Convos with my 2-year old

Convos with my 2-year old is a  new series by one creative daddy! Each episode is an actual conversation with his 2 year old daughter, as re-enacted by him and another full-grown man. New episodes will be coming out every Wednesday. Till then, enjoy first two episodes, they are rad!

Pinocchio washing line

I love funny design. I could really use one line like this for situations when eg. we come home after the day at the beach, when the night beofre I've done 2 full washes and I have nowhere to hang our towels. Plus, it is funny, and I love funny design. I already said that. Bye.

Castiglione Morelli Design

Smellies - interactive T-shirts

Ok, so I am not sure if the name Smellies is more of a head scratch or the 'interactive Ts' description. So, let me enlighten you. This Australian brand specializes in clothing you can 'experience'. There are three ranges available:

Scratch N' Smell range

Scratch the print and then smell the chocolate.

"We use the latest scent application technology for clothing, we have discovered a NEW engineered microcapsule technology that holds the scent longer. Scent has the power to evoke emotions, evoke long lost memories and change people’s moods. It has been shown in studies, that scent effects 75% of the emotions we experience everyday. Let us now experience these emotions from our clothing and have some fun with it!"







The colourchange range

T-shirts that will change colour due to changes in temperature.












The glow in the dark range

Even this one, which is pretty unexciting compared to the first two, would without a doubt become my son's favorite piece of clothing if he was to get one.












"...for the kids of noughties!"

They ship worldwide! Which one is it going to be?

Unleash the artist

Several months ago, at 3 years of age, our son decided to make his walls more pretty (as he put it) instead of having his afternoon nap. We acted angry and explained that is not a nice thing to do. A week later he was having his nap, or so we thought, until he called out from his room, that he needs more wet wipes, and we were confronted with these images:

He tried to wipe off his work of art from the week before...

I mean, it is not THAT beautiful, but it can be painted over, so not that big of a deal.

Some designer thought of a creative ways to solve this problem, so today you can buy a color in wallpaper by Jon Burgeman:

or you can have your kids customize their or their sibling clothing with this Monster Leggings Artist Kit, by a super cute new brand from Australia, AmorAmor.

I don't think any of these would have stopped P from doing what he did, but they ARE sort of cool even without this pedagogic connotation. Not only they make it possible to kids to scribble on their walls and clothes, the design is great even in monochrome. And even if they get bored and stop coloring half-way, it still looks great...but only a little better then the wet-wiped wall at our house.

If you like the idea, but are more of a DIY all the way type of person, you might like Summer Art Love and/or Boys of Summer Art free printables by Lil Blue Boo.

Happy doodling!

My Space by Liya Mairson

No time for words today, and no words to describe how much I LOOOVE this so just watch the video and sigh (when unfolded this 'play room' is bigger than my kids room...

Last minute floorbed

P is in last minute swimming camp since today morning. We weren't home for the weekend, and before we left I had no idea he will be going to the camp. One of the things kids needed to bring with them was a foam pad, for their afternoon nap. Whaaat? How is he supposed to sleep on that? Plus, I don't have one!
What I did have, was a big chunk of 3 cm thick mattress foam my brother wanted to throw away (his new sofa was packaged in it) and I, as a major hoarder of junk stuffed in my storage area.
I also had fabric..I always have fabric.

Oilcloth tablecloth on one side, Ikea Saralisa on the other. Sew 3 sides on the wrong side, turn out the fabric, stuff the foam in neatly, sew one side from the outside, not at all easy at 1 o'clock at night and with foam pulling the whole thing out. But I did it!

Morning testing...
Yes, I made one for his friend too, while I was at it.

Hm, not to happy, is he?:)

Makedo a boat

Way back in March, after we made out cardboard plane I was sent a precious package by Makedo to try out. We've been friends ever since. Some of our creations were lost for good when Daddy formatted the memory card with our photos on, but this weekend we had some serious fun making a boat. I say serious fun, because:
 1. It is always fun to create something from nothing
2. P finally started taking initiative, he had some great ideas and he was really into the whole thing all the way

What you need is a pack of Makedo connector system, a 3 year old full of imagination and some cardboard.

And you can  paddle:

fight the croc

 paddle some more

and then quickly turn on the motor to run away

Check if there are any more crocodiles coming your way

Now that the danger is over, get some rest:

You have a big day tomorrow pulling your brother around in a box

For more on Makedo, visit their cool website, or like them on facebook or twitter for daily inspiration and some great projects from around the world.

Also, dont forget to enter a Pappet giveaway , where you can also win a great toy boosting your kids iimagination.

Pebble neck(shoe)lace

We're spending some time at the seaside and we had family from Germany with us the past week. P and his cousin L had loads of fun spending time together. One day we made pebble+shoelace necklace.

I took colorful shoelaces I had, broke P's stone, found a replacement stone, put stones on shoelaces and did adjustable knots...and gave the boys chocolate so they'd be willing to pose for photos.

Colored butterfly against attitude and weather

Where the attitudes bad and the weather is shitty, all you need is a butterfly template from Minieco and some colour.

And it will get better...

Think positive thoughts...

KLOCC for Kids, by Judit Ducsai

Klocc for Kids – Hungarian design award winning innovative storage for kids.

Designed by Judit Ducsai Kid's Klocc, very much like it’s predecessor - Klocc bag,  is made from 1 cm thick 100% industrial wool felt. Formed using a special technique similar to the hat making process and treated to be water resistant, they are made from 1 piece and except for the zipper, you will find no seems on them.

Each of them is handmade in Judit's studio.

Bright coloured and ever-changing organic shapes and self sustainable forms are not only incredibly cool and beautiful, they also stimulate children's curiosity, creativity, abstract thinking and problem solving skills.

 

A toy storage solution which can easily become a toy itself!

They can be hanged, attached together, open wide, or closed shut.

They can also be given to Mommy to play with, because she is crazy about them.

To see other products by this talented designer visit ducsaijudit design, or join her on facebook.

These photos are courtesy of Judit Ducsai.

Your kids can make their own bed (linen)

Jump over to Budapest Moms for my weekly post.

The cheapest cool lamp, or the coolest cheap lamp EVER

You need:

IKEA EKBY VALTER bracket
IKEA HEMMA cord set
drill. screws, plug connector

And enjoy!

Piece of advice: if you are going to use it above your kids reading nook, use a LED bulb, those don't get hot, if your kid decides he wants to touch it, as mine does.

If you like my nook, you can vote for it by liking this photo here. I WON!



Linking to: Marvelously Messy, Sumo's Sweet Stuff
                 Whipperberry

Last minute Valentines project

We don't really do seasonal decoration. I don't know anyone who changes their decoration for any seasonal holidays other than Christmas. Including us. But, since I have kids, I have found this to be a good excuse and inspiration to do projects with them. These are still very simple projects, with some cool possibilities and results nonetheless.
This weekend I cut out a number of hearts (considering the HEART holiday coming up) with a plan for P to colour and decorate them in some bright and happy colours. If you would like, you can find the template for our asymmetric heart here. A little did I know that his choice of colour will be brown and his interest in coloring would last for about 5 minutes, or exactly 4 hearts.




So I put away the colours and the fruit of my hard work, cut out hearts and decided to wait till after his nap to do something else, like maybe decorate his room with hearts, but he wouldn't have it. Completely desperate at the thought my hearts will go to waste, I then decided to decorate my living room wall, bring some Valentines spirit in there.

He had a problem with that too. He didn't like my concept and at that point he decided to take things in his own hands.

And this is how it is done. You have yourself a nice kids project, a wall art that makes your living room happy and a prop for taking photos of your children if they let you.

 

 You can then use the photos to make quirky V-Day greeting cards to send to the family tomorrow:)

BRIGITTE-Creative-Blog-Award 2012

Brigitte.de is looking for the most talented DIY enthusiast in the blogosphere!

They are looking for authors of creative blogs who present their own modern DIY ideas and completed projects in a visually appealing way, with well-thought-out instructions written in a coherent manner.

Starting February 2012 the Jury will choose three most inspiring blogs every month and announce them on the 1st of the following month. Nominees will then have two weeks to submit a new DIY idea to be presented on brigitte.de. AT the end of 2012. three winners will be announced.  First prize is a chance to style a major DIY story with the editorial staff for the BRIGITTE print edition.

more info

apply

Your design on a Booteeq T-shirt

There is a contest at Croatian Booteeq!

Stick your design on a white T-shirt, and apply. If they like it, it will be posted online for voting AND it will be available for purchase to Booteeq users. That is right, you don't need to win to have a chance to earn some money.

To apply, go here.

Before sending the preview make sure you have the priginal file ready (vectors (PDF, AI) or high resolution photo (PDF, TIFF, JPG - 300dpi). Original file will be asked for if your design is picked.

• Preview format: jpg, gif, png (white background)
• Preview size: 1000 x 1000 px 
• Note: design should have max 3 colours

The design does not have to be new, but it needs to be 100% yours.

Sew-vivor: A Sewing Competition

UPDATE: Unfortunately open only for US ctizens!

I seem to be unable to pull myself together, and write a post. I am still spaced out and a bit lost. My blogging time has been taken up by taking care of my colicky baby. I mean, he is only 3 weeks old...so I guess I still have an excuse.
In absence of original content (I have loads of stuff lined up, I am just not able to write it up yet) I have a great announcement for you from Family Ever After.


A sewing competition called Sew-vivor! It's a spin off of the show Survivor, and it's gonna be awesome! 

 

 Timeline:

January 11: Announce Competition, Buttons, and Judges

January 18: Announce Themes and Rules
January 25: Announce Prizes and Sponsors

February 1-29: Auditions accepted all month!
{You can enter ANY sewing project you've made. More info about entering coming next week}.

March 7: Top 10 Contestants announced
March 14: Honorable mention entries featured
March 21: Guest Judges announced (different from main judges, she will choose the contestant who wins "immunity" for the week)
March 28: Sew-vivor Giveaway

April 4: 1st Round of Competition
April 5: Top 8 announced
April 11: 2nd Round of Competition
April 12: Top 5 announced
April 18: 3rd Round of Competition
April 19: Top 3 announced
April 25: 4th and Final Round of Competition
April 26: Winners announced!

KCWC - Day 3

Before

                                                                               

After

You can check out other entries here.

Hope to see you soon!

Petra

UNDO TODO re-create, share and win! (CLOSED)

Browsing through my favorite blogs on Friday, I came across a super COOL announcement over at Imaginative Bloom, talking about the creative competition organized by Indie Up.

Indieup is an e-commerce site that sells products related to ecological sustainability, innovation,
design and recycling of materials and the've put together the unDO toDO!

 




































The contest is free, it is open to participation untill November 15th. 4 winners will be chosen at  the end of the contest, 3 by a jury, 1 by a popular vote and not only they win cool prizes (for details about the judges and prizes check out the PRESS KIT on their site), they also get to be marketed on Indie Up.

So, role up your sleeves, CREATE and have fun! Do send links over, when it is time to vote! Good luck!

Petra