I find vintage children’s storybooks enchanting and my love for them is growing quickly. The simple and vibrant illustrations bring back a flood of memories from the books I read as a child – which included a lot of stories from the 50s and 60s (my mum’s Trixie Belden books were my fave for years). My daughter now has a few of these books in her own bookcase along with some new copies of old classics.

I’ve seen a few new ways of recycling unwanted vintage storybooks in the past but when I recently came across Mondocherry and their delightful artwork, I was in awe. An Australian business run by two sisters and their mum, they source the vintage books and text then design, construct and stitch every detail on each piece of wall art. Of course, this means that every frame of little hearts, butterflies, flowers and buttons is totally unique and never to be repeated.

Up close, the detail is amazing. In the large frames, the backing on each little picture is vintage black and white text. Recycled card is stitched onto the text and the cut-out shapes of colourful images are then finally stitched. The precision and craftmanship is clearly evident.

To add a touch of vintage to your child’s bedroom, go straight to Mondocherry. Prices range from $60 for the small frames to $160 for the large artwork, plus postage.

Get ready for a graphic print extravaganza! Those with a love for Mod flavour will celebrate this awesome wall art which provides a veritable truckload of colour for stark walls. Draw Pilgrim is an artist of gobsmacking talent and I couldn’t help but order a few of her letter prints for our home. Perfect for kids and adults alike, we’re bringing Pilgrim’s playfulness to our walls with plans to add more soon.

Look at these adorable folk-style options. Scandinavian Folk and Woodland Patchwork are two of Pilgrim’s feature prints and both contain Pilgrim’s signature red apple. Yep, the red apple is this Melburnian’s very favourite thing in the world to design with!

Sweet card sets are also available so stock up for birthdays and special occasions and you’ll never be short of a chirpy card! Draw Pilgrim prints are US$30 and card sets are US$20 for five cards complete with envelopes.

Draw Pilgrim’s blog is absolute must-see – look for the awesome free printables, providing everything you need for a stunning Pinwheel party! Pilgrim’s home is also featured and you can just feel it oozing love, warmth and joy for life. I’m quite simply potty for Pilgrim – what a gal!

Draw Pilgrim

More and more of us are only too aware of the amount of chemicals that surround our children. Whether it’s BPA in plastic, or toxins in toys, we can but breathe a sigh of relief when something like this arrives on our shores. American-based Glob Botanical Paints were created with safety and sustainability in mind. Using natural plant extracts from fruits, vegetables, flowers and even spices, these water-based paints look to be totally non-toxic and biodegradable.

The green credentials reflect in names of the colours, so there’s scrumptious choices like basil green, berry blue and plum purple. All you need to do is mix with water to develop strong, vibrant and safe paints for your children (or you) to use.

Eco Toys are the first to stock these in Australia. A pack of six different Glob colours costs $18 plus shipping.

Check out the panel of experts below who trialled the paints for Eco Toys – looks like it’s bringing out the artists in them for sure!

We have reviewed a number of amazing public art projects on Babyology, from patching crumbling brickwork with Lego through to sculptures made with twigs. You’re going to have to look very carefully for this one – it’s so small you can easily miss it.

Since August 2006, the artist known as Slinkachu, has been placing tiny little  people in urban settings. Although mostly found in London and surrounds, the little handpainted people also pop up in other countries including Norway, Italy and Greece. Using a variety of props – everything from a glob of bubblegum or a discarded curry to empty cans and dead insects, Slinkachu creates tiny little scenes for his tiny little people. Start looking for them and you can’t stop – the photos are compelling and there are a number that are quite tricky.

So next time you are out walking, take a closer look and you never know what you may see.

(via Oeke Design)

We like a little bit of retail madness here at Babyology so if you have a spare $75,000 and a fairy fanatic in your house, keep reading.

Debbie and Mike Schramer are both artists and nature lovers. They created the Fairy Treehouse many years ago from all sorts of things found during their mountain and beachside rambles – driftwood, branches, roots, vines, twigs, leaves, moss, flowers, stones, shells, seaweed, leaf skeletons, wild grasses, seed pods and more have become fairy sized chairs, beds, tables, dishes, books, sculptures, paintings, brooms, clothing and even the kitchen sink.

The Fairy Treehouse took six months to build with the Schramers putting in twelve hour days to finish it. The detail is incredible – from the observatory at the very top complete with telescopes, to a sculpturing table and clay, pots to plant flowers and even a tiny ironing board and iron. Stairways and ladders lead to secret rooms, balconies and sleeping hollows – there are little surprises around every corner. The Fairy Treehouse is US$75,000.

If you’re not sure your fairies would feel comfortable in such extravagant surrounds, the Schramers also have a Fairy Castle available for US$15,000. Also made from nature’s found treasures, the Fairy Castle is a little smaller than the Treehouse but equally as magical.

Incredibly, the Schramers are happy to ship internationally so if you’ve got the budget…

(via Cool Mom Picks)

I love these new baby crayons from Studio Skinky, just walked past them at the show and they are a terrific new product. Will keep you posted on stockists who pick these up at the show.

I thought we went to a lot of children’s parties before my eldest started kindy but now there seems to be at least one a week! It means having to think about an awful lot of gifts. Thankfully, Babyology is at hand with magnificent ideas like these little beauties!

Victorian-based Miss Isa hand-wraps graphite pencils in gorgeous paper, varnishes them, packages them and voila, the perfect present. There is a delightful array to choose from for kids and grown-ups – they make perfect party favours too.

Available in pouches of three or six pencils, prices start at US$11.35. They are available from the wonderful Etsy.

Bonjour! Salut! Ok so I will stop now with the schoolgirl French and just say please admire these beautiful prints.

Paris-based Aliette is the graphic designer behind these wonderful pictures. Using uncomplicated illustrations, Aliette creates stunning prints from original paintings.

I love the warmth of the colours she uses and the simple way the pictures are presented – I would love these in my daughter’s bedroom. Printed on high-quality Arches paper, Aliette signs each one on the back, so they really are a great special piece of artwork.

You can buy single prints on their own or there are different series’ to choose from. I particularly like the sets of four which are a combination on a theme.

For our international readers, check out Aliette’s Etsy shop where prices start at a very reasonable US$24, or locally Kindergallery has a great range of her work which includes individual pieces at $35 or a series of four prints at $90.

All of us have a photo we love enough to want it gracing a wall in our home. While any picture that captures your children is worth showing off, if it’s a show-stopping piece you’re thinking of here’s your chance to up the ante and get a little fancy.

Fancy Little Me have just launched their brand new website and the service they are offering is nothing short of amazing. It’s never been easier to create a gorgeous, fashionable and funky piece of art using your own photos! That’s right Babyologists, there’s no studio sessions with wriggling toddlers or overtired babes. It’s all done with a few clicks of your mouse!

To create your own hip portrait, simply choose your preferred style from the six available such as vintage feel, 80s denim or watercolour accents. Then email your favourite photo and let the Fancy Little Me crew weave their digital magic, transforming your image into an artistic wonderland of colour!

I really love Fancy Little Me’s modern spin on family portraits and with prints as beautiful as these, friends will be demanding to know where you had them done! You can choose to have your print delivered ‘wall ready’ so it can be hung straight away or simply order a print and frame it yourself.

For more information and ordering head on over to Fancy Little Me. Print prices start at $125 and delivery is available all over Australia.

IQ may be on the rise and we know what EQ means but what about CQ?

In 1958, Professor Ellis Paul Torrance created a series of tasks to measure creativity. The accepted definition of creativity is the production of something original and useful and that’s what’s reflected in the Torrance tests. There is never one right answer – instead, creative thinking requires generating many unique ideas and combining those ideas into the best result. For example, children who participated in Torrance’s first round of creativity tests in 1958 were given a toy fire truck and asked how it could be improved and how it could be made more fun to play with. The modern test includes being given parts of pictures to complete, Mr Squiggle style (as shown above).

Four hundred children who were part of the original study by Torrance have been tracked since that time and remarkably, Torrance’s creativity index predicted those kids’ creative accomplishments as adults. Those who came up with more good ideas on Torrance’s tasks grew up to be entrepreneurs, inventors, authors, doctors, diplomats and software developers.

Since the tests were developed they have been undertaken by millions worldwide and one interesting trend has emerged. When measuring intelligence, or IQ, there is a phenomenon called the Flynn effect—each generation, scores go up approximately ten points. Enriched environments are making kids smarter. With creativity, or CQ, a reverse trend has just been identified in the US – effectively creativity scores are falling and have been since 1990. This trend is particularly noticeable in younger children.

What to do? Clearly there are plenty of researchers who will be turning their (creative) minds to this very question but from this mum’s point of view, I suspect the answers are all about getting back to basics and providing our children with open-ended play opportunities.

(via Newsweek)

With all of our family back in England, I do make a particular effort to keep talking about grandparents, uncles, aunties and cousins to my two daughters. We have a few, now very faded, photos of most family members stuck up on the wall which the children point at and talk about but these prints look like a very good idea indeed.

Brandy & Duke Family Tree Prints are the brainchild of a New South Wales mum, who like me, has family overseas. She was keen to come up with something to show her young son his family tree in an unconventional and fun way.

Each print can show up to four or five generations and there are several different colourful designs to choose from. They are easy to order through the website. You simply complete a genealogy form and are given a draft to check before it is finally printed. Each one is $69 plus shipping costs.

I have to add that ever since my dad did our own family history a few years ago, I really appreciate my ancestry – what better way of showing kids who and where they come from? Take a look at this family tree and this one we’ve featured before on Babyology.

Pining for a bird’s eye view of the world but have a terrible fear of flying? There’s no need for a boarding pass with these exquisite rugs from Florian Pucher.

These limited edition rugs are hand tufted in New Zealand wool for the Land Carpet Collection and are truly unlike anything I’ve ever seen (apart from, of course, a real aerial view from a plane window). I can’t honestly say if this is more art than floor covering. Either way, Florian Pucher truly has found the sweet spot where both worlds manage to meet and be functional.

The Land Carpet Collection consists of aerial views of four countries – Europe, Africa, Netherlands and the USA. All four rugs are beautiful and would take pride of place wherever they reside. I love the Netherlands rug myself with its patches of violet, grey, green and shades of blue but at US$2100 I don’t see it coming to rest on my living room floor anytime soon!

Available from Florian Pucher, Land Carpet Collection rugs start from US$1200.

(via Ohdeedoh)

I’m not sure if it’s the wood veneer or the thoroughly retro illustrations but this fab art brings back happy memories of caravan holidays in the 1970s, my nana’s sunroom with its wood panel-like wallpaper and reading ‘children’s annuals’.

Valerie Thai is the Vancouver-based designer behind Cabin + Cub. Thai specialises in collage, woodburning and gocco printing to create unique pieces that are rustic, hip and retro all rolled into one.

There is a touch of humour in the pieces – it’s not only the seemingly incongruous subjects (a boy patting a beaver like he would pet a cat or the little girl on rollerskates with a bird) but the titles are funny and memorable (‘Tooting my own horn’ and ‘Plotting her crafts’).

I love these pieces so much that I’m not sure words can do them justice – I want things hanging on my wall that make me happy every time I look at them and Cabin + Cub fit the bill. I think they’re particularly good for boy’s rooms and are quirky enough to appeal to all age groups.

Limited edition prints are US$15 and original collages are US$25. Cabin + Cub ship to Australia.

(via Cool Mom Picks)

If I had unlimited funds the artwork that graced my walls would be different to what I have now – it would be original for a start. People choose original pieces of artwork for a range of reasons – some collect, some see it as an investment and some simply fall in love with a particular piece. There’s an enormous amount of original artwork by the world’s best artists and illustrators waiting for your child’s walls so they too can share the experience of owning a masterpiece.

Whether you are buying artwork for your child as a legacy, an heirloom or simply as an investment, the choice available is as diverse as if you were choosing something for your lounge room wall. Take a stroll through the virtual gallery of The Illustration Cupboard and find original pieces by Dick Bruna, Anthony Browne, Lauren Child, Babette Cole, Oliver Jeffers, Jill Murphy and Maurice Sendak, to name just a few.

Then there is Images of Delight, also a specialist dealer in children’s illustration with a focus on artists from the United Kingdom. At Images of Delight, you’ll find Axel Scheffler (The Gruffalo shown at top), Helen Craig, Bob Graham, Jonny Hannah, Sue Heap, Simon James (watercolour from Sally and the Limpet shown below) and many more.

Like buying any piece of art, prices vary from ‘that’s okay’ to ‘P.O.A, dare I ask’. For example, a signed, limited edition Angelina Ballerina print by Helen Craig is £119; a Dick Bruna signed print of Miffy is £1250; and a signed set of lithographs of Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is £4750.

We’ve long been talking about affordable art for the home and it seems things have really taken off for those catering for babies and children’s rooms.

Happy-up your home with these delightful pieces from Happy Spaces. A site devoted to providing cheery art for youthful folk, choose from no-brainer co-ordinated sets or pick each piece one by one for an individualised look.

Utilising the talents of fine artists, Happy Spaces has something to suit many tastes. I must admit to playing favourites – having scanned most of the site, I’m captivated by the work of artist Ingela P. Arrhenius, whose art features folksy, appealing critters in foresty, Scandinavian style (below).

Prices vary, so have a look for yourself and you might find you’ll lose a bit of time in the process. I love the gallery-style site, which allows such easy viewing of the artworks. Happy Spaces really lives up to its name!

I love a tiny bodysuit. I especially love a tiny stylish bodysuit. When the racks are filled with plain or bold coloured clothing, it’s a breath of fresh air to see these delightful crisp white bodysuits showcasing a beautiful modern art print.

We’ve mentioned The Modern Baby Co before and we’re excited to feature them again with the arrival of these charmingly scrumptious printed baby bodysuits. Made from stretchy cotton and using eco-friendly inks, there are six whimsical animal designs to choose from. There for your selection are Little Bird (in both girl and boy versions), Little Giraffe, Little Peacock, Little Whale and my favourite, Little Lion.

If you can’t get enough of these prints then you’re in luck because also up for grabs are beautiful Mini Art Cards. Featuring the same prints as the bodysuits, these Mini Art Cards stand seventeen centimetres tall and twelve centimetres wide. A simple way to add that perfect colour touch to any décor.

Short sleeved bodysuits are priced at US$16 and the Mini Art Cards $8 from The Modern Baby Co. Delivery is available to Australia.

Grab your popcorn and your kids and hotfoot it to Federation Square in Melbourne this week because Little Big Shots is in town. The international film festival just for kids starts on June 9 and runs right over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend until June 14.

There are seventy-four short films from 20 countries in this year’s schedule, including some twenty movies actually made by kids. Among the ten international premieres and thirty Australian film premieres are the big screen animated debuts of two favourite Babyology storybooks – Oliver Jeffers’ Lost and Found (that’s a still from the movie pictured below) and Mo Willem’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Not just for the older kids, this fest has films to suit even little tots as young as two. Robots, superheroes, dragons, cake-loving ghosts, cute and cuddly animals, crazy hair and jaw-dropping fantasy worlds – Little Big Shots has it all. Tickets for each session cost only $7.

Head straight to Little Big Shots to peruse the entire program or to find out more. And don’t despair if you don’t live in Melbourne – the festival will also visit Sydney (August 5-8), Adelaide (October 7-9) and regional towns all over the place.

A carefully chosen print really packs a punch in a room. It can deliver some much needed colour or can make other colours in existing décor really pop. I think a perfect print for a child’s space is something they can love that evokes a smile at every glance.

Watotodesign is a collection of fantastically fun art prints that fit effortlessly into any children’s décor. These wide eyed characters look slightly quirky and ooze mischievous fun, guaranteeing a giggle from small admirers.

I’m quite smitten by the Circus Penguin and the Penguin Pyramid. After all, who can resist a stack of magnificent marine life? Watotodesign also offer alphabet prints enabling you to have an adorable menagerie of twenty-six animals in one print. If you’re after something truly special or need a great gift, order a personalised name print in a choice of four colours.

To see the full range, head on over to Watotodesign. Print prices start from US$27 with delivery to Australia available.

High on my children’s list of thrills is receiving a letter in the post. I can relate – I approach the letterbox each day with pleasant anticipation, despite the fact that most times the mail is boring bank statements or yucky bills. Now there is something worth racing to the letterbox for.

A little over a year ago, Anna and Tess Knoebel launched Abe’s Penny, a ‘micro’ magazine published in the form of postcard instalments – each weekly issue features a story told in image and text with various artists and writers collaborating on different stories. The Knoebels liked that readers could finish a card in the time it takes to walk from their mailbox to their front door. They also liked the history associated with mail delivery and recognized that email had fewer people writing letters. Since publishing Abe’s Penny, they found that mail has a huge support system, almost a cult following.

Now the Knoebels are sharing the joy with children. Abe’s Peanut launches in June and follows the same successful concept as Abe’s Penny. Children receive a postcard in the mail each week and the story gradually unfolds. The postcards will feature illustrations, drawings, paintings, connect-the-dots and other imagery that appeals to children. A different artist and writer will collaborate on each issue. Volume One  features illustrations by Vanessa Boer and a story by Lisa Tharpe.

Abe’s Peanut delivers to Australia. A six month subscription is US$60 – a small price to pay for the fun, anticipation and collectible art that it will deliver. We’re standing by our letterbox!

My eyes just about doubled in size when I saw these groovy-as-can-be wall art canvases come across my computer screen. I was smitten from the word go.

Brand new Australian company Nootles (started by a mother of two) is the creator of the ingenious wall art. It’s energetic and bold mixed with a tiny bit of retro flair. Filling a gap in the market, the Australian made canvases will most certainly make any bedroom wow-worthy.

Nootles makes its mark by producing exquisite yet playful designs. The ‘Soda Pop’ and ‘Icy Pole’ canvases (both pictured above) are uber-swell with the ‘Darts’ design marvelously suited to an older child’s room.

Order whichever is your fave direct from Nootles. All canvases are priced at $245 plus postage.