Duck... duck... no, it's Franklin Goose

Franklin Goose is a company that is devoted to selling safe, organic and natural products for babies, children and families. They sent us an organic, stuffed Franklin Goose doll ($35) to review.

Linnea saw Franklin and yelled "Mine!!!!"; she grabbed him and ran away. I then spent weeks looking for Franklin, so I could write the review. He is one busy goose with hardly a moment to answer questions. But, eventually I pinned him down.

- So Franklin, how have you been?

"Well, I'm always traveling.



I love to explore and recently I had a chance to visit the Virginia countryside.



And, check out the wild flora. Mmmm... the flowers are tasty.



It is very hard to find time for an interview.



With hardly a moment to rest...



...before I'm on the go again."



In addition to extensive traveling, cuddling and flower tasting, Franklin is Franklin Goose's spokes-goose. Franklin Goose offers natural, organic, and chemical safe toys for your baby and child. Their toys are natural, organic, or made of recycled materials. Paint is lead free. And they carry no electronic or synthetic toys. Franklin is a good example and he works hard to live up to their ideals. Franklin is made in New York by Ecoleeko out of organic cotton sherpa, hand-dyed bamboo fleece, bamboo yarn, and kapok fiber filling. He is sewn with organic thread, and is machine washable on the delicate cycle.

Franklin is the perfect size for a car pillow, throwing at your sister, and of course a good game of Duck, Duck, Goose!

And, Franklin asked me to tell you about our new giveaway. One reader will win a $25 gift certificate to the Franklin Goose website. To enter, visit Franklin Goose, take a look and their awesome collection of toys and baby care products and then come back here and tell us how you would spend the gift certificate. Just post a comment with some sort of contact information at the end of this blog post. Franklin will draw the name of the winner on August 10.

Snuggle Bunnies for your snuggle bunny

A pretty box! What can it be?



It's Linnea's turn to see. "Hmm.... what is it?"



It's a bunny!



A very soft blue bunny. From Auntie Jill.



Auntie Jill makes Snuggle Bunnies in two sizes - small (6.5") and big (12"). This bunny is small. It is made of super soft blue minky fabric and has silky satin ears. A small minky bunny is $15.00. A large one is $30.00.



The ears are so much fun to play with and the bunny feels soft on Linnea's skin.



Bunny close-up. Linnea asked "Where's his legs?"



A great excuse to read The Velveteen Rabbit. Silly Linnea, stuffed rabbits need lots of love before they grow legs.



Linnea gets started on the lots of love, but first she takes a break to play with those silky ears.



She loves those ears.



"No Arielle, the bunny is mine!"



Arielle gets her turn.



The Snuggle Bunnies are handmade in Wisconsin. The bunnies make a beautiful Easter gift. Bunny, play silk, egg and a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit - perfect. '

The bunnies are available in a variety of colors and fabrics (fleece, minky and organic jersey). I'm cuddling the blue minky snuggle bunny as I write (Linnea has a play date at our neighbor's house) - so soft, and very inspiring :0) Minky just makes you want to keep petting.

The ears can be embroidered with the child's name for an additional $10. A very nice new baby gift.




Auntie Jill also makes custom stuffed animals. So, if you have been looking everywhere for a soft purple zebra... well Auntie Jill is the one to ask. There is also a page "For a Good Cause" that features animals that help raise money for good causes such as breast cancer and Parkinson's disease.

Thank you Auntie Jill. I am definitely cuddling this bunny until Linnea gets home from her play date.

Handmade Holidays - Part 1

In support of Handmade American Toys, I am going to spotlight five American toy crafters each Friday from now until mid-December. Handmade toymakers are having a difficult year. The economy has been rough for all of us, but they've had to deal with the ups and downs of the CPSIA as well. All these toys are CPSIA compliant with no lead or phthalates.

Here are this weeks holiday shopping suggestions.

Auntie Jill is a Vermont crafter who makes Snuggle Bunnies and other stuffed animals. The Snuggle Bunnies are made of fleece or minky and come in two sizes, small (6.5") and large (12"), and in a variety of colors. Jill also makes teddy bears and custom animals. Ten dollars from each teddy bear sold goes to support breast cancer research. Cuddle for a cause!

Fleece Snuggle Bunnies ($12 small, $25 large)



Buggalove custom made designs include body suits, decor and beautiful mobiles. The mobiles can be customized to match your child's decor. Prices vary depending on size and style. Here are a few.





Crafty Baby's nap pads, clutch balls, diaper changing pads and bibs are all made and designed by Jill, a mother of three. We wrote about her clutch balls last January, and my mother bought one for a gift. She said is was well made and very cute. Jill's best-selling items are Nap Packs, which are made of soft fleece. Wouldn't they be perfect to use while traveling?


Nap Pack ($39.99)



The nap pack rolls up and has a handle for easy carrying.



Little Alouette is one of my Etsy favorites. The gorgeous wooden toys are sanded silky smooth and come packaged and ready for giving. A portion of the profits from each toy sold goes to support Tree Pals, a program that pairs U.S. schools with a school in another country for a joint tree planting project.

Cherry rattle teether ($19.00)





Ringo the Reindeer Teething Toy ($15.00)



Skipping Hippos makes ponchos and jackets for little girls and matching ponchitos for dolls. I have a little girl who feels that being stuffed into a jacket is the worst of all possible fates, so I think a poncho is perfect solution. They are available in a rainbow of colors and trims. This is my favorite.

Fleece poncho ($46.00)



Please support handmade. More next week :o)

Happy Earth Day - Earth-friendly Penguins from Maggie's Organics

What is that silly Arielle doing?



She's pretending to be Daddy Penguin. "When baby penguins are small, they stand on their Daddy's feet to stay safe and warm." So, this is Arielle trying to keep her Maggie's Organics Penguin ($20) safe from "Polar bears and seals."



Last month, I reviewed Maggie's Organics Sock Monkey, and Linnea adores her Poo-Poo Monkey. Her monkey goes everywhere that she does. Like the monkeys, the penguins are made in the USA by Opportunity Threads, a 100% worker-owned cooperative in Morganton, North Carolina. The penguins and monkeys are environmentally friendly - they are made from excess fabric and irregular socks and are stuffed with reclaimed polyester mill scrap. The eyes are embroidered and the tie-dye snow hat is securely sewn on. The penguin can be machine washed and is safe for children (and Daddy Penguins) of all ages. Arielle named her penguin, Plum.

Here is Arielle with Plum on their way to preschool. The letter of the week was "B" and "Penguins are birds, you know."


So Plum is both educated and cute. Plum also enjoys relaxing with a friend, wildly dancing to Princess music, and long walks on the beach. OK.. I made the beach part up. But, as you can see, Plum is a penguin that loves to have fun.







Thank you, Maggie's Organics for letting us review the latest member of Maggie's Menagerie.

Poo-Poo the Organic Sock Monkey

Once upon a time, a little girl named Linnea met a monkey. She named her monkey Poo-Poo and they became best of friends.



Poo-Poo wasn't just any monkey. Poo-Poo is a Maggie's Organic Sock Monkey ($19.95 and available in a variety of natural colors). One of the many wonderful toys made in the USA and sold at Down to Earth Toys.



Poo-Poo is made of Maggie's Socks. These are the socks they sell at the food coop, which are made at a 100% worker-owned cooperative in North Carolina. Monkeys like Poo-Poo are made using the less than perfect socks (85% cotton certified organic cotton, 13% Nylon, 2% spandex) and are stuffed with reclaimed fiber from mill scraps. So Poo-Poo is eco-friendly.

Maggie's Sock Monkeys are safe for all ages. Linnea likes to chew hers, fortunately the friendly hand-embroidered face makes Maggie's monkeys perfectly safe for this.

Linnea likes to take her monkey everywhere. When we ride in the car, she yells "Need Poo-Poo!" This is only a little confusing as we are also working on potty training.

So, they go potty together.



They watch Dora.



They even share a cupcake with a friend.





Fortunately, Poo-Poo is washer and dryer safe -- just machine wash warm and tumble dry on low. Poo-Poo is up to anything that Linnea can dish out. I wonder what is next?



If you know anyone who needs an organic sock monkey or other fine toys made in the USA, Down to Earth Toys is offering our readers free shipping on all orders over $25. Use the code MAMA03 through April 15, and yes, the little girl on the home page does look familiar.