Paper Theatres // Pukaca

I hope that none of my friends with kids are reading this, because I plan to get something from this shop for every one of them! Pukaca is a Portuguese company that make paper theatres and finger puppets... so gorgeous and something for every obsession from prehistoric to fantastical.

I predict hours of imaginative entertainment!
(for kids AND their parentals... cause that's important too right?!)

You can get them either as printable pdfs or as a full ready made set.

Etsy shop is here
Australian stockist via here

OMY Design and Play // Paper Costumes

How insanely cute (and brilliant) are these paper costumes by French company, OMY Design + Play. Choose from a Panthero, Lion, Madame, Superhero or colour your own wild creation. If only I could fit into one!?






Their glow-in-the-dark posters are pretty incredible too...

An artist and her daughter collaborate // Mica Hendricks

Graphic artist and Illustrator, Mica Hendricks accidentally began collaborating with her 4 year old daughter when Myla demanded that her mother share with her. They have since created a whole world of rather incredible art.



Mica will draw the head of the figure or animal while her 4 year old daughter dreams up a body or background for it to inhabit. Mica will then go back and colour the beings, often under  the strict directions of her little art director. The results are, as you can see, often wild and always pretty wonderful.



It must be hard to step back enough to allow your scribble-handed child to let loose on your precious drawings (I am a control-freakish enough when it comes to the cub doing his OWN painting!)

Sometimes I would give her suggestions, like “maybe she could have a dragon body!” but usually she would ignore theses suggestions if it didn’t fit in with what she already had in mind...  But I should know that in most instances, kids’ imaginations way outweigh a grownup’s, and it always ALWAYS looked better that what I had imagined. ALWAYS.

Soooo brilliant for so many reasons!! I feel so inspired by this pair!

Visit The Busy Mockingbird to see more
Read more about how it came to be here

In the Forest / Wake Up Sloth > A pop-up book

I bought this beautiful book recently, justifying the purchase by telling myself it was for my little cub... but of course it's far too lovely and delicate for his wild paws. So instead we read it together, each loving it for different reasons, and it sits high on a special level of bookshelf.



By the creators of Popville, this is such a divinely crafted book. Full of cutouts and dramatic pop-ups, but also is a sweet as pie little story in there too. There is a sleepy little sloth hidden in the foliage and a message to the future conservationists. I've left the end off from these photos as didn't want to give it away... you'll just have to go and hunt it out for yourself! (oh, cruel tease you say? yep)



This book is called 'Wake up Sloth' in US
Available in the Tate shop in UK
I bought my Australian copy at Published Art

p.s. Under the Ocean, by the same authors looks pretty gorgeous too.

Favourite Things : Children's Books

A new series... hurrah! Lists and collections and compendiums... what's not to love? This occasional feature will showcase fabulous bundles of things that are favourites of mine (or sometimes even of others). Hope you enjoy!






This topic is close to my heart. I will admit that these are mostly MY choices and not necessarily my little cubs first choices. He is quite into the Dig, Dig, Digging / Choo Choo Clickety Clack / This is my digger variety of book at the moment - which is fine/great/splendid, but not so interesting for you guys (or me really to be quite honest!)

1 - Oh the Places You'll Go (Pop-up), Dr Seuss
Amazing book for adults and children alike (we had a reading from it for our wedding in fact!) with rhyming couplets and will make your tongue tumble along blissfully. In pop-up form it's just got even more magnifique.

2 - I'm the Best, Lucy Cousins
Wild and wonderful illustrations that look like they were incredibly fun to paint and are about to leap out of the book. A lovable story about a dog and his fluffy ears... that's all I'll say. I sometimes even read this one by myself it's so cute.

3 - Miffy at the Gallery, Dick Bruna
I have loved Miffy since I was a lil lady myself. This little adventure makes you see and appreciate art from a small persons perspective. Testament to the fact that art really is for everyone.                                  
     
4 - Lost and Found, Oliver Jeffers
Anything this man creates is gold. Illustrator extraordinaire who tells tales of friendship and innocence. Heart melty moments, beware. Also love How to Catch a Star, Incredible Book Eating Boy and Up and Down.

5 - Sparkle and Spin, Ann & Paul Rand
A wonderfully graphic and colourful book all about words. Fabulously designed by Paul Rand with sing-song words by his fine wife Ann.

6 - The Red Tree, Shaun Tan
Sad, sad, sad... happy. Amazing illustrations that appeal to big and little ones. I actually bought this book long before I thought about kids, it's that good!

7 - Beautiful Oops, Barney Saltzberg
The sentiment of this book is fabulous. Folded corners become penguins, paint splatters sheep. Creativity through mess and that mistakes can be transformed into beautiful creatures.

8 - Out Of Sight, Pittau & Gervais
Sometimes its nice to have not words. Silence can be bliss it's true. This HUGE book (which Leo simple calls 'big book') has pop-ups fold outs galore and if you do want the words then it's full of animal facts that you'll never have otherwise known.

9/ Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak
It would be simply rude to not include this fine book. I read/loved/gobbled it up as a child & I can't wait for the day that Leo does too. The recently re-penned 304pp version for bigger kids (by Dave Eggers) is not to bad too.

and though not pictured here but at the last minute felt it was wierd to have only 9
10/ The Art Book For Children
For the same reason as book #3. Art for kids eyes and minds which in a way is more magical than our own old jaded adult ones. I literally can't wait to get into this in a year or two.

So, what are your favourites? Did I miss any diamonds? Always keen for more...


Top photo by Mieke Dalle

Print of the day // Blink Designs

What could be better than a rainbow on your wall?
It's on my little ones wish list (by my recommendation obviously. hehe)

kids coats // little goodall

I'm pretty excited about winter now and strangely a large part of that reason is that kids wear wooly, cuddly coats. There is something about miniature coats that just makes my cheeks dimple. Little hands poking out, hoods on little heads and all the more squeezable little bundles of warm! These coats by Little Goodall are possibly too ridiculously cute (can something be tooo cute?!) Incredible right?!



They don't come cheap though... so until I hit lotto, this little yellow fishermans coat will have to suffice for our little lion. I think he quite likes it too (I dont think I'll show him the other options!)

An animalian alphabet // Wee Alphas

I'm sure if this gorgeous looking app had been around when I was growing up, I would have learnt my alphabet in half the time! Called Wee alphas (and created by Wee Society), this interactive and divinely illustrated alphabet teaches you in each instance to find the letters within an animal and then to explore each illustration for its secret power (ie. hidden animation) At the end you can pick your very favourite letter and perfect your tracing skills. Never too old for abit of alpha practice right?!



The accompanying giant sized screenprint and smaller print are quite divine too (after all things are always better on paper really aren't they!? hehe)

Cardboard Galavanting // Flatout Frankie

How gorgeous are these hobby horses (dinos and unicorns) by New Zealand company Flatout Frankie. If only I'd discovered them a week earlier I could have bought them for my whole family for an extra specially magical christmas gallop around the tree!



Love the more classic but nonetheless fantastic machines too...



Available to buy here

Fun Friends // Nellie Ryan Design

Love these bright and fun prints by New Zealand illustrator Nellie Ryan. A bonus of having kids in your house is that you can have fill your walls with colourful prints and your sofa with soft toys without a hint of oddity (& watch Rastamouse without guilt either) These though would be perfectly acceptable for any age I think. So cute with just the right amount of nostalia too!



Found via the lovely space that is Bloesem Kids

Dropping the balls

Lately I've been struggling with the juggling act of bambino/work/life and sleeeeep*... and so sadly this dear space has felt the brunt of neglect. I have hope that as soon as our little fella learns to sleep (yep, apparently sleeping is a skill that needs to be taught!!) that things will be easier. In the meantime please forgive my absence and don't give up on me. pretty please.

This photo of the little lion man was taken last week, on a very welcomed mid-week getaway to the south coast with my own dearest mama.

* any tips from folks in the same boat would be very gratefully received 

Party hats // TMOD

I've posted before about the extra creative stationery of TMOD and have been meaning to share their latest ventures on here for awhile now. I've fallen a little in love with their series of party hat cards - donning a pirate hat definitely beats wearing a tacky old badge with a number 30 on it. And wait there's more... you can buy a pass the parcel package (shown above) of 6 hats with the the final winner getting the jewelled crown! A pretty ace way to enforce costumes at a party don't you think?!



Cutesticks wrapping papers with an afterlife too (dot-to-dot and cutout dolls)

Paperdoll Primer // Emily Martin

While burying myself in a most delightful bookshop over the weekend I came across The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer. A most adorable and nostaligic-riddled book by talented US illustrator Emily Winifred Martin. I used to play for hours with paper dolls when I was little and would have treasured these lovely ones. The characters are fantastic and the clothes so very suave.

Internal images from Angry Chicken (& read her interview there too) 



Emily sells these beautiful small sets in her shop too if you don't want a whole book just yet.

Wild animals

It's a most clever thing in my eyes to create a book that could be for a newborn baby or a knitting nanna... so beautiful is this one by Rop van Mierlo that it does just that!  (Buy a copy here if you like)




Wilde Dieren / Wild Animals from Rop van Mierlo on Vimeo.

Objects to make you smile

Not a particularly papery post I know but these two wonderful and adorably simple design ideas made me feel a bit fuzzy in my design-heart compartment.

Bookrest/lamp for sale at Suck UK



'My Theatre' by Hina Thibaud
(I for one would love a little box of treasures such as this... must it really be only for kids?)

Paper + Lego

Two great things have joined forces courtesy of the wonderful cupid arrows of Muji! Lego that includes paper to create ever greater wonders is a winner in my book. Available here in an assortment of flavours (Circus, Animals, Sea, Transparent and Christmas)

Pattern illustrations

These pattern illustrations by oliver + s for childrens clothing are so adorable... It has reminded me of my love for playing with those paper dolls!

(pattern photos from Volksfaden)

Junzo Terada // Childrens illustration

I'm abit of a sucker for postcard books and stumbled on this 'Happy Animal Time' one yesterday. Such beautiful shapes and colours and the cutest of cute from the animal kingdom... The world of Junzo Terada looks such a merry one and every single postcard in this is worthy of a frame...also found this journal which is cutesticks too!

Print of the Day > Enna

'ABC poster'