Looking for some last minute magic for a great stocking stuffer? These wonderful felt butterfly rings have just arrived and been loaded onto the Green Planet Parties site. All girls love rings and butterflies…I won’t talk about the fact they are pink =)  My finger actually fits the medium size we are carrying for tweens, so I’m proud to host my new eco-friendly ‘bling’ that is guaranteed to start some conversations. A picture is worth a thousand words – so this is a short post tonight. They’ve been loaded onto the Green Planet Parties website and cost $9.95. A great price for a very special gift.

For more gift selections for Christmas – check out 2009 Christmas Selections.

My Christmas shopping woes have ended for my girls, as I’ve struggled this year with finding safe and fun (!!) gifts for under the tree Christmas morning. They love dolls so much, but we already have a few plastic ones that I’ve been looking to replace because I don’t want them snuggling with PVC. Well…bring on the Christmas cheer because I’ve not only found handcrafted cloth dolls that are beyond adorable (and affordable), but also felt food that ‘had me at hello’ when I saw the apple slices.  Think I’m exaggerating? Read on and check out the doll pictures and food pictures – I’ve never seen anything like either online or locally…

If you are also looking for cloth alternatives to plastic with dolls before Christmas, keep a close eye on Secelie’s shop this week. She’s posting 14 new dolls next week and like all other custom doll makers, is not accepting custom orders until the New Year.  With the price point and next to nothing shipping cost, her site is amazing!  It’s called Heart Felts and each little cutie is hand-made. My twins are always ‘coded’ by color because one loves blue and the other loves pink.  It works for us so when I saw some of the funky hair selections form Secelie, I knew I found the right place. Here is a picture of what will be under the tree Christmas morning for my girls. Thanks Secelie!

I’ve also been on a quest to purchase enough felt food that my girls can pretend grocery shop, play kitchen, play restaurant, without breaking my bank account. I want to replace all the plastic food they’ve inherited from my sons. Well as I mentioned above, once I saw the apple slices from MudPie Kids – my quest was over. Especially when you see her well-priced listing called ‘Everything but the kitchen sink’ …what a deal!  The detail is more realistic than you’ll ever find with wooden or plastic pretend food.  Look at the fruit selection!

So cute!  And the bananas actually peel! I purchased everything on this plate, plus

2 pancakes w/ syrup
4 apple slices
2 strawberries
4 carrots

And wait until you see the hot-dog buns with ketchup and mustard.  I just love it!

2 hotdog w/ bun ketchup, and mustard 
2 fried eggs
2 drumsticks
1 watermelon
4 orange slices
2 bananas

A very reasonable listing and items that are guaranteed to get lots of use.  I also feel great about supporting two ladies that are making incredible, safe, and quality items from the US.  I love dolls and felt food from Europe but there’s something to be said about trying to shop as locally as possible this year.  Thanks for making this year so easy with your creativity!

Okay I’m going to stop now, but check out this popcorn!  And when you check out her site, look at the whole chicken dinner, cherry pie, eggs, and sushi!

When I was planning birthday gifts for my nieces last summer, I knew it was time to source something unique and ‘big girl’ themed. When I ran across the Baby-Tags site, I knew I found my big ticket item. I immediately emailed the founder Desiree and we worked together to handcraft some magical necklaces for my nieces. I’ve written in the past that I’m a huge fan of hand-stamped sterling silver necklaces for moms. Something about having your child’s names around you neck to show-case your love just thrills me. Well, why not give this special item to a girl that wants to be just like mom and show-off a special piece of her own personalized jewlery? Here is the picture of what Desiree created for my older niece who is old enough to handle a bit of weight around her necklace:

Isn’t it sweet?  I wanted the ‘love’ heart in behind her personalization because I want her to know how much she means to my family. We just love her to bits!  It’s exactly like the design a mom would want with a large ‘love’ heart to anchor all of her kid’s tags with their names.  I fell in love and wanted to share.

Desiree is mainly concentrated on designs for parent’s that want to showcase their love. Think your hubby or grandma is impossible to buy for? Nope! There is a full line of perfect Christmas gifts for everyone that are well-priced, personalized, and gifts that will be appreciated.

And because Desiree is so creative and easy to work with, Green Planet Parties is delighted that she designed a special piece of jewlery just for us! The perfect birthday gift or box under the tree, this exclusive necklace is classic and we are proud to carry this star design, complete with personalized name, birthday, and birthstone.  Special, unique, and a gift all little girls will love.

Whew ~ Baby-Tags has been a tough secret to keep quiet over the Fall months.  I’m glad I get the chance to finally write about this talented mom and designer.

I’m pretty confident that if every little girl was given a tea set with play food on Christmas morning – the squeals would be heard around the world. It’s one of those things you simply don’t question. Girls never tire of having pretend tea parties and after using the world’s possibly greenest set for 2 years, my Christmas pick for the younger crowd is the Green Toys tea set. Because Green Toys make their products from recycled milk jugs and manufacture their products in the US,  the eco-friendly status of this toy is wonderful…not to mention you don’t have to worry about phthalates or BPA. My girls drink from the tea cups and tea pot in the bath tub every night – it’s their nightly routine. This set has been the best toy they’ve owned and I love that it’s safe for them to mouth and drink from.

I’d like to point to an Etsy store for my ‘cupcake’ pick because I think everyone should have some handmade, uniquely handcrafted toys and gifts under their tree this year. I would love to see a decline in the profits of huge toy companies and see a boom in the sales of small companies that have gone back to the ’safe’ way of creating toys for our children to play with. Felt is a material I’m very fond of and plan to incorporate felt food into one of the larger gifts for my girls this year. These felt play cookies and cupcakes from the Etsy store Sugar Chic Baby are next on my list to order for Christmas shopping.  They look so real!

If you have a special theme in mind for your gift ideas this year, why not try Etsy first before heading to Toys R Us or to Walmart? Think your kids that love to dress-up would appreciate a new item for their trunk?  Try going to Etsy.com and use the search field to source gifts this year. What a difference for our children’s health and the planet’s health.  Much of the plastic from packaging and products themselves would be eliminated. Not to mention we’d be supporting many moms that appreciate the extra income to handcraft these truly special items. Try it – you get a really good feeling from shopping this way.

A few months ago I received Clementine Art soy crayons to review which is great because I’ve always wondered how a soy crayon stands up against Crayola and no-name brand crayons.  Not to be a crayon snob…but there is such a big difference in quality with the amount you pay for art supplies and crayons are no different!  When I opened the box of these soy crayons, I sensed immediately I was going to be a fan.  The shape of them are just perfect for kid’s hands as you will see from the image below.  The quality of the crayon is also amazing and it’s tough to use regular old crayons after using the Clementine Art crayons. Interesting when you read the desciption on the Clementine site, you see the word ‘creamy’.  I thought it was such a funny word to describe a crayon, but it’s actually a perfect description because the crayons simply glide over the paper. With my 4 kids that craft, color, or draw every day, even I’m searching for one of these unique soy crayons to color with because they are so easy to use. I remember when my twins were at the age where the fun world of coloring and drawing started I purchased the plastic round ink ’dabbers’ that were marketed for a very young child.  I thought “great idea” thinking the round shape of them would work well and be easy for them to navigate. This was simply not true and they turned out to be a waste of money. The shape of the Clementine Art crayons are perfect for all hand sizes and would be my pick for children of any age to begin exploring or that love art. Check out the below picture to view the unique crayon shape:

So why all-natural art supplies?  These 6 products under the Clementine Art umbrella are not only a step-up in quality (you get what you pay for), but a better choice for our children and the planet. Traditional crayons are produced with petroleum and synthetic additives (yuk!) and the packaging is not always eco-friendly.  Clementine Art is one of the very few companies to list their ingredients and you will enjoy reading this list including; kosher soy wax, mineral pigments, beeswax, carnauba wax, vegetable stearic acid, calcium carbonate (chalk), natural brazilian rosin, and titanium dioxide. No chemical dye or additives.  Whew!  - our parents never would have believed the crayon world could be so complicated.

The story of how Diane, the founder of Clementine Studio and her wonderful art products is lovely because she is actually a dedicated art teacher from Boulder Colorado.  Her studio was a place where children were encouraged to get messy and creative with glue, glitter, paint, and more! Wondering what actually was included in the description of ‘non-toxic’ with all of these products, Diane started making her own play dough and paint and Clementine Art was born.

I would recommend any of the Clementine Art products as wonderful stocking stuffers this Christmas. The soy crayons and natural paint are way high up on my list with Santa this year. I’ll need to request another pack of the crayons into my own stocking because my kids keep calling dibs on the soy crayons so I’m stuck with the cheap, broken crayons at the art table. And when your kids notice a difference in art supplies…you take notice.  I can’t wait to try the paint and will be on the look-out at my local Whole Foods until the Clementine Art site lists more online retailers.  The other 5 products Clementine Art offers via Whole Foods (and smaller stores over the next few months) are: soy crayon rocks, natural glue, modeling dough, natural paint, and natural markers.