Happy New Year!

Wishing You All
a
Bright
and

My colourful garden print by Ninainvorm

Fun
New Year

Window display by Tim Walker

Full of
Wonderful Projects

Cerealbox house tutorial from Bella Dia, via Handmade Charlotte

and
Surprises

Surprise balls from Mieke Willems

Bonne Année!
Remember this
See you next year !

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...

Vintage tooth fairy box from I Spy Vintage

Tooth Fairy Kit from Papermash

Vintage plastic tooth-shaped stool from RetroStudio

Screenprinted toothfairy doll by Auntie Cookie

Tooth Fairy Pillow, 100% alpaga, by Oeuf from ReForm School


Just had to get that one in before 2010!

Cheap and cheerful!

I love papery things! These traditional Swedish winding paper decorations would add a touch of colour and originality to any room, don't you think? Available from Swedish online store Cosas.

Anzil

Temps libre

Jolis objets

Avis de tempête

I came across this fun work by French illustrator / mixed media artist Anzil the other day. So lovely! I can't seem to find out a lot about her but she has a very impressive portfolio for you to browse and I'm sure French readers will enjoy her blog and inspiring photo compositions.

Couleurs et découpages

Atelier bleu

Anzil has a fantastic eye for colour and pattern and her pieces would look great in a nursery or child's room. I bet mum would like them too!

via ?

Hindsvik

Hindsvik is my kinda shop - full of stylish vintage treasures for kids and the home.
I love their minimal style and clean, fresh photography, proving once again that "less is more".
Keep an eye open for new arrivals, and check out Daniel and Valeria's blog for oodles of home decor and interior design inspiration now!

Wise words

Your New Year (Mather Work Incentive), 1929

I found this wonderful inspirational print at the International Poster Gallery
I think it sums up everything I want to say...

Christmas all year round?

Why don't you leave some of your Christmas decorations out for a while? Vintage treasures like these sweet wooden holiday ornaments from Lucky Little Dot would look great in a nursery, child's bedroom or play area.

Shop found thanks to Aesthetic Outburst.

7th Magpie

I came across Jane's work over at the art room plant recently and I'm smitten (again!). I really do seem to have a thing for artdolls, and I've found some beautiful ones for my Kickcan & Conkers shop when it opens. The 7thMagpie is just one of Jane's etsy shops. Her collage, paintings and drawings can be found at "Downtherabbithole" and her consultations and visionary art at ThisUnfolding.
Understandably, it was Jane's artdolls and textile pieces that caught my eye.

Poetry dolls made from scraps of fabric.

I love her delicate use of embroidery in these soft wall sculptures and brooches/pendants, which look wonderful framed.

And these warrior angels,

door guardians

and crown hairclips

would all make lovely gifts for someone special, don't you think?

Keep your eye on Jane's etsy shop for similar new pieces and take a peek at her flickr sets to discover the full scope of her work. Magical!

Little Red Riding Hood Stamps

I've been looking for one of these super-cute Little Red Riding Hood Otogicco stamp sets by Japanese company Decole for ages. I've seen a few on etsy but they always sell out so quickly. This one's from Nora Does, an online shop based in the UK ( £9.99). Does anyone know where you can buy them in France?

Kérity, la maison des contes

"Ce n'est pas parce que c'est inventé que ça n'existe pas"

Hier nous sommes allés voir un très beau film réalisé par Dominique Montféry sur un scénario signé par Anik le Ray. "Kérity, la maison des contes" est l'histoire de Natanaël, un petit garçon de bientôt 7 ans qui ne sait toujours pas lire… Lorsque sa tante Eléonore lui lègue sa bibliothèque contenant des centaines de livres, il est très déçu ! Pourtant chacun de ces contes va livrer un merveilleux secret : à la nuit tombée les petits héros, la délicieuse Alice, la méchante fée Carabosse, le terrible capitaine Crochet, sortent des livres... Ils doivent prévenir Natanaël qu’ils courent un grand danger et risquent de disparaître à jamais.

C'est un film tout simplement magnifique ! Plein de poésie, c'est à la fois un film d'aventure, un voyage, une réflexion sur les contes, l'imaginaire et le réel, la joie de découvrir la lecture et les livres, merveilleusement illustré par Rebecca Dautremer. Un immense coup de coeur, avec une ambiance graphique qui me faisait penser à Ponyo sur la falaise et le Buchêron des mots, apprécié autant par Miles (presque 5 ans) que par mère, qui ne parle pas un mot de français. A ne pas rater !

Superlilipopette

Well, you know I love masks and Julie Daleyden's (superlilipopette) are no exception. This Lille-based French artist / illustrator has a wonderful eye for colour

and an imagination that knows no bounds, as demonstrated by these amazing textile scarecrows

brooches

and mixed media collages.


Her work is rich, varied and fun, appealing to both the young and young at heart.
I particularly love her mask and scarecrow sketches.

If you'd like to see more of Julie's work, take a trip over to her blog.
You can contact her via email if anything takes your fancy.

Thanks to Lucie Georger for the link.

Oud Speelgoed

How I love vintage toys! My weekly trip to the local flea was a bit disappointing on Saturday so I turned to the web for some inspiration and new ideas. It's been a while since I checked out Tas-ka's site and I'm glad I did. I found some lovely, reasonably priced vintage jigsaws, games and decorative items for kids' bedrooms, well worth a look at, in addition to their beautiful fabrics, books and homewares.

Les filles is another Dutch address worth checking out if you're looking for affordable retro-inspired and vintage toys for kids.

All the luck in the world is a gorgeous site. If you've never seen Jane Schouten's beautiful mixed media artwork now's the time to do so. Jane sells a selection of handmade and recycled pieces (love her stools!) and vintage finds, including this wooden car and these colourful Fisher Price toys.

Any more ideas? I've already mentioned Old Basics, which sell some really nice old pieces of children's furniture and toy shops, etc. Does anyone have any other good addresses for vintage toys in the Netherlands?