We moved into our house a little over a year ago, and the project of decorating it is still an ongoing task. Walls need artwork, sofas need cushions, we still desperately need a mirror in our bathroom (the list goes on)! I only just managed to get some very much-needed hooks up in the kids’ rooms — it’s amazing how long it can take to do something as simple as putting hooks on a wall!

Anyway, in my quest to buy new cushions for our home, I have discovered the most wonderful webshop specialising only in cushions and pillows. Yellow Velvet is a stylish and well-organised site with an even more stylish selection. They have cushions for every setting: living room, bedroom, outdoor areas, children’s rooms, etc. There are so many great options, my only problem was choosing! I ended up buying a selection of these embroidered linen cushions for the yellow sofa in our living room (see below).

And now I’m super tempted to buy some cushions for the kids’ rooms. There is no end to decoration it seems! Do check out Yellow Velvet if you’re also in a decorating mood…

x Courtney

A few weekends ago we went up to the Matakana Farmers Market which is about an hours drive north of Auckland.  There was so much yummy, fresh, locally produced food.  Its worth the drive just for that!  As well as food they had some craft stalls and I came across Maud & Mary-Jane. Sandy who is the founder of Maud & Mary-Jane designs and makes everything herself.  I just love the vintage wool blanket cushions and how cute are the Blankiesauruses? Check out her website here.

Steph xo

xxx Esther

I recently came across this great online shop based in LA called Waanaki (which means ‘to live in peace’). Owner Nanette Sulano focuses on carefully curated vintage pieces for children age zero to six. Check out the shoes and accessories for some great one of a kind pieces!

-Elizabeth

Posters made out of felt and decorated with hand-embroidered details. Sweet screen printed t-shirts made out of fair trade, organic cotton sourced in Africa. Handmade toys with funny legs and big bellies and interesting stories to tell (and with a back that is as nice as the front). Fun! We’re loving what Carly and Nick from Corby Tindersticks have done for their first collections, and are anxiously waiting to see what they’ll come up with next! (Their sketch book looks promising!)

xxx Esther

When we moved back to New Zealand I had grand plans of what the kids bedroom would look like.  I had bought them matching beds to bring back and bought loads of dark grey gingham to make matching duvet covers.  In my head it was going to look so cute! When we finally found a house to rent, the bedrooms were so small I couldn’t fit in their matching beds.  Luckily, we had bought Mia’s toddler bed back with us so Kees ended up having to sleep in that. For a while he also had to use his sister’s girlie duvet covers.  Last week I finally got around to making him his own duvet covers so his bed feels more like his own.

How I made them:

• I cut up an old white sheet.
• I printed Kees’ name on normal printer paper
• I traced Kees’ name with pencil onto the sheet.

• Then I hand embroidered over the pencil line.

• Finally I sewed on a matching grey gingham back.

I think his new duvet looks very smart and its always good to recycle old sheets.

Steph xo

Lately Lily is a cute range of girl’s t-shirts which celebrate childhood and worldly adventures. They’re designed and made in Southern California, and have that sunny, daydreamy feeling to each of them. I got Ivy the Zeborah tee (featured above) and it’s so cute! I love the poppy red colour and it has a nice, narrow fit with sweet little sleeves.

The tees are available online from the Lately Lily shop.

x Courtney

xxx Esther

I was feeling a bit blue the other day when I stumbled upon Sharon Montrose’s Animal Print Shop. There is nothing like portraits of bunnies, ducks, and sheep to instantly elevate your mood. I am still trying to decide which animal needs to come home with us. Maybe the two bear cubs?

We have the Paris Map and I am now thinking of adding the London Map to our collection. We travel to London so much, it is such a cute reminder of our travels. The maps have recently been revisited with new vibrant colours… how lovely is the London Bus Red of the image above? Also new at Famille Summerbelle are the laser-cut maps, which I think look so great too, they are kind of the grown up version of the screen printed maps!

- Emilie

I recently discovered the fantastic Australian-based shop, Inaluxe, while browsing Pinterest. I quickly ordered a couple prints (although I must admit, it was difficult to only choose a couple!), and I’m so pleased with them. What I like is that the prints can work in an adult’s space or a child’s room. I think the bright colours and birds would really appeal to children, while adults might like the more abstract pieces. (The prints I ordered are for me, not the kids!)

Inaluxe is run by Kristina Sostarko and Jason Odd, two artists who met in school. Their attention to detail and quality is so immaculate — they use only the best archival fine art papers, and work with the best giclee reproduction print technology out there. And they ship all over the world — my prints arrived super quickly!

x Courtney

Les Triplettes is a new line of decorative accessories and bed linens made from Liberty of London fabrics for boys and girls. For their first collection they’ve created cute cloud and star pillows, lovely garlands and adorable quilts, all handmade in Quebec, Canada. Julie, Sophie and Marion are three friends passionate about fashion and design; they aim for originality, refinement and authenticity, which you can find in their products. My daughter just got a “big girl” bed and I’m quite tempted to get her one of the quilts. Now I just have to choose which pattern! Available online from Mini Bulles.

-Celina

There is a little shop in Encinitas, California (where I used to live) called m.o.m that has the most adorable decor pieces, accessories and handmade clothes for children. They often use one-of-a-kind fabrics with fun prints for their items. I bought the most adorable pink striped tie for one of the favorite little boys in my life when I was last down there and he adores it. These would be darling additions to any easter outfit or to have around for a dress-up occasion.  (They don’t show a big selection on their site, but they are great at taking custom orders and letting you pick out the fabrics.)

-Elizabeth

I have recently done a little bit of work on our flat and it’s amazing what a lick of paint and a few new accessories can do! It sometimes feels like I have moved into a new apartment! It is equally amazing how long it takes for even the smallest renovation to finish. Though the decorators left a month ago, I am still hanging up pictures and screwing in hooks and shelves. My excuse is that I am taking my time to find exactly the right place to hang the pictures and exactly the right hooks to screw in.

Some of the hooks I found was from a lovely little label called: My Little Home. They are really cute and have a nice vintage feel to them. I love the muted colours and the discreet little stars and dots painted on them…

- Emilie

I’m loving the new gender-neutral bedding collection from Olli Ella. What a great solution for parents who are expecting but aren’t finding out the gender of the baby. Or even just a good option if you don’t want to go down the pink for girls and blue for boys route. The bedding is all made in England using the softest 300-thread count cotton. I also like the new art prints which are cute on their own (or paired with the bedding of course).

x Courtney

ps — For the chance to win one of the new Olli Ella snuggle blankets, visit our Facebook page and leave a comment there!

The Rocking Company also has a selection of durable, cool bibs, made from thick and soft fabrics with an unmistakable retro feel to them as well. A very nice selection of first products — I wonder what else Sandra (the owner) will come up with next!

xxx Esther

Rootsliving is a new UK-based company run by Charlotte Kjeldsen, a lovely Danish mum who stays true to her ‘roots’ by sourcing all the products from Scandinavia (mostly Denmark). She carries one of my favourite Danish brands, Rie Elise Larsen, as well as other little Scandinavian treasures. Find everything from homewares and accessories to children’s fashion and decor. I like the selection of jewellery, I love these yellow candlesticks, and you’ll probably be interested to know that all the children’s clothing is now half off!

x Courtney

Where are you from? Are your family roots from all around the world or perhaps you still live in your place of birth? As you can see from the image above my family’s origins are somewhat spread out, so it’s no wonder I fell in love with these prints entitled My Roots Collection created by Children Inspire Design.

What a lovely way to teach our children about their background, their roots or perhaps if you have family scattered around the world this can help them understand where everyone lives.
These posters come with heart stickers and are therefore entirely customizable; I really love the different available colors and the simplicity of the graphic design, cute in any room! You can choose from something more global like the world map, or narrow it down to a continent, a country or even an American state. To top it off, these are made from recycled card stock and printed with soy ink.

Which map would you choose?

-Celina

With Easter just around the corner, I thought I would share with you some of my favourite little bunnies found on my Pinterest. If you like what you see here I highly recommend you check out my board solemnly dedicated to bunnies entitled “Dust Bunnies”. You will find some cute DIY projects, jewellery, room décor, clothing and much, much more. Some of the images above are old, but nevertheless inspiring — you can discover some great artists and other amazing blogs through them…

1. Kenzo 2009:
2. Mr &Mrs rabbit plushies by Little Miss Loolies
3. Mustache Rabbit Print by Andrew Bannecker
4. Rabbit Clock by Misako Mimoko
5. Rabbit Friend by Fox and Owl
6. Mrs Bunny by Lieschen Mueller
7. Mr. Lewis by Le Train Fantome
8. Hop & Pek Egg Cup via Handmade Charlotte
9. Krys Kirkpatrick Bunny pillow via Kickcan & Conkers
10. Kanae Entani Embroidered Rabbit heads
11. Pohadky book from Cedok
12. Circus Bunny by Evangelione

Enjoy!

I ordered a couple prints from the Twoems Etsy shop recently and they make such a fun addition to our playroom. I love all the bright colours and patterns. My favourite is the Funky Diamonds print, and my boys love this Uh Oh Shark print (for obvious reasons).

x Courtney