Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Etsy Baby Shower Featured Shops- Volume 9

This week I have been featuring a variety of shops who have generously donated to the Etsy Baby Shower. The Etsy Baby Shower is a Virtual Baby Shower in which a number of expecting and brand new Etsy mommies receive gifts from donating Etsy shops. This shower we have raised 112 gifts from 91 Etsy Shops for 28 lucky new moms and moms-to-be! Welcome to the final post in the series! If you missed my last 7 installments, go back and read them!



StarbrightBaby joined Etsy in June 2008 and this is the second Etsy Baby Shower she has participated in. She will be donating one of her sweet Teething Giraffes to a lucky baby. I can personally endorse StarbrightBaby’s teething giraffes! My son LOVES his!

Inspired by her son, StarbrightBaby features Teething Giraffes for babies. Suzi came up with the Teething Giraffe pattern after she received something similar for a baby gift from friends. Her little one loved it, but so did her 3-year-old niece! When she asked where she could get another one, her friends told her that it had been made by their grandmother who had passed away. Suzi figured out how to make one with a few aesthetic changes and before her niece left to go home we had a herd of giraffes in the house! Check out the organic teethers! Colorgrown cotton fabric is Suzi’s new favorite material!

We asked Suzi what advice she has for new moms. She says, “Hold your baby as much as possible. It really helps with the fussiness of the first 3 months. Babywearing is my favorite way to hold my babies!”

Want to see more StarBrightBaby? Check out her website and become a Fan on Facebook!


ZadyBall joined Etsy in October 2007. She has participated in the Etsy Baby Shower several times before and Alayna always has a hard time choosing one to send, so for this shower, she’s letting the mom choose her favorite. ZadyBall gets a ringing endorsement from BuggaLove! My son LOVES his ZadyBall!

Alayna’s inspiration is her children. When her oldest was a baby, he LOVED toys with strings. He had one toy in particular that had a knotted fabric string for a tail. He would play with it ALL the time, and it would help to sooth him at bed time. Alayna decided to make a toy that had lots of strings for him to play with - and that's how the Zadyball was born!


A Zady®ball is a handmade toy that is easy for young babies to hold on to, and will quickly become a favorite! They are soft to hold and cuddle, and have lots of knotted fabric strings to grab and rub. As your baby grows, Zadyball just becomes even more fun! It is great for soothing sore gums while teething, easy to throw and catch – especially when you are learning how, and machine washable – a MUST for any baby toy! Zadyball is available in many different colors, styles and personalities. You are sure to find one that is perfect for the baby in your life!

Zadyball comes in different animal versions as well. Alayna is pretty fond of Ringo the Purple Octopus, shown above.

We asked Alayna if she has any advice for new moms, She says, “For first-time moms, I ALWAYS recommend reading "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and using the 5 S's method it describes. It was seriously a life saver for me! Also, while having a baby can be exhausting, frustrating and really hard, remember to enjoy the special time you have with your baby. It won't be long before they are all grown up!”

Through the end of November get 20% off with the code "BABYSHOWER" from ZadyBall! Want to see more? You can find ZadyBall on Etsy, Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger!

PtiteBaloue joined Etsy in October last year. Curiously Isabelle convinced her boyfriend to open an Etsy shop for his photographs first, then she was a bit jealous so she opened hers too! This is her first time donating to the Etsy baby shower and one lucky baby will be getting a sweet teddy bear.

Isabelle has always loved soft toys. And for years she had been knitting only scarves, so since all of her friends and family members now had at least one, if not several, of her scarves, she decided to try something a bit more challenging. Inspiration comes as she falls upon new colors / fibers / yarns and figure out what kind of animal they could turn into.

PtiteBaloue features knit soft toys. Some of them are vegan, made from acrylic, polyester and other non-animal fibers, but several are knitted from handspun (by Isabelle, on a drop spindle!) natural fibers and stuffed only with pure wool, which makes them entirely natural and eco-friendly. They are all unique pieces, and take a lot of time to make. Often Isabelle spends 5, 6, 7 hours on the smallest toys and even more on bigger ones. Especially when she has to spin the yarn first!

You must see Elvis the Lion, shown here. He's not currently in Ptitebaloue’s Etsy shop because he's just about to spend two months in consignment at the boutique of an art galery in Quebec. But hopefully Isabelle will make him lots of brothers and sisters soon! (I’m sure if you ask her, she’d be happy to make you one!)

We asked Isabelle what advice she had for new moms. She said, “mm that's a hard one since I don't have any kid of my own yet... maybe to spend as much time as they can with their children?”

Ptitebaloue is offering $5 off on a purchase of $30 or more (before shipping) until Christmas and $10$ off a purchase of $80 or more (before shipping) to BuggaBlog readers! Just mention "Baby Shower" in the "Comments to the seller" and Isabelle will refund the money through Paypal after you've checked out.

Woodponddesigns joined Etsy in June 2008. This is the first time Jennifer has participated in the Etsy Baby Shower and she will be donating a Jumble Ball to a lucky baby! Woodponddesigns is inspired by nature and the changing of the seasons, and by Jennifer’s children, who are always willing to help in the creative process.

Woodponddeisgns is all about cute quirky fun! Jumble Balls are the bulk of their business, but Jennifer loves making all kinds of sewn items. She keeps a sketch book of design ideas and tries to stop herself from branching off in too many directions at once. When she’s not working on a new Jumble Ball, Jennifer enjoys working with felted wool, creating one of a kind plush critters. She also can't stand to throw out fabric scraps and is always looking for creative ways to use small amount of fabric, which is how she came to make drink coasters, button cover projects, passport sleeves, cute wallet purses, and mini sachets.



You must see Woodponddesign’s signature product: the Jumble Ball. They are a soft, squashy lightweight toy ball designed for infants and toddlers with tons of textured ribbons and rickrack and either jingle bells or a rattle secured inside. A sensory learning toy that is brightly colored, safe, fun, and best of all, washable!

We asked Jennifer what advice she has for new moms, she said, “My advice to new moms is to accept any help that is offered, don't try to do everything yourself. If a friend wants to bring you a casserole or come over and do your laundry so you can rest, say YES! It's also important to reach out and connect with other new moms, either in person or online.”

Special Christmas and Holiday themed items are arriving at Woodponddesigns now! BuggaBlog readers will receive 10% off any Jumble Ball order throughout the month of November at WoodPondDesigns! Use coupon code: BabyShower during checkout. A PayPal refund will be sent for the difference. Want to see more of WoodPondDesigns? Check out their blog or become a Fan on Facebook!



LittleAlouette joined Etsy in 2008. Inspired by their wee children and all babies and mamas and papas they love, you will find organic natural wood toys, teethers, and gifts. Each product is made by hand and usually all the wood is surrounded by cups of tea, laughing children, and disco music so each product will come to you infused with love and bliss! Your LittleAlouette item also comes with welcome card that includes information about their fabulous family business and locally sourced timber. They also provide you with a wood toy care guide.

This is LittleAlouette’s first time participating in the Etsy Baby Shower! They are sending the lucky lady a square teether! Perfect for wee small first teething times.

We asked Amy what advice she has for new moms. She said, “Get rest! Don't live on the new motherhood speed! It feels like you can do it all- but you will crash as some point! SLEEP- who cares about the state of your house for a few months. This time will never again be with you- nothing is like the few weeks and months after your FIRST baby. I promise. The second is different. Just relax. And enjoy this time and REST!”

LittleAlouette offers free worldwide shipping on some products! You can find LittleAlouette on their blog, website, Twitter, and facebook!

WigglyToothFactory joined Etsy on May 13, 2008. Inspired by the birth of her first child to make children related products and tooth fairy pillows you’ll find the WigglyToothFactory is a one stop shop for all your child's tooth fairy needs. My shop can take your child from teething to the tooth fairy.

WigglyToothFactory is a faithful Etsy Baby Shower donating shop! This is her third time participating. For this shower, she is donating a small hanging tooth fairy pillow and an item called a teether towel which is used for a child going through there drooling phase. You can see the original tooth fairy pillow here! It's a large tooth fairy pillow with a hand embroidered face and a small back pocket to hold a child's newly lost tooth or a special gift from the tooth fairy.

We asked Megan what advice she has for new moms. She said, “I guess I would just say take it one day at a time and enjoy every minute because they grow up quick.”

Find more WigglyToothFactory on Twitter, Facebook under The Wiggly Tooth Factory, LLC and my blogger!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm a big fan of the Zadyball!

:)

Jennifer Towler said...

Participating in the baby shower has been fun and it's great to get to know more about the other donators. Thanks for such a great job!