ART | Artist Play Series by Toca Boca

If there is one app both myself and the kids love then it's Swedish Toca Boca. Having worked in the games industry myself for over 7 years I have seen my fair share of games and made quite a few as well and I know that at the base of every good game is great characters and game play. Toca Boca definitely has both and have in many ways invented a new way of playing for kids. Also in this day and age it is hard to find apps that doesn't have in-app purchases (I am sure parents out there are tired of getting crazy bills for power up mushrooms?) You can also rest assure that there are no third-party ads. This is simply play for the play sake!

Imagination is high on the agenda and we have downloaded all of their inventive games such as Toca Kitchen, Toca Hair Salon, Toca Builders, Toca Cars, Toca Mini and Toca Nature to only mention a few. I love that they focus on games that is about playing. Forget about times and scores, the goal in these games is to have fun and play. Creation is also a corner stone in the games. You build and create and there are no rules stopping your child from exploring.

Recently they launched a collaboration with artists called ARTIST PLAY SERIES - A new project that invites international artists to celebrate the synergies of play and art by creating tools for play. The result is a series of physical toys that encourage imagination and self-expression with a US-based artist creating the first product, Toca Ink.  The first product in the Artist Play Series, was created in collaboration with renowned Brooklyn-based tattoo artist Virginia Elwood. Inspired by the bold graphics of Toca Boca’s characters, Elwood created six temporary tattoos that feature characters from popular Toca Boca digital toys such as Toca Kitchen Monster and Toca House, allowing kids to imagine what it would be like to have a real tattoo by one of the world’s most skilled tattoo artists.
 
“As a tattoo artist for over 10 years now, I regularly see how tattoos spark kids’ curiosity,” said Virginia Elwood. “Kids always want to touch a tattoo, ask questions about them and even have one drawn on them. Creating the Artist Play Series temporary tattoos was a fun way of making Toca Boca tangible for kids in the real world. I spent a lot of time playing the apps to understand the character’s personalities to transfer them to a temporary tattoo design.” - Virginia Elwood.

We have come to love these characters through all of our time spent with them in the games and the kids were thrilled to be able to get their favourite game characters on their skin. We were also pleased to see that they make their own cool tees as well! Made from 100% organic cotton and also featuring some of their many memorable game characters.

D & M is wearing Toca Boca Tee & Nova Tee.

To find out more about the Toca Boca universe visit them here:

:: TOCA BOCA :: 

OUTFIT LOVE | Hipkin

Finally Friday and I thought I would share some more gorgeous oufit inspiration for the minis. If you haven't heard of the shop hipkin before it is high time you get acquainted with them. I had the chance to interview the two owners Katie Brannaghan and Bec Cunnington a while back so if you are interested in knowing a bit more about their wonderful store then please check it out here.

I always find great inspiration in their selection and they make the best outfit collages on their instagram account as well. The shop carries great quality labels like I Dig Denim, NICO.NICO, Bobo Choses, Mini Rodini, Fred Perry, ACNE miniature and more. They also personally source vintage pieces straight from LA. Katie and Bec has a strong sense of style and it shows in all their label selections which we already have been big fans of for several years. They are also the only retailers in Australia that sources the cool Danish sneakers Hummel.To make it even harder to resist their cool selection of threads their cute kids is modeling the outfits so perfectly that is hard to find any reason to put the wallet away! (Don't say I didn't warn you!) 

For a big dose of style, visit:

:: HIPKIN ::

Moments | Concrete Dreams

D wears: Top by Bobo Choses / Sweat by Bobo Choses / Shorts by I Dig Denim / Sneakers by Hummel.

It is the best part of summer at the moment. We are slowly moving towards Autumn so the days are not too hot and it is easier to move around on two wheels without getting too warm. We used to move around a lot with a bike trailer but lately we have all hopped on the bikes and we even bike home from school every day which has been great.

The skatepark is a place we visit often and lately my boy has been keen on trying out his bmx there. He sees the bigger boys bike in the bowl and do tricks and he is eager to learn how to master his balance on two wheels here. It is great to see him being so confident, and it is amazing to think that this time last year he was still having training wheels on. Now he loves seeking out a challenge and finding a good jump to try and get some air on, the learning curve on kids are nothing but awe-inspiring! 

Moments | Into the Mountains

M wears: Gwenneth Cardigan by molo / Skirt by Bonton / Tee by Mini Rodini / Sneakers by molo / headband by Cotton on Kids.  D wears: Grandpa l/s by I Dig Denim / Pants by I Dig Denim / Mitchell Sweat by molo / Beanie by I Dig Denim / Shoes by Converse.

Weekend means adventures, and this one was no different. We packed up the car and drove up into the mountains and visited the beautiful National Rhododendron Garden. It is like diving right into a magical story up here. Big lush trees and bushes, mirror lakes with little bridges, thick lily pad leaves and curious tad poles swimming below. The kids are in their element here. So much to explore, so much to discover.

It is so nice to let them go off and let them find their own adventures. We found them looking into the little pond and above them they found a new friend - a laughing kookaburra! The kids were making all sorts of imitating sounds and the kookaburra seemed pleased to have found a new curious audience.  We walked around and it was wonderful to see so many different plants in bloom. We also visited the glass house and saw the meat eating plants which D loved. He thought it was amazing that there was monster plants here as well.

If you ever need to escape the busy city life, this little magical spot is a good place to visit. It is usually at least 5-10c cooler up here and the air is amazing. We can't wait to come back soon.

CLOSE UP | Scotch Shrunk AW15

It is always such a treat having a closer look at Scotch Soda and their kids range, Scotch Shrunk & Scotch R'belle. I had to shoot another close up just to show all the amazing details they put into each and every garment. I love the great outdoors feeling they got to their new range and we picked up this cool outfit combo at Buckets and Spades. Each season they also add some cool things like stickers or tattoos, or even masks that accompanies the swing tags. These knuckle tattoos are all kinds of awesome!

SHOP OUTFIT:
Rock check shirt // Camo zip hoodie // Norwegian Beanie // Mercer Jean Oasis.

Moments | Roll up!

M wears: Reba floral top by molo / Bella tutu by molo / Sneakers by Converse / Top hat.

It is hard not to get a bit silly when you get to wear such an amazing outfit. This is THE tutu of all tutus. It comes in a little suitcase, and is a dream of thick layers! It swirls like a beauty and even though its quite heavy (read layers of layers) it has the best little adjustable waist so it won't slide south. It goes perfectly with the Reba flower top and would make any little girl want to run away and join the circus...

Find the outfit here:
:: molo ::