Flower Workshop for Kids

Kids love to create, to imagine and to dream. This is both their natural skill and a rightful activity, which comes as a perk of the age group. So what better way to let their imagination run free, than inspiring them with real stories about invention and creation.

Catiouche Academy of Big Dreams was created by Lana Berglas, Creative Director of luxury brand Catiouche London, to encourage kids of all ages to ‘dream big’ by attending regular events with people-Inventors, Entrepreneurs and those who can teach kids creative skills, but most importantly show them a world of ideas.

The first workshop by the Catiouche Academy is on Sunday 10th February, called ‘My Beautiful Bouquet for My Beautiful Mummy’. It’s designed to get kids to learn about the world of floral design and to inspire them to look to nature for ideas. Led by Natasha Van De Minkelis of Flower Fashion, it’s a really fun way to see flowers in a new light and to get creative.

This Sunday’s workshop has been fully booked within hours, but do look out for future events and updates from the Catiouche Academy on their Facebook Page: Catiouche London or email info@catiouche.com

Five fun facts about flowers for kids in the meantime!

Catiouche Academy fact number 1: Broccoli is a flower as well as a vegetable.

Catiouche Academy fact number 2: In the 1600s in Holland, a single tulip bulb could cost more than a house.

Catiouche Academy fact number 3: in the tropics orchids grow high in the trees rather than on the forest floor

Catiouche Academy fact number 4: Bamboo can be a fast growing plant, some types can grow almost a metre in just one day!

Catiouche Academy fact number 5: The  blooms of the roses are edible and have the flavors of green apples and strawberries.

Magical Christmas for Kids by Catiouche London

What do kids love most at Christmas? Sparkles, magic, presents and stories. Stories is what makes the festive season so magical for kids. We love the brands with stories and this is why Catiouche is the brand we want the most this Christmas.

 

The luxury night wear brand for kids, Catiouche London, creates beautiful organic garments with prints from the Catiouche bedtime stories. Written by the author Santa Montefiore, the stories are about the girl Catiouche and the cat Max, their dreamy adventures and magical landscapes.

 

The latest story by Catiouche is called ‘The Red Planet’ and is available as a print on the soft Christmassy blanket.

Catiouche hold a number of interactive events for kids throughout the year, featuring bedtime stories by Santa Montefiore and their latest nightwear creations, so it’s worth keeping up with their announcements on their Catiouche London Facebook Page

The brand can be purchased online on http://www.catiouche.com/

 

The WOW Factor: a special report from LFW 2012

You might not possess many things, but what you do MUST have, is the ‘wow’ factor! says photographer and our guest blogger Julia Flit, after visiting Somerset House during London Fashion Week 2012.

LFW 2012, British Fashion Council

After going through the most beautiful ballgowns at V&A and satiating my curiosity about classy and very pretentious dresses, I moved to the hottest trends of today’s fashion at LFW. The burst of colors, shapes, textures, stones, crystals, feathers, and much, much more were overwhelming! This year’s inspiration for most of the collections is a crazy mixture of sixties, nineties and futuristic styles.

It is quite odd but many designers seem to be obsessed with Minnie Mouse this season and her big ears have proved to be a big influence on their creations. Brands from Ebay to Stephen Jones and Sister by Sibling have created perfect outfits to satisfy Minnie Mouse fans. Minnie Mouse Must Haves Auction ebay.co.uk/minniemouse

The highlight of the day for me has been Mawi – a collection of the most beautiful and most glittery handbags. You won’t go unnoticed with one of these jewels. Also the team was beyond all praise! Very loud, very eccentric and very entertaining!

You might not possess many things, but what you do MUST have – is the ‘wow’ factor!

by Julia Flit. You can also find Julia and her beautiful photography portfolio on www.jum-art.co.uk

 

How boys invented Football (Chapter 3)

Apollo, Hermes and Zeus were at the big field one afternoon. The weather was sunny but not too hot and they wanted to do something fun together, when they have spotted a colourful ball by the trees.

‘Yey, the ball is my favourite thing in the world, there are so many games to play’! Said Zeus happily as he was getting the ball and throwing it in the air.

‘Like what’? – said Hermes

‘Well, for example, there is one: you just pass it along to each other and the one who doesn’t catch it is the looser’.

‘I can think of a better one’, said Apollo. ‘Each of us needs to balance the ball on our heads and the one who can balance the longer wins’!

‘How about we split into 2 teams and pass the ball to each other so that 1 team wins’ commented Hermes

‘Great idea! we’ll need to put some lines on the field so we know where the boundaries are!’ exclaimed Apollo, already looking for a piece of thread to use as the boundary line

‘ That’s a great game, let’s say that we can only pass the ball with our feet or occasionally with our heads, we can’t throw the ball over the boundaries and to win each team will need to get the ball into the goals on either side of the field’ – Zeus summed up the rules for everyone.

‘Let’s give this great game a name! How about ‘Foot’ ‘ball’ ? – said Apollo happily

‘Football it is’ cried everyone running off onto the pitch!

 

The Ugly Duckling

A beautiful classic, retold in a hugely entertaining and interactive way in an iPad app for kids which allows them not only to listen and discuss, but also create. Worth a download and a try. The app is created by a Greek company Publisto, who are innovating the interactive book market for kids and we are told, the kids will also be able to get a role of the author by trying different endings for each story…

“I must discover the world!” the duckling says to its pursuers. “I just know one day I will see the whole world, as it truly is!”

Downloads and further information from http://www.publisto.com/apps

The Ugly Duckling Features:

• twenty great storybook illustrations
• great tap animations on each page
• highlighted, narrated text
• rich and engaging story-specific and animated
  • puzzles,
  • connect-the-dots
  • and match games
• six full-screen coloring images in a separate paint section
• touching original music, inspiring ambient sounds and sound effects
• auto-play and record-your-own-voice options
• painstakingly edited original literary writing in all languages
• Four unique Ugly Duckling write-on postcards to share via Facebook, Twitter or

email.

Chapter 1: Apollo and Athena preparing for the Olympic Tennis Tournament

Leisurely scootering past the swimming lake, there are Apollo and Athena, who have just finished practicing their serves and throws ahead of the big Olympic Tennis Tournament.

‘I am just so good at serves’ continued boasting Apollo in his usual charming way. ‘Do you know why I am the best at the serves? In fact, the bestest? The best of the bestest? Why? Why?’

‘Apollo!!’ interrupted Athena impatiently, ‘you are making up words that don’t exist. And secondly, yes your serves are very fast but today you kept throwing them too hard so that they kept ending up outside the court!’

‘Oh, Athena!! it doesn’t matter, does it. Most important thing is that i can hit it as hard as I can and it will go so fast, like the lightning. ooo in fact, i have to tell Zeus, he’ll be really amazed. We can shoot penalties together later and who is the fastest!!’

‘Oh, Apollo, you are doing it again. Its not the speed of lightening that counts in tennis, does it? It’s getting the ball into the right side of the court. It’s the skill, not the speed. Otherwise you will keep loosing points. Got it?’

‘Well maybe i agree, just a little bit, but common, isn’t it fun to just shoot it so so so so high into the sky or even shoot it off the court. haha i have just remembered: I got this beautiful serve and it just passed over the net and landed so close to the front that you didn’t have enough time to catch it!’ exclaimed Apollo really pleased with himself.

Athena was beginning to loose her temper and wanted to remind Apollo that she was in fact the Goddess of Tennis as well as he was, but Apollo interrupted her thoughts saying:

‘Righty right, i shall be off. Hermes and me were planning a cycling challenge and I need to change into my cycling shoes. I will see you tomorrow for more practice and Hera said she’ll be the judge, she knows the rules and will be counting the points. Adios Athena!

‘Bye’. Uff, why do the boys have to boast so much? If I could create a perfect tournament I will only have girls. Girls are fun to play with and boys just want to win all the time. ‘Oh, Aphrodite!’ shouted Athena really pleased to see her friend….

(to be continued tomorrow when we learn all about Ballet from Aphrodite)

Olympic Inspiration – Posters

Unlike books or paintings, posters have a unique talent of capturing the spirit that surrounds the pre-event hype. In a quirky combination of text, symbols and image, the posters are meant to idolize the matter so much so that a single glance will entice the viewer to follow.

This is why posters have always been an inspiration – unlike other mediums which loose the hightened ecstasy of expectation, posters always carry the spark. And these posters are no different – a rare collection of 1972 Munich Olympics posters uncovered by VintageSeekers.com :

Vintage poster advertising the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. The artist Charles Lapique has created a poster that features several Olympic events, using motifs of the Ancient Olympic Games in a modern style.

(More posters and details on http://www.vintageseekers.com/collectibles/vintage-sport-posters )

Footwear Party for Kids

Kids today are spoiled for choice. By the time they can walk, they already have a nifty collection of footwear, which gets regularly updated (lucky them!). Sports shoes are the biggest hit with both the kids and their parents. New colourful GEOX, Tom’s, Adidas and Converse are the usual favourites and we have just spotted something which might get the little feet even more excited!

We love this gold and white SUPRA sneaker for toddlers, also available in other colours and sizes. Developed with a special technology to make it extra lightweight, it’s bound to be a favourite with the sporty fashionistas amongst the youngster crowd.

What’s even better, SUPRA are holding a special launch party to celebrate the new collection. Friday 30th March 3-5pm. RSVP jess@dustpr.com

And parents can indulge in even brighter colours. We are checking them out!

 

Childhood options

Childhood can mostly feel like this:

Having dreams and no means of making it real; climbing on chairs just to get a little bit taller and have a slightly more exciting view of the world… Wouldn’t it be more exciting if that sign said: “What about running around or building a sand castle instead?”

It’s all about giving options, rather than outright “NO”.

Dream of Flying

There are moments in life, when we all just want to take off. This beautiful photography from Jan von Holleben shows just how…

Biker’s dream

Most probably the best way to escape homework…

Exploring the city in a superman suit? YES!!

And of course, everyone’s favourite, flying away with a whole bunch of the colorfull balloons. What a dream…

(Photo source: http://www.janvonholleben.com/?page_id=4&att_id=983)