Continuing on from yesterday’s post of white rooms, today it’s beautiful white teepees – a room in a room, so to speak. These are a fabulous way to give children a hideaway and a quiet spot to retreat to when they’d like to read or play without distraction… or for sneaking off yourself for a cup of tea alone!
If you’d love to make one in your little one’s favourite colours, it’s good to know teepees are simple to make. You could quickly throw a hideaway together with a bed sheet or tablecloth, some furniture {like chairs you can clip on to} and a few clips, but a teepee you can leave up all the time is pretty easy too. If you’d like to have a try at creating your own, My Poppet has a terrific two part series {starting here with part one} that will have you whipping up your own teepee in no time at all.
 
{ click on images to visit source }
With the winter issue just around the corner, I’ve been spending lots of time looking at white interiors. I’m loving these two stunning sleeping spaces – a breathtaking bedroom for the adults and a beautiful baby nursery. Oh the serenity! I could imagine myself having sweet dreams here. Do you love a white space or prefer colour-filled surroundings?
 
{click on images to visit source}
To celebrate 2012 Mother’s Day and those fabulous mamas who are running their own businesses while balancing the needs of family, we’re having a giveaway on our Facebook page. One talented mama will receive a free full page advertisement in our Winter 2012 issue, coming out on June 1!
You can vote for your favourite business mama by visiting the tiny & little facebook page and posting on our wall your nomination for them. Please be sure to tag the mama’s page so we can check it out!
Mamas with baby/parenting/creative businesses, you’re invited to share tiny & little with your family, friends and ‘likers’ and ask them to vote for you. You can do that via our page or by using the share buttons at the bottom of this post. For each person that nominates you on our wall, you’ll receive a vote. The mama who receives the most votes when we close entries will win a full page advertisement in our next issue!
If you like a mama’s business on Facebook, come show her business some love by nominating it on our wall! Be sure to tag the mama so we can check her page out.
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The prize: one full page advertisement in the winter issue of tiny & little magazine (coming out on June 1, 2012) and a 125px square button on the sidebar of our blog for the duration of the issue (June 1 – August 31, 2012). PLUS, we’ll be giving shout-outs to the winner while the issue is published.
Voting details: For each person that nominates a mama’s business by posting a vote on the tiny & little facebook page, that business will receive one vote. At the end of the entry time, the mama’s business with the most votes wins.
Guidelines:
- You can only vote once
- The final winner will be subject to approval by the tiny & little editor to ensure that the business fits with the magazine {ie. the business needs to be suited our audience}
- The winner will be contacted within three days with details of where to send images and details
- Votes will close at 9pm on Monday, May 21 Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)
Good luck!
Dearest Mamas,
Wishing you a happy mother’s day!
May your day be filled with the love and laughter of family and friends.
xx
{ BIG NEWS }
To celebrate Mother’s Day, tiny & little will be opening a fabulous giveaway tomorrow morning for one lucky mama to win the chance to promote her business in the next issue of tiny & little magazine with a free full page ad! Exciting! Watch out tomorrow for the post with details on how to enter.
Have you been asked what you’d like for Mother’s Day yet? I have and as much as I would be incredibly happy with just being with my little ones, I have been asked for a list. I find it difficult because being able to be a mama is such a gift in itself that I don’t feel I need to be given a material possession to celebrate it. I already have everything I need and in many ways, more than I could have ever dreamed of and wished for. But since the request has made more than once, today I’m sharing five fashion things I have on my wishlist. What’s on yours?
Nancybird vintage canvas tote
Swedish Hasbeens braided clogs via Ruche
bstudio coral silk ring
Michelle Han LOVE scarf
Tumbleweeds handcrafted wooden faced heart Lolita sunglasses
With Mothers Day just a handful of sleeps away it seems fitting to focus on the mamas this week. Today it’s all about fashion and, in light of my ‘banish the black’ challenge from last week, colour is the order of the day.
For feminine fashion in stunning colours or beautiful basics that you could mix your own favourite colours with, it’s hard to resist Australian company Lazybones. There is a range of dresses, knits, skirts and tops, and they have lovely homewares and girls dresses too. A great shop to visit if you’d like to inject some colour in to your wardrobe!
Lazybones | shop | facebook
Today at Leaf sees an exciting product release for children who adore gardening and popular Australian television show, dirtgirlworld. In each episode of this fun show, dirtgirl records her outdoor adventures in her scrapbook – now little ones everywhere can do it too!
The journal – 64 pages of fun for little ones, with craft papers and scraps to personalise the scrapbook - will become available on World Environment Day on June 5 2012, with pre-orders opening today. If you pre-order by 31 May with the special promo code below, you’ll also receive a special bonus pack from Leaf.
 
PRE-ORDER SPECIAL OFFER
The journal will launch on World Environment Day, June 5 2012, but if you get in early you’ll receive a free Grow Garden Journal Expansion Pack.. Pre-order by 31 May with the special promo code below and you’ll also receive this extra scrapbook fun from Leaf. Fabulous!
 That’s right, pop over to Leaf here and when you place your order before May 31, add the promo code LTALDGWP1 during checkout and this expansion pack is yours. Quick, gardening fun for the little ones awaits!
Tell me mamas, are you stuck in a style rut? Do you have a daily uniform that you slip on every day, often without thinking? I do and this mama needs to break out of her routine.
As the resident of lovely city of Melbourne, I’m well versed in our local uniform of black clothing. Black head to toe is not uncommon for me, with the occasional pop of colour – even then, it’s nothing too brazen, usually a pastel or grey. Until winter comes and I pull out my beloved red boots. I most recently realised I might be addicted to black and stuck in a style rut when I noticed while folding washing that everything in my clothing pile was black. Every. Single. Thing. And I’ve been wearing it all with my black ballet flats. The only reason I’m not wearing black today is because it’s all back in that folding pile again. Le Sigh.
Today on twitter {you can find me here}, the black uniform of Melbourne came up again and I was reminded by the lovely Gourmet Girlfriend {who you can chat with on twitter here} about a post I’d written last year on another blog. It resonates with me today like it did a year ago when I first published those words, the only difference now being that I’m a bit sad to realise that although I knew it was important to me, I didn’t keep it going. So, this week girly-girl is moving back in to the house. I’m banishing the black this week and embracing the colour. Care to join me?
{this is the original post}
“When I was younger, I dreamed of having a home filled with pink items. My favourite peony roses in pale pink, fairy floss coloured cushions and bedding in shades of marshmallow which would be a soft touch on the dark wood I adore. I imagined paintings with pastel hearts and photos of blooming flowers with the softest petals of pink on the walls, and a garden filled with plants of deep green leaves and pink flowers. I vividly remember being astounded when my Dad gave me a hand-carved wooden tiger from one of his trips to the Philippines. It’s not that it isn’t a lovely piece, more that it felt like he didn’t know my style at all because otherwise he would’ve gotten me something pink and made of fabric.
I always thought I would have a little girl to share this with, a daughter who would love the beauty of feminine colours against dark green leaves or dark wooden furniture as I do. Life, on the other hand, had different plans for me. I went on to have three boys and the colours of the home changed to duck egg blue, chocolate and grey. Pink still had a big presence in my wardrobe and was the leader of the nail polish colour pack but elsewhere, it wasn’t to be seen.
Despite being happy with how things have turned out in my life, I’ve recently begun to feel that I’ve given up part of who I am – that very girly side who wears dresses and lipgloss, that paints my nails, and all because I was being ‘one of the boys’ to fit in with the rest of the family.
It started to feel like a weight when I spotted a picture in the window of an op shop that I adored. A vintage illustration of a little girl with tumbling ringlets in a pink romper next to a claw foot bath. It’s sweet and girly and just the sort of thing I would’ve bought without hesitation a decade ago. At the cost of two coffees, it was a bargain as well. Yet, I walked away. Why? Because when I pointed it out, the boys all asked “But why would you want that? It’s pink, where would you put it?”
The feeling of having lost your way is saddening. Feeling that you’ve changed to fit in with others is like you’re an impostor who will be found out in only a matter of time.
Since it’s no secret that I’m a girl, I’ve decided that I shouldn’t hold this side back any longer. I need to be the person that I am so that when my boys grow and develop female friendships and relationships of their own, they understand that girls can be quite different from boys and still fit in. I want them to appreciate that for some women, the idea of a Friday night in front of a chick flick while giving yourself a pedicure is bliss and it’s okay that they don’t enjoy the same thing and would rather watch the footy. To recognise that we don’t need to like the same things as another person, yet we can still love them.
So, today I took a first step and bought a pink lamp. When I brought it into the house, the first question was an apprehensive “And where is that going…??” I’ve now set it up on my desk and just peeking at it while I type this, with my favourite pictures of peonies on the wall behind, makes me smile.
Girly-girl is back in the house.”
Image: Ruche {I’m dreaming of wearing this stunning outfit!}
When I spotted this print by Grace Hester Designs, I broke out in an enormous grin. It does feel at times like you need to have superpowers to make lunches that will help muscles fight the bad guys, drive the mum-mobile to the school and kinder run on time, then come home to defeat Mount Washmore and The Messy Room Riddler day after day.
Have a happy weekend, all you superwomen!
{This fab image can be purchased as a print from Grace Hester Designs}
Tomorrow, Australia stops to remember our ANZAC {Australia and New Zealand Army Corps} soldiers. There will be the dawn service, the street marches, the poppies and the respectful memories of the ANZAC soldiers. This year, it was lovely to see tinyme release an ANZAC Day printable designed especially for the little ones as it’s an interesting way for children to learn about ANZAC Day.
The ANZAC Day story for kids is shared in child friendly language to explain why we commemorate ANZAC Day, there is a recipe for ANZAC biscuits and while they’re baking you can make the paper poppies activity.
These are images from the printables, which you can download from here.
    
It’s time for another photography post, hurrah! Whether you have an android or an iphone, there are ways to dress up your phone that go beyond colourful cases. In fact, some accessories are very cool and add functionality to your phone and its camera whether you’re taking still shots or video. These are a few pieces tiny & little would love to accessorise with, particularly the Lifeproof cover which will keep phones safe in little photographer hands.
Fisheye, Macro, Wide Angle and Telephoto Phone Lenses, Photojojo
Waterproof, shock-proof, dirt-proof cover, Lifeproof
iPhone Rangefinder with removable tripod mount, Photojojo
iPhone Boom Mic, Photojojo
Have you accessorised your phone?
This week we’re going to enjoy a photography theme here on tiny & little. I adore having little ones on both sides of the lens – capturing memories of them at their most adorable and making them the photographer {we’re loving our Project 52 this year, where each week Mr Tiny and Mr Little take a photo on my iphone of something they loved}. To kick off the photographic fun, we’re starting with our five favourite apps for phonetography, allowing grown ups and little ones to enjoy shooting with the camera on your phone.
We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to apps for camera fun. Retro, vintage, frames, light leaks, bokeh, colour splash… the list of apps – and the list of options they each give for photos – is very long indeed. Today we’re sharing five apps we love and, despite being a list-lover, it’s one of the hardest lists I’ve made in a while. There were so many good ones to choose from. I’d love to hear in the comments what your favourite photography apps are!
INSTAGRAM
When it comes to phone apps, it’s hard to go past Instagram. With lots of filters to choose from, the option of frames on or off, an ability to soft-focus parts of the photograph and an easy to use, in-built ability to quickly share photos through social media, it’s no surprise that Instagram is as popular as it is. I adore this app and find the filters terrific for recording the little ones at play and it’s what we consistently use for sharing their Project 52 shots.
 POCKETBOOTH
Sometimes it’s not the single photo that captures how beautiful a moment is, but a string of shots in quick succession that show the movement, the drama, the play, the action. For that reason, Pocketbooth is an adored app. Set it up to shoot and once you click the shutter button, it will take four shots then present it to you in a photo booth style. Best of all, it leads to hours of fun… I say, smiling at the memory of two hours spent taking photos of my little ones as each practised their best rock star moves for the photo booth camera. Fun for the whole family.
DIPTIC
Mixing photos together in collages can be good fun – a great way to show before and afters, the progress of little ones creating or different angles on something. It’s super-easy with the Diptic app, which lets you choose the layout of your collage then add photos. Also handy is that you can send your photos to social media, including across to Instagram so that you can apply the instagram filters and share your shots.
 ADOBE PHOTOSHOP EXPRESS
When it comes to photo enhancement and manipulation on a computer, it’s hard to go past Adobe Photoshop. I’m a big fan so when I saw that I could install PS Express on my phone, for free, I jumped at the chance. Naturally, because it’s free and on the phone it doesn’t have the functionality and power of my desktop but it’s very nifty indeed. It’s easy to make basic changes to your photos, like straighten, crop, sharpen, contrast and exposure and there are a number of filters that can be applied.
 CAMERA AWESOME
Camera Awesoome is the newest addition to my photography app pages and has been getting quite a workout. You can play with composition, filters and textures, or you can just ask the app to Awesomise your photos and, voila, super-cool shots! With the one-click ‘awesomise’ button, this app is perfect for little photographers looking for a simple way to play with their photos. This app is also loved for the ease with which you can share your shots with family and friends on social media.
Now that we’ve shared five apps tiny & little love to use for photographs by the little ones, or for when we’re taking photos of them, come share with us – what’s your favourite phone photography app?
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