Bambino Goodies » Life

Inspiration: Bookshelf Dolls House

Kat — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:00:45 +0000

I love this idea. Take one small Expedit unit from Ikea add some wallpaper and you have a super cool dolls house. With the unit only costing £19.99 it’s a chiconomy buy!

Via 101 Woonideeen.

Chariot Bike Trailer

Kat — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Bike trailers are becoming an ever more popular way of getting about and avoiding the need for car use. Today’s review of the Chariot Bike Trailer comes from Chris who writes the blog Worrybomb – an amusing personal blog with fantastic pictures of his daughter: The Worrybomb.

There are several bicycle based alternatives for carrying children and assorted supplies around. The Worrybomb and I have a Chariot. We have been using it for around two years now, with our first outing on a very cold January morning. Since then its been used at least once a week in pretty much all weathers.

The Chariot CX1 is a bicycle trailer based child transport system, that uses a ball and socket joint that easily attaches to most adult bikes. It can convert into a number of different formats including stroller and jogging pram.

At first with Worrybomb being just one, we had the Baby Supporter kit in the large cockpit, this with the 5 point harness system helps helps to keep the head upright, away from any hard frame and also double as a nice pillow when Daddy slows down on the uphill bits. Its amazing how someone else peddling away can be so tiring! It also adds to the padding and warmth.

When I first got the trailer, I was amazed at the extras you could get, the extra wheels for shopping / jogging was great, it just hangs on to the rear of the chariot until you need it, same for the two caster type pushchair type wheels and to me the skis looked very cool option and as I have pulled pulks across Greenlands Ice cap, they suddenly opened up all sorts of adventurous ideas that were quickly squashed by more sensible members of the family, unfortunately in deepest Hampshire we don’t get much chance for cross country skiing and I wasn’t allowed to consider another Arctic trip with a one year old.

The whole thing is very well designed, it has some very obvious features and some so hidden they took a while for us to discover. The website will give you the full low down with trademarked names etc, but as far as we are concerned its got :

Inside

Fully adjustable harness to keep one upright and comfortable.
Padded / insulated seat.
Metal tubed frame that surrounds the child completely, all kept well away from harnessed child.
Pockets for children to put drinks, stones ( and for some reason known only to Worrybomb, spoons ) in.
We also have the Baby Supporter kit that helps smaller children enjoy the ride comfortably and safely.

Outside

Suspension ( variable depending on the child’s weight ) which is more rubbery and flexible that the normal pram buggy covers I have seen.
Rain and wind covers ( that zip on and roll back over the mesh windows )
Bug shields for bug and mud free ventilation
Tinted windows that roll back when not required ( rock star anonymity assured )
Storage that folds up when not in use ( big enough to carry a FirstBike or a baby supplies bag, drinks, spare clothing, first aid kit, puncture repair kit ( haven’t used this yet on the chariot ) and a teddy.
Removable storage bag for smaller items ( cameras, drinks, keys etc )
Parking break that can be locked on, the break is also used when its in jogger mode as a hand break
Big orange flag to make you more visible to other road users
Lots of reflectors and reflecting materials, on the front, sides and back
parts of the fabric shell even glow in the dark we found!
The whole thing folds down flattish like a buggy and the handles and wheels are easily removable for storage and transport in the car.
Everything is easily cleanable and the outside is happily hosed and brushed down.

The only addition I have added to the Chariot is a bright Cateye LED light on the rear for evening rides. As the bikes rear lights are hidden from behind, with the odd evening outing I thought this was essential in making ourselves seen from a distance, when cars get closer, the flag, reflectors and reflecting materials help viability massively.

Using it is very straight forward, put on the special bracket to the bike, then clip it on and off we went. It doesn’t take long to get used to the extra length and weight, corners and kerbs are easy to cope with and the only real downside is that without a mirror you cant see how the child is doing when cocooned away behind you and at speed sometimes unless they shout you cant hear their demands typically along the lines of “faster Daddy, faster!”.

I was a reasonably fit rider, but in recent years I haven’t been out on my bike as much as I would have wanted. You don’t need to be a regular rider to cope with this by any means and we have done lots of 5 mile round trips to the nearby town, shops and library without the need for cycling shorts, special drinks and massages afterwards ( unless I asked nicely that is !) and some longer 10 mile trips to friends and other villages, although slower than normal I was easily able to keep up with other younger members of the family on their 5 and 10 gear bikes. I cant see any reason why longer trips of say 20 miles would not be easily possible with a little thought preparation and fitness.

Hills wise its not bad at all, it does slow you down, but on flat you don’t really notice when cruising, and on the hills it is just matter of using gears and spinning up them slowly. Down is of course easy, you need to keep your speed down by dragging the breaks, but its stable and solidly built.

The suspension and the tires take up a fair bit of the bumps, but for very young children I wouldn’t want to do much more than roads, paths and the occasional tow-path type ride anyway. Now she is 3 we go pretty much everywhere happily if not slowly, but only occasionally do I get heckles from the back thats its bumpy.

Its not cheap, but it is comfortable and has worn very well ( ideal for potential ebay selling ). Importantly Worrybomb enjoys her outings and it always draws a smile from passers-by and other road users. The only downsides are its big to store ( unless you collapse it down), and not very easy to lock up unless you have some long wire cables or the spare wheel/s to take it with you when you arrive at your destination.

Has it saved money? With out parking or petrol costs etc it all helps, and it keeps me fitter. I think it will go on doing so for a few years more yet as now, even though we have just started using it as a back up for when Worrybomb gets tired on her little run-along balance bike, she still likes to get in and we strap her bike to the rear of the chariot and carry on.

Would I recommend it? Yes its great, other cheaper carriers may well be as good as well, and we generally love the concept of a bike powered carrier, but the Chariot is wonderfully designed and has some very clever features that I haven’t seen elsewhere.

Available from bike shops in the UK at approx. £745. For more information see the Chariot website.

Thank you Chris (and Worrybomb) for sharing this review!

Inspiration: Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

Kat — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

We love a good party and when I saw Izzy’s Mad Hatter’s Tea Party I knew you’d love to see it too. Luckily for us Mama Lottie, who blogs at The Snowdrop Bakery, was happy to share photos and her party secrets!

I was Inspired by my obsession with Pinterest (birthday inspiration board here) and Izzy wanting something really girly…so we came up with the Mad Hatters Tea Party theme….plus I’ve always wanted a Mad Hatters Tea Party…..in fact my friend is now thinking of having one for her 40^th Birthday bash!

It was a team effort with my husband and I making little bits and pieces in the evenings. Izzy wore an Alice costume of an apron and no-sew tutu and her sister wore rabbit ears, a felt pocket watch and a white no-sew tutu for her rabbit costume.

We created invitations, signs and cake toppers using images we downloaded and coloured in Photoshop and mis-matched fonts. We decorated the room with bunting made from vintage-style wallpaper offcuts, giant playing cards (bought on eBay) and tissue paper pom poms (you can make your own or buy them in a kit).

For the party food they went old school with jam tarts, sandwiches and of course the magnificent birthday cake iced by Lottie herself. Ruffle cakes are a show stopper but once you have the hang of them they are not too difficult to ice. See this video tutorial for an idea.

Lottie found table cloths from charity shops for no more than about £1.50 each and these were used to create a higgledy-piggledy layout. The table was laid with mis-matched vintage china which you could scour charity shops and carboots to find or hire from somewhere like The English Tea Party.

They played some Alice-themed games of Pin the Smile on the Cheshire Cat, Mad Dancing, Musical Statues, Pass the Parcel and they also made their own mad hats at a craft table. Party bags were made from fabric remnants and contained a few treats including a Cheshire Cate Smile lollipop.

Lottie has an amazing eye for details and the Alice in Wonderland cupcakes she made are testament to this. Frankly I can see why her friends are planning this for their 40th as it looks like one of the best parties ever.

Thanks to Lottie and Izzy for sharing this wonderful Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter’s Tea Party with us!

If you would like to share a birthday party please email kat {at*} bambinogoodies.co.uk *remember to add the @ sign!

Loveabell bell tent hire

Bord blackboard iPad/iPhone app

Lucy — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

All children love a good session with a blackboard and chalks, but they’re not exactly the most portable of items. So, if you’re out and about, you could do worse than invest in Bord, an app that recreates the experience (without the dust – yay!). You can choose from a black or green background, six different coloured chalks, three sizes and, of course, the ubiquitous board rubber, although you can delete the whole image by shaking the screen. Great for practising writing, drawing and playing schools on the move. 69p, The App Store.

Inspiration: Customise bedroom furniture with wood grain effect for a woodland theme

Natalie — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:00:36 +0000

I visited Home and Top Drawer on Monday, the trade show for design-led products and went to visit the stand of one of my favourite British brands ever, Anorak. Laurie’s famous ‘kissing animals’ prints adorned bedding, homewares and accessories displayed on a bunkbed, chest of drawers and shelving that have been transformed with wood grain effect drawn with black and light grey marker (me thinks something like a Sharpie).

These high impact pieces of furniture which all look like they’re from Ikea, are wonderful, individualised statement pieces achieved on a budget with a bit of patience. Practice on paper first (or with a pencil on the furniture) and aim for organic shapes – lots of distorted ovals and circles plus wavy lines. The grey shading adds depth. If in doubt, I had a quick search on how to draw wood grain so try eHow (not sure about her jagged drawing but otherwise useful!) and Dragoart, or take a flick though one of your child’s books for further inspiration. Also check out Lu’s feature on woodland themed ideas for kids rooms for more inspiration plus Roddy & Ginger do divine woodland wallpaper for a feature wall.

And yes, they are towels that you can see hanging up – swoon! They’re due out this spring!

Thanks to Anorak for providing images!

Inspiration: Wardrobe Revival

Kat — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

I am in love with this bright yellow wardrobe. The combination of the old design, fresh colour and retro interior have me smitten.

Get the look:

Old wardrobe: there are a whole host of place you could scout for an nice looking old wardrobe. My top hits would be charity furniture shops (Oxfam & Emaus are both great), the dump, second hand dealers and eBay. For children’s clothing a Gentleman’s Wardrobe works really well – I managed to snag one for 99p on eBay which is in my kitchen.
Brightly coloured matte or eggshell finish paint in your chosen colour. Finely sand the surface before painting for and even finish.
Retro fabric or wallpaper: again hit the second hand sources here. For funky vintage wallpaper there is Retro Villa who are hard to beat.

Picture by Anitta Behrendt via Natalie’s Sketchbook.

Originally found via Pinterest. If you Pin you can find Natalie, Lucy and me happily pinning when we should probably be doing something else….

Random Posts

Belle & Boo Party Range

Kat — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

So many new and exciting lines coming through this year and one of the cutest has to be Belle & Boo’s new party range. With everything from invites to party bags covered you can add a little (or a lot) of charm to your child’s party.

The range includes much of what you’d expect: paper plates, paper cups, invites, thank yous and party bags. It also includes some more unusual pieces such as the party platters, cup cake wraps, cake toppers and pin the tail on the donkey set. My favourite has to be the donkey and trailer food server – as Monty is in love with donkeys I know this would be a huge hit with him.

Belle & Boo seem to sum up the essence of childhood fun and what better way to celebrate than with an afternoon tea party?

You can find the range online now and in your local stockist in the next couple of weeks.

Appracadabra Count the Animals! iPad app

Lucy — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

I’m ever so slightly in love with this quirky app from the marvellously monikered Dutch publisher Appracadabra. It’s designed to help your little one learn to count to twenty (in English or one of fifteen other languages – Lithuanian, anyone?) aided by fun animal illustrations by Caroline Ellerbeck, from one horse to twenty ants.

My favourites are the magician and his rabbits and the turtle roller skates, while Alfie enjoys the dogs who wee and poo (what toddler wouldn’t?). The human characters are just so darn cool – this is one app children and their grown-ups can all appreciate. £2.49, The App Store.

Retro Villa

Kat — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Retro Villa is one of my absolute favourite vintage decor haunts and while I was pressing my nose against their virtual window the other day it occured to me that I’d neglected to share it with you.

A Danish delight, Retro Villa is packed to the gills with the kind of over the top wallpaper prints our parents were probably ripping from their walls. I love the blousy prints and love the colour blocking they use on the site. While you may not be convinced of doing an entire room in vintage wallpaper I think using it for accents in bookcases, alcoves or on furniture. Wallpapers start at 100 DKK a metre (rough conversion based on current exchange: divide by 9 so £11.11) or you can get a mixed pack of small pieces in either adult or children’s prints for 100DKK.

Not only do they have an enviable collection of wallpapers but a host of other goodies. Their retro fabric collection must be equally amazing if the cushions and quilts are anything to go by. The pricing on the soft furnishings is around £50 for a round cushion (above) and £280 for a quilt (bottom picture) so definitely in the realms of investment piece.

I can imagine designing a room around one of their textiles pieces or even one of the custom collection shelves (below) backed with an eclectic combination of wallpapers.

Even if the prices are out of your range you’re sure to find inspiration here. Their press pages alone are a marvel. Me, I just fire up Google Toolbar, hit translate and let my virtual shopping spree run wild.

Krutter has arrived at The Hedgepig

Dear Zoo iPad app

Lucy — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Ooh, I do love it when a classic children’s book is given an iPad makeover. Dear Zoo was one of Alfie’s favourite reads when he was small and now Rod Campbell’s timeless tale of unsuitable animal gifting is going all interactive on us.

Your little one can choose to either read the story or have it read to them by Caroline Quentin, and each picture gives you the opportunity to open a crate, reveal the creature inside and hear it roar/trumpet/hiss. You can then send it back to the zoo.

There is also a matching pairs memory game at the end – perennially popular with toddlers. £2.99, the App Store.

Bambino Goodies » Life

Inspiration: Bookshelf Dolls House

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