Kids grow up quickly; so I’m always looking for new ways to celebrate these fleeting days while my little ones are still small. Recently, I came up with a fun project that captures a moment in a child’s life, and creates a unique fashion statement. Here’s how to make a customized silhouette T-shirt that features your precious tots.
Imagine this: a formerly plain white baby onesie jazzed up with a vintage tie applique. Pumpkin Girl, an Etsy artisan and crafty mom (who started sewing at the ripe old age of five), dreamed up this sassy pairing. Pumpkin Girl has a penchant for incorporating vintage materials into her designs, and her totally unique “Tiesies” give new meaning to the term “business casual.” Each Tiesie is an original design, so when your little man sports these couture threads, he’s sure to avoid those embarrassing moments of running into another little dude wearing the same outfit.
Etsy shop owner Munieca‘s delightful paper prints, illustrations, and collages are comprised of animated colors and simple designs, making them perfect patterns for any child’s space. These silhouetted creations are child-friendly, but not childish – meaning parents will love living with them too. The nature-inspired Patterned Birds print (above) is an original Munieca digital illustration. Recycled retro patterns are used for the colored feathers of the birds, and all images are sent by the designer, ready to be framed and displayed. Decorating babies and kids’ rooms has limitless possibilities, but we love unique designs such as Munieca’s, which foster imaginative thinking and cultivate an affinity for the natural world.
Many a parent-to-be has been faced with the quandary of whether to sacrifice their personal design
taste to usher kid-friendly decor into their home with wild abandon. Ballet slipper mobiles and sailboat wallpaper aren’t up everyone’s alley, so why not find the stylish happy medium and liven up baby’s nursery and play areas with items suited to both of your tastes? Modern Dose’s Animal Attraction Pillows bridge the child/adult decor gap as the perfect compromise between cute and hip.
Boopalina & Bebe is a playful, independent children’s eco-lifestyle brand with an offbeat, alternative design edge. Their green collection incorporates organic cotton and bamboo fabrics into lively patterns, pairing the essence of free-spirited youth with an eco-friendly outlook. Today we’d like to share our interview with Boopalina & Bebe founder Kristen Angelo. This interview is the first of our ‘Meet the Maker’ series where Inhabitots writers go behind the scenes to chat with designers about what inspired them to ‘go green’ and push forward on the frontier of sustainable design for families.
As a mother of twin baby boys, I am always looking to invest in toys that can be thoughtfully enjoyed and easily shared by my little ones. I also want my occasional purchases to contribute to something lasting, both in our home and in the world beyond. I was thrilled when a friend and her husband gave us Uncle Goose blocks as a gift for our twins. These gorgeously crafted, old-fashioned A-B-C letter blocks are a perfect example of classic, heirloom toy design paired with modern materials and sustainability. U.S. made and voted one of the “best 100 toys”, parents can be totally reassured that the basics for your green nursery or playroom are taken care of with ‘Uncle Goose’.
Building blocks should be a staple item in every child’s repertoire. Aside from providing good, clean fun, playing with blocks helps develop hand-eye coordination, encourages an understanding of spatial awareness, and exercises the imagination as your child can reach towering new heights via endless block combinations. You don’t have to be square when it comes to selecting the best blocks for your child. There are many eco-savvy options available that will entertain your little ones while leaving a lighter footprint on the planet. Natural Pod’s Tree branch blocks, Craftsbury Kids Jingle blocks, and Sakol Velcro blocks are all artfully designed choices for building your child’s creativity.
Everyone knows that building blocks make fun educational toys for children, but what if block-toys like Legos could extend their life beyond just playtime and provide household use value as well? Glide’s illuminated LED blocks takes the ‘smart toy’ concept to the next level by imbuing their building blocks with LED lights: creating a combination toy / lamp that is as useful as a room illumination as it is fun to play with. These ‘Legos of the lighting world’ are safe, low-power, cool-to-the-touch, and function equally well as a child’s nightlight or a chic living room accent light.
Having a baby who had an intense sucking reflex, we needed to find an alternative to his saliva-coated digits (after approximately 6 weeks of established breastfeeding, of course). Natursutten is the perfect solution in this situation. Made of pure ‘natural’ rubber from the Hevea Brasiliensi tree, it’s a great alternative to plastic. ’Natursut’ means “natural pacifier” in Danish; it boasts no artificial colors, no parabens, and no PVC, phthalates, BPA, or chemical softeners. It’s ideal and truly comforting for both babies and environmentally-conscious new parents.
Make baby bathtime more fun and eco-friendly with these adorable organic cotton wash mitt critters from Under the Nile. What better way to entice a reluctant baby into the bath than with a talkie froggie puppet? And as you would expect from eco baby brand Under the Nile, these washcloth-cum-hand-puppets are as environmentally friendly as they come. Not only are they fair-trade and made from the softest organic cotton and water-based dyes, but the biggest green factor comes from the multi-functionality in allowing you to wash, entertain and play with your baby all with one little charming design.
What’s blue and bright and green all over? The LOVE IS line of organic denim fashions for kids. More than just “shrunken down adult styles” these jeans are designed with 4 essential elements in mind: kiddie comfort, organic ingredients, functional cuts and repair patches – because these jeans are intended to be well worn and LOVED in true sustainable kid style.
When a company trumpets its simple philosophy of being a good citizen, you can’t help but want to know more. More about its manufacturing processes, its employment practices, its impact on the community and in my case, more about its branding and logo design. Luckily ducduc™ Director of Communications, David Harris, made himself available to tell us more.
If you want to know the history of the products you buy for your child, ducduc would be a good place to go. Based in New York City with manufacturing facilities in Connecticut, ducduc is a company that attends to every detail, from sourcing sustainable hardwoods from Northeast US forests to providing living wages and benefits to each of their employees. Among their extensive furniture collections, the
Austin Crib caught our eye for its slim profile and functional flexibility.
LOTS MORE GREAT GREEN DESIGN STORIES HERE... KEEP READING!
