KidsHaus

Ann Wood Handmade Sailboat

I first saw these handmade boats by Ann Wood when Hazelwood Children opened their virtual doors last year. I was stunned at the level of detail that goes into each of her boats. You can choose from 1 or 2 bird passengers (how cute is that?) made of vintage fabric and stuffed with 100% wool. Each boat is made entirely by hand by Ann from recycled cardboard (mostly cereal boxes), newspaper, vintage buttons and found and salvaged fabric. This would be such a wonderful center piece hanging from the ceiling in a child's room -- just watch the imagination go.

Talisman Knit Necklace

I love it when I find something unexpected like these whimsical Talisman necklaces by the unique company, Redspottedpurple. The name "Talisman" means it will bring you good luck. You can collect tiny (lucky) treasures and button them up in the 100% alpaca wool pouches hand knitted by Turkish farmers (EKO certified).

Patterns

My sleep schedule is still off kilter but it also means that I'm enjoying the morning, so far, quietly sipping my espresso and writing a blog post in peace and quiet while everyone is still sleeping -- it's only a matter of time though. I was just sifting through some photos of our trip and wanted to share some cheerful patterns that we came across. It's getting my blood moving for Monday. Also, while I'm recalling our travels, I wanted to thank Erika from Mikodesign for giving me some terrific recommendations for restaurants and shops in Amsterdam and Esther from Babyccino for sharing her babysitter with us so my husband and I could have an evening out...which only turned out to be one glorious hour since a new person in a strange city didn't agree with the Mini...oh well...

Clothespin People

It's the second time in one week that I've mentioned The Small Object but I couldn't resist these handmade, limited edition clothespin people. There are only 10 available and I have a feeling they won't last long...

Lapin & Me

Lapin & Me is a nostalgic little shop that has carefully chosen items with an emphasis on design, quality, style and imagination. There are wonderful things gathered from around the world all in one spot...

 

Spring Giveaway! Quiet Hours Toys

Spring is on the heels of winter and I'm already feeling a little bounce in my step. In honor of spring and the impending sunshine, Carey from Quiet Hours Toys has graciously opened her doors to a special KidsHaus spring giveaway. If you've never peeked into Quiet Hours Toys, it's definitely worth a visit. It is a mother-owned and operated business that offers a continuously changing array of hand-crafted toys and wares from artisans around the world (remember the crocheted crowns by Jess Nicole?). Quiet Hours Toys consists of a community of creative people from around the world and each of them does the work he or she loves in home studios or shops. I'm a huge fan and am always peeking in to see what Carey has added to her collection of unique goods. Quiet Hours Toys has put together two wonderful packages geared towards spring...

Spring 1 includes:
1 cotton girl bunny by Maileg (designed in Denmark)
2 felt hair clips by One Girlie Girl (USA)
1 set of bunny paper dolls
1 sparrow bag kit by Sparrowkids (London)

Spring 2 includes:
1 cotton boy bunny by Maileg (designed by Denmark)
1 set of bath fizzies by Daisycakes Soap (USA)
1 wooden red sports car by Spiel & Holz (Germany)
1 container of rainbow soft dough by Mary's Soft Dough (USA)

How this works: We'll select 1 winner for each package. Please mention if you would prefer a specific package. All you need to do is leave a comment, no anonymous comments please, from now until midnight PST on Monday, March 24th. I will announce the winners on Tuesday morning, March 25th. One entry per person please! Thanks to Quiet Hours Toys!

 

The Gnome Shop

I'm completely enthralled with these felted wool eggs from The Gnome Shop. The most creative alternative to plastic Easter eggs, you can stuff them with sweet treasures and will be fun to use all year round. Heather is a stay-at-home mom of two children and has been crafting these eggs for her kids for the last few years. She also makes darling forest fairies, mushroom houses and furniture. Really...have you seen anything cuter?

Art: Amber Alexander

I'm absolutely in love with Amber Alexander's watercolor paintings of animals that are reminiscent of fairy tales. They're both romantic and whimsical. I love the golden retriever wearing her bonnet and ruffled collar.

Wool Comes Alive

There's something about this squirrel's big eyes staring back at me! These unique, little wooly creations by Wool Comes Alive are handmade with care and they're all beautiful. Squirrel or bunny would fit nicely into a little pocket too.

Windswept Photography

It was almost a year ago today that I hired Alexandra from Windswept Photography to take photographs of our li'l family (these aren't pictures of our family but Ms. Bean is on Windswept's splash page). I'd never gotten professional photographs taken and thought it would be a novel idea to give someone else control of the camera. Let me just say it was some of the best money I've spent! I Google'd into the wee hours trying to find a photographer that oozed of natural style, no stiff poses or cheesy grins. As soon as I stumbled onto Alex's site and saw her photographs of babies, I started to cry which, by the way, was the surest sign that I wanted to hire her on the spot. Alex was incredibly professional and conscientious. So, if by any chance you're in or around the Seattle area, you should consider a little session with Alex.

Catherine Campbell

I remember playing with my friend Paige and her large collection of paper dolls when I was about 8 years old. We would sit for hours and hours! When I saw this beautiful update of the classic paper dolls by Catherine Campbell of My Folk Lover, I was in love. Alternatively, you could frame them and display as art.

Catherine Campbell also has a lovely array of illustrated artwork on her Etsy shop. I'm in love-love with these Little Papercuts...

Old School Prints

If you're in the market for some whimsical and affordable art, these Old School letter press wall prints are fantastic. Hazel Wood Children has plenty to choose from but these were the ones I took notice of.

Kragh Rosenberg

Periodically, I like to peek at nonchalantmom's wonderful blog and peruse her online shop -- I have yet to purchase anything but this tantalizing Kragh Rosenberg dress might be my first. The print and silhouette of the dress are pretty darn perfect.

Mahar Drygoods: One Stop Shopping!

If you're looking for unique, hand-made holiday gifts then I have no doubt you'll find that perfect something at Mahar Drygoods. They have pooled together some of the most talented artisans. I'm completely infatuated with the shadow puppets and Ms. Bean was instantly smitten with the bumble bee mittens.

Introducing: Hazel Wood Children

Today was one of those days where I was a little uncertain of what I was going to write about. I had a few things up my sleeve but nothing that felt very compelling. That was, until I checked my inbox and found a lovely email from Jennifer of Hazel Wood Children, a new online children's store that's quite compelling and worth celebrating. Jennifer has pooled together a unique range of designers, small businesses, artists and craftsmen with an overarching philosophy of environmental consciousness (yes, including lots of organic products!). You will discover things that you have probably never seen before (I certainly did) and find items exclusively made for Hazel Wood -- note the adorable coats pictured below. Great products and great philosophy, this is my kind of store! Thanks Jennifer.

Baby Books

So, I'm in a position where I desperately need to buy a baby book for Mini or I will lead a life of regret. Okay, it's not all doomed but she's already had her first birthday and my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be. How will I ever remember the date when she first crawled? Her first giggle? Panic is starting to set in! I have a baby book for Ms. Bean that is probably half full and I don't have anything to show for the Mini as of yet! So, I managed to drum up a couple of lovely choices, plus stumbled upon a gorgeous book especially for adopted babies.

First off, there's Binth! Need I say more? Everything they do is absolutely beautiful. It's just a bit pricier than I was intending to spend but I may end up springing for it (as the guilt settles in)...

May Papers created this lovely baby book with photographs that tug at the heart strings. Seeing some of the photos brought many of those fleeting baby memories back. Love it...

boygirlparty illustrated an utterly gorgeous baby book for an adopted child. The pictures speak for themselves (shhhh...)

Then there's Nikki McClure's "Baby's First 1000 Days" baby journal which might be a good idea for me since I'm already behind on baby's first 365 days!

Mikodesign

Mikodesign wrote a comment on my post about Keet in Huis one day so, naturally, I checked out her lovely blog and found that she is one of those admirable women who gushes with creativity. Mikodesign is based in the Netherlands and makes fantastic bags, clothes, dress-up clothes (hint* Halloween), aprons, decorative items, toys and more.  Her beautifully crafted things are found on etsy or poppytalk handmade.  The owl underwear set is irresistable! Time to do some shopping...

Sandra Isaksson

British designer and illustrator Sandra Isaksson started ISAK in 2006 which is "all about beautiful happy things!" and has already created a phenomenal range of trays, dishes, greeting cards and wallpaper. To top it all off, she created utterly charming kids counting posters! I had so much fun perusing her website and was in awe of how talented one person can be! I particularly enjoyed her description for the 123 Counting Poster: "They can be called a "flock", when there are so many. I have counted them using all my fingers, and all my toes. I see them all when I play in the woods after dinner, they tell me their names but all I can hear is tweet." She also created equally adorable 123 Counting Poster 1-10 and the ABC Alphabet poster.