Paisley St Claire

Sweetie Petites

I'm not quite sure why I seem to be fixated on dolls lately - may be its that Christmas is coming and I'm keeping an eye out for little girl presents. But, Oh! how cute are these doll kits? They are from The Red Thread and at only AUD$20 plus postage I think they would make a perfect gift for little girls. The sewing would be really easy so the kit would even be a great gift for older girls who are learning to sew. Cute, cute, cute. Available here.

By the way, The Red Thread will be at Mathilda's Market in Sydney this weekend.

Today I'm loving...

Today I'm loving... these pretty dolls by Nooshka. So adorable in every way!

Stocking filler stock up

Ok, don't hyperventilate... Christmas is still about 10 weeks away. But now is the time to start thinking about gifts and this is the best time to be heading to your local designer market. In Australia, the best market for children's gifts is Mathilda's Market, which is on again in November. So, theoretically that means you could have all the kids' Christmas gifts bought and wrapped before December - how super-organised!

Here are the dates for next month's markets:

Sydney:
1 November 2009 - St Ignatius College Riverview, Lane Cove. From 9am to 1pm, plenty of free parking on the College grounds. Free entry.

Brisbane:
1 November 2009 - Brisbane City Hall, B/w Adelaide & Ann St, King George Square, Brisbane City. From 9am to 1pm, parking is available under the City hall (fees apply). Free entry.

Perth:
8 November 2009 - Oasis Leisure Centre, Progress Way, Belmont. From 9am to 1pm, parking available around the Leisure Centre. Free entry.

Canberra:
15 November 2009 - Manuka Oval (Bradman Room), Manuka Circle, Griffith. From 10am to 2pm, plenty of free parking available. Free entry.
 
Melbourne:
22 November 2009 - Hawthorn Town Hall, 360 Burwood Road, Hawthorn. From 9am to 1pm, plenty of free parking at the back of the Town Hall. Free entry.

Visit the Mathilda's Market website for more information.

Little Sapling Toys

These wooden toys from Little Sapling Toys are just delightful. Also, they are gender-neutral, so the perfect gift when you don't know if the baby is going to be a boy or girl. I love the skittles - although I'm not sure I would trust my 5 year old with a solid wooden ball. Visit the Little Sapling Toy shop here.

Mathilda's Market this Sunday

Mathilda's Market is on in Brisbane (and Perth) this Sunday. Its their biggest market yet with 70 retailers selling fabulous baby and kids stuff. Tees2Knees (above) will be there with their bright appliqued kids shirts which are made on the Sunshine Coast. Full details of the market are below or you can visit the website.

Blossom Child

Further to my pleats and tucks obsession, I bought this adorable dress for my 2 year old daughter on the weekend. It was from the Blossom Child stall at the Boutique Markets. Now all I have to do is convince her to wear it. I showed it to her and she frankly said "I don't like dresses." Great.
Check out the Blossom Child etsy shop and made-it store.

Mathilda's Market

You know a market must be good when within 2 years it has grown from a biannual Sydney market to one that is held 3 times a year in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra. Mathilda's Market showcases some of Australia's freshest handmade and limited production toys, clothing, accessories and home wares for little ones.

According to founder, Anne Lewis, Mathilda’s Market caters for parents who appreciate their children looking unique and stylish, and who are looking for an affordable alternative to buying mass produced products at chain shopping centres. Personally, the idea of beautiful things that haven't been mass produced gives me a little zing and I cringe at the idea of buying anything with a tv character on it - except for maybe Charlie and Lola.

The next Mathilda's Market is on this Sunday (5th July) in Sydney and then in Brisbane and Perth on Sunday 19th July 2009. Check out the website for locations and details of your local market retailers.

Tea Pony

Designer Esa West has a true gift when it comes to creating children's clothes. Her label, Tea Pony, features the sweetest dresses with vintage styling and adorable detailing. Esa says that she was inspired to make clothing for babies that she would like to wear herself. She is also careful to design clothes that fit well and are comfortable for little ones.

I would love to have a whole wardrobe of these dresses for my little girl. Visit the Tea Pony website for stockists details. There are also a few pieces available on in the Tea Pony sale shop.

Pretty little girl things...

  Its my daughter's second birthday later this month, so I'm kind of on the lookout for anything completely adorable. Here is a round up of the pretty little girl things I've discovered lately:

Top (L-R): Le Toy Van Honeybake Baking Set, Alice Crochet Doll by Muchacha.
Middle (L-R):  Claire cotton print dress by Troizenfants, Eeboo Alphabet Wall Cards, Japanaise Poplin dress with butterfly patches by Muchacha.
Bottom (L-R):  Momoll Playtower Doll House, Lili Cooker by Momoll.

Clockwise from Top Left: Bluebird and Honey Denim Dress, Cuckoo Clock by Anne-Claire Petit, Brio Building Blocks, Air blue dress with pleats by Buisjes En Beugels (BB+++),  Early bird book ends, Pettiskirt by Oopsy Daisy Baby.

Paper Heart Press

I am so excited to have found Paper Heart Press.  This small Illinois based design studio creates customisable kids' party invitations loaded with character and individuality. Available here.

Have a great weekend!

Teeny Tini

 

I love the randomness of this brand, Teeny Tini. Based in the UK, designer JK Lange creates handmade children's wear and accessories using natural fibres including wool, cotton, silk and cashmere. Every piece is unique and overloaded with quirkiness. You can imagine children making up all sorts of games on that first rug. My son would instantly see a country road winding through the hills or the surface of the moon. Visit the Teeny Tini website for more products and the rug in the first picture is available from French store, Little Circus.

Anthropologie Kids

How cute cute cute are these little kid things from Anthropologie!

Clockwise from Top Left: Trompe L'Oeil Dress, Paper Fan Booties, This is San Francisco by M. Sasek, Pikos the Hedgehog, Tea Party Cardi, Upsy-Daisy Neck Wrap, Toile Kid's Half Apron, This is New York by M. Sasek, Little Lady Sweater Dress, Petite Souris Beret, This is Paris by M. Sasek, Baker's Delight Kid's Apron, Wide-Eyed Beanie. 

I've had some frustrating technical difficulties with this blog today - hence the late post. If you have tried to leave a comment today, please try again now. Cheers!

Little Leona

UK readers rejoice! Leona Edmiston just opened her new London boutique which is filled with her entire range from dresses, lingerie, handbags, sunglasses, fragrance and pins (stockings) to the cutest collection of them all, Little Leona.

The Little Leona collection is comprised of beautiful cotton print dresses with prices starting at about AUD$80. View the full range or shop online at the Leona Edmiston website.

Why does it always rain on me?

For the last 3 or 4 weeks I have been painting, cutting, sewing, building and planning my son's pirate birthday party. I cannot even begin to tell you how much work it has been to prepare everything to transform our backyard into a pirate's paradise tomorrow. And now it is pouring with rain and it doesn't look like its going to stop anytime soon. Great.

Not that my son really cares. We gave him this Quadrilla marble run set this morning. He has been totally obsessed with marble runs since he saw the handmade ones on the kids tv show Pythagoras Switch when we were in Japan last year.

I wonder if the two pirate ships complete with cannon balls will fit in the lounge room? Obviously the load of sand is not needed now.

Have a great weekend!

 

Tees2Knees - Half Price Promotion

Fabulous Australian children's t-shirt label, Tees2Knees, has just added some bright and beautiful styles to their online store. To celebrate the new range, Sherilyn from Tees2Knees is offering a fantastic promotion - buy one tee get another ½ price until the end of August. Just enter the code HALF PRICE in the comments section when making your purchase. Take a look at the full range on the Tees2Knees website. How cute is that little bubba?!

My Poppet

Cintia from My Poppet emailed me about her Melbourne based children's store last week and I'm so glad she did. My Poppet has a fabulous selection of goodies for kids like handmade clothing and toys, hand printed t-shirts, retro inspired toys and original artwork. If you're not in Melbourne, have no fear Cinti offers a mailout service, but stocks are limited so you have to be quick. Definitely a site to bookmark for Christmas gift ideas (I'm always thinking ahead!).

Kinder Gallery

Kinder Gallery is an online children's art gallery based in Sydney. The collection offers original paintings, limited edition works, prints, stretched canvases, box art and wall decals. Like these ones:

Clockwise from Top Left: Apple Surprise Red print by Kelly Boulton, Limited edition Mushroom plywood artwork by Lorena Siminovich, Seasons (Autumn) canvas print by isak, Handmade Mushroom softies by Tamar Mogendorff.

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing

I think I like this video more than my kids do! The Wiggles and Leo Sayer singing 'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing'.

Click here to watch it on YouTube. I'm pretty sure you won't be able to watch it without the boogie taking over.

The CD and DVD are available at the ABC Shop here and here and the DVD is available at Amazon here.

Dwell Studio

Dwell Studio is an American company making beautiful soft furnishings. Their baby products are adorable. I think they have a real cosy, homey feel to them.

Clockwise from top: assorted wall art from US$88, pillows US$39 each, soft blocks (set of 6) US$37, oval crib set US$360.

You can buy directly from the Dwell Studio website or check out their list of worldwide and online retailers. In Australia, you can buy online at Kido Store.

Softies for everyone

If you have kids you have the perfect excuse to buy adorable soft toys. Sure, they want the Whole-lota-Bling Bratz doll with the knee-high boots, leopard print miniskirt and 5 tonne of mascara and they'd probably throw one of these toys in the corner. But there's no harm in trying to encourage childhood innocence. Besides, if they don't want it, you get to keep it.

Row 1: Simon bunny and Wilma cat by Tiddlywinks (US)
Row 2: Abigail and Owl Mama by Needlings (Canada)
Row 3: Bee and Stefa cat by  Fine Art Toys (Australia)
Row 4: Peg Bear Tango and Doddi Bear by One Red Robin (Australia)
Row 5: Dirac the Dinosaur and Hilbert Owl by Fock Space Designs (Australia)