Origami is everywhere in our local bookstore right now, and I have a client with a glass bowl full of colourful cranes at her entrance that looks fantastic – so that is why this book is apt for today’s post.

Girligami by Cindy Ng gives you instructions on fun origami designs like making paper pumps (high heels) and paper hearts, just perfect to do at a young girls birthday party, or even just a craft afternoon to keep them occupied.   If you want a sneak peak of what’s in the book and how easy it is, then click here to view her folding high-heels.  Get the book here for NZ$14 plus shipping.

Christmas will be here soon and if you have some folks in your family that are hard to buy for, then how about a set of these?  You can purchase some lovely paper, the PDF file from one of the great Etsy stores below, and you’re good to go.  They are in NZ$ left to right as follows:

2011 Calendar of Polish Art – Bialakura – $7.50

2011 Childrens Calendar Safari Fun – Pearenthetical Press – $9.50

2011 Italy Photos – Bubbo – $6.20

2011 Blank Make Your Own Calendar – A Little Huts Shop – $5.20

2011 Microbacteria Calendar – The Rasilisk – $6.20

2011 Calendar Write On With Stickers – The Art Of Joy – $8.80

A while back I posted about rice paper tape, which you can now buy at Borders in Sylvia Park Mall.  If you are wanting something even a little more fancy, then this tape is for you.

It would look stunning against bright red or gold wrapping paper for Christmas.  The story behind this tape goes all the way to Paris.  Marie-Héléne de Taillac is a Parisian jeweller and designer of this tape.  The jewels are photos of a real ring in a band of colours, from blues, greens to pinks and reds; and Amanda at Nonsuchthings has a limited stock of the tape for US$12 plus shipping. Click here to purchase a roll.

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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!

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.

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

MMMG (Millimetre, Milligram) is cool, hip Korean stationery that is now available in Australia.  The cut-out cards are playful and remind me of cut-out people we use to make at school.  Notemaker have a large range, so go take a look here – these cards start at only AU$4.95 right now, and shipping is free if your order is over AU$59 or NZ$79.  They also ship worldwide.

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.

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!

Orange Beautiful has this print for sale for US$10 in their etsy shop. I would love it on the wall where I practice my yoga, and I think it would make a great gift for a yogi or yogini.

Over at The Scoop I spied this collection of beautiful alphabet prints.  The mixture of pattern and colour makes me want to spread them all around my daughters room…already she is staring at anything bright so perhaps these would have her laying happily in her bed so I can get some chores done! Jennifer is the girl behind JHill Design and she also has a great range of calendars and cards worth taking a look at.

Marimekko have come out with some of their most popular prints on wallpaper.  At this stage they have 11 prints for sale but will be adding all 56 patterns.  It you love their designs as much as I do, click here for a look.  They are US$89 a roll (NZ$140) and ship worldwide.  My favourite are the Stilla leaves and Bo Boo kids cars.

Above is a pic of my nieces 8th birthday party she had last week.  It looked so pretty that I had to share this great DIY from Martha Stewart  Weddings.  

How to Make the Pom-Poms:

You’ll need tissue paper and 24-gauge white cloth-covered floral wire.

Hanging Pom-Poms
1. Stack eight 20-by-30-inch sheets of tissue. Make 1 1/2-inchwide accordion folds, creasing with each fold.

2. Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, and slip over center of folded tissue; twist. With scissors, trim ends of tissue into rounded or pointy shapes.

3. Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time.

4. Tie a length of monofilament to floral wire for hanging.

Napkin Rings

With just a few changes, these follow the same steps as the hanging pom-poms.

1. Stack four sheets of tissue. Cut a 10-by-5-inch rectangle, going through all layers. Make 3/8-inch-wide accordion folds.

2. Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, slip over center of tissue, and twist to secure. Trim ends of tissue.

3. Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time.

4. Bend wire into a loop to fit around napkin, and twist end around loop to secure.

I love alphabet cards, stickers and posters for kids walls…and these are the latest I have discovered. Jenn Ski is a graphic designer who has done a great range called Actopus to Zelephant for K&Company. You can buy her alphabet range in anything from rub on stickers, cards and silhouettes to scrapbooks from Michaels. Take a look here at the collection.  To get the same look as the room above, click here for the tutorial.

via [Ohdeedoh]

I posted a while back about the great little birds made from vintage wallpaper, (that you can now get at Allium Interiors here in Auckland) and still I love the other pieces in the range for children’s rooms.  The folks over at the online store Romp have a great selection of the Inke silhouettes, and down-under here and here stock a selection as well.  Quite expensive but if you own your home or know the rooms going to be the kid’s for a while then they are a great way to brighten a room without the standard one-wall-painted-different-colour-theme. 

Recently – ok not recently, but at Christmas I received a great Christmas card from relatives in Portland, and thought the card was totally cool.  Instead of an email or a letter printed on some plain paper and put inside a standard card – they sent this instead.  With short bullets of the important things they did over the past year, where they holidayed, a new baby etc was all on the front, and inside a great family pic.  The card is above, bottom left.

So I went looking and found this great stationery from Erin Condren.   There is so much to look at, so you’ll have to get a cup of tea and sit for a bit to select what you love.  There are even practice sheets for your four or five year old to practice writing – (something I am doing with Master Four at present).  Many pieces are customizable down to colour and font.  Think I might do something similar this Christmas.  Enjoy your browsing, it is so worth a look.

Great pillows really can give a tired room some much needed pizazz, and it’s such a small change.  Better yet, how about winning some! Matte Stephens is the artist behind these great pieces of fabric art.  My fave pillow I think has to be the line-up of buildings – it reminds me of my trip to London….wandering through Primrose Hill looking at all the joined together mansions.  Enter right here for your chance and if you are unlucky, then take a look at the groovy prints and paintings at his etsy shop.  Something for the wall might be even better for a little makeover!

image [Braniac]

I have a thing for bookmarks.  My two are not surviving well as they are so loved – one being my son’s he made at Montessori and the other one from a great yoga centre I trained at in Vermont.  So, here are a few that would last the distance.  A stainless steel little family of four, they are AUD$35 each and you can get them online here from Nordic Fusion or go get them at their cool store in Manly or Mosman in Sydney.

When I started my blog, Mr Bohaute could not believe the time I spent just trying to find a background, plus a header in case I chose that format, and also I had to have a favicon.  Although it ended up quite simple, I now have a little library of goodies when I feel the need for a change.  So when I saw House of Three over at the Poppytalk blog it had me wanting a change….(though it won’t be happening with bub due in 9 weeks). The three very creative girls behind House of Three have loads of pretty images and kits for scrapbooking, wall art, and online glamourising.  The few above being just a taste of what you can buy at a very reasonable price.  Enjoy your eye candy.