ages 3 to 5

keeping calm with kathryn davey dolls

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For the first time in weeks, I had a slower, calmer work day yesterday. It was almost pleasant. I had time to answer my emails, wrap up some loose ends on a few projects, and in general, breathe. All in all, I felt much like these sweet dolls from Kathryn Davey. Calm faces, restful poses, […]

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roll these cars away to your own candylab

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I’m low on words today. These cars are awesome. What else is there to say? Candylab Toys creates oversized, gorgeous, modern, wooden street rods, I mean, cars. Ok, my job is done, now you can check out these sweet rides!

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if you like jeans, you’ll love these guys

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Denim. It’s everywhere. Yet, it’s really rare to see it done well in toys – unless you’re looking at a Bratz doll, maybe. It seems Evie Barrow has found a way to make denim and stuffed toys look just right. The Sweet Dreams characters are each one of a kind, with faded, well-loved denim and […]

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a treehouse better than your dollhouse

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Let’s start with the fact that Land of Nod has just announced their Holiday assortment of toys and other goodies. And I’d like pause for a moment to absorb the reality that the Holidays really aren’t all that far away. Sigh. Okay, now that we’ve had our moment of silence, we can enjoy the cuteness that […]

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these toys are meant to fray

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My 6 year old’s blankie is turning into one of those childhood relics: frayed edges, holes in the corners, and threadbare spots. She keeps asking me to sew it up, but I can’t, it’s not the kind of holes you can repair. But it’s also a memento of a childhood full of love and comfort, […]

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when you need a toy to be a little bit of everything

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There are toys being made that don’t fit into our preconceived ideas of what a toy is all about. It takes some innovative thinking to really step back and look at what it means to be a plaything. Ember Design has created a toy that may, at first glance, look like a railroad car. But […]

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animals with a name like filomeluna must be good

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Ears like leaves and feathers, bunnies with a mermaid’s tail, and mustachioed cats. That’s definitely the kind of creative world I want to live in. Looks like Filomeluna feels the same way, because her animals are exactly as I described above – elephants with leaves for ears, bunnies with fishy fins, and a dapper cat […]

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save your cents with these piggies & more

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Birdie found a stash of spare change in the car today, and spent a significant amount of time counting, and sorting her riches into one of her piggy banks. It turns out we have several – thanks in part to a favorite paint-your-pottery shop in our favorite weekend spot. One of these days I’m going to […]

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little wooden toys for little happy children

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Modern, but classic, timeless, and full of play value. Those are the things I love to find in a toy – and the things I can’t wait to share with you. I’ll be honest, the first thing that drew me to desEnfantillages was the minimal styling and color palette. But don’t be fooled, desEnfantillages has […]

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the cutest hunchbacked animals you’ll ever meet

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I’m browsing through a favorite online shop of mine, just seeing what’s what. And then, bam, I see Frida. Who is Frida? Well, she’s the adorable hunchbacked monkey by Franck & Fisher. She’s all sweet-faced, open-armed, and ready to love. Her body is 100% organic cotton, and her clothes are all created from repurposed fabrics, […]

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let’s say hello to dodobob

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Pugs. The most adorable and simultaneously the strangest dog I can think of.  But they’re a great source of inspiration. Take the world of Dodobob, for example. These sweet stuffed animals are all inspired by the creator Arzu’s own little pug and people’s reactions to her dog. There are three different families of pugs that […]

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mr. pom pon, lalylala & some animals

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I consider myself a jack of all creative trades – anything from welding to knitting and I’m interested. But there’s one thing I’ve tried several times and always walked away flummoxed: crochet. I know, it’s silly, but I just can’t seem to get the hang of it. Single chain, sure, but what I want to be […]

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animals of all shapes from bleebla

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A little cork, a little sycamore wood, some gorgeous animals … Bleebla makes high design toys look deceptively simple. Look at how perfectly all the sea animals in the Critters Box nestle into their cork box home? Or, once they’re removed, how beautifully they stack together. That kind of detail makes me want to see […]

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a new balance bike system: Leg&Go Bikes

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I was watching Birdie practically fly down the street with her new bike the other day (we just graduated to a 20″ salmon pink hottie), and thinking how far she’s come. We started with a balance bike when she was around 3, and I can’t recommend them enough. It was almost exactly a year ago […]

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new magnetic blocks

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Yippee Skippee! Tegu has expanded their selection of magnetic blocks! Now they have added smaller sets of blocks in a natural finish, with some awesome futuristic graphics in blue. Each set includes just enough pieces for an open ended session of  “What can I make next?”. I like to think of them like a Tangram […]

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