Dolly Runway - the dolls get a makeover!

It was a quiet day at my house and I thought "Hey, it's way past time to review Linnea's cool wooden cosmetic play set from Estia. We should have a fashion show."

Linnea received this kit around Easter and I have had it on my list to review ever since. It isn't that she hasn't played with it, but that she loves it so much that she tends to get very possessive if anyone else even looks at it -- just part of being three. I thought a fashion show might inspire some cooperative play.

This is the set. It is well-made and cute as can be. I wish I had a camera with me when Linnea first opened it. Her eyes just about popped out of her head. "OOOOOOOhhhhhhh!"

wooden cosmetic play set from Estia $65.99



The set is designed in Germany and made in Thailand out of rubberwood. It includes a blow dryer, handheld mirror, 3 lipsticks with a wooden holder (attached to the box), powder box with built-in mirror and powder puff, an eyeshadow compact with 6 eye shadow colors, an applicator and mirror, comb, hair roller (we use it as a brush), a perfume bottle, and jar of magic beauty cream. Everything is pretend and requires imagination for best results.



The beauty shop...



Close-up of Linnea's absolute favorite possession (other than PooPoo).



Lipstick in the holder.



But, as everyone who watches Project Runway knows, the models have to get dressed before they put on make-up. Our models are Cassie and a selection of very much loved Haba dolls: Finja, Souri, Paola, Lotta, Lilli and Nele. The Haba dolls are available at KangarooBoo.

Time for some pretend play! Our team of stylists dresses the dolls in their dolly finery.





Oh, nice hat Finja!



Time for hair. The comb has wide teeth and the brush has imaginary bristles, so the dolls can be brushed and brushed without their yarn hair being damaged.



A bit of powder for Lilli.



Cassie gets eye shadow.



Perfume?



Yes, please! Douse it on.



Almost ready, Cassie. Just a few touch-ups.



Arielle puts lipstick and eyeshadow on Souri.





Ready to go?

Uh, oh! Lilli has wet hair! Blow it dry. Now we are ready to go.



The fashion show:

A great time was had by all. The fashion show came to a sudden halt when we saw our little friend Sidney across the street. The dolls were abandoned as we ran out to enjoy the sun and play on Sidney's swing set.



The cosmetic kit also works wonderfully on little princesses, pretend fairies and other beauties in need of imaginary cosmetics. It is the perfect gift for the girly girl preschooler in your life.

Buzz Buzz: Plan Toys Bee Hive

This is very exciting. We love Plan Toys. They make reasonably priced, natural baby toys and preschool toys out of old rubber wood trees. Eco-friendly and fun! So when Plan Toys contacted us about reviewing one of the new wooden toys that will be in stores this spring, we practically shouted "Yes, please!".

We reviewed the Plan Toys Bee Hive. This developmental toy consists of a set of six bees with matching bee hive cups and a pair of big wooden tweezers. This simple combination makes a great educational toy (and imaginative toy) for toddlers to kindergartners.


First of all, the bees can be used to learn about colors, sorting, matching and for developing hand-eye coordination. My lovely assistant Arielle will demonstrate:

Pick a bee up with the tweezers...



and drop it in the appropriately colored hive.


You can change the arrangement to make the game a little more complicated.



Can Arielle sort the bees without moving the cups? Yes, she can.


It was more of a challenge for Linnea. She's three, so she's still working out the tweezers. It's nice to see her challenged.


Despite the tweezer challenge, she had a lot of fun lining the bees up and making them "talk" to their friends.


When they were done, they flew off to their hives, and she tucked each in the appropriately colored bed.


Then Arielle has an idea!


She drew flowers. Now Linnea had to make each bee fly out of the hive and to the correct flower.


She did it! Yay!


The toy is absolutely cute, but what I love that this is a learning toy that inspired creativity. The girls looked at it, figured out what it is for, and went beyond that. That is what you expect from an open-ended learning toy.

Next they took out blocks to build their own beehives..... the bees were so happy, but my camera battery died. Maybe next time.

The Plan Toys Bee Hive will be available at Plan toy retailers later this month and on the Plan Toys website.

Thank you, Plan Toys!!!