In the latest installment of Annie Leibovitz’s Disney Dream Portraits series we have Penelope Cruz as Belle and Jeff Bridges her prince in a shot title  “Tale As Old As Time”, inspired by “Beauty and the Beast” (above) and Olivia Wilde as the Evil Queen and Alec Baldwin the Spirit in the Magic Mirror in a scene entitled “Famed Is Thy Beauty”, inspired by “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (below).

Queen Latifah as Ursula the Sea Witch from “The Little Mermaid”.

Which one is your favourite photos from this series? I liked Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella and Tina Fey as Tinkerbell but Penelope as Belle is my new favorite!

And if you missed out on the rest of his collection, here are more great disney fantasy photographs by Annie Leibovitz

Peterpan:  Gisele Bundchen as Wendy Darling , Mikhail Baryshnikov as Peterpan, Tinay Fey as Tinker Bell.

You can’t really see Tinay Fey unless you have really zoomed in to a really large image. But here’s how she looks like magnified.

Julie Andrews as the ethereal Blue Fairy in Pinocchio and Abigail Breslin as dainty Fira, one of the Disney Fairies.

Cinderella: Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella, one of my favourites.

With the gift-giving season just around the corner, many will be on the lookout for unique and functional gifts for children. The Emerson House by brinca dāda is as much a gift for kids as it is for parents with discerning tastes. Beautifully made, it blends into most modern home settings. Add a couple of pieces from the Classic Contemporary furniture line and it will be hours of fun for imaginative young minds.

Emerson House

Emerson House draws inspiration from Richard Neutra’s Desert House and A. Quincy Jones’ house for Gary Cooper. With seven rooms including a living room, kitchen, dinning room, library/office, master bedroom, bathroom and child’s bedroom, it features many distinguishing architectural features like glass corners, minimalist cut stone fireplace, scored hardwood floors and recessed LED lights powered by solar panels. Emerson House measures 18”x21”30” (H-W-L) and is built at 1:18 scale.

The house is easy on the environment with only non-toxic and lead-free wood stains and paints. It also recently won GREENretailer’s 2010 Eco-Choice Award for “Most Innovative” New Product.

Classic Contemporary Furniture

The Classic Contemporary furniture line from brinca dāda is the perfect complement to both Emerson House and Bennett House.

The line’s clean and sophisticated aesthetic mixes classic modern design with contemporary “in fashion” highlights. In the words of the designers, “The key was to work on every detail to add an extra dimension of authenticity to this dollhouse. We used American black walnut stain as a common thread, giving a contemporary feel to each room. We then added color as accents, but also as an attraction to children’s sensibilities.”

Classic Contemporary offers furnishings for seven rooms and is fashioned from high-quality woods and non-toxic, lead-free stains and paints.

Visit brinca dāda for more information on Emerson House, Bennett House and the Classic Contemporary Furniture line.

Adorable dessert decorating kit by Whipple, consisting of icing and an assortment of plain cakes, cookies and donuts, pie crusts, choux pastry shells and ice-cream cones.

“So you pipe the fake whipped cream thingy onto these fake ice cream cone thingy? That’s it? Who’d buy that?”

“Me!” :D

Would make a cute gift for a little (or not so little) pastry designer, don’t you think?

This is an Itazura cat in a box coin bank. You put a coin on the little white plate outside the cardboard box and then a sneaky little kitten will stick its tiny paw out and steal your coin. It sounds weird and annoying but oh-so-cute! I love the Chatora (ginger tabby) version above.

Watch the cuteness in action:

The money-grabbing pet substitute also comes in brown and cream Chihuahua puppy dog and white American shorthair kitty versions. So kawaii!

Available at Strapya World or you can buy from Amazon here:

Itazura Stealing Coin Dog Chihuahua Puppy Coin Bank
Itazura Stealing Coin Cat Brown Chatora Kitty Coin Bank

The Dream ball project was developed for the children of Third world countries like Tanzania, Congo, Rwanda and  Somalia. Children in these poor nations would typically make a ball out of anything — as long the material creates some sort of projectile when kicked — so why now turn an empty vessel used to contain medical supplies into one?

The Dream Ball is made of a Relife box, which uses  paper that can be recycled and may vary in intensity and elasticity depending on its thickness. Available in both square or cylindrical formats, the containers can be easily disassembled and, by following a few simple instructions, fashioned into a soccer ball.

Besides football, various sized balls such as baseballs or handballs can also be formed from different first aid boxes. A little bit of fun with a life-saving kit. Life’s a ball, indeed.