Tiges and Weince Christmas stockings and goodies

I kept meaning to make amazing Christmas stockings for the girls last year and of course never got around to it, so they went without (sad face) and instead enjoyed their enormous mountain of gifts. What I should have done is just order one of these beauties from Tiges and Weince.

 Aren't they great? And they are personalised! I don't think I could do a better job. There are also really cute bunting flags and door stops available featuring Kylie's fun Christmas themes. Who could resist.

You can find Tiges and Weince in the Etsy and Made It (Australia) stores as well as stockists in Victoria and online. Read more about Melbourne-based Kylie Loy and her Tiges and Weince label here on Bondville. 

Images: Tiges and Weince

Featured on Mom Inc Daily

Goodness, I'm thrilled to be featured over on stationery goddess Cat Seto's blog Mom Inc Daily today. Based in San Francisco, Cat and her team of designing Mums share posts about their love for motherhood, design and the intricacies of running a creative business. How good does that sound!

I chatted to designing Mum Jessica about living in Australia, finding time for creativity, and reveal a little of a piece of artwork I'm working on. You can read all about it here. Thanks Jessica and Cat for the lovely feature!

Images: Mom Inc Daily.

Morgan Wills vintage kitsch cushions

Oh how I love Australiana. And the more kitsch, the better, in my opinion. These totally cute cushions came across my desk today from The Crafty Squirrel studio and store owner Morgan Wills.

These cushions are fashioned from vintage linen souvenir tea towels collected by Morgan. They are backed with matching wool cashmere fabrics and three linen-covered buttons. Each cushion comes with a custom-made feather and fibre insert.

You can find them at The Crafty Squirrel in Ballart or the Morgan Wills online store. These cushions are one-of-a-kind and a limited batch so you'll have to get in quick sticks! (while you are there, check out the baby bunny blankets - very cool).

Images: Morgan Wills

Little Man Party printables in the shop

Do you remember this amazing Little Man party for Jess from Joyess Designs two-year old son? Well now you can buy the party printable pack in the Modern Printables shop!

The party printable pack includes editable invitation, thank you cards, bunting banner, juice and water labels, popcorn labels, tented place cards, mini bunting/food flags, round toppers for cupcakes, garlands and envelope sealing, and photo booth sign and props. Great value and amazing design from Jess. Check out the whole party here. Get the printable pack here.

Images: Joyess Images

Trends: Whoopie Pies Part II

So Bondville readers, you are officially ahead of the curve in the party ideas department. While I was in Wheel&Barrel last week I saw not one, but two books about scrum-didli-umptioius whoopie pies, published by Murdoch Books. You'll probably remember reading about my whoopie pie trend prediction in May 2010 and then my own whoopie pie trial in December 2010. Have you tried them out yet?

My whoopie pies that I made for little Archie's first birthday.

Whoopie Cakes by Susanna Tee was published in March 2011 and the intro quotes: "Just when the cupcake seemed to have seen off all competition in the baking world, the whoopie cake has appeared from nowhere. Originating in Maine or among the packed lunches of the Amish community of Pennsylvania (depending on who you ask), the whoopie cake has whizzed to worldwide attention in a whirl of publicity".

And then Make Me: Whoopies from the Murdoch Books Test Kitchen was published in September 2011 stating: "Move over cupcakes and macarons, here come whoopies – the next big thing in baking! Make Me: Whoopies will introduce readers to the American cakey-cookie taking the world by storm. "

Maybe the good people at Murdoch Books read Bondville too. Kidding! (kind of).

I hear that whoopie pies are hugely popular in London, and yes they are easier to make than macarons. So now with two whoopie pie recipe books on the shelf/online you'll have plenty of inspiration to get stuck into them. Just be sure you make your own filling and give that scary marshmallow-creme-in-a-jar stuff a pass!

PS: I know that cake pops are the next big thing (balls of cake on the end of a stick dipped in chocolate), but the thought of them kind of grosses me out.

Images: top: Steph Bond Hutkin bottom: Murdoch Books

Sydney ABCD Meetup reminder

Don't forget, the Spring 2011 Sydney ABCD Meetup for art, design and craft bloggers is one week away - next Thursday night 29th September 2011, 7-9pm at the 3 Weeds in Rozelle, NSW. If you are participating in the goodie bags, make sure you RSVP with "goodie bag contributor" by this Saturday 24th September 2011 so that we can let everyone know how many goodies to make!

More info here. See you there :)

Image: Steph Bond Hutkin

paper boat press 2012 calendar

There are only 93 days until Christmas! Yes, the countdown begins. And that means it's also time for the 2012 calendars to start appearing on shelves and online. I'll be previewing quite a few Australian-designed calendars over the next few months, starting with my friend Kylie's gorgeous calendar from her paper boat press design studio.

Printed on an FSC heavy weight card with soy based inks, the paper boat press calendar features an inspirational quote and illustration each month. It measures slightly smaller than A4 19cm x 26.5cm (7.5" x 10.4").

I love that calendars can be repurposed after use as framed prints (my favourite trick), and the paper boat press calendar is printed on lovely heavy-weight stock - perfect for framing. This calendar, like everything that Kylie creates, has a sense of peace and well-being - and don't we all need a little of that around our homes.

You can find the paper boat press 2012 calendar in the online store. If you order before the 30th September 2011 you will receive a flat shipping rate of $5 (within australia) and a bonus for multiple purchase! (for every four calendars purchase you will receive a fifth calendar free). And while you are there, make sure you stock up on the much-loved paper boat press Christmas ornaments and other ceramic goodies which make wonderful gifts.

Read more about paper boat press here on Bondville.

Images: paper boat press

Party Ideas: 4-year-old Strawberry Party

Well, this party is dear to my heart, as it's both my big girl's 4th birthday party, and also the very first printable design to launch in my new online store, Modern Printables.com. Surprise! More on that later. Here's the party in it's full glory...

Steph Bond Hutkin

Milk & Honey Photography

Milk & Honey Photography

Steph Bond Hutkin

Steph Bond Hutkin

Steph Bond Hutkin

Steph Bond Hutkin

Left: Steph Bond Hutkin Right: Milk & Honey Photography

Milk & Honey Photography

Steph Bond Hutkin

Steph Bond Hutkin

Steph Bond Hutkin

Milk & Honey Photography

Steph Bond Hutkin

Milk & Honey Photography

Milk & Honey Photography

Milk & Honey Photography

Milk & Honey Photography

Milk & Honey Photography

Milk & Honey Photography

Birthday: 4th Birthday Party

Organised by: Me! (Mum - Steph Bond Hutkin from Bondville)

Location: Artarmon, NSW.

Theme: Strawberries!

Invitations: Editable printable invitations by the very talented Lisa Tilse (the red thread) for Modern Printables.com.

Cake: Made by me. Chocolate Coconut melt and mix cake from Donna Hay Modern Classics Book 2 with vanilla buttercream frosting and topped with strawberries and a round printable strawberry topper.

Party Food: Made by me. Strawberry smoothies in mini juice bottles with striped paper stores (thanks Lark!). Strawberry parfait (meringue, whipped cream and ricotta, strawberries and strawberry jelly). Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting and a strawberry on top (with printable strawberry cupcake wrappers). Strawberry jellies with whipped cream and a strawberry on top in mini tea cups (from St Vinnies). Bowl of strawberries and warm Callebaut chocolate fondue. The adults were served pulled pork sliders with coleslaw (thanks Harris!), spinach and feta filo slices (thanks Tam!), and mini quiches (thanks Renay and Sophie!).

Decorations: Strawberry Party printable pack by Lisa Tilse (the red thread) for Modern Printables.com. The pack includes invitation, thank you cards, bunting, cupcake wrappers, tented placecards, gift tags and round toppers that I used for both topping the cake and for horizontal and vertical garlands. Flowers on the table were fresh wild freesias from a neighbour's garden (thanks Alois!). Tablecloth from Dandi. Bouncing castle on loan from a neighbour (thanks Chantelle!).

Birthday girl wears: Twinkle Tutu in Eggshell from Tutu Du Monde and strawberry headband by Minni Mittsie.

Tips:
1. When friends offer to bring something, say yes! It was so great to be able to focus on the party food while friends (and amazing husband) made delicious savoury treats for the adults.
2. Make the cake early the day before and have twice the ingredients needed on hand. My first cake was a dud and had to be binned, so I was lucky that I started early and could go back to an old favourite recipe.
3. It was also fantastic to have a professional photographer on hand to capture the moments of the day. I could only get so many of my own photos while wrangling little ones, lighting candles and managing presents and food. We will treasure our amazing photos from Milk & Honey Photography.

Something Special: Rather than provide goodie bags, I gave each family a strawberry plant to take home. I repotted each one in a decomposing pot, tied with a check ribbon and added a printable strawberry gift tag.They were so much cheaper than a bag of goodies and the parents and kids alike loved them.

Photography: Anni from Milk & Honey Photography, and Steph Bond Hutkin.

b.sirius bags and accessories

I'm on a roll with cute bags this month. Annabelle from b.sirius designs crafty-cool bags, clutches, backpacks, purses, luggage tags and iPad covers in her Melbourne studio.

You'll find patchwork and appliques as well as sweet details like bird buckles, buttons, and ric rac bows. My favourite piece is the foldover bag (bottom pic) that slumps with panache when popped on a table or chair during a business meeting or coffee with pals. Oh, and I totally adore the whale print fabric bags and purses that are (luck for us) on sale at the moment! I think I've just talked myself into one.

You can find b.sirius in the online store as well as stockists in Australia and New Zealand.

Images: b.sirius

Happy Birthday Mooo! free printables, shipping and $100 vouchers to be won

Happy 5th Birthday to our friends and Bondville sponsors Mooo!!! To celebrate five years of fabulous personalised stationery and products for kids, Mooo is showering us with goodies - free printables, free shipping and 5 x $100 vouchers to be won!

Printables

Just in time for the school holidays, Mooo has 19 pages of printables for Club Mooo members to download and print on your own printer. Joining is free and you can download and personalise door hangers, masks, bookmarks, activities and more. Join here.

Free Shipping

Mooo is offering free shipping on all orders over $50 until 30th September 2011. Get in quick.

Win 5 x $100 Vouchers

Now what to do with those printables once you have printed them? Get the kids colouring, then take a photo and enter the Mooo 5th Birthday Competition for your chance to win one of five $100 vouchers! Find more info and enter here.

Images: Mooo