Tag: children

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What’s New, and, Well Natural from the Natural Kids Team on Etsy

Welcome! I continue my trek backwards through the alphabet to bring to you the most wonderful and imaginative treasures. They are all  handmade with natural materials from…yes! the Naturalkids Team on Etsy!
 This week, we feature an international array of artists who have one thing in common besides having their shops begin with the letter M – they all work with natural materials!

 Kate of  Merino Me  hails from Auckland New Zealand  She describes herself as “a kiwi mother who loves to design and sew.”  She creates merino wool garments for all ages. Garments that allow your body to move and breathe, naturally. She uses the finest, softest merino wool available, sourced in New Zealand. NZ merino wool is machine washable (yay!) and does not irritate the skin. Wash and wear it like your favorite cotton. Here is her newest cozy treasure –
 Cowl Scarf.
 
The creative mind behind Maple Shade Kids  is Wanda from New Hampshire, who lives there with  her husband, 10 year old daughter and her 7 year old twin boys.

“I unleashed my passion for designing and creating when my family and I moved into our New England farmhouse. It was an open canvas for me. With lots of imagination, a bit of wood, fun papers and earth friendly paint, I was able to transform our rooms and furniture into creative, fun designs that my children/family adore. I haven’t stopped since.” Here is her lovely Brown Bear Peeking Large Collage.

 The creative force behind Mama4earth  is Linda. Sweet knitted animals and treasures from Johannesburg, South Africa. “I  am a stay at home mother of four delightful children, who inspire me to create these wonderful knitted treasures consisting of Waldorf inspired knitted and wooden farm animals, gnomes and toys.” Here is her Labrador Dog Knitting Pattern.    

Mamaks is a mama of 2 little ones living in Seattle, WA. “I started this whole crazy play clay thing while pregnant with my second baby. I was making it so often for my eldest daughter and her friends, and getting so much good feedback I thought why not put it out there and see what happens? So here I am, fledgling play clay maven of Etsy bringing my yummy smelling play clay to the whole wide world!”  Her clay i s gluten free, all natural and biodegradable. Here is her latest:  Geranium scented gluten free play clay in 4 oz.   

That’s it for this week…. from sturdy, environmentally friendly merino wool clothes to wooden artwork and toys to knitted toys and patters to delicious smelling an natural play clay…this is just a taste of the quality and variety our customers  enjoy from the fine crafts folk/artists of the Naturakids team.

Thanks for joining us this week and please do return again next Monday as we make our way through the alphabet and begin with the Ls, featuring all the wonderful members of the Naturakids team on etsy! Til then, I invite you to browse all our wonderful shops.

Creatively yours,
Rebecca aka Nushkie

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What’s New, and, Well, Natural from the Natural Kids Team on Etsy

Welcome! What a great variety I have to share with you this week from the Naturalkids Team on Etsy! Today I’m going to continue my trek backwards through the alphabet to bring the stories of our members and their newest listings. Please enjoy!

The folks at  Seven Acre Toys hail from Providence Rhode Island. As life long creators it was only natural that when their  friends started having kids they skipped the registries, and went straight to the woodshop. After much coaxing from many friends, they now share some of their favorite baby gift creations with the world. They strive for a higher quality toy. “We are committed to environmentally sustainable business practices, and delivering safe imaginative toys to the little ones in your life. For that reason we use no paints, dyes, or film finishes.” Here is a lovely example of their work…the Wooden Egg Baby Rattle.  
 
Rumpos  Is a lovely shop from Columbus Ohio. They describe them selves this way, “Mama, partner to a hairy nerd with glasses, writer, reader, sewster, pediatric nurse practitioner student (spring ’12 grad). I make playscapes to process the complicated and harrowing puzzles of my life–it’s a lovely balm to imagine, create, and work out those tiny little worlds.”

Their work is sturdily hand and machine sewn with all-natural materials including wool, alpaca, bamboo, linen, cotton, and hemp.They are perfect for gentle play with fingers, small figurines, and imaginations, and create open-ended play opportunities and teache about narrative storytelling and habitats. Here’s a wonderful  new work.   Large Playscape for Big Imaginations    

Ruby Slippers , from Bloomington, Indiana, describes herself this way: “Ruby’s Slippers is inspired and named after my daughter Ruby. Ten percent of all sales will be put towards her college fund. She’s only 2, but I figure it’s better to start early! I have been sewing since I was a little child. I have always loved being creative. I enjoy sewing, quilting, knitting, screen printing and embroidery, to name a few. I use natural fibers (cotton, wool, bamboo, etc.) whenever possible. I avoid putting synthetic fabrics on my baby, and assume that many people feel the same way. “

Her  Blue Berries slippers are soft cloth shoes made from a vintage cotton fabric, lined in cotton flannel, and insulated with cotton batting, for extra comfort. The outer fabric is a vintage cotton canvas print. The inside is lined with cozy cotton flannel. The inside seam is cased (with flannel) for extra comfort for baby’s feet. The back of the shoe is connected to the top with elastic, which keeps them snug but allows for easy on/off.

Rjabinnik   Rene Kvicala lives on a farm grouped house in Menik, a small Moravian village (Czech Republic, European Union). He and his wife  left university studies and the city life and moved there 6 years ago. Since then, they have been living by their hand-work with respect to crafts, tapping into the traditions and craftsmanship of their country. Their favorite material is wood.

Their 2 FLY AGARIC TOADSTOOL Friends – is the most adorable wooden carved toy…perfect for little hands and big play, the nature table or just because!

From wooden toys to playscapes to slippers and baby toys, this week’s selection from the Natural kids Team on Etsy offers you just a taste of the natural creations you can expect to find and make part of your life from our wonderful artists and craftspeople. Look here for a full list of our shops!

Thank you for visiting this week. I’ll have more shops to introduce you to next week as I showcase their recent creations. I look forward to seeing you then, in the meantime, our blog has interesting and informative entries each day. Enjoy!

Creatively yours,
Rebecca a.k.a. Nushkie

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What’s New, and, Well Natural from the Natural Kids Team on Etsy

Welcome! Today I’m going to continue my trek backwards through the alphabet to bring the stories of the creators and their newest wonderful handmade treasures, made with natural materials from…yes! the Naturalkids Team on Etsy!

Welcome to the The Wood Garden  Chris and Laura,  create natural, handmade wooden toys and dishes for babies, toddlers and children. They are a husband and wife team who have always been creative–in fact, they met in high school art class. When their first son was small Chris started making wooden trucks for him, and quickly fell in love with woodworking and creating wooden toys especially. He bought more tools and made it his hobby, and later a business as they started to sell the toys at craft shows under the name CB (Canadian Built) Woodcrafts. Eventually they heard about Etsy and decided to open up a shop here under a new name, The Wood Garden.  Here is their  Handcrafted Wooden Rattle in Walnut and Purple Heart.

The shop The Violet Sparrow  is named after their two saanen dairy goats, Violet and Sparrow. They aim to please our planet-and you with every natural, handmade item they create, from children’s upcycled wool sweater slippers, needle-felted designs, children’s stuffed toys, waldorf dolls and thier hand-made, hand-milked goatmilk soaps and accessories.

The shop is filled with goods inspired by the treasures they make for and with their children. As a Waldorf-inspired homeschooling family, they are constantly creating our own playthings, dolls, and beautiful things for their  home and nature table. This is reflected in thier shop!

  Here is the   Heart Purse with Valentines Fairy and Gnome Friends 

Elizabeth from the The Sitting Tree    is an obsessed knitter. She knits anywhere & everywhere, except while riding her bike, as she has not figured that one out yet. Her favorite place to knit, though, is nestled into the trunk of a shady tree overlooking the St. Croix River. Perhaps this is the very tree she named her shop  after!

She’s inspired by everything nature, and tries to make sure her products reflect the love and respect she has for mother earth. By upcycling and using natural fibers, this goal is manifested in one of her newest listings, the Tree Squirrel Upcycled cloth diaper soaker.

Mary is the creator behind The Green Goat.    She’s an artist with a Bachelors degree in Graphic Design, living in the Midwest. She’s a wife, a stay-at-home momma of two, and someone who enjoys the simplest things in life. The Green Goat came about after her second child was born. It was then that her bottled up creative energy exploded into a children’s collection and then some. She is head-over-heels in LOVE with her new roll as mommy, but  can’t quite shake the desire to create things. So, she works in the evenings, after her babies are fast asleep. Mommy by day, screen printer by night. “I have the best of both worlds! I truly LOVE what I do and am so tickled to be able to share my creations with you,” she says. Here is her
 Peacock on Seafoam spaghetti strap dress   !

From clothing to dolls, to diapers and rattles, this week’s offering brings you just a taste of the natural creations  you can expect to find and make part of your life from the Natural kids Team on Etsy! Look here for a full list of our shops!

Thank you for visiting this week! I’ll have another bunch of our shops to introduce you to next week as I showcase their recent creations. I look forward to seeing you then, in the meantime, our blog has interesting and informative entries each day. Enjoy!

Creatively yours!
Rebecca    aka Nushkie

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What’s New, and Well Natural from the Natural Kids Team on Etsy

Welcome! Today I’m going to continue my trek backwards through the alphabet to bring to you the most yummy treasures, which are handmade with natural materials from…yes! the Naturalkids Team on Etsy!

Have you met Wildchildwoolies? Let me introduce you! Angela is a stay at home/work at home/homeschooling  mom of 5 awesome kids. Wild Child Woolies was born in 2007 after baby #4 sold her on the wonderful world of cloth diapering with wool. She’s a 3rd generation ‘crafter’ for whom it seemed natural to combine her love of wool, her love love of crafting and her entrepreneurial spirit. Here you will find top quality, hand made wool interlock clothing for cloth diapered babies and toddlers.

Here’s her Rainbow Knot Pull On Diaper Cover Diaper

Wool can be formed into so many expressions, like shawls, toys,  decor and crowns… Here is another take by the  Netherlands’ Viltalakim!

In her own words, “Welcome,here I sell all my unique hand felted items. Vilt is Dutch for Felt. I make everything by the WET-FELT/ wetfelting technique with super soft merino wool. I do this all by hand, without sewing/ knitting first. No washing machine, just my own power! I hope you enjoy my creations. “

Her reverseable kids crown is a favorite worthy of passing down to future generations!

Tweet or Willowbaus  works with a variety of materials, including wool and wood.

The designs are “Based on the concept of Wabi Sabi- dedicated to the simplicity and importance of meaningful objects in one’s space. Dedicated to natural, beautiful and time.”

Here is a new treasure that invites another element to join in play…the wind! Enjoy the Sea Urchin Sailboat.

Hand dyed bamboo hooded towel in batik

Ticketybu is the home for luxurious bamboo items for home, bath and body. Bu blankets of all sizes, hooded towels, pillow cases, diapers and wipes…

“Tickety Bu? Tickety Bu, also spelled Tickety Boo and Tiggerty Boo, is a phrase that means, “everything’s alright”. There is argument whether it originated in England, Scotland or India and may have come from a Hindi expression “tickee babu” which means “all alright”. It seemed to fit why I love bamboo and why I started the company and honestly, I like the sound of it. It harkens back to a simpler life, just the way things should be.”

Threefishshop specializes in “handcrafted, premium, unique headwear made with the finest natural and organic yarn.

We think it’s important to use the very best materials in our creations to reflect our high standard of craftsmanship. When possible we like to use handcrafted yarn and other materials to support our fellow crafters.”

New to her shop is the Original Waffle Weave Brim Beanie
 fun for your child to live in and for photo shoots too!
Thanks for looking! It is a pleasure to bring you all the new treasures from these fine crafts folk/artists. Please visit again next Monday as we make our way through the alphabet, featuring all the fantastic members of the Naturakids team on etsy! Til then, I invite you to browse all our wonderful shops.

Warmly,
Rebecca aka Nushkie
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(we’ve been stocking)… shop update from NaturalKids!

At noon today (E.S.T.), the team shop over at Hyena Cart will be newly stocked with fresh, beautiful handmade natural kids gear. Hyena Cart is an online shopping site focussed on handcrafted family-friendly and earth-friendly items.

Lots of items are one of a kind, and all are made by artisans from the NaturalKids team behind this blog.

Part of the shop update includes these beautiful pieces:

a mini pink Waldorf baby doll (by PolarBearCreations)

6 natural wooden eggs from ImaginationKids

organic baby wipes from CurlyMonkey

wooden ocean wave stacker by TheEnchantedCupboard

organic baby sheep blanket from SewnNatural

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(we've been stocking)… shop update from NaturalKids!

At noon today (E.S.T.), the team shop over at Hyena Cart will be newly stocked with fresh, beautiful handmade natural kids gear. Hyena Cart is an online shopping site focussed on handcrafted family-friendly and earth-friendly items.

Lots of items are one of a kind, and all are made by artisans from the NaturalKids team behind this blog.

Part of the shop update includes these beautiful pieces:

a mini pink Waldorf baby doll (by PolarBearCreations)

6 natural wooden eggs from ImaginationKids

organic baby wipes from CurlyMonkey

wooden ocean wave stacker by TheEnchantedCupboard

organic baby sheep blanket from SewnNatural

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Natural Family Living

Sitting outside today, I found myself wondering what I would write about natural family living. My fingers sifted through the soil, I was planting seeds with my children. Our baby Orion toddled around in the grass while his brother picked up rocks and drove them around in his dump truck. My daughters squabbled mildly over who would do what and when with the pots and soil and seeds and all the while the sun shone down on us and the sweet smelling breeze tickled your neck – one of those beautiful Oregon spring days. I realized then, sitting on a mound of earth with my children and enjoying a moment in nature with my family, that this was exactly the kind of living I was grasping at straws to write a story about. The things that we do, those small choices that we make in our own little families are what create the communities that we are a part of. Connecting with the earth and making natural and sustainable choices is part of a daily impact that we make. The way that we spend our time and what we choose to set as an example is in our behavior. I know that every time I wrap Orion in a soft cloth diaper instead of a crinkly plastic ‘disposable’ I am teaching natural family living: instilling the value by living the choice. From the smallest seed to the biggest tree, choosing to live naturally is a way of life and every decision we make adds up to a whole lot for our own family, the community that we are connected to, the future of our children and of our earth. Every touch of a natural fiber educates us, it acclimates us to what is acceptable to be around us. So every time we expose a child to a wooden truck instead of a plastic car, a wool felted ball or a soft cloth doll, we are teaching a valuable lesson in living naturally. Hopefully by these small choices and changes we will continue to create healthy families and a healthy planet for them to live in and that is natural family living at it’s best. Many Blessings Families, Alyssa of Codilollyskye

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Versatile Playsilks

Playsilks are simple. So simple in fact that many adults balk at the idea of a toy that does nothing. Toddlers, however, revel in such toys! When people ask what to *do* with a playsilk, I always answer ~ give one to a child and you’ll see.Playsilks come in an endless variety of sizes and colours. No one is better than any other~ they all work in the hands of a child. You may want to choose your size and style based upon your space, planned uses (ie quiet play in the car vs. nature table backdrop or playstand canopy), and child(ren)’s age. Solid or mandala? Rainbow? You decide! At our house we prefer solids for imaginative play and multi-colours for dressup.The Natural Kids Team has a number of seller’s making or making use of gorgeous silkies. Be sure to search “Naturalkids Team” on Etsy for great finds! (Suggested keywords: playsilk, silkies, playsilks, waldorf, natural…)This article is revised from my blog, written on a dreary winter’s day when my daughter (then 2.5) and I were looking for some physical activity to beat the winter blues.I thought I would pass these along for the adults out there who may be looking for something to help them get into silkie play, or for some fresh ideas to get in some extra activity before spring releases us all to the outdoors!We had four of different colours, we could have done all this with one or two, too!1) Practice colours. Lay out various coloured silkies around the room. Child stands at center and runs to the colour you call. Add some more activity by having them jump on it, spin around with it, whatever!2) Practice counting. Lay silkies on the floor and have child step on them like ladder rungs, counting as they go.3) Literacy?! Our local literacy worker has told us that one of the big concepts children lack when they reach kindergarten is a sense of position/ relations. On top, beneath, beside, along, between… Use a silkie and practice! Put it on your child’s head ~ they are under the silkie, the silkie is on top of them. Have them place it in various relations to their body, or yours (put it behind mommy). Up, down, away, left, right…4) Throw and Catch. Bundle one silkie into a ball and knot a second around it and you have a lightweight indoor-safe ball with a handy tail to help novice catchers and throwers feel successful.5) Jumping and other Gross Motor Skills. Jump over the silkie river, walk along its bank (balance), crawl under a silkie thrown into the air, spin around with one in each hand, step over and crawl under one held up like a limbo stick.6) Fine Motor Skills. Weave two silkies together. Stuff them into a cup. Lay them down in a straight line.7) Imagination. Rowan wore her extra silkies as hat and snowsuit while we played. We hid one another and popped out to scare each other (she is at the stage where this is big fun!). She pretended to be a kitty curling up on a kitty bed. She made her big girl bed all up and climbed in to ‘sleep’.8) Rhythm and Body Awareness. We finished with dancing with our silkies~ feeling the music, moving our arms and legs in various patterns (flapping wings, waving in the sky, tiptoeing).Exercise for body, mind and spirit.All in about 30 minutes.Using only a couple 35 x 35″ squares of silk.It doesn’t get much better than this!Put a silkie in the hands of your child and watch the magic happen!Lori Campbell(http://beneaththerowantree.etsy.com)Revised, September 8, 2008.

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Instructions Not Included

I’ll never forget one day at a neighborhood playground about two years ago, when I was sitting on the sidelines watching Eva, now four, play in the sand. Next to me was a woman who was on her hands and knees in the sand telling her two-year-old how to play with his toy. It was a complicated sort of gizmo the use for which, only the mother, evidently could decipher. It begged several questions in my mind; Who’s toy was it, really? How necessary was it to get using it correctly right? Was there really only one way to play with this toy.

I’ve said it before in my blogs, but every time I look around, I see how deep the truth of this idea of Rudolph Steiner’s is…that the child should be able in some way to complete the toy; it needs to be open ended. (Eva, pictured here, dresses herself and two of the needle felted dolls I made for her in silk. She has cast herself and the others in a “puppet” show.) Eva wears her play silk, or “Rainbow” as she refers to them, as a “wedding dress.” But her silks have become baby slings, rainbows, flags, vaccuums, ropes, etc…

There is no correct way to play with these; no end to what this simple square of color can become, such as with Birchleafedesigns‘s play silks shown here. These are not only beautiful but processed with low-impact dye, making them and most of the other items featured environmentally friendly.

I’d like to explore the ways in which toys can be simple and open ended, using images from my Etsy.com Naturalkids Team colleagues for examples. With Winsomehollow’s endearing gnome play set, there are no rules. There is no “branded” personality for him…or her. The little island can be anywhere the child chooses. His or her story will be new and original.

Although Woolcomesalive’s toy set, pictured here is described on her site as a barn with sheep and bails, all of those pieces can have new identities in the mind of the child. For, they are not so specifically formed and have no back story created by marketing executives.

Oritdotandolls’ fairies are light and ethereal. Literally, faceless, the child can project whatever image they like onto it. Though Orit names this one a “blessing,” perhaps it is a “gifting” or “singing” fairy to the child…or just “Lucy.” Refreshingly, nothing about this fairy disproves any of the child’s notions.

We see that Littleelfstoyshop’s daffodil girl holds a yellow flower…but what is the rest of her story…and can that daffodil be a flag or a horn? Sure. And her expression, like most Waldorf-inspired dolls is enigmatic, leaving her attitude up to the imagination of the child who plays with her. Here is another example of that open expression from Auntboosbabies. One might think that this lack of expression may feel cold to a child. On the contrary it is inviting. When you combine that with natural materials, like recycled cotton and other natural fibers, as many of our Naturalkids Team team members use, the doll is even softer to the touch…even more loveable.

I would like to continue with these examples and feature additional sellers from our team in my next “Part Two of Instructions Not Included” next time. In the meantime, I invite you to click on their links on the blog site and visit the wonderful and creative worlds these folks inspire through their artistry.

I leave off with the image featured at the top of the page from Dosidough. This team member creates a natural version of playdough – a toy which defies all rules and for which instructions are neither included or requested.

By Rebecca Varon-Remstein
nushkiedesign