For my mum’s seventieth birthday, my brother, sisters and I arranged our first group photography session since 1982 (I kid you not).

We were somewhat dubious as to how it would all work out but the result was plenty of relaxed, at-home pictures of us plus our children which mum absolutely adores. All a bit different from the formal studio pics of yesteryear, so I wouldn’t hesitate to arrange another session with someone like this. Little Bird Photography was set up two years ago in Melbourne by mum-of-two Pru.

She has one of the loveliest websites (with a great soundtrack) showcasing her work and the company has gone from strength to strength. What I love about looking through the photos is the relaxed, fun and carefree feel of the families pictured. Pru’s aim has always been to capture precious memories of children laughing, playing and loving.

Little Bird’s Photography has proved so popular that Pru has just opened up a gallery in Surrey Hills in Melbourne exhibiting a range of her pictures.

Although based in Melbourne, Little Bird shoots Australia-wide so check out the beautiful website for details.

Some people are incredibly creative. When I discover new mothers who find time to be incredibly creative, I’m doubly impressed. When I had newborns the most creative thing I ever did was artfully arrange their stacks of swaddling wraps. Needless to say, when I found Adele Enersen’s photo blog I was blown away. It’s beautiful. It’s sweet. It’s truly amazing.

While her baby, Mila, is taking a nap, Enersen imagines what she is dreaming and creates scenes around her. Each scene takes only a few minutes to set up and photograph because after all, who wants to wake a sleeping baby?! Clever use of fabric and simple props combine to make magical images. My favourites – Her SuperPinkiness and Space Odyssey 2010.

I’m sure fans of the blog will be very disappointed when Mila drops her daytime naps! Check out all the photos at Mila’s Daydreams.

(via Design Mom)

Ever had to participate in a family photograph where you felt your styling decisions were ignored? Well, the results were probably not half as bad as these.

I stumbled across the Awkward Family Photos blog one night when I should have been hard at work writing. Instead, I laughed my way through hundreds of photographs (and equally funny captions) of family’s formal portraits and those caught in some unfortunate candid moments. It seems that the eighties, dressing siblings in matching outfits and novelty themes all end in a similar result – awkward family photographs.

Enjoy browsing through the archives and of course feel free to submit your own family favourite. Meanwhile, I’m still pondering why one would pose pregnant, nude and leaning over a tyre – let me know if you have any insights.

The Awkward Family Photos book is available from Amazon for US$10.20.

You’ve hankered after a particular cot, know exactly how you want to decorate the walls and have the colour scheme all picked out – hold on to your nappy bag because one lucky reader’s most fabulous nursery dreams are about to come true!

Kido Store, Dwell Studio, Little Nest, Dog & Pony Photography and The Wall Sticker Company have teamed with Babyology to provide one lucky reader with an incredible nursery makeover worth a gob-smacking $10,000.

The centrepiece of any nursery is undoubtedly the cot and the Oeuf Classic Cot from Kido Store will be a simple and beautiful focal point in your baby’s room. The perfect choice for design and safety conscious parents, the Oeuf Classic Cot features a solid wooden base and cot sides cut from single pieces of eco-MDF to create a sturdy, secure place for your baby to sleep.

Co-ordinate with the Oeuf Four Drawer Dresser, the superb Oeuf Mini-Library and the Oeuf Change Station that conveniently sits atop the dresser or can be used over the Classic Cot. All the furniture pieces are available in your choice of simple birch wood or classic walnut finishes.

A nursery is not complete without playthings. Your prize from the Kido Store also includes a fabulous and stylish Oeuf Baby Lounger plus your choice of $400 worth of toys, books and décor. Choose fantastic Kid O puzzles, beautiful cushions from Areaware, a Kiddimoto bike, funky soft toys from LuckyBoySunday and more.

It’s the finishing touches that distinguish a beautiful room and nursery décor from Dwell Studio stands apart. Your Dwell Studio prize includes a superb woollen floor rug, a luxurious cashmere silk blanket and cot linen set, three stylish storage boxes, sweet stacking rings and soft blocks made from signature Dwell prints. Your job is to choose from Dwell’s many beautiful designs including retro Chocolate Dots, fun and fresh Owls or the very pretty Sparrow collection.

When your child is ready to relax, make sure they do it in designer style with amazing chairs from Little Nest.  Your little one can curl up with a good book in the Mini-e, a child-sized version of the iconic Eames Lounge Chair. Featuring a swivel base for pure fun, classic walnut veneer and easy-to-clean soft leatherette padding, the Mini-e is a design classic.

For playroom fun the Giddy-Up chair is a hands-down favourite. The Giddy-Up is a replica of Eero Aarnio’s Pony Chair. Comfortably padded in a wool-blend fabric, your Giddy-Up comes in a choice of five bright, modern colours.

Whether you want something traditional, something a little quirky or perhaps words with a special meaning, The Wall Sticker Company will customise wall decals to suit your nursery to perfection. Your prize includes customised wall stickers to the value of $450 – create a feature wall with ‘wow’ factor or a cosy playroom corner – any design or theme is possible. There is so much to choose from for the nursery, though the superb ‘Bee & Tree’ designs by illustrator Jane Reiseger are extra special.

Surround the nursery with happy faces! Dog & Pony Photography specialise in creative portraiture for kids. Capturing the little idiosyncrasies that make our children uniquely adorable, Dog & Pony are all about fresh, candid and original portraits that become contemporary art pieces for the home. This magnificent prize includes a photographic shoot on location, your own personalised website of images to share with friends and $831 worth of prints.

What’s included in the prize value of $10,000 –

From Kido Store, more than $4900 of furniture, nursery accessories, toys, books and decor –

• Oeuf Classic Cot – $1449
• Oeuf Change Station – $329
• Oeuf Mini Library – $949
• Oeuf Four Draw Dresser – $1599
• Oeuf Baby Lounger – $185
• Your choice of books, toys and décor to the value of $400.

From Dwell Studio, more than $1950 worth of linen, nursery accessories and more –

• Large Dwell floor rug – $990
• Cot linen set – $330
• Cashmere silk knit blanket – $196
• Two large storage boxes and one small storage box – $341.50
• Soft blocks and stacking rings – $130

From Little Nest, designer seating valued at $1648 –

• Mini-e chair and stool – $949
• Pony chair – $699

From Dog & Pony Photography, a $1000 photography package which includes -

• Photo shoot – $169
• Prints to the value of $831

From The Wall Sticker Company, custom designed wall stickers to the value of $450.

Total prize is valued at $9,996.50.

Oeuf, Dwell, cashmere blankets, co-ordinated furniture, designer seating, portraits and customised wall art… This is the stuff nursery dreams are made of and it could be all yours.

To be in the draw, follow the instructions found in the regular ‘Babyology Weekly’ email. If you haven’t subscribed to the mailing list yet, just click here to fill in the form.

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.

No one puts baby in a corner! Or maybe they do with these very different picture frames.

The Angled-Corner Picture Frame literally wraps around or bends into corners, allowing you to use all that previously dead wall space for family snaps. I often joke that my mum couldn’t possibly fit another photo of her grandchildren in her house – think again!

Equally unusual are the Object Frames created by Steven Haulenbeek. Designed to look as though a normal picture frame has been bent away from the wall, the ‘frame’ creates a shelf, perfect for displaying small objects or collections.

Thanks to Babyology reader Eman for these frame tips.

(via Fresh Home)

Having a photographer for a husband means there’s no shortage of amazing baby photos at our place. But the shots I take of the kids when he’s not around can be a little ho-hum, despite the overwhelming cuteness of my subject matter! Somehow the pictures I take in my mind’s eye don’t ever seem to match what I see on the back of my camera. That’s why I like the idea of these Love Your Camera workshops.

Professional snapper Angie Baxter will show you how to take amazing photos of your kids that demand to be hung on the wall. So say goodbye to blurry pics with those annoying chopped-off heads or limbs and hello to stunning portraits and candid-style shots that will get you all teary-eyed every time you look at then. That’s right, she’s THAT good.

The day-long workshops will teach you how to actually work your SLR camera without resorting to the auto button (crazy, I know!) plus you’ll pick up tips and tricks about lighting, composition and all those other things that make professional snaps so, um, professional!

Love Your Camera workshops cost $225 and are scheduled for Canberra (July 3), Melbourne (July 10), August (July 20) and Sydney (July 25). Say cheese!

An initiative of the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Bear Cottage is the only children’s hospice in New South Wales, located within the grounds of St Patrick’s Estate in Manly, Sydney. Bear Cottage provides palliative care and an opportunity for terminally ill children and their families to recharge their batteries with a much needed break in one of Australia’s most popular family holiday destinations, all while receiving professional medical care.

According to Bear Cottage’s own handbook, “The Cottage is a place where these children and their families can come to be cared for and supported through the good days, the difficult days and the last days.”

It costs $2.3 million dollars just to run this much needed facility for families every year. Bear Cottage is funded entirely via donations. The care that Bear Cottage gives to children and the understanding, support and respite it offers to their families is so very, very important.

Inspired by Bear Cottage and its work, Kate and Chris Buechner of Uber Photography last year created a special fundraising project for the hospice. Little Heroes is a book celebrating the magic of childhood and features gorgeous portraits of Sydney children.

Uber Photography are looking for one hundred and twenty Sydney children to feature in Little Heroes 2010. For $100 your child will be photographed and receive their own page in this year’s book, with every single cent going directly to Bear Cottage.

Your help is needed and greatly appreciated by Bear Cottage and families nation-wide. You can see images from Little Heroes 2009 and contact details for Uber Photography through their blog.

When I was in my early twenties, a friend lost a baby at almost full term. I couldn’t even begin to fathom what she was going through and remember thinking “Why? How?” At the time, my mum very gently told me that it was highly likely other friends would lose babies in coming years and nothing ever prepares you for that. My mum was right. I have shared many tears, hugs and cups of tea with friends who have lost babies through miscarriage or who have spent seemingly endless hours watching their premature babies fight for life.

Bonnie Babes Foundation helps to save babies and counsels families through the extreme hardship of miscarriage or stillbirth. One in ten babies is born prematurely and sadly, one in every four pregnancies ends in a loss from miscarriage or stillbirth. The Foundation, a non-profit volunteer-based charity, raises money for telephone counselling services and for vital medical research projects.

As part of their annual fundraising efforts, the Foundation publishes Pride of the Nation, a coffee table book which celebrates new life, provides a snapshot of the next generation and showcases the wonderful diversity of our Australian population.

Pride of the Nation is made possible by volunteer photographers, who waive their normal sitting fee to help the Foundation. All children photographed are included in the book which is available for purchase and also displayed at Parliament House.

It costs just $50 to be part of it (or $75 for all the children from the same family) and all proceeds go directly to the Bonnie Babes Foundation. All registrations received before the end of July 2010 are guaranteed a place in the 2011 edition which is distributed in time for Christmas.

I always have a difficult time picking favourites no matter what the subject. So when asked to choose five favourite and most memorable features that I’ve written for Babyology, I was both excited and slightly apprehensive to dive into my hundreds of posts. It’s taken an entire week-and-a-half to narrow them down but here they are, Babyologists. Enjoy!

Ferm Living

When I think of all the features I’ve written for Babyology, one of the first to come to mind is Ferm Living. I fell hard for their wallpapers, dollhouse, bedding and cushions. All distinctly Danish and all right up my alley. Don’t forget to check out their two new wallpapers based on Tivoli in Copenhagen – one of which is the ‘Ferris’ design above right.

Ferm Living feature

Tretorn Gumboots

These gumboots had me at hello. I adore shoes and these rainy day feet-savers for kiddies top them all. I bought a pair for my daughter and she wore them just about every day last winter – rain or shine. Trying to get my hands on a bigger pair, I came across their new range called ‘Ballong’ featuring a stunning balloon print.

Tretorn Gumboots feature

Belle Heir

I was totally blown away by this website full to the brim of gorgeous one-of-a-kind vintage children’s clothing. I was fascinated with the journey each piece of clothing had taken: how many children had tucked their little fingers into the pockets over the years and what parties they’d been worn to. It’s really a treasure and worth a long visit.

Belle Heir feature

Doe-c-doe

The photographic works for children (and children at heart!) from Doe-c-doe are one of my favourite finds of all time. A little bit kitschy – in a good way – totally unique and a lot of retro equals my favourite things all put together. The composition of vintage toys set against original paint by numbers scenes and wow-worthy turquoise backgrounds are a thing to behold.

Doe-c-doe feature

Nellystella

It was a toss up between Nellystella and the Eames RAR rocker feature to round out my fab five and Nellystella won by a hair. I picked it because every time I look at the playsuit and mini trench pictured above, I get a chill. My daughter’s style through and through, the clothing designs are cuteness personified with a sophisticated ‘city kid’ flair.

Nellystella feature

This morning we were on The Today Show showcasing our Mother’s Day ideas.

We came up with lots of gift ideas for you this year, from beautiful keepsakes to pampering treats and must-have nappy bags.

We picked some favourites from our lists to share on the show this morning and found a few more terrific gift ideas along the way – including some very affordable options that kids can buy with their own pocket money – so if you are still looking for something special for your mum, read on!

Steal some kitchen inspiration from Julie Goodwin. Since taking out the coveted title of Australia’s first MasterChef, Goodwin has been cooking up a storm and her first cookbook, Our Family Table, is full of lovely stories and recipes with a focus on good old-fashioned tucker. Our Family Table is available from Angus & Robertson for $33.95.

If books are on your Mother’s Day shopping list but cooking leaves you (or your own mum) cold, consider a Blurb book. Combine your own photographs, children’s artwork and a written account of special memories into a superb hardback book. A Blurb book is a great project for dads and a fantastic gift for grandparents.  Prices start from just $16.95 for a full colour book of up to forty pages and there is no minimum order.

It’s no secret that the mums here at Babyology have a serious thing for Il Tutto bags. There are many styles to choose from including the crinkle patent Nico, perfect for adding rock star edge to every day, the handy Olivia wallet and the luxurious Mia bag.  Not just for looks, Il Tutto bags are roomy, feature a zip-out inner lining that can be easily cleaned, a change mat and lots of pockets. Il Tutto bags are priced from $129.

Add a little bit of luxury to everyday with gorgeous sleepwear from Sussan. The range includes pyjamas, nighties and robes in styles to suit all mums, whether it is comfy checked flannels, pretty florals or elegant embroidered satin. Sussan’s sleepwear is beautifully presented in a gift bag and pyjamas are priced from $39.95.

If you want a little celebrity status with your skincare, look no further than Mama Mio. Fans include Jessica Alba, Christy Turlington and Jennifer Lopez and you will be too once you try Mama Mio’s excellent range of products. Designed for use during pregnancy and beyond, we love the Boob Tube (a push-up bra in a jar), Tummy Rub Butter and Goodbye Stretch Marks. Priced from $49.95.

For mums who have their morning coffee on the run, give them a coffee mug made with love. Bodum travel mugs can be customised with your favourite picture and fit safely in most car cup holders. Priced from $11.95, what a perfect pocket-money gift from the kids.

For a gift that really keeps on giving, create a herb box with everything you need for less than $25 from Bunnings. Get started with pots, potting mix and a selection of herbs – the chef of the house will have delicious fresh herbs all year round.

Chocolates, candles and hearts…  these are sure-fire ways to show mums love. One bite of Coco Chocolate’s handmade treats and you’ll know it is true love. Truffles, drinking chocolate and rose and violet creams are just some of the tempting (and very pretty) offerings from Coco Chocolate. Prices start from $9. Also available are beautifully scented Glasshouse Candles. A tranquil blend of honey, vetiver and patchouli, the Shambala candle is presented in a glass holder and burns for more than eighty hours. Available from Opus Design for $34.95. Love is all around with heart-shaped Post-it notes by 3M. For just $5.99, littlies can raid their money-boxes to leave mum lots of heart-felt messages this Mother’s Day.

Who says you can’t have stilettos ‘on’ all day?! These novelty Gimme Tunes Stiletto Speakers speakers are big on sound and can be used with CD players, MP3 players, computers and laptops. This fun choice for shoe-loving mums is available from Opus Design for $45.

The hottest gift for Mother’s Day (literally) is Heatable Cozy Boots. Cold feet? Aching feet? These microwavable booties will have you feeling warm and relaxed in an instant – all you need is a good book and a packet of Tim Tams and you’re set for the perfect night on the couch. They are available from dstore for $44.95. After relaxing on the couch, retire in style with a glamorous eye mask – if only they came with a guaranteed sleep-in! Priced at $14.95, eye masks are available from Opus Design.

Enjoy shopping and have a happy Mother’s Day.

(Mandi was styled for her Today appearance by Smitten with Style)

It is difficult to pinpoint what is so compelling about ‘My Parents Were Awesome’.

The simple question – how did your folks look before they were parents? – is the basis for this extraordinary photoblog. Blogger Eliot Glazer knew that “Before the fanny packs and Andrea Bocelli concerts, your parents (and grandparents) were once free-wheeling, fashion-forward, and super awesome.”

Glazer invites people to send in photos of their parents to share on the site, My Parents Were Awesome. The result is simply fantastic. The pictures are special because they are so normal – lots of happy snaps and candid shots. It’s like flicking through someone’s photo album. There’s a lot of young love to see, a lot of funny fashions and lots of guys leaning on cool, sporty cars not built for baby seats!

When I was little there was a photo of my parents in the family album that I would look at again and again. They were just engaged, my mum is perched on my dad’s knee and her beehive hairdo and their stovepipe pants seemed so cool. I’m digging that picture out and sending it to Glazer – hopefully it makes the blog but either way my parents were, and still are, awesome.

Visit the sublime Ada Ada website and you will be wondering whether you are shopping for beautiful baby clothes or leafing through a superb photography portfolio. In fact, it is both.

Ada Ada is the collaborative work of three very creative sisters – Miriam, Ada and Ayelet Bernstein, who are based in Israel. Miriam studied photography at the Parsons School of Design in New York and Ada studied textile design and pattern-making in Israel. Pooling their talents they have created a label that embodies their sophisticated design philosophy. From the delicate feather motif on a tee right through to their flagship store in Tel Aviv, the look is cohesive and unique.

The colour palette is all about understated style – warm greys, creams and browns with just the right amount of pale pink and blue. The fabrics are chosen for their comfort and quality and all the pieces are practical as well as beautiful.

I love the double-sided overalls simply because my kids lived in overalls when they were crawling, but the printed tees and winter hats are also gorgeous.

Ada Ada is available online through Sweet William, which ships to Australia.

Most people can recall a school project that had a lasting impact, whether it was a topic that really interested them or a project they put extra effort into. My most memorable school project was making a pinhole camera when I was eleven years old. I found the process fascinating and the results thrilling. To this day, photography remains a favourite hobby.

When I saw the BigShot project my immediate thought was “Lucky, lucky kids!”. BigShot is about cameras, education, sharing ideas and learning in a whole new way.

Cameras provide a great way to express ourselves, however for the most part, they’re designed for adults. The BigShot designers, Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski, recognised that a camera designed for kids can be much more than just a toy and can be used as a means of engaging children in science. As such, the BigShot camera comes in bits, ready to be assembled by students. In building the camera, students get hands-on exposure to science and engineering concepts including optics, mechanics, image processing and more. Once the camera is assembled, students can get creative, composing and taking photographs.

BigShot has been designed to reach a very large audience. The cameras are inexpensive to make and come with simple software tools that enable school students to download, view and share their photos.

The designers eventually hope to create an online community of students from various schools around the world who can share their photos and stories. Currently there are kids participating in the US, Vietnam and India – have a look at some examples of their work in the gallery – truly remarkable given that some of the photographers are just six years old. The images below are by: HaGiang, aged 14, from Vietnam; Anirudh, aged 12, from India; and Akash, aged 6, from New York.

The BigShot project is still in development and not is yet on sale, but we’ll keep you posted.

(Via OhDeeDoh)

Having children has given my photography habit a whole new meaning. Although I haven’t been particularly good at writing down my kids’ milestones, I have made a photo album for each of them which includes a picture taken on the ‘day they were born’ of each month. For example, my son who was born on the 19th of August has pictures taken on the 19th of each month. I did this for a year for each of my children and it has resulted in a great collection of photos.

Then I came across GrowShow and honestly, I wanted to start all over again with my photos and reformat them into an incredible GrowShow sequence.

GrowShow is essentially a timelapse sequence of your child growing up. You upload photos (as many as you want which is scary given that if you’re anything like me you simply can’t have too many pictures of your kids!) and GrowShow puts them in chronological order automatically through digital date detection. You can then customise your slideshow, share it with family and even set a reminder to take your next instalment.

I have no doubt that this neat little program will really appeal to people who are fans of online photo-sharing. However, I think the best part of GrowShow is the custom GrowFrames.

GrowFrames are available as Squares or to show a timelapse of up to eighteen frames. The patented frames are held together by powerful embedded magnets so you can snap together your GrowFrames into limitless horizontal, vertical or even multi-dimensional configurations.

It is free to build your own GrowShow. GrowFrames range from US$11.95 for individual squares up to US$89.95 for a large Timelapse frame however at this stage frames cannot be shipped internationally.

Now that I’m the mother of an eight-month-old, I know why there are so few photos of me as a baby – the perfect picture is just so hard to capture, and in that pre-digital age, I’m sure most mums and dads just got frustrated and gave up.

I’m always singing the praises of digital cameras because I often have to take a hundred photos of my daughter just to get a good one. I do get plenty of the side of her head or her butt (as she rolls away just as I’m depressing the shutter).

So I love, love, love the idea behind the ShutterBuddy – a revolutionary new product that captures the attention of all babies so you can get a great picture easily and every time!.

Using the classic black and white chequered pattern that all babies go mental for, the ShutterBuddy fits almost every camera. All you have to do is fit it with a strap around your camera, adjust it to make sure the lens and flash is clear, call out to your little one and the rest is a done deal. No more having to act like the fifth member of the Wiggles just to get a front-on shot!

Only $24.95 from Urban Baby.

We adore Lego in our house. We’ve had a myriad of helicopters, transporters, dinosaurs, cars and buildings, but we’ve never seen anything like the soon-to-be-released Lego camera!

This would be the ultimate addition to any child’s Lego collection – but unless your child is particularly careful with his or her toys, I suggest you leave this one for the older kids as it really is a fully functional camera!

This little gem looks to be made from individual Lego bricks but you can rest easy knowing you won’t find it in a hundred pieces or be on all-fours searching for a flash – because it can’t be taken apart (parents unite in a resounding phew!). Additional Lego bricks can be added to its top or bottom though, so it can become part of any magnificent construction.

The Lego camera really has everything you need in a child’s camera: fixed focus, digital zoom, a 1.5 inch colour LCD screen, and capacity to hold eighty photos. I love it for its Lego quirkiness – it’s unlike anything else I’ve seen on the Lego shelf, and I know when my ten-year-old claps eyes on it, it’s going to be love at first click!

I’ll be interested to see if these will be released in Australia, but in the meantime you can snap one up from Urban Outfitters for US$68.

As a mother of two young children, I am constantly trying to capture special moments on the camera to keep forever. We all know how tough this can be, even with the best equipment (and in my case a husband who is a photographer). We have some amazing photos of our kids, but none with us in them so we can all look back and see how we changed as a family over time.

I recently had a very enjoyable and successful experience working with Camille over at Dog & Pony Photography and want to share this with you. From the first email until the post-shoot service Camille has been helpful, professional and has taken some terrific photos.

We decided on a location that reflected how and where I wanted my family to be shot, so Camille went off to survey the area before the shoot day and choose the best area for light and background.

My daughters were a little apprehensive about the shoot and Camille made them feel very comfortable, which is really a key element in these things going well. I loved that she insisted on the snot and food check before she started the session (we all know what a toddler’s face looks like most of the time, so we made sure there was nothing on anyone’s face to begin with).

I can highly recommend Camille at Dog & Pony Photography. Prices start at $69 and to see current specials, go to their website.

To celebrate Christmas and the launch of the new Babyology website, the first ten people to book a photography session will receive a bonus brag book. This zig zag presentation book includes six of your favourite shoot images, and fits neatly into any handbag.

Additionally, for the month of November, Dog and Pony have collaborated with their friends at Baobab Clothing to offer 20 percent off any item from their range with every package booked.

How many of us have children who just adore phones? I’d say almost all. It seems to be an innate quality that children are infatuated by phones – and our mobiles tend to be given the most ‘love.’ My daughter has a play phone and uses her other toys as makeshift phones (like the wooden miniature dollhouse lamp!) but she most definitely derives the most satisfaction from fiddling with my mobile’s games and looking at photos.

So here’s some gorgeous iPhone and mobile carry cases to keep your phone safe from little hands.

Handmade to perfection by Hine (pronounced hee-neh), I found them by accident while searching one of my favourite sites, Etsy, and was drawn in like a bee to a flower. They are completely hand-stitched to resemble an old rotary phone but with buttons and felt, making each and every one totally unique and delectable. They are created especially to fit iPhones though I’m sure most mobiles would be happy in them.

Head to Hine’s Etsy shop to purchase and be sure to take a look at her fabulous camera cases while you’re there (pictured top and below). But be warned, her wares sell within a few hours of hitting her shop, so you’ll have to be quick and be sure to check back often!

We are big fans of Built NY here at Babyology, having already reviewed their wares in 2007 and again in December last year. Now to our delight Built NY have just launched two new products - a small camera case and a large cargo camera bag. We’re mentioning these not because we think you may need a new camera case (although I know I do!) but because the bags can double as sensational nappy totes, children’s lunchbags or a simple wet wipes wallet.

The new bags have all the customary elements that we’ve come to trust in Built NY with a few added bonuses. The interior of the large bag is completely customizable with padded dividers, six pockets for organising, a removable padded shoulder strap and is stain resistant.

I have long loved the Built NY brand after seeing them being used for anything and everything while on holiday in America. I have yet to actually own one but my daughter’s lunchbag recently bit the dust and I’ve decided that Built NY will deliver her next lunchbag.

To order, go to B&H Photo for convenient shipping to Australia or purchase direct from Built NY and organise your own freight forwarder. The large Cargo Camera Bag is US$72.50 and the small Soft Shell Camera Case has just come to Australia from Until and retails for $29.95.