Wood you like to play...

You can't beat wooden toys, they last longer, they can get a bit bashed without breaking and when worn and well loved they still retain their beauty, just look at these and I'm sure you'll agree that wood is just the best!

Unto This Last our first purchase was elephant (even before children arrived!) their animals are great and now they do cars and numbers and letters too. Starting at just £3
Mamissima have great products including the dangly legged creations, £10
Cheekeyes have a whole range of wooden sets these dinosaurs i'm sure you'll agree are fab and with just a hint of colours to add a twist £24 set
Momoll is a favourite stop of mine with such gorgeous products and these animals are just amazing with interchangeable legs, ears and horns; creative and imaginative and hours of fun £52 set
Toypost  was a lovely surprise for me with these wheelie little fellows a playful snip at just £5.95
come on little ones how many 'wood' (hee-hee, okay sorry couldn't resist)  you like ? xx

Love London x

Here is a bit of London for feeling comfy with, eating with, adorning our spaces with and playing with, these are as much fun as the city itself...London we love you xxx

from the top, row by row...
The super talented work from Julie at Famille Summerbelle, this paper cut print is the perfect wall map, snip at £35
Muji have some gorgeous natural products and London in a bag for little hands is perfect, price is too £9.95
Add some light with this string of London buses from the National gallery £30 they have more...
Paperchase; a super melamine tray, I'm loving the grey and orange
At Liberty you can pick up a more expensive version of a London tray, fantastic colours and would cheer up many a kitchen or table £30
Fab Folksy find; Sally Nencini, cosy cushion in lambswool £40
Colourful London in a bag, all these pieces only £12.99 yours to buy here
Doorstop of a great London signature the red telephone box, National Gallery  £25
Over at notonthehighstreet I came across this delightful cushion that would be the finishing touch to any sofa by Michelle Mason, Michelle has lots of London items to peek at.

I'm a little teapot.....

A nation of tea lovers, for me only the past few years but I'm making up for lost time, how many times a day do I say "Ooh anyone for a cuppa tea ?", well the answer is lots and it is rubbing off on the little ones but in a very playful way, and of course because with these delightful brewing pots you simply can't resist, both grown up and little ones can pick from these great finds.

from the top....
super cute pastel mini set from ikea, bowls and plates also available
gorgeous teatowels from one of my favourite sites Shinzi Katoh
tea-for-2 also Shinzi Katoh
Paperchase Tea-for-1 currently has this floral little pot and dotty cup with 20% off
for the younger hands this crochet set is perfect Bijou Lifestyle has £15 off this at the moment too so great time to get the kettle on
elephant tea-fpr-2 , yes you've guessed Shinzi Katoh as is the fantastic red riding hood (last pic)
and for all that like wooden toys you can't beat this wooden set from Emu Toys

the fun of a cardboard box

Having a temporary studio since our move we can finally celebrate the 'opening' of our permanent studio :)
It has all been very exciting, more for some than others and the past few days has generated a large amount of empty cardboard boxes, I'm pleased to say that this has generated hours of amusement (as empty boxes do) as they are being recycled creating lots of fun along the way.

Project House

If you don't have a box big enough for the little ones to play in then make a dolls house, great fun and here is one done beautifully with thanks of craft-project

And if you do have lots of big boxes and want to be inspired, then a big thank you goes out to the amazing talent and creativity of Russian-born, Bulgarian-based graphic designer and illustrator Vicky Knysh do check out her site.... truly fantastic :)
Here are just a few snaps....

Well I hear little ones calling, a cloud cuckoo puppet theatre is in the making, so bye for now and see you soon x

Animals & a ride too

Animals have always been a big part of my life and inspiration, you'll see them popping into many (almost all) of our collections.
Yesterday we got close to lots of farm animals at the Welsh Agricultural Show. I found the show a great inspiration, the animals naturally, but also great boy themes with the amazing machinery. The flower and veg tent was fantastic and I was most impressed by the peas!
Of the animals the goats were the highlight, so elegant and beautiful as voiced by our little one. Second up was the cows, I really couldn't believe the size of some of the bulls, sadly these animals are not suitable to live with us but I found some that would be....

Rocking "Bent" by VILAC
The company Vilac set up in 1911, today the Vilac wooden toys are still made in a factory in the beautiful French Jura mountains. The toys are beautifully made, still partly by hand, and the rich, deep and bright colours are obtained by using a special lacquer in which they are dipped. This gorgous wooden rocking toy is so beautifully designed it could really occupy any room in our house.
Another cow not too big and still looking good would be the Wheelybug cow.

There are other animals to pick from mine have loved the ladybird and it has certainly been a great purchase, and such a fantastic price too, as these wheely friends start at £41

The sheep were varied, some skittish, some sleepy and some cheery and happy to receive the attention from our little ones. Out of all of them however there wasn't really one I'd have at home, but today however I have the one I'd love to give a home to.
This delightful soft sheep is by Jarrod Lim and I'm sure you'll agree this sheep is simply divine, you can feel the softness and happiness it would bring to little ones from this image.

Well I can't finish the post without a horse. The horses we saw yesterday were well groomed and shiny coated, the riders were equipped in fine attire and shiny boots too. My thoughts were with my dear friends N&J who look dashing when they're kitted out. Most often though i see a horse made of wood with one of my girls less elegantly clambering on. Here is one of our favourite modern wooden rocking horses perfect for the smaller rider.

The Arabian Rocking Horse by Plan toys, available from Funky Moose for less than £50 this would be another super purchase.

Me Booty, Aye Aye

Well 'shiver me timbers' we've been pirate busy with our card range "I'm Going To Be...."

Captain rouge 'Happy Birthday' card £2.10 available here

Captain Noir 'Happy Birthday' card £2.10 available here

and especially with Rascal Rouge and Captain Noir, so much so that not only are are cards shipping out fast but individuals have liked these rascals so much we've been asked to do some commissioned pieces based around them for one off little peoples bedrooms.

The pirate theme is clearly rubbing off and today Mr Cuckoo brought the mini cuckoos a present; a set of pirate skittles by BigJig toys. I love them (as do the girls) and thought I'd share them them with you.

See more wooden toys from BigJig.

Finally I'm going to round off this pirate life post with a gorgeous pirate pillow find from the beautiful Lottie Da

Farewell me hearties, aye-aye !

Holidays & polaroids

Back from a week of South Devonshire life, trips, picnics, beach, paddling and walks.
Now with children of my own brings doing this kind of holiday brings back fond memories of when I was small, when me and my sister were playing together, sandcastle building, paddling, visiting gardens, donkey rides and ice creams and back then the polaroid camera too.
Here are just a couple of recent photos but with some of yesterdays charm.
Once unpacked i hope to add more.