Tarquin and Troops Children's Prints - Review & Giveaway

Living in a rental home means that we are limited when it comes to how we can decorate. In order to make it a bit more homely and feel like ours, I tend to buy a lot of wall hangings and pictures to brighten the place up as we cannot wallpaper or paint. Whenever I heard about Tarquin & Troops, I was drawn in by their beautiful prints.

Tarquin and Troops prints are all about different animals from around the world in everyday uniforms. They are aimed at children and it's a bit of a tongue in cheek look at professions and celebrities. We received five prints from the Tarquin and Troops Etsy store and I couldn't wait to display them in the children's room; Stanford the Sloth Bear Sailor, Reginald the Rhino Soldier, Benjamin Bear Policeman, Chef Seymour the Snake and Bernard the Bengal Tiger Bus Conductor.

The prints come unframed but as they are A4 size, I was able to pick up five frames for only £1.85 each at IKEA that suited perfectly. I love a black frame as they really make the image pop. The quality of the prints is absolutely fantastic, no fading and they are so bright and colourful - perfect for any child's bedroom, play room or nursery. The animals are so happy and friendly and the children fell in love right away.

C was very excited to tell me where he wanted to put them in his room. I spoke to him about the names of each character and what their job is (although he does refer to Reginald the Rhino Soldier as the Grand Old Duke of York!). I feel that because each one already has a name and "profession", it encourages children to maybe come up with a little background for them and create a persona for them. C and E were familiar with some of the animals' occupations such a chef and policeman but they did ask a lot of questions about the others. I didn't even realise that they would be such an educational resource too. 

The prints are so fun and make me smile when I see them - something that the children do too! The Tarquin and Troops animal prints are available to purchase from Etsy via digital download for £4.80 each. You can view the entire range at the Tarquin and Troops Etsy page or follow them on Instagram or Facebook.

I also have a giveaway for my readers with two chances to win! To be in with a chance of winning two Tarquin and Troops prints for yourself, just fill in the Gleam widget below. Good luck!

T&C's:

• Two winners will win two Tarquin and Troops prints of their choice which will be supplied via digital download for winners to print and frame themselves
• The giveaway will run from July 18th until August 1st
• Open to entrants aged 18+
• UK residents only
• One entry per person
• No automated entries

Two Tarquin and Troops prints

(We received these prints for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)  

 

Transforming E's Nursery to a Big Girl Room

E is very quickly approaching two years old and judging by her funny little character and how much she talks, she definitely isn't a baby any more (as much as I hate to admit it). First bedrooms, when you're preparing for baby to arrive tend to be just that - babyish. Now that I have a toddler, I need a more grown up room for her.

Of course I have bits in her current room that I could keep like her gorgeous little framed picture from Pink Rabbit Designs on Instagram. It's pink and glittery - of course that can stay in!

If you follow my blog or social media accounts, you'll know that I like entering the odd competition. I was lucky enough to win some bits that I'm saving to put in her room when it's done up. I won a gorgeous pink, floral teepee from Vobe which I was wanting to put in the corner as a reading nook. I think if I had some pink and cream scatter cushions on the floor inside it would be really cosy. Another win that I had was a voucher for a wall sticker company called Koko Kids. Obviously, I stuck with pink and chose floral woodland designs.

When it comes to the bigger items, Room to Grow have some gorgeous children's furniture bits. Our house currently looks like a library and there are books everywhere you turn. The Parisot Alice bookcase is the cutest kids bookcase that I have ever seen and I think it matches the picture in my head of what I want E's room to look like. On further inspection, and as I want everything matching, I noticed that the Parisot Alice range also includes a 3 drawer chest, bedside table, desk, dressing table, bed and wardrobe. I want it all! I think she'll end up having a better bedroom than me!

I tend to mostly stick to online stores - just because it's easier! - but Next's bedroom range always draws me in. They have a beautiful Vintage Ditsy Print bedding set and matching curtains which would match the wall stickers I have perfectly.


Finally, I have some little bits that I feel would just finish the room off. The bow holder was another competition win from xlilbowpeepx on Instagram. E may be only 21 ones but she has about 300 bows so I definitely need tons of storage for them. The name bunting was also a little win from Sweetpea Craft Cottage and the Shakespeare quote is one of my favourites. 

I'm so excited to get to work on E's big girl room (through tears of course, as I come to terms with the fact that my baby is no more!). I think she'll love it! Then I'll have to get to work on C's!

This is a sponsored post.

Personalised Door Plaque Review

Treat Republic are a fabulous company specialising in hand picked and personalised gifts. Perfect for fuelling my personalised item obsession! 

Treat Republic very kindly sent us one of their Personalised Lion Engraved Door Hangers to review. 

The first thing that I noticed was how lightweight the door plaque was as it is made from pine. There is no risk of it falling down due to weight or banging against your door as you open and close it to check on your child. It is threaded with rustic woven cord and so is very sturdy. It has a lovely new wooden smell too (I can't be the only one who likes that!?)

The lettering appears to be burned into the pine which gives it a much better and cleaner appearance than if it were hand engraved. We love the little lion picture and the font it very fun!

I would definitely recommend these to other mums and would make a great gift for a child or newborn baby. 

This door hanger measures 18cm x 10cm x 1.5cm and is priced at £14.99. 

You can find more about Treat Republic on their website, Facebook and Twitter. 

(Disclaimer: We received this producw free of charge in exchange for an open and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)