intro

The Holiday Season

{image above:you like my new paper stars from Jurinanne Matter?}

Dear BKids readers, I am sorry I didn't leave you with a nice Christmas greet like I did on Bloesem, but I do hope you have had a beautiful Christmas just like I have had... in fact I have had the most amazing Christmas I could have wished for... with my upcoming 40th birthday in January my husband surprised me we a spectacular Christmas party together with my whole family... parents, sisters and brothers and cousins... all one big Surprise!

At the moment we are enjoying some nice relaxing time here in the Netherlands and we will be celebrating New Years Eve here but then it is time to go home and get back to our normal routine... meaning back to you and my love for blogging... hope to see you back in the New Year! xoxo irene

... and I borrowed this image from the beautiful Le Dans La.. i hope next year I will be able to make pictures like this too..

A lovely Nativity set from paper for you to make...

Marloes de Vries from the Netherlands was alwasy intrigued by nativity sets that she often mader her own, this year she was invited by 101-woonideeen to create a DIY project for their Christmas issue and i thought you probably would like to see it too or even make one... just follow all the instructions and download information right here on Marloes de Vries her blog. Thank you 'How about Orange' for showing me.

Some things I liked last week...

the way i have celebrated Bloesem's Fifth Birthday!

this cd from Lori Henriques...

  

Sponsor spotlight: VUP baby

{in the image above: printed animal becohangers and sophie the giraffe available at VUP}

Are you the consious shopper who pays attention to the chemicals that are being used for toys, feeding items and decoration,  to be honest I should do this much more and webshops like VUPbaby help me understanding which products are pvc free and make me see how easy it is to have a nice looking stuff AND are much healthier for our kids...

My Favorites are: Janod magnifying glasses; goodbyn original lunchbox stickers; anne-claire petit elephant; cuculo clothes hooks and the moover wooden dump truck....

..VUPbaby

 

Craft project: Faux mirrored tile Christmas ornaments

We are approaching the end of the year and what a nice coindence to end the Craft Project series for this year with project #100... of course we like to do this celebrating the Christmas spirit. Jennifer made these happy looking ornaments together with her sons for us...

Would you like to make them too than follow the steps from this tutorial... Have Fun!

..Craft Projects
..Ambrosia Creative

Giveaway: a gift package from Windy and Friends

Welcome Windy and Friends, we're happy you are doing a giveaway with us!

What you can win this week :: you will win a gift package that includes, 3 Books, 2 CD's and a set of note cards all from Windy and Friends.

What you have to do :: leave a comment below telling us, what is your favorite thing to make?

Robin Mitchelle-Cranfield and Judith Steedman are behind Windy and Friends illustrations. You can read more about what they do on their blog here, or buy Windy and Friends products here.

..Windy and Friends..

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED :: the winner is Megan - congratulations!!

Gift Guide 2011: gifts less than usd 50

The final category of our Gift Guide 2011 today. I truly hope our finds have helped you in the right direction ... Many thanks again to Tiffany for helping me making this guide happening and please enjoy all our favorites right here...

BKids Gift Guide 2011

 

Sponsor Spotlight: Miki Miette

Miki Miette's clothing appears almost cloud like in how soft and light each of the pieces of clothing look. I enjoy simple lines when it comes to children's clothing, it seems most fitting for their little bodies and Sawako Yamauchi has achieved that perfectly. You can find my picks here, here, and here.

Miki Miette has a great section called last call where you can still buy remaining pieces from their previous collections. I picked this one and this one from there. Not only are all of Miki Miette's products made by local sewing shops in Los Angeles, but they also donate 10% of their profits every month to non-profit organizations.

..Miki Miette..

Mom Story: Mar Gomez from Kalma and Violeta

If you haven't heard of the shop Kalma and Violeta then today is your lucky day because Mar Gomez, the creator behind this adorable shop is this week's Mom Story. Let's find out more about Mar Gomez, shall we...

This week's Mom Story with Mar Gomez...

Some things I liked last week...

these clips from Laulicious...

this giveaway at Bloesem where you can win Fabric...

Christmas decoration ideas from Stylecookie

I love the paper Christmas tree in the image above... it was an idea from Anke and Sanne from Stylecookie. My parents and I are off to one of those original Weihnachtsmarkten in Germany today to give my sons a nice overload of Christmas decoration :) ... we are having a great time here in the Netherlands and I am looking forward to the weekend, hope you do too.... Irene xoxo

Sponsor Spotlight: L'Affiche Moderne

L'Affiche Moderne has such an amazing collection of artwork - I always find something to love and wish for when I am there. They are always adding to their collection as well, so be sure to check out their new section for any prints that have just arrived in their shop. Being a Frenchie owner I of course love this print, and I really love the whimsical nature and colors of this print.

Gift Guide 2011: gifts less than usd 25

 

Christmas presents don't need to be expensive.. there is a world of fantastic, high quality stuff out these that are prety affordable ... great ideas again by Tiffany for you today in the

BKids Gift Guide 2011

Giveaway: two combi sets from Miko Design

Welcome Miko Design, we're happy that you are doing a giveaway with us!

What you can win this week :: there will be two winners for this giveaway, and those two lucky people have their choice of this combi set or this combi set.

What you have to do ::  leave a comment below telling us, what would you like to see as a new Miko Design DIY kit?

Miko Design is a collection of hand screened printed products and everything that Erika does is gorgeous, just look at this Paris hanger set.

..Miko Design..

..Miko Design Shop.. 

..Miko Design Blog..

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED :: the winners are Cecilia and Sandra - congratulations!!

If you didn't win this giveaway, do not fret because another one is happening right now.

Craft project: Christmas tree photo holders

Just like me Helen likes to make Christmas ornaments herself, I love her idea of creating Christmas Tree Photo Holders very much and indeed they make a perfect present for family overseas. 

Would you like to see how she made these cute trees + little accordion books of pictures just click here...

..more craft projects

..Curly Birds

Every year the girls and I like to make Christmas ornaments for ourselves and to send to our family spread across the ocean. This year we made Christmas tree photo holders. Each pretty tree is supported by a matchbox, which contains a little accordion book of pictures.