Have a Ball!

This past Saturday it rained and rained and rained. Miss E and Little C created this crazy game with a ball and a child-size broom. I never really understood the gist of the game, but I did love listening to the giggles on such a gloomy day. It also reminded me that sometimes the simplest toy- the ball!- can provide endless laughter and entertainment. Here are some of Kobold Toy's favorite balls- perfect (and affordable!) birthday and holiday gifts:

For the baby/toddler, we love the Allegro stacking ball. This colorful and extra soft plush ball is perfect for grabbing, stacking and rolling. The ball can be separated into 4 pieces. We also love the Lilliputiens Musical Handles Ball. This ball is perfect for little hands. It emits 8 different sounds and is suitable for children from 6 months up. Lilliputiens also offers the pretty in pink Musical Humps Ball.

For the toddler and up interested in kicking, rolling, and creating crazy in-door ball games, Kobold offers the brightly colored balls by Tatiri. These balls are perfect for inside and outside play and come in fun designs. We especially like the cars, rockets and hearts patterns.

Now, I appreciate that not everyone would appreciate an indoor game with a real ball (hello, Mimsi!). For those who prefer a quieter ball experience (stocking alert!!), Kobold recommends the puzzle balls by Ravensburger. These perfectly crafted, curved puzzle pieces allow for an exact fit and are easily assembled together to form a solid, smooth ball - with no glue required! Kobold Toys offers the sports ball in the form of soccer, basketball and baseball. And for the holidays, we are offering the puzzle ball in seven beautiful patterns. The end result of one of these 60-piece puzzles is an unique decorative piece that can be displayed in your child's room or hung in the Christmas tree as an ornament.

Also, just a reminder that there are only a few days left to complete a product review on the site and be eligible for a $50 gift certificate towards your next purchase.

Have a ball! ~ Ashley

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

THINK PINK!
As a breast cancer survivor diagnosed at age 44, I urge all Posh Mamas to be aware that this disease strikes women of all ages. Know your risk factors and fight for early detection. There's no doubt early detection saves lives!

The Taffy Box has a special breast cancer awareness section and offers FREE shipping to any US address through October! We also offer lots of hand stamped jewelry such as rings, pendants, mommy necklaces and much more! Put in your Christmas requests to your loved ones today (hint hint, wink wink) :)

Check out The Taffy Box at www.TheTaffyBox.com for our free monthly giveaway as well!

And visit my educational web site launched this month in honor of my 1 year cancer free anniversary at Reduce Your Risk! Discover ways to reduce your risk for breast cancer!

Etsy's Starving Artist Team Wrist Candy Holiday Giveway and Sale!!

The SATeam Wrist Candy Holiday Giveway has begun!

Several members of SATeam combined talents to create this beautiful holiday themed charm bracelet, and it's looking for a good home on the wrist of one of our fabulous customers.

So how can you win this gorgeous holiday charm bracelet? Each time you purchase an item from a participating Etsy shop, the shop owner will put your name into the draw to win this stunner. How easy is that? (See additional rules below)

The SATeam Holiday Sale begins today, October 26, 2009 and continues through December 6, 2009. You can find a list of the SATeam Etsy shops participating in the sale at the Starving Artists Blog. You can also find holiday sale items on etsy by searching for SATEAMWRIST

The SATeam blog features artisan handmade creations by the Etsy starving artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

Happy Holiday Shopping Everyone!


Eligibility: Each purchase made from a participating shop automatically enters you into the drawing. However, NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Making a purchase will not improve your chance of winning. Void where prohibited or restricted by law or regulations.


How to enter: This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m.EST on December 6, 2009. Any buyer of an item from a participating shop will automatically be entered into the drawing. To enter without purchase, hand print your full name, complete address with zip code, and email address on a standard size postcard and mail with the proper postage affixed to:
SATeam Wrist Candy Holiday Giveaway
K. Smith
PO Box 4712
Wichita, KS 67204
All mail-in entries must be received by December 6, 2009. All entries become the property of the Giveaway host and will not be acknowledged or returned.

Holiday Cheer

Here are our new gingerbread men maryjanes, just in time for the holidays! Super sweet and made to match Gymboree's new line! Visit our etsy store at http://www.jlperillo.etsy.com/

How about these adorable hair clips, love the gingerbread man! $595 at http://www.celesteandcompany.etsy.com/
Here is a custom gingerbread man shirt for $20 by http://www.littlebittledesigns.etsy.com/

Kobold Celebrates Author Clare Beaton

On one of his many adventures around the world, our little Kobold discovered the talents of Clare Beaton. Ms. Beaton is an award-winning artist and author who creates children's books using a colourful range of mostly vintage materials. She is a highly sought-after creator of handcrafted children's picture books. She has had nearly fifty books published, many of which Kobold is happy to offer through Kobold Toys. The illustrations in her books are filled with color and texture, sure to captivate the eyes and mind of any child.

Here are some of Kobold's favorites- sure to be wonderful additions to your child's libary:

There's a cow in the cabbage patch, moo, moo, moo! She should be in the dairy, what shall we do? Tour the farmyard and help all of the animals find their way to their rightful spots in this topsy turvy jaunt. Rhyme and repetition complement the story of a farm full of animals that are each exploring another's home.

Elusive Moose. Search for the elusive moose in the snowy north, and meet lots of other northland animals on the journey. The hardcover edition includes endnotes about all the creatures, a guessing game of animal footprints, and a page of informative facts about the moose.

I Dreamt I Was a Dinosaur. Join a young boy on a dreamland adventure to prehistoric times, where he meets dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes. The rhyme filled text is followed by fascinating notes about the age of dinosaurs.

Playtime Rhymes for Little People. Act out each of the imaginative selections in this hand-sewn anthology. The forty rhymes and games encourage active play and participation with step-by-step instructions to follow. Book with CD edition includes songs and rhymes performed by Susan Reed.

Welcome a new baby into the world with Baby’s First Book, featuring Clare Beaton’s exquisite hand-sewn collages. Paired with a cuddly White Bunny Rabbit puppet, this gift set makes the perfect present and is presented in an eco-friendly, reusable green shopper tote with a gift tag to personalize it.

We know you'll love these illustrated books as much as Kobold does. Kobold Toys has a wide selection of books available on our site for ages newborn to seven. Happy Reading!

The Advent Of Christmas

You can pretend you are still distracted by pumpkins and spiderweb decor, but I know you are starting those holiday lists! (And if you are not, and you still need to catch up on Halloween fun, check out the offerings at Kobold Toys!).

So it is official, Kobold and I are getting ready for Christmas!!! My family has been in search of a fun and reusable advent calendar for the past few years. We have picked the cardboard ones up at the bookstore in the past, and they are fine... but an advent calendar is supposed to be a special calendar that you use to count down the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas.

Our little Kobold has found some adorable advent calendars that meet the needs of beauty, fun, and longevity.

Mudpuppy's At the North Pole Advent Calendar is a fun, creative way to count down the days to Christmas! First choose your favorite 24 stickers (bears, reindeer, snow angels, skiers, stars, snowmen, etc.) and place them on the calendar squares. Each day of Advent, move one sticker from the square onto the calendar board's background picture to build a scene. On Christmas Eve, your beloved adds Santa. The stickers are reusable, so you can vary the scene year by year.

We also offer Mudpuppy's Christmas Tree Advent Calendar to help you enjoy a festive December. First choose your favorite stickers (illustrated by Janell Genovese) and place them on the calendar Squares. Then beginning December 1, move one ornament from the calendar to the tree until it is decorated. On December 24, add the angel to the tree top.


The Playmobil Christmas in the Forest Advent Calendar features 24 different items to open up each day of December. This Advent Calendar also features a fun backdrop that all of the prizes can be played with in. With this advent calendar kids not only count backwards till Christmas but won't stop playing with the addition of each new figurine every day. Playmobil also offers the Unicorn Fairy Advent Calendar for the princess set.

Stifle those Bah Humbugs! Christmas is only 66 days away, so start planning now! Kobold Toys is adding new toys and games every day, as well as holiday decor for the little ones, so please visit the site for the latest must-haves for your beloved.

Holidays!

New for Christmas this year, our fun holiday penguin (now in red!)

Check out our funky Christmas tree sneakers (goes great with that Michael Miller fabric you see everywhere!)

See these and other holiday shoes at http://www.jlperillo.etsy.com/ or http://www.snanimals.com/!

Celebrate Discovery!

Columbus Day honors the day Christopher Columbus discovered America. The first Columbus Day celebration was held in New York City in 1792 - the city celebrated the 300th anniversary of the landing. Columbus Day has been celebrated annually since 1920. I am sure many of your children are learning about Christopher Columbus this mon and grateful for the holiday. It is a wonderful time to celebrate discovery with crafts and projects.

Miss E is just starting to ask questions about the world. And a globe is on her growing wish list for Santa Claus. Kobold Toys is happy to share some of our favorite toys to help expand your child's mind about the world in which we live.

Kobold loves the Ravensburger Children's Globe which builds on the 3D puzzle concept. The strong, durable and slightly curved puzzle pieces fit together very well, to ensure a secure ball once complete. It is easy to assemble and has great stability. The puzzle comes with a booklet that includes information about different locations around the world making this puzzle a complete learning experience.

The Global Adventure Book set from Barefoot Books is a perfect gift for your young explorer. The set includes We All Went on Safari: A Counting Journey Through Tanzania, We’re Sailing Down the Nile: A Journey through Egypt, and My Granny Went to Market: A Round the World Counting Rhyme. This set is packed in an eco-friendly, reusable green shopper tote with a gift tag to personalize.

Mudpuppy's challenging new 100-piece U.S.A. States & Capitals puzzle comes in an irresistible hinged storage tin. The illustrations by Janell Genovese keep the fun factor!

We also love the Culture Club Tote which introduces your child to to different cultures with five multicultural dolls. The zipper tote features five outside clear pockets, each sporting a soft 5" doll that represents a different culture. Also, included with the tote is a flashcard with how to say "hello" in Spanish, French, Swahili, Hindi, and Mandarin. Everything is soft and surface washable.

And as they say in Spain, Diviértete aprendiendo!

Survey Says! Win a $ 50 Gift Card

Though many people are just beginning to think about holiday shopping , we are already thinking about 2010. Kir DeVries has enjoyed a banner year and in 2010 we want to bring to bring you even more of what you want! Share your preferences with us via our Niche Focus Survey and be entered to win one of two $ 50 gift cards just in time for holiday shopping. The survey runs through November 2nd and the two winning gift cards will be issued on Monday November 9th. As always we greatly appreciate your feedback and look forward to hearing from you.

Click Here To Take The Survey!

All the Best!
Kristen

Feed Their Imagination With Books!

My family loves to read (anyone who knows me, knows that this is an understatement). Miss E goes to bed after two stories with at least four to five books to "read." Her brother at 18 months just started throwing a sofa pillow on the floor and snuggling down to look at books and pretend to read. So exciting! If you read to your child, you know the magic that happens and the value books bring to your child's development. Plus, I enjoy reading classics from my childhood and finding new "classics" from this generation of writers. I just love books (like my mother and brother), and I enjoy passing this love on to my own children.

Kobold Toys is introducing an entire new book section to our website, and WE ARE EXCITED! We are featuring the wonderful titles from Barefoot Books. Barefoot Books began with two mothers who wanted their children to have books that would feed the imagination, while instilling a respect for diversity and a love of the planet. Today, they are a world-wide community of writers, artists, storytellers, musicians, and others who are committed to providing timeless stories and captivating art that can help children become happy, engaged members of a global society.

If you love gifting books (and in our house aunts, uncles, Papas, and even Santa and the Easter Bunny know books are the gift of choice), Kobold Toys is offering "Bag of Books" gift sets in various themes- from baby to pirates! Here are some of our favorites...so far. These collections are wonderful gifts for any occasion.

Singalong Gift Set. Get ready to sing and dance along to these lively tunes! Barefoot best-sellers The Animal Boogie, The Journey Home from Grandpa’s, and The Farmyard Jamboree — all with singalong CDs — are packaged in an eco-friendly, reusable green shopper tote with gift tag to personalize. (Age 2+)

ABC's and 123's Gift Set. Develop counting and alphabet skills with these fun and educational books. Featuring Alligator Alphabet, Counting Cockatoos, One Moose, Twenty Mice and Zoe and her Zebra. Packed in an eco-friendly, reusable green shopper tote with a gift tag to personalize. (Ages 1-4)

Storytime Gift Set. Fuel the imagination and expand your library with classic stories as well as modern tales. Featuring Storytime: First Tales for Sharing with story CD, The Story Tree: Tales to Read Aloud with story CD, The Gigantic Turnip, Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Prince’s Bedtime, paired with a charming Prince puppet. Packed in a colorful canvas tote with a gift tag to personalize. LOVE IT! (Ages 3-7)

Kobold Toys hopes you are as excited as we are about this new line of books. By reading aloud to your child, you will be sharing one of life's most valuable gifts and opening all kinds of doors for the future. Plus who doesn't love snuggling down with your little ones for any reason?!

Have fun reading (and maybe learning too)!

P.S. Don't forget to write a review of any of our books or toys. Each review submitted through November 1 will automatically be entered into our sweepstakes for a $50 gift certificate. The more reviews you complete, the more opportunities to win. Perfect to use towards that must-have toy on your holiday list!

Let The Wild Rumpus Start!

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak was the 1964 Caldecott Medal Winner for the Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year. In 2009, it remains a top five favorite in Miss E's libary. For those of you unfamiliar with this classic tale, Where the Wild Things Are tells the story of Max, a mischievous boy in a wolf suit, whose imagination allows him to escape his home and travel to the land of the "wild things."

On October 16, director Spike Jonze will bring the beloved tale of Max to the big screen. It is rated PG, so Miss E will have to wait a little bit. I am sure the film will inspire birthday themes and gifts in the coming months, and Kobold Toys is delighted to offer four Where the Wild Things Are puzzles from Mudpuppy. Kobold Toys and Miss E are devoted fans of Mudpuppy puzzles because of their quality and the creativity of the artwork. These new themed puzzles do not disappoint! Alone they are fun gifts for the "wild things" fan or paired with the book a lovely gift for a birthday or the holidays.

Where the Wild Things Are Floor Puzzle. The floor puzzle features the image of Max as king of all wild things. The puzzle measures 2 x 3 feet and include 24 jumbo pieces.

Where the Wild Things Are 2-in-1 Puzzle. Learn the opposite concepts of "Asleep" and "Awake" while putting together two of Maurice Sendak's illustrations. Max cavorts with his wild friends in one illustration, and a Wild Thing sleeps as Max sails home to his own bedroom. The puzzle has received the Parent's Choice Award, Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products and Creative Child Seal of Excellence.

Where the Wild Things Are Block Puzzle. Turn the blocks to form six different scenes from Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are classic book.

Where the Wild Things Are First Puzzles. Little ones love Max and his Wild Things friends and they will love the four puzzles packed in the usual colorful box with a an easy to tote handle.

If you do have a wild thing lover, while I was searching for information on the movie I came across this incredible cake inspired by the character Moishe. It would be fun to recreate cupcakes for Miss E's class with the wild thing characters on October 16. Of course that would require a the bakery fairy to visit me and bless me with some kitchen talent.... I can dream! For now I will stick to puzzles and books, and hosting our own wild rumpus time at home.

Have fun learning or Max and a wild thing may EAT YOU UP!

Halloween Countdown!

This weekend Miss E insisted that we pull the Halloween decorations down from the attic. She is 100% focused on the countdown to Halloween this year, and she can not wait to be Spiderman. She has decided that her little brother will be the "evil Lord Bad Bumblebee" so now I am on the look out for a "manly" bee costume.

Kobold Toys did not stock up on evil bee accessories this year; however, here are suggestions if you are looking for the last minute item to add a little flourish to your beloved's costume. Many of these outfits and accessories are non-threatening if you have a ghost or goblin intimidated by all the Halloween hoopla, and these costumes can be used year round for pretend play!

Although frowned upon by some superhero costume designers (think Incredibles), we believe the cape is an essential item for SuperGirl and SuperBoy. The Secret Pocket "Princess" Cape is pink and purple satin and the Super Hero Cape is red and blue. Both have a velcro neck closure and a clear vinyl shield back pocket to display the cape's insignia or child's own artwork. Each cape has pockets inside to keep "valuables" and hide a favorite candy treat!

Last year, Miss E was a brave knight and her little brother a pet dragon. If you have a knight in your midst, we suggest our Guardian Knight Armor set. The set includes a 22½ sword with sheath, 10½ shield, 10"x14½ breast plate, and helmet with visor. Pair with a black turtleneck and sweats and for less than $20, your son (or daughter!) can slay the fiercest of beasties.

Maybe your child wants to be scary Gordon Ramsey or fancies herself as the next "Top Chef." Our deluxe chef set includes: 10"x16" dish towel that makes clean up a snap, 5.5" hot pad oven mitt, apron with adjustable neck strap and waist ties, one-size fits most chef's hat, 7" wooden spoon and 8" rolling pin. This little chef set is great trick-or-treating and for dramatic play in your own kitchen.

For the fairy or ballerina, we love the crafty make it yourself Tutu Tulle kit. An adorable layered tulle skirt displays customized fabric cut-outs. Kit includes supplies to get started and tracing templates for more cut-outs to decorate. The skirt has a wraparound elastic waistband with velcro and is available in pink and purple. A great project to do together!

Do the words "Go Diego, Go" or "Backpack, backpack" echo throughout your home? Perhaps you have a daring explorer on your hands for Halloween! Accessorize your little Diego or Dora with a Rainforest Eco Backpack or a Belly Bunch Sea Turtle friend.

Hope these dress-up ideas inspire you to get your trick or treat on... Halloween is only 33 days away!

Have a great week! And please take time to complete a product review. For every review you complete through November 1, you'll be entered into our sweepstakes for a $50 gift certificate.