This everyday tabletop is refreshing. It shows that you can be playful and look refined at the same time. The look is ideal for serving lunch or breakfast to your family.

They are more reasons why I am showing you this product. I associate multiple purposes with sustainability and space saving. With smaller city homes, more people are looking for double-duty objects. The Isak Breadboard can  become a placemat, a trivet to protect your table for the heat, a cheese board or a cutting board. And did I mention that they look great. Plus, the laminated compressed wood of the Isak Breadboard are harvested in sustainable Scandinavian forests.

The two patterns, Landsby and Leaf, work well together. Each breadboard comes packed in a reusable 100% cotton tote bag. It is practical for picnic or if you are really fancy when you bring your lunch.

SOURCING:
+ Isak Bread Board, Landsby or Leaf $40 USD
+ Isak Landsby Bread board £22
+ Iittala Kartio Small, Stained Glass £11 for a set of 2 glasses
+ Iittala Kartio Tumbler $17 USD for 2

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Almost 30 new whimsical products were added. Out of these 29 additions, five caught my attention. I deemed these 5 to be the more practical.

+ First, Stone Cold, the icy icons from Easter Island is fun. This is another fun silicone ice cube tray that would look great in any tropical drinks or a mystery party. In fact, this could be an original theme for an Halloween party if you mix it with astronomy and astrology.

+ While you at it, get a Loose Leaf to stay a door open. If would be fun to watch people facial expression as they try to casually remove the leave from  under the door.

+ If I had kids, I would buy a set of Cookeys to identify their house keys. This is yummy! It may even encourage them to drink more milk.

+ The Split shaker can save you time if like by pouring salt and pepper at the same time. For the less adventurous, you can divide the Split shaker in 2 and used each side separately. Hidden magnets keep the 2 halves together.

+ Finally, the Table Saw does double duty. It can be used to cut cakes at parties and the rest of time, you can slice and dice your lettuce without discoloration. And if you have young boys at home, I am sure they will be pleased to help you in the kitchen.

WHERE TO BUY:
+ Fred & Friends Stone Cold Ice Tray $7.95 USD
+ Fred Loose Leaf $10 USD
+ Cookeys $5.95 USD for 2 key caps
+ Fred Table Saw $7.99 USD

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Anne Schultz of Hello Hanna sent me an email to introduce her awesome playful placements for kids. They will keep your kids occupied while you are preparing the meal. I think it is a great idea since you probably notice that kids enjoy very much playing with stickers. My nephew and niece are doing it all the time.

For a party or a day-long play date, it is a fun activity that is quick and fast to set up. Plus, on the back of placemats, their is an activity area. You can vary the activity each time or let you kid draw what they like.

Four pop-up characters with their own sheet of stickers are packaged in set of 8 placemats. Kids can choose their character and dress it the way they like. I like this product for the peace of mind and its creative value.

Get-set placemats is available in three themes: robot, animal jungle and girlie dolls. You could also buy a set for home that you use on Sundays. The placemats are printed on heavyweight uncoated paper stock. Therefore, they are not reusable.

The gals behind Hello Hanna, Anne Schultz and Jina Choi, are moms living in San Francisco, California. They used their knowledge of early-child development to to spark kids creativity.

SOURCING:
+ Get-set placemats $14.95 USD

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Whenever a colleague or a acquaintance gets a new home, we may be tempted to give  a small housewarming gift. If you know where to look, it is possible to give something that look great on a tight budget.

One brand that delivers years after years fun, modern and well-designed products is Umbra. I selected things for the kitchen or for entertaining that would make simple housewarming gifts.

1. Splat trivet $10.50 CAD
2. Perf trivet $10.50 CAD
3. Splat spoon rest $6.50 CAD
4. Paddle spoon rest $7.50 CAD
5. Grapevine wine rack $23.50 CAD

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I like the motto of Sillycone. This shows again that silicone has revolutionized the way we cook. You can use silicone trays to shape any food or liquid.

You can perfectly shaped Jell-O, butter, chocolate, cheese, bite cakes, brownies, Rice Crispy treats and so much more! It opens a world of possibilities for entertaining like this Jell-O wish on a birthday cake.

Sillycone specialized in letter, number, symbol and the Greek alphabet. Their trays are made from high-gloss FDA tested silicone. Each tray is oven-safe to 550ºF and (-50ºF) is cool to the touch within minutes after baking.

For more shapes, look at Lékué. This Spanish high end brand makes silicone ice cube trays in form of a star, heart, dolphin, penguin and shell. Look at the cool colored ice cubes that Better Homes and Gardens did for the Fourth of July last year.

SOURCING:
+ Silicone Alphabet Letter Ice / Bake Tray Set $14.95 USD for 3 trays
+ Silicone Number Ice / Bake Tray $7.49 USD
+ Sillycone Single Number Ice / Bake Tray $10.13 USD
+ Silicone Symbol Ice / Bake Tray $14.99 USD
+ Lekue Silicone Ice Cube Tray, Star $2.95 USD

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Vacu Vin is launching a new set of glass markers especially for Halloween. These 13 creepy creatures are charming enough to be used at a kids party, if you like. You stick the marker on your glass, cup or beer bottle to identify it. The glass marker stays in place by suction. They work as well as the Party People glass markers that I reviewed last February.

Since the Party People markers look like 12 little monsters, you can blended the two sets. Get 2 packs of each set. Put them in a box. Ask each guest to draw their glass marker. This way, you could host a party with 50 guests and run little chances that 2 persons with the same character put their glass next to each other.

SOURCING:
+ Vacu Vin Glass Markers Party People $7.98 USD for 12
+ Creepy Creatures Glass Markers by Vacu Vin

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If your little girl is into Barbie, know that Pottery Barn Kids is launching an exclusive collection of bedding and room decor inspired by the famous doll. When you go for an obvious theme like that, I advice you not to buy the entire collection. This way, the result will look more sophisticated and more original.

The Art of Mixing, not Matching

Select the one or two items you like the most and build around your decor around it. Say that you go for the prints, you can display a few barbies on a shelf and then, opt for a pink stripe bedding. Soft greens and yellows goes well with pink. They produced a more refined look than pink walls.

Pottery Barn Kids have many beautiful bed covers and sheets in the pink family. See how the Emily Quilted Bedding mixed floral embroideries with plaid pattern sheets.

There is also an economic reason to do so. Since kids get fairly quickly tired of a theme, you would not have to replace everything to update the look.

Barbie Dream Room In-store Parties

Pottery Barn Kids stores nationwide will host Barbie Dream Room Workshops September 12-13, 2009 with craft sessions where little girls can design their own dream room.

There is also a sweepstakes with a $5,000 gift card from Pottery Barn Kids as the grand prize. Second prizes include a Barbie Three-Story Dream Townhouse and Barbie Fashionistas dolls. To enter and for official rules, visit www.potterybarnkids.com/Barbie between Aug. 27 and Sept. 24.

SOURCING:
+ Barbie Collection at Pottery Barn Kids
+ Emily Quilted Bedding $32-$179 USD
+ Isabelle Embroidered Dot Duvet Cover $18-$149 USD

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What do we want in a dining tray is one that is easy to clean and on which we can carry the food without spills.

Ashley Hatcher created the Lapper with these functions in mind. In fact, she was even more demanding. She dreamed of a tray that keeps dishes in place, allows for safe dishwashing, can easily be stored and has comfortable handles. The secret weapon of her tray are silicone anti-slip inserts. All parts of the melamine tray are dishwasher safe. It seems like an improved version of the dining tray.

SOURCING:
+ Lapper Multi-Functional Dining Tray $24.50 USD
+ Lapper trays with University Sport Logo

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Lucks Food Decorating makes it easy for anyone to start decorating their cakes. Lucks manufacture edible print decorations, molded sugar decorations, royal icing roses and food colors. Beside taking courses, this would help you make a lasting impression when you are baking your own cake for a party.

When placed on food, edible images absorb moisture and become soft, blending in seamlessly with your culinary creation. Their cake decorating strips are a fun and easy way to decorate buttercream, fondant, gum paste, chocolate, whipped toppings, fudge and ice cream cakes.

The website of Lucks provides instructions to create elaborate cakes with their Edible Image Designer Prints collection. They are organized by theme or occasion. They are ideas for all levels of cake decorators. I am showing you simpler versions. You can also watch an entire series of instructional videos on ChefTools.com to get you started. Check out the Lucks Decorating Ideas PDF to have a list of everything you need to reproduce your own.

MORE:
+ Lucks Food Decorating Company
+ Available at ChefTools.com starts at $43.19 USD for 36 strips

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The best hostess knows that it is up to her to find ways for her guests to interact. When you host a big event, you cannot be there to introduce everyone. To avoid awkward moments or to explore new conversation topics, why not plan a conversation starter game.  With games that look as great as those ones, everyone will want to participate.

The three games I selected involved some do it yourself tasks. You probably have recognized her style. You will find the detailed set of instructions on Martha Stewart Weddings site.

I Knew you when…

During cocktail hour, each guest sticks a flag where they written their name into the year she met either the bride or groom. I imagine doing this at a milestone birthday party. Everyone later share how they met. Since you need something that you have no problem pinning the flag, ask the print shop for an oversize print to be mounted on foam board. It will be a nice souvenir for the guest(s) of honor.

Change is Good

You put vintage coins on a cute box wrapped with a ribbon. Each guest opens their box. One by one they tell the story of something good that happens to them on the year of the coins. Shown here are the chic Semikolon gift boxes. I bought the same collection to neatly store my magazines.

I Spy…

This is a game that will occupy the kids. Equipped with their own portable or digital camera, the kid who took a picture of the most challenges on the list win. This is why I think a cheap digital camera will work best for this game. It is called I spy but it could have be named I shot.

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR:
+ I Knew you when – including
+ Change is Good
+ I Spy

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If you wish to carry out the alphabet prints and word graffiti wall decor trends over your home, take a look at these side tables. It is not just for living room. Use any of these tables to put your stamp on a reading nook or as bedside table with your initial.

The Alphabet side table at Andrew Martin spreads to the entire 26 letters of the alphabet. You could write a 3 to 4 letters word and if you wish, put a glass surface on the top. It is not simply for letters. Depending of its design, an A can become a 6 or a 9, an E can act as a 3. Have fun scribbling words with your furniture.

SOURCING:
+ Andrew Martin Alphabet Side Tables £995 at Amy Nicholas
+ Oak veneer Alphabet Tables by Siskô in France

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Two years ago, I told you about Domaine des Ormes, an hotel in Brittany, France where you can rent a perched cabin for your family vacation.

Now, I am presenting you a hut concept developed by a French company called BubbleTree. A wooden platform is build around a big tree. The idea is to get the feeling to live in nature. The spherical canopy (bubble) is meant to be deployed only to shelter you for rain and wind. The rest of the time, you live without walls.

This hut can be very sophisticated. BubbleTree sells hammocks, nets, long chair convertible, lighting system, solar shower, picnic basket and a lifting system to fit their construction. By adding hammocks or sleeping bags, you can transform, at will, the space into a summer guest house for 2 people.

As far as I can tell, BubbleTree’s products are only available in France. This is not inexpensive either. According to the article I read on Born Rich, you must budget EUR 11,000 (approx. $15,300) for the platform alone with the ladder. If you wish to add the bubble (canopy), the price starts at EUR 18,000 (approx. $25,000).

Still, you can still build your little oasis at your cottage. After you adapted and designed your own version, invite a few friends to build it this summer. It does not have to be perched into a tree. It can be a simple platform on a raised piece of land with a canopy system.

MORE:
+ BubbleTree – Web site has an english version
+ Via Born Rich

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