Friday, April 29, 2011

Feature Friday: Imagination Kids

Jude is really into cars, trucks, and generally anything that has wheels. I am really into natural, non-toxic, simple toys that can feed his imagination. So I was looking on etsy the other day for something that meets both of those criteria when I came across Imagination Kids, the adorable toy shop of Erin, a mama, homeschooler, crafter (obviously), gardener, and blogger, and her husband, Nick.

All of the toys are personally made by Erin and Nick from sustainably harvested wood, AP Certified non-toxic paint, and their own homemade natural wood polish made from beeswax, jojoba oil, and essential oils. Perfect!

This little blue helicopter just begs to be played with, and I think Jude would really love the top spinny part (that's about as technical as my knowledge of helicopters gets):


Before I show you this next toy, you need a little bit of backstory: Igor, our friend and translator here, calls Jude "ariciule" (pronounced uh-ree-choo-lay),which means little hedgehog. He originally called Jude "piciule" (pronounced pee-choo-lay), which means little man, and, as nicknames are wont to do, it quickly morphed into "piciule ariciule" (which, let's be honest, is really fun to say), and eventually was trimmed down just to "ariciule." So I said all of that to say that hedgehogs have quickly become something I associate with my sweet little boy and our time here in Moldova, and I, therefore, really love this sweet little hedgehog on wheels:

I've got him in my favorites list for a future gift idea. They also sell these precious teething dolls that are made from all organic fabrics and are just so stinkin' cute. I love that they make them in so many different ethnicities and hairstyles, and some of them even have multicolored hair that is super fun:

They also sell several different kinds of stackers, like this cool rainbow one. One thing I love about waldorf-style toys (here's a fuller explanation of the ideas behind waldorf-style toys) is that they are open-ended toys that foster imagination. These arches aren't just a neat rainbow puzzle, they can be tunnels for cars to drive through, bridges for animals to walk over, or whatever else a child's mind can think up:

Now tell me, what little girl wouldn't love a butterfly wand? These are precious, and only eight dollars! Did I mention that all of their prices are super reasonable? I've seen a lot of crazily expensive waldorf toys online, but they have awesome toys for awesome prices:

Okay, last but not least, they also have several adorable little play sets, like this one with a seal and narwhal. Really, does it get much more fun than a narwhal? Go crazy, little imaginations!

Okay, I think you've seen enough to get the idea of how creative and beautiful their toys are. I've shown you some of my favorites, so now why don't you go check out Imagination Kids for yourself and tell me what you love? You can also leave a little love on their facebook page if you're in the mood, and if you "like" them, then you'll see all of their updates when they have new toys or specials going on.

Just for the record- I've received nothing from Imagination Kids, and I don't get any commission from any of their sales. As always, I just really love their stuff and I love to share stuff I love.

1 comment:

  1. I love these toys. I would love to get the teething doll for my little 4 month old. No giveaway though bummer. Simple Mom is doing a giveaway and one of the items is from an etsy shop of a little 11 year old who makes jewelry out of change. I though of you and your feature friday. It is called smashing for pretty http://www.etsy.com/shop/SmashingforPretty. I want to buy something just to support this entrepreneurial little boy.

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