Something for the Weekend... Picnic in the Park

We love nothing better than a picnic in the park so this weekend armed with blanket, lots of scrummy food and some lawn games we shall be heading to Dulwich park to lie in the sun, eat, drink and be merry.

We suggest you do the same :)

Ship Ahoy....Sale Bargains Ahead

SALE WAS £25.00 NOW £19.50

Our sale is now coming to a close but we had to tell you about about this brilliant dress from Katvig before we set sail!! With it's cute nautical stripe and funky anchor print we think this dress is great for a day by the sea!! So get shopping before it sails off into the sunset :)

We Bloggin ♥ You... Perfect Party

All images courtesy of Sara's Perfect Party.

Everyone loves a good party don't they??! Well we just can't get enough of Sara's Perfect Party a blog dedicated to showcasing the best parties and offering inspiration and ideas that will help you throw the perfect bash!! With one of the Sparkle & Spin scamp's birthdays fast approaching we have been spending hours ooooohhhing and ahhhhing all over this blog!

Check it out!
http://www.saraspartyperfect.com/

We ♥ Art for Babies

We wanted to share with you a brilliant new venture set up by our lovely friend Annette. Art for Babies began in 2008 when Annette created a poster for her newborn son. Annette was interested in the idea that babies are stimulated by simple line drawings in high contrast black and white as their eyesight is developing and so began to draw and having been a life long fan of Pandas created her first screen print Pandamonium.

Since then the project has grown and Art for Babies have created four more posters, postcards, lino cuts and are currently working on a picture book. Their aim is to produce art that appeals to parents as well as children and Art for Babies hope that their prints will sit happily anywhere in the home be it the nursery, the office or the sitting room!!

Check them out!

www.artforbabies.co.uk

Something for the Weekend.... Brockwell Lido & the Lido Cafe

This weekend we're going to kick back and relax and head down to the Brockwell Lido. Endearingly known as Brixton’s Beach the Lido is famed for it's relaxed atmosphere and on a sunny Summers day it's just great!

As much as we love taking a dip in the Lido our main reason for this visit will be lunch at the beautiful Lido Cafe. The recently refurbished Art Deco building is open seven days a week offering a cafe by day and restaurant & bar in the evenings. They offer fantastic freshly made seasonal food and drinks and we just can't get enough of it!! So grab your swimming cossie and take your rumbling tum down to the Lido Cafe and check it out!
http://www.thelidocafe.co.uk

Here Come the Mums.....Natasha Law

Natasha Law, Mum to Edie (10), Ondine (6), Marlowe (5) is a painter trained at Camberwell College and is well known for her paintings and line drawings of women, which lie on the boundaries between art and fashion. Her illustrations evolve from simple line drawings in pen, with colour and detail added as layers, producing her own distinctive style.

1. Where do you look for inspiration?

My children are increasingly the ones i want to draw now adays. Love my photos of friends and family and odd found pictures in books and magazines. And colour is really huge part of my work so I'm always making mental notes on colours I come across - accidental and interesting combinations: peoples socks, posters on walls, paint peeling etc.
2. Greatest influence

Dulux paint. Pop artists like Tom Wesselman, John Wesley, and the Japanese Flat Art movement.. Takash Murakami, Jun Hasagawa etc 3. What's on your wardrobe wishlist for your son/daughter this season?

Katvig jumpsuit, Soft Gallery 4. Name your favourite childrenswear designers

Finger in the Nose hoodies , Soft Gallery, Milibe leggings.

5. Name your and your childs most treasured possession

The telly 6. Earliest childhood memory -

When i was 2 and we went to see my mum in hospital after my brother was born. We went to the post office first and in my memory the post office is the hospital full of beds and nurses.. 7. Describe your perfect family weekend

The summer - a Saturday with swimming at Lido involved somewhere, meeting up with friends and staying out late, followed by a Sunday when the kids have friends over and everyone plays happily until we drag them out to Peckham Rye for some exercise... I love the ones when we get to visit an art gallery but they hate them so that doesn't count.

8. Name the best kept secret in London

Brockwell Park Lido?? Probably better known now than it used to be but still ... and Dog Kennel Hill Adventure playground of course. 9. Name your and your childs favourite bedtime story

They all like different things at moment but the ones that all have enjoyed having read to them (and i can still take away with us on holiday) are Lily and George books (aka Gaspard and Lisa) by Anne Gutman, Dogger by Shirley Hughes, any of the Tim and Ginger stories by Edward Ardizzone, and Atticus the Storyteller's 100 Greek Myths.

10. Do you Sparkle or Spin?

Spin

If You Go Down to the Woods Today ....

You're sure of a big Surprise!!

Well with all the animals we've had arriving at Sparkle & Spin we think it's about time for a teddy bears picnic!! We'll be taking the super soft cuddly WWf Panda bear and Hare with us and of course we can't forget Squirrel Nutkin and Mr Owl in fact with so many great cuddly creatures it's hard to know who to invite!!
Check out our gorgeous red spotty tea complete with it's own carry case perfect for afternoon tea or a picnic this will provide hours of make believe fun. So put your feet up and get your little one to make you a cuppa!

May The Force Be With You

We had such good fun at Emilie's brilliant Star Wars themed party last week that we just had to share it with you. There were Princess Leia's a plenty light, sabres and even Darth Vader made an appearance.
Kid's parties just get better and better :)

Something for the Weekend....Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

We were over in Denmark recently visiting Katvig which was lovely as ever. We did manage to have a few days exploring so for this weeks Something for the Weekend feature we have decided to share with you one of the top places we visited, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

The Louisiana is an international museum with a considerable collection of modern art and is located in Northern Zealand with a beautiful panoramic view across the Øresund. The museum’s permanent collection includes more than 3000 works and includes a beautiful sculpture park in the museum grounds.

LIVING Frontiers of Architecture III-IV the museum's large scale Summer exhibition explores the multiples ways we live in the world today investigating the concepts of home, how we live, where, why and with whom. Featuring film, video, photography, drawings, models and installations it really is a must see exhibition.

We really enjoyed our visit and with amazing art, beautiful surroundings and a delicious cafe we're sure you will too!
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Gl. Strandvej 13, 3050 Humlebæk

Check out Crib Notes

For all those with babies who love a bit of culture you have to check out the Whitechapel Gallery's Crib Notes.

Devised by the lovely Kim Dhillon, Curator and Mummy to the super cute Molly (18 months) Crib Notes gives Mums (and Dads) the chance to go to see and discuss the exhibition Thomas Struth: Photographs 1978–2010 with Chief Curator Achim Borchardt-Hume out of hours and with your baby in tow. We think it's great way to see some art, meet other sleep deprived parents and have a day out that isn't just about the scamps.

Wednesday 13 July, 10am
£6.50, tickets must be booked in advance here Includes exhibition ticket and refreshments.

Pocket Money Parcel

Here at Sparkle & Spin HQ we seem to be invited to celebrate birthday after birthday and of course like anyone we love packing up parcels for the birthday boy or girl but it does begin to become expensive. So we've put our heads together and come up with some great gifts that everyone will love to receive but that don't cost the earth.

With classic rattles from Brio, puzzles from Djeco, great practical jokes and tricks for the cheeky monkeys and much more, we are sure you will be able to stock up your present box while still having a penny or two left for that cheeky Friday night glass of wine ;)

Something for the Weekend.... Okan

This weekend we shall be heading to our lovely friend Moto's new cafe Okan. Based in the brilliant Brixton market Okan offers Okonomiyaki which means "as you like it" and is the most popular and famous street food dish from Japan's second largest city, Osaka. It's a type of savory pancake with Aspecial sauce, Japanese mayonnaise and Seaweed Flakes. Available with lots of different toppings and priced from £6.50 - £8.25 Moto's new venture offers a tasty and affordable anytime treat :)

Some of you may remember us blogging about Moto a while back as she also has a hugely popular stall called Koinobori over at Spitafields market on a Sunday, well we are happy to report that stall Koinobori is still running so if you find yourself over East on a Sunday check out her tasty treats.

Of course all this makes for one crazy busy Japanese lady but she sure knows how to keep hungry tummys happy :)

Okan, Brixton Market
Opening Hours: Thurs, Fri, Sat 12.30-4.00pm & 6.00 -10.00pm (last orders at 9.00pm)

We Bloggin ♥ You... Bozaround

We love writing our blog but what we love even more than that is reading blogs, they are a great source of inspiration and are often a great starting point when our heads feel like a piece of dead wood ;)

It feels like we've been following the brilliant Bozaround forever, we've literally been round the world and back again!! Written by the lovely Vanessa Boz her beautiful images combined with personal accounts of travelling with scamps in tow makes Bozaround the perfect blog for family inspired travel tips. So go and check it out, we love it even if we do get a bit envious sometimes ;)

Every Girls Best Friend

If your little ladies are anything like the Sparkle & Spin girls they will love to get dressed up and of course we all know that diamonds are a girls best friend.

Well no diamonds here but we do have a gorgeous wooden jewellery set from French brand Djeco that your little one is sure to fall in love with. It is perfect for role play or just accessorising a Summer outfit and can be tucked safely away at night in one of our beautiful treasure boxes that make a brilliant addition to any nursery or bedroom.

And of course every little lady needs a handbag for carrying around all those essentials, these cute bag and purse sets make perfect gifts for every little princess and your little lady is sure to carry hers around proudly just like Mummy!

Something for the Weekend... Franks Cafe and Campari Bar

We can't wait to visit the infamous Franks Cafe and Campari Bar that reopens for the 2011 Summer season tomorrow!!
Opening for it's third season Franks can be found perched on top of a disused multi storey car park in Peckham. If you can bear the ascent to the top through the smelly stairwells and unpleasant lifts you will be greeted by a pop up bar offering Campari cocktails, great food and an amazing view of the London skyline. Throw in a few sculptures and it makes for the perfect evening out.

Last year many a lazy Sunday afternoon and evening was spent hanging out in the car park and we plan to make several visits to Franks this Summer. Hope to see you there :)


Franks Cafe and Campari Bar, 10th floor, Peckham multi-storey car park, 10th floor, Peckham multi-storey car park, 95a Rye Lane, SE15 4ST