wooden toys

These blocks are my new obsession after I saw them on Amy Karol's blog. This tower is pretty chunky: about 6" high & 1 1/2" thick, made of alder wood, and will be part of my leafy nursery decoration. See all of the series here: Fantastic Blocks By Spiel & Holz Design

I'm inspired to add to it (I've been sketching while falling asleep) when I have a jigsaw in the vicinity (visiting my mom in July). For thicker pieces, I'll have to use pine, but I was pleased to discover that Lowe's carries some very nice 3/4" aspen and poplar that I also see in my future...
My favorite wooden toys vendor right now is Fine Wooden Toys. The girls and I loved pretty much every single thing we found on their website & shipping never exceeds $9.95, even for large pieces like the lovely wooden kitchen. I declared an "all wooden Christmas 2008!" ("we'll tell Santa...") and they didn't complain one bit. I believe I will finally be buying the wood rainbow I've lusted after for years (Magic Cabin, my favorite covet-mag, carries it, too):

I thought this piece was particularly brilliant, and, like with the fantastic blocks, am still a bit bamboozled that I haven't seen it before, because I'm an ardent wood toy stalker and especially love dolls and dollhouses :). The hard choice will be between the rainbow, pink/purple, and natural finishes...Of course, wood bits of all kinds are marvelous to have about for crafting and play, and last Christmas was highlighted by my purchases from Casey's Wood Products. A Maine company that sells wonderful miniatures and wood turnings of all sorts, made in New England mills, their prices are great and items beautiful. Peg dolls, tiny bowls, little wood bottles...I outfitted a whole tiny fairy/woodland/pioneer miniature store for my six year old.

I'm hoping I can have the self-control to wait for Christmas for my big order (I need to get back to the pottery studio & earn some money!), but this will likely be waiting for my November arrival a bit sooner:
This particular rattle is from etsy seller red rock zone, but I am tempted by a few other styles available on etsy as well...

Bamboo baby

The most concrete of my baby plans has been buying this yummy bamboo/cotton blend fabric by Robert Kauffman for crib sheets and a basket liner. And a little blankie. I first saw it at SewMamaSew, but the green was out of stock, and the lovely owner, Kristen, who promptly answered my e-mail, said the manufacturer wasn't currently planning on a reprinting. Alas!
Still in love with the leafy graphic, I purchased this sling in the Kaufman brown from an etsy seller, SmallWish. It is reversible to a solid green bamboo. I was planning on being impressed, but when I first touched it to my face, I was re-determined to find the green print. I'm a green & leafy freak, and have a whole new life greeny-delicious nursery (okay, corner of the playroom!) planned. I tried another search with new terms and found Someart Fabric had lots of yards for me to buy, along with um, a lot of other lovelies! The fabric arrived while I was home last week & I actually did get a little weak with delight. I recommend Someart. I talked with the owner on the phone when I had a bit of paypal angst, and thought she was great. Plus, all sorts of good $4 clearance fabric (my other purchases) & I found a coupon code online to use :). Fabric quality & shipping are/were exemplary. And check out this line. Cutie-patootie.

I was originally planning on making bumper pads, but switched to wanting crib sheets of my grand find because this fabric really must be next to a downy cheek. I've talked myself out of bumper pads altogether. We're very accustomed to the look, but they're not necessary (originally designed to protect against heads getting stuck when cribs had wider-spaced slats), and even advised against by the American Academy of Pediatrics and lots of other acronyms. I like my crib's simple, clean lines, anyway, and am feeling good about just letting it shine. Plus, with all of the other decorations the girls and I have planned (and for just a corner, may I remind you), a bit of simplicity is decidedly in order somewhere!

etsy

Too bad I've been spending my computer time researching cloth diapers (I think this pregnancy is no longer in denial phase...good thing since my belly is blossoming with the reality of it all) instead of posting & describing my accelerating projects. And writing about finally being in the same town as a cool indie craft fair (Art Star Craft Bazaar).

Instead, I'll just post this little tidbit I read from etsy today (someday I'll be back...).

We've grown to over 150,000 sellers in 171 countries, and we're just about to reach 1,000,000 members total. This is an exciting milestone for us, and we've made some recent changes to help keep things running smoothly....With over 1.7 million products on Etsy, we're trying to help buyers more easily find what they are looking for....

I was way behind in the statistics I quoted while spreading the good etsy love lately. Long live the craft :).