Do you ever look at your website statistics?

If you have a small business and you're not checking out your website statistics regularly, then you could be missing out on some valuable information to measure your marketing campaigns and even tweak your product line. I've pulled together an article about the basics of using your company's website statistics over on eBay's Mum's Business website. Head over here to find out more.

Real Kids Room: Ruby's 2 Year Old Bedroom

You know that I love showcasing the parties, kids' rooms and style of real Australian families, and Danielle Trovato's style is one of my favourites. Danielle lives on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria and is soon to start a photography business focussing on children and children's interiors. Have a peek at these images of her own daughter Ruby's room, and you'll see why! 

Room:  Ruby's bedroom

Age:  2
Designed by:  Danielle Trovato (Ruby's Mum)
Location:  Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Photography:  Danielle Trovato

I love that Danielle embraces local Australian design. She made the gorgeous tissue chandelier using paper products from Melbourne-based Poppies for Grace, who also designed the spotty pillow slip and heart print. You'll also find a gorgeous Armadillo & Co hemp rug, Cocoon Couture bean bag, Uimi cot blanket, polar bear lantern by MOZI and an art print by one of my favourite Australian illustrators, Nomuu.

Wool & Tissue Balls - Poppies for Grace
Toddler Bed and Dresser: oeuf nyc (Cot Sparrow Conversion Kit)
Zigzag Cot Blanket: Uimi
Smarties Pillow Case: Poppies for Grace
Small Pillow: Maiike
Toy Mouse: Maiike
Bedside Table: Replica Anna Castelli Ferrieri Componibili 2 Round from Matt Blatt
Heico Rabbit Lamp: Down To The Woods
Hemp Marigold Rug: Armadillo & Co
Pirum Parum Pear Poster: Fine Little Day

Knitted Garland: oeuf nyc

Tidy Baskets: Lark

Danielle uses the never-fail neutral-with-splashes-of-colour design style that works so well for kids rooms, allowing for an eclectic collection of toys and art without being too restrictive. Danielle's 'neutral' is a combination of white and natural light wood tones, used for the furniture, shelving, rug and frames.

Framed Girl Print: Nomuu
Lovin' You Heart Print: Poppies for Grace
All The Joy You Bring Card: Poppies for Grace
Floating Shelves: IKEA
Polar Bear Lantern: MOZI
Tivolivat Wooden Windmill Decorations: Swiden

Another great lesson - not all art needs to be framed. This collection of sweet prints and cards works well unframed and grouped together. You could also use washi tape to add favourite paper goods to walls for a cute look at is easily removable.

A look that I've been seeing a lot and love is the use of book rails to display forward-facing books in a child's room. As book stores know well, it's a great way to add colour and personality to a room, and encourage a child to pick up and engage with the books. Much more enticing that a thin spine! Danielle works this look to perfection.

Book Ledges: IKEA
Freckle Wreath: Little Lamb by Down To The Woods
Bean Bag: Cocoon Couture

Thank you so much Danielle for sharing with us your daughter's inspiring room and for supporting Australian artists. Danielle's blog is coming soon; in the meantime, you can follow her on Pinterest.

Images: Danielle Trovato

Zac's 6th Super Hero Birthday Party

Zac's Mum Leesa and I went to school together and when I saw Zac's 6th birthday party photos on Facebook, I knew you would love the inspiration, and Leesa's tips too. Leesa cleverly kept to a tight colour scheme of red, yellow, blue and black with stars to go with the superhero theme. Even the packets of chips matched! Leesa's cupcake stand with cake on top is a great focal point for the party - how yummy do those cupcakes look. Read on for Leesa's hints and advice...

 Party: Zac’s 6^th Birthday

Organised by: Leesa Simpson

Location: Leesa's home in Brisbane, QLD.

Theme: Superheros

Invitation: Made by Leesa. I purchased clip art graphics from Peachpopsclipart on Etsy and made the invitations myself using Publisher and printed off at home. There are so many great designs and styles to choose from and you can then make and print all of your own decorations. Just make sure you check the rights for each suppliers' products and that you can use it for personal use.

Cake: Made by Leesa. Vanilla and Lemon Cupcakes with Italian Meringue Buttercream (recipes from Louise at CakeJournal). Paper Eskimo cupcake wrappers (find the red stars here and the yellow dots here) and homemade fondant stars decorations.

Party food: Lollies (Jaffas, Blue Jelly Beans and Yellow Worms). Popcorn, Packs of Chips, Multi Layered Jelly Cups, Strawberries, Cheerios, Mini Hot Dogs, sausage rolls, Sweet Treats, cheese plate (for parents), juice boxes, bottles of water and fruit punch.

Decorations: All handmade using the clip art from Peachpopsclipart including the birthday banner and the party bags. The city “buildings” were made using old shoe boxes, wrapped in butchers paper and painted with a roller and black paint to make the windows. I thought it was important to add some height and these worked so well.

Birthday Boy Wears: Batman-inspired costume from Little Imposters. 

Games/activities: Super Steph's Super Party Heros – Superman (aka Chris). The hour of entertainment was sensational. The kids were enthralled and loved learning all about being super heros.  It was really great to be able to mingle with the other parents and chat calmly for an hour while we watched the kids play and enjoy themselves. It was so fun watching them enjoy the activities and games. Money well spent!

Budget Tips and General Advice: I love Pinterest and I’m constantly looking for ideas that might suit our themes. It comes in so handy when it is time to put your ideas together. Start early and give yourself time to put everything together. The popcorn buckets, plates, cups and napkins are all available cheaply from bargain shops.

Something special: As this is Zac’s first year at school it was lovely to meet all of his friends and their parents. He was so excited to have them all at his house along with his family. All the little guests really got into the spirit and dressed up for the occasion, including Grandad who is never one to miss out on all of the fun.

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Thank you so much Leesa for sharing Zac's fun superhero party with us -  looks like Zac had a fantastic time too.

Images: Leesa Simpson

Great Ocean Road cheese packaging and magazine love

I hope you all had a great weekend and haven't been struck down by the dreaded lurgy that is making its way around. I very luckily timed my sick days with the weekend, which meant I was able to recuperate with much help and am right as rain again now :)

It also meant that I had some time to think and have been working on a Bondville site freshen-up with the talented Lisa Tilse which I am beyond excited to share with you when it's ready.

Some things that I noticed around the traps this weekend:

1. It seems like all my Instagram buddies snapped up copies of the new Real Living magazine to read over the weekend. I haven't bought a new magazine for a long time, but I was also reading Shannon Fricke's blog on the weekend and guess who the October 2012 Real Living magazine cover girl is?!?! I had to buy the magazine to support the use of Shannon on the cover and to thank Real Living for using real, inspiring women (not just young models). Shannon is 43 years old and yes, she is gorgeous, but she is a Mother and a hardworking, authentic woman. Read more about Shannon's journey on her blog. Good stuff Real Living!

2. More magazine love - the new Coles magazine! I loved the September 2012 Coles magazine and made my daughter's birthday cakes, cupcakes and 3 meals from it (what a huge improvement on previous issues). The new issue looks just as promising with beautiful photography and lots of recipes I would like to try (particularly the easy-looking desserts). There's even an iPad app. No, this is not a sponsored post by Coles or by ACP Magazines. Mind you, I did work at Coles casually as a "check-out chick" from 15-21 years of age. But truly - no bias here.

3.Warrnambool Cheese and Butter's Great Ocean Road cheese - I am suckered in by the packaging. This 123-year old Australian dairy has created cheese that is a stand-out on the shelves and celebrates locally-made produce. That deserves a big tick in my book.

How was your weekend? Did you pick up either of the magazines above? And were you a "check-out chick" too? You know I'm always interested to know...

Real Kids Room: Spoonful of Colour playroom and shared girls bedroom.. and giveaway!

I adore the white-with-pops-of-colour look that Melbourne graphic designer, paper product designer, all-round crafty gal and blogger Pascale Clearihan of Spoonful of Colour has pulled together for her girls' playroom and shared bedroom.

Pascale has included many of her own handmade decorations and artwork in her childrens' rooms. The stand-out A-Z Animal Print below is one of Pascale's own (you can find it in the Spoonful of Colour online store). I'm thrilled that Pascale is giving away one A3 print to a lucky Bondville reader! (giveaway now closed). See the end of this post for details. Enjoy this tour!

Room: Girls' bedroom and playroom
Age: 3 years and 4 months
Designed by: Pascale Clearihan (Spoonful of Colour)
Location: Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Playroom
Can you imagine how excited you would be to have this playroom? Pascale's daughter's computer is better than mine! The red elements are invigorating and the handmade wire welcome sign is whimsical and so on-trend. You really can't go wrong with a base of neutrals and splashes of colour. Note the neon orange papier mache animals; clever Pascale painted these animals to add a fun (and current) pop. You could do the same with plastic toys - put large painted plastic toys on display and fill a jar with smaller ones - or make a fun mobile.

Lamp: replica tripod lamp from Sokol
Toy Box: IKEA
Framed A-Z Animal Print: Spoonful of Colour *You could win this print! See below for details*
Moritz! Book: H&M
Wire Animals: from South Africa
Red Papier Mache Animals: from Lincraft, painted by Pascale
Chair: mini Eames chair (a gift)
Toy Monkey: a gift
Wire Welcome Sign: by Pascale
Notice Board: from local hardware store
Desk and Chairs: IKEA
Hanging Garland: by Pascale
Bin: IKEA

I also love the treatment of the ornamental fireplace - the chunky birch logs and colourful rug give the fireplace a sense of purpose.

Fireplace Mirror: Room 296, East St Kilda, VIC
Fireplace Rug: Pure Zone
Fireplace Framed Prints: by Pascale
Day Bed: IKEA
Paper Light Strand: Bonjour, Middle Park, VIC.

Shared Bedroom
Pascale uses pops of fuchsia pink and orange against a neutral base in her girls' shared bedroom. Handmade bunting and paper garlands provide interest against white walls and Pascale's own orange wheel artwork extends the height of the drawers.

Cot: IKEA
Cot sheet: IKEA
Egg Painting: by Pascale
Bunting: by Pascale
Garland: by Pascale
Wool Bird Artwork: by Pascale (see Pascale's tutorial here for 'painting' with wool)
Drawers: IKEA Hemnes
Orange Wheel Artwork: by Pascale (hand-sewn wheels on water colour paper)
French Books on Drawers: Pascale's own from childhood

Again the fireplace is a real feature of the bedroom and the perfect place for a stuffed toy collection to rest, framed by the French flash cards pegged to ribbon. And how cute is that pig and lamb print (by Pascale of course)!

Bird Cage Wall Sticker: a gift
French Flash Cards: Roost Malvern (now closed)
Framed Pig and Sheep Print: Spoonful of Colour
Ladder: Room 296, East St Kilda, VIC
Framed French Concert Poster: from the side of a bus in Geneva, Switzerland!
High Chair: IKEA

Thank you Pascale for sharing your daughters' amazing playroom and bedroom with us. With a little imagination, you can also create an amazing child's room with very little expense (many of Pascale's larger pieces are from IKEA). Thank you Pascale for the inspiration! (You can read more about Spoonful of Colour here on Bondville.)

WIN!
If you would like to win an A3 A-Z Animal print by Pascale, simply comment below with your favourite How-To project from the Spoonful of Colour Facebook Page by Friday 28th September 2012.

Congratulations to winner Liz!

Terms and Conditions:
1. This is a game of skill. Entry via comment on this post with your favourite How-To project from the Spoonful of Colour Facebook Page.
2. One entry per person.
3. The winner of the giveaway will be chosen by Pascale Clearihan based on the most original answer.
4. This giveaway is open to all Bondville readers in Australia and internationally.
5. This giveaway is hosted by Steph Bond-Hutkin via the Bondville blog at blog.stephbond.com.
6. The prizes consists of one A-Z Animal Print RRP $30.00 plus postage from Spoonful of Colour.
7. The giveaway opens on Friday 21st September and closes midnight on Friday 28th September 2012.
8. The giveaway winner will be announced on Bondville on Saturday 29th September 2012.

Images: Pascale Clearihan | Spoonful of Colour

Kathryn Mitchell ceramics

Spotted on the Udessi Australian Art Store website are these gorgeous ceramic pieces by Gold Coast artist Kathryn Mitchell.

These wheel-thrown and hand-painted porcelain cups come in three sizes and each is unique. The designs are inspired by Kathryn's childhood home of Silverdale - "a picturesque British glen Silverdale fills my mind with memories of bluebells, daffodils, chestnut trees, rowing boats and rain showers!".

These cups are going on my Christmas wish list - I love the combination of delicate porcelain with the modern, graphic shapes. One of each please Santa. You can find them in the Udessi Australian Art Store online.

Images: Udessi

Polka Dot trend - ideas for kids

Have you noticed the polka dot trend popping up? It's super-fun and I'm looking forward to a spotty and neon summer - very much in-line with our fun-loving aesthetic in Australia.

I have been so inspired by the beautiful spotted wedding dress worn by this Bride in Italy, photographed by New Zealand studio bayly&moore. The nude base cloth and slim ribbon belt is really unexpected and takes this dress out of 101 Dalmations territory. How chic to team this dress with t-bar heels and a simply posy of baby's breath (another flower that is back big-time). For the full wedding see the Boho Weddings Blog.

I've pulled together some of our own great Australian-designed dotty kids fashion for (mostly) girls, inspired by the beautiful Bride above!

Featured designers:
Milk & Soda gold studded bow tie
Paper Eskimo baking cups black spots and black tie paper straws
Ola & Olek spot dresses (on sale now in the Style Milk shop)
Knuffle Kid tightrope dress and leggings
Paper Wings Little Wings tulle skirt
Little Mouse Brown high-waisted shorts

So fun. Hands up if you're loving the spots and dots!

The Hungry Workshop & Koskela presents Rituals - get your letterpress on

If you're a fan of letterpress and Australian illustration, then you will love Ritual - an exhibit being held at Koskela as party of Art & About Sydney.

Letterpress cool kids The Hungry Workshop, based in Melbourne, have pulled together a stellar group of Australian artists including Beci Orpin, Ben Ashton-Bell, Drunk Park, Eirian Chapman, Georgia Perry, Kindred Studio, Lauren Carney, Luke Lucas, Malade Pathetics and Spew Corp for a hand-printed letterpress exhibition. The exhibition will feature limited edition prints and unique, one-of-a-kind overprints.

There are lots of other great actitives happening for Art & About Sydney, including some fun events that are child-friendly too. Organiser Jenna Hipgrave - one half of The Hungry Workshop duo - is a friend of mine from Brisbane, so I'll be heading along to the opening night on Saturday 22nd Sept 2012, 5-7pm - hope to see you there.

Update: The Hungry Workshop and Malade Pathetics are also hosting a lino and type workshop from 1 - 4:30pm before the Exhibit opening. Participants will be exploring the fundamental principles of letterpress, relief printing and typography, through simple, hands-on techniques. Check out the Koskela website for more details - looks great!

Image: The Hungry Workshop

The Tomkat Studio Aussie Party Challenge

Here's one for all you party fans out there. Fabulous US printables designers The Tomkat Studio know how many talented party stylists there are in Australia, and are hosting a fun competition that we can all participate in to win a $100 voucher in their online party store. They challenged eight Australian party stylists to create a party shoot themed around The TomKat Studio printables, and we get to vote.

Here's a sneak peek of the parties - simply click on the party you like best and leave a comment to enter (US and Australian entrants only):

Leanne from Sweet Style put together a Vintage Surf party. I adore the layered jellies.

 Vesna from My Little Jedi created a Vintage Ballerina party. I spot glorious tutu du monde dresses!

Suzanna from Mon Tresor designed this Little Red Wagon party. Yum. Toffee apples.

Daisy from Leo & Bella wowed with this pink and grey Chevron Stripe Bridal Shower. So polished.

Leoni from Just Call Me Martha created an Owl Themed Baby Shower. Must check out the doily gift tags.

Belinda from Styled By Belle designed this sweet Flower Garden Party. Those cake slices look amazing!

Lilian from Lily Chic Events created this Blue Giraffe Party. So classy.

Louisa from Little Big Company put together this Vintage French Patisserie Party. The yellow cruiser is a cute touch.

What a great way to showcase some of the talent we have here in Australia. Congratulations ladies on beautiful work - everyone wins in my book with all this creativity on display. Head over to The Tomkat Studios to vote for your favourite.