Kids Haus

My Mini Golf

How fun does this My Mini Golf set look?! When my brother and I were kids, we crafted a miniature golf course in our yard using various scraps of plastic and wood that we found in the garage - it's still one of my favorite childhood memories as we collaborated and schemed up fun ramps and roundabouts for the golf ball to follow. We literally played with miniature golf all summer long!

I find myself already thinking about how we're going to keep ourselves entertained this summer and this could quell a few of my quandaries. With an eight year old, the entertainment curve is substantially different than a three year old, so I've got to get creative. What I love about it is that I can envision throwing this set in the back of the car and heading anywhere with it and it's age appropriate for the whole family! Perhaps it's our modern day croquet?

Wooden Matching Memory Game

I was thrilled when I bumped into Lemon Tree Studio today and found that she hand-stamped forest imagery onto these wooden chips to make a Memory Game. I bought a bag of the same blank wooden chips over a year ago that I intended to screenprint for a personal project but I never got around to it. Instead, the girls' decorated a batch of them and pretended that they were coins (couldn't buy much with them though). So, to see that someone has actually taken these awesome wooden chips and made a really cute, creative game out of them is pretty inspiring and, seriously, what kid doesn't love a good Memory Game?

 

WOOLi HOP Floor Mat

One of my favorite little Etsy shop discoveries is WOOLi - I absolutely fell in love with their soft toy boxes. Out of curiosity, I took a peek into their shop this evening to see if they might be up to something new and found this undeniable fantastic baby floor mat! I think it's the construction and choice of materials that has me giddy - who doesn't love thick wool and organic cotton for baby to sit and play on? (or is it just me?). The cover comes off for easy washing - and you know that will happen more times than you care to imagine.

Mibo Wise Guys

I found these little guys patiently waiting in my inbox this morning and had to share! From the company that brought us their bold and beautiful lamp shades, Mibo has just come up with this darling little family of Wise Guys as a downloadable/print-at-home-able kit for your very own. A fun DYI project when you have a little free time: simply print, cut and fold. You can bet that I'm putting these fellas in the "rainy day" category when my 7 year old experiences one of her "so bored" moments - this ought to perk things up a bit!

Summer Play, Welcome May!

It's officially true, time literally flies! We'll be welcoming the month of May tomorrow which means that summer is on it's heels, which means that we can kick off our boots and slip on the flip-flops! I've learned that I can't dive into summers in Seattle without zeal because it will be over as quickly as you can say "SPF 60". I'm already feeling it. You know what I can't wait for? The beach! Taking the kids and the dog to the beach, having picnics and feeling the warm sun on my back. Letting the kids explore different things, playing without (much of) a time limit and going to bed feeling that satisfying type of exhaustion -- the kind that makes you realize that you probably just created some great memories. So, I couldn't help but pick a few things to inspire those thoughts...

Top left: Teak Swing, Top Right: Noted Matchstick Garden, Bottom Right: Beach Ball Sprinkler, Bottom Left: Terra Kids Key Ring Magnifying Glass

Miller Goodman ShapeMaker

This has got to be one of the coolest toys around and I honestly don't think I could have understood how imaginative the ShapeMaker was, had it not been for their excellent video. My girls have watched it a half dozen times already and found it completely entertaining -- I don't think we could get tired of the fabulous, organ grinder inspired music that goes along with it either, it's so fun. The Miller Goodman Shapemaker is essentially a set of 25 colorful, hand printed, environmentally friendly, rubber wood blocks with thousands of geometric possibilities. Enjoy!

Somethings Hiding In Here

I came across Something's Hiding In Here via Etsy about a month ago and added them to my favorites because I loved their You're home to me Gocco printed poplar house. Since I look at what seems like a million blogs and shops daily, they got lost in my shuffle but I was quickly reminded how much I loved their quirky, creative things when I peeked inside their Etsy shop today and adore everything they're producing -- like their Heart yo-yo and Faux bois blocks. For fun, you should also check out their video for their "You're home to me" wooden house -- it's bubbling with creativity too (of course).

Billy Rocker

Mr. Kaliski is the designer of this marvelous, customizable, cardboard rocking horse called Billy Rocker. Your child can transform it into a horse, dragon, unicorn or most certainly anything their little imagination can dream of. It can be painted, scribbled upon, wallpapered, collaged...in fact, there are no rules. Once you've finished designing it, you can turn it inside out (because it's cardboard after all) and create something new on the other side -- so you have 2-in-1! I should also mention that when the day comes that your Billy Rocker has run it's course of fun -- it's fully recycleable, so there's no (or very little) guilt about the footprint it leaves behind!

Kidsonroof Totem Tree

Erika from Mikodesign mentioned that she had been at Kleine Fabriek in Amsterdam and saw Kidsonroof's newest cardboard creations. I'm such a fan of Kidsonroof's designs already and it's so great to see them really stretching their imagination. To explain the Totem Tree is a little tricky but it's essentially like building your own tree out of cardboard birds, birdhouses, leaves, mushrooms, apples and other pieces of printed plant and wood textures. It stands a bit over 2' high and seems like such a fun, creative way to spend an afternoon. Afterward, it becomes a work of art to display...

INQUISITIVEkid

I'm completely smitten with INQUISITIVEkid! They have described themselves so well, "Our toys are reduced to the essential, are pure in form and colour, and do not have a predetermined way to play." I was thrilled to see the variety of beautiful toys, thoughtfully categorized into areas such as "Cable Cars, Playing with Air and Playing with Water" -- doesn't that just capture the essence of child's play? It actually provokes such strong childhood memories as my brother and I played outdoors many a summer trying to make our own versions of these sorts of things, of course not nearly as fancy!

Maria Lunate Downloads

Here in Seattle, we've had a LOT of snow for this little corner of the Northwest and when it snows, as a city, we  become paralyzed and unprepared. The streets are not well sanded nor plowed, so many of us don't leave our homes. It's kind of funny in some ways but the humor starts to wear off after you've been trapped inside for several days. I pulled the girls a couple miles up the road in our sled yesterday and it was so beautiful to be in the snow -- very peaceful. My husband got the car out today and is coming back to pluck us out of the house in a bit -- I know it sounds kind of silly, doesn't it?

So, if you're still looking for some fun little gifts, there is always a downloadable option! Maria Lunate has some adorable and inexpensive downloadable gift tags, calendars and a fantastic pop-up Little Red Riding Hood house ($3). Red's house would be the perfect way to spend some creative time if you're stuck indoors. It would also make a cute little surprise under the tree...

 

A Few of My Favorite Things: Part III

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. We were fortunate to spend it with family and I didn't have to host this year, which made it very easy and fun -- all I had to do was make cornbread stuffing! Today was one of those days that began like a horse out of the gate and didn't stop until just five minutes ago when the girls' finally petered out...nevermind...I take that back...they're still chatting back and forth.

Well, here is the post that I've been meaning to pull together for a couple days now but the holidays took priority. These are a few things that grabbed my attention as lovely holiday gift ideas...

To Wear (top row): Kinchi Kitten Skirt, Blue Sidekick Cape
To Play (middle row): Milwaukee Express, Sevi Push Bike
To Decorate (bottom row): Two Hoos On a Branch, Enchanted Tree Shelf Stand

 

Eric Carle's Dream Snow Advent Calendar

I was down at our local book store the other day with the girls, perusing all the wonderful kids' books when I glanced over to notice this Eric Carle's Dream Snow Pop-up Advent Calendar. What child doesn't like a good Eric Carle book? What child doesn't love a good advent calendar? I think this is one of the cutest advent calendars I've seen and I'd purchase it if we didn't already have an advent calendar made of tiny knit stockings already.

LMNOP Online Magazine and Kids Haus

The beautifully produced and designed LMNOP Online Magazine has just come out with their 5th issue and it's overflowing with fabulous holiday gift finds. I am completely honored to have my "Aye, Matey!" print included amongst all of the beautiful things (hanging on the yellow fish clip below). You might find it interesting that they photograph over 90% of the products for each issue -- presentation is a huge factor, isn't it? Download it and enjoy!

And seconds after showing this brilliant Crazy Fort to my husband, he insisted we get it for Ms. Bean for Christmas. It's perfectly suited after we've built at least a dozen forts in the last 4 months out of every sheet, blanket, clothespin, rubberband and pillow in the house. There was one weekend where our couch had been transformed into a fort and I was given strict instructions not to take it down. The Crazy Fort allows children to construct their own structure with the balls and sticks and, even smarter, you can now purchase lights that shut off after 20 minutes of use.

A Few of My Favorite Things: Part II

TO PLAY
Left: Bag of Apples
Right: Felt River Rocks

TO WEAR:
Left: Marie Monster Hat
Right: Comfy Boots

TO DECORATE:
Left: Mushrooms Chalkals
Right: Letterpress Alphabet Poster

il posto dei giochi (the place of the games)

Yellow circles like the sun, blue waves like the sea or a wall made of red bricks! The Il Posto Dei Giochi (The Place of Games) are wonderful and imaginative corrugated pressboard sheets by Enzo Mari, first made in 1967 and reprinted in 2008, transformed into a place to play: ten panels of different decorations, perforations and shapes to allow the little creative minds let loose. Wouldn't these be fun? I can imagine all sorts of ways to transform them or pretend with -- plus, they're safe and makes great art when not being used!

 

Romp Store

Are you ready for a feast for the eyes? Romp Store, a new online shop to me, has got an incredible selection of toys, games, decor...etc. As they say, "...everything we bring you will have a magical combination of good design, respect for materials and craft, and of course a serious dose of fun." (Well said). They've even got things that are fresh to my eyes and I feel like I've seen nearly everything. It's a delightful shop to peruse and will be one my destinations this holiday season. All Kids Haus readers can get free shipping on all orders by simply entering "Haus" in the discount code box.

Plan Toys Wooden Appliances

Spending money on a few good wooden appliances for pretend-play is almost as good as spending good money on the real thing. I think we've gotten our monies worth for purchasing a solid, wooden oven for the girls. I love these vibrantly colored Plan Toys wooden dishwasher and washing machine -- made with non-toxic color dyes.

Picnic/Tea Party Blanket

The child who gets this incredibly creative and beautifully stitched Picnic/Tea Party Blanket from LeiLiLaLoo will be one lucky duck! I would be throwing a tea party all year round. She's only made one though, so hurry before someone else snaps it up. It would make a great heirloom to pass down.

Pretend Play

What child doesn't love to pretend play? Honestly, the best thing I ever did was move my girls' wooden toy oven in the room right next to our kitchen. It's loaded with wooden fruits and veggie, utensils, pots & pans and mini oven mitts (of course). It has saved many of my dinners from becoming disasters by being the best distraction for Clara. Plan Toys has got to have the best array of wooden toys and that little grocery cart might be coming home with me.

Oloop Squareplay

I know what you're thinking when you first look at the Oloop Squareplay. It's very cool but wouldn't that pose a risk for suffocation? The Oloop Squareplay is constructed of breathable fabric and won the Red Dot Award: Design Concept: Best of the Best: Education 2007. It's unique design makes it so  that it can be used in numerous ways. You can play inside or outside of it and they say that it can be used outdoors as kindergarten playground equipment. (via Small Magazine)

 

Skullcave

How fantastic is the Skullcave by Our Childrens Gorilla?! It's a lightweight, portable play-hut that rolls up into a compact cylinder when it's time to stash away in the closet. This would be a hit in our house, I'm sure.

Carton Chic

The French company, Carton Chic, is certainly living up to its name. Do you recall turning cardboard boxes into an imaginary escape as a child? The possibilities were limitless. I remember making a spaceship, a house, a refrigerator...you name it. That's why I was immediately crazy about Armelle's fresh take on cardboard creativity. These cardboard pieces are reminiscent of the classic puppet theatre but instead it's a TV on one side and a kitchen on the other...fun!

Flying Kiss Handmade

Imee began making her Indian Parade Elephants following a lecture she attended about the benefit of toys that encourage imagination and pretend play. This also coinciding with the toy production scares in China. Imee makes her elephants and dolls with the finest materials and adornments so that the final results are these beautiful little creatures. And the best part: a portion of proceeds from the elephant sales will be donated to the Elephant Sanctuary where elderly zoo and circus elephants retire in open pastures and comfort. I love hearing this -- especially since these majestic animals are dear to my heart.

 

Doodlebug Finery

In our home, my girls love to pretend cook while I attempt to throw together a real dinner. So much so, that I moved the play oven right next to the kitchen. Doodlebug Finery has some of the most adorable felt food for pretend play...cafe salad, chips and breakfast are currently on the menu. Handcrafted from a mother who makes these wonderful things while her daughter sleeps.

Haba Sulky Rickshaw

I took a teeny break from posting last week because I was a bit exhausted from a teething child and was also directing my focus into illustrating some things that have been on my mind. I will be happy to share what I've come up with in a few weeks.

Anyhow, a toy rickshaw for kids wouldn't exactly be something I would expect; however, much to my surprise, one actually exists and it's rather brilliant. Haba's Rickshaw Sulky has already won two design awards -- so there must be something to it.

Lucy & Michael Tents

A tent isn't just a tent anymore. Sure, it gives you shelter but now you can take cover in a baroque floral pattern, a modern geometric or stripes. Two creative moms from Texas, Andria & Brooke, created their company Lucy & Michael (their kids' names) so a tent can blend beautifully with the mohair armchairs in your living room.