My Favorite Toy List - 2010

A couple years ago I posted my list of favorite toys, and now that I look back on it, I realize my 2 year old has most of the items on the list!  I have a few more new finds this year that I'm going to put on my list of great toy ideas.  With one child's birthday the day after Christmas and the other's in January, I tend to start my shopping very early to spread out the expense!  It's not often that I buy expensive toys for my boys, because we do so much garage saleing and thrifting throughout the year. But, when Christmas and birthdays come around, that's where I prefer to splurge and buy good, quality toys that I know are going to be around for years to come.

Here are a few toys on my list so far for this year! I'm using a lot of Amazon linked images here so hopefully they work...if not I've tried to include links to the original manufacturer's websites as well.


The constraints of gravity go out the window for your little architect with these little blocks from Tegu which have magnets hidden inside.

HaPe International has some really neat vehicles, made out of bamboo.  I just love how the shape of the bamboo is still present, yet they look like really cool, modern designs.  I already bought a couple of these for my youngest and am stashing them away for a few months until his birthday!
 

HaPe also has some really cool doll houses with adorable furniture sets:



Their other brand, WoodyClick, has more really cute construction sets and other wooden vehicles:

I'm such a sucker for wooden toys!! I snatch them up whenever I see them at garage sales.

I've mentioned Sprig toys in my previous list.  They have a really cute dolphin adventure playset now with a little boat.



These "Scanimation" books by Rufus Butler Seder are very cool.  We have the "Gallop" one and there are many more out there now.  The animals move when you turn the pages.  Here is a YouTube video, since it really can't be described without a visual.


If plush toys are your thing, these Ze Super Zeros toys are super adorable, quirky, and creative!




MiYim also makes some really sweet little organic soft toys, teethers, and blankies perfect for babies on your shopping list.



Puzzles are a hit in our house.  I like the idea behind these layered puzzles, where you actually stack the pieces on top of each other.  Learn what's inside your body, how a tadpole grows to be a frog, or even how a baby grows in it's mother's tummy!


Mindware is one of my favorite toy sites/catalogs to browse. There are a ton of cool toys there that will be more appropriate for my boys when they are a little older.  But, these puzzles caught my eye too, as being another twist on your average puzzle, in that they can be assembled in multiple ways, leaving some room for your child's own creativity.  There is a bug and a robot, which is convenient for me, being that we have a kid with a bug themed bedroom and a kid with a space/robot bedroom!

Can you tell I have a thing for wood toys? I think it may be the industrial designer in me who just can't get enough of toys that embrace raw materials.  I just find them refreshing in today's sea of roto-molded plastic toys that seem to get bigger and of of less quality as time passes! That's it so far for my list, but I'm sure I'll come across more fun toys between now and Christmas that I'll be sure to share.   In the meantime, let me know if you have any of these, if you like them, or if you have any other cool favorites!

And BINGO Was His Name-O!

So the other day I found this cool old Bingo game for $0.99 cents at Saver's.

You can get every game under the sun these days in digital form in the palm of your hand.  But, there's just something about the tactile nature of these old games. 

 I love feeling this pile of the round wooden markers in my palm...the etched dimension of the letters and numbers...the sound that they make when I dig my fingers into them in their cardboard compartment.  I love the texture and smell of the old, yellowing cardboard bingo cards, and the illustration of the New York World's Fair on the box cover.

No, I didn't intend on buying this to play Bingo, although I do have fond memories of laying down my quarter to play in the Lions Club Bingo tent at our county fair growing up.  I just wanted to make these parts live on in some way...bring them out of their dusty box on the thrift store shelf, "upcycle" them, and show them the light of day.  I'm not sure what I'll turn them into yet...I'm thinking something along the mosaic lines.  But, it did make me want to do some web surfing to find other fun Bingo game recycling ideas...

I love these recycled sketchbooks that use Bingo cards as a cover.  These are the kind of cards I remember playing with at the county fair...I can still feel those little plastic fins against my fingertips as I'd swipe my hand across the card to reveal a sea of red windows...the sound of the old ladies around the table whacking them against the folding table to knock the windows open again for the next round.  There's that tactile thing again...just irreplaceable by an iPhone app!

The little markers and balls provide ample opportunity to make jewelry, like these Bingo ball earrings and necklaces by Amy Pfaffman...

...or these earrings made from the flat markers over at Eclectic Elements:

...or these cufflinks made from vintage wood Bingo markers by Numpty on Etsy.

You can even wear them in your hair with these Bingo marker bobby pins.

Or how about a Bingo card clock?  There's always time for BINGO!

All of this game recycling talk has gotten me looking for all kinds of game pieces to recycle in thrift stores.  This week I picked up a box of wood dominos, some poker chips, and old playing cards.  Now if I could just get a solid week of uninterrupted time to create stuff, I'd be set!!

Twin Cities' "Junk Art" Event Starts This Week!

I've got another great event to share with my fellow recycling and repurposing Twin Cities' residents...Art + Architecture's Junk Market!  There's a charitable gala going on this Wednesday night, October 13th, which requires registration.  For a $5 admission fee, you can visit the market this Thursday the 14th through Saturday the 16th.  Or, attend on Sunday the 17th from noon to 4:00 for FREE. There will be door prizes, music, classes, and of course, SHOPPING!

I'm not sure if I'm going to make it, as parking sounds like a challenge on top of the toddler, baby, and giant stroller I'd have to lug around.  However, if I can swing it on the weekend, leave the little ones home with Daddy, and squeeze into a great spot with my little VW Beetle, I will be sure to share some fun findings with you! 

Cool Recycled Gifts in Northern Minnesota

Okay...well, Google has given me a more time consuming work-around method to get my photos up until they figure out the issue, which is apparently with their uploader on their end.  So, here are some things I've been waiting to share!

A couple weeks ago we took our annual family vacation to northern Minnesota, not far from Nisswa, which is my favorite little town to shop in when we're in the area. 

One of my favorite stores there is called Zaiser's, and is full of cool, well-designed gifts, and many fun recycled finds.

They have a great little section of toys, and I loved this shelf of hand puppets.  Each one is unique, handmade in Canada by Cate and Levi out of all natural and reclaimed materials.  And to top it all off, 10% of their profits go to help children in need.

I also loved this display of button rings and little felt flowers...

This recycled beer bottle dish by From The Blue Bag LLC,

and these recycled magazine cuffs and paper beads from Refashioned, much like my own!

 I went home with a recycled bike chain bracelet.  See you next year, Nisswa!

Having problems with Blogger

Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I have not disappeared and have more fun stuff I'd love to post!  But, Blogger keeps telling me I am out of storage space. So, I paid $5 to get an additional 20 gigs of space, 5 days ago. They took my money and the storage is still not working and Blogger is still not letting me upload any photos.  I've tried every "contact us" and "help" link I can find on their sites but they all lead to more links that go nowhere, or to a help forum, where I keep posting the question and getting no answer.  Anyway, just wanted you to know I'm still trying to either get my money back or get the pictures to upload...hopefully they will fix this problem soon so I can share more with you soon!  Stay tuned...