Whimsical Monique L'huillier collection for Pottery Barn Kids

Goodness, Pottery Barn Kids sure knows how to create dreamy spaces that children adore. My girls are mad for all the looks created in collaboration with Monique L'huillier - it's a world of whimsy and elegance that stands out from the more graphic looks that we've been seeing in kids' interiors lately. Come along with me to the launch of the Monique L'huillier Collection with Pottery Barn Kids in Sydney recently...

Kids' floral workshop at Seasonal Concepts in Sydney

Sydney wonder emporium Seasonal Concepts in Redfern, NSW is hosting a floral workshop for kids next Saturday 7th May. Send your 8-15 year old along for an hour and a half of creativity and be guaranteed beautiful blooms for Mother's Day!

The Best Brands from Kids InStyle Sydney 2016

Kids InStyle Sydney is always a must-do on my kids' industry calendar - to catch-up with favourite brands, check out trends, and scout for new Australian kids' designers. The 2016 show in Sydney showcased more of what we've loved in the last year - pastels, monochrome, fruit, unicorns, Aussie-Scandi style, graphic prints on kids' clothes, and a lasting interest in children's rooms. Read on for my favourite brands and trends from the show this year.

Bondville Does One Fine Baby Sydney 2015

Saturday mornings are adventure morning for just Miss 8 and I while my youngest goes to gymnastics and my husband works out at our local YMCA. We love to catch a train together somewhere, and last weekend, we headed to Redfern to the One Fine Baby lifestyle show at Australian Technology Park. Would you like to come on a virtual tour with us?

First stop - the Dyson marquee, where we crafted up and storm threw caution to the wind and chucked glitter all over the carpet. Multiple times. Take that, glitter!

Better Homes & Gardens Live Sydney - 30% discount

Have you snapped your tickets yet for the Better Homes & Gardens Live event in Sydney this weekend? If not, I've got a fantastic 30% discount offer for you below. The BH&G Live show is being held for three days from tomorrow, Friday 13th November until Sunday 15th November 2015 from 10am - 5pm at Sydney Olympic Park.

I got a sneak preview of some of the activities that will be on during the show at the launch event recently at The Greens in North Sydney. Here's part of the delicious spread:

One Fine Baby Sydney this weekend

Hands up who's coming to One Fine Baby this weekend? I'll be there Saturday morning to meet some of the lovely brands that I write about, and scout for new products to showcase here.

I'm also meeting up with the folks at Dyson, and getting in on the VIP experience action (so lucky). Did you know that tickets are free if you register before 5pm on Friday 13th November 2015. Tickets at the door are $15. The family and lifestyle fair runs from Saturday 14th - Sunday 15th November 2015, from 9am - 3pm. For more information and to register, check out the One Fine Baby website. If you see me, please stop and say Hi!

Image: Steph Bond-Hutkin | Bondville

Adam Liaw Asian Cookery School masterclass + Win a cooking class

We've got a well-used wok in our kitchen, a steamer I have used only once, and all the right condiments for Asian cooking; but I find myself falling back onto the staples - fried rice, stirfry, and sometimes wonton soup. Lucky, then, that my cooking inspiration has been given a big boost with a private masterclass with Adam Liaw at the gorgeous Williams-Sonoma Sydney Cooking School kitchen at Bondi Junction.

Ten of us eagerly absorbed every word, then were put to work creating Steamed Ginger Chicken, Rice Paper Rolls and Nuoc Cham from Adam's new book Asian Cookery School. So fun! Read on for photos and your chance to win a spot at a masterclass with Adam Liaw to experience for yourself.

The place-settings were gorgeous, with calligraphy by Anastasia (The Articulate), sitting on denim napkins.

My Freedom Spring Summer 15 Style + Win $100

The challenge: using just a brick-wallpapered background and the Bonnie sofa, pick any products from the new collection at Freedom and pull together a living zone you'd like to relax in. Fun, I know! I was invited by Freedom to visit their Alexandria store recently and choose my favourite items from the new Spring Summer 2015 catalogue to style up a corner of the store. I started with the 3-seater Bonnie sofa in River Charcoal against a great brick-wallpapered wall, and went to town with the accessories. Read on - you could win a $100 Freedom gift voucher!

AURA Home new releases + WIN $150!

The AURA by Tracie Ellis homewares brand does such a great job of releasing accessible, on-trend products. I had a lovely time at the launch of the new collection recently, eating off the brand new ceramics and admiring the lovely new table linen and bedding. Keep reading for a peek at some of my photos and a chance to WIN a $150 voucher to spend on anything at AURA online....

Kids Bedroom Decorating Advice from Petite Vintage Interiors

Belinda Kurtz from Petite Vintage Interiors has good hair. Great hair in fact. So is that the secret to being a great children's interior designer? The truth is that Belinda's personal style is part of her trade secret - her signature interior design look is replicated by clever Mamas everywhere (just check the #petitevinspiration hashtag!), and she has generated a huge following based on both her lovely nature, her style, and the beautiful rooms she designs.

I was lucky to join Belinda at the beautiful Incy Interiors store at Chatswood Chase to watch her style an undressed corner of the store, teach us how to perfectly place wall decals, give us her five top tips for decorating kids' rooms and answer lots of questions about putting together children's rooms Bel-style.

Bel Kurtz bedroom decorating workshop at Incy Interiors Chatswood

If you've looked for inspiration for children's rooms online in the past 12 months, chances are you've come across the work of interior stylist Belinda Kurtz of Petite Vintage Interiors. Bel's work has featured here on Bondville as well as many, many blogs, Instagram accounts, Facebook pages, Pinterest boards and more - her style is much-loved, and she will be in-store at Incy Interiors Chatswood Chase this Sunday to share her style.

10 products to watch from Sydney Kids InStyle 2015

It's my final round-up, showcasing 10 of my favourite products for kids by Australian designers from this year's Kids InStyle and Life InStyle tradeshows in Sydney in 2015. With decorations by Beci Orpin (see the huge mobile below), amazing kids' bed linen (see my post here), and kids' fashion (see my other post here), it's a children's lifestyle blogger's dream. Heaven for me!

These are trade-only shows for retailers and buyers, but I'm happy to share with you the inside scoop on some of the great products on offer this year. Read on for my pick of the show including great Australian children's decor, stationery, artwork and other fun products and gifts for kids:

My 10 picks from The Finders Keepers market

Happy Mother's Day for yesterday! I hope you had a great day; mine started with can't-be-topped cuddles and handmade cards from the kids and an amazing breakfast and cup of chai tea made by my husband. Then my little family took me to Autumn/Winter 2015 The Finders Keepers market in Sydney where we spent a few hours checking out all the goods, catching up with friends and making new ones. I didn't get to see every stall, but here are my 10 picks, including cute kids' fashion and artwork (and a little something for grown-ups too)...

Real Living Magazine homewares and bedding collaboration with Freedom

Ready to get cosy? Real Living magazine and Freedom have collaborated on a homewares and bedding nostalgic camping-inspired capsule collection that is all florals, tartan, checks and paisley. Think camp beds and army blankets, faded eiderdowns with chunky knit throws, Liberty-style floral prints, tartan, ticking stripes and herringbone twill.

Free Gelato Messina icecreams at Chatswood Chase 30th Aug

Sydneysiders love their Gelato Messina and you can score one of these limited edition bespoke icecreams by the iconic confectioners at Chatswood Chase on 30th August! Gelato Messina has designed these beauties especially for the opening of US retailers West Elm, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Williams-Sonoma on Sydney's north shore. Get in on the action!

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!

Blogging For Business Workshop

I'm hosting my next Blogging For Business workshop at my studio in Beecroft, NSW next week. If you have a small business and have wanted to use your website effectively to drive sales, this workshop is for you! Join four other small business owners and learn the basics of using a blog/news/update section and the basics of social media. (I have another social media workshop which goes into more depth). Leave the workshop with an action plan!

If you are interested in attending this session head to my workshop page. 

Fika with kikki.K - copper gold metallics trend

I recently received in invitation to good to refuse - a lovely morning tea/traditional Swedish Fika at Fika Swedish Kitchen in Manly to meet with Kristina Karlsson of kikki.K and view designs for the next few months. So lucky!

abcd social: meet us at The Finders Keepers market tomorrow

If you are heading to the Sydney Finders Keepers market tomorrow, please stop by the abcd social Shop & Drop In Zone. And join us for Secret Santa!

Lisa Tilse (the red thread) and Steph Bond-Hutkin (Bondville) will be post-shopping flopped down at the seating near the coffee stands and ready for a chat.

Come and join us for a cuppa and catch-up. You won't miss us - just look for the single white helium balloon.

We're also hosting a Secret Santa at 3pm. If you would like to join in, bring along something you have made, baked or bought to swap. Fun! But please be there at 3pm as we will be swapping on the dot.

Date: Saturday 7th December from 3pm - 5pm (the market runs from 10am - 5pm)
Location: Australian Technology Park Exhibition Hall, Locomotive Street, Eveleigh NSW (Entry via Henderson Road)
Nearest train: Redfern Station.
Market Entry fee: $2 entry fee. Children under 12 free.

For more details head to The Finders Keepers website.

We'll have our kids with us - feel free to bring yours too. We can't wait to see you there,

Steph & Lisa

Hashtag: #abcdsocial

What is abcd Social: abcd stands for artist, bloggers, crafters and designers. We run quarterly events for creatives to meet offline in a relaxed, informal environment. You can find photos and posts of previous events on the abcd social page here on Bondville

PS: We’re also on Facebook