Chic Mother & Baby Blog {daily}

Decor on a budget

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 09:25:00 +0000

The thought of decorating your child's nursery or bedroom can be a daunting task.

I know that even though i have the gorgeous design eye of Mina to help me, i thought i would try and see what i could find that was colourful and boisterous... and just to my boys liking, but on a budget!

So i challenged myself to find decor for the boys room on a $200 budget. They have beds, draws & cupboards, so everything else to make the room a bedroom.

This is what i found...

Love and Lollipop flags - blue $39.95
Storage boxes - Fiona & Kate $42.95
Quilt Cover - $49.95 (on sale)
Light - $18 (approx AUD)
Name plaque is made from a canvas, materials, and painted wooden letters - $30 - DIY

TOTAL spend = $180.00

Drop by Mum's Lounge

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 11:18:00 +0000

It is amazing how many more sites have popped up designed to help mums keep track of many online shopping specials, compile it together and delivered to your inbox. Here is Emma Marks who started Mum's Lounge – a social network built by a mum for other mums who love to shop.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Emma Marks and first and foremost I am a wife and a mother to 5 gorgeous children. They all keep me very busy and there is never a dull moment around out house.

2. How did Mum's Lounge come about?
Mum’s Lounge came about when I felt like I was spending all my time ‘googling’ products and services I needed in my day to day life as a mother. I thought it would be great if there was a site that bought it all together and became a place Mum’s felt like they wanted to retreat to in their down time.

3. What can people expect when they go onto Mum's Lounge?
When you come to the Lounge you can expect a lot of fun and laughs with our forum and blogging and a massive array of online shops in all areas important to mums including women’s boutiques, children’s boutiques, health & fitness, beauty & pampering, help entertaining, things to do with the kids, nannies & babysitters....to name just a few

4. What are some of your favourite blogs?
First and foremost I love our blogger Jolene Humphry, she is hilarious and every week she writes a new introduction for our weekly newsletter with one of her hilarious antics!

5. What was your latest online purchase?
My first niece just arrived so I have been spending a lot of time (and money) in baby boutiques shopping up big for her!

Register to become a part of their growing community or get connected via Facebook. Emma and other Mum's Lounge fans are waiting to chit chat away!

Everlasting Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 12:35:00 +0000

Wouldn't it be lovely to receive fresh flowers every second day? (Ah we can keep dreaming). You can with copy this cute idea from Found by James (a guy of course :) I love this idea because my heart breaks every time I have to throw away a bunch of flowers. Sure, fresh flowers are irreplaceable and fake plastic flowers definitely don't cut it but this way with the single flower print is a very thoughtful idea that you can keep.

via swissmiss

Chic Yellow Nursery

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 12:12:00 +0000

If you have been following Chic Mother & Baby you'll know how much we are obsessed with Yellow!
This is a simply gorgeous sunny lovin' kids bedroom renovated by Melissa for her daughter Penelope of I Still Love You blog.

Every room needs a statement poster and the 'LOVE' poster is just perfect.

Green & Gold Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:43:00 +0000

Australia Day is upon us, to me it has always been about the bonus public holiday but with the flood devastation it really makes me appreciate being in a country with great community spirit.

I've always wondered why the sporting colours are green & gold - it has nothing to do with our national flag. Here is one answer from Department of Foreign Affairs

Green and gold were proclaimed Australia’s national colours by the Governor-General on 19 April 1984. Before the proclamation Australia had no official colours, although three colour combinations traditionally had a claim to be Australia’s national colours: red, white and blue; blue and gold; and green and gold.

Hmm, it still doesn't explain how they were chosen - just out of a jar? magic 8 ball? GG's favourite colours at the time? What are your theories?

Suboo Yellow & White St Barts Bag
Chuck Taylor Converse Green
Alice & Olive Lime Dress
Ah Tissue Aussie Aussie Pom Poms
Notebooks - Shopoholics Gift Pack

A Summer Picnic

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 23:16:00 +0000

Weather like this is perfect for a visit to Moonlight cinemas where you can enjoy the cool summer breeze while watching a movie with your gal pals. Think cheese, dips, fruit and of course wine - but don't forget about your own essentials like sunscreen, repellent, lip balm, tissues etc.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Oversized Sunnies
Emeri Sparkling Pink Moscato (very sweet)
Country Road Tribal Tote Bag
Witchery Summer Dress
Wittner Orange Sandals
Jamie Oliver Retro Cool Box

Dig Deep & Donate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 10:40:00 +0000

Australian small businesses and WAHMs all over facebook are donating products, encouraging people to donate, sharing links and spreading the good word to bring as many as people to different auctions where 100% proceeds go to the QLD Flood Appeal. Its great everyone wants to pull their weight - and the lovely at Handmade Kids & Rudy & The Dodo Flood Appeal, Poppyseed Markets, The OZ Material Girls and many more, are donating their time in organising online auctions. There's a lot of love and generosity in the community, its overwhelming!

Chic Mother & Baby have donated Hello Hanna Robot Placemats @ Handmade Kids & Rudy & The Dodo Flood Appeal. Auction starts tomorrow 14th Jan at 11am!

You'll find I've donated my nautical and owl party printables @ The OZ Material Girls. I hope some one places a bid (thats the embarrassing bit if no one bids) - I really just hope to raise as much money as possible. Auction starts 17th Jan.

In addition - we want our customers and fans to know that $2 from every purchase from our online store will be donated to Premiers Disaster Relief Appeal.

Oz Etsy Picks by Buy Modern Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:22:00 +0000

Our international guest blogger is Esther from Buy Modern Baby who I met via Twitter. Buy Modern Baby's blog showcases kids spaces, nurseries, hip kids and babies gear. Esther, like many other online shoppers love Etsy for its handmade variety and global shipping! You'd be surprise how many local Aussie handmade talent is on Etsy.

********************************************

When I was selecting items for my child's nursery (6 years ago now!), I was frustrated that so many of the things I loved were only available abroad. Because of this, the products I choose to share on buymodernbaby are all readily available to my readers in North America. When I was asked to guest post for Chic Mother & Baby, I was excited by the opportunity to focus on items from another continent! These are my favourite Etsy picks that are made and sold in Australia...

1: The etsy shop milk and cookies creates art prints with the cutest little characters. I'm in love with Birthday Bear but Mr. Schnitzel is a close second.

2: Buntings are all the rage right now for both nursery and party decor, but I haven't seen anything quite like this set of three vintage fabric buntings from naughty shorts. They are bright and beautiful.

3: I've heard of Paul & Paula at Hickey Clothing, but it's waaaay cooler than I expected. Shark, dragon and bat hoodies?! Fantastic! And as the red hooded sweatshirt was always a staple in my childhood wardrobe, the Ladybug Hoodie can't be beat.

4: It was hard choosing my favourite print from printspace, but it's hard not to fall in love with this penguin family! If these colours don't suit you, visit the shop to see their other adorable creations.

5: I would have loved Penelope from Little Wooden Shoe when I was a girl. One of you MUST take her home as my own boys wouldn't quite appreciate her.

6: The sock monkey mobiles from Snickerdoodle Creations are my new favorite mobiles ever! They come in a variety of colour combination or can be customised to suit your nursery colours.

7: Tiges and Weince makes a variety of prints and iron on transfers, but you can never go wrong with a personalised cushion. This is a gift that would be treasured for decades.

8: The collection of fabric wall decals from mae is precious. I've selected the "Up Up And Away" set as my favorite, but the dress up dolls, birds or trees might be what you're looking for.

Fortunately for me, all these items can be shipped to the U.S. You've got to love etsy!

My Colour Palette: Pink/Red Gingham

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 01:53:00 +0000

Gingham is back! BOWtique has released new range of hats which goes perfect with our Alex & Ant pink gingham onesie. As well as some other gingham patterned products: Red Toy Basket , Sophie & Jack, and Gingham Cupcake Holders

There's a beautiful and sweet gingham party over at Kate Landers Events.

Free Printable Wrapping Bands

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:42:00 +0000

Enjoy these Chic Mother & Baby inspired wrapping bands. Add a nice touch and handwritten message to cookies, packaging, cards almost anything really!

See what we'll be doing with them.

Download theme here. We'd love to see what you do with them.

My Daily Mantra

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 22:35:00 +0000

Every Girl Loves Jewellery

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:12:00 +0000

Mama wears DKNY Necklace Tee and Bubba wears matching Alex & Ant Necklace Tee. Accessorised with French label Very Sisters Pink Bracelet for the little girl and Love Necklace for Mama!

Incredible Birthday Cakes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:56:00 +0000

Parenting website has put together a list of unique and creative kids birthday cakes like a Hamburger shaped cake using different ingredients. Each cake comes with and a list of step-by-step instructions. Amazing! Totally blown my mind away!

Fussy Eaters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:18:00 +0000

Watching little Lucas disinterests in eating his well prepared and healthy lunch/dinner, got me brainstorming for ways to make each food meal interesting. Some attempts were the purchase of the Food Face Plates and Hello Hanna Placemats to keep them entertained while eating. There are also interesting cut sandwiches that have worked well like Rocketship or Ice Cream Sandwich. Im loving the Ice Cream Sandwich which is creative use of coloured vegies. Ah great food ideas for kids parties too!

Happy New Year - 2011 Diary

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 09:22:00 +0000

Happy New Year everyone! This year I will aim to achieve my goals, set better priorities and keep track of my expenditures - so am on the hunt for the perfect diary. I love the way NoteMaker has colour coded their diary range so customers can select their ideal diary for 2011.

We scream for ice cream

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:30:00 +0000

I scream for ice cream, the kids are screaming for ice cream! So throw a summer ice cream party. These are some essentials for summer ice cream party for kiddos in this lovely heat.

1. Hat like Alex & Ant Denim string bucket hat + SPF
2. Cool ice cream invite
3. Stylish summer outfit by Polka Kids
4. Dixie ice cream cups
5. DIY ice cream piñata
6. Ice cream sandwiches
7. Water games

Here are some other ice cream parties shared by fellow bloggers:
Maddox 3rd Party
Annie is 3
Ice cream Social
Peaches & Cream Party

DIY Fish Mobile

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 10:16:00 +0000

Hope everyone had a great xmas and enjoying the crazy boxing day sales. If you are looking for a summer wet weather project - have I got one for you! This DIY project is ideal if you have a lot of paint chips or coloured cards to make a fish mobile for baby's nursery.

Must Visit: Best Buys 4 Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 02:51:00 +0000

Love to shop? Love a great sale? Who doesn't! It can get a bit much having to shop around for quality baby gear, compare different brands and prices offline and online. The solution? Best Buys 4 Baby - a resourceful website that provides honest reviews a wide range of baby gear, lists great sales Australia wide (make sure you sign up to their newsletter) AND amazing prizes to win. The latest prize up for grabs is IKEA DUKTIG mini kitchen.

You'll see a few of my cool kid's products finds popping up on Best Buys 4 Baby's blog. My editor, baby gear whizz, founding director, Vanessa gives us the low down on BB4B.

1. How'd Best Buys 4 Baby start?
Well, by profession I'm an analyst. Always researching, weighing up the options, finding the best solution, comparing quality with price. When I had my little guy I applied the same principles to my baby shopping; which was extensive.

Sounds a bit boring? Well, at home I've always been interested in design and have collected antiques from my teens. When my little guy was born it gave me an opportunity to venture out to include great vintage and modern design for children.

So, combined, I was always looking for great babies & children's design available on my maternity leave budget. I became known for knowing what the best baby products were to meet different parenting needs and finding them at the most competitive price and/or finding the best service.

Julia, my business partner, was a member of my mothers group. By profession she's in marketing, a skill I don't have and have no desire to learn or apply. One day I put to her my idea of a unique baby product review website and our 3rd child, Best Buys 4 Baby, was conceived.

We are very proud of what we have built with Best Buys, everything you see has been achieved within the Best Buys 4 Baby family. At the time Julia & I went into partnership I could never have anticipated how well Julia's skills in business development would compliment my love and knowledge of baby gear & childrens design.

2. Tell us about the website
Best Buys 4 Baby is an independent online resource for parents buying baby gear. Our aim is to provide parents useful advice on choosing the most suitable baby products for their families. For us, this is a combination of best functional design, best looking design, best price & best service across all family budgets.

What makes us more than a blog or sales site is our unique hands-on product reviews. A lot of work goes into those reviews, every product we review gets put to the test.

Our site consists of 4 main sections, reviews, blog, features (on buying specific types of baby gear) and sales listings. Each section is cross referenced allowing our readers to smoothly transition through all relevant sections when doing their research, checking out their options or just reading for fun. We like to have fun.

3. What are some of your favourite products on the market right now...
This is a hard question to answer because we cover all aspects baby gear & design and there are so many great products out there.

When it comes to baby gear I'm in love with Mountain Buggy at the moment, we have recently reviewed the urban jungle & terrain. Mountain Buggy have completely changed my mind about big prams because they are so very smooth to push. Not my design ascetic but very very functional and comfortable. The other bit of baby gear I'm loving at the moment is the new BabyBjorn Travel Cot Light. It's such a practical product and, again, so easy to use. I'm all for baby products that make life easy.

On the design front I am currently planning a new room for my little guy. We've chosen the new STUVA range of furniture from IKEA which I'm quite impressed by, especially the ability to configure it to suit your space. Also I'm pretty impressed with myself for scoring a Dwell Studio carpet (aqua Gio) which we lugged back from our last trip to New York. I applied true Best Buys principles and bought it for $100 US at a sample sale. Saved over $1100! (that never would have been in our budget).

For play time my little guy & I are really enjoying the Momma Modern Playhouse & Family at the moment. We always love making and them playing with our own toys. For Christmas I've chosen Miller Goodman Playshapes as our splurge (they are really for me but don't tell the little guy that!) and a hand made (read non branded) play cape from Monkeytail & Wellington.

4. Where do you get your material from?
Information comes from all over the place. I have my favourite blogs, mainly overseas design blogs where I go bug-eyed over baby & children's products that will never make it to Australia. We have great working relationships with baby gear distributors in Australia and they keep us up to date with whats going on with the major brands. We also like to support small Australian family business (like ourselves) and are often approached by parents, in particular mums, who have designed their own great new baby products.

My favourite way to get information, though, is to attend various baby fairs & tradeshows. There are several main shows in Australia and a few great international shows. I was recently lucky enough to attend the biggest European fair, Kind + Jugend, in Cologne, Germany which was amazing. It's a great opportunity to see all the new innovations and products available around the world. In January I'm looking forward to attending the Bubbles trade fair in London.

Sourcing and investigating new & innovative baby gear & kids design is my favourite part of Best Buys.

Must Read: What Katie Ate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 11:16:00 +0000

You'd be silly to miss out on What Kate Ate Xmas Edition featuring stunning photography and recipes.

A Manikinn Sale!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:06:00 +0000

Stylish loose dresses that can be thrown on casually and can be dressed up with the right accessories/ shoes are a must have in the wardrobe at the moment. Too sticky to wear anything else in this heat. Good news fashionistas - Australian women's label Manikinn.com has a 50% off all stock sale - and it ends in just under 12 hours!! Enter 50xmas at checkout.

Hope I don't sound like a sales person (those retail days are long over :) but with an offer like 50% off it would be silly not to check this Aussie fashion online store out!

Loving some of their free-spirted animal prints, Parisian inspired tees, and lots of comfie chic tops. Ideal fashion label if you are a big lover of loose Tees!

Best DIY Xmas Decoration

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:27:00 +0000

Here is my collection of interesting DIY xmas decoration projects from browsing various craft paper blogs - all low budget but big impact!

1. Book Page Wreath
2. Gift Card Snow Globe - Hmm apparently can't leave card in water for more than a week.
3. Book of Gratitude - I think this is a great & sentimental idea - to make tiny books and string it together using striped twine or ribbon. It allows people to have a few moments of reflection!
4. Magazine Xmas Tree - recycle old magazines !

Quirky Vegie Animals

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 09:52:00 +0000

This made my day... mmm fresh fruit & vegetables. An eggplant and artichoke has never looked so good (vegies I hate to eat!) Creative by Cark Kleiner

Meet Daneve from Ah-Tissue

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:47:00 +0000

Welcome to the world of Tissue Pom-Poms. I never heard about them until I came across Ah-Tissue via Facebook and watched it evolved to an online store. You'll notice I am obsessed with them as I keep mentioning them. These are affordable creative decorations for any event and the talented Daneve continuously updates Ah-Tissue Facebook albums with Tissue Pom Pom ideas, inspiring colour palettes and fantastic event styling.

Daneve took time out from her very busy schedule to answer a few questions. I hope you do get in touch with her for your next party/event in the new year!

1. How did Ah-Tissue come about?
Ah-Tissue was established in 2010. I'm a mum of one and born into a very creative family. My father is a retired Art Lecture and my mother is a retired music teacher. From a young age I've been doing everything and anything creative. My work experience consists of being an Event Co-ordinator, Screen Printer, Wedding Florist, and Assistant Photographer, just to name a few!

I believe there is a reason for everything and believe all my experiences has lead me to Ah-Tissue. I decided to start my venture due to being a “stay at home” mum, needing to bring in a second income for our family. I realised there was a market here in Australia for this old tissue paper craft technique to make fun pom pom decorations. My creative mind has enabled me to come up with so many different ideas for new products using additional techniques.

2. Where do you get your inspiration from?
Starting at a very young age I have always loved creating things with my hands and I believe my inspiration comes from years of being in different creative industries. When creating new products I have always tried to think beyond an item and turn it into something different and unique. Inspiration is all around us and I find it very rewarding to turn something into your own design and product.
This is one of my favourite quotes that inspires me to keeping doing what I love:

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.”

3. What’s been your favourite Ah-tissue colour palette?
Oh, this is a hard one to answer for me as I love all colours being an artist, but I will say my favourite colour is purple (Violet) and even got married in this colour.. In 2011, I will be expanding my colour range even further..

4. Favourite use for Ah-Tissue Pom Pom?
I think with all my products I love the fact that after you use my pom poms for one thing, you can use the same pom in another form as they are all “multi-use” items.

5. What’s next for Ah-Tissue?
Well I have a feeling 2011 will be a huge year for Ah-Tissue, as we have our own official website launching in the New Year. I have a lot of new products coming soon, which I am very excited about and can’t wait to get started!

Be a fan on facebook, visit the store and follow the blog.

Deck the House with...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 11:39:00 +0000

Some lovely Christmas decorations to start your xmas party planning and get you into the spirit. Best of all available these are from my favourite online stores - and most of these WAHMs have been great supporters of Chic Mother & Baby..

Ah Tissue creative decor creations (must check out their photo album)
Peppermint Tree (spotted by Vesna from My Little Jedi)
White Tissue Fan available from Mon Tresor & Candy Soriees
Green & Red Striped Straws in packets of 25 available from Sweet Little Birdy
Sweet angel like Alex & Ant Summer Set top & bloomers
Felt Xmas Stockings

The $25 question

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 10:07:00 +0000

We do Xmas Theives at work every year - and it gets harder and harder to find a generic gift (and exciting) suitable for anybody! Aged between 26 to 42, mostly married, all young at heart.. We've done beach towels, box of mangoes, candles, vase, cook books, puzzle books, umbrellas, strange plant hanger, alcohol, tea set, gift vouchers, jamie oliver grinder, buddha head.... I did a 2x movie tickets last year (so I spent a bit more than $25) but it was the hot gift in demand.

So any interesting & original ideas you can help me with?! Had you asked me things for mums, babies and kids (tomorrow's post) - that would be too easy! If you are stuck too - Myer has some Kris Kringle & Stocking fillers under $25 ideas.

This is all I got so far... everything else seems so boring - and it has to be available in Aus!
Pub Food Guide 2011
Country Road Bistro Sunday Gift Pack