These cups made from coffee husks make the best Secret Santa gifts

This is my pick for the best Secret Santa gift out there. Aussie designers HuskeeCup create these cups made from coffee husks and have a design award under their belt to boot! They are perfect for your coffee run of course (with matching lids) but great for all liquids; I was introduced to them at a work meeting at a crowd-funding investor’s office, used for water for all the guests. They have a nice feel, look good, and have a great sustainable story.

12 Australian Father's Day gift ideas for hip Dads 2015

Father's Day is only two week-and-a-half away! He says he really only wants a handmade card and a cuddle, but you can sweeten the deal with these Australian-designed gift ideas:

Inkkas fair trade Peruvian shoes for kids and adults

One of my favourite Australian online stores (with retail stores in Brisbane too!) is Biome Eco Stores, and I quite often flick over to see what new goodies have arrived. I'm glad I do, as I have fallen hard for Inkkas - fun, fair trade shoes handcrafted by local artisans in Peru using traditional fabric designs and patterns. How great are they!

Free Father's Day printables - cards and more

Tinyme has done it again with a fabulous collection of free printable cards and stationery for Father's Day.

Simply head to Tinyme to download the printables, print out on your own printer, fold and you're done. Great last minute Father's Day ideas!

Images: Tinyme

Make: face teacup planters for Father's Day

My friend Diana is a crafty Mum and always organises fun activities at playdates. For a recent Frozen screening she handed the other Mums and I a pack of Pebeo Porcelaine 150 pens and a plain tea cup to have our own craft time while the kids sung their hearts out. How good is that! I made this little two-sided character and potted it with a mini succulent. You could get the kids involved and make one too for Father's Day.

Side one:

MOZI BBQ Bear melamine platter

Let me take a guess - you're going to a BBQ for Australia Day? Or hosting one? How about serving up your mushrooms/lamb/steak/fish on this pretty fabulous BBQ Bear melamine platter from MOZI. Super-cute and fun to boot.

You can find this plate and more great Australian-designed lifestyle products in MOZI stores in NSW and Victoria.

Image: MOZI

Honey and Fizz house rules wall banner

I think we need this wall banner by Honey & Fizz in our house right now! It's a great reminder to turn that frown upside-down in a fun and stylish way. You can find this screenprinted wall banner in the Honey & Fizz store on etsy.

Image: Honey & Fizz

L'ASCARI handmade Man Candles

I'm on a roll with great Father's Day gifts this week. I found these gorgeous Man Candles from Australian label L'ASCARI on the weekend at the Sunshine Coast and fell for their snappy packaging, nostalgic charm and man-friendly scents.

The full L'ASCARI collection includes candles, reed diffusers, man candles and votive candles. Each candle is made by hand-pouring pure soy wax and hand-mixing the perfumes here in Australia.

How fun are the Man Candle scents - Sawdust, Vodka & Schnapps, Old Oak Tree, Open Field and Espresso! Perfect for the office, bathroom or the man cave. I think I'd like one for me too.

You can find L'ascari in the online store as well as stockists across Australia.

Images: L'ASCARI

Raw Ceramics handmade screenprinted vessels

Brisbane-based ceramicist Freda and designer/screen-printer husband Aaron are the brains behind fun homewares label Raw Ceramics. Along with potters Anthony and Mandy, they create fun, vintage-inspired ceramics that make great gifts.

I'm all about the Dad's BBQ Pot For The Lot vessel for, well, anything. It's got me dreaming of pulled pork and ribs. The dog food bowls are brilliant, and I'd love a milk jug or two. The vintage-style graphics make these pieces great for the blokes too. In fact, this is a good one to keep up your sleeve for Father's Day which is just around the corner.

Each Raw Ceramics vessel is thrown on a wheel, fired, hand-glazed, screen-printed, and re-fired by the team in Brisbane. Love it.

You can find Raw Ceramics vessels, bowls, jugs, and dishes in the online store as well as stockists across Australia.

Images: Raw Ceramics

Printables: Free printable vintage Father's Day card

We love making our own cards and I was so excited to see this fantastic 3D printable card on the Sassaby blog. The printables designers at Brisbane-based Sassaby are giving away this vintage Father's Day card printable design, free for you to download and print on your own printer.

I cut the individual pieces out and let the kids go to town sticking them to the card and drawing pictures inside. We printed on standard white cardstock and used double-sided tape, but you could also use foam to get a more pronounced 3D look like Sassaby has achieved above. There are enough elements to decorate both the outside and inside of the card.

Thanks Sassaby for a great printable!

Images: Sassaby

Growing, Pinning, Editing, Sharing

Hi everyone, hope you had a fabulous weekend. The abcd meet-up on Thursday night was amazing, and I'm busy putting together photos of the always excellent goodie bags. It's been a really busy week with my friend Amanda (of the excellent sustainable lifestyle blog easy peasy organic) and her daughter Nelle visiting. We played hooky from preschool and went to the MCA to see more of the Sydney Biennale.

Then it was the Sydney abcd meet-up on Thursday night with the theme of "Sharing". I gave out some Pinterest tips in the goodie bag and will share these with you this week. This week I also have some great Australian design to share including some Japanese-inspired fashion for babies, drop-dead gorgeous wooden jewellery, and the Bondville newsletter and winner (have you subscribed?).

The girls and I are keeping busy watering and tending to our new veggie patch that Mr Bondville finished on the weekend. There was much mixing of our sandy/clay soil with potting mix and some fabulous compost we found in the depths of the garden. We need to net it asap. Please keep your fingers crossed that the snails/possums/rats/birds/creatures of the night don't devour it before we do!

Don't forget that Father's Day is in two weeks; a gift certificate for a family portrait is a great idea from all the family (my friends at Milk & Honey Photography have a great deal at the moment). I had a ball having some portrait photos taken by Matthew from Milk & Honey Photography on Friday. We took some casual shots at a cafe in Rozelle and found some nice textured walls down some alleyways to play with. I felt a bit famous for an hour! Promise to share when I get them.

OK back to photo-editing. Enjoy the week!

Steph

Image: Steph Bond-Hutkin | Bondville

Father's Day portrait photography gift idea

Father's Day is just around the corner and a lovely gift idea is a family portrait or photography gift certificate. Bondville partners Milk & Honey Photography in Sydney's Inner West have a great offer available until 24th August 2012 for a $285 saving on their Bumble Bee portrait package. Buzz over and check it out.

Images: Milk & Honey Photography

Milk and Honey Photography family portrait offer

Did you know that Autumn/Winter are the peak months for portrait photography? Weather for outdoor shots is more predictable and comfortable, and it's perfect timing to get the family together for Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Luckily, my favourite Sydney photographers Milk and Honey Photography have a great offer for all bookings made this month:

Book in for a family portrait sitting for $120 plus one of our gorgeous print packages (starting at $550) and receive:

an extra three 5"x7" prints, and

five photo cards (valued at $297.50)

Terms: Bookings must be made by 30th April, 2012. The 5 photo gift cards must be all of the same image (of your choice). This offer may not be used in conjunction with other current offers. Portrait sessions for this offer must be completed by the end of August, 2012.

Images: Milk and Honey Photography

Well Spotted T-shirts for Dads

Now Dads can get their hands on everyone's favourite clever caption tees for kids. Sydney-based Well Spotted now has loose surf-style fit tshirts, with trademark label at the bag of the neck and captions-to-get-a-giggle, just for the men.

 

You can find Well Spotted t-shirts in the online store as well as at stockists around Australia and online. Get matching tops for the kids for extra cute factor. (read more about Well Spotted here on Bondville).

Images: Well Spotted

Printable Father's Day cards from Mooo

If you're a Last Minute Johnny like me, you'll love the free printable Father's Day cards from Bondville sponsor Mooo.

I have a special love for printables (stationery that you can print on your own printer) - they are economical, you can print on any kind of card stock (go eco!), any time and you can use them again and again. Mooo have some cute designs on their printable greeting cards that you can personalise with your childrens' names.

Head over to the Mooo website, personalise, then download the image. You can print it, or save it to your computer and print later. Enjoy!

Images: Mooo

Hip Products: Nancybird Uncle Ned range for men

Here is another fantastic Father's Day idea for you. Emily Wright from Bondville favourite Nancybird has just released the Uncle Ned range of men's leather bags, wallets, belts and keyrings that have piqued my interest.

Key features of the range include thick cow leather, custom printed cotton lining, screen printed leather badges, and antique nickle metal fittings.

I like the a distinct Grampa-cool look about them. Emily writes that the range was inspired by "old leather postman’s bags, army satchels and 1960’s quilted car seats". If your guy or Dad is a hipster, or just appreciates quality, this may be a great gift for them.

You can find Uncle Ned products at the Nancybird shop online as well as at Nancybird stockists around Australia and New Zealand and online. Read more about Nancybird on Bondville here.

Images: Nancybird

Hip Products: Limespider Jewellery by Kylie Gartside

Father's Day is just around the corner, and if you are totally uninspired, prepare to be wowed by the range of Limespider customised jewellery by Kylie Gartside. Based in Northern NSW, Kylie is a well-known jeweller who can take your child's drawing and create a beautiful piece of custom sterling silver jewellery from it.

These cufflinks for Dad are a no-brainer, and I also love the pendants for Mum, Nanna, Aunt, Godmother, or any other lucky person with a special little one in their lives.

You can order Limespider jewellery through the Kylie Gartside website. Pieces take up to 10 days to create, so make sure you get your orders in early.

P.S. A huge thank you to Kate from Katiecrackernuts for pointing me in Kylie's direction.

Images: Kylie Gartside at Limespider