Handmade Kids Australia

Posted on 24 October 2012

Gift Guide: Christmas Gifts for Boys

Accessorize/ Christmas/ Featured/ Furnish/ Hand Made Blog/ Shopping/ Shopping Guide

Boys Christmas Tie singlet

-White singlet available in Sizes 000 to Size 5 with a cute blue Santa Christmas Tie

This Kids blanky is personalized on one side with a ‘Space Theme’ design. You have the option in the order section above to choose to have it personalized on both sides (maximum 10 letters / characters per side), at an additional cost. It is made from soft Premium (anti-pill) Polar Fleece or ultra soft 100% polyester waffle fleece, and is machine washable. This kid size is great for 3-8 year olds. It sits nicely on a single bed, excellent for taking on a picnic, camping or as a throw rug/knee rug. Unlike the baby blanky, kids blanky does not come with ribbons, however you can specify in the order above to have ribbons added.
Available at Blanky 4 Me

This hand drawn Robot Calligram is screen printed in red ink on a white 100% cotton t-shirt size 5
Price: $15 Available from Blue Jacaranda

Wall art canvas personalised Cars.
For boys who love their cars this handmade personalised canvas will add character to a boys room. The blue and red fabrics are perfect for decorating a boys bedroom, playroom or nursery. Each personalised canvas comes with a set of 4 mini pegs to hang artwork, photos and mementos. Canvases come ready to hang.
Available from Designs for Tots

Vintage Fabric Floor Mats, 100cm. OOAK ~ One of a kind ~ No two are the same
Available from Hook & Linen

Little Sew & Sews Original Design Ninja Soft Toy – 33cm
RRP: $34.95 Available to order in a range of belt/tie colours from Little Sew and Sews

A great reminder for little boys that strength isn’t always about how strong or tough you are!
Printed on matt 200gsm archival, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) paper at a high quality DIGITAL PRINTER.
Various sizes, from $19. Available from May & Belle

Can you remember where the robots and rockets are located deep in space? Pit your skills of concentration against your young one with this classic game of Memory.
This game features twenty wooden tokens each hand stamped with one of ten robot and space images. The wood remains unfinished (ie. no varnish or wax used) and have been sanded to a lusterous satin finish. I use a water resistant, permanent, non-toxic ink.
The game pieces come complete with a matching handstamped drawstring bag so it can be tossed in your handbag ready to whip out when the Dreamlets are restless!
Game includes: 20x 3.8cm wooden disks, instructions & matching cotton drawstring bag. Available from Mollydag Made- Games to Go

Handmade Hobby Horses
Beautiful unique handmade Hobby Horses that bring back to life the traditional toys we played with as children.
The toys that never go out of style, will be loved by children of all ages and make memories that last a life time.
Available from Two By Two Creations

Gift Guide: Christmas Gifts for Boys

WANT MORE? Did you see the Girl’s Christmas Shopping Guide

Posted on 23 October 2012

Make: An Animated Gif

Blogging/ Guest Post/ Tips & Tools

Have you seen those animated image buttons or photos around the blogoshpere?

They are very easy to make and you don’t need to use any special software, just some free web based tools…

Here are the 6 easy steps:

1. Choose your images, it looks better if there is some sort of sequence. You can edit them to add words, borders or other cute images using Picmonkey

2. make sure they are not too big, re-size them to 450px or less

3. Click onto Picasion Gif creator and upload the photos in the order that you want them displayed. Choose the size and speed of your animation.

4. Click create animation, wait a few seconds for the file to generate. Now you have the source code for the file.

5. Copy and paste the direct link code into the web address/URL of your image uploader.

6. That’s it, DONE!

This Guest Post is brought to you by Cintia over at My Poppet. She is a blogger, crafter and online store owner. Want more My Poppet? Read the blog or visit the online store.

Make: An Animated Gif

Posted on 22 October 2012

Introducing: Made by the Mumabug

Accessorize/ Mum

Mandy, designer/crafts person lives on the sunshine coast hinterland, where she creates for her gorgeous brand Mumabug.

I work with a sustainable yarn that is created from the scraps of European fashion factories. I use this yarn to knit, crochet and knot bags, accessories and homewares. My work is all designed and made by me. Says Mandy

Mandy came across the idea of creating mummy and baby friendly jewellery when she had my fourth and final bubba.

I have worn all my babies in a baby carry to some degree or another and found once I had babies I stopped wearing jewellery.

What Mandy discovered with this fabric jewellery is that it was not only safe but at times very amusing to a small child!!!.

I have some fun and funky fright colours coming out soon for summer. I also have started teaching using this same yarn and facilitate workshops for adults and children I find this to be heaps of fun.

For more info on Mumabug, head to their Facebook Page

Posted on 20 October 2012

Meet the Maker ~ Rockrose Handmade

Featured/ Meet The Maker

Today we have the pleasure of getting to know Zoe from Rockrose Handmade a little bit better, so Zoe¦.

Tell us about your business:

Rockrose Handmade draws together a curated, beautiful & ethical selection of handmade toys and baby essentials , women & mens accessories, homewares & gifts, made from organic, sustainable, fair-trade or vintage materials, and made by a diverse array of Makers. We invest part of our profits into making the world a healthier & fairer place: Each new customer has a tree planted for them, we donate to the ICDI to help drill wells & plant crops in 3^rd world countries & we sponsor a little boy in Kenya through Plan.

What inspired you to start your business?

We have the power to change the world, simply by changing where we spend our dollar. Each of us can contribute to a fairer & healthier world for future generations & those living now, simply by choosing to buy products made with organic, sustainable, fair-trade or vintage/upcycled materials.

Is there an interesting anecdote behind your business name?

I’ve always loved rock roses. I think they are the prettiest and simplest of flowers. The white rose of York (the crest) is a Rockrose, and I have some Yorkshire blood, so perhaps that is the reason I love it?

What is the most satisfying part of what you do?

I love three things: Hunting out & supporting Makers/Crafts People who are doing their little bit to help change the world; helping to change the world directly through our contributions to the various social & environmental initiatives that we support; and giving my customers a positive, lovely & personal shopping experience.

Have you tried something in business that didnt work as planned, or on the flip side “ worked out better than expected?

Ive tried a range of advertising methods and Ive found that online advertising (that links to your online store-front), is a better way to spend your advertising dollar, than print advertising. Print is so lovely, but you cant beat a simple click that takes customers going directly to your store for increasing traffic.

What would be your best tip for someone thinking about selling their handcrafted goods?

Build into your price a margin for wholesale & consignment and then hunt out a like-minded business to sell/consign to. This process helps to promote your products & to share them with a wider audience. It can also help to provide a bit of a staple income, which can unfortunately be a difficult thing to find in the handmade world. And be Bold. Geothe said: œWhatever you can do or dream you can, begin it¦boldness has genius, power & magic in it. Goethe was a very wise man.

What is your favourite item you make?

At the moment, Im enjoying my partnership with The Makers Journal. I have a licence Agreement with Pamela to produce and sell her lovely designs! When I get time to sew, I love, love, love making her sweet, corsage-style Bunny Bags. Ive tried making various toys (on many, frustrating occasions)”but really, I am horribly useless at it, which is a pity, because I have a very soft spot for toys.

Any personal or business highlights in the last year:

Launching Rockrose Handmade was pretty exciting! Ive been thinking about establishing an eco/ethical handmade store for a few years, but the timing was never right. Finding my first stockists was a huge thrill”but one I get each and every time I find a new one!

3 things about you (not business related) that people might not know:

I am in the middle of writing a series of novels.
I dream of moving to a warmer climate (almost daily).
I am the mother of two beautiful children (Pepper , nearly 3; Beau , 14 months) & the happy (when Im not nagging about the bins being taken out) partner of my Husband, Luke.

Thank you Zoe, it has been a pleasure meeting you, the maker!