KidStyleFile

Today’s post written by Edwina

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Welcome to December. It’s officially summer, and Christmas is really getting into gear now. With only 24 days left to go the mood is unmistakably festive. Decorations and Christmas music abound, and thoughts turn to gifts, Christmas wrap and the summer holidays to come. Embrace the spirit of the season and prepare for the joyous excitement that only a Christmas with kids in tow can deliver. Go with it and don’t hold back. Whether your style be modern minimalist, or full-on tinsel, jingle all the way.

12 Days Buyer’s Guide:

12 Drummers Drumming: Plan Toys Solid Drum, $34.00, and Plan Toys Wooden Musicla Band Drum Set, $104.00 from Metro Mum
11 Pipers Piping: Toy Soldier Buttons, from Etsy seller 81giftstation – USD$2.00
10 Lords a-leaping: Fred Bare Collection, see website for stockists and prices
9 Ladies Dancing: Fred Bare Collection, see website for stockists and prices
8 Maids a-milking:  Sozo Moo Wrap and Cap Set, from Baby’s Got Style – $39.95
7 Swans a-swimming:  Swimming Swan Pendant, from Etsy Seller sushipot – POA
6 Geese a-laying: Kate Greenaway’s Mother Goose Stories, from Fishpond Books- $34.99 $21.95
5 Gold Rings: Stackable Gold Rings, from Etsy seller SecretCharm – $USD49.99
4 Calling Birds: Mae Boys Twitter Birds Fabric Wall Decals, from The Hip Infant – $44.95
3 French Hens: Try before you buy with Rent-A-Chook (Sydney-based, but can ship coops to other states)
2 Turtle Doves: Papoose Christmas Dove, from Generation Wonder – $8.00 each
And a Partridge in a Pear (Cocoon Couture Shelf-Stand) Tree, from ShopHouse – $89.00

Please check individual stores for postage and delivery information, and don’t forget to swing by the KSF All Current Deals page to scope out deals that may get you discounts on these products.

Today’s post written by Miki

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Without a doubt, Mel at The Hip Infant – www.thehipinfant.com.au – has one of the best eyes around when it comes to choosing new stock.  Her store’s motto (‘If you can’t find it, it’s not hip enough for us to stock’) certainly rings true when you look through the vast array of stylish, beautiful and… well, hip products!

Take Ella & Otto, for example.  One of my very favourite interiors brands from the UK, they’ve recently branched out into organic babywear and Mel is now stocking their adorable babygrow with the matching accessories.  The striking stripe/print combination and modern monochrome colourway makes this outfit a very hip addition to any baby’s wardrobe – not to mention the cute antler hat!

And then there are the fantastic new Skidders!  Seriously hip, these funky little sock-shoes are perfect for new walkers, and even for older toddlers and kids to wear on tiled or wooden floors. They come in a great range of patterns for boys and girls, and look incredibly comfy.

TheMae fabric wall stickers are a truly stunning range, and Mae is getting all festive coming up to Christmas with a new Christmas Tree wall sticker. These are fantastic, because not only are they a super stylish decoration for your walls, but you can pull them down and put them up again year after year without it damaging the wall surface.

I’m also ever so pleased to see the latest Limited Edition Trunki to arrive in Australia in stock.  Harley the Ladybug is the latest Trunki to hit our shores, and seriously people, how hip is he?!  Kids all over the world love Trunki – my son and Angela’s daughters are among the Trunki fans – for their fantastically practical, fun design.  Who wouldn’t love a ride-on wheeled suitcase that can be taken onto planes as hand luggage and entertains kids of all ages during long waits in airports?!

To celebrate the bevvy of new stock just in at THI, proprietor Mel is offering FREE SHIPPING Australia-wide on all orders over $65 until the 31 October 2009. Just enter the code ‘KSF-HAPPY’ to redeem.

1. Ella & Otto Organic Baby Grow, $36.95; and matching hat, $21.95
2. Trunki Limited Edition Harley The Ladybug, $89.95
3. Pirate Pete’s Potty, $14.95
4. Skidders Shoe Socks – Rockets, $32.95
5. Usborne ‘That’s Not My Fairy’ Touchy-Feely Board Book, $14.99
6. No3No4 Sock Doll – Zebra Multi Stripe, $44.95
7. Hip Stuff Family Doll Puzzle Set, $24.95
8. Tiger Tribe Magnetic Play Book – Transport, $19.95
9. Tiger Tribe Drawstring Bag – Owl In Tree, $19.95
10. Love Mae Fabric Wall Stickers – Christmas Tree, $39.95

For the hippest infant products around, The Hip Infant stocks from the following list of brands: Aden + Anais, Alimrose Designs, Alex Toys, Alphasketti, Annabel Trends, Babylicious, Baby Einstein,Baby Legs,  Bbox, Belly Art, Billie Goat Soap, Blabla, Blik Wall Graphics, Bluebird and Honey, Brio, Bobble Art, BUD, Candela, Cheeky Monkey, Chilli Kids,  Coco & Eli, Crocodile Creek, Cuddlefish, David Fussenegger, Dwell Studio, Elegant Baby, Evetribe, Fiesta Crafts, Flensted Mobiles, Fleurville, Foogo By Thermos, For Walls, French Bull, Funtainer By Thermos, Gertie and Me, Giddy Giddy, Gijmmo, Goki, Green To Grow, Haba, Heimess, Hip Stuff, Honey Sticks Love Mae, ID Tee, Infancy, ITZBEEN, Janod, JellyCats, Jewel Queen, Kathe Kruse, Keptin Jr, Kiddopotamus, Kristy Clayton Art, Lima Bean, Little Einsteins, MELOBABY, Milestone Press, Milk & Co Baby, Minimonkey, Oeuf NYC, Oricom Baby Monitors, Olli & Pop, Ouch, Plum Baby, Present Time, Printspace. Pure Baby, Qubies, Rockabye Baby, Rondeau Industries, Sambellina, Sigikid, Simple Gorgeous Storage, Skip HOP, Snugglebum, Sparkle T, Teeny Me, The Hip Infant, The Hip Infant Limited Edition Basics, Tip Top Joey, Tippy Toes, Tiger Tribe, Tommee Tippee, Toys Pure, Trunki, Wall Candy Arts, Wee Gallery.

The Hip Infant charges a flat rate of $8.50 for Australia-wide shipping. For all details please see the delivery page. International orders are warmly welcomed: head to International Orders page for full info.

Today’s post written by Angela

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Wall stickers are one of the easiest ways to create a big decorating impact in your child’s room. Affordable, DIY, and easy to apply and remove, there is no faster way to go from blank to brilliant.

Mae – www.lovemae.com.au - wall stickers meet all the requirements in terms of beautiful designs, easy on-easy off and affordable, but these wall decals go beyond this, with big claims: Mae stickers will stick to anything – rough wall finishes, and even fence palings, included! – they are infinitely ’sticky’, but leave no tacky residue or marking, they are fully washable (throw them in a washing machine if they get grubby) and virtually indestructible, being impervious to scrunching and general mangling.

A further important and unique difference between Mae stickers and other wall sticker products is that they are not made of plastic, they are made of *fabric*.

I couldn’t quite get my head around this concept until I saw the Mae products in the flesh at the Kids InSTYLE trade show in Melbourne earlier this year, where I got to test out all the grand claims, and I’ve got to say that seeing – and scrunching! – really was believing.

Mae wall stickers are around the same thickness as regular plastic wall decals, but in a fabric similar to iron-on mending fabric in texture and weight. They have a soft finish that feels nice to the touch and is easy to handle. I rolled the stickers into balls, scrunching and pulling at them mercilessly in a vain attempt to damage them: they came back to perfect when unscrunched and reapplied to the wall.

Impressed, I purchased some Dress Up Dolls for my twins 5 year olds: nothing beats testing by children! Two months later these stickers have been played with endlessly, and they look just as good as the day they were bought.

In addition to their beautiful selection of nature-themed, animal, car, dino and doll designs, Mae have designed a beautiful limited edition Christmas tree with which to celebrate the upcoming festive season.

Sporting Christmas candy canes, baubles and a chirpy little red robin, this tasteful tree is not only beautiful it is space efficient, environmentally friendly (no polluting plastic or chop-chop of a real tree) and goes beyond Christmas: remove the Chrissy decorations, add extra leaves (supplied) and you have a year round decor delight.

Mae fabric wall stickers are available to purchase online here. The Mae Christmas tree will be available in-stores from the end of October 2009.

Stay tuned for new designs coming from Mae coming late February 2010. Rest assured we’ll keep you posted!

Today’s post written by Miki

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I think wall stickers are such a great way to decorate a child’s bedroom – so quick and easy and instant!  They also come off without damaging the surface so it’s easy to redecorate your kid’s room as they get older, and for another thing they’re rental-friendly – can’t paint the walls? No problem – whack on some removable wall stickers and hey presto: a unique and stylish room!

But where to go to get the best wall stickers, and how to choose the right ones for your home?  Don’t worry, it couldn’t be easier: head straight to The Hip Infant – www.thehipinfant.com.au – where Mel has just started stocking the absolutely divine Love Mae fabric wall stickers. Yes, *fabric*!!

The Love Mae wall stickers are absolutely ingenious, and quite unique in the Australian market (possibly even the global market!) because they really are made of fabric.  Not only that, they are completely reusable and can be repositioned as many times as you like! You can move them from wall to wall and reuse them, scrunch them up into balls and reuse them, or even wash them… and then reuse them again!  And if that’s not the perfect kids decor product then I’d like to know what is.

The other wonderful thing about the Love Mae stickers is the incredibly beautiful design range they come in.  Mums of boys (like me), rejoice!  There’s just as much for your little men here as there are designs for the girls, and every single piece is just exquisitely beautiful.  Whether you opt for the classic, unisex ‘Build A Tree’ and then accessorise with birds and forest friends (both available in boy and girl options), or you decide to go down a more gender-specific road with vintage teapots or dinosaurs, there’s a big range of designs to choose from.

I also love the paper dolls-inspired wall stickers for girls.  Do you remember the paper cutout dolls you played with as children, spending hours cutting out dresses to fit her?  Love Mae have taken the concept to the next level, and now there are the wall sticker versions ready to bring home for your little fashionista.  Available in season-specific styles, each doll comes with a range of modern, hip clothes, shoes, accessories and hairstyles – and in the case of the large set containing two dolls, even a bunny suit!

At the moment you can spend over $65 on anything at The Hip Infant (before postage costs), and Mel will take 10% off your order. This offer is only valid until 4 July 2009, and it’s a fantastic chance to stock up on the beautiful Love Mae wall stickers so don’t dally, enter KSF-LOVE at the Coupon Code section at checkout.

Don’t forget that all orders over $65 can take 10% off with code KSF-LOVE until 4 July 2009.

1. Love Mae Fabric Wall Stickers ‘Build A Tree’, $119.95
2. ‘Tea Time’, $79.95
3. ‘Dainty Toadstools’, $79.95
4. ‘Dinosaurs’, $79.95
5. ‘Dress Up Dolls’, $159.95
6. ‘Twitter Birds’ – Blue, $39.95
7. ‘Forest Critters’ – Boy, $79.95

The list of brands stocked by The Hip Infant includes Aden + Anais, AKA Pipik, Albetta, ALex Toys, Alimrose Designs, Anna & Sally, Annabel Trends, Anne Claire Petit, Baby Einstein, Baby Legs, Babylicious, Benny Boy, Bical, BlaBla, Blink Designs, Bobble Art, BUD, Built NY, Bump Buddy, Candela, Cheeky Monkey, Christmas Ideas, Coco & Eli, Cuddlefish, David Fussenegger, DiddleDumpling, Dirty Laundry, DwellStudio, Elegant Baby, Elodie Details, Eyetribe, Fiesta Crafts, Flensted Mobiles, Fleurville, Foogo By Thermos, For Walls, For Windows, French Bull, Funtainer By Thermos, Gertie and Me, Gifts Ideas Under $25, Giimmo, Go_Home JNR, Green To Grow, Haba, Heimess, Hip Stuff, ID Tee, Inch Blue, Infancy, Jazzy Toes, JellyCats, JewelQueen, Kathe Kruse, Keptin Jr, Kid Squidgy, Kiddopotamus, Kipiis, Lima Bean, Limo Basics, Little Einsteins, Little Joey, Little Twig, Liz Knits, Milestone Press, Milk & Tickles, Mill & Mia, Minimonkey, Mitty James, Mon Ange, Mum To Mum, My Child, Oeuf NYC, OUCH, Peanut Shell, Present Time, Pure Baby, Rockabye Baby, Rondeau Industries, Room It Up, Sigikid, Simple Gorgeous Storage, Skip HOP, Smirk Kids, Snugglebum, Snugzeez, Teeny Me, The Hip Infant Basics, The Hip Infant Birthday tees, The Hip Infant Limited Edition Basics, The Hip Infant Sneakies, The Hip Infant Wall Graphics, Tiger Tribe, Tippy Toes, Toys Pure, Trunki, Wall Candy Arts, WalRUs, and Wee Gallery.

The Hip Infant charge $7.50 postage Australia-wide.  All orders are shipped via Courier or Express Post.