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.
During the Summer holidays do you plan an outing everyday for your kids? I don’t because I think it’s important for kids to have unstructured play time. By that I mean simply spending time at home and letting them use their imaginations to just play. By planning too many activities and trying to fill every minute of their time, I think kids lose the ability for creative play. So at our house, we tend to mix it up – a few planned outings each week and lots of home time in between. For home time I like to have a few things up my sleeve to help keep Anya occupied and one of her favourite things to do is work her way through a kids activity book.
I recently came across this really fun and creative activity book called Tate kids Modern Art activity book and it sounded really good so I bought it. It’s by the Tate Gallery and includes lots of fun activities based around the modern artists of out time. This book isn’t about drawing and colouring within the book, but its a book of arty ideas that can help you come up with even more creative and fun ideas. Some of the suggestions would also make fun party or play date activities especially for crafty kids. So for e.g. you have things like a Henri Matisse activity where you’re encouraged to paint pieces of paper in the brightest, boldest colours like Matisse’s famous colourful collages and perhaps make an animal shaped collage of your own. Or a Salvador Dali art project where you cut out pictures from magazines and then mix and match the most unlikely pairs.
Anya is really enjoying this Tate Kids Modern Art Activity Book which comes in especially handy when we don’t have a planned day and also on rainy days. The collage activities have appealed to her the most so far. Our home is already full of all kinds of collages and we’ve only had the book a few days. But there are lots of other fun ideas in this kids activity book all of which are engaging, creative and fun to do.
Ever since I can remember I’ve been drawn to minimal, simple, monochrome style. When Anya was born and someone wanted to gift me a blanket for her, they asked what colour I wanted expecting a reply like pink or yellow. My reply was off white or black and white. My mum was horrified! Horrified that I was subjecting my child to a colourless life! But you know what – black, white and neutral tones can be so stunning in a kids room just like these decorations show us. I can’t help but be drawn to things like that cat poster and that gorgeously simple pear pillow. They can always be mixed with pops of colour so you can add as little or as much brightness as you like. I won’t be giving up my black and white obsession any time soon so I’ve found some gorgeous black and white kids room decorations to share with you:
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?!
I spend half my life researching stuff on the net to share on this blog. And often I come across delightful or funny little things that I want to share but they don’t really fit in to posts. So once in a while I like to share them here. My recent fun finds include this playful pear poster and here are the rest:
Add a little sparkle to your kids bedroom in under 10 minutes with this simple idea.
About to become a parent? Practice these 11 (hilarious) steps and you’ll have mastered parenting!
Boys can wear polka dots too. How cool does he look?
This striking neon reindeer may be sold out why not try making it as a Christmas craft?
Your little boy will love you even more if you make this easy Washi tape DIY in his bedroom.
Don’t have space for a Christmas tree? Why not get creative with an alternate tree like this?
I know that black and white kids decor isn’t for everyone but I am a big fan. So if you are a fan like me then this new Dutch shop is for you. En Las Nubes does some of the cutest black and white posters, wall stickers and decorations for kiddies as well as some adorable tees. There are lots of stars, triangles, clouds and raindrops featured on a range of goodies, all in black and white but sometimes with a hint of pink or grey. I’m especially loving those sweet posters that have happy little thoughts printed on them.
At the moment I can’t seem to get enough of Scandinavian style black & white interiors. It’s such a clean and striking look for any room. So I’ve put together some things I’m really loving for a Scandi inspired black & white baby nursery.
Sometimes I think I’m more drawn to kids art than to art aimed at adults. It’s rare that I come across an affordable artist where I feel I’d love to own his work but with kids art it happens pretty often. I wonder if that says something about me?! Maybe I’m just a big kid at heart and maybe that’s why I am so drawn to Jon Klassen’s illustrations. You may remember a book called I want my hat back that I wrote about a while ago. Jon Klassen was the author and illustrator and while he’s written a couple of great kids books, it’s his illustrations that really capture my imagination. He does all kinds of projects but also illustrates for other kids authors and his pictures are so good that many are sold as prints or even originals. Jon illustrates a lot of animals and many landscapes or outdoor scenes. While I love the landscapes and would love one for my walls one day, it’s the animal illustrations that are truly mesmerizing. His style is so distinctive and original and each animal has so much character. I think Jon Klassen could be my favourite kids illustrator and if you like his work too you can find a selection at Gallery Nucleus.
Circus themed kids things have been around for ages and aren’t going anywhere in a hurry. While some of them can be cute, it’s the circus inspired harlequin pattern that I love best of all. It’s such a simple geometric pattern that has loads of style without any of the fuss. I love that you can play with many different colours on any harlequin adorned object or you can go for a more minimalistic 2 colour look. I was reminded of how much I love this pattern when I spotted that circus bunny on pinterest so I went looking for a few more things and here’s what I found:
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 see more and checkout her selection at Society 6.
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...
