A great deal on a unique eco-friendly turle shape sorter

In continuing our eco-friendly Earth Day theme, I came across an EXCELLENT deal on the Boikido Eco-Friendly Tina Turtle Wooden Shape Sorter.

This toy regularly retails for $29.99 and right now you can get it for under $12.00!  What a steal!

Tina Turtle is made from wood that came from an FSC monitored source and has been painted with water based paints.  She has been tested to meet both European and US safety standards.  It is packaged in a box made from recycled materials and it is printed on with soy bean ink.

One side of Tina Turtle accommodates the generic shapes (circle, triangle, square) and the other side has the unique shapes of a carrot, mushroom and lettuce.  All of the shapes are painted with smiling, cheerful faces.

All of the shapes fit for storage inside of Tina turtle.

This toy is recommended for age 18-months and up.

Happy shopping, friends!

Bright Bamboo Cars

In honor of Earth Day, today I am featuring all eco-friendly toys and clothing.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I got worried.  Worried about all the toxins and chemicals in toys.  Worried that I was going to give my son things that weren't safe and that would poison him.

Just a few years ago there were not nearly as many options for green or eco-friendly toys.  I spend so much time on the Internet researching and calling companies to find out if their toys contained certain chemicals.  It was pretty stressful and sort of sucked the joy out of toy shopping.

I'm happy to see that there is a bigger market now for these types of toys!  Progress is a wonderful thing.

My first featured toy today are the HaPe International E-Racer Cars.

The cars are made of bamboo, a renewable resource, and have a non-toxic finish.  They are shaped nicely for little hands to grasp and they roll easily.

The cars are available in Monza Red, Le Mans Blue and Suzuka Green.

Happy shopping, friends!

Little Miss Daisy

I love daisies.  They are so fresh and remind me of the outside world finally coming back to life after a long winter.  I like the combination of daisies with blue, the cheerful yellow mixed with the calm of blue.  And polka dots are just so happy.

This is another affordable look for little girls, and it sure doesn't look like it with all these details!

The Youngland Girls daisy polka dot dress in blue is available in sizes 2T through 6X.

The Yellow Polka Dot Ribbon Hair Band Bows Clip is one size, and would be cute with either one or two for pigtails. 

The Childrens Pretty Daisy Necklace by Chic Jewellry is lead free and arrives in a gift bag.

The Childrens Pretty Daisy Ring by Chic Jewellry is lead free, adjustable and arrives in a gift bag.

The Cecilia Kids yellow daisy sandals are available in toddler and big kid sizes and are currently on sale for under $8.00.

Give them wings so they can soar!

My kids love to play dress up and pretend.  I am always looking for pieces for their pretend wardrobe, and I fell in love with these Fanciful Bird Wings made by Magic Cabin.

They have shoulder straps and finger tabs, so they will "attach" to your child and they can move the wings.  They feel like they are really flying - or so they say.  They can also be used as pretend angel wings.

They are beautiful and also make a nice photography prop.  They would be nice to keep in a studio.

The wings are available in blue (our favorite), green and yellow and are suggested for ages three and up.

Happy shopping, friends!

Go ahead, baby, play with your food!

Oh my goodness.  What a great price for the Earlyears Lil Shopper Play Set!

I paid considerably more for this same toy over three years ago at a boutique toy shop.  I actually had a difficult time buying it, because it was a very nice toy, but I had sticker shock.

However, I did get my money's worth out of it, so I can't really complain.  I bought this when my son was a baby and just starting to sit up on his own.  Both of my kids still play with it.  This was one of my favorite diaper bag toys for a long time.  I could keep pulling out something new and interesting when I needed a distraction for them.

The milk carton was my son's favorite piece.  And for a while when he was a baby, it was actually one of his favorite toys in general.  It is vinyl with velcro at the top that makes it so you can open and close it.  Inside is a soft mirror.

His favorite lately (and my daughter's favorite) is the banana.  You can really "peel" it, so they get a kick out of that.

The apple is a sort of nylon material and it has a chime inside of it.

The lettuce crinkles and the orange is a corduroy type material and has velcro on it so you can "open" it and close it.

All of the pieces store nicely inside the grocery bag, which also can graduate to being a bag when they start "going grocery shopping" as they drive off in a little play car in a year or so.

I highly recommend the Earlyears Lil Shopper Play Set.  It is also a very nice baby gift - for either a shower or a congratulations on your new baby gift, or even a first Christmas or holiday.  It is very nice quality and has withstood two babies/toddlers in my home already.  It is still in good condition and if I had a third baby I would let them play with it, too.

This is worth every penny.  Look at how many different toys you are getting for this price!  Fifteen dollars for six quality pieces to keep your baby entertained and stimulated!  That is hard to beat!

Happy shopping, friends!

Pink and blue and afforable, too!

My daughter has been really into the color blue lately, possibly because she is proud of herself that she is excellent at identifying that color, but either way whenever I ask her what color of anything she wants she asks for blue.

So I found this dress while browsing for blue things, and I thought it was very pretty.  And you can't beat the price!  Under ten dollars!

I purposely structured the rest of the outfit to be affordable so it would make sense as a set with this dress.  You can currently get the entire set, including all accessories (the earrings are the most expensive element and a third of the price) for about $63.

The first item in this set is the Girls Blue Flower Print Dress, which comes in sizes 2 - 11.

Next are the Natural Steps Thong Sandals in Fuchsia, which are available in toddler and children's sizes.

After that, you'll want to pick up the Extra Large GrosGrain Bow with Tied Center on French Clip in Bright Pink.

Next, I featured the SilberDream Pink and White Zirkonia, Sterling Silver Flower Charm, which can be used as a necklace pendant or for a charm bracelet.

Lastly, to complete the set, are the the JanKuo Jewelry Silver Tone Pink Cubic Zirkonia Flower Stud Earrings.

Happy shopping, friends!

The Whittle World where we all live

If you have been following my blog, by this point you probably know a few things we love.

1)  Well made wooden toys

2)  Toys that are open ended and inspire imaginative play

3)  Toys with a timeless feel to them

...just to name a few!

The Melissa & Doug Whittle World toys fit all of the criteria and then some.

We purchased several of the toys from the Whittle World line for our 3-year-old son for Christmas gifts.  They have been a big hit with both him and his sister (who was about 19-months-old during the holidays) and are still played with on a daily basis.

The toys are almost all wood (aside from wheels and tow hooks) and after nearly four months, all of the paint is still intact.  The people store nicely inside the vehicles in their "seats" and haven't been lost.  When we clean up this toy, we put the people in the vehicles to go bye bye.

Today I am featuring the Melissa & Doug Whittle World Plane and Luggage Carrier Set and the Melissa & Doug Whittle World School Bus Set.

The air plane set comes with an airplane (with wings that fold up to make it easier to store), a baggage cart and baggage rack with four different colored pieces of luggage, and five wooden people - which includes the baggage cart driver, a pilot and three passengers. The air plane can be towed by the baggage cart/rack.

The school bus set - one of the favorite toys in our home - comes with a school bus that has a movable stop sign on the side and a door that opens and closes, a "school building" front with a door that can open and close, a bus stop with slots for two wooden people to stand in, and seven wooden people - six children and one adult.  The wooden children are slightly smaller than the adults.

Neither of these toys make any loud noises on their own.  They are very well made for the price point.  They are nice in that you can keep adding on with more sets until you have a real Whittle World for your children to play with.

As with most Melissa & Doug toys, the box comes with suggestions for extending play with the toys into a deeper learning experience.

I highly recommend these for a gift!  They are beautiful toys in person and completely uncontroversial.

Happy shopping, friends!