I often dream of making big, gorgeous impressive cakes embellished with stunning decorations. Then I wake up and remember that my cake making skills are, well… zero, nada, zilch. Today I woke up and found hope. I can buy a (fool proof) cake mix, and decorate with these oh so cute cake toppers. Just imagine a gooey, fudgey chocolate cake topped with the happy red elephant or the sunny yellow giraffe. These kids cake toppers are just so delicious looking, shame they’re not edible.
Made of wood, the cake toppers are by Bunny with a Toolbelt. A quirky store name to match the humourous goodies on offer. While cake toppers they may be, I can see endless other uses from nursery decorations to table ones. The shop also offers custom ones so you could get your kids favourite book or TV character made just for them. For mama’s living in sin, checkout the wedding cake toppers too. They might just make the man propose. Not really, but anythings worth a try right? Bunny with a Toolbelt sells her wares on Etsy and the animal cake toppers cost from $35 plus $5 shipping to the US and $10 to anywhere else.
I don’t know what it is but my radar seems to be focused on detecting the coolest soft toys around. Just last week I brought you the amazingly funky Knuffels a la Carte who have the whackiest collection of soft toys. And today I have found another fabby soft toy destination. Started by a mama, she began by making toys for her daughter. Her daughter loved them so she (thankfully) thought why not let others enjoy the toys too. And Kalimba was born. All the toys are handmade and hand sewn making them even more special.
While many of Kalimba’s goodies are yummy, it’s the handmade soft toys that are the yummiest. Quirky, funky, fun looking characters and animals are what you can expect. My favourite has got the be the hilarious acrobat chap with his stripy leg warmers! But the chubby soft toy pigs with their skinny legs are also very high up on the want list. How cute are they? All the soft toys are quite large making them perfect for hugging too. And the best news of all is that prices range from around €5 to €20. International shipping is offered too. When you check out Kalimba don’t miss the happy couple – Mr Fat and Mr Thin!
Last week I popped in to Ham and was greeted by scooting pigs, jumping rabbits and prancing horses, I kid you not! Before you think I’ve lost it, just hold your horses. Ham is a new British store creating quirky black and white wares for the home. Bold silhouettes of happy go lucky pigs, horses and rabbits adorn tea towels, mugs, greeting cards and more. And all 100% British made.
Of all the goodies on offer it was the photogram wall prints that caught my eye. A teeny-tiny animal sits proudly against a black as night background. Cool, quirky style perfect for a nursery or play space. Pop it in a black frame to keep the look pure or jazz it up with a bright coloured frame and feast your eyes on this striking wall display. Stunning, especially the purple.
Ham offers cool, minimal style with lots of heart. Created by Jo Robinson, the offerings are fit for any age; just the kind of thing we love around here. To check out their wares head to hammade, their online store or drop by their pop-up store in Carnaby Street which is around till 14th August 2011. The photogram prints cost £26 each and delivery is £4.75 for the UK or £9.75 to Europe.
I so wish this had been my attic toy. You know your favourite soft toy that your mama can’t bear to part with it so she puts it away in the attic. Fast forward 20 years when you find it and all those warm, fuzzy feelings rush back and you give it to your bambino. My attic toy was actually quite creepy so it never came out of the attic (mum, what were you thinking?!). Nowhere near as cool as this oh so adorable hand made doll. If only…
This stripy knitted doll is by Dents de Loup (wolf teeth)… I love their store name too. They come in other colours including yellow, orange, green and pink. Perfect for your newborn or a gift for someone else’s. The little knitted doll can hang out in the cot or pram keeping your bambino company until it graduates to a clutch toy. So sweet. I’m not normally a knitted doll fan but then I’d never seen this one. To get this hand made doll, head to Dents de Loup’s etsy store where they cost $18 plus $5 shipping to anywhere in the world. And while you’re there, don’t miss the doll with the red shoes and super fancy coat.
These plywood animals by Ferm Living are just so lovely. Simple wooden silhouettes that come in pieces so you and your kiddo can put them together. Once assembled, if you want to jazz up your safari you can paint them or even stick on some bright wallpaper. Although I have to admit, I do like them as they are in all their natural glory. The plywood animals by Ferm Living come as a set of 5 and cost £39.95 plus £5.95 shipping from a store called 95% Danish. Yup, I’m also wondering about the other 5%!
I have never made a secret of my near obsessive stationery addiction. I had a couple of good years where it was under control but then ebabee no.1 came along and a whole new world of kiddy stationery opened up to me. I fell off the wagon with a thud (I had gained baby weight, ok?) and I don’t think I’ll be climbing back on anytime soon. Definitely not after what I’ve seen today.
A short while ago I came across Boumaga, a French brand that makes the sweetest stationery I have seen in the longest while. Russian doll / babushka inspired graphics adorn pencils, rulers, pencil cases, notebooks and erasers. The graphics are no more than an outline with a few embellishments in mainly purple or pink. It’s this simplicity of design that makes the Boumaga stationery so stylish and very cute too. Boumaga is new and isn’t yet widely available but you can order direct from their site. They do thankfully ship to the UK and the whole EU for €9.30. The Boumaga range costs from €1.50 to €15. I’m seriously tempted, that addiction won’t feed itself!
P.S. I love the idea of the pencil and eraser as a party favour.
Have you ever seen a more weird and wonderful bunch of characters all in one place? I can honestly say I haven’t. When I discovered Knuffels a la carte (actually they discovered me… happy days!) I couldn’t wait to share. What a fantastically whacky store that makes you want to reach out and grab all the delicious creatures on display. They sell only soft toys but you won’t find any run of the mill ones here. Expect quirky, imaginative, eccentric looking beings for babies, kids and even adults too.
Knuffels a la carte are based in the Netherlands but stock soft toys from around the globe. I can only think of their goodies as the creme de la creme of soft toys. On offer are a variety of soft creatures of every description including soft toy dolls, a very cool soft toy mouse called Snooshy (don’t miss his scarf!), a soft toy alien and even a cuddly cactus. If you fancy a cuddle from one of these quirky chaps, head over to Knuffels a la carte. Prices start from €7.50, there’s plenty in the €20-€30 price range and shipping to Europe is from €4. They ship worldwide too from €7.50. The really difficult bit is choosing just one.
It’ GIVEAWAY time and discount time… read on to find out more.
When I was close to popping pregnant it finally dawned on me that I should start shopping sharpish. One of the first things I looked for was a mobile. I schlepped my heavily pregnant body around the stores only to come home mobile-less and disappointed. I was about to give up when I went online and discovered the wonderful world of Flensted mobiles. Made on a little Danish Island by the Flensted family for nearly 60 years, these mobiles are objects of beauty. And I’ve got one of these beauties to give away to one lucky reader, thanks to the lovely peeps at a hot new store called Bebe Moda. All you have to do is leave a comment below (say hi or whatever you like but keep it nice!) before midnight on Sunday 31st July and I’ll randomly pick a winner on Tuesday 2nd August.
More about Flensted mobiles: on offer are mobiles for kids and adults. There are animals, there are shapes, there are objects and people mobiles, all different but they have one thing in common… huge style. There’s nothing fussy or frilly about them, just simple silhouettes that combine in colours so complimentary creating an absolute treat for the eyes. And to be honest, the pictures don’t do complete justice to these smile inducing beauties… when you see one for real you’ll know exactly what I mean. The hardest bit is choosing just one but luckily we’ve chosen one of the sweetest for you to win… who doesn’t like elephants after all!
Leave a comment below for your chance to win the elephant mobile pictured at the top of this post. Really, that’s all you have to do, we couldn’t have made it easier. There can of course only be one winner so the lovelies at Bebe Moda have decided to offer all my readers a special 10% discount on anything across their entire stylish store. Their virtual shelves are piled high with only the coolest toys, baby gear and nursery stuff and there are many hard to find brands on offer too so have a look around (shipping’s free to the UK too… hooray!). The discount code is EBABEE07 and expires at midnight on Sunday 31st July too.
A quick round-up of the rules:
The Flensted mobiles competition is open to my European and USA readers. One entry per person – just leave a comment below. Competition closes midnight on Sunday 31st July 2011 (GMT). Winner will be announced on Tuesday 2nd August on the ebabee facebook page. Good luck!
THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED. The winner picked at random.org is Lucy Bartram. Congrats Lucy and thanks to everyone who entered.
When I laid eyes on these beautiful and elegant creatures, my heart fluttered faster than a caffeine fueled butterfly. Their graceful form, delicate wings and oh so pretty colours make for decorations that are almost poetic. These hanging bird decorations are by London based Lush Designs, a place that excels in quirky and creative homewares.
Back to these bird decorations though, they’re made of hand printed birch-ply with card used for the delicate wings. Available in 18 colours, they have endless uses… hang from walls, light shades, windows, make a mobile, a garland, or whatever else you like. I love these for any space but especially for a nursery space. Head to Lush Designs to check them out. They cost a tenner a piece and delivery is free.
Ooh la, la… I’m liking this range of goodies by Range Ton Pyjama. When I first spotted them I didn’t know what they were but I knew they looked darn cool. With a little digging and some much needed help from good old google translate, I found out that they’re a range of yummy little French products for the kiddies. At the top you’ve got table napkins, then a quirky, robot like pyjama case, a soft toy rattle and some little pouches to store whatever you like. There’s more to the range including a mini hot water bottle (only made of grains, no water required)… so sweet.
Range Ton Pyjama offer everyday kids stuff but they’ve added bags of funky style. To get this range, go over to Prairymood, a French store full of yummies. Sadly, it’s only in French so you’ll need to don your French speaking hat or there’s always google translate. The range costs from €11 – €34 and shipping is €15.50.
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...
