Quick School Party Favors

Our daughter is having her school party today, she turns 5! The kids have a very informal snack consisting of cupcakes and juice. Last minute, I went to our local drug store and found Crayola markers on sale, so I picked up 20 sets and added our 9SpotMonk Colour in Cards and made a little package. Hopefully, this will start kids into writing (or colouring) cards and letters and sending them to family and friends!

Happy Birthday Kasie!!

Spotlight: Creative - Soy Crayons!

Natural Soy Rock Crayons by Clementine Art

I was in Whole Foods this morning getting my usual coffee and croissant and came across the most wonderful creative art supply. Natural soy crayons!

Clementine Art's tag line, "non-toxic is just the beginning" is right, it is just the beginning. We're always teaching our kids that natural is the way to go for most everything and this extents to art supplies as well. I picked up the Soy Crayon Rocks on the double and brought them home to test out. My kids love them. The shape is fascinating to them. To date, they've only had crayons that looked like the standard writing utensil kind and they are so curious how little rocks can have colour.

Soy crayons by Clementine Art

Clementine Art products are sourced responsibly and made in the USA. They're all non-toxic and safe. They are definitely setting a higher standard for health and safety in kids' products.

Going on Clementine Art's site, they also have natural modeling dough, paint and markers! I spoke with Megan at Clementine Art and she tells me the paint and markers will be shipping December 15th, 2009, so we are definitely stocking up on these and the rest of their great products for stocking stuffers and gifts for all our little friends.

Natural Paint by Clementine Art

Modeling dough by Clementine Art

To read more about Clementine Art's values and see their products visit their site at clementineart.com. Their great products can be found in Whole Foods nationwide.

[photo: Clementine Art]

[tags: soy crayons, natural paint, natural modeling dough, clementine art, eco friendly crayons, wholefoods]

[Spotlight: Eco Toys] Sweet Baby's Mobile

Forest Mobile by Linea Carta

Eco-friendly, made of 100% linen, screenprinted by hand and made in California.

[Spotlight: Gear] The Masculine (diaper) Bag

Whenever Erik, my husband takes the kids out, he brings his Patagonia Critical Mass® bag. He packs the necessities - water bottles, diapers, snacks, a sweat shirt for each kid and bandages (you never know), Benadryl and the Epi Pens. Then when he's done and out of the way, the kids pack in their own stuff - books, cars, stuffed animals and the ever important mini blankies for both of them.

I've never really had a traditional diaper bag per say but my chosen bags have compartments. Erik has veered away from the compartments all together. He says he has his own organizational thing going on in that bag. I look in it and see chaos, but hey, he's taking them out of the house so I'm not complaining any further. I didn't start to love his Critical Mass bag until I used it for the first time months ago. Yea, it's chaos in there but an organized kind of chaos.

Anyway, the moral to the story is - when he's done using this as a diaper bag, he's still going to use it. When I'm done using my diaper bag, I'm done using my diaper bag and getting one of these.

[Tags: Patagonia Critical Mass, diaper bag for men]

[photo credit: patagonia.com]

Eating on the Go

Ring Cutlery Set by GSI Outdoors

Eastern Mountain Sports is one of our favorite shops. We're not avid hikers, or bikers, or skiiers or climbers but our family has it's share of 'pro' equipment. The kids and I love EMS because they always have these really cool gadgets, most everything is so streamlined and sleek.

On our last trip to the shop for beach shorts (for me), I saw this cutlery set by GSI Outdoors. It's basically a fork, spoon and knife all kept together with a plastic ring. Sometimes it's just handy to have a set for the kids, keeps eating with their hands to a minimum. The two best things about this set? It's BPA-free and it's kept together so no losing a fork here or a spoon there. I keep their sets in a handkerchief, which sometimes doubles as a lunch napkin.

Not only are these cool, it's an eco-friendly way to eat on the go than using disposable flatware.

[Tags: Eastern Mountain Sports, GSI Outdoors, ring cutlery set, camping utensils, eco-friendly, BPA-free]


[photo credit: Smuppy Kids, GSI Outdoors]

There's a Shark in our House

Sandro and my father spent the morning painting and drawing. Pretty neat how my father took Sandro's abstract paintings and turned it into an underwater adventure.

[It's a Party] Part 1: Favor ideas

My kids' birthdays are coming up fast and furious. We have a mid September and a mid November and it's time to start the planning. I have been thinking about their party for months but haven't come up with anything solid. Maybe I should work less in a straight line: party theme, venue, invitations, decoration, food, favors and more in the way my brain normally thinks: invitations, favors, decoration, food, venue and lastly the theme... While researching I found these totally beautiful totally eco friendly reusable gift bags from Living Ethos...

These would be wonderful for the kids' favor bags. They could reuse them for little toys, snacks, etc. I am inspired! I love the eco-friendly aspect of reusable anything, especially with these being so stylish and modern, it's right up my alley!

Check out the sewing and trim details on these bags, I know how to sew and these are real time consuming details that are well thought out, big thumbs up, Living Ethos!

Dig It Fabric Gift Wrap by Living Ethos

All styles on their site are available in four sizes ranging from the smallest 3 x 3 x 2 inches to the largest at 15 by 11 by 13. You can order a set of four in the four sizes or just order one. 

Flora and Fauna Fabric Gift Wrap by Living Ethos 

Pocket Full of Posies Fabric Gift Wrap by Living Ethos

[Tags: Living Ethos, Fabric Gift Wrap, Fabric Party Favor Bags, Eco Friendly Gift Wrap, Birthday Party Favors]

[photo credit: Livingethos.com]

The Ultimate Wrapping Station

Gift Wrapping Station at our local Godiva Retail store

We were out shopping at Riverside Square in Hackensack, NJ this past Saturday and came across this awesome gift wrapping station at Godiva. I spoke with one of the staff and turns out you can customize your gift wrapping when you buy chocolate for a gift, how thoughtful!

I am so inspired to put a wrapping station in our studio. Would be nice to have a place where I can keep ribbons, trinkets, paper and fabric wrap all in one place. Over the years, I have amassed a collection of ribbon of various lengths, colours and textures. Right now it's in shoe box that I regularly forget about. Hmm...

While I was at Godiva, I also joined their Chocolate Rewards Club. I get a free piece of their yummy chocolate once a month and there's a free gift when you spend $10 or more at the stores. I am a big chocolate fan, thank you Godiva! Next time I'm in Godiva I will surely test our their custom wrapping station as well.

[Tags: Godiva, Chocolate Rewards Club, free chocolate] 

[photo credit: Smuppy Kids]

Wednesday: Book Reviews

We've been reading quite a lot lately. I'm a children's book junkie. My oldest memory of buying books was about 4 or 5 years old at my school's book fair. I still remember what I bought - Eloise by Kay Thompson and Paddle to the Sea by Holling Clancy Holling, which I will review in a future post.

I'm going to dedicate Wednesdays to reviewing children's books and I'll start with what's fresh in my mind, our bedtime reading from the beach house. Thanks to my addiction, they have over 200 books on their shelves and growing. I've been trying to design a custom book plate for their books but that's slow in coming... maybe for Christmas.

Kasie and Sandro have a good system for picking books at bedtime. Kasie picks 2 (usually the thickest ones she can get her hands on) and Sandro will pick 1. He's not picky, he just grabs one and jumps into bed...

Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall and illustrated by Barbara Cooney, published by Penguin Group USA

The story is about a New Englander and his family, how they make goods to sell throughout the year on their farm. The ox-cart man packs up his goods - the goose feathers from the barnyard geese, the shawl made by his wife, the mittens knitted by his daughter, etc. I don't want to give too much away ;) It is a wonderful story about living during simpler times and kids learn about an era where it was important for everyone in the family to work hard and help support the family.

Ox-Cart Man is a 1980 Caldecott Medal recipient.

[Tags: Ox-cart Man, Donald Hall, Barbara Cooney, Caldecott Medal, Penguin USA]
[photo credit: bn.com]

New Kids on the Block

Morris & Boris goldfish and new roomate Goldie, the snail

Couldn't believe the all the fuss last night with the two new Golden
Snails from the pet shop. The were put in the tank around 3pm and
didn't move at all until the kids' bedtime at 8. The snails acted like
they just had a surge of energy. With all that movement, kids were
fascinated and their eyes were peeled until 10pm...

Cute to see how something so small can give them such joy.

[Spotlight: Places to Eat] Bistro 14

 

Plain grilled burger and bacon - the kids' favorite meal

We were vacationing on Long Beach Island, NJ last month and one of our favorite restaurants is Bistro 14 in Beach Haven. They have a really nice menu filled with both seafood favorites and land lover's standards. The fried scallops are divine and every time I eat there, that's what I order. They also have a good selection in the raw bar with fresh seafood coming in daily. Dinner there around sunset is amazing as you can sit outside and watch the sun come down. The restaurant is BYO, they'll cork and chill. Check out Zagat's review on Bistro 14.

But more importantly, the kids, with their severe food allergies can eat there. They're able to have their favorite - plain grilled burgers without seasoning and well done bacon. Erik (my husband) and I spoke with our server and she was able to have the kitchen cook the order in an area that was free of seafood, dairy, eggs, nuts, etc. They were very accommodating and the restaurant in general is very kid friendly.

Summer is coming to an end but if you find yourself in Long Beach Island with kids with allergies, Bistro 14 would be a good place to eat.

Bistro 14

9th St. (Bay Ave) in Beach Haven, NJ

609 492 6100

[Tags: Bistro 14, LBI, Beach Haven, Zagat]

[photo credit: Smuppy Kids] 

Sweet Little Furry Friends

I brought these two little friends home to the kids for being so well behaved while my sister and I exhibited for our company, 9SpotMonk, at the New International Gift Fair, last week. I picked the furry cat for Kasie and the mouse for Sandro but I am always a little curious to see if my instincts are right. So I showed both furry friends at the same time and moma was right - Kasie went straight for the cat and Sandro, the mouse.

These guys are by Jellycat. No doubt if you are a mom and you are reading this, you already have 1 or more animal friends in your kids' arms. Tif and I couldn't resist getting a photo of these guys, so they're posing on my dash in the car.

Meet "Shelbea", Kasie's new best friend.

And here's "Ian", Sandro's partner in crime.

The animals are super soft and cuddly. For more info and to check out more of Jellycat's stuffed animal friends, visit Jellycat online.

[Tags: Jellycat, 9SpotMonk, NYIGF]

[photos: Smuppy Kids]

[Spotlight: Eco-Friendly] Gift Wrapping without Paper

I first met Jenn a few years ago at the National Stationery Show in NYC. She was our booth neighbor across the aisle. Instantly I was smitten with her illustrations. They were bold and gentle and beautiful all at the same time. It was also the first time I've seen her product launch Furochic(TM) What is this? Furochic is a modern take on the traditional Japanese wrapping cloth idea furoshiki. It's a great idea because it promotes caring for the environment and reducing waste (each year millions of tons of paper and plastic gift wrap are dumped into landfills). I'm talking about furoshiki for wrapping gifts, it can also be used to create handbags, little baby slings for your child's stuffed animal, or even used as a hankie. Check out Jenn's reuse page on her site for more ways to reuse her awesome and stylish Furochic gift wrap.

Wrapagami by Jenn Playford

Check out Wrapagami for more fun and great ways to wrap all sorts of things. For those of you who are not in Canada, the book is available in most book stores in the US. Be sure to support your local booksellers! Below are more images from Jenn's book:

Wrapping up baby bottles in this fashion and then putting it in the diaper bag is stylish and would probably keep warm formula warm for a while.

Great way to wrap up flowers for a hostess gift at your next dinner party.

This one is my favorite. Kasie, who is 4, is very much into taking care of her little stuffed animals and this is perfect for her to tote along her little 'babies'. Come September when Kasie starts Pre-K4, I'll be sending her off to class with furoshiki wrapped snacks. Maybe this will inspire her friends to do the same.

Order yourself some Furochic and check out the techniques page on the site and you can instantly learn how to wrap Furochic style.

[photos: Jenn Playford, Furochic]

A wonderful gift for a new baby - books!

Welcome, Little One Gift Set by Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon

Browsing through a favorite book shop of ours, Powell's Books, I found this great gift set perfect for a new baby or one that's a few months old ;). The selection of books is thoughtfully hand-picked by the Kids' Team at the City of Books. My personal mantra has always been to read to children often and start young, instill a love of the written word with beautiful illustrations and you'll have a good learning foundation to build upon.

This set from Powell's Books comes with
- Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
- Here's a Little Poem edited by Jane Yolen & Andrew Fusek Peters
- Mother Goose's Little Treasures by Iona Opie
- Won't You Be My Kisaroo? by Joanne Ryder
- All Around the Land Alphabet Wall Cards from eeBoo
- Baby Booties from Rich Frog

The collection is housed in a brown hand stamped box and wrapped with red raffia. Price for the set is $100.00 USD. It is available at Powell's Books flagship store in Portland, OR or you can order it online and receive free shipping.

[photo: powells.com]

Monster Caterpillers

Ginormous mama and baby caterpillers made with Play-Doh

Beach Fun

Watching her caricature come to life in Ocean City, NJ

Spotlight: Creative - Breakfast Jewelry

Breakfast necklace

I had some Fimo left over from a project and Kasie and I spent the afternoon making 'breakfast' beads... bacon, eggs, bagels, blueberries, strawberries and even a croissant! Got some dress shoe laces from the local pharmacy and our little girl strung them up. She was most happy making this for her aunt, my sister whom she calls yee-yee (Cantonese for sister on our mother's side).

If you're not familiar with Fimo, it's a plastic polymer clay that you mold and then once finished bake in the oven, 260 degress for 30 minutes. Not the best smelling kitchen afterward but they bake to a hard finish that can also be painted. I would suggest Fimo Soft for little kids hands. The original version is quite hard and takes a while to get pliable.

Giggle + Give Away

We're excited to let everyone know 9SpotMonk, our great letterpress line, is in one of my favorite kids stores - Giggle! Since our first daughter was born, we've been going down to the Wooster St. NYC store to stock up on all things modern, cool and baby. Every time we're in town, we visit their store. The kids love the great toys and books they have and we love all the great clothes and baby gear they offer. And now they carry 9SpotMonk kids stuff too. Take a little coffee break and visit Giggle today! Not near one of their 9 locations? Giggle.com

I'm doing a give away to celebrate!

We're going to give away 9SpotMonk Colour in Cards (you pick 5 of your favorites) and a set each of boy and girl place mats. We're going to randomly select 2 winners.

Give away ends on Wednesday, July 23. Good luck!

Rules:
1. visit the 9SpotMonk site and comment on your 5 favorite kids colour in cards, what you pick, if you are the winner, we'll send your favorites to you along with a set of boy and girl place mats
2. check back on July 23rd to see if you are the lucky winner, then send us an email to smuppykids@9spotmonk.com and we'll get it out to you! Continental USA residents only.
3. Good luck!


Letterpress Boy Placemats on 100% recycled paper from 9SpotMonk


Letterpress Girl Placemats on 100% recycled paper from 9SpotMonk

Spotlight: Eco Friendly Paints Part 2

Mythic Paint, Stronger, safer, smarter paint®

After our first posting about eco friendly paints, Sam Lueder from Mythic Paint contacted us to tell us about their wonderful line of paints, which is manufactured in the only zero emissions paint facility in the country.

Mythic Paint first and foremost is eco friendly, it is the world's first high performance, zero-toxin, zero-VOC (volatile organic compunds) paint. Did you know that up to 50 percent of the toxic gases and carcinogens from traditional paints can still linger around in your living space even after six years after application? Yikes. I am sure most if not all parents out there will want to avoid anything toxic coming near their children. Our kids have pretty bad food and environmental allergies so it is very important we choose something as non toxic as possible for the room they are in almost everyday.

Don't think for a moment that since they're eco friendly and non toxic that the colours are less than cool and stylish. Mythic Paint has over 1200 colours and they can match anything from grandma's vintage blue handkerchief to a stone found at the beach.

David Bromstad Color Collection - Kid's Room Edition

We're going to be painting the kids' playroom so it is also a super durable paint - crayon marks and scuffs can be wiped with any biodegradable detergent (what is a biodegradable detergent? It means that over time, the detergent will degrade into inert ingredients thereby making it safer for the environment.) and a soft cloth. I love low maintenance so this sounds excellent to me.

The paint should be here in the next two weeks, I better box up the toys and prep the walls.

I am looking forward to getting this room started!

Super yummy movie popcorn

Mushroom Popcorn from JustPoppin.com

Since school has been out, I've been letting the kids move bed time a bit later than their usual 7:30pm. Twice a week we've been doing movie night. It's definitely a treat for them as they are only allowed to watch very little television during the week.

Since the kids have food allergies, I usually make popcorn for them instead of buying bags of pre-popped corn. Some popcorn companies make other things in their factories like nut bars and cookies and I'm definitely worried about cross contamination. Ingesting just one peanut will have my two kids in the ER. So I make it a home. Plus I control the oil and salt so I know exactly what they're getting into their growing bodies.

Our all time favorite popcorn is a type called "mushroom popcorn". It's the same type of popcorn that you find in movie theaters. I'm a big fan of buying local but most places I went, they had only the "butterfly popcorn" variety which is basically what you would see in any microwave popcorn bag.

We have been getting our mushroom popcorn from JustPoppin.com. They have excellent customer service and they're super friendly. If you can't find mushroom popcorn in your local area, I suggest ordering from their site. Shipping can get pricey but that's with anything these days. Go ahead, order the 5lb bag, you will be happy you did ;)

Last thing - JustPoppin's kernels are grown in the USA and is NON-GMO, not genetically modified.

My no brainer recipe for cooking up popcorn on the stove:

Ingredients:

1 cup mushroom popcorn kernels

enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan

3/4 tbsp of sea salt

This yields enough popcorn for 6 hungry kids!

I have found that using our biggest 5.5 quart stainless steel pot with curved sides is better than any straight sided stock pot of similar size. Not sure why... but this could be a good question for Alton Brown

Instructions:

1. pour enough canola oil to coat the bottom of your pan and turn on the heat to medium.

2. add sea salt to oil and let heat for about a minute

3. add 1 cup of kernels and swish pan around so all or most kernels are coated

4. place lid on pot and wait to hear that popping sound

5. turn off the flame when you hear the popping sound coming to a close, should be like 3-5 pops per 10 seconds, careful when opening the lid, there is still residual heat so you'll still get some kernels popping at the end even when there's no flame on

6. pour in your serving containers and enjoy!

For further information or to order, visit JustPoppin.com

[photo credit: justpoppin.com]

Spotlight: Eco Friendly Paints

Benjamin Moore Natura Paint

We're in the first stages of planning a redo for our kids' playroom. Fresh coat of paint, some new shelving for their toys and art supplies and maybe a piece or two of furniture to spruce it up a bit.

In doing research for eco friendly paints, I came across a new line of paint from Benjamin Moore. The newest addition to their line is Natura Paint. Natura is a premium interior waterbased paint with zero VOC (volatile organic compounds). Natura, in independent third party testing, has the lowest VOC emissions of any national brand of paint tested. It is also an almost odorless formula that dries fast and has an unlimited colour selection Benjamin Moore is famous for.

I will be documenting the process of our little interior decorating job on our site. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be painless, it's the first time we're doing the job ourselves!

For further information on Natura Paint and the rest of Benjamin Moore's great products, please visit their site at http://www.benjaminmoore.com

[photo credit: Benjamin Moore]

[Spotlight: Handmade] Nutty sock friends

Bunny Monster, handmade by BlinkyMuffin via Etsy

We have a birthday party this weekend and I want to give something special to my good friend who has two wonderful young kids, vibrant, smart and beautiful. They are very lucky children to two of the most dedicated parents I know. I thought it would be sweet to give them something handmade... so I am browsing on Etsy. One keyword search led to another and then I found him. Bunny Monster. I saw him and just smiled. Like something out of a kooky kids drawing, his bug eyes and jumpsuit just made me smile. He also has a crew of the most adorable friends...


Artemis, handmade by BlinkyMuffin via Etsy


Millie, hand made by BlinkyMuffin via Etsy

These little guys are just the sweetest. They are all hand made, using 100% new material with eco friendly bamboo stuffing. If that wasn't great enough, the profits from the sale of these great characters will help support the MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society of Canada.

[photos: blinkymuffin]

[Spotlight: Travel] I spy...

Rubberneckers Travel Game from Chronicle Books, available from Happy Tuesday

We live in the suburbs and most often times, it takes over an hour into Manhattan, even when navigation tells us 20 miles and 32 minutes. Sometimes we tell stories in the car, make up silly words with sillier definitions, dream up of what the kids' stuffed animals are doing while we're out of the house. But sometimes with two hours of traffic, we (the grown ups here) need a little quiet time. That's when we whip out Rubberneckers. I am sure we're not playing it correctly but I'm sure a 4 year old and a two year old don't care too much. After all, they just want to be the first to spot all the things in their deck of 10 cards before we arrive at our destination. Winner gets a lollipop. The kids have been playing with the same ol' deck for a year, the edges are dog eared, some have creases from an over-excited "mama, I see an oil truck on Broadway, I win!". I think it's time for a new deck...

[Spotlight: In the kitchen] Sweet little treats

Our kids have food allergies - dairy, egg, nuts, to name a few. As a mom, it's hard to find a nice treat to give them when they've been extra sweet or well behaved on most days. We visited a local ice cream shop and they had these wonderful ice cream cookie sandwiches. Kasie and Sandro are allergic to dairy and eggs so having one of those were out of the question. Instead I made these tiny little soy ice cream sandwiches for them today. Smooth vanilla soy ice cream paired with crunchy dairy and egg free heart cookies. They were a big hit! That made me so happy they could enjoy something I enjoyed so much as a kid. For ingredients and directions, please visit our sister blog Allergy & Eczema...

[Spotlight: Safety] Booster Seats for the Car

olli (tm)Booster Seat by Magna Clek

Kasie is growing right before our eyes. In the next few months, we'll be shopping for a booster seat. I found the Olli booster seat (pictured above) in Kiwi magazine, one of my favorite eco magazines for parents and their growing kids.

olli(tm) is an award winning booster seat that secures to all cars with the LATCH system (LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren). LATCH is available in most passenger vehicles manufactured after 2003. Children whose height are between 40-57 inches and weight between 40-120 pounds can use the olli(tm) booster seat. On Magna Clek's site, you can check if your vehicle has the LATCH system, through their "Vehicle LATCH Availability" page... how convenient is that? We love these guys already!

The seat has won many awards -

- 2008 Parents Test Parent Approved Media Award

- The National Parenting Center's 2008 Seal of Approval

- National Parenting Publications Award

- iParenting Media Award Outstanding Products: Gear and Equipment

- 2007 JPMA Innovation Award

We like it because it attaches to the LATCH system. Some boosters I've researched just sit on top of the seat in the car. Maybe I'm a worried mother but I just don't think that's safe enough. We also like it because it comes in bunch of stylish colours, including animal prints and Paul Frank prints!

Some of my favorites -

[photos: Magna Clek]