Who: Little Sapling Toys – Sheboygan, WI

What: Organic Driving Toy

Where: etsy – $32

Why We Love It: With all the plastic around us, it’s comforting to find good solid hand-crafted toys back en vogue. Ones made of natural materials and not concocted in some chemical lab. Designers Nick and Kimber Christensen, the duo behind Little Sapling Toys, clearly feel the same way too. They’ve got a sweet collection of wooden toys with everything from bowling pins to rattles to teethers to puzzles to memory games to this rugged car and truck set. Love that the kit comes with hills and mountains for climbing and a handcy cotton drawstring carrying pouch for toting.

What we love even more about Little Sapling toys is that they are green inside and out. All are made from FSC Certified hardwoods (maple, cherry, or walnut) and finished with locally sourced beeswax and organic jojoba oil–except for the teethers, they are unfinished. The hardwoods they use don’t splinter when finished properly, so are safer for kids. In addition, the company itself makes strides to conserve energy and promote conservation; planting a tree through Trees for the Future for each toy sold–to date they’ve funded the planting 20,000 trees!–and participating in a local green power program to offset their energy use, to which we say ‘thank you!’

Who: Fort Standard – New York, NY

What: White Blocks

Where: Fort Standard – $85

Why We Love It: For the grown-up who never outgrew playing with blocks, or for the kid who prefers a more sophisticated toy, this artfully designed set from Gregory Buntain and Ian Collings of Fort Standard challenges block-building abilities of kids of all ages. Whether played as a game in the vein of Jenga or as personal pursuit, these faceted blocks add an interactive element to your coffee table or bookshelf. Both decorative and entertaining, we like the idea of leaving your creation on display or corralling the blocks in a decorative bowl awaiting the next architect.

Each piece is made from salvaged hardwood scraps collected from local Brooklyn furniture shops and finished with a non-toxic white paint. The 10-block set comes packaged in a handy silk screened cotton drawstring bag.

Who: Wee Gallery – St. Petersburg, FL

What: Wee Gallery Art Cards

Where: Amazon – $12.95

Why We Love It: Delight little ones with this black and white art cards. The swirls, whirls, and patterns in contrasting colors are designed to appeal to and to stimulate the developing eyes of babies. As baby grows, they’ll learn to recognize these friendly jungle animals.

The 5×7 inch cards are printed on 100% recycled card stock laminated with food grade lamination, so they are safe for baby should your little one choose to chew on them. And you all know our appreciation of multi-functional objects… well, you can easily transform this collection of cards into a mobile with the purchase of an $8 Kikkerland Mobile Kit.

Who: SewnNatural – Ottawa, Canada

What: Organic Baby Quilt

Where: Supermarket – $58

Why We Love It: Not many baby blankets speak to both our modern aesthetics and our need for, well…snuggliness. But SewnNatural has delivered both with their contemporary, organic baby blanket. The eco-friendly blanket – screenprinted with a flock of sheep equally suited to baby girls or baby boys.

The 27×33 inch blanket is made of an organic linen/cotton blend combined with a cotton/hemp blend printed with solvent free inks. The reverse side is constructed of a soft flannel, great for keeping your little one cozy. The perfect gift for your favorite future environmentalist!

Who: Timbur – Atlantic Highlands, NJ

What: Timbur Wooden Rattles

Where: Fawn & Forest – $90

Why We Love It: So yes, $90 is a bit outrageous for an object that baby is just going to drool on, but it’s just so pretty, and is far more interesting than those dull silver rattles (sorry) that come in that little blue box. It’s just the gift an indulgent auntie, uncle, godparent or grandparent would get if looking to spoil the newest member of the family with a one of kind heirloom piece. If that sounds like you, read on. Click to continue »

or for grown-ups like us who may be slightly enamored with alphabet posters…

Petit Collage – $50/$120; fun factor: key on bottom with all the animal names. elements: hand-printed on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper; maple hardwood frames handcrafted in the U.S.A. with a no-VOC finish.

Nature Alphabet Poster by Children Inspire Design – $28/$40; fun factor – 26 cute and colorful critter collages; elements: printed on New Leaf recycled card stock with soy inks; packaged with recycled materials.

Animal Alphabet by ModernPop – $38; fun factor: multiple fonts with a splash of retro kitsch; elements: printed on radiant white watercolor paper with vivid color reproduction and archival pigment inks.

Letterpress Alphabet Poster by sycamorestreetpress – $35; fun factor – tangerine and aqua!! ; elements: printed by hand on a vintage letterpress with soy ink and 100% cotton paper in Utah.

Alphabet Signed Print by Alfabetika – $38.89; fun factor – goofy letter characters. elements: made in Paris; 5% of purchase is donated to UNICEF.

Strawberry Luna – $18 each, or 3 for $40; fun factor: a cute way to display babies initials; hand printed with grey water based acrylic inks on archival, cotton rag Stonehenge papers.

Alphabet of Design Classics – $50; fun factor: for the modern design obsessed! elements: digital print on matte finished digital paper glued to heavy stock black mat cardboard by hand.

The Penny Paper Co. Alphabet Print – $15 ; fun factor: add your name at the top and choose your color palette. elements: printed on photographic archival paper for the brightest of colours and longevity, fits in an IKEA Ribba Frame.

Colorful Modern Alphabet Poster by KimsCustomGifts – $ ; fun factor: playful, colorful icons and you can change any or all of the colors. elements: purchase the digital file and print it yourself or pay to have them print it for you.

Animal Alphabet by englishmuffin – $30; fun factor: boxes full of color, animals, words and letters, oh my. elements: printed on a heavy weight 100% recycled paper with a matte finish, using archival inks. fits in pre-matted IKEA Ribba frame.

Modern Alphabet Print by Grace Hester Designs – $ fun factor: cool graphics in an unexpected blue, brown, and green color palette. elements: printed on archival-quality photographic paper with a lustre finish for longevity.

Who: Timo Handmade – Tel-Aviv, Israel

What: Mice Wearing Socks

Where: etsy.com – $46

Why We Love It: You don’t have to be a tot to have a soft spot for these cuddly, longlegged, stuffed animals. Each one is hand sewn with love by Israeli artist Timor Cohen from her collection of upcycled fabrics be it from salvaged linens, dress shirts, handerchiefs, dresses, pillowcases or scraps simply too sweet to discard (and incidentally the perfect size for a polka-dotted pair of mouse socks….).

Each animal is a one-of-a-kind (no two scrap fabrics are alike!) and each seems to exude its own personality; the friendly mouse, the laid-back duck, the long-eared sugar-sweet rabbit but all with Cohen’s signature style — simple construction with modern appeal and complete ‘adorability’ (it’s a word, ha) imperfections and all.

Who: Gween Toys – Bangalore, India

What: Picazee Stacking Toy & Zarafu Counting Toy

Where:Amazon.com – $14 – $25

Why We Love It: Children can learn their colors, numbers and letters with these artfully designed wooden toys. Count to ten as you stack the rings on the Zarafu, match colors as you insert the stripes onto the Picazees midsection, fun fun!

Gween Toys says that they use wood sourced from sustainably harvested locally sourced trees to create their handcrafted toys. The colors applied are made from a combination of a natural resin called lac and natural pigments sourced from the roots, bark and leaves of native plants, and keeping their toys free of glues, paints, metals, plastics and synthetic materials.

With five dear friends having just had or going to have a baby, this week is all about baby! And response to the numerous requests for baby gift ideas, here are some of our top picks:

	KNOTTIE BY LALA’S PEQUENOS The level of cuteness of these little sleep sacs is just too much. It hurts! And the worn in vintage athletic shirt look on a baby is a-dorable. Also makes dressing and diaper-changing in the middle of the night, running on 15 minutes of sleep, as simple as tying a knot. In a dreamily soft bamboo/hemp blend. $44 @ Big Cartel
	LIFEFACTORY BABY BOTTLE At a time when newbie mom’s and dad’s might need an extra set of hands, taking over feed time might be greatly appreciated. These glass baby bottles are wrapped in a colorful, protective, dish-washer safe, silicon non-slip grip and are BPA, phthalate, lead, latex and PVC-free. $11.95 @ Nubius Organics
	MIYIM LOVIE BLANKIE You won’t attend a baby shower without seeing one of these lovie blankies, and there’s a reason why. Babies love them! What sets this one apart is that it’s made from 100% certified organic cotton hand-dyed with nature’s own plants and minerals. Now that’s love. $15 @ Greenward in bunny, elephant & monkey
	UNCLE GOOSE ABC BLOCKS There’s just something magical about this age-old toy that we can’t resist; the integration of font, color, real wood (not plastic) and the heirloom quality of a meticulously handcrafted toy… pure joy! A classic gift that is visually appealing, creatively engaging and delights kids and parents. $17.95 @Amazon
	FINN+EMMA REVERSIBLE SCOOTER JACKET And what little hipster’s wardrobe wouldn’t be complete without a reversible scooter jacket? A fun, refreshing print made of 100% GOTS certified cotton, eco-friendly dyes and all wooden buttons so you don’t have to worry about lead or nickel or any chemicals near baby. $45 @Finn+Emma

Who: Zoë B Organics – Salem, NC

What: Zoë b Beach Toys

Where: Green Rainbow Shop – $22

Why We Love It: Hopefully you’ve still got time to squeeze in one last beach trip before back-to-school chaos descends. If so you’ll likely be packing up all sorts of toys, boards, coolers, towels, games and you’ll likely lose a plastic shovel along the way (we did on our last visit). Instead of worrying (as we are) about whether that little plastic shovel will find its way to the giant plastic island in the sea, slowly poisoning the sea and its precious inhabitants as it biodegrades over hundreds of years; consider an alternative.

Zoë b Organic just created the world’s first biodegradable beach toy and they are quite cool. The colorful 5 piece set includes a bucket/carrying case, a sifting lid with geometric cut-outs, 2 cups, and a sturdy shovel all made out of Mirel™ bioplastic which is made from corn sugar, not petroleum, and is BPA, phthalates and PVC-free, so it’s a safer plastic for your kids. Plus, it will biodegrade when submerged in 2-3 years when buried in soil, immersed in water, home composted, or composted in industrial facilities, a far cry from the 500+ it takes most plastics to biodegrade. And it’s made in the USA, not China!