There are so many things that turn a house in to a home – from books to souvenirs and everything in between. One of my must haves to make a house a home is art; lots of it and in every room. I’m always looking to add to my collection of wall art and my latest find are these adorable black and white prints for a kids room. How cute are they?
I bought The School of Art last December for Anya as she is interested in creating. She recently picked it up which is what reminded me of what a great book this is. Since she’s picked it up, she hasn’t been able to put it down. If you’re interested in a tool for teaching art to children or you just have kids who love art, I haven’t come across anything better than this book.
Do you have an organised art space for your kids? When my 7 year old wants to get creative, which is nearly every day, I have to fetch art supplies from all over the place. I have some lying in boxes, some in her room, some in the living room – it goes on. I sometimes end up putting her off creating because I am busy getting dinner ready and don’t have the time to get the supplies together. And in all honesty, sometimes I just can’t face tidying and putting everything away in 5 different places. I’ve often thought how much easier it would be if her art supplies were all in one place and easy for her to access and put away herself.
Continue Reading "Inspiring art spaces for kids (+ a giveaway)"
December is a month where we accumulate far too much. Anya has her birthday and then a couple of weeks later it’s Christmas. Apart from giving stuff to charity, I also don’t let Anya open all her presents at once. Do you do the same or am I the only mean mama? I seriously don’t think any kid can really appreciate 10-15 presents in one go or even 5. So she is allowed to open the wrapping but not the gift itself. I keep them away and come a rainy day in January/February when it’s too cold or wet, she always has something to do. Last week on one such day she opened this beautiful coloured sand Djeco craft kit and she was hooked for hours.
Continue Reading "A beautiful Djeco craft kit for a rainy day"
With our new home renovations coming to an end, it’s now time to start thinking about the decorating – about the furniture, the little objects and the personal touches that will turn this place from a house in to our unique home. This is the exciting bit and the bit where we get to be creative and have lots of fun. One of the things I am very keen to do is to have a playful element in all our spaces. I don’t want strictly grown-up zones and separate kid zones. I don’t think we live like that anymore so every space in our home will be shared between the adults and the kids and I want this to show through in the decor.
I am not talking about toys strewn all over the living room or turning the dining table in to a kids craft centre, but instead picking out cute little objects, cushions and artworks that will work alongside the more grown up pieces. One of the shop’s I’ve got my eye on to bring some kiddy cuteness in to my home is Eef Lillemore (don’t worry, I don’t know how to pronounce it either!). They have some of the cutest decorations I’ve seen and I’m especially loving that panda tray for my kitchen and why not an ice-cream cushion for my living room? And what about a few of those pastel posters for the bathroom?
Everybody needs a little dose of cuteness in their home and when you have kids, it’s the perfect excuse to introduce it in to every room. I wouldn’t even object to some of that cloudy wallpaper in a hallway – so subtle and sweet. Of course a lot of the stuff at Eef Lillemore would make such fun decorations in a kids room too – like those beyond adorable posters! Something guaranteed to make you smile each morning, so why not have a little touch in every room?
I’m in love with this new French design studio – how great is their art? I love discovering new designers for a range of things but especially for kids art. Art like this that may be aimed at kids but really it’s ageless and will be loved by adults too. I’m loving the posters as well as those quirky animal trophies. Every child should have some art on their walls and I’m planning to have a lot in Anya’s new room – the only trouble is choosing from all the amazing kids art out there. But I think those animal trophies and that adorable juggler print are going to be hard to pass up! Visit Melanie, the designer’s shop to see the rest of her striking collection of kids art.
With our recent house move I’ve got a million decor ideas floating around in my head. There are so many things and styles I like that I know it’s going to be hard to narrow it down and choose one particular style of decor. With Anya’s room too I keep flitting from a vintage style to something more modern. Then of course there is the art for her walls. I’ve been collecting all the kids art I like on a pinterest board but when it comes down to choosing just one or two pieces for her room, I really don’t know how I will manage. My latest find are these quirky water colour style prints that I’m loving. I love their expressions and the whimsical style of the characters too. This collection is by Mrs Mighetto and you’ll find most of the range at Mokkasin. One more fab art collection to add to my ever increasing choices! How will I ever choose?!
A few weeks ago I attended a bloggers networking event at the National Portrait Gallery. I got to meet some inspiring bloggers and I also found out that the National Portrait Gallery has loads of free Summer events, workshops and activities for kids. Most of these events are held on Thursdays, Fridays and the weekend. So last Friday we decided to check one out. We attended a clay modelling workshop where kids get to pick a portrait from the gallery, draw it and then create a clay sculpture of it.
Even though the workshop was aimed at the kids, I totally got in to the clay modelling part and really enjoyed it too. And I wasn’t the only mum there that was almost taking over their child’s clay! Anya wasn’t crazy about the drawing bit but the clay modelling was a huge hit with her. The clay is cool and soft to the touch so it was lovely to feel and it was really fun to be able to mold and shape it and see a head and shoulders emerging. I’ll admit our end result looked a bit frightening but we had so much fun making it.
All the free kids activities on offer at the National Portrait Gallery are arty and creative which is why we were drawn to them in the first place. The clay modelling workshop is only one of many – others include colour workshops, using loom bands to create portraits, drawing sessions and more. Each year, as I discover more and more of the wonderful free events for kids in London, I feel so lucky that we can take advantage of these. Have you discovered any? Please do share in the comments so that others can try them too.
{all photos by ebabee}
I think if I ever move to another career it would have to be something to do with decorating babies and kids rooms. I love putting together inspiration and ideas for how to create a beautiful nursery space or a kiddy space. My favourite style is Scandinavian and right now I’m really partial to black and white rooms especially with a subtle hint of another colour. For this mood board I’ve added a dash of pink to brighten up the black and white. Here’s where you’ll find the picks:
1. stars garland | 2. miffy lamp | 3. heart postcard | 4. cloud postcards and panda poster | 5. birch toddler and child bed | 6. owl cushion | 8. striped toy storage baskets | 9. bunny and girl doll | 10. beauty baby and jealous baby dolls | 11. trees duvet set
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