Me and Kai are proud to be part of a handful of bloggers working in association with Lego Duplo as their ‘experts’. And between us, and thanks to our friends at Lego Duplo, we’re offering our readers a chance to win lots and lots of Lego Duplo, including some great Disney Cars sets, in time for Christmas. There’s 15 prize lots up for grabs, and all you have to do is send an email to duplocompetition@digital-outlook.com, mentioning the name of my blog (Sleep is for the Weak) in the subject and providing your full name and postal address. The competition closes at the end of this week on November 6th, so get your entries in quick and you could win one of these extremely smashing prize bundles…

First Prize (2 winners will get this)

• 1 x Cars ‘The Pit Stop’
• 1 x Cars ‘Tokyo Racing’
• 1 x Cars ‘Agent Mater’
• 1 x Cars ‘Luigi’s Italian Place’
• 1 x My First LEGO DUPLO Set
• 1 x DUPLO Brick Box

Second Prize (3 winners will get this)

• 1 x Cars ‘Tokyo Racing’
• 1 x Cars ‘Luigi’s Italian Place’
• 1 x DUPLO Brick Box

Third Prize (10 winners will get this)

• 1 x My First LEGO DUPLO Set
• 1 x DUPLO Brick Box

Kai’s lucky enough to own all of these Cars sets and they’re a firm favourite, especially Mater and his firing canon. From the both of us, best of luck!

It’s Friday (I think? Is it? Long week!) and today I’m honoured to be featuring the next in my series of designers, artists, and craftspeople with some especially beautiful things to show you, and a giveaway too.

The thing I’m enjoying most about running this feature isn’t just finding new things to fall in love with, it’s meeting and getting to know the people behind them. Today’s artist is someone I could really relate to: a mother with a fierce creative spirit, trying to juggle ways to create and express herself as well as make a living alongside her life juggling a busy family.

Suzanne Harulow of Sky Blue Sea is a textile and freelance artist. As well as her work as a community artist, working in schools and running workshops and training courses, Suzanne hand-makes and sells a range of stunning bespoke and personalised gifts, textile pieces and textile art. Each one is unique, with no two hand-stitched patterns or fabrics ever being exactly alike. I love that.

I love her style. Delicate, rustic, vintage pieces with the cool blues and greens of the sea, and soft pinks and creams of cottage gardens. It’s nostalgic, and charming, and pretty in the kind of way that makes you want to have it wrapped in tissue paper and sent to yourself. I think these are the kind of gifts and treasures that would inspire you, relax you. They make you think of family, and beauty – the sort of objects that anyone would want to surround themselves with.

Mostly I love how Suzanne’s own personality shines though, as I have got to know her a little over the last few days. Reading Suze’s beautiful blog I have been struck by her brave creativity, her courage to experiment and take risks, and to look for beauty in the things around her. Much like me, she’s battled periods of creative frustration and low confidence, and I have been really inspired by how she has found ways to work through that, and to inspire others in turn.

Suzanne’s work is available to buy through her Etsy Shop or  via Not On The High Street.com. All can be personalised and would make gorgeously one-of-a-kind gifts. Suzanne is also starting to exhibit some of her stunning art work, drawings and paintings at NeoArtists.

Looking through her sites this week, my absolute favourite piece were Suzanne’s personalised quote bookmarks and I’m delighted to say that Suze has offered one to give away to one of my readers. Your bookmark will be personalised with your choice of initial, charm, and a quote of up to about 14 words to make it completely personal to you.

All you have to do is leave me comment, but I want you to tell me something. First of all, have a look at Suzanne’s shop and tell me which piece is your favourite and why, and then tell me about how YOU plan to be brave in 2011.

The giveaway is open to all UK residents and closes at midnight on Wednesday 26th January when a winner will be chosen at random.

For an extra, bonus entry, please follow @skyblueseasky on Twitter and tweet about the competition by making use of the share buttons at the top and bottom of the post. Make sure you use the hashtag #skybluesea so I can keep track of your entry.

Blue Sky Blue also has a Facebook page so get a-liking to keep track of news and new product updates.

Good luck! And thank you to Suzanne. Here’s to a courageous 2011 for all of us x

______________________

If you’re an artist or a designer or own a small business offering unique and interesting products and would be interested in me having me feature your work here in return for a small giveaway or discount for my readers, I would love to hear from you. Just use the contact form here.

Good morning. Delighted to have another designer to introduce you to today as part of my new (almost) weekly feature showcasing artists, craftspeople and small businesses as a way of supporting their work, with some very lovely giveaways and discounts to boot.

Today is the turn of Sarah Phillips, owner, designer and crafter of Hope House Press, personally creating stunning leather-bound stationary using vintage bookbinding presses. Her beautiful notebooks, journals, and diaries are every stationary-lovers dream, coming in a whole range sizes and finishes. I think I’d line a whole shelf with them if I could.

Take a look:

Sarah started making books about three years ago, after attending a bookbinding workshop run by a local Arts Festival. She sources her paper from one of Italy’s finest stationery houses and searches for beautiful leather wherever she can find it. Sarah wraps the bound pages in luxurious leather covers, carefully dried in one of her bookbinding presses, to make books that look good, feel good and smell fantastic – something I myself can vouch for after being lucky enough to receive one for myself, the soft leather inviting unwrapping and touching and the sheets and sheets of creamy, thick paper making me want to fill them with words and words and more words.

(Oh I love a good notebook. Can you tell?)

In fact, that’s why I thought Hope House Press would be a good company to feature just now. Every new year I contemplate keeping a journal, a proper one, not a diary so much but a chronicle of thoughts and feelings and impressions, secret and mine. Next year is going to be my year for journalling, I have decided, and Sarah’s book is the perfect invitation for me to dig out my best fountain pen and let the words tumble out.

So if you have been thinking of starting a journal in the new year, or a writer’s notebook for morning pages, or a diary that’s a bit special, and have some spare pocket money, or have been given money to spend on yourself over Christmas, then this, my friends is for you…

Discount!

Hope House Press is offering Sleep is for the Weak readers 20% off all orders over £20 until Friday 7th January. Delivery costs £3.95 to a single mainland UK address and is free for orders over £50. All you have to do is copy and paste the code SLEEPISFORTHEWEAK into the discount field at the checkout.

Orders received by midnight on Monday 20th December will be despatched by Christmas Eve (but unfortunately can’t be guaranteed in time for Christmas). Orders received on or after Tuesday 21 December will be despatched when the studio reopens after Christmas, on Friday 7 January.

Giveaway!

Sarah is also generously giving away one of her gorgeous books to one of my readers.

The winner will receive a Sidekick Journal (normal price £28.95/£29.95) in their choice of one the nine luxurious leathers available to choose in the online shop at www.hopehousepress.co.uk; The winner can choose to have their book bound with either the no-fuss standard cover or the stylish wraparound.

The Sidekick is a perfect writer’s notebook and ‘sidekick’ companion to take with you everywhere. At around 17x12cm it’s chunky and feels lovely in your hand – plenty big enough for extensive journalling or for sketching, even,  but portable enough to pop in your bag. With 200 sheets/400 sides of plain buttery cream laid paper, there’s plenty of pages for ‘page a day’ journalling in 2011 and lots of space to let your imagination run riot.

The winner will be announced this Monday 20th December so that the winner’s prize can be despatched on Christmas Eve and arrive in good time for any New Year journalling resolutions!

All you need to do is leave a comment to enter, and for an extra bonus entry tweet about the competition with the hashtag #HopeHousePress and follow Sarah  (@HopeHousePress) on Twitter (which you should anyway, cause she is proper lovely).

Good luck!

- All images courtesy of Sarah Phillips and Hope House Press.co.uk

If you’re an artist or a designer or own a small business offering unique and interesting products and would be interested in me having me feature your work here in return for a small giveaway or discount for my readers, I would love to hear from you. Just use the contact form here.

*** DRAW CLOSES TODAY (MON 20th) AT 2PM!***

It is official.

My son is some kind of giant child.

At not quite 17 months old he is now growing OUT of his 18-24 month clothes. Kai’s freakishly long body are giving his vests a rather slovingly off the shoulder look and revealing about three inches of bare chest which is probably not ideal in December. And although we’re still rolling up trouser legs, Kai’s enormous Buddha belly is putting serious strain on his waist line. And this is AFTER he’s slimmed down quite substantially since learning to walk.

This is not good news. I was hoping our huge bin bag of nearly-new clothes from the last NCT sale (in which I showed SPECTACULAR elbowing and bagsying skill) would get us right the way through winter. But no, Mr-Growth-Spurt has gone and bloody grew. So inconsiderate.

I have to admit though, I kinda love his little bod at the moment. He’s got all lanky, his legs have lost some of their chubbiness and gone all knobby and long. It’s not a baby body any more, it’s a toddler body, complete with requisite bruises, scrapes and bumps.

His toddler body matches his new toddler moves. He’s walking confidently now, even working up to a little tottering run. He still has a tendency to fall over and charge head first into door frames (hence bruises) but his body confidence is growing, as is his stamina and his desire to walk further and further. He’s learnt how to stamp his feet, which has resulted in some interesting new dance moves, and has perfected the adorable toddler squat as he plays his complicated car games, lining them and pushing them round, or two stop in the street and pick up whatever interesting twig or leaf has caught his eye. I could watch him all day. I really could.

One other change resulting from all the growing and moving around has been his nappies. A month or two back I finally had to pack Kai’s cloth nappies away, given that they were now revealing about an inch of bum-crack, cutting into his chunky legs, and having to be ridiculously padded out to cope with the shear volume of toddler wee.

It was a sad day. I shall miss his big bottom look and pegging them out on the line (I defy anyone to tell me a sight more beautiful and satisfying that clean nappies drying in the sunshine). They’ve now been washed (you’ll be glad to know) and packed away ready for the bambino #2 when we decide we’re brave enough to start this crazy journey all over again.

So, Kai’s in disposables full time. And I have to say, I kind of love them!! Scraping sticky excrement of cloth is something I don’t miss in the slightest, and given the potency of Kai’s poos these days it allows you to work fast: remove, contain, get it as far the hell away from you. Aceamundo. Yes I still get the little twinge of guilt when the (biodegradable) plastic bag goes in the wheelie bin, but I figure 15 month of clothy goodness is more than most manage, so I’m not going to beat myself up too much.

Anyway. I’m waffling.

In keeping with my new (guilty) love of Kai’s disposable-clad bee-hind, Sleep is for the Weak is taking part in a little Treasure Hunt run by the Huggies’ blog Enjoy the Ride. For the first 14 days of December they’re posting a clue to lead you to a parenting website or blog. Solve the clue and find Winnie the Pooh’s honeypot and you get given the chance to win one of 7000 prizes from free samples to a family break at Disneyland Paris.

Check out the Discovery Hunt webpage to find out how to play. All the clues so far are up for you to solve, with a new one everyday, and if you play along you may just find yourself back here in a day or two…

**WARNING** This post contains images of extreme sleep deprivation and bad bed head. You have been warned (it was a looong night last night!)

Right. Here’s the deal.

You’re going to read my review. The Sleep Deprivation Carnival should be up by Monday afternoon and on Tuesday I will announce the winner of the Slanket competition, all disappointed parties can go and buy one here, and then that’s it.

We’re moving on.

It’s time.

But first, you want to know don’t you? You want to know whether the fleece is really as soft as the mythical Angel Unicorn Sheep of deepest Tibet, whether those sleeves really do envelop your arms in the warmth of a thousand kittens gentle breath. Whether wearing one really does feel like returning to the womb in a transformative and healing regressive experience? Whether it’s REALLY everything we’ve been imagining?

Right??

Well the answer is…emm… no. Come on people – it’s a giant blanket with sleeves. Let’s not get silly.

But it is pretty good I have to admit. In fact it, it’s better than pretty good. Being completely serious I actually think it’s rather brilliant.

Imagine if you will a dressing gown four sizes too big and ten times too long which you put on backwards. It has extra length above the neck to create an extra snuggly cowl effect giving the impression that you are in fact some kind of arctic monk.

Now let me get this absolutely, irrefutably clear. Whilst wearing your Slanket you are going to look very, very stupid. No not even ironically cool, not even kitsch cool. Just stupid. But you will be so warm and cosy that you will simply not care.

It is THE perfect slobbing on the sofa attire, but unlike a vastly inferior regular blanket, leaves your hands free for reading, laptop tapping and wine sipping. It is soft, it is cuddly, it is machine washable for the inevitable jam spillage and chocolate smear (I imagine I’ll be testing this feature pretty soon – I fear there was some definite crumbage last night during a marathon biscuit eating sesh).

We also discovered that it makes the most brilliant Halloween costume (as pictured) – I was channelling ‘Death Eater’ in this one. And I must have been channelling more than I had attended as we noticed a mysteriously ghostly orb on this photo after we’d taken it. Quick! Call Derek Acorah!!

I do however, have the following reservations:

1. It causes unbelievably amounts of static electricity and crackles like a mo-fo when you take it off. Ok not a HUGE problem but it does leave you feeling a bit like a giant lightening conductor and for safety’s sake I would recommend you clear the vicinity of pets and small children before removing your Slanket in case they get set on fire or something. However the bonus static mad-hair points are worth considering.

2. You cannot walk in a Slanket. Don’t try it. Seriously. I have a bruise to prove this.

3. You have to put up with looks from your significant other that very clearly demonstrate that your sexy points have just dropped several leagues. In fact that look hints that they may never touch you again. This worries me.

But I love it. OF COURSE I love it. It’s not supposed to be cool. One look at the Slanket website will tell you that they don’t take themselves or their product  too seriously (check out the ‘latest news’!) And that makeS me love it all the more.

Because I love my new best friends at Slanket I would like to offer up the following ideas for future Slanket spin-offs:

1. The Sweetheart Slanket – double width with FOUR arm holes for Slanket snuggling with your loved one (hopefully rekindling some of the romance lost caused by your partner seeing you Slanketing solo).

2. The Breastfeeding Slanket – with handy velcro flaps for nursing.

3. The Party Slanket – take idea one and just add widths and extra sleeves – enough for you and all your mates. Perhaps with the option of joining both ends for a kind of ’round-the-camp-fire’ option.

Right that’s it. See you tomorrow for the Sleep Deprivation Carnival and keep your ear to the ground on Tuesday for the competition winner. I’m off to do an awful lot of typing and try to erase the word Slanket from my mind.

In any case – I’ve already been tipped off about Sleep is for the Weak’s next big obsession. I’m thinking of a whole snooze-wear feature. PRs? Anyone??