover or hater?  I used to love it as a kid and now I love it because of my kid, who this year is old enough to get it, and is so, so excited about buying a pumpkin.  I’m not crazy about the whole spooky and creepy crawly side of it but that doesn’t really matter as there are so many creative ways to celebrate Halloween without a bat in sight!  This year I wanted to do something a little special to celebrate Halloween with you and I found the perfect opportunity with Room Cph who have kindly agreed to give away these Lego Halloween storage heads.  You’ll find all the details of how to enter at the end of this post.

Room Cph are a Danish design house who work with cool brands like Lego and Pantone Universe by taking their existing products and putting a new, highly creative spin on them.  It was Room Cph that designed the Lego storage and lunch boxes (in close collaboration with Lego) that have become quite the Lego design icon.  Now they’ve introduced their latest creations which are these two Halloween themed Lego storage heads – a pumpkin head and a skeleton head that I’m giving away.  They also sent my daughter one of the brick storage boxes in fuchsia and she’s already filled it to the brim with all her little treasures (read junk).  But I’d much rather it in the box than strewn all over the house getting under my feet!

Lego is one of those brands that I think everybody has a soft spot for.  It was around long before I was born and I know it will be around when I have grand kids.  That’s some going!  So if you fancy a bit of Halloween Lego for your kids room, enter my giveaway and you could be the lucky winner.  Happy Halloween!

GIVEAWAY ENTRY DETAILS:

One lucky reader picked at random will win both the Lego skeleton storage head and the pumpkin storage head.

For your chance to win these storage heads, just leave a comment below… easy!  Say hi or whatever you like but keep it nice!  One comment per person.  Entry is open to UK residents only for this giveaway.  The competition closes at 8am (UK time) on Halloween day (Wednesday 31st October 2012).  Any entries after this time will not be counted.  The winner will be announced on Friday November 2nd on our facebook page and on this post.  Good luck!

P.S. Feel free to share this post by clicking on the ‘facebook like’ or ‘tweet’ buttons.

*Wallpaper image via wall-library

UPDATE 02.11.12 :  This giveaway is now closed.  Thank you to everyone who entered.  The winner is Fiona Morris. Congratulations Fiona!

This week’s picks for mama and baby… let mama sip her coffee in this birdy cup and saucer while baby decorates his room with that duck inspired chest of drawers*.

 *via design milk 

I am loving these knitted cabinets… how cool are they?!  And they not only look amazing but they’re portable too.  They can work in any kiddy or adult space but I’m especially loving it for a baby and toddler room.  The cabinet can be placed on the legs or on the floor so making it accessible for small hands too.  You can store all manner of things from toys to books to clothes for the bambino.  I’m picturing a rustic, bohemian chic nursery with lots of vintage touches and one of these cabinets to finish off the look.

These knitted cabinets are designed by Beril Cicek, a young Turkish designer.  She focuses on hand made products using natural materials especially wood.  To find out more about these gorgeous cabinets visit Beril’s site.

* Via Cirkus ** Image 3 via Elle

Since I started writing this blog, I’ve come across so many beautiful nurseries and kids rooms.  Each one is unique, individual and has been designed by the mama (or papa) in question with bags of creativity and love.  So I thought I would start sharing some of my lovely finds.  Today I’ve picked 3 simple nursery storage ideas that I love.  These 3 ideas are for small storage and show how, with a little imagination, you can make a real feature of stuff that you would probably otherwise have to find a storage space for:

1.  Inexpensive wire planters hung on a wall to store and display soft toys.  It looks amazing, the toys can be seen and it adds real style to the room.  This is the creation of a Texan mama called James (yes, a mama – see her blog for an explanation) who blogs at Blue Bird Vintage.

2.  Vintage suitcases look super cool, you can often pick them up for pennies at a flea market and they make very useful storage boxes.  I love how they’ve been used to keep the babies books tidy and besides looking chic, the books are easy to reach for little kids.  This is part of a delightful room created by an Aussie mama who blogs at One Claire Day.*

3.  Instead of a chunky wardrobe this is a wonderful and stylish way to store clothes.  They look stunning hung on this rustic, minimal, eco-friendly hanger.  Perfect for when space is tight but I would choose this even otherwise as it’s such a great feature for a room.  I found this at a blog called French by Design.

P.S. If you’ve still got all your Christmas shopping to do (like me!) have a look at our Christmas gift guide… it might just help! x

* Via Ohdeedoh

The colours, the prints, the designs of the Orient have always inspired me for their richness and their almost magical qualities.  If you’re a regular here, you’ll know how much I also love the style of the Frenchies.  So when I discovered Zolima I was more than a bit excited.  Zolima combines the beauty of French style with the magic of the Orient to create sumptuous goodies for kids but ones that will so appeal to mama’s too.  They make storage cases, suitcases, little bags and purses as well as clothes, mostly for the girlies but there are some for the boys too. 

I like all of Zolima’s goodies but it’s the bright coloured suitcases that I’m seriously lusting after.  They are so pretty, so girly.  They come in different sizes and can be used for travel.  But when you’re back home, you’re not going to want to hide these beauties away.  Use them as creative storage for dolls, toys, books or anything else.  Check out Pivoine et Tapioca who have the whole range.

Ooh… hello Marimekko!  I’m a fan, a big fan of this Finnish design house.  When I last visited their central London store, they were shut but I spied staff in there.  I practically glued my face to the glass front, knocked and begged and pleaded to be allowed in… desperate or what?!  But I got in (I think they felt sorry for me).  Hey, whatever it takes and it was so worth it as I found these delectable kids suitcases.  I’m already crazy about their ‘Karkuteilla’ print which is what these diddy suitcases are adorned with.  One look and it had to be mine ebabee no.1′s.  After all it would’ve been rude to make them open shop and not buy anything… that’s what I told daddee no.1 anyway!

These little Marimekko kids suitcases are made of chunky cardboard and come in 3 sizes.  The colours are super vibrant and they make for a super cute accessory for a toddler.  Mine uses hers to carry her ‘treasures’ in when she’s out for the day and she does insist on carrying it herself.  The large one costs £18, the medium £16 and the small £14.  Best place to get it is the Marimekko store in London (020 74866454).  But you can get it online at the Finnish Design Shop although delivery is steep at €15.

P.S. Here’s a sneak peak of ebabee no.1 with her’s…

I never knew storage could get me this excited.  But ‘jump up and down’ excited I am.  These felt storage baskets are just so pretty!  I’m calling them storage baskets but they’re really they’re storage nests made of felt.  I’m loving the soft but striking colours on offer and then there’s the little bird detail…  oh so pretty!  The hanging nest would make a fabby addition to a nursery and a cool place to store the kidlets night clothes or anything else you fancy.  Storage that doesn’t look like storage has definitely got my vote.  Made by the French company called Muskhane, the hanging storage nest costs €39 from ilodeco but delivery’s rather steep at €16.50.  You could also try Bobokids in London who have a selection.  Bobokids aren’t online yet but there’s always the good ol’ telephone!

Don’t forget to checkout ebabee, our little baby auction site.

Oooh… the girly girl in me has jumped out and is dancing a jig of joy.  I’m loving these baskets perfect for storing oh so many, many things.  They come as a set of 2 with the larger one measuring 42cms x 10cms.  The colours on offer are glorious fuchsia or deep aubergine as pictured, and are perfectly complemented by the super-bright crochet flowers.  They can be used to store all manner of toys or clothes for the kiddies, but I’m thinking stack’em high with Christmas crackers or use for smaller Christmas gifts first and keep them on display.  Then in the new year, adorn your girlie’s room with these.  These raffia storage baskets are by Rice and cost £44 for the pair plus £4.95 delivery.

If, like me, you love pretty storage checkout these hanging storage nests. They’re cuties!

How cool are these?!  Giant lego storage boxes that click together exactly like lego (they’re made under license from Lego).  They’d look great under a bed or cot bed or just stacked up high in a toddlers room. They’re not yet available but I hear that they will be very soon.  They come in 2 sizes and in many colours including red, yellow, dark green, white, fuchsia pink and more.  The medium one costs £17 and the large costs £26 with delivery at £5.95 from A place for everything.