Saturday, January 10, 2009

NATURAL Kids and Toys

And, more cute little things from Etsy!



I grew up without Santa Claus. But, in our family, we have the legend of the New Year's Mouse. All year, the Mouse travels around the world in a toy helicopter collecting tiny treasures for his favorite people. On New Year's Eve, we leave our socks on the dining room table. We put out a little cheese and crackers, and when we wake up in the morning, the cheese and crackers are gone and the socks are filled with little gifts.

This year, the Mouse visited one of my very favorite Etsy stores Natural Kids and Toys. Christine, the mom behind the store, puts together fun, natural play sets made of wood and wool and other natural materials. Perfect toys for little girls who like little things. I especially love her needle-felted animals.

Owl Surprise Pot ($16.95)



The girls were absolutely delighted. Arielle got a pot with an owl. Linnea's had a mouse. And, they each received a hedgehog. Arielle, being an imaginative young lady, thought that the owl was stuck in the pot and needed to be saved before being eaten. Who would eat such a sweet owl?

The play sets are original, cute and show a sense of humor -- perfect for children who like to pretend. Arielle is playing with the hen set right now. Hen is being visited by her friends Owl and Mouse and there is some serious egg laying going on.

Hen Play Set with Wool Nest and Wooden Eggs ($16.95)



Christine's site is full of little bits of fun; I wish I could show them all. I've written before about how much my girls like acorns. And here they are, in rainbow colors -- just perfect for those imaginary rainbow squirrels or as troll treasure.

Rainbow Acorns ($7.95)



Lucky you, Christine is having a giveaway and you could win one of three play sets shown below: a wooden bowl and scoop play set, a honey bee play set, or a Waldorf-inspired doll baking set. Just click here to enter on her blog.



This set is perfect for a play kitchen. To me, the mom of an imaginary bird, the colorful balls look like delicious worm snacks, but they could also be stock for a pretend candy shop or peppers (says Arielle).


Several of her sets would make nice additions to a nature table. Wouldn't this bee a cute way to welcome spring?

Honey Bee Play Set ($22.95)


Just add some yellow and purple flowers because bees like those best.



There are also accessories for Waldorf dolls. Do your doll house dolls or fairies enjoy cooking?

Doll Baking Set ($12.95)


I wonder what kind of tasty treats this doll is cooking up.

Don't forget to enter and good luck!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thought your readers might like to know that most of the items in these "play sets" can be purchased directly from caseyswood.com for dirt cheap. (Scoops, miniature plates/bowls, rolling pins, eggs, etc.) It looks like this is where this shop is getting everything, just marking the prices way up.

I'm not sure how that's allowed on etsy either, I thought everything had to be "handmade"....

Anonymous said...

Of all the posts I have been reading over the months, I love the Etsy posts the best. It is great to see what amazing things people are able to create.

Anonymous said...

I felt the same way as the anonymous poster above when I first saw the items on ETSY and still do. You can also go to Bayerwood and Woodparts.ca to get the stuff for dirt cheap. I just ordered some recently. I also thought that things had to be handmade but I guess it's a buyer beware.