Squarespace Blog / "wooden toys"

GIVEAWAY! Hoot-n-Andy

If your a follower of the blog, then you saw that last week for Favorites Friday, we featured an AWESOME shop called Hoot-n-Andy... I dont even know where to begin... because the handpainted awesome-ness pouring out of this shop is totally overwhelming. So lets start small and work our way up... with my personal favorites :)
#1: The tattoo mommy/daddy yo-yo... This bad boy will be gracing Izzaq's stocking with its presence this year. How could I pass it up!? And crazy enough, Izzaq asked santa for a yo-yo... so, we will be yo-yo-ing in style at the Zrust house ;) Just $9

#2: Memory Games! We loveeeeeee memory games... but never have I ever come across one as amazing as this...  We will have 2 of these under the tree this year... one for each kiddo... a guitar themed one, and a tattoo one (like the above mommy/daddy yo-yo)... Why keep buying those cheap-o cardboard games when you can have something quality that will last you generations and generations...


#3: Nesting BlocksEach set comes with 4 blocks, complete with letters, numbers, bright patterns, and of course- cute, skeleton animals! Im in love... I need another baby so I can get these... cuz they are ADORABLE!


#4: And last but DEFINITELY not least... if anything, THE BEST.... the "Rockin' Horses" or... "Rocking Horses of a Different Color" if you Jenny :) Either way, I think we can all agree to call them amazing. HAve you ever seen such a classic toy with a twist?! Im in love... and would be willing to sell a kidney to get that tattoo one...

Im really truly just in love... Her things are amazing... the detail that she puts into them is flawless... and she went above and beyond to be sure she was using baby/toddler safe materials... and guess what... you get to see for yourself... One lucky winner will get their hands on a CUSTOM memory game... shoot any theme her way, and she will make it happen... guitars? sure! Punk? No problem! Flowers? Rainbows? Cars? Butterflies? Owls? Trains? You betcha! Ok... well, you get the picture... any custom memory set you can dream up.

How to win:
(For each finished task below, leave a separate comment letting me know you did it. Ill check :)
#1: Mandatory entry: Comment below and let us know what YOUR "dream theme memory game" would be...
#2: Heart the Hoot-n-Andy shop...
#3: Heart two of her items...
#4: Heart the RockerByeBaby shop...
#5: Fan Hoot-n-Andy on Facebook!
#6: Fan RockerByeBaby on Facebook!
#7: Visit the Hoot-n-Andy Blog and leave a comment on one of her posts.
#8: Comment on one of OUR past blog posts (this post doenst count :)
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Favorites Friday: Affordable Handmade Toys

The other day Amanda & I were "shopping" for some fun etsy toys for lil' Jack. I was blown away by all of the adorable things on etsy... SO MUCH CUTENESS!! I wanted it all, but WOW! SO much of it is just so expensive... i was determined to find cute, yet affordable toys... And this is what i found :)
*click to zoom*
#1: LIlBoppers - Little Plush Giraffe Baby Rattle - $4.75
#2: MaxandMeena - STAR STACK - recycled crayons 6 piece set - $3.00
#3: LittleNurslings - Natural Wooden Teething/Grasping Rings - $5.00
#4: TwoFloridaGirls - Custom Personalized Letter or Number Bean Bags - $3.00
#5: Babymomo - Jumbo Soft Block Summer Soiree = $3.00
#6: MysunshineDesigns - Mini Lovey Lolli Dot = $7.00
#7: UsWoodToys - Red Car - $5.00
#8: MissTartine - Small Rattle Felted Wool Ball (rattle)
#9: BlueMoonCrochet - Plush Bird Rattles - $5.00

If any of you amazing sellers would like to host a review and giveaway... we would love to have you!
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Wood Shop Bob! Handmade Wooden cars...

Oh be still my heart! Wood Shop Bob has made my day... Im sure you all have  read my previous posts ranting about our creative play christmas... felt food... wooden toys and all that good stuffs... now - as much as I LOVE all these types of goodies... i HATE how expensive they can be... now - as usual Etsy has some rocking sellers that make some of these amazing things at affordable prices. For instance, my girlie girl Baby Boo Felt , she makes adorable felt food that keeps my kids content for hours... while playing with their new wooden kitchen... Another of their favorite "creative play" toys is their Thomas the train set. But lets face it... mass produced and there are hundreds... no - hundreds of thousands of them out there in the world... where's the fun in that? But never fear - Wood Shop Bob has solved all of our problems!! And I think I just fell in love... ;)

If you remember a few weeks ago... there was an adorable set of little wooden cars featured in my Favorites Friday...


He got in touch with me and offered to send a set for review! I was ecstatic... and when they showed up, they completely blown away. Each little car was perfectly crafted... perfectly sanded... perfect size for the boys... and PERFECTLY unique... every one is different... the grains in the wood... the shades... shapes and styles... and i love, love, love the little wheels... i completely adore them! And of course, so do the boys!



How could they POSSIBLY be any cooler you ask? Oh well they can... while Zave was playing, he realized they fit PERFECTLY on his Thomas the Train tracks!!



So he pushes his "vroom-vrooms" around the track with his "choo-choos" ... They have really been an amazing addition to our wooden toy collection... and i REALLY suggest you go pick up a pack right away... The little 10 pack of cars is just $12!! You can get them here.
Prefer Trucks? He has those too!!

Just $15 for those... he also has bigger trucks... tractors... and all sorts of other goodies... you MUST check it out :)

If you decide to snatch up a set, be sure to tell him that you found him from the RockerByeBaby blog! Then come back and tell us all about it!

*Edit*

GUESS WHAT!? WoodShopBob is giving away a set to one lucky reader!! How lucky are you guys!?

How to win:

#1:  Mandatory entry:  Tell us why you want to win the car set, and who you want to win it for!
Extra entries?? But of course :)
EACH ENTRY MUST BE LEFT IN A SEPARATE COMMENT TO COUNT!!!!!

#2) Follow us publicly here on (blogger) - Leave a separate comment for being a (old or new) follower on our blog.
#3) Follow/Tweet us (Twitter) - Leave a separate comment for being a follower and TWEETING about this giveaway on Twitter... If your already a twitter follower of ours, TWEET about it for an extra entry anyways :)

Tweet This: "The WOOD SHOP BOB post is NOW A FREE #giveaway!! Enter here to win a free set of wooden #handmade cars!! http://bit.ly/7k6lNQ"
#4) Write a blog about this giveaway and link back to this review. Leave an extra comment with the link to the blog.
#5) Fan RockerByeBaby on Facebook...

#6)"Heart" the WoodShopBob etsy page, and "favorite" two items...
#7) "Heart" the RockerByeBaby etsy page, and "favorite" two items...
#8) GET TWO EXTRA ENTRIES - by making a purchase from WoodShopBob... come back here with an order/transaction number and leave 2 comments telling us what you bought :)

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Note to Self Saturday: Xmas Success!

Ohhh what a day... Cali may not be "home"... and Christmas sure doesn't feel the same when its 70 & sunny... but it sure went off without a hitch! We spent Christmas Eve at the Settimis house and it was amazing... such great company... amazing Prime Rib... and BEAUTIFUL baby girls ;) (which only helped to make me want a little lady even MORE!!)  But the boys were great... they had a ton of fun... and we were able to stay until almost 11pm!! My boys are usually melting down by 7pm and ready for bed! So that was definitely a nice treat...  we finished off the night with champagne & exchanging presents with hubby after the kids went to bed. It was perfect. I was the luckiest girl in the world! He got me a brand spankin new sewing machine, and  bad ass camera, lol Cannon Rebel XSi... two lenses and a case. *dies* I have had SO MUCH FUN taking pictures... and was so happy to have it for xmas morning... its everything i could have possibly wanted and MORE! He definitely earned the #1 hubby award, lol.

i got him a new grill and a bunch of other randomness...


hes doing a wonderful job at being excited... though a feel like a total failure next to his gifts. lol

The boys had a ton of fun opening gifts... the kitchen & felt food has been a HUGE hit. But I think izzaq's favorite is the Melissa & Doug Birthday cake... He has been with it for like 6 hours! (yay for creative play - click photos to zoom)

My girl Ailie @ Baby Boo Felt has been so generous in helping us build our felt food collection... Not sure how likes it better, the boys or myself... but I just cant wait to start buying more :)

Zavery's favorite toy was probably the Mater truck. He loves it so much he even slept with it last night, lol
 


After presents there was a TON of playing... lots of snuggling... and then finally napping... kinda. (i think they were just too excited) Daddy took a good nap though... *good job daddy* while zaq napped and the boys pretended to, I started prepping stuffing. Zaq's mom makes the best sausage, rice & bread crumb stuffing... and for Thanksgiving zaq took a crack at making it... fail, lol So for x-mas it was my turn... I must say (and he will agree) i did a much better job... but it still wasn't Nana's stuffing...

Zaq was in charge of the rest... he likes cooking and holidays make it lots of fun for him to prepare the meal.

(notice the Vikings apron he got from santa... i think santa is even COOLER now that i know he shops on etsy!)

For dinner zaq made big fluffy squishy yummy rolls...

a HUGE bowl of mashed potatoes... (and this makes me laugh)

 Healthy Organic milk... with about 3 sticks a butter, lol
and of course... a christmas "roast beast"...

With all the playing and eating... there was bound to be lots of snuggling... Zavery went over and plopped himself right onto the floor with his "b's" it was the cutest thing in the world...

Then after some snuggling with daddy it was time for bed...


The day was great... I couldnt have asked for anything more... and now today the countdown to Santa has switched to the countdown to Nana and Papa... The should be here in about 8 more hours! Not much time left seeing as the started the 30 hour drive yesterday! We are really excited to see them... its been about 4 months :( Hope everyone else had a great holiday! Be sure to leave some comment love, id love to hear all about your day!



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Favorites Friday: Creative Play

Merry Christmas to my readers that celebrate it! If you dont, Happy Friday! ;)  In honor of this christmas "creative play" trend this week... I wanted to use that as inspiration for todays post! Full of items that I bought... that I want... and that I hope to get soon! As always... click the photo to enlarge and the links below coordinate with the numbers!  Oh, and to any of the stores below that Im in love with... my kids would LOVE for me to host a review & giveaway of your items for a full writeup and week of adv. :) just email or comment if interested...




#1: MamaMayI: I always love a good memory game... make it wood and hand inked & im sold... such a cute idea :)
#2: ChaseDreams: Recycled Lego Crayons bought these for their stockings in both brights & Primary colors. Even cuter in person!
#3: LinenKids: You know my love for sewing (obviously) this WILL be mine... for sure... its hearted and after this has been posted for a few days im totally going back to get one. Izzaq will LOVE getting to help mommy "work"
#4: BabyLoveBlankies: We searched and searched for cool skully ISpy bags for xmas with no luck... and NOW after its too late for xmas, here they are, lol just my luck... Have to snag these up later!
#5: WoodShopBob: 12 Piece Wooden Mini cars... insanely adorable... i NEED to buy these... 3 inches long... what an awesome deal!! Zavery will LOVE it.
#6: BeeDot: My girl Mandy is so darn talented... I just love her Amigurumi creations... so I asked her to make me two ice cream comes and they are easily some of the cutest and most well made things i have ever seen come from etsy... I cant wait to get more!
#7: BabyBooFelt: We got SO MUCH felt for from her for christmas... its amazing!! The fruit basket is next on our list!
#8: LittleSapplingToys: 10 pin Wooden Bowling Set... I have been drooling over this all year. Izzaq is obsessed with bowling and i know would just go nuts to have this. Wish I would have found it before I was done xmas shopping!
#9: BabyBolt: Skull crayon roll made in my favorite print... lusting over this one for sure!


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