I’m a big fan of wooden toys not only because they look good but also because they last and last and last.  This weekend I went on the hunt for a wooden rattle that I wanted to gift to a friend’s bambino.  I was looking for something unusual and of course beautiful.  I ended up finding 4 that I loved and now I have a new dilema… how can I choose between these 4, they’re all so lovely! Here are a few more details on the 4 chosen ones:

1 & 2.  A fish shaped rattle and a sphere shaped rattle both of which are made in the German Alps using only local timbers.  Both look beautifully crafted and are described ‘as an absolute joy to hold for both adults and children’.  You can get these 2 at a store called Objects of Use where they sell many other covetable wooden goodies too.  3.  This wooden rattle by Timbur is a perfect new baby gift.  I’m loving the flowing curves, the smooth finish and the combination of light and dark wood.  4. Handcrafted in the USA, these Earnest Efforts wooden baby rattles are filled with beans or lentils and are great for teething too.  They come in various woods so you can choose light or dark.   Both the Timbur rattle and the Earnest Efforts one are available from Fawn & Forest.

Ketiketa is a wonderful French brand with a Nepalese twist.  They create clothes, bed linen and accessories for babies, girls and boys using traditional Nepalese fabrics and materials.  The textile in question is called ‘dumbar kumari’ named after a Nepalese princess who brought the technique of block printing back from India to Nepal in the 19th Century.  Today I’m lusting after their beautiful bib and baby wrap sets that come in an equally beautiful gift box.  I’m loving the delicate prints, the softness of the cotton voile and the elegance of the packaging.  Ketiketa have managed to marry French style with Nepalese tradition to create super elegant and chic clothes and accessories for kids.  To get these baby bib sets head to Ola Deco.

And here’s where you’ll find some more chic French baby bibs.

I visited Playtime Paris on the weekend.  Playtime is a trade show packed with beautiful kiddy designers mostly from Europe and some from the US.  What a feast for the eyes Playtime was.  One of my favourite finds for newborn babies was Pequeno Tocon from Spain.  They make clothes for ‘the smallest ones in the house’… clothes for 0 to 3 months old.  The offerings are to die for.  When I spotted them I couldn’t take my eyes off them and I inspected each item they had on display.  Really simple but stunning and elegant little pieces in whites, sands, soft greys and some dusty pinks too.  They look beautifully made and if you give it as a gift to a new mama, she’s sure to love you forever.  There are a few outfits by Pequeno Tocon available over at Orfeo Design otherwise head to their own site and drop them a line.

P.S. Have you seen Mi.le bebe… another fabulous Spanish baby collection?

I love to bring you goodies from France as the French really do get style and create some of the loveliest kiddy products I’ve ever seen.  But there is another European country that has become a hot bed for design and that’s Spain.  So, I’ve been seeking out some Spanish design to share with you and one of my favourite finds is mi.le bebe.  They make clothes for 0-2 year olds that have been inspired by the soft Mediterranean breeze and the glorious beaches of the Med.  On offer are onesies and cardi’s in fine knits and cottons, all beautifully co-ordinated in subtle colours and made with the greatest attention to detail.  I’m loving the belt/ribbon feature that looks so adorable on many of the baby outfits.  I just wish I’d discovered them when my bambino was a little baby… maybe it’s time for baby no.2?!  Visit mi.le bebe to see all their beautiful offerings.  The site looks like it’s not yet complete as they have yet to update their stockists page but you can always drop them a line or visit their showroom if you happen to be in Barcelona.

P.S. Have you entered our fab giveaway where you can win $100 voucher?

I’ve known about Atsuyo et Akiko for ages and have been meaning to share so here it is today as part of my beautiful boutiques series.  It’s a wonderful New York boutique where you can expect a little bit of magic.  Magic for babies and a bit for boys but mostly for the girls.  On offer are fabulously girly necklaces, hair pins and tutu’s, shiny sparkly shoes and cute bracelets.  But the other thing that really caught my eye were the tee’s and onesies they have.  I’m not a fan of cartoon character adorned clothes but these one’s with mickey mouse and winnie the pooh just work.  I absolutely love the charcoal tee with the gold mickey silhouette.  There are also other very cool tee’s like the strawberry one and more. 

The collection of goodies at Atsuyo et Akiko is fresh, it’s different and even a bit ecclectic.  The boutique is owned by two ladies, one with a fashion background and the other with a fine arts one.  The marriage of these two backgrounds shines through in their creations and their take on turning everyday fashion in to something a bit more special.  To feel the magic, head to Atsuyo et Akiko and and check out all their wonderful goodies.

I’ve always been a fan of baby mobiles but when I started writing this blog I discovered some absolute gems.  Some of my favourites that I’ve written about are the whimsical mouse mobiles, the majestic bird mobiles and the simple style your own bird and clouds mobile.  And today I bring you another to add to this list.  I absolutely love these bird and horse mobiles by Specks & Keepings .  They’re a little shop filled with delicate and beautiful objects.  The kind of objects that make you happy when you look at them… that give you the little pleasures in life.  And these mobiles do just that.  They are hand sewn and made of vintage fabrics and each one is different.  Beautiful and unique, just the type of combo that always gets me excited.  You can have a closer look at Specks & Keepings online store.  They’re based in the US but also ship internationally – just drop them a line with your address. 

*Via Smaller blog

My next Christmas 2011 gift list is here and today it’s all about gifts for newborns and little babies.  While newborns don’t need much more than milk and their mama’s, it’s always so nice to spoil and indulge them and Christmas is the best excuse.  There are some wonderful goodies out there for babies, so I searched the web and found you some of the absolutely best little toys, gifts and clothes for the newest arrivals in your life.  Here’s the lovely list (almost making me want a newborn again!):

1.  Beautiful liberty print bib and booties gift set by the gorgeous French label Eponime.

2.  Soft and so cuddly is this floppy little sheep by Les Petites Emplettes.  From Smallable.com

3.  Cute little body with a simple bunny drawing by WoWo.

4.  A quirky royal blue elephant musical toy by the colourful Clemence G boutique.

5.  A book full of bold black and white images – perfect eye candy for little babies.  Called Mesmerised it’s by Katey Love.

6.  Soft and beautiful are these gorgeous cotton quilts by Ketiketa.  From Smallable.com

7.  Gorgeous ruby red booties by the stylish Album Di Famiglia. From Little Fashion Gallery

8.  Soft and pretty cloth blocks for decoration or to play with by Mimilou. From Orfeo Design.

9.  Gorgeous little hanging musical toy for the pram, car seat or cot.  Made by one of my favourite stores – Esthex.

10.  What an adorable little vest sweater with a mustache on it.  Love it.  This is one you’ll have to knit yourself but you’ll find the pattern here.  Lucky for me, my mother in law is a fab knitter so I’m definitely getting one of these.*

You can also browse the rest of our 2011 Christmas gift guide which includes book ideas and soft toys for kids… but there’s lots more to come this week.

* Via Mimi’s blog

I so wish this had been my attic toy.  You know your favourite soft toy that your mama can’t bear to part with it so she puts it away in the attic.  Fast forward 20 years when you find it and all those warm, fuzzy feelings rush back and you give it to your bambino.  My attic toy was actually quite creepy so it never came out of the attic (mum, what were you thinking?!).   Nowhere near as cool as this oh so adorable hand made doll.  If only…

This stripy knitted doll is by Dents de Loup (wolf teeth)… I love their store name too. They come in other colours including yellow, orange, green and pink.  Perfect for your newborn or a gift for someone else’s.  The little knitted doll can hang out in the cot or pram keeping your bambino company until it graduates to a clutch toy.  So sweet.  I’m not normally a knitted doll fan but then I’d never seen this one.  To get this hand made doll, head to Dents de Loup’s etsy store where they cost $18 plus $5 shipping to anywhere in the world.  And while you’re there, don’t miss the doll with the red shoes and super fancy coat.

It’ GIVEAWAY time and discount time… read on to find out more.

When I was close to popping pregnant it finally dawned on me that I should start shopping sharpish.  One of the first things I looked for was a mobile.  I schlepped my heavily pregnant body around the stores only to come home mobile-less and disappointed.  I was about to give up when I went online and discovered the wonderful world of Flensted mobiles.  Made on a little Danish Island by the Flensted family for nearly 60 years, these mobiles are objects of beauty.  And I’ve got one of these beauties to give away to one lucky reader, thanks to the lovely peeps at a hot new store called Bebe Moda.  All you have to do is leave a comment below (say hi or whatever you like but keep it nice!) before midnight on Sunday 31st July and I’ll randomly pick a winner on Tuesday 2nd August.

More about Flensted mobiles: on offer are mobiles for kids and adults.  There are animals, there are shapes, there are objects and people mobiles, all different but they have one thing in common… huge style.  There’s nothing fussy or frilly about them, just simple silhouettes that combine in colours so complimentary creating an absolute treat for the eyes.  And to be honest, the pictures don’t do complete justice to these smile inducing beauties… when you see one for real you’ll know exactly what I mean. The hardest bit is choosing just one but luckily we’ve chosen one of the sweetest for you to win… who doesn’t like elephants after all!

Leave a comment below for your chance to win the elephant mobile pictured at the top of this post. Really, that’s all you have to do, we couldn’t have made it easier.  There can of course only be one winner so the lovelies at Bebe Moda have decided to offer all my readers a special 10% discount on anything across their entire stylish store. Their virtual shelves are piled high with only the coolest toys, baby gear and nursery stuff and there are many hard to find brands on offer too so have a look around (shipping’s free to the UK too… hooray!).  The discount code is EBABEE07 and expires at midnight on Sunday 31st July too. 

A quick round-up of the rules:

The Flensted mobiles competition is open to my European and USA readers. One entry per person – just leave a comment below.  Competition closes midnight on Sunday 31st July 2011 (GMT). Winner will be announced on Tuesday 2nd August on the ebabee facebook page.  Good luck!

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.  The winner picked at random.org is Lucy Bartram.  Congrats Lucy and thanks to everyone who entered.  

Japanese design is ridiculously cool and I’m a gargantuan fan.  Today I bring you a finer than fine example of Japanese design.  When I spotted these paper mobiles by Di Classe, I nearly pee’d my pants!  Cool doesn’t even begin to describe the awsomeness that this is.  Three different mobiles made out of jet black paper that would look amazing in a cool white nursery.  Inspired by the traditional Japanese art of paper cutting but given a modern twist, what a unique design statement these would make.  On offer are a birdcage complete with a little birdy, a frame and a rose wreath.  Hang all 3 together and watch your bambino get mesmerised… after all newborns do see black and white first.  Head to Bouf where these mobiles cost £12 plus delivery at £2.  You’ll have to be patient as they come all the way from Japan but it’s so worth the wait.