Last week I launched my brand new website under my new business name Pineandbear. Formerly Cubbkids, Pineandbear is a collection of unique handmade gifts for outdoorsy families, celebrating the nostalgia of vintage camp life and the great outdoors.
]]>Formerly Cubbkids, Pineandbear is a collection of unique handmade gifts for outdoorsy families, celebrating the nostalgia of vintage camp life and the great outdoors. I am still designing and making gifts for adventurous children but also included will be products that champion the big adventurers too!
Included in the range are camp blanket ponchos, adventure gifts for children, pennant flags, personalised camping gifts and vintage camping gear.
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There is a whole section dedicated to vintage finds, which I'm very excited about! Vintage camp decor and adventure gear plus vintage toys and books for children too. My husband and I have always loved old things and our house is full of car boot finds. We will be listing products we have collected over the years but also lots of new pieces, which gives us an excuse to go to even more car boots and vintage fairs!
My recent photoshoot with photographer Victoria Lugton was fantastic and she really helped me bring my vision for pineandbear to life with her amazing photos. We were lucky enough to spend the day at a wonderful local campsite Kitts Camp which was the perfect back drop for the shoot. Plus Victoria's beautiful vintage camper van Hank, had his photo shoot debut!
I have absolutely loved creating the new products for the rebrand and have definitely got my creative sparkle back. I have loved playing around with dyeing canvases, creating vintage inspired adventure patches to celebrate your special places and some gorgeous new colour ways for my camp blankets and ponchos.
Hope you love the new website as much as I do and enjoy all the new products.
Happy Adventuring!
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My original camp blanket poncho is back and better than ever. I absolutely LOVE them and they really are a wonderful camping accessory for children. Perfect for snuggling up in on those cosy evenings, toasting marshmallows round the camp fire.
The design process for my products always starts with the fabric and detailing. I wanted to find the best quality organic fleece that would set the product apart and create an heirloom quality to them. After lots of searching I eventually sourced some amazing GOTS organic fleece cotton which is so soft and not only environmentally friendly but incredible quality.
GOTS stands for Global Organic Textile Standard, and it sets the highest worldwide standard for the processing of organic fibers. This covers the whole textile chain from the harvesting of organically grown plants through to eco-friendly manufacturing of the product.
The colours have a lovely subtle tone and work so well against the contrast linings and detailing. The design itself was very much influenced by traditional scout blankets and lends itself to years of wear due to the loose fit. The edges are hand blanket stitched and the pompoms and tassels are handmade by my amazing mum.
There are now 3 different designs of poncho to choose from and you can even get them personalised with your own embroidered patch. Not only are they a camping essential but an all year round warm extra layer. Perfect as a camp fire blanket, extra layer on a cool summer evenings or simply to snuggle in on the sofa.
The majority of the photos were taken by Hannah from inthedenphotography and her beautiful children in but also some of the images are taken by me, with my gorgeous daughter modelling.
Hope you love them as much as I do. Happy adventuring!
Laura x
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It’s fair to say to say that I love camping! So much of my inspiration for Cubbkids comes from the nostalgia of family camping. Family camping trips, both when I was little and the trips we've taken with my daughter hold some of my most special memories.
]]>So much of my inspiration for Cubbkids comes from the nostalgia of family camping.
Family camping trips, both when I was little and the trips we've taken with my daughter hold some of my most special memories. With camping season fast approaching I wanted to share some of our camping adventures, tips and hopefully inspire you to sleep under the stars.
Why I love it so much.
Campsites are natural playgrounds for children, they get to run wild, spend the days on their bikes, getting dirty, and exploring nature.
The past year has meant that we have all spent so much more time indoors and screen time has inevitably increased so we need to get outside and connect with nature more than ever.
Spending time in the fresh air is so good for our children's well being, it reduces stress and anxiety and develops their sense of adventure.
On our camping trips, we’ve seen the sky filled with the brightest stars, heard the owls hoot, gone on night time bat walks, and most importantly unplugged for a few days. And you when you get home, your house feels like a 5 star hotel!
My daughter learning to whittle (not with the axe!)
How we Camp
Its fair to say we have A LOT of camping paraphernalia! We're slightly obsessed with vintage camping products and my husband is amazing at finding second hand camping gear at our local car boot. Nearly everything is second hand so you really don't have to spend a fortune.
This awning was an old scout tent that we found in a skip!
These amazing retro camping chairs were also a car boot find.
So were these fantastic Coleman cool boxes.
Our favourite way to camp is in our vintage Commer camper van. My husband bought it about 12 years ago for £1000 and he was the second owner so it has all its original interior from the 70's. It's really beautiful and perfect for local camping trips.
We also own a vintage dutch tent, which is great, especially for longer trips. My husband even built a wooden chuck box so we have a proper mini kitchen unit, it weighs an absolute ton but I love it anyway!
Where we Camp
We've had some wonderful camping adventures in France, Belgium and Holland but camping has allowed us to explore our local surroundings too. We're lucky enough to be spoilt for choice when it comes to local campsites in Sussex. Here are some of our favourite local spots to camp:
https://yampcamp.co.uk/campsites/ditchling-camp/
https://www.ousemeadowcampsite.co.uk/
Food
Food plays a big part of our camping trips and we've had some incredible meals around the campfire.
We cook as much of our food on our ecozoom as possible. Its an absolutely brilliant little stove and completely eco-friendly. You can read more about it here:
We have also been know to take our pizza oven on trips, although be warned windy weather and trying to cook pizzas in a field doesn't mix well!
We made vongole after catching the clams on the beach!
Chocolate bananas, toasted marshmallows, waffles and pancakes are also a must when camping!
There are some great camp fire recipes here:
https://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/g2444/campfire-recipes/
Or have a look at my camping pinterest boards for inspiration.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Cubbkids/camp-life/
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Cubbkids/camping-recipies/
Thank you for reading and if you are camping this year I hope you have a wonderfully wild time.
Laura x
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I thought I'd write a quick post on the best way to hang your pennant. I get lots of people asking so thought it would be useful to write a quick post on it.
]]>My pennant flags make fantastic kids room or play room wall decor and look great as part of a gallery wall and they really couldn't be easier to put up.
There are a few different ways of displaying your pennant but the way I always advice is using good old fashioned white tack . You can use thumb tacks too but I prefer not to mark the felt with a hole. You can also use adhesive command strips like these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Command-Small-Picture-Hanging-Strips
The felt is really light so it doesn't have to be the super strength ones.
You can even frame your pennant too or use the tabs to hang it of a stick or pole.
Before you display it just give your pennant a little blast of steam from the iron or iron it on a medium setting to get rid of any creases.
Simply pop a few small circles of white tack along the back of the strip and one at the tip of the pennant and stick to the wall.
It really couldn't be easier.
See my range of pennant flags here:
https://cubbkids.co.uk/collections/pennant-flags
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