Kids' Art: free facted gem colouring page

My dear friends Lisa and Rebecca over at We Are Scout are giving away this gorgeous faceted gem colouring page that Lisa designed - for free! Head over to download the image, and let your kids go to town; instant modern kids' art that you'll want to hang on the walls.

Try framing three together, or simply pop one up on the wall with washi tape. It's a great way to keep kids busy when the weather's not great.

Thanks Lisa and Rebecca! Head here to download your sheet.

Image: We Are Scout

TDF Collect art fundraiser for the ASRC

From 25 to 31 July 2015, The Design Files is hosting a fundraising art exhibition at TDF Collect by 28 Australian artists for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne. It's such an amazing organisation to support and an great opportunity to secure some beautiful art for a great cause.

Taking Stock - June 2015

I love this Taking Stock list developed by Pip at Meet Me At Mike's, that I've also spotted over on Jodi's blog Practising Simplicity and Briar's blog Sunday Collector. It's a nice opportunity to look at all the things going on in your life; writing them down seems to get them out of my head where they don't need to be swirling! If you would like to join in too, head to Meet Me At Mike's for the blank form.

Australian Mother's Day gift ideas 2015

Have you had your eyes peeled for something special for Mum/Nanna/Grandma? I've teamed up with some of my favourite bloggers to support buying local with our Australian Mother's Day Gift Guides. There are so many great local designers making goodies for Mums; here are ten gift ideas for Mums of all ages:

We Are Scout blog launch

Two of my favourite Australian bloggers (and friends), Lisa from the red thread and Rebecca from WeeBirdy, have teamed up to create a brand new lifestyle blog - We Are Scout - which launched today. I know you'll love it.

Shop Local this Christmas

Jasmine Dowling is a Brisbane-based blogger and typographer that I love and she has created this fabulous piece about shopping locally that really resonates with me:

Jasmine has thrown down her own #ShopLocal challenge and has curated a gorgeous gift guide full of pretty things. Head to her website to see the whole guide - yum!

Bloggers Christmas wishlists 2014 - shop local!

It's gift-giving time! Looking for some ideas? Let's spend our dollars on local designers and Australian style this Christmas. Seven of my favourite bloggers have put together a wishlist of Australian-designed products that we are loving at the moment. Here is mine! Keep reading below for links to all the other blogger wishlists which I know you will be inspired by.

Crochet watermelon rug for girl's rooms

Do you remember the cute-as house shadow box with pirate scene styled by Karen from Yellow Dandy? Karen is also a keen crafter and sells these amazing handmade crocheted watermelon rugs in her Etsy store. They are beyond fantastic - just look at the face on Karen's gorgeous daughter Willow. Loving it! More great news from Karen - she is opening her very own online store chock-full of gorgeous clothes, design and fun for kids. Can't wait!

If you love watermelons as much as I do, head over to our watermelon birthday party that we had in January with watermelon cake and more!

Image: Yellow Dandy

Pirate house wall decor for kids

Karen from Yellow Dandy is a pretty fabulous blogger who I follow on Instagram, and who is the creator of this very cute pirate house that she made for her son. Simply pop the Love Mae mini pirate ship fabric decal in a white house-shaped shadow box (you can order similar cute house-shaped shadow boxes through online children's interior designer Little Dwellings who has collaborated with maker Top Knot Designs right here in Australia). Genius styling Karen!

Image: Yellow Dandy

Cutest Sylvanian Families birthday cake

The lovely Nicola from the concrete and honey blog made this gorgeous Sylvanian Families cake for her nephew Kingston's 1st birthday. Love it to bits! Pop your child's cutest toy on top of a freshly-iced cake for a super-cute surprise that you know your little one will love.

Nicola has these tips to share:

Sydney Vivid Festival of Ideas

Last weekend I spoke on a panel at the Blog Society event "The Retreat: A Crash Course In The Creative Business Of Blogging" at Vivid Sydney. Want to see a pic?

Thansk Mrs D plus 3 for the great pic! It was an amazing morning with a fantastic selection of speakers and panelists. I'm chatting above with moderator Alice Nicholls from The Whole Daily, and panelists Petina Watkins from Etsy, Rachel MacDonald from In Spaces Between and Christina from Hair Romance. We all approach our work in different ways but had a common theme of working from the heart, and being passionate about what we do. I also really meeting attendees and chatting after the event - so many interesting people doing interesting things.

Vivid Sydney runs through until the 9th June 2014. Get all the info on the lights, ideas and music right here.

Image: Mrs D plus 3

Blog Society: The Retreat at Vivid Festival this weekend

Well this is pretty humbling. I'm speaking at an event run by Blog Society on Saturday at the Vivid Festival in Sydney! The theme is "a crash course in the creative business of blogging" and I'm on a panel with some big names. Pretty exciting! I hope some of you are in the audience and will smile at me - it's a sold out event. Fun!

Bondville Workshops

I just finished running an amazing workshop in my studio in Beecroft today. Michelle from MeWe, Kendall from Rainbow Lantern and Karen from Evocartv photography shared, chatted, connected, ate cupcakes, drank tea and listened to me preach the word about Blogging for Business. So great!

Our Mermaid Tea Party on Maxabella Loves

I'm thrilled to have our daughter's 6th birthday party featured on the lovely Maxabella Loves blog! Thank you Bron for doing such a great job of putting all the images together and your kind words. It was such a fun Tea Party for the little mermaids. Head over to Maxabella Loves to read through!

The Brown Trading Co. gold confetti tablecloths

I'm kind of obsessed with the Instagram photos of sisters concretehoney (Concrete + Honey) and Beebees80 (Beebees80) and their Mum karongreenway (Sugar Coated Events). It's a glorious sea of white, pastel and beautiful children and babies. And in this case, amazing Christmas table settings.

Issue One of Scout online magazine by Lisa Tilse

Joining the elite group of magazines with great content that are also gorgeous to look through (hello Kinfolk, Fete and Hello May!) is the fresh new online mag Scout by my dear friend Lisa Tilse (of the red thread). Lisa is an endless inspiration to me - her style and creative vision are amazing and her new magazine is a natural extension of this.

Sydney-based Lisa is a talented crafter, so you will naturally find beautiful craft projects in Scout, from simple but chic ideas through to more challenging craftwork.

Browse through this magazine and you will also be right on top of the latest lifestyle trends. Each section is themed with a current colour palette that Lisa loves.

Issue One of Scout contains 146 pages, including nine craft tutorials, patterns, printables, gift wish lists, curated recipes from five food bloggers and a fabulous giveaway. I cannot wait to get stuck into the watercolour gem printables craft project in the magazine - I'm planning to make a sweet mobile.

I'm honoured to be included in the first issue of Scout with a selection of my favourite choices for Australian-designed gift ideas for kids. The wish lists from eight bloggers and creatives (pretty amazing company!) are just about all you'll need when gift-buying.

Lisa is a perfectionist and has painstakingly created this entire magazine (including every photo) and all graphic design herself. It's a work of art. I encourage you to head over to purchase your copy of Scout - there are so many lovely ideas to drool over and keep you busy over the holiday period. And then proceed directly to Lisa's wonderful blog the red thread for more inspiration.

Images: Scout

Ella's First Birthday Sweet Shoppe Party

Primary school teacher and blogger Kate Korber (of Happy Ella After) put together a gorgeously girly Sweet Shoppe party for her daughter Ella's first birthday. With a tight palette of pink, red and white and a touch of Peppa Pig, Ella's party is a sweet tooth's dream come true. I looooooove the DIY Peppa Pig cake kit - what a great idea. Read on for Kate's tips and advice to put together your own Sweet Shoppe party.

Party: Ella's first birthday party
Organised by: Mum Kate Korber (Happy Ella After), my husband Daniel and our families. My sisters Jane and Monica helped immensely with the decorations.
Location: My Mum and Dad’s house in Melbourne, VIC.
Theme: Ella’s Sweet Shoppe

Flower arranging by vase shape - tips from Holly Hipwell

Two Saturdays ago I headed to a flower arranging workshop at Freedom to relax and play with flowers! What an absolute treat.

About 15 of us listened intently to the famed Holly Hipwell of The Flowerdrum, as she took us through the basics of flower arranging.

Sunday Collector confetti wall 1-year-old bedroom

Interior stylist and props buyer Briar Stanley from Sunday Collector knows a thing or two about putting together gorgeous, livable rooms. I'm thrilled to share with you the nursery that Briar created for her one-year-old daughter Sunday. It's an amazing space and I'm super-inspired by the amount of DIY, upcycling, vintage and handmade items that Briar mixes with a few modern designer pieces.

image: Ellis Parrinder

I also love the use of the chalkboard and bold grey walls which are a refreshing change from white! The grey colour (Taubmans Inverness) allows the colours in the room to really pop.

Briar was inspired by Beci Orpin's book Find and Keep (see my review of the launch here) to create a gorgeous confetti wall for Sunday's bedroom. You can also see a similar confetti wall looking amazing at Danielle Trovato's daughter's party right here on Bondville. It's an instant celebration in Sunday's room!

Room: Sunday's nursery
Age: 1 year
Designed by: Mum Briar Stanley (Sunday Collector)
Location: Sydney, NSW

Little Eats cafe culture for kids website

You may know already about the Little Eats website for Melbourne, but did you know that there is also a Sydney version? Little Eats is dedicated to profiling cafe culture for little ones in these two Australian cities. You'll find reviews, articles, competitions and interviews all about eating out with kids.

Kid-friendly reviews include information those often overlooked but critically-important details such as pram access, kids' menu, change tables, high chairs, kids' activities and more. It's genius!

And if you head over this week, you'll find my personal picks for child-friendly cafes in my neighbourhood. Thanks Little Eats for including me on your great site.