I want the word ‘Bliss’ right above my yoga mat….the yellow is such a joyful colour scheme.  Mooza Designs in Sydney Australia use gorgeous japanese and retro paper to paste onto WC (Toilet) signs or make words, names and numbers.  Take a look at their shop, you’ll have trouble choosing your colour scheme from the custom range it’s all so joyous!

Today’s adventure wasn’t mine….I went for a bikeride with the family instead.  But Design Is Mine discovered this great poster, called Origami Love Poster.  It costs US$15 + $5 postage (NZ$27) – take a look over at Amy’s Etsy store Field Trip for more great posters.  I want to actually give this a try at folding as origami is something I really enjoy…until I can’t do it!

Holy toledo!  Mr Bohaute and I are Apple lovers and covet the iPad.  We know it’s cool, we know it would be used alot…but we had no idea you could do this on it.  Artist David Kassan paints a model over about three hours on the iPad.  The movie is 7 minutes long – you don’t have to watch the entire clip, but it’s worth it. Finger Painting for anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Water colour is beautiful.  I have tried my hand at watercolor before with a disastrous outcome, so I stick with acrylic.  While bouncing around on Etsy I popped up on this shop. Irene is an Italian artist and she has a large and gorgeous assortment of watercolour creatures to choose from.  They would make a great collection for a sewing room, or a child’s bedroom.  Each piece is about NZ$35, plus NZ$8 shipping.  Go take a look right here.

Last weekend, I took Mum and Dad up to Matakana Markets outside Auckland so we could eat some great food and enjoy the crisp cool morning outdoors.  While we wandered around, Miss 15mths steered me into the shop Red Letter Day.  No, she is not a stationery nut – she saw a large poster of a camel and wanted to go and say ‘baa’ (like a sheep)…hehe.

Well, I fell head over heels for the Cavallini & Co products, (of which there were many) – among a lot of other lovely writing accessories.  Flora, fauna and geographic notebooks…box sets of divine stamps…flashcards and even decorative wrap – that you just couldn’t use because it’s too beautiful.  You can buy from Red Letter’s website, though really it is worth a drive to Matakana for the food, and the bunch of specialty shops tucked around the market area.

This necklace really appeals to me being a Yoga Teacher, but would I wear it?….probably not much.  It would make a great gift for a Chiropractor though!  Made by using 3D data of an actual spine, it measures about 10cm long and you can choose it in either brass or silver.  You can purchase it from the Japanese site right here for NZ$440 (brass) or NZ$740 (silver) and the company ships internationally.

AT posted a while back about designing and printing on different mediums, and it’s not all that expensive. Often I have wanted to take a great image and put in on a plate, or a handtowel, but never got around to investigating further.  Below is a list of places where you can make it happen…..so what are you waiting for!

1. Spoonflower – design your own fabric
2. Teeny Tile – custom print tiles
3. The Wallpaper Maker – print your own designs on wallpaper
4. Ponoko – laser cut materials like felt, plastic and wood
5. Absorbent, Ink – screen printing onto glasses, coasters and handtowels plus more

These cases are stunning; they remind me of hot-wire work in our woodwork class when I was a teenager.

Grove is the Portland company behind them and each case is made from bamboo, laser-cut and hand-finished, so no two are the same. Costing NZ$125, they ship worldwide.  The cases are made for iPhones only and you can get the old and new shape. My favourite would have to be Birdland.

How an earth did I find this!  After searching for insect collections with Master 6, we surfed around this cool site called The Evolution Store for quite some time.  It is a treasure trove of goodies for collecting anything from butterflies to beetles, minerals to taxidermy animals . The store is in Manhattan, and they have this great online store, so anyone can order the amazing creatures above in things like paperweights, frames, boxes and trays just like a museum! And they ship internationally.  Go take a look at the range right here.

Hah, I have found something perfect for a friend who will soon be moving from New York to live in Sydney.  This will be a cool reminder under the fruit – or under the cables, cameras and mobile phones, or perhaps just on it’s own.

The bowls are designed by dutch designer Frederik Roije.  They are scaled city maps of Manhatten and Amsterdam, and cast in Aluminium. The Amsterdam bowl measures 48 x 35 x8cm costs about NZ$394 + shipping.  The Manhatten bowl measures 90 x 23 x 5cm and costs NZ$475 + shipping.  It looked so much cheaper in Euros blast it!

I love the story behind these wooden birds.  From Sanna’s site it reads ‘In Karelia there was an ancient belief in the Sielulintu or Soul bird. The Sielulintu was thought to deliver the soul to newborn babies and also to transport the soul to the afterlife at the moment of death. It was believed the Sielulintu protected a persons soul at it’s most vulnerable; when dreaming, and it was tradition to keep a carved wooden bird by the bedside to keep the soul safe during sleep.’

You can purchase the large (14 x 22cm) or small (14.5 x 12cm) and Sanna ships internationally. Only bummer is that they are quite costly – at NZ$162 for the small version or $206 for the large.  But there are only 100 of each, made from sustainable solid brown oak,  you could be one in 200 to own one special Soul bird.

via [Freshly Blended]

I bet you thought I had given up on my blog…..no….just busy with the kids.

When browsing home listings, something I notice are cool lights or lamps, and this is one I’ve fallen for.  The Nautilus Light by Rebecca Asquith, is such a reminder of the beach and holidays and the bach….well – perhaps the posh bach. Anyway, they come in two sizes and three colours and you can get them right here.  They start at NZ$460, which isn’t too bad considering some ‘light features’ cost thousands; plus they ship worldwide.

The large wheel clock is cool!  I love a great big clock in the house as it can be seen from a distance and we don’t have to run over to the oven and check the time. The images above show some other cool bike clocks over at Etsy.  The second and third clocks are from 1 By Liz, and the other two by Pixel This.  Both stores have a great range of clocks and they can be shipped worldwide.  Mr Bohaute; being a mountain biker, would probably like one of these in the ‘man cave’.

Once while in Manhattan I walked past a Sushi Restaurant and in the window there was a collection of people made from wire – I took photos but sadly cannot find them now.  Recently while over at Modish I found these and thought again how cool wire work is.  It makes me want to pop down to the hardware store for some and try my hand at it.  You can purchase them online right here for about NZ$15 each; they ship worldwide and take major credit cards and paypal.

Do you ever wonder who to go to for photographs that don’t look painfully posed?  After browsing through Sandii McDonald’s website I think I’ve found just the person.  Not only does she take fantastic photos for magazines, media and the like, but also does family portraits that don’t look like they should be put away in the bottom drawer – capturing spontaneous moments with your family and children that would look great on the wall.  And if you need some stock photography, she has a range of images over at Photo New Zealand.  Go take a look and give her a call for your next sitting.

image [Sandii McDonald]

After seeing this viking doll on a calendar I had to see more!  Sandra Monat from Herzensart is the lady behind these cool dolls and she has a vast selection of girl and boy versions plus many more fairytale characters.  To see the great range click here.  They cost about NZ$190 (ouch – but aren’t they so gorgeous) and are sold all over the world.  The gallery showcases even more fantastic designs and her blog shows you the time and energy that goes into making these 42cm beauties!  I would love a pair for Master Five and Miss 3mths old – textile art in all it’s colourful glory!

While trying to get Miss 3mths old to sleep in the stroller, I found this great selection of stationery and more in the bookstore at Sylvia Park Mall.  The Australian Cristina Re range includes DIY, gifts, books and software – over 300 products that sell to over 1000 stores around Australia and New Zealand.  Take a look here at all the goodies available (paper, notepads, invitations, wrapping etc), and to find a stockist, click here.  Yet another writing pad made it home for the grocery list!

I have always been a fan of the Bullet Planters, but these are even better.  Pad in Los Angeles are behind these Pods Planters which were only unveiled at the Dwell On Design show in Los Angeles last month.   You can buy them here for NZ$238 each(ouch) and they ship internationally – just email for prices.  They come in six colours, with stands in two heights and can be used indoors or out as they are aluminium with an exterior grade powder-coated finish.  I would love a colourful set of five for herbs but the cost would blow my mind….will have to stick to the packaged supermarket herbs for now.

via [Apartment Therapy]

Homage in Newmarket, Auckland has just had a new shipment of furniture arrive, so go take a look as soon as you can. They have a great range of iconic mid century reproduction furniture, plus a range for your little ones also.  You can download their catalogue here for a look at what’s available and better yet, they are super helpful at making sure you get just the right piece for your home – even if it means taking a couple of pieces home.