Karen Barbour

My print of the day from my shop of the day.

Let's play

A few more gift ideas for kids

Beautiful wool and felt bird mask (one of several) from ateliersreinette

Animal hands temporary tatooes from Colloco

Little monster finger puppets by Dans ma petite valise
from the wonderful French shop Lillibulle




Playshapes from Miller Goodman

Indian set by Toys Pure from the French treasure-trove Madame La Marchande
(bought this last year for Miles and he loves it!)



Jean and felt guitar softie from the Grateful Thread

Claire Fletcher handpainted tambourines from Frank

A selection of fun, retro games and jokes for stocking fillers from Tree House Blue

Owl house family sewing kit from Buttonbag

Felt indian headdress (one of three models) from ateliersreinette

Checker set pirates vs pirates by Goose Grease

Follow that girl

Czerwony Kapurek, Jan Brzechwa ilustracje: Danuta Imielska-Gebethner

Czytelnik, Warszawa 1963

Ilustrowany slownik dla dzieci / francusko-polski, polsko-francuski, Wiedza Powszechna, Warszawa 1979, opracowanie graficzne: Adam Kilian

Przygody Koziolka Matolka, tekst: Kornel Makuszyński, rysunki: Marian WalentynowiczWydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków 1987

Little Red Riding Hood has had me trailing all over the web today... and has led me to discover more wonderful vintage and modern children's book illustrations over at this Polish site, thanks to my friend Justyna - Dziekuje!

Le petit chaperon rouge m'a fait parcourir le web aujourd'hui...me permettant de découvrir un autre merveilleux site d'illustrations pour enfant en Pologne, grâce à mon amie Justyna - Dziekuje!

Stitch'n sew

Girls by Rosa Pomar

Lace collar - Rachel Péloquin

Pattern papier mache by Betty Joy


Buttons by Lynn Baron, from the wonderful Sea-Angels

My gran was a seamstress, which most probably explains why I love patterns and fabric so much. She also took me to jumble sales and coffee mornings when I was younger, hence my passion for thrifting.
I wondered if you'd ever paid a visit to Lynn's beautiful blog? I've already showed you one of her shoe drawings and here we have some of her button work. Lovely isn't it? Lynn is incredibly talented, a true artist who shows great sensitivity in everything she does.

Lynn's frozen washing

Lynn's home

Lynn's handmade Christmas cards

I wanted to tell you about Lynn's small sale but everything sold out in 24 hours! Not surprising though when she offers such beautiful handmade wares


Sit down for five minutes and browse her site, full of inspiring photos, artwork and thoughts and make sure you keep an eye out for more of her work, you have to be quick with treasures like this!

Poppytalk finds #3

There's a new holiday gift-themed market over at Poppytalk, offering a wonderful selection of handmade and vintage goodies for Christmas. I thought it would be a nice opportunity to show you some of the items in one of my favourite etsy shops Bellalulu. I could buy just about everything from here. Jill has amazing taste, takes great photos and her prices are very reasonable. If you're looking for vintage treasures to decorate your home Bellalulu is the place to shop. Head over there quickly before I buy the first aid box, circus poster and stop sign!

Vintage Vixen

I love this 1960s fox illustration by Celestino Piatti. It's actually a first edition poster for the book publisher DTV and although it will cost you a pretty penny, I'm sure it would look stunning on any wall in any space.
Fears and Kahn is a great address for vintage posters if you're ever looking for something really special. After a quick browse I could easily have popped these two bold and quirky gems in to my shopping cart
and I rather like the look of this 1950s locker, which would make a wonderful feature in a child's bedroom. Need to stop spending and start saving...

Birds, babes and beauty

I thought I'd wish you all a happy weekend by showing you some beautiful artwork by Montpellier-based photographer/mixed media artist Anabel Chacon. I am lucky enough to own one of her wonderful paintings and would love to have them all over our house. Following her successful debut last year (a total sell-out) Anabel is currently working on her first solo exhibition slated for spring 2010. Can't wait!

Portuguese Paradise

My journey through many a Portuguese site led me to this wonderful place this week. Perhaps you've already bookmarked it and I'm donkeys years behind, but who cares, Rosa Pomar's blog is fast becoming one of my favourite places on the web. And there's more... Switch on Google Translate and check out her Tumblog and her wonderful online fabric/haberdashery shop. Heaven!

Cosy Noah

You can't go wrong with a good Noah's Ark set. We have at least three at home and our kids love playing with all the animals, lining them up ready to board the Ark. Our's are wooden but yesterday I came across a beautiful knitted version over at one of my favourite online shops Winter's moon.



Comprising Ark (doubling up as a bag to store the animals), Mr & Mrs Noah (with butterflies) ladybirds, mice, crocodiles, turtles, pandas, zebras, snakes, camels, elephants, monkeys, giraffes and Mr & Mrs Lion, this ideal Christmas gift and heirloom is actually up for auction. The set took fifteen months to make and all money raised will go to support a range of charities including orphanages in Nigeria & Pakistan.


Bidding ends at 5pm Saturday 12th December. Go have a peek and give into temptation, it's so much nicer offering a loved one a handmade present, especially when you know that it will also benefit those in need.

Un de mes magasins en ligne préférés Winter'smoon offre aux enchères cette Arche de Noé, qui a pris 15 mois à tricoter. Tout l'argent récolté sera donné à des oeuvres de charité pour aider des orphelins au Niger et au Pakistan, entre autres. Un joli cadeau pour Noel qui fera plaisir à vos enfants, et à ceux qui sont dans le besoin.