Today I thought I’d take a little break from the 2011 Christmas gift guide (I’ll be back with more from tomorrow). And besides I couldn’t wait to share these hand made soft toy cuties from Portugal. I came across Ludovico last week and it was love at first sight. Isn’t he just the cutest elephant soft toy ever? And his friends Ernesto and Palmira aren’t far behind in the cuteness stakes. It’s not just their adorable looks that have me smitten, but also their outfits… Ludovico’s sweet braces and shorts, Palmira’s ensemble of polka dots and stripes and Ernesto’s gorgeous lacy collar and trendy skinny trousers. You can’t help but fall for these hand made cuties. They’re made by Pink NouNou who offer some gorgeous hand made dolls too. So tempting…
Here is my next Christmas 2011 gift guide for kids and today it’s all about paper. I’ve picked out some fun puzzles, some stationary and some paper toys (even though it’s hard to believe they’re made from paper). I’m a huge fan of paper gifts to give and to receive so I couldn’t have a Christmas gift guide without a paper list. So here it is:
1. Love these circus prints to liven up a kids room. From Haciendo el Indio.
2. Fifi Mandirac is the queen of paper goodies. Today I’ve picked her colour pencils that come in beautiful boxes but there’s lots more paper goodies to be had.
3. Lots of quirky little characters create this punch out and make puzzle by Ingela Arrhenuis. From Hus & Hem.
4. A fantastic punch out animal puzzle that’s for play and display. Called Magical Menagerie it’s by Junzo Terada.
5. A paper dolls house so gorgeous. Called ‘Storybook Cottage’, it comes with 5 pieces of paper furniture. From Upon a Fold (Update Sept 2014 – sadly this shop has closed down). (The monkey should be part of no.4 on the list but it escaped!)
6. Note cards and stickers set by Donna Wilson. A bit of quirky fun to get creative with.
7. A modern and stylish looking paper matching memory game from Binth.
8. Reusable wall stickers in the guise of dress up dolls. What fun! They’re from Love Mae on Etsy.
9. Cool notebooks to draw in, to colour or to keep notes. From Ask Alice.
My next Christmas 2011 gift list is here and today it’s all about gifts for newborns and little babies. While newborns don’t need much more than milk and their mama’s, it’s always so nice to spoil and indulge them and Christmas is the best excuse. There are some wonderful goodies out there for babies, so I searched the web and found you some of the absolutely best little toys, gifts and clothes for the newest arrivals in your life. Here’s the lovely list (almost making me want a newborn again!):
1. Beautiful liberty print bib and booties gift set by the gorgeous French label Eponime.
2. Soft and so cuddly is this floppy little sheep by Les Petites Emplettes. From Smallable.com
3. Cute little body with a simple bunny drawing by WoWo.
4. A quirky royal blue elephant musical toy by the colourful Clemence G boutique.
5. A book full of bold black and white images – perfect eye candy for little babies. Called Mesmerised it’s by Katey Love.
6. Soft and beautiful are these gorgeous cotton quilts by Ketiketa. From Smallable.com
7. Gorgeous ruby red booties by the stylish Album Di Famiglia. From Little Fashion Gallery
8. Soft and pretty cloth blocks for decoration or to play with by Mimilou. From Orfeo Design.
9. Gorgeous little hanging musical toy for the pram, car seat or cot. Made by one of my favourite stores – Esthex.
10. What an adorable little vest sweater with a mustache on it. Love it. This is one you’ll have to knit yourself but you’ll find the pattern here. Lucky for me, my mother in law is a fab knitter so I’m definitely getting one of these.*
I’m a huge fan of Wovenplay and I always look out for their new collections. With each new collection you also get a visual treat with their stunning photography. All the collections I’ve seen have been shot on the streets of New York (I think). I love the contrast of the soft clothes against the concrete urban setting that is New York. I went looking for the latest Wovenplay Autumn Winter 2011 collection and fell in love all over again. The clothes have all the drama and whimsy that I’ve come to expect of Wovenplay with pieces like the Jada suit, Prussian tutu and the Shark shorts on offer. And then there are the feather head pieces which I adore and which any little girl would love. You can check out the Wovenplay Autumn Winter 2011 collection on their site where you’ll also find a list of International stockists.
P.S. Have you checked out our 2011 Christmas gift guide? We’ve started it but there’s lots more to come next week.
Books are one of my favourite things to give and receive. I can’t imagine not giving ebabee no.1 at least a couple of books every Christmas, birthday and many, many times in between. Children’s books are magical and you can never have enough. For this year’s book gift list I’ve picked out many children’s books that we’ve enjoyed and there are a few that I have yet to buy, but they’re on my Christmas list too. All the books offer something special either for their clever stories, beautiful illustrations, creativity or even their quirkiness. Here’s the list of books mainly for 2 year olds to around 6 year olds:
1. ‘The Life of Mr Mustache’ by Studio Violet. Charming and oh so creative is this book from Fine Little Day. (no longer available)
2. ‘My Friends’ by Taro Gomi is a sweet and simple book and is a firm favourite in this home.
3. ‘100 Things’ by Masayuki Sebe is a happy book that gets the little minds counting and observing.
4. ‘The Book with a Hole’ by Herve Tullet – I haven’t got this yet but it looks rather cool and quirky.
5. ‘A Bit Lost’ by Chris Haughton is a cute story with really beautiful illustrations in the most wondeful colours.
6. ‘Beware of the Frog’ by William Bee is an entertaining read with a great twist and some retro-esque illustrations.
7. ‘Not a Box’ by Antoinette Portis. A book about a box that’s not a box… it’s a car, a house or whatever you child’s imagination wants it to be. We all know kids adore boxes and this book captures the magic of the humble box so well.
8. Made to Play!: Handmade Toys and Crafts for Growing Imaginations by Joel Henriques. A book full of fun, simple and beautiful toy making crafts by talented dad Joel. I haven’t got this yet but I know Joel’s work well and he is one super imaginative and talented guy.
9. ‘The Blue Pebble’by Anne-Gaelle Balpe. A sweet story with a little moral that has been drawn out in beautiful pictures that have a bit of a old fashioned feel.
10 ‘Animal Alphabet Circus’ by Tupera Tupera (a couple of Japanese illustrators) – no longer available. The entire alphabet is illustrated through circus animals beautifully drawn. All the words are in Japanese and English. This is a real feast for the eyes and one I can’t wait to get.
I was browsing the lovely store that is Kids Love Design when some elegant furniture in blond wood caught my eye. I looked more closely and found a beautiful collection of not just large furniture but little things for the home too. Designed and created by Caroline Gomez of France, each of the natural wood pieces are so simple and so graceful. There’s even an indoor swing in the collection… which kid (big or small) wouldn’t want a swing at home? If you’re lucky enough to have the space, then why not. I also love the tent where you can go pretend camping every night and then there are the lovely mountain shaped platters on which to eat your snacks. Also on offer are some fabulous 2 legged bedside and console style tables which would work equally well in a kids room or an adults. I could go on and on about this beautiful collection (which also includes some lovely kids art) but I’ll let you discover the rest at Caroline Gomez’s site where you’ll find her shop too.
I am starting to share my Christmas gift ideas from today as it’s November so we can officially start thinking about Christmas! Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll bring you lots of different gift ideas for kids from toys to books and more. To kick off this years Christmas gift guide, I’ve rounded up some of the coolest, quirkiest and most beautiful soft toys and dolls around. Some are old favourites, others are new finds. But they’re all unique and for me represent some of the best soft toys and dolls from across the world wide web. They may be from far and away but all come with worldwide shipping.
1. Hugely loveable ‘Wanda worm’ softies by KLT: Works.
I’m so excited to introduce Scandinavian Minimall as my newest sponsor. And in even more exciting news, Scandinavian Minimall have generously offered an amazing giveaway. And I do mean amazing! Read on for all the details.
THE GIVEAWAY: We’re giving one lucky reader this absolutely gorgeous and super stylish dress by Livly which is pictured above (size: winner can choose size 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 yrs). Livly is a new children’s clothing brand from Sweden which is sold exclusively at Scandinavian Minimall in the UK. Livly clothes are designed with quality in mind, with lots of playful-ness and bags of style too. This is their very first collection and it’s already been featured in Italian Vogue, Swedish mums style mag ‘Mama’ and many more style websites. Any mamas with a penchant for kid’s style, you won’t be able to help but fall in love with Livly. And this is your fantastic chance to win the absolutely stunning Minou dress. {All details of how to enter at the bottom of this post}.
Scandinavian Minimall is a new(ish) kids boutique, still in it’s first year. Started by talented mama Gabrielle Sprang from Sweden who now lives in the UK, Gabrielle was keen to bring cutting edge Scandi kids style to the UK. She has achieved just that by offering brands like Mini Rodini, Norlie, Swedish Hasbeens and Petite by Sophie Schnoor which represent the best of Scandi kids fashion. But Gabrielle doesn’t stop there. She also brings us brands that represent the whole Scandi style ethos even if they’re not from Scandinavia. In short, Scandinavian Minimall is a hot spot for mini fashion. It’s no secret that I’m a massive fan of Scandi style… they just seem to get it. The result is often effortless style that is simple yet stunning, very much like the dress we’re giving you a chance to win. You can visit Scandinavian Minimall to check out the rest of their beautiful collection.
GIVEAWAY ENTRY DETAILS: For your chance to win the Livly Minou dress worth £63, just leave a comment below. Say hi or whatever you like but keep it nice! One comment per person. Entry is open to all my readers no matter where you live. The competition closes at midnight (UK time) on Sunday November 6th. Any entries after this time will not be counted. The winner will be announced on Tuesday November 8th on our facebook page. Good luck!
UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. The winner is Juliet… congrats Juliet! The winner was picked at random.org. All details of this and all our future giveaways will be on our facebook page. Big thanks to everyone who entered and massive thanks to Scandinavian Minimall.
Ooh la, la… this shop is French and fabulous! Filled with gorgeous vintage finds but also some very carefully chosen new things to compliment the vintage feel of the store. I love the way the offerings are presented and photographed and I love the offerings themselves. It’s a space that is unique and very, very interesting. At Les Petits Bohemes you’ll find one off vintage furniture for kids including chairs and cots and lots of storage furniture. You’ll also find some unusual and cool vintage toys and vintage nursery decor bits. Then there are the new pieces which include clothes and some wonderful soft toys and hand made dolls.
If you’re putting together a vintage nursery or just looking for some vintage inspiration for a kids room, then Les Petits Bohemes is unmissable. They’re based in France as I’m sure you’ve guessed from the name and they ship worldwide.
Japanese paper balloons seem to be quite the rage. I’ve never written about them before because I’d only come across the animal ones and to be honest they really weren’t for me (except the fish one which is cute). But today I found simple round patterned ones and I loved them. No animal faces, just brightly coloured paper balls, some with prints on them, others just in a single bold colour. These ones would be a wonderful way to add a splash of colour to a toddler room, a play space or a birthday party celebration especially if you hang many together. Being made of paper you can inflate, deflate, re-inflate, deflate again… you get the idea. I found these Japanese paper balloons over at Mimi’s Circus, a lovely store started by 2 mama’s who are also sisters. Today I’ve picked these balloons to bring you from their store but there are lots of other goodies there too.
Ebabee Likes is a style guide for babies, kids, teens and their mamas. It’s all about inspiration, ideas and indulging yourself and your brood. It’s written by me ~ Nomita ~ a style loving girl from Mumbai who now live’s in London. Read More...
