Made with Little Smilemakers Studio Fabric // Top 5 December 2017

It is so exciting to see a finished project after working hard on a new collection of design or a series of illustrations for our clients. But with finished fabric designs it is even a bigger surprise to see what customers create. To see how final products evolve when people put their own creative energy in there is amazing.  

If you browse around on Etsy or Instagram for some kids fashion or home decoration you are very likely to stumble upon some Little Smilemakers prints. Most creatives with small home based businesses sell their projects via internet and tag us via Instagram. So we see some amazing things pop up in our feed every month. We love how Little Smilemakers creations are the foundation for other creatives all around the world to work with. So here is our monthly blog post that features some creative results from the US, Australia and India. This month we selected a whole bunch of winter and seasonal inspired fabrics, turned into the most gorgeous items. Kids fashion, nursery accessories and home and interior decoration, so much to choose from! We have selected some cute tote bags, leggings and soft sole shoes. Take a look and see if there is something for your little one too. This is our December top 5 selection. 

1 // Daily Objects 
Next to phone accessories, laptop cases and notebooks, Daily Objects now also launched a new collection of tote bags and pouches in different sizes with beautiful high quality leather detailing. We love those new totes! They make a perfect gift for Christmas. In Holland they have banned plastic bags, a cool shopper is a must. They also added some cool home decor to their range of products. Our prints are now also available on pillows. Oh yes and of course Daily Objects offers world wide shipping on their products too. Click here for their collection.

2 // Le Petit Bouton 
Lisa Gillies a young mum and the owner of Le Petit Bouton. Like many new mums, she was madly searching for items for her little girl that were unique, on trend, and made with beautiful fabric and she was getting frustrated at not being able to find exactly what she wanted. That is why she decided to start her fun shop, stocking gorgeous little girls hair clips, hair ties and headbands using beautiful designer fabrics and organic knits. Our little reindeer girls have also been added to her webshop for this holiday season. Her products are perfect for special occasions, party favors, birthdays, baby showers, new arrivals, school, stocking fillers...the list goes on! Baby skyler is modeling her fun products. Such a cute little girl! Take a look at her shop if you want to get your hands on one. 

3 // Olive the Things 
For our seasonal ‘Made with’ post we selected a cute reindeer sweater. One our our personal favorites for this jolly season. This Utah based shop offers a great selection of soft sweaters, hoodies, shorts and other cool kids items. of you are looking for some cozy pieces for your little one, this is the place. take a look at their Etsy shop and check all fun mix & match pieces.



4 // Hazel & Holly 
We love these cute Origami Santa leggings. Perfect leggings for the holiday season right? And suitable for both boys and girls. This Washington based shop offers handmade kids clothes has a wonderful collection of seasonal fashion for kids. We have created some new Christmas themes that were selected for her new range. Leggings, skirts, beanies. Check them all in her Etsy shop.

5 // Little Pitterpat 
Every month a new set of soft soles pops up in our feed. Little Pitterpat has been using our designs for over two years now and we keep loving the way our fabrics are turned into the most adorable baby and toddler shoes. These soft soles baby shoes are made by hand in Sharies studio in Montana. For this months 'Made with' post we selected their Grizzly Bear Ski Slope print. One of our fave designs suitable for both boys and girls and we know how handy those gender neutral items can be. Looking for a baby shower gift? These cute shoes make a great present. So take a look into her shop if you want to have a pair of these. She has over 500 different items, yes lot's of different prints as well, to choose from. 

Made with Little Smilemakers Studio Fabric // Top 5 December 2016

It is so exciting to see a finished project after working hard on a new collection of design or a series of illustrations for our clients. But with finished fabric designs it is even a bigger surprise to see what customers create. To see how final products evolve when people put their own creative energy in there is amazing.  

If you browse around on Etsy or Instagram for some kids fashion or home decoration you are very likely to stumble upon some Little Smilemakers prints. Most creatives with small home based businesses sell their projects via internet and tag us via Instagram. So we see some amazing things pop up in our feed every month. We love how Little Smilemakers creations are the foundation for other creatives all around the world to work with. So here is our monthly blog post that features some creative results from the US, Australia and India. This month we selected a whole bunch of winter and seasonal inspired fabrics, turned into the most gorgeous items. Kids fashion, nursery accessories and home and interior decoration, so much to choose from! We have selected some cute tote bags, leggings and soft sole shoes. Take a look and see if there is something for your little one too. This is our December top 5 selection. 

1 // Daily Objects 
Next to phone accessories, laptop cases and notebooks, Daily Objects now also launched a new collection of tote bags and pouches in different sizes with beautiful high quality leather detailing. We love those new totes! They make a perfect gift for Christmas. In Holland they have banned plastic bags, a cool shopper is a must. They also added some cool home decor to their range of products. Our prints are now also available on pillows. Oh yes and of course Daily Objects offers world wide shipping on their products too. Click here for their collection.

2 // Le Petit Bouton 
Lisa Gillies a young mum and the owner of Le Petit Bouton. Like many new mums, she was madly searching for items for her little girl that were unique, on trend, and made with beautiful fabric and she was getting frustrated at not being able to find exactly what she wanted. That is why she decided to start her fun shop, stocking gorgeous little girls hair clips, hair ties and headbands using beautiful designer fabrics and organic knits. Our little reindeer girls have also been added to her webshop for this holiday season. Her products are perfect for special occasions, party favors, birthdays, baby showers, new arrivals, school, stocking fillers...the list goes on! Baby skyler is modeling her fun products. Such a cute little girl! Take a look at her shop if you want to get your hands on one. 

3 // Olive the Things 
For our seasonal ‘Made with’ post we selected a cute reindeer sweater. One our our personal favorites for this jolly season. This Utah based shop offers a great selection of soft sweaters, hoodies, shorts and other cool kids items. of you are looking for some cozy pieces for your little one, this is the place. take a look at their Etsy shop and check all fun mix & match pieces.



4 // Hazel & Holly 
We love these cute Origami Santa leggings. Perfect leggings for the holiday season right? And suitable for both boys and girls. This Washington based shop offers handmade kids clothes has a wonderful collection of seasonal fashion for kids. We have created some new Christmas themes that were selected for her new range. Leggings, skirts, beanies. Check them all in her Etsy shop.

5 // Little Pitterpat 
Every month a new set of soft soles pops up in our feed. Little Pitterpat has been using our designs for over two years now and we keep loving the way our fabrics are turned into the most adorable baby and toddler shoes. These soft soles baby shoes are made by hand in Sharies studio in Montana. For this months 'Made with' post we selected their Grizzly Bear Ski Slope print. One of our fave designs suitable for both boys and girls and we know how handy those gender neutral items can be. Looking for a baby shower gift? These cute shoes make a great present. So take a look into her shop if you want to have a pair of these. She has over 500 different items, yes lot's of different prints as well, to choose from. 

Sinterklaas & Zwarte Piet // Dutch Holiday season start // Kleurplaat & Kijkdoos

For non-Dutchies this might be a little bit of a strange post. Each year The Netherlands celebrates Sinterklaas the first week of December. It is quite similar to the well known Santa tradition in the US but our old white-bearded man comes from a typical Dutch heritage. He arrives on a boat with a dozen helpers that come and turn the dark November month into a sweet candy filled mayhem. Like Santa fills socks, Sinterklaas and his Zwarte Piet fills kids shoes with presents and candy.

Each year we try to create a cool freebie around this traditional Dutch holiday. This time of the year we need some cool crafty projects to work on while it is pouring out go sit down and have a nice crafty afternoon with your kids. This year we have a fun project to work on. A Sinterklaas and Zwarte Pier themed set of drawings your kids can color, cut and paste into their Sinterklaas paper Peepshow. Click on the image below and save the file to your desktop. Don't forget to send us your results!

This crafting set was originally made by me around 10 years ago for H&M Holland when I was still working for a design company that was hired to do all H&M's graphic design in The Netherlands. The original illustrations were made for them and this crafting project was a free giveaway they handed out to mommies and daddies shopping for their youngsters.

Top 5 tips // online shopping Christmas gifts for fussy people // tips & tricks for the perfect present

It is that time of the year again, half way November it is sneaking up on you: you have to get started on your Christmas shopping before all awesome things are sold out. But time flies and as you schedule in your day of shopping you realize it is mid-December already. There is no time to cover all those gifts in one day!

Christmas can be pretty hectic and shopping for the perfect gift can be pretty stressful. For some people hand picking a present is almost impossible. How to get your hands on a cool, genuine item your family member appreciates? I love to keep it close and personal, but sometimes some people… First of all, take a deep breath and realize we live in a world of internet and 24hour shipping. Things will be all right! We have made a top 5 for the more fussy peeps, the art of giving.

1 // The Designer
I must be the most difficult person to buy something for so let’s start with a the fussy eco-conscious designer. Go for a one-of-a-kind present and stay away of bulk knick-knacks and artificial materials. Think about something authentic and handmade like a piece of handmade jewelry or licensed designer wall art. Art can be very personal so if your friend is a designer think about what they create themselves, is their style colorful, vintage or minimal? You can find all kinds of styles, on trend and contemporary via Society 6 where you can choose different sizes, frames and of course designs.

2 // The One-Without-Any-Hobbies
One of my family members is really difficult to please when it comes to picking a Christmas gift. Don’t fall into the gift bundle or gift card trap. If you have every unwrapped one of these your know that ‘oh, yeah’ feeling. Not very exciting unwrapping those. Make your gift personal, maybe print out a small photo book of your time together. Spend some money on a shared experience, a high tea together, a day at the museum or a sewing class. Whatever fits best and shows the recipient you put in some effort. We have found some cool courses via Ansje Handmade. Take a look!

3 // The Teen
I did not grow up with a lot of cash when I was a teen so I appreciated every gift coming my way, even second hand clothes. But I remember one gift up until this day: receiving a souvenir from my fathers (then) new girlfriend: a bottle of Sahara desert sand. I loved the fact that someone took the effort to think about me while riding a camel a few 1000 kilometers away. What was perfect about this gift that it was not related to my own style and needs of expression. Stay away from clothes and specific items they do not ask for. (Or get the ones they ask for.) Give them something they haven’t seen before or expands their horizon. A lot of things can do that. A night at the theater, a concert ticket. I loved that little bottle filled up with sand, it made me wonder about the world, about places I had never seen before. After that she gave me tickets to a summer festival I could not afford. She still remains the best gift selector up until today.

4 // The Grandpa
Our older family members can use a little help every now and then and sometimes the Christmas presents they go home with seem to be more like an old people survival kit. Containing weird storage boxes for their daily medicine, walking sticks or those giant sized objects because their sight is not what it used to. Surprise your Grandpa a little and get them something fun, colorful or shiny. Something from the now, some on trend socks or a cool hat your hipster boyfriend could wear. Give them the impression they belong in this time, in the here and now, instead of teaching them they need help. We love Happy Socks but have you heard of the Alfredo Gonzales? They have some cool stuff too.

5 // The Colleague
Not sure if this goes for celebrating Christmas all over the world but in Holland we have a thing called ‘surprises’ where we blindly pick a name form a jar and then we end up having to arrange a present for our dusty accountant 60+ colleague. Everyone has to buy one person a present and that means sometimes it is for that colleague that kinda holds a grudge for you, or that spoiled posh manager. Those things can be tricky. Buying a present for someone you don’t specifically like can be hard but thank god for modern technology. Just check their devices: iPads? Laptop size? What type of phone? And get them some cool case, laptop sleeve or accessory that fits their style or interests. Daily objects for instance offers a great collection of cases. Abstracts, themed, textured, girly. I bet you can find something fun in their collection of designs.

Last but not least we have a top for all guys out there shopping for their wives, girlfriends, mothers or sisters: Stay away from beauty ‘improving’ products and of course kitchen appliances. Oh and lovers: don’t give that ring under the family tree, wait for a private moment!

All right we have covered some of the fussy peeps. Whatever you do don’t buy a ‘joke.’ be considerate and show your loved ones you love them by giving them something from the heart, not so much from the brain. Enjoy giving!

> Cold winterdays, warm winter clothes and sweet lovely notes from overseas friends

by Maaike Boot


Christmas is coming up. I am not supposed to talk about that part of december just yet but i am already selling christmas cards at Kaartje2go.nl. This design is one of my old ones mixed with new details. Ofcourse there is a lot more to find besides this card design. But if you would like to purchase my design and use it for something else, then take a look in my online shutterstock portfolio and pick your fave!