intro

Weekend crafting with IKEA

Last week I was reading a very nice Dutch blog called Kleine Zaken and there I found a great link to a tutorial or should I say a fun sewing project that even I can do (or hope) ... the link brought me to Eloleo, the blog from a Belgium mom, Sanne, who loves to sew and she is soooo good at it! Her idea to cut out some of the animals from the Fabler fabrics from IKEA and turn them into lovely soft toys is just brilliant! The result is really nice and they are perfect for a handmade gift...{ps. Sanne says it's wise to wash the fabrics before you start, enjoy!}

Via Eleleo I also found this project from, Revoluzzza, a German artist, craftster and DaWanda seller. Already in 2008 she showed this fabric Tree Project ...al you have to do is buy some Fredrika fabric (again IKEA) and follow these steps ...I like it!

Thanks Sanne and  Revoluzzza ... I wish you all a wonderful weekend, hope to see you back next week, when I will be showing a great new Open House, an amazing art piece at the WinOnWednesday, a book-review and more.......irene xx

Win this gorgeous Mobile from Puka Puka

What can you win :: A beautiful Blossom Mobile in the colour of your choice from the Pukapuka range
What you have to do to win :: tell me what is your favorite Pukapuka mobile and become a follower on Pukapuka's blog

Winner will be announced :: Wednesday August 5 and notified by email.

Australian based architect and jeweler designer, Nina Still has let her two skills come together in these gorgeous mobiles ... Pukapuka which means "an object gently floating in space"' in Japanese is the perfect name for them and what is more relaxing for a baby or child when going to bed and looking at a mobile; the colors, the movement and shadows on the wall will bring them in a nice and relaxed mood ... please leave your comment if you would like to win one...

..Pukapuka website..
..Pukapuka blog..

Last weeks winner from the Sakura Bloom giveaway is :: Mollie from One-Chance

#359 Bamboletta

Bamboletta...‘little doll’ in Italian, was Christina Platt's nickname throughout her childhood given to her by her father...and could their be a more appropriate name for the business she started, making beautiful handmade dolls ... true bamboletta's these dolls are, made from the best materials Christina can find. All dolls receive a friendly personality from Christina and I think this is what makes them so adorable and unique ... at bamboletta's shop you can also find other nice handmade products like the crowns in the upper left corner ...  

..bamboletta..
..bamboletta shop..
..bamboletta blog..

Play All Day

That the weekly craft projects by Arounna here on B:Kids last year were a huge success I already knew, and I'm glad the authors of the book Play All Day agreed with me ... they invited Arounna to share some of the projects in this incredible book. The publisher, Gestalten says the book is about documenting a collection of the most vibrant, stimulating and engaging design products and concepts for children....wow ... how fun for Arounna and me that starting working together online resulted in something like this!

{more images form the book 'Play All Day, Design for Children' by R. Klanten, S. Ehmann}
Open Invite::
Are you a interested in becoming the new 'Craft Projects Editor for B:Kids' and your are able to provide B:kids with a nice project every two weeks just get in touch with me...but please understand that I'm looking for someone who is a 'fit' with the B:Kids style...an important part of the projects are the right images and I know this can be difficult...looking forward to seeing your example of a DIY/Craft project in my inbox, irene x Sorry already found someone ... will let you know soon who it is or who they are :)

a new boy in the house...

yes, proud to introduce you a new member of our family...Poppy, a super sweet, funny and happy little dog. It's just so wonderful to see how Lode is playing with him and try to teach him little tricks...I guess with a Beagle this isn't an easy job and for me and my husband life has begun even more busy, but we don't mind it's a relaxing new task.

#358 TheSmallSnowShop

I have officially fallen in Love with this online shop, not that I understand a lot of French, but I think you don't have to when seeing the beautiful handmade pieces these different artists offer in their cute boutique. The Small Snow Shop are 9 creative photographers, illustrators and designers who present us a small selection of their designs , specifically around the world of childhood....her you can discover and buy unique pieces, photographs of art, clothes and each creation is made by hand by the designer herself....

..TheSmallSnowShop..

..TheSmallSnowShop in english..

Win a Sakura Bloom Sling

What can you win :: your choice of sling from either the Sakura Bloom Linen or Silk Essential Collection.  What you have to do to win:  answer these two questions in a comment (until Tuesday 28th July)
    1. If you were the lucky winner of this contest, which sling would you choose from either the Sakura Bloom Linen Essential or Silk Essential collections and why? 
    2. Who is the lucky baby who would get to ride in the sling?
Winners will be announced :: Wednesday July 29 and notified by email.

...as you hopefully can see in the image above (I really did my best) at Sakura Bloom it is all about Quality! wow ... the materials, the fitting of the sling and the packaging are truly beyond beautiful. When our sling arrived I couldn't wish for anything more stylish packed than this. Can you believe the whole box is letterpress-printed ... of course it now functions as a 'keepsake box' for our baby Kiet, so two presents in one! A big thank you to founder and very lovely women, Lynne Banach! {ps. I almost forget to mention that Kiet and I love wearing the sling together :) }

..Sakura Bloom..

..Sakura Bloom blog..

Last weeks winner from Petitcollage are:: Nancy Konings :: Rija Ford :: Melanie Whess.

#357 Jimena Rios

This super lovely little ring is always in front of me when working and it has become my token for Good Luck ... because a super sweet lady, Jimena Rios from Argentina  (and very talented artist) send it to me as a gift when baby Kiet was born and Kiet is all about 'luck' ... he brings us luck, happiness and sooo much laughter. I will always cherish this little ring and give it to him when perhaps one day he needs Good Luck! Please don't forget to visit Jimena's blog there are some beautiful new items pieces. {Thanks Jimena}

..jimena rios online shop..
..jimena rios blog..

Mom story :: Stephanie from BondVille

A new Mom-Story ... and I can honestly tell you that I love these stories, they give me such a nice little inside how moms live their lives on different places on this planet. Over the last two years I have met many wonderful women from Australia and some of them even have become very good friends and they always tell me how beautiful their (huge) country is and seeing some of the images from Steph Bond I understand why...

Today's guest is Steph Bond from the very nice Australian blog Bondville ... she and I met a while ago and Steph keeps me in the loop of what is going in Australia for kids, fashion, design, handmade, crafts and more ... would you like to read a bit more  about her life, then just click here! Thanks Steph!

..Mom Story with Steph Bond..
..previous Mom Stories..

#356 Doodle Bread

Doodle Bread ... a fun company founded by the independent designer and baker, Rose Kane (from Belfast, Northern Ireland) Rose has found a way to bake loaves of bread with little doodles on each slice using different (natural!) colors and flavors. These breads don't look like anyone else’s in the world, and the best thing is, you MAKE them yourself by using their very affordable home baking kit....or even better let your Kids make the bread!

..Doodle Bread website..
..Doodle Bread blog..
..Order the kit here..

advertise...

Hi All - happy to inform you of a new sponsor friendly feature on B:Kids... easy to fill in on-line form if you would like to place an ad...hassle free and only takes a few minutes to complete... sorry for "shamelessly" promoting this in a post but as you know my sponsors allow me to blog full-time and give me the opportunity to further enhance B:Kids contents... to my sponsors: thank you for your continued support and I hope you find the feature an improvement in how we communicate... to Lisa: you are the BEST!

..advertise on B:Kids..

Inspiration from Camille Soulayrol

When I was scrolling through the lovely KidsLoveDesign blog the other day I found some images by photographer, stylist and artist Camille Soulayrol...Camille started working at Marie-Claire Idees where she became a writer. But she also loved to be creative in other fields like photography, styling and making postcards ...she says: "I love "making" images, directing photo shoots, the placement of objects to tell stories, meeting people and writing portraits of designers..."

I really liked these inspiring images by Camille Soulayrol called 'miam ludique' and 'Happy Birthday' ... such great ideas to dress up a birthday party or festive event... some of her images are transformed into postcards that are available at The Carte Postale ...

..Camille Soulayrol website..

Three of you can win from petitcollage...

What can you win :: a poster or a mobile of your choice
What you have to do :: subscribe to PetitCollage's mailing list right here.
Who will win :: THREE visitors can win..the 10th, 25th and 50th subscriber.

Winners will be announced :: Wednesday July 22 and notified by email.

Everybody knows how much I like Lorena's beautiful designs from her petitcollage ... so you can probably imagine how nice it makes me feel that she offers three of you one of her mobiles or posters for free, just subscribe to her mailing-list and you make a huge chance to win!

Last weeks winners from the ZillyBanana giveaway are ... Elisabete (girls hat) and Veronica (boy cap)

PS. You can now also sign up for a Newsletter from B:Kids and recieve the latest posts via your email, just enter your email address in the left side banner on this page, Thanks!

..petitcollage..
..petitcollage previous post on B:Kids..

{ps. don't forget to congratulate SarahJane from me today}

#355 LuvLoo

I really like these bold colored graphics for boys shirts, especially when they are placed on a dark color.(please make them with short sleeves too Kristy...:) As a mom of two boys Kristy of course knows what to make and design for boys. The idea for the name LuvLoo for her label came when she heard her little boy saying, 'luv loo' instead of 'love you' ... Kristy not only offers us nice range of t-shirts for boys and girls, she also invented the Toy wrangler ...

a super-easy clip you attach to bottles, toys or pacifiers so they don't fall on the ground constantly ...

..LuvLoo website..

..LuvLoo's t-shirts..

..Toywrangler..

{ps. today is your last chance to win one of the gorgeous hats from ZillyBanana}

#354 mikodesign and a little house

Isn't this the most beautiful playhouse you can imagine for your children ... when I was young I really dreamt about having a house like this ... the lucky daughters of Erika from Mikodesign are the brand new home owners and I would love to come over for a cup of tea! Would you like to see all the images then click here ... enjoy this inspsiration, maybe you have some time left to create one yourself during the summer...{ps. some great new t-shirts for boys in the Miko's shop}

..Mikodesign..

..A little tour..