Baby's Toy Emporium

Are you looking for natural baby toys made in the USA?

That is all that Baby's Toy Emporium sells. Carrie, the mom behind the store, offers handmade bears and dolls, wooden toys, building sets, books, felts, soft dough, and more - all natural, eco-friendly and made in the USA.

Check out the adorable Bundle Babies ($12.99)



Oh, this looks like fun for Arielle! Arielle would enjoy writing a real book - hmm... I bet it would be about birds.


Illustory ($12.00)



In addition to toys, Baby's Toy Emporium offers a selection of baby clothing and baby care items.

The blankets look so soft!

Aroma Blanket ($38.00)



Baby's Toy Emporium has offered our readers 10% off any felt storybooks. The code is "Sara" There is free shipping with purchases of $95 and a free gift with purchases of $75 or more.

Bamboletta Raffle for Haiti

Bamboletta Dolls is raffling off a doll to raise money for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders. Click here to learn more.

Raffle tickets are just $10, and the doll (like all Bambolettas) is gorgeous. The winner will also get a $100 giftcard from Reggie's Doll and a clothing ensemble from Silly Con, so she'll be the best dressed doll ever.

A purple kangaroo?! But of course!

Kangas and Dragons and Owls! Oh my!

I was in serious need this Christmas. I needed a miracle. I needed...a purple kangaroo. You see, little Alli is obsessed with that mean old kangaroo from Horton Hears a Who. If you have seen the movie version then you may know that the evil pouched marsupial is purple. Purple!

My poor girl turned mama kangaroo was "Humph"ing around the house with a raggedy orange bear tucked in her shirt. Clearly she needed a purple kangaroo to put in her own pouch. But how? How?!?!

Well I asked around for a purple kangaroo and lo' and behold our own dear Sara found BeastieVille. BeastieVille is home to many creatures, most importantly, this custom made fellow:

This adorable creature was handmade by a lovely artisan named Sarah. Sarah was a dream and a half to work with. So helpful and quick to respond. When our roo got here I nearly cried. A Christmas miracle indeed.

The work is beautiful, the hand stitching neat and the craftsmanship impeccable. Our fellow came wrapped in tissue paper and smelled, that's right, smelled amazing. I have no idea what the smell was but it was light and fresh. I am not one to love scents, I usually don't even burn scented candles, but the smell was perfect. I could hardly wait for Christmas!

Alli was a big fan. She squealed when she saw her roo and when humphing around the house. She wouldn't even open the rest of the gifts for quite some time. Here you can see the roo being tortured by Ariel. Clearly the mermaid turned human is too large and needs to be kicked out of the pouch ASAP.

"Hop! Hop! Hop!" says Alli!



I think that roo fits right in with the princesses. He is purple after all, and maybe he likes having a pouch, though he be male. I like the way the arms and head are attached with buttons. Very cute. This also allows the parts to be moved. I love the way our roo cocks his head. Cheeky fellow!

I asked Sarah what her favorite Beastie was. If you promise not to tell the other Beasties I will tell you...shhh...it's the dragon. I tend to agree and think that my son, Jackson would have a lot of fun taming this Beastie.

I personally love this owl. This particular Beastie is reserved for an Etsy customer but I have found that the custom ordering process with BeastieVille is amazing...so do it!

Sarah has been kind enough to offer our readers a coupon code.

When you place your order, from the in-stock store or when requesting a custom Beasite doll just mention this blog and you will receive either 10% off or free shipping, whichever is greater. Hooray for Beastiville!

Linnea's birthday gift: Baking Set

Happy New Year!

I hope 2010 brings you joy and love and lots of creative play.

I'm going to be reviewing my holiday purchases this month, but first, I need to review Linnea's birthday gifts. It is really hard to find a good big birthday gift for Linnea. Her birthday is in November, which is our busy month for reviewing toys. And, even with all the toys coming through here, I still want her birthday present to stand out.

Maybe because I love my Kitchen Aid mixer so much, when I saw this set, I knew it was something Linnea would love.

Honeybake Wooden Baking Set ($79.99)



The Wooden Baking Set from Le Toy Van is made in Indonesia. The wooden food mixer has a whisk that moves when a child turns the dial. The set also includes a cute rolling pin, a pretend play knife and baking tray, an apron made of gingham and canvas (and says "do not wash"), 4 cupcakes with interchangeable toppings, a sliceable Velcro roll-cake, a donut, a jelly cookie, a layered pastry and a cake stand. It was all really nice, except the apron which was pretty flimsy and seemed to have some kind of starchy finish. Compared to everything else, it looked like it was just thrown in.

Linnea did love it (and Arielle, too). The dolls have been treated to numerous tea parties.

A close up of the mixer and rolling pin.



Arielle bakes cookies.



Lilli loves cupcakes. She looks ready to dive in.



Cassie prefers yellow frosting. The frosting and the toppings come off and can be switched around, so every doll can have just what she likes.



Anna-Paola enjoys cupcakes, too. She's a little older and uses her spoon.



Mommy Linnea helps cut up the food. Using the "big knife" is a big deal. She feels so grown up.



And, then my camera battery died.

This is a very nice play set for little mommies and a fun addition to any toy kitchen. I thought it was a bit pricey, but the girls play with it daily. And, the dolls love all the treats.