Stuff a stocking and win a really good prize!

My two favorite places for stocking stuffers are A Toy Garden and Stubby Pencil Studio. A Toy Garden has a special section devoted to "little things" and stocking stuff. Stubby Pencil Studio has a large selection of eco-friendly art supplies, toys and a selection of gifts under $10. Both stores make it possible for Santa's elves to bring smiles on a budget.

So, let's stuff an imaginary stocking. Ho, ho, ho! The rule is nothing over $10.

1. Wild Cards Bugs ($9.95)



Arielle and her daddy love reading books about animals. These cards are printed with beautiful buggy photographs and educational facts. They can be used to play three different card games: Memory, Old Maid, and Go Fish. They are suggested for ages five and up. There are two other sets available, North American mammals and Who's hiding? (camouflage).

2. Play Silk ($7.00)



Who doesn't love play silks. A Toy Garden's silks are made in the USA and are available in 24 different vibrant colors. They are 36x36 inch, hand-hemmed, home-dyed, thick (8mm) play silks.

Becky, a blog reader, emailed recently to tell me about how she uses play silks. She bought some some suction cups with hooks and expandable curtain rods to hang on the hooks. So she can hang a rod in a corner or between some chairs, and then she attaches the play silks with clothespins to make a temporary playhouse. The rods can also be set up in a hallway or a doorway to make a puppet stage. Thank you, Becky, great idea!

My girls use them as doll blankets, dress up clothes, and lately they like to blindfold each other and spin around. These are very versatile toys.

3. Washable Markers ($3.95)



We always need markers. Arielle uses hers every day. And, they must be washable because Linnea can't always be trusted (and washable marker wipes right off ultrasuede with a damp cloth). These markers are made in the USA from 25% recycled plastic. The packaging is 100% post consumer recycled.

4. Ornament

If you give your child an ornament each year, they'll have the start of a nice collection when they grow up.

I went shopping with the girls this morning and every ornament we saw was made in China - and not particularly well made. And of course, my kids get their hands all over them and in their mouths and up their noses... If you search on "ornament" at A Toy Garden, there is a great selection of inexpensive ornaments, made in the USA and Germany or that handmade fair trade items from other countries. Here are a couple I like from Germany.

Ladybug Ornament ($4.95)



Puppet Theater Ornament ($8.95)




5. Finger Puppets ($9.95)



These fair trade puppets are hand knit in Peru, so no two are the same. They come in sets of five, so you can split them between your kids. We love puppets here. Whenever we go on a car trip, the girls fill their purses with finger puppets, and they play with them while I drive.

6. Mini Animal Set ($9.95)



These are not for kids that put things in their mouths - they are teeny - only 1/4" to 1 1/4" tall. Arielle loves itty bitty little animals like this and will sit for hours making up stories and adventures. The set includes a deer, rabbit, pig, dog, cat, frog, hummingbird and snake.

7. Tie-Up Shoe ($7.95)



Eventually, even velcro-lovers have to learn to tie shoes. It's much easier when the shoe isn't on your foot. Five-year-old Arielle is getting one of these. I'm sure Linnea will try to string beads on the laces. She's silly.

8. Starlight wand ($5.95)



Tap the wand and it plays a note. The wands are fun for both boys and girls and are made in Mexico. Arielle and Linnea have never seen these, but my older kids tried some out at a fair when they were little, and they were fascinated.

9. Snifty Gingerbread Pen ($2.00)



My girls love ballpoint pens and mine are always being snatched away. These pens are made in the USA, are nontoxic and cute and are seasonally scented (like gingerbread - yum!).

10. Wood Tea Bags ($9.95)



or treats from Haba. These are cute, sturdy and made in Germany. They will get years of play. But, the treats are doll-sized, so they are not for children who like to mouth their toys.

11. Made By Me Bug ($4.00)



I think I've mentioned these a lot. That's because the girls love them so much and they are such a good deal. All you need is a hammer and some art supplies. Your child attaches the wheels and then decorates the wooden vehicle. Voila! A personalized toy. And, they will be so proud. I'm putting more in Arielle and Linnea's stocking this year.

12. Ladybugs In A Pot ($9.95)



Our very favorite!! These were Linnea's favorite toy last year and she still plays with them almost daily. She uses them as ingredients in soup, for counting and sorting, as little pets, and today she was wrapping them in a play silk and giving them to me as a gift.

And now for your holiday surprise. One very lucky reader will win a $25 gift card from A Toy Garden and another will win a $75 gift card (with free shipping) from Stubby Pencil Studio. That can stuff a whole lot of stocking.

How do you enter? Go to both sites and then post a comment suggesting one stocking stuffer from each site that I haven't mentioned. There are so many good things on both sites, that this should be super easy. It doesn't have to be under $10.

I'll announce the winners on December 12th, so there will be just enough time for shipping.

Good luck!

Stubby Pencil Studio's new website

Our 2008 Toy Store of the Year, Stubby Pencil Studio, has a cool new website with lots of new stuff!

Our old favorites are still there.

Easy to manage, Triangular Paint Brushes ($7.95)



We are using them to paint fall pictures with Washable Tempura Paint ($10.95) during art time today.

The Made By Me kits ($4.00) that my girls love. We made trains earlier this week.



And, there are plenty of Color 'n Kids Recycled Cards. Arielle loves sending these to Daddy when he is away and her siblings at college. Last weekend when we were stuck inside, Arielle spent hours coloring these cards with the Metallic Colored EcoPencils ($5.95).

Be sure to use our code, to get a free sample pack of Color n' Kids holiday cards! Use SARA-FF09 for Frosty Friends or SARA-CW09 for Christmas Wishes, a $7.95 value. Only one bonus code per order, expires 12/31/2009.

Last year, Arielle gave cards and Holiday Smencils to her preschool friends. It was inexpensive, and they loved them!



I could go on and on forever.... but then there wouldn't be space for the cool new stuff.

ABC Animal Magnets ($25.00)

We have these on the freezer and they are the cutest alternative to the plastic ABC magnets that I grew up with. The girls love naming the animals and they are too large to be eaten.



Cool activity books. I want to get Hello Matisse ($9.95) for Arielle. I love Matisse.



And, gorgeous board books, coloring books and games featuring the work of Charlie Harper.


Charlie Harper Memory Game ($14.95)





And, lots more.

Just for Halloween...

Halloween Chico Bag ($6.00)



Halloween Colored Pencils ($5.00)



And, now I need to go paint, so take a look at the website.

Lots of excitement from A Toy Garden

Did you see we have a new coupon code from A Toy Garden? It's one of my very favorite 0n-line toy stores and I just love browsing through seeing what is new and looking for treasures. Here are some products that we enjoy.

Extra-Large Rainbow Arches ($79.95)

I've been admiring these forever, but then we saw these very artsy and fun pictures of our friend Tess, and I finally decided to make good use of our discount code. Tess is 2 1/2 - just like Linnea.





The arches are made in Germany. The bright colors are plant dyed and are absolutely safe for children who still mouth their toys.

What an incredibly open ended toy. They can be played with as a stacker or as blocks or in combination with other toys. There is a lot of play value in this.

There are 12 arches and the largest is 14 1/2 inches wide. We already had the smaller medium stacker ($34.95). It was one of my first reviews and still a very popular toy in our household. The extra-large stacker is more than just the smaller one super-sized; there is something super fun about playing with the large pieces. Big is good?

Ari decided that she was going to build a playground for Kangaroo and Penguin. Here they are on the see-saw.



Check out this masterpiece!



Arches also make good cages for very wild dinosaurs.




Wax-O-Glass Window Crayons ($10.95)



"Wax-O-Glass" window crayons are soft crayons made in Germany by Lyra. They do require a little supervision when used by younger children. Linnea always manages to get them all over herself. But, they are very safe and they clean right up with a damp cloth.

I use them to decorate the living room window with birthday messages or with pictures on special days. They also are a great distraction when I'm doing something and I don't want "help". Yesterday, I used them to distract the girls while I hooked up the wires after moving the TV.

Older children could use these to draw on car windows during long trips. Any residue easily cleans up with a rag and vinegar or natural window cleaner.

Make Your Own Family ($9.95)

Make Your Own Family is a collection of 20 peg people that can be decorated to represent a child's own family and friends. There are 8 large people, 2 3/8" tall by 7/8" at the base; 6 medium people, 2" tall by 7/8" at the base; and 6 small people, 1 5/8" tall by 5/8" at the base. A Toy Garden will also be introducing very large peg people that are 3 1/2 inches tall and 1" at the base.

Sonya suggests dying them in coffee or tea for skin tone variation. We used colored pencils, markers, bits of ribbon, felt and wool roving, and sticky jewels.

The colored pencils didn't work so well.





When the girls were finished, they were quite proud of the results.



And, they had a great time playing with their creations.



Linnea's "family". They are all named "Daddy".



Arielle's princesses.



The plain, unfinished wood figures can also be used as is. We saved the rest for block play and to use with the...


Foldable Gnome House ($19.95)





The Foldable Gnome House is made of three inter-locking pieces of wood and can be used as a tree-trunk, house, barn, super secret hideout, coral reef or whatever background is required for gnome or small doll play. It's size suits a diversity of dolls and creatures that are smaller than the typical dollhouse size. And, you can add a playsilk for even more versatility.

Its free form shape adapts to become pretty much anything. It folds into a Z shape or lays flat but does not fold all the way together. It is 19 inches by 8 1/2 inches and can easily fit into a suitcase or carry-on bag for travel - just add a few dolls or gnomes.

The Foldable Gnome House is constructed of unfinished, solid wood. It is made in the USA exclusively for A Toy Garden.

Fairy Mugs ($9.95)

One thing that surprises other parents, is that my children use real dishes. Even as a baby, Linnea used real china and real glasses (although smaller). I believe that eating from the same dishes as the rest of the family sets an expectation for appropriate table behavior. Linnea, of course, is still working on this.

These sweet mugs are made in Germany of white porcelain and are decorated with one of six flower fairy images (your choice). Each mug is 2 3/4" tall and holds about 6 ounces.





Linnea has the Chickory Flower Fairy and Arielle chose the Canterbury Bell Flower Fairy. They use their mugs to drink their morning orange juice.

Mini Clothes Pins ($1.95)

Finally, I usually add a set of 24 mini wood clothes pins to my order. These are made in China, but I use the red, blue, green and yellow clothes pins to hang up artwork and decorations rather than for play. I just hang up embroidery floss to match my wall color, and then it is easy to display the latest, greatest of the mountain of artwork my girls produce.

When a new masterpiece is created, I take down the old one and put it in a large laundry basket reserved just for art. When the basket is full, I go through it. A little bit of time makes it so much easier to decide what gets saved, reused as gift wrap or recycled.





While they could be used by an older child to do a doll's laundry, the clothespins are tiny (about an inch and require better fine motor skills than standard size clothes pins. Sonya tells me that the clothespins have been tested by her supplier and are safe.

Don't forget to use our coupon code. Our readers receive 10% off orders over $30, with the code "stbsummer09", expires 6/15/2009.

Stamping and Painting

It's raining. It seems to do that a lot lately. We've been doing lots of art projects to keep busy.

I've been wanting to do a deeper review of some of our favorite products from Stubby Pencil Studio that only got a quick mention before, and this seems to be a good time.



Watercolor Paint Set from Faber-Castell ($9.95)



Art was my favorite thing to do when I was a child, but I never thought I liked watercolors because they were always so wet and anemic. They were frustrating. The colors blurred and looked muddy and the paper always crinkled up from the water. When I finally got to try the real stuff in college, I was surprised by how much fun watercolors are and how easy to use.

I bet these would have provided a better experience. The Faber-Castell water colors are strong and bright and also easy to use.



Even two year old Linnea is getting strong colors and clear lines. A good paintbrush helps. We like Faber-Castell triangular brushes ($7.95).



Here's Arielle's masterpiece. Birds, of course.



The watercolors are certified safe for children and are made in Turkey. We used regular drawing paper this time, but Stubby Pencil also offers nice, thick, recycled watercolor paper ($9.95 and $12.95/20 sheets) that is perfect for making special gifts or Father's Day cards and doesn't pucker at all.

Animal Stamps (5 for $19.95)



These are so much fun, but messy. So we covered the table and put on our messy-shirts (recycled from Dad). Our ink pads are from Djeco ($12.99).



The stamps are nice and big and easy for a toddler to handle. They are also super cute and made in Thailand from rubber wood.



They do get messy. If you use washable ink, they clean up with soap and water. Otherwise, try a bit of rubbing alcohol to keep them clean and cute.



Lots of messy fun, but it all cleans up. And, the kids are so proud of their creations. We just stamp like crazy, but older children could make cards or decorate book covers and notebooks for themselves or for gifts.

I made it myself at Stubby Pencil

Crazy weather here. It's been cold one day, warm and rainy the next. Today is super windy with sticks blowing everywhere and mud! Lots of mud! How do we beat the cabin fever?

Stubby Pencil Studio, our 2008 store of the year, has great new stuff for art projects. Some of our very favorites are the "Made by Me" kits ($4.00) come in several styles and allow a child to make a car or truck all by themselves. These all-wood kits are made in Vermont by Maple Landmark.

You provide the glue, hammer and paint, markers, crayons, stickers, etc... for decoration.

First you decorate.





Then you assemble the vehicle.



Then you play with your creation.




The girls were so happy and proud and couldn't wait to show their cars to Daddy. "My made it!"

Stubby Pencil Studio has many other treats, perfect for a rainy day or an Easter Basket.

Arielle especially enjoyed the People Pencils ($19.95 for a set of 15)



These high quality colored pencils are made by FineTec in Germany. They have a very smooth feel, similar to Lyra pencils (but at a fraction of the cost). The array of neutral colors captures the huge variation of human skin tones, perfect since Arielle has just started to learn about geography and other countries.



But, Arielle also thinks they are also excellent for drawing birds.




Colored pencils are also a nice way to color Easter Cards (6 for $7.95) made from 100% post-consumer paper.

We have a brand new coupon code. Our readers can use "SARA09" for a FREE Color 'n Kids cards Sample pack - which includes 8 cards: 2 birthday, 2 thank you, a get well and several others. $9.95 value. Good through 12/31/09.