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]