Little Alouette Discount Today (Sunday)

If you're in the market for a baby gift, check out Little Alouette this weekend for some simply, beautifully made wooden toys. I met Ms. Turn Sharp in San Francisco last summer and she's as warm and sparkling in person as her toys. Love the wooden keys (you know how I feel about the real ones as a toy) and the new tagline for the store:

"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood."

Little Alouette's offering 10% off with the code "Mamabird10" if you shop today (Sunday, Dec. 7) -- Happy Weekend!

P.S. This store's in Ohio - if you're looking to support independent artists in your area, check out Etsy's Shop Local feature. If you're in the DC Metro area, check out CREST, a consortium of local etsy artists. Read more!

Wooden Teether Giveaway

Who needs plastic teethers, huh? After bpa in baby bottles and formula and cans and pacifiers and who knows what else, it's a relief to handle a hunk of wood carved just for my baby's mouth. amy t sharp of doobleh-vay is an inspiring blogger (check out her poetry lessons for chil'ren) and she also creates fine waldorf-y wooden toys for her etsy store, Little Alouette. I just bought a few of her wooden teethers, for CBoy and for our newest baby-girl friend on Earth, so I can vouch that they are solidly beautiful and magically delicious.

In case you have never been on over to etsy, it is a "place to buy and sell all things handmade." In general, I think that we all buy and consume way too much. But supporting independent artists and buying secondhand when we do choose to buy gifts for others or absolutely necessary toys for our tiny ones are practices I can get behind.

All that said, it's lovely to host a giveaway of something that won't be leaching anytime soon. Amy kindly offered to give a teether to a lucky Surely You Nest reader! So leave a comment by Friday 5pm EST and EGirl will play Vanna once again. Also? Please leave some way to contact me in your comment, ie an email address if you're not a blogger, and/or email me with that info at surely you nest at gmail dot com if you'd like to keep it private. And by all means, check out her etsy shop, 'cause she sells wooden blocks and pennants and all sorts of creative items for small people. By the way, I've got no connection to ms sharp other than that of satisfied customer and avid blog readership.

xoxo
Read more!