colour and shape

Sometimes, being in Carry Me Home is like being in a wonderful picture book, full of beautiful shapes and colours.

Because really, whatever your age, how can you resist an amazing or unusual colour combination, or a funny and fantastic print? Sometimes clothes really can change your mood. I have a favourite red jumper that has a dog print on it. I wear it when I'm nervous, or meeting people for the first time because it is such an ice breaker, it always seems to make people (me included) be happy and relax. How wonderful is that?! I think our baby clothes (such as the moustache baby grow pictured below) have that element of pure, unadulterated loveliness, that makes me appreciate clothes all the more.

I rather think these photos speak for themselves, but just look at the cheeky prints, such as the grey moustache baby grow below. Or how about the handmade, reversible dress pictured above? It's a little bit happy, a little bit arty and a lot of bit cute!

Stars seem to be featuring quite a lot in the shop at the moment, and why not when they're as cute as the navy stars top pictured below? Last weekend we had a customer who bought the baby grow version for 3 different friends who were pregnant...what a magical group of babies they're going to be!

And of course for any wildlife fanatics out there, what would you do without a bird print? I am personally very taken with the (as I've chosen to christen them) 'disco owls', but the roosters seem to have a more knowing, slightly French cool-thing going on (tres chic).

So, put on your favourite print, in a nice happy colour and wear your biggest, bestest smile because colours and shapes are just marvellous :)
(especially at 2.9 Kingly Court, Carry Me Home)

team gb

 

 I don't know about you, but here at Carry Me Home, we are in the midst of an Olympic fever!

It's probably because our lovely little shop is located in the heart of Central London, but it seems like every customer we meet is heading to the games, or has a new bit of Olympic news to share, which just makes the whole thing even more exciting!

Of course, we're a little bit biased toward team GB, who as we type are currently third in the medal table. What an amazing achievement this games has been for all of our Olympians!

We thought we'd champion our own team GB right here in the shop, by which I mean showcase some of our products that were 

designed and made right here in Great Britain...

 1. 'Rock Baby' baby grow
All of our Carry Me Home own label baby grows, hats, t-shirts and bibs are made from 100% cotton and manufactured in the UK. The designs are all lovingly made right here in Carry Me Home HQ in Kingly Court, London. And 'Rock Baby' has a union jack design as well, super patriotic :)

2. Thomas Bear
Thomas is just one of the fabulous Carry Me Home bears, which are limited edition, hand made in Yorkshire and come with a special personalised tag. A more special baby gift you could not hope to find.

3. Beau Loves Stripe Playsuit
All 'Beau Loves' garments are manufactured (with love) in the UK. This stripe playsuit is especially cute now that summer has arrived (and no-one can resist the tiny pockets on the bum, they're adorable!)

4. Happy Accidents Dress
Happy Accident dresses, toys and bunting are all handmade by one of our very favourite people, Steven. Now based up North, we are always excited to get a parcel in the post containing a riot of fabrics, colours and prints, lovingly crafted together to create one-off special garments, toys and decorations.

5. Arty and Bella
Handmade in London, Arty and Bella create the sweetest little hair accessories. Simple, cute and beautiful.

So, those are our 5 members of Carry Me Home team GB. Are there any of your favourite Carry Me Home items that we've failed to add? Which item should win a gold medal for cuteness? Do let us know on facebook or twitter, and enjoy the rest of the games :)

Made for Mother's Day

How time flies! Can you believe it's already March? The weather is as unpredictable as ever, but fingers crossed for spring time sunshine soon!

Of course there is one VERY special event that is happening this month...Mother's Day! That's right, if you hadn't already got it circled on the calendar and underlined in the diary, it's on Sunday 18th March.

Here at Carry Me Home, we think it's very important indeed to show mums some TLC and give them a big thank you. And mums, there's nothing wrong with a bit of self-gifting either!

So, we've put together a few Mother's Day gift ideas (as always available online and in our Kingly Court baby boutique) that we're sure any mum would love to receive!

How about a 'Boo Boo' gift box containing lots of beautiful lotions and potions for any new or expectant mum to pamper herself with?

Or there's our ever popular 'I love chocolate so does my mum' which comes in a bib or baby grow and would make a super gift alongside a nice big box of chocs, mmm...

And for that extra special gift, why not get your bib, baby grow, hat or t-shirt personalised? It makes a unique present and is sure to win many brownie points (that's a hint for the dads!)!

Whatever you do and wherever you are have a super day, and mums put your feet up and enjoy! x

something a little bit special :)

This morning we got a lovely email thanking us for a customised baby grow order we recently made. 'Worth the wait' looked perfect in gold writing with a pretty silver star (although I did get slightly confused on the phone with 'worth the wait/ weight in gold'!) and it was certainly well received...

"Just wanted to say a big thank you for our gorgeous Baby Gro we received today in the post. Its totally perfect and we can't wait to see our new arrival in it!"

...how lovely is that?

It's always so nice to hear when someone loves their new and unique carry me home gift. Below is a little showcase compiling some of the customised orders we've had recently. Often people get inspiration by looking at our existing designs (online and in the shop) and adapting them. No ask is too big or small and we're always happy to help you decide on what to say, what colours to pick or what pictures to have. We know how special every new little arrival is, and how wonderful it is to have something unique and personal that baby, mum and dad can keep and cherish for years to come.

I feel all warm and happy now, so thank you back for our lovely thank you, and if anyone has any pictures of their little ones in a carrymehome baby grow, hat, bib, dress, t-shirt...we'd love to see them! x

'C' is for carry me home

Here at Carry Me Home we love letters and we love learning. And there's nothing more important than getting to grips with your ABCs!

Look at all the different fonts we found in the shop, it's a typography treasure trove!

But can you solve the puzzle? All of the letters below are taken from our most popular products instore and online. Which ones are from where?

Good Luck!

12 reasons to smile in 2012!

It's that old familiar feeling, we've had all the excitement of Christmas and New Year, and now we have... January. The weather is a bit, well not really anything, and we're all feeling deflated after all of that festive excitement.

So we thought we'd share some Carry Me Home joy, and give everyone 12 good reasons to smile in 2012! (No workout DVDs or diet plans here, promise!)

1. This 'Smile' t-shirt. It just makes you feel happy!

2. The fact that the 'Smile' t-shirt is part of our sale! online and instore.

3. Sale shopping in general. Nothing quite makes you as satisfied as a hefty discount (speaking as a lady with new boots and mittens (1/2 price) I can guarantee this).

4. With this in mind, the rest of the Carry Me Home sale is a perfect happy place. Featuring this lovely babygrow (pictured below), along with several other items of clothing, toys and accessories. 5. New stuff! New Year, new lovely things coming into the shop, like this fabulous t-shirt (we'll put it online soon, or pop in to the shop and bag it first!)

6. Chocolate. Always and forever the ultimate pick me up. Even the yucky ones at the bottom of the tin and the last of the selection pack.

7. A chocolate bib, of course :)

8. The Grayson Perry exhibition at the British Museum. I wouldn't suggest you take the kids, but this is a lovely exhibition featuring lots of strange artefacts collected from the British Museum's archives, alongside new and old works by Grayson Perry (ceramics, tapestries...iron cast death ships) The real reason to go? The show is a complete homage to Grayson's teddy bear Alan Measles, who features everywhere. The picture below shows Alan Measles' own version of the popemobile, in which he and Perry toured Germany. Click here for more information.

9. Alan Measles the teddy bear is 50 years old, and cherished by his owner. We like to think our Carry Me Home bears are worthy of that kind of devotion. Like Hubert here. I'm sure he'd love to have his own exhibition!

10. All the new babies that will be born in 2012

11. Olympics, Euro 2012, diamond jubilee. Quite a lot is actually going to happen this year. Thought I better mention that.

12. There's only another 352 days until Christmas!

Dimples

We had a delivery of these super cute dimples socks today, one of our best sellers! They come separately on a card - perfect as a little treat or as an extra with another present, or they come as 2 or 3 pairs in a lovely hard wearing box. We have pink, red or black Mary Janes for girls, and blue or brown trainers for little boys. Available online or in our Carnaby Street shop.

Bit of Whimsy

Here are a few of our latest arrivals - we had a delivery of Whimsy dolls during the week. Each doll is handmade and unique. This is just a small secection of my favourites. I love Callista Mae's cute hair style, and Hailey Mae's little lemony dress is so cute! Quinby the fox is one of my absoloute favourites (love his green and white patterned arms and tail!) and Keira the bunny is just adorable! Look at her little face! As well as being completely unique, each doll is individually named and numbered. We have loads of lovely whimsy dolls waiting to be carried home in the shop, but they wont stick around for long! Check out our website for lots more lovely toys and gifts.

Little rabbit night light friend

We got a delivery of these lovely night lights a few weeks ago, but they were so popular they sold out straight away! Not to worry, they are back in stock now and also available on our website. Makes the perfect night light for little ones. 15 cm tall, comes with batteries and a very cute face, how can you resist?

New T shirts - Dinosaurs and Space Creatures!

Here's just a few of the super cool T shirts we have in at the moment. 'Spacies' is my personal favourite, so retro! Also love the bright green T - 'You are all Dinosaurs' - wouldn't mind one of these for myself! And the Dinosaur print carries on to the back of the T too. And last up one of our old favourites 'I Rock', cant go wrong with this top and a little guitar rattle! Check the website for lots more amazing T shirts!

Been Inside for 9 months... now back in stock!

After a long wait, the 'Been Inside for 9 months' baby grows are finally back in stock! Available in black and white (as shown) and also in pink and blue, they come in sizes 0-3 months or 3-6 months. The version we have at the moment is a lighter weight jersey, with short sleeves and legs - perfect for summer! One of our best sellers, they wont be in stock long - so check the website quick!

New in for girls!

We have so many lovely new things in the shop at the moment, thought id start by showing you all the beautiful things for girls. Lots of lovely bright coloured cotton, nice and cool for summer! We've got some extra colourful dresses from Steven and Minimod in stock - in sizes 3-6 months right up to 2-3 years, and also a gorgeous frilly dress by Oobi, with a super cute love heart print. Also from Oobi are some lovely little red polka dot sun hats, with cute contrasting buttons, and my personal favourite, these amazing little pants! Plenty of space to wear over a nappy, these look so cute with a little summer dress or t shirt, and also great for wearing at the beach or in the garden with one of the lovely matching sun hats! We also have these wonderfully old fashioned stripy shorts, in navy or red in 1-2 or 2-3 years. Come and say hello in the shop, or check the website for more lovely summery outfits and gifts.

TFL

We've got some amazing new lights for sale in the shop - red London buses, or traditional telephone boxes. They are hand painted and would make a beautiful gift for any baby or toddler (or big kid!) whether they live in London or not! Shop online for even more lovely gifts.

Best seller

We got these bibs in recently, but you better hurry if you want one - they're selling like hot cakes! Not only do they look really cool, they are very practical too - wipe clean, and an adjustable velcro fastening. And even better - they're made in England too! Available online and in store - but hurry!

Cats and Dogs

Here are the other lovely babygrows from Bee Bee I mentioned last week. Super cute cats and dogs - I cant decide which i like best! We've been so busy recently, getting wholesale orders sent off, displaying our new stock for Spring and Gayles been working on some exciting new designs too! Check the website to see some more nice new stock!

Been Inside for 9 months

Here's a picture of my favourite new cousin i told you about last week. How cute does he look in his 'Been Inside' grow? As you can imagine i spoilt him rotten with all my favourite Carry Me Home products, including this! Its one of our best sellers... so much that we have actually sold out at the moment, so keep checking the website and the blog to see when we get them back in stock. I also got him an 'It started with a kiss' baby grow, which is my absolute favourite! Of course i got him an 'Oops' bib, and got Gayle to make an extra special personalised baby grow for him too. If you would like something personalised please get in touch! Check the website for lots of lovely gifts if you've got someone to buy a special present for.

Oh hello new stock!

Here's just a few of the new bits and pieces in the shop. We've got some really lovely new dresses from Steven, and Minimod. I love these two, especially the bird one. Remember they're reversible, so you get a cute pattern one side, and gingham or polkadots on the other! We have dresses in 6-12 months, 1-2 years and 2-3 years at the moment. Also new in is this adorable knitted babygrow, i absolutely love it! This one is 3-6 months. Check the website for lots more new things, and more will be posted on the blog soon!

Meet Karina, Douglas and Betty!

I'm sure some of you will be familiar with these characters, but for those of you who aren't, meet Karina the Kitten, Douglas the Dog and Betty the Bunny. These are our latest items from Olive and Moss, which arrived during the week. Love the colours on the Betty the Bunny baby grow, and look at Karina the Kittens rosy little cheeks! Check our website for more from Olive and Moss.

Lorna's Portraits

Lorna Freytag is our new favourite photographer here at Carry Me Home! She creates unique and and enchanting children's portraits, inspired by fairy tales and magical landscapes. Here are a small selection of our favourites, it was hard to choose - they are all so lovely! Gayle loves the rocket picture - perfect for cheeky little monkeys! My favourite has got to be the one with beach huts and ice creams (two of my favourite things!). Laura has a great mix of beautiful, classic portrait settings, and magical, fairy tale portraits. They are lovely pictures to be treasured forever! And not only can you choose from her existing backgrounds, you can have her design you a bespoke one - what a perfect gift!

Rock your baby

We had a delivery from Rock Your Baby this week... lots of old favourites and these 2 new designs ready for spring/summer! For girls is the little ruffle front t shirt, very cute! And for boys is this super cool badge print t shirt. My favourite is the 'kid vicious' badge! The girls top is currently available from 3 months right up to 3 years, and we have the badge top in 1-2 and 2-3 years. Check our website for more cool t shirts, or come in and say hello!