Wednesday 30 October 2013

Halloween party food

It's very nearly that spooky time of year so we thought we would put together some of our favourite Halloween party food ideas (all treats, no tricks here!)...

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Fun on the photoshoot

As we have some new and exciting products to add to our website that needed photographing, we decided that it was the perfect opportunity to hire a studio and get some new shots taken of all our products. With the help of fab photographer Susie Fisher we were able to get some great photos. It was brilliant working with Susie - she was very patient, professional and fun to work with. We would highly recommend her to anyone looking for beautiful photos.

Here are a few behind the scenes pics of our afternoon at the studio...




A few props...!


The lovely Susie Fisher...











It was a slightly different experience to our photoshoot 3 years ago, which was at home in the conservatory! 



Keep your eyes peeled for the new products - we hope to have them up on www.littlebluezebra.com/shop soon...!

Saturday 12 October 2013

Little Blue Zebra turns 2!

It's hard to believe that another whole year has gone by and that Little Blue Zebra is TWO TODAY!

To celebrate our 2nd year we are offering 20% OFF ALL OUR PRINTS AND CARDS until next Saturday 19th October - please use the special discount code 2LBZ20 at the checkout.

Reaching this milestone we can't resist a quick review of some of the things we've been up to over the past 365 days...

It's been another fun filled year with our first appearances at two trade shows - Bubble London in January and Top Drawer in September. Following the success of these, we are delighted that our prints now feature in lovely shops around the U.K. and overseas!




We've also enjoyed meeting lots more fabulous customers at a number of great fairs, including the 2012 Penshurst Christmas Market, Appleduck's Handmade With Love event, the Weald of Kent Craft & Design Show, and the Wealden Times Midsummer Fair.




Seeing our designs brought out as jigsaw puzzles by Ravensburger in the USA and France has definitely been a big highlight of the year.

 

And we've been really pleased with the response to our new birthday and new baby card range.


But enough reflection,  here's to what the coming year has in store! We're really looking forward to bringing out new ranges of prints and cards - what else will be reviewing at our 3rd year mark..? 

A big thank you to all our customers - it continues to be a huge pleasure! xx

Thursday 10 October 2013

Little Blue Zebra is puzzling!

A little while back, okay, a long while back, we hinted about some Little Blue Zebra designed jigsaw puzzles! Well, we are thrilled to share them with you now. We were all very excited when puzzle giant Ravensburger in the USA and in France approached us to collaborate on two ABC jigsaw puzzles.

After working with them on the design, here is the final 'super sized' ABC floor puzzle, which is selling very successfully in America. Unfortunately, due to licensing arrangements we are currently unable to sell it on our own website but it is available to buy through the Amazon.com website (not through Amazon.co.uk).



And here is the design selling well in France, which for all you French speakers (or those wanting to learn!) is available to buy through Amazon.co.uk.



Puzzling, very puzzling! 


Autumn Art

Stepping out this morning it definitely felt like autumn had well and truly arrived. It was one of those perfect autumn mornings when it's cold, crisp and sunny. Some little people even managed to coordinate their look (in their Elfie knitwear) with the striking autumn colours...


Here's hoping the weather stays bright for the coming weekend. That way we can get out and collect some of the amazing leaves and create some autumn leaf art. Here are some of our favourites...





http://www.pinterest.com/pin/277464027016090628/
http://www.myowlbarn.com/2011/10/autumn-leaves.html
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/277464027016090642/
http://theartroomplant.blogspot.co.uk/2009_08_01_archive.html

If some of the things we collect don't lend themselves to being cut, stuck or painted, we might just use them to create a 'nature table' indoors!

Happy Autumn everyone x

Friday 23 August 2013

Porcupine pasta - cooking with kids

Ideas for cooking with children

My lovely boys are always so keen to 'help' me when I'm cooking and, as much as I try my best to let them join in and help, it is always a bit of a struggle to find something which they can actually help with - something that isn't too hot or too sharp!

Well, we recently invented a new dish that Oliver has named 'Porcupine Pasta'. We had intended to make lasagne only to discover that we had run out of lasagne sheets. So instead we improvised with the only pasta we had left in the cupboard - Rigatoni! As it turned out, it was the perfect dish for them to help with. We poured the sauce into the bottom of the dish and then the boys stuck all the rigatoni pasta into it so that they were sticking out like porcupine spikes! Then we covered the pasta with a white sauce, sprinkled it with cheese and baked it in the oven. Preparing the dish kept them entertained and they were actually able to be helpful in the process! Best of all, they loved tucking into it!

Talking of porcupines, here is the gorgeous little one from John Butler's best selling book 'If You See A Kitten'. You can see more of our lovely little animals here!


Happy Friday everyone
x

Monday 19 August 2013

Back To School - top ten buys

It's that time of year when thoughts turn to the new school year, which is fast approaching us. It is especially exciting in the Little Blue Zebra family as the eldest of our little ones is starting school. He is very excited to finally being going to big school!! I just hope his enthusiasm lasts when he realises he has to go every day! 

We thought we would compile a list of some of our best finds for the start of term, from labels to lunchboxes...


Wednesday 14 August 2013

Beano Town

Earlier this week Oliver and I took a trip up to London. I am always so amazed at how much there is going on for little ones. We took our usual stroll along the Southbank and stumbled upon Beano Town. It is a free exhibition celebrating 75 years of the country's favourite comic. Needless to say Oliver was very excited to get involved in the all the activities they had going on.

And it seems the fun doesn't stop there on the Southbank as there are lots of other events and activities taking place. So if you're looking for something to entertain children this summer it seems the Southbank is the place to be!