“The Streets” – No.2 by Thom Pastrano

Minimalist posters by Thom Pastrano of some of Sesame Street’s most beloved residents. Available in limited edition prints at Symbol Society.

Via Laughing Squid

“The Streets” – No.1 by Thom Pastrano

“The Streets” – No.5 by Thom Pastrano

“The Streets” – No.7 by Thom Pastrano

“The Streets” – No.8 by Thom Pastrano

All images courtesy of A Super Circle Production.

Ex Kate Spade art director and MoMA graphic designer Julianna Goodman’s brand new iPad app, This Monster, disdains the usual slick styling found in kid’s apps. Instead, she’s plumped for a lovingly created and thoughtful app that marries a vivid, handcrafted design with delightful narratives and original music.

This Monster’s make-your-own mindset lets kids play with colour, shape, story and sound over three different activities. Colour Eater is a rhyming interactive tale where kids “feed” colour-hungry monsters. Monster Pretend! features a jumping jackelope, a musical mermaid and DIY polka dot painting and Monster Get Dressed! asks users to choose your monster and dress him up. Take a pic of the outlandish threads and save it to your photo library.

The credits are almost as impressive – music and sound by David Lanza, narration by Marty Sidman and illustrations by creator Julianna Goodman and Meghan Eplett.

It’s a great way to entertain your own little monsters. Check out the cute video demo here. It’s available on the App Store

Anthem of the Ants Fall 2013 Collection. Photos: Lesley Edith.

Anthem of the Ants is the girls-only fashion label by Lynn Keyes stealing a march on more established brands. Created, designed and manufactured in Los Angeles, it’s become a family affair, with Lynn designing logos, website and PR material and her daughters providing inspiration and feedback – not to mention fittings and modeling duties.

Left: Ruffle front Calliope Blouse worn with Wild Arrows, Favorite Pocket Skirt; Right: Wild Arrows, Sadie Party Dress. All images courtesy of Lesley Edith.

They’ve just released their fall collection and it’s a winner – think ‘60s rock and roll with a splash of old-school music recital flair. On-trend colourways of mustard yellow and navy lead the charge, with bows, ruffles, Peter Pan collars and pearl buttons lending a charming innocence to the retro stylings.

Above: Flocked Together, Sadie Party Dress.

Above: Midnight, Lucile Sash Dress.

Above: Antique, Sadie Bow Top worn with Navy Velvet Slim Pant.

Top of our pops includes the divine Sadie Party Dress and Sadie Bow Top, the Denim Scooter Jacket and bright Velvet Slim Pants – perfect for mixing and matching.

Anthem of the Ants Fall 2013 collection photographed by Lesley Edith

Rainbow Heart Party Kit by Yellow Owl Workshop. All images courtesy of Yellow Owl Workshop.

We all have dreams of planning the perfect party – but time is often our worst enemy. Yellow Owl Workshop have done us all a favour and come up with these captivating kits to help theme an event in a jiffy.

There’s a kit for almost every occasion. Baby showers, birthdays, barbeques – there’s even one for Christmas festivities. So you’ll never be caught short again.

Each kit comes with stuff for 8 guests – imprintable invitations and envelopes, seals, party favour bags and instructions. Once you’ve chosen your kit – say Rainbow Heart or Elephant Birthday – just match the rest of your supplies, from balloons to straws, to one of the colourways in the kit. Voilà! Your party is ready to get started. Shop the entire party kit range at Yellow Owl Workshop

Elephant Birthday Party Kit by Yellow Owl Workshop.

Animal Holiday Party Kit by Yellow Owl Workshop.

Via Design Sponge

We’ll be testing our pom-pom making skills this weekend with these seriously cute Pom-pom pets by
Mr Printables.

There’s a great tutorial here on how to construct a cardboard pom-pom maker, but we prefer using the Clover kind which are easier for kids to handle.

Flowery Flip Flops by Mon Petit Violon.

You’ve got just enough time before summer arrives, to whip up a few pairs of these delightful crochet baby sandals from Mon Petit Violon.

Fashioned from soft yarn and just like the real deal, you’ll want to make every style. Etsy seller and designer, Vita has made it simple: once your payment is received her easy-to-follow patterns are ready to download.

Baby Summer Sandals by Mon Petit Violon.

Braided Gladiator Sandals by Mon Petit Violon.

New kid on the block, Freddy Alphabet produces this vibrant collection of calico totes – inspired by some Sydney’s most popular bus route destinations. Available at Koskela or online at Freddy Alphabet

Origami notes by Lollipop Designs. All images courtesy of Lollipop.

Send a friend some surprise mail for no reason at all, other than to have them go wild over these very cute Origami Notes from Lollipop.

You don’t need to be an Origami Master to assemble these candy coloured notelets. Just scribe your message on the back, before folding into an origami heart to create your final work of art. The only problem we foresee: You’ll want to collect all six designs.

Lollipop’s Origami Notepaper sets include 10 flat sheets and recycled kraft envelopes.

Selfridges London teams up with Seedling NZ to create exclusive product for its Denim Lovers campaign.

This summer, Selfridges London opened the doors on its new Denim Studio. It’s being billed as the ultimate destination for denim lovers and to help celebrate the launch, the tony department store reached out to brands across the world to create an exclusive product for their Denim Lovers campaign.

The crafty team at Seedling in New Zealand was inspired to rework four of their most popular activity kits with the Denim theme:

Denim Indie Bangles Making Kit – Create your own stylish wooden bangles using denim, ribbons and thread.

Denim Lovers Tote Bag Making Kit – Design your own chic tote for shopping, school or visiting friends.

Denim Lovers Book Bag Making Kit – Carry your library books in style with this cool kit containing a book bag, assorted denim fabrics, rhinestones, glitter, glue and instructions.

Denim Lovers Fashion Designer’s Kit – Dream up your own fab designer denim for your manikin.

Each of the limited edition kits also includes fascinating facts on the history of denim and tips on how to up-cycle jean fabric.

They’re available exclusively until 18 August at Selfridges, instore and online at Selfridges.com

With Box Play a milk carton can become a two storey home in a jiffy. Images courtesy of Box Play.

Inspired by their 2-year-old daughter’s love of stickers and a bias for playing with old boxes rather than store bought toys, Janette and Greg Harwell had an “aha” moment that lead to the creation of Box Play for Kids.

Box Play for Kids custom-designed stickers repurpose all kinds of everyday household materials.

Long-time graphic and package designers, the couple developed custom-designed stickers that take throwaway household items, and turns them into fun toys encouraging imaginative play and learning
in children.

“Kids have such great imaginations,” says Janette Harwell, co-founder of Box Play for Kids. “With our stickers, we see children’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm come out as they play.”

Recycle your breakfast cereal box in to this shiny new red barn with Box Play.

There’s currently 36 stickers in the range, (new designs are always in development!) all made using 100% recycled uncoated paper stock, with the intention of allowing kids to add their own personal flair.

These camo binoculars made from toilet rolls and two Box Play stickers, make a great Safari party activity.

Want to see how easily an egg carton can become a caterpillar or car garage? Or how about fashioning a Mac and Cheese box to make a clutch purse? With Box Play the possibilities are endless.

These clever eco-friendly stickers retail for between US$3 and US$7 and are available at boxplayforkids.com