about our string

When you buy a pack of our ecopapershapes you may notice that they come with a little extra gift tag tied on with black string.

What you may not notice is that this string is actually made out of paper! So you could just chuck it in the recycling with the rest of the packaging. Or...

... you could use it to make some jewellery for a Dress Up Doll.

Or a bracelet for yourself? We'd love to see what else you can come up with...

costume change

If your Dress Up Doll feels a bit too contemporary, you could always create a whole new wardrobe for it.

Minna came up with these fantastic historical costumes the other day.



Can you tell that Horrible Histories is one of our favourite tv programmes?

Not to be outdone, Ida produced this striking ensemble:

That's an 'Easter bonnet', apparently. What will your doll wear?

confused cubby holes?

Not any more! Our Alphabet is just perfect for introducing a bit of order to those cluttered storage areas.

 Now you just have to persuade everyone to put their hats in the designated place...

storage solution

Ida evidently has a very tidy mind. After decorating her ecopapershapes Tea Set with some very on-trend neon accents, she announced that they needed some shelves to sit on – so we made those too, out of a shoebox. 
 

Get your Tea Set here. And why stop at shelves? You could make a whole cardboard box kitchen...

papercharms doodles

We spent yesterday afternoon playing a doodling game with Papercharms.

The challenge was to pick a shape and doodle it into something else.

A teapot person and cloud apple tree...

This house has tiny but cheery inhabitant in the attic.

What will your Papercharms turn into?

painless party bags

Personally, we think the whole party bags thing has got a bit out of hand. We'd rather our kids trotted home with a slightly squashed slice of cake wrapped in a paper napkin than clutching a bag full of party loot which has cost considerable time and money and which usually ends up kicking around in the bottom of a drawer. Bah humbug.

But if party bags are non-negotiable for your kids, what about giving a pack of our ecopapershapes? They're a crafty, creative alternative which have a multitude of uses and will appeal to kids aged 4-14 (and quite a few adults too). Plus they're already neatly bagged up and we've even thoughtfully added a little gift tag to each pack so you could write the names of your party guests on them. What could be nicer?

You can get them here –  and keep watching our blog for more ideas on making your party go with a swing...

your ecopapershapes

 

Florence (aged 3) and Jessica (aged 5) sent us these snaps of pictures they made using our Dress Up Doll. Florence's bobble-hatted doll is 'going up in a space rocket' and Jessica's picture is of a 'roller-skating, tight-rope doll in the rainforest'. We're very impressed!

If you'd like to show us what you've made with ecopapershapes you can send us a photo here – we always love seeing what you've made.

best stocking filler

Even though they're not made from recycled card, these little plastic flowers have been such a hit in our house that we had to share them.

Minna and Ida each got a pack in their stockings. They are called Blumen-stekteile and they come from Germany. Apparently they have been made in the same factory since the 1970s.

You link them together to make daisy chains. Ida's personal word for joining them together is 'schwipping' – and disconnecting them is, naturally, 'unschwipping'.
 

Even the cat is fascinated by them. 

You can make them into bracelets, belts, anklets, crowns, necklaces, put them around your favourite mug, loop them around the strap of your bag, make your cat wear them as a collar (this last effort was not quite so successful and we really wouldn't recommend you try it) ...

We were all sporting technicolour daisy chains throughout the Christmas holidays. 

We discovered them in Eeny Meeny, a shop in Tuffnell Park which has a fantastic selection of cool and quirky things for kids. The owners have a real eye for creative, well-designed and properly fun toys (the three things don't always go together). It's definitely worth a look if you're in the area – but they also sell online, conveniently. Check it out.

A nice postscript: we gave a pack of Blumen-steckteile to one of Ida's classmates as a birthday present recently, and when her mum (who is German) saw them she absolutely shrieked with joy. She remembered having them when she was a little girl and had no idea you could still get them...

your ecopapershapes

Lexie Demetrius made this lovely picture, using our Papercharms in a particularly cunning way. Can you spot which shapes she drew around to ornament this lovely thank you message? We're very taken with the raffish Cat in the Hat...

Thanks for letting us see what you've made with ecopapershapes, Lexie!

new year, new outfits

Our fashion-forward Dress Up Doll is all ready to take on this year's hottest trends. What will yours wear in 2014?