Kids Fashion and Toy Gifts – Gift Guide 2012

Gift guide kid's fashion

lily lately cutest girl's tshirtsFeatured : So I am featuring these t-shirts on my kid’s fashion gift guide because I am absolutely enamored by this brand.  I recently found them at Little Stylings in Newport Beach and they blew my mind.  Lately Lily is THE most perfect brand for little girls I have ever had the pleasure to come across.  The premise?  Lately Lily is a world traveler, daughter to two creative professionals who has grown up seeing the world.

Lily Lately hang tagsEach season is based on a new country and Lily’s adventures there.  The hang tag tells the story of the design and the details are insanely good.  The graphics are cute without being too cutesy and I love that it introduces world travel and life elsewhere that kids aren’t usually shown.

Lily latelyThe colors are always perfection and the website is a wonderful world that I would happily let my kids peruse and learn from.  Lately Lily is a local OC company is amazing and I hope you’ll check them out for your holiday gifting!

kids fashion for gift guide

1 : You know I am a huge fan of Mini & Maximus and their new Boo Yah holiday collection might be their best yet.  Their unisex t-shirts, like this ‘Forever Young‘, are perfect for just about any little guy or girl on your list.

2 : I know I have shared this Lego Black Flag shirt from Hatch before but I freaking love it.  Your little Lego lover will too.

3 : Another favorite from Mini & Maximus, these Boo Yah pants!  Seriously, kids look SUPER cute in these and you know they are comfy too.  Win, win.

4 : What kid wouldn’t want Muno rocking out on their shirt?  This Volcom shirt from Axl’s Closet is perfect for your little YGG lover.

5 : Aven Clothing is a new-to-me brand.  I am in LOVE with their suspenders and think my little guys would look so cool with these!!

6 : While we don’t get a lot of cold weather here in So Cal, these snowboarder hats by Eli’s Lids are so cute.  My little guys like to wear beanies on our walks to school and how adorable would they look in these!

gift guide toys

kids toys for gift guide

1 : My youngest son loves to color, loves dinosaurs and loves to put puzzles together.  Boom.  Except that by the time I posted this the item was no longer available and I’m too lazy to go back and change the image.  So I found something even better.

2 : Are your kids performers?  Both my son’s like to sing and dance.  And both have asked for these Wrap Star microphones.  My husband and I will probably get some too since we have delusional aspirations to be a family band (the only thing standing in our way is our lack of musical talent).

3 : I can’t remember where I first saw these Paper Punk paper toys but I am in love with the designs.  They have a few options and older kids would have a great time with these.  There is also an option for a party pack which I think would make a great activity during a celebration.

4 :  Zara recently launched their home collection including this cool kid’s apron.  It comes in two different colors and would be a super cute gift when wrapped up with some cookie utensils or even a boxed mix.

5 : Like little green, army men, these little green skateboarders will make the perfect stocking stuffers for your little dudes.

6 : Earlier this year, my kids got to be in a Raskullz photo shoot.  We got to check out the bikes and scooters in person and they were SO fun!  My kids were drawn to the T-Rad Rex and the Police bike, but I loved the Sparkle Heart Bike.

7 : My kids are in to every kind of gun imaginable right now.  Especially laser guns.  My oldest has this game, Johnny the Skull, on his list.  And I’m totally certain that my husband and I will play this game after the kids go to bed.  Who doesn’t want to shoot ghosts?!

Other gift guides for 2012:  Hostess Gifts, Books for kids and adults

Book Gift Ideas for Kids and Adults – Gift Guide 2012

Gift Guide for books

gift ideas books for friends

1 : Who doesn’t love Todd Selby?  And now, in Edible Selby, he shares the food world through his art.  Yum!

2 : My husband’s friend, Justin Van Hoy, wrote Milk & Honey.  I was lucky enough to meet Justin and his wife this summer.  Justin passed away last week, unexpectedly, and the world has lost an extraordinary talent and important member of the art community.  The book is AMAZING and is the perfect gift for anyone in your life that loves art, style, and color.

3 : Food Fashion Friends by Fleur Wood may have been on my list last year.  But I still don’t have it.  And I still really want it.  Full of gorgeous images and entertaining ideas this book would make any gal swoon.

4 : Being from Orange County, LA can seem like world’s away due to ridiculously terrible traffic.  But it really is a City of Style with tons of amazing things to experience.  Perfect for people who wish they lived on the West Coast and locals alike.

gift ideas books for kids

5 : You know my family loves Dallas Clayton.  Make Magic, Do Good is his newest book.  This book will be here soon (Shhh, don’t tell my children!)

6 : How rad are these colors?!  I saw the cover of this book on Chronicle Books Instagram and had to check it out.  Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth is stunning and since I have a sweet tooth of course it is a favorite. The graphics are truly exceptional and I think any kid would love to open this up on Christmas morning.

7 : My boys and I read books every night before bed.  There are some books that I tolerate and they love.  There are some that I love and they (impatiently) tolerate.  But Stuck, we all enjoy.  It is charming and humorous and I love to gift this book.

8 : Do you have ‘Children Make Terrible Pets‘?  It is another one of our favorites.  Beatrice Bear is adorable.  My kids heard the author on the radio one day and he was talking about his new book, ‘You Will Be My Friend‘ and the boys demanded we get it.  SO great!  Peter Brown’s illustrations are perfect and the length of these books are just right – not too long, not too short. :)

Did you miss Day 1?  Hostess Gifts

 

The Best Christmas Gift Ever

Best Christmas Gift Ever by Craig MetzgerThis piece by Craig Metzger is my favorite Christmas gift.  Ever.  Our oldest son started speaking when he was pretty young.  My head does not save information like that so I can’t tell you how old he was.  And he didn’t really baby talk.  He’s always been pretty articulate.  So I shouldn’t really be surprised by one of his very first words.  One day, on my way to drop him off at daycare, I tried to play a little game of repeat in the car.  I would say a word and see if he could/would repeat it back to me.  I chose easy words like car, tree, Starbucks, you know, all the things you pass on your way to work and I’m pretty certain he just ignored me.  And then, while stopped at a light, someone rode past the car on a bike.  So I jokingly said, “say bicycle.”  And from the back seat I heard the most perfect “bicycle” ever uttered.  It was really funny.  That Christmas, my husband commissioned this piece from his friend, Craig Metzger, for my gift.  It has hung in every family we have had since then and it is something so personal, and thoughtful and it is something I will have forever.  It is hard to tell from the photo but this is all done with cut paper!

So this leads me to your favorite Christmas gifts.  What are your favorites to give and receive?  I’m in the process of putting together my annual gift guides.  Is there a product that you think I need to know about to share with my readers?  Email me!  cupcakesandcutlery at gmail.com.  Whether you are a brand or an individual I’d love to hear about your Christmas gift ideas!

2012 Holiday Gift Guide {Coming Soon!}

I am feverishly working on my gift guide for this year.  It is coming together quite nicely but it is quite time consuming.  I hope you will check back on Monday to see what I have come up with this year.  In case you missed it, you can check out last year’s list here.  (I still LOVE all those items too!)
Sharon

Inspiration Board Challenge – March

I’m so happy to have Janelle and Samone of Cake Ink as our next participants for the inspiration board challenge.  And here is a few reasons why:

image via Cake Ink

1.  They are super awesome.  I mean, a cake creator (Janelle) and graphic designer (Samone) duo.  To me, that is what my powers would be if I was a super hero.  And just look at that cake above!  The absolute perfect mix of cool, creative and stylish.  Janelle can rest assured that one day, when I turn up in Melbourne, I will be ordering a cake from her.

image via Cake Ink

2.  Their use of color makes me giggle with happiness.  Take the girly pirate party above.  How absolutely sweet are those colors but the graphic design keeps it edgy.  I like to think that if I had a little girl that all her parties would look like this one.

image via Cake Ink
3.  THE DETAILS.  Samone starts with the normal invites, adds amazing graphic elements and then adds on the most adorable tags, silverware wraps, cupcake flags, etc.  And check out that garland!  I know that they will create a fantastic inspiration board based on the item I chose for them! 

The item that I chose for this month is a children’s t-shirt design from Boscoe 79.  My friend, Beki, sent me a link to this company because she knows that I am a sucker for well designed kid’s attire.  These shirt graphics are totally cool.  The company is run by a husband and wife team, Cody and Jennifer, and I think they are amazing.  One of the coolest things about this company is that for each shirt you buy, one is donated to a child in need.  So great!

images via Boscoe 79

I will let Cake Ink decide if they want to use the boys or girls version of the record player for their board.      I love them both.  These are totally shirts that I will buy as gifts for friends and family.

images via Boscoe 79
You simply must go check out their site and read their story!  After emailing with Jennifer I learned that our families have tons of stuff in common, including our oldest kid’s sharing a birthday and our husbands working for the same company but at separate times.  I am so glad to share this awesome company with all of you.  Please let them know how awesome their designs are! 
Wishing all of you a very fantastic March!
Sharon