Creating: Yarn bombing with kids

The new graffiti, yarn-bombing, gave me an idea for projects to do with kids and get them interested in making things by hand and get them interested in yarn and the fact that it's not only for making sweaters and socks. While taking a walk outside kids can collect twigs and wrap some yarn around them to make trees and then perhaps knit or yarn some birds for it. They can also have fun knitting covers for the handles on their bikes, or dressing their cars or dollhouses with knitted drapes and clothing. And perhaps, one day it they'll get the urge to leave their mark on a public spot, they'll leave the spraycans alone and stick to the yarn instead.

Here are some wonderful images I found for inspiration. All of these can be made small to fit toys and small twigs. I love the shed. It would be fun do something like it with cardboardboxes and turn it into a playhouse.

Family: Let's stay together

The philosophy of Moomah in New York city is inspiring, beautiful and fun. It's a creative playspace, a cozy cafe, a creative place where kids can take creative and educational classes, kids and parents can create together or just hang. It's a place for families to hang out, have a meal, play, create, shop, talk and just be together. It's all about taking things slow, enjoying the moment and just be. The whole place is decorated with kids in mind, but without typical flashy colors and figures with google eyes. The atmosphere is relaxing and beautiful, and above all magical.

At Moomah the parents can be present while their children play and create. So they can enjoy the whole process, not just the final result. 

Toys: ShapeMaker

It seems that no matter what toy manufacturers come up with, nothing seems to beat the good old wooden blocks. Except maybe, new wooden blocks. The British designers Zoe Miller and David Goodman spent a lot of time researching old toys and wondering how to make them new. The came up with ShapeMaker, beautiful wooden blocks that enables kids to build and make, not only buildings, but faces, fruits, vehicles, animals and whatever their imagination inspires them to create. Miller and Goodman also create children's books and an exclusive product range for Tate. Everything they design is based on simple shapes, and the idea of putting them together in many different ways in order to create new shapes. Simply magical!

The Magician next door: Anne Bundgaard

Anne Bundgaard's illustrations capture the cuteness and a little bit of the magical weirdness of childhood but also the wonders of the world we live in. They're a bit sweet, a bit mad, a bit strange, a bit curious, magical and a bit eerie at times.  Anne Bundgaard is an artist and an illustrator that lives in Copenhagen, Denmark, and I'm very happy to introduce her as this weeks next door Magician.

"I get inspired by stories that move me. Stories from other people. It can be a sentence I hear as a fragment on the street. It can be the great stories like in politics. And lot in between, like movies, books, songs, fashion."

"It also inspires me to think about all the stuff mankind hasn't found out yet. That there is more to it than the big bang. And that the universe is soooo huge.," says Anne that seems to have created her own universe with her work. A universe well worth exploring.

"My motives often seem very light and a bit naive. But they are often inspired by the cruel things in life - such as war or other big disasters, which I think about a lot. And then I try to take it to a higher level by making a funny angel. I know it sounds naive, nevertheless that is what I do. I want to make other people hope and stay good people."

"I love letting it go, when I do my work. Just let my mind flow using my imagination. It is not until later it gets difficult. When I begin to see it as a picture, that also has to be great to look at. Often I don´t have a plan to begin with." Thank you Anne.

Design: Magic carpets

These margic carpets from the danish company CAFCAF are like rocket fuel for the imagination with their magical design. They make me want to throw out furniture to make room for every single one of them on the floor. The danish visual artist and designer Carin Faaborg is the founder of CAFCAF and the creator of these wonderful carpets. Due to resent technology she's been able to transfer her collage style to the carpet and it has opened up new dimensions of design for Carin.

"Do not treat the mats as normal floor carpets, rather as a background for playing with animals, puppets, monsters cars etc. The Farm could be the place where all the animals and agriculture machinery could get in order for the night. "

I recomend clicking on the images to see them larger, in order to see all the wonderful details.

Art: Cartonlandia

 Kids are very open minded when it comes to art, and I love taking my kids to galleries. Although art is almost never geared towards children some artwork really appeals to them. And I'm always very happy when I come across some art I know kids will love, like Cartonlandia made by Ana Serrano from L.A. It's made out of cardboard and even has cardboard residents. See more of Ana's work here.

Toys: Back to the future

The japanese company Take g-toys manufactures unique and beautiful wooden toys. I'm in awe of the craftsmanship of these futuristic looking wooden toys by the Nakagawa Takeshi. And it shouldn't surprise anyone that she has been awarded for her work. I also like how old technique is used for making futuristic toys. Unfortunately these toys are only for sale in Japan.

DIY: Color it yourself poster

This poster makes me want to bring out a big box of crayons. This retro looking poster is outlined with a Scandi print from Summerville and comes in black and rasperry. I love that you can color it with your favorite colors. I'm not sure one poster would be enough. The poster is available at Blueberry park.

Christmas: From mama

This painting by Faith Evans at Leaves and feathers just melted my heart. Here is the story of the painting: "The deer became the main character, and as I painted the whole thing became about a Mama and baby deer foraging in winter. The Mama deer gazing, and carefully directing her baby deer. She is always watching over him." This is Faith's christmas present to her son. "I want him to know, from his Mama: The Sun, the Moon, the Stars and I; we are always watching over you."

Christmas: The final countdown

Well I just wanted to show you some of the Christmas calenders I've been following. All of them offer a treat that kids can enjoy.  Above is a picture taken from the Tate kids website. Each day the calender shows one work from the Tate gallery collection, that has been chosen by kids, followed by their comments. Today's work is Monument by Dan Flavin, which makes Tommy (the boy who's chosen it) feel like a rocket.

Below is an image of a crochet bird taken from Ericas Laurell blog. Everday she puts out a new crochet item with a recipe on how to do it yourself.

Last but not least are images from the Dos family christmas calendar, where a guest blogger offers something wonderful each day til Christmas. On December 7th Elisabeth Dunker was the guest blogger and she tells a story of a shelf she brought home and had her kids decorate.

Enjoy.

Kids room: Scandinavian style

I just discovered this Swedish group of stylist called Svenska stylistgrubben. Most of their work is done for magazines and ads and among the work they've done I found this great kids room which the stylist Martina Ekert is responsible for. And I must say I wouldn't mind having her coming over to my house and redoing the kids bedrooms. I really like the colors of the room and how Martina uses wallpaper to make a tree and small collage by the bookshelf out of wallpaper squares.

 

A classic tale: Red balloon

Julie at Julie Adore has made this wonderful little paperboy flying away on his red crochet balloon. A beautiful reference to the fifties short film Le Ballon Rouge by Albert Lamorisse, which won the Oscar in 1957. It's a film about a little boy that follows a red balloon through the streets of Paris where he runs into some bullies that try to take away his balloon. I'm warning you, spoiler ahead. OK, You've been warned. Today watching this film, especially the end, I can't help being reminded a little bit of the latest Pixar film UP, wich is based on the same basic idea. Life is hard for the main character which tries to flee the pain by flying of on colorful balloons. But of course Le Ballon Rouge is very different film. I've always liked that film, since It's such a great film.  The music is good, the little boy is wonderful, and although the film is only about 12 minutes you can instantly relate to the little boy since the subject is universal, the hardship of childhood. And the part where the colorful balloons fly all over the grey colored city - it's simply magical.

Christmas: The snow globe

The snow globe is without a doubt the most magical holiday ornament. As a kid I got lost starting at the perfect little world inside the globe. Naturally I fell for this snow globe that I found at Pivoine et Tapioca. It's handmade, created by Marion.  She's also created one with a moose and another one with a bear. Magical.

Music: What a crate idea

I'd thought I'd start this Saturday morning with the sound of music, coming from vintage cheese crates. The creative talent of Something's hiding in there and Three Potato Four collaborated on turning vintage cheese crates into music boxes. Will and Rachel are the wonderful talent of Something's hiding in there and they create magical things out of available material they find in their surrounding. Actually it was their wooden mustache that caught my attention. I wouldn't mind having an afternoon of fun the kids wearing these funny mustaches and playing music from the music boxes.

The Magician next door: The little girl giant

The little girl giant is a puppet, a creation of the Royal de Luxe, the french marionette street theatre company. She travels all around the world, following her father around, accompanied by huge elephants that shower her in the morning. She's visited cities in France, Iceland, Germany, England, Chile and Australia where Royal de Luxe tells her stories: The giant falls from the sky, The return to Africa, The giraffe hunters and more. Once I had the opportunity to follow her around Reykjavik in Iceland for a few daysþ I watched her shower, get dressed and walk around looking for her father. He was a mean giant that wrecked cars and threw stuff around, like giant knifes and forks. It was one the most magical experiences I've had, and all the children were fascinated.

This week there is actually not one but many magicians. All the people of Royal de Luxe are magicians that bring this gigantic wooden girl to live and manage with pure skill to breath live into her, and shape her presence with warmth and feelings.

Kids bedroom: Fairy-tale posters and prints

The fairy-tale is always capturing and fascinating. Here are some fantasy and fairy-tale posters and prints.
From top:  Jonville by Juery Franck, Herd of reindeer by Kathleen Lolley.
Below:  Painted Lady by Lisa Barnes-Orlandi, In the Forest by Imeus design.

Kids bedroom: Educational posters and prints

My sister was the best in her class in geography. That's because every morning she stared at the big world map at the wall in the kitchen while having breakfast. Here are some great educational posters and prints.
image above-from left: Counting poster by Isak, Critters and creatures in pink by Jessica Gonacha at Etsy, ABC print from Orange You Lucky, Apple a Day by Izzy Mathews, Numbers poster by Binth.

Around the world by Julie Mercier.

Kids bedroom: Magical posters and prints

There are so many artist out there making magical and wonderous artwork for children - thank god.

(Image above - from left) ANIMALS: Mais qu'est-ce qui se passe? by Perdita Coleone, A cheetah by Rebecca Katz, PS Mikkel from IKEA, Sous la pluie by Nathalie Choux, A bird drawing by Robert Clarke, The Magic Bus by Mariann Johansen-Ellis

Immeuble by Marion Billet.

Shopping: Beautiful clothes for children

Beautiful, luxurious and functional with no logos and no conferring superior status. The clothes at CaramelBaby & Child are all that and more. The company was founded seven years ago by Eva Karaylannis, a trained lawyer without any design experience. She's just someone who is passionate about making beautiful clothes for children. At first she chased down clothes all over the world that would fit the style, but in the end she started designing them herself. She likes experiencing with colors that aren't usually used for children's clothes and they are all very classic, but up to date at the same time. She has a few shops in England, but she also has a webstore here.