Inhabitots

GREAT GIFTS FOR KIDS OF ALL KINDS!

Each kid on your holiday list has a different personality. There are the busybodies, the intellectuals, the sports nuts and the trend sensitive. And as if shopping for these types wasn’t difficult enough, there are also those who further confuse things by changing likes and dislikes as frequently as the wind blows. As such, the Great Gifts for Kids of all Kinds gift guide seen after the jump should help you navigate the tricky retail waters — gift receipts are always a good idea in case your gift recipient changes his/her taste between now and the New Year.

READ MORE >

ANNOUNCING the Winners of the Inhabitots Green Halloween Contest!

DRUMROLL PLEASE….
And now… the moment you’ve all been waiting for! We’re pleased to announce the winners of Inhabitots Green Halloween contest! We had a great time reviewing all of the fabulous, creative, eco-friendly costume entries we received this year, and we thank you all for your participation in livening up this friendly competition by casting many hundreds of votes for our fifteen finalists! Here are the winners of Inhabitots 2009 Green Halloween contest!

READ MORE >

GREEN HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST: Vote For Your Favorite!

We’re thrilled to announce the top 15 finalists of Inhabitots Green Halloween contest! Our esteemed team of judges was thoroughly impressed by the cuteness, creativity and craftiness of each of the DIY costumes that were submitted this year. Our favorite picks include baby creatures from land and sea, beloved fictional characters, some …

READ MORE >

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER! Inhabitots Green Halloween Contest

Halloween has come and gone, but the fun is just beginning here on Inhabitots — and we still have tons of treats to give out! You certainly captured many great snapshots of your little green trick or treaters last night — and now is the time to upload your best photo here to Inhabitots Green Halloween contest to win …

READ MORE >

Inhabitots Link Roundup of the Week: Last Minute Halloween Fun!

Instructables helps you brush up on your photography skills by telling you how to photograph Halloween costumes. The sweet little frog above is an entry to Inhabitots Green Halloween contest — follow suit and upload your favorite snapshot of your child to …

READ MORE >

3 DAYS LEFT to Enter Inhabitots Green Halloween Contest!

Halloween is tomorrow! Before or after all the tricks have been pulled and the treats have been collected, take a photograph of your kids in their fantastic, eco-friendly, DIY costumes and submit them to Inhabitots Green Halloween contest to win a slew of fabulous prizes! We know you’ll be taking tons of photos anyway, so simply upload your best …

READ MORE >

ENTER TODAY! Inhabitots Green Halloween Contest!

Halloween is lurking right around the corner — and it’s time to capture photographs of your little ones in their green costumes and upload their spooky or sweet, getups to our Green Halloween contest! There are many spooktacular prizes to be awarded to the greenest of them all! Prizes include a solar-powered BoGolight flashlight, a $100 gift certificate to …

READ MORE >

Beware of Lead and other Toxins in Face Paints this Halloween

The last thing that should frightening this Halloween is the toxicity level of any aspect of your child’s costume. But recent findings by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics with regard to the toxins found in children’s face paints are downright chilling. 10 out of 10 of the face paint products the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics sent to independent labs for testing contained low levels of the dreaded and extremely damaging neurotoxin lead (there is no safe level of lead exposure for children), and 6 out of 10 of the face paints tested included nickel, cobalt and chromium, all of which may cause lifelong skin sensitization. Scarier still, one of the products was labeled non-toxic and hypoallergenic, but actually contained some of the highest levels of lead, nickel and cobalt. Read on for safer face paint alternatives.

READ MORE >

REMINDER! Enter Inhabitots Green Halloween Contest!

Halloween is this Saturday! We know you and your green ghouls and boys are gearing up for the big day, and you can get a jumpstart on the celebration by getting all suited up and entering the Inhabitots Green Halloween contest! Have your kids do a dress rehearsal in their clever, homemade Halloween costumes, snap some photos and upload …

READ MORE >

Franny & June’s Eco Felt Halloween Baby Shoes

Baby may not be quite ready to take to the streets for trick or treating adventures, but she can still get in on all the creeping and crawling action of Halloween in Franny & June’s festive baby shoes. Designed for infants and pre-walkers, these spooky or sweet slip-ons …

READ MORE >

Inhabitots Link Roundup of the Week: Halloween Crafts for Kids!

Little Lovely scares up a sweet Halloween town crafted from milk cartons, newspaper and candy!

Make and Takes revisits past Halloween crafts to deliver a bounty of festive ideas from creeeeepy candy houses to pointy witch hats.

Sarah Jane Studios features adorable homemade Halloween decor ideas kids will love: spooky portraits, butterfly floral arrangements, and bats in the doorway!

LilSugar shows us how to …

READ MORE >

Homemade Green Halloween Costumes for Babies

Now that we’ve announced our Green Halloween contest, it’s time to whip up a super cute, eco-friendly costume for your baby! Craft Apparent blogger and crafting mommy extraordinaire Vickie Howell offers four clever costume ideas for babies, all designed with white snapsuits (onesies) as the base. Shown from left …

READ MORE >

ANNOUNCING THE INHABITOTS GREEN HALLOWEEN CONTEST!

CALLING ALL GREEN BABY BOYS AND GHOULS!
This Halloween, instead of tricking yourself into thinking that a store-bought getup for your tot is the way to go, why not treat your little one to the fun and creativity that comes with making your very own costume together? Transforming old knick knacks that you have around your house into the perfect costume …

READ MORE >

RuMe Junior Reusable Bags For Kids

Pint-size trick-or-treaters and Mommy’s (or Daddy’s) Little Helpers alike will appreciate RuMe’s reusable totes designed for the younger set. Made from durable, water-resistant polyester, and emblazoned with adorable graphics (rocket ship, cupcake, peace sign, elephants), the fairly made bags are capable of holding up to 30 pounds—that’s a lot of candy!

+ RuMe Jr. Reusable Bag $10.75 at Delight.com

+ RuMe

Via Celebrity …

READ MORE >

Matchstick Garden Creates Green Thumb Magic

If you have been looking for a clever way to spark your little one’s interest in gardening and the great outdoors, consider these super-cute matchstick garden sets that are not only eco friendly but biodegradable, too. Each paper matchstick holds the secret to green thumb success with a savory mix of seeds …

READ MORE >

Spooky Halloween Recolored Crayons – A Perfect Alternative to Sugary Treats

They’re baaaaack! Every Halloween Talk Tags unveils the latest edition of their Recolored Halloween Crayons! These festive crayons come in spooky shapes including a witch’s cauldron, a spider web, a bat and a mummy. Made with broken bits of non-toxic crayons that have been remelted together into fun Halloween shapes, …

READ MORE >

Last-Minute Halloween Costumes Via Wacky Baby Knits by Alison Jenkins

Halloween revelers… rev up your knitting needles! Even though the Great Pumpkin is due to rise up from his pumpkin patch in a couple of weeks, you still have time to whip up a homemade costume with only a pair of sticks and some yarn. Grab a copy of Wacky Baby Knits by Alison Jenkins for 20 knitted designs that can double as Halloween costumes for tots—as well as cute and cozy winter apparel all season long.

READ MORE >

Jack on Black Reusable, Personalized Halloween Bucket

In my day, an eco-friendly trick or treat bag was a pillowcase from the linen closet. Lucky for this generation, an adorable, stylish, green spin on the candy catcher is up for grabs in the handmade, 100% cotton canvas Jack on Black Halloween Bucket! This black and white fabric bucket features an orange felt jack-o-lantern on the front, and a black felt bat lurks on the inside. A bright orange candy-corn striped lining completes the festive look of the bucket, which may be reused year after year for candy collecting!

READ MORE >

6 Healthier Halloween Eco-Treats for Kids (No Tricks, We Promise!)

It’s the most frightful night of the year. Ghouls and goblins, pirates and princesses, mischief makers galore will be haunting your doorstep in pursuit of sweet, delectable offerings. But if high-fructose corn syrup, artificial preservatives, and other spooky chemical additives make your skin crawl, here’s a grab bag of organic and all-natural treats that will appease the most ravenous fiend, no tricks necessary.

READ MORE >

Oeuf’s Animal Hats & Booties Show Us Where the Wild Things Are

We now know where the wild things are — they live among us — the diminutive dwellers in our households, underfoot in Oeuf’s gorgeously crafted 100% Alpaca Animal Hat & matching Booties Collection. The green dragon, the black wolf and the snowy white bear will keeps kids toasty, festive and spooky for Halloween and for this Friday’s premiere of ‘Where the Wild Things Are.’ Babies and children can suit up for the year’s most anticipated children’s film by donning any creature set from this new, seasonal collection from Oeuf.

READ MORE >

Brian Dettmer’s Ghastly Recycled Cassette Tape Skulls & Skeletons

Some people look at old cassette tapes and see lampshades – others, coin purses. But few see anything as frightfully fun as what Brian Dettmer sees — skulls! That’s right, the Atlanta-based artist recycles, melts, and melds the musical relics into eerily realistic “skullptures,” including a full human skeleton made of 180 tapes! Talk about being a bone-a-fide upcycler…

READ MORE >

Oeuf’s Bat Hats are Halloween’s Coziest Accessories

From sweet winged baby angel slippers to warm and fuzzy mittens and sweaters, green kids furniture and clothing maker Oeuf (which means “egg” in French) is always coming up with unique products that show us how fun being eco-friendly can be! Their cozy new Bat Boy and Bat Girl hats are no exception. Perfect for Halloween shenanigans, this knit beanie comes in both “bat eyes” and “mask” styles and can be worn atop your little Trick or Treater’s head or over their eyes, Hamburgler style. In fact, you could easily build costumes right around the Bat Hat, and since your child will continue wearing it throughout the winter, it’s a great alternative to a cheap polyester throwaway costume from a big box retailer.

READ MORE >

Inhabitots Link Roundup of the Week: Gearing Up for Halloween!

…

READ MORE >

Eco-Friendly Halloween Costumes from Tom Arma Signature Collection

Not all parents have time to whip up crafty, homemade eco-friendly Halloween costumes for their kids. But that doesn’t mean parents have to sacrifice being green by purchasing a ready-made Halloween costume. The Tom Arma Signature Costume Collection offers a large array of super cute Halloween styles for tots — from creatures such as frogs, ladybugs, elephants, dinos and white tigers, to classic holiday inspired costumes including gingerbread tots, pumpkins, and snow babies. Most importantly, Tom Arma costumes feature many eco-friendly attributes that most store bought Halloween costumes lack. Read on for the green details!

READ MORE >

Eco Felt Monster Onesie Set for Baby’s Green Halloween

Who better to banish the nighttime frights than a cute and harmless monster friend? The ECO Felt Monster Onesie Set from Morado Designs includes a sweet, certified organic cotton onesie with a recycled felt monster applique for your baby to wear, as well as a fun monster stuffie made of recycled felt that will be a friend to your child for years …

READ MORE >

Inhabitots Link Roundup of the Week

Minor Details unveils the modern indoor treehouse she designed for one lucky NYC tot. That indoor swing and slide will certainly come in handy during the winter! We want to schedule a playdate at this pad.

Babyccino gives us the heads-up about art classes for wee ones at the Children’s Museum of the Arts in Manhattan.

LilSugar …

READ MORE >

NEW! INK+WIT Aesop’s Fables Hare and Tortoise Poster

Tara Hogan, the delightfully creative mind behind INK+WIT, has debuted an adorable new poster based on her original drawing, interpreted digitally, and featuring two memorable characters of childhood. Coming your way this autumn: Hogan’s new Aesop’s Fables Hare and Tortoise Poster, which captures all the fun of the classic fable. The poster is printed with soy ink on 100% post consumer recycled paper, and is eco-packaged in a recycled Kraft tube mailer. The print is available for pre-order right now, and even better news, it’s shipping out mid September with a FREE pack of  5 spooky Halloween postcards. The “Halloween Crow” postcards are 4×6, made with Chipboard Kraft paper and soy ink, and are suitably scary for happy Halloween greetings.

READ MORE >

NEW! Oeuf’s Sustainable, Affordable Robin Collection

Oeuf has officially launched their greenest line of furniture to date: the Robin Collection. One of the most exciting details about the line is that it’s both eco-friendly and eco-nomical! Made in Europe from 100% sustainable wood and 100% natural water-based paints, the Robin Collection features a crib, dresser and a toddler bed conversion kit which will keep your babe snoozing in sustainable, affordable style from infancy to five years old. Let’s talk money savings after the jump!

READ MORE >

Paper Animal Masks from Zid Zid Kids

What will your child be today? Intriguing Lion, Demure Bluebird, Clever Giraffe, or Lucky Elephant? With Zid Zid Kids’ opulently illustrated animal masks, the animal kingdom is his or hers to command. Quick and easy props for pretend play, the masks are made from recycled paperboard, but are sturdy enough for monkeying …

READ MORE >

DIY: Free Downloadable Paper Foldables by Bryan Green

For DIY fun on the fly, you can’t beat Bryan Green’s free downloadable papercraft toys, which include a kitty with its head in a cone, a necktie-wearing sheep, and a bull pinata that can be filled with real candy. Assembling this three-dimensional cast of quirky characters couldn’t be easier: Simply print, cut, fold, tape, and voila, you have a great rainy …

READ MORE >

BECK WINS THE ECO-CUTEY TITLE!

Drumroll please….
And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for! We are thrilled to announce that…
Beck has won our Eco-Cutey Photo Contest!

READ MORE >

Children’s Cork Blocks Perfect for Creative Play

Have a child who loves to create and build or loves puzzles and designs? Then these all-natural cork building blocks, which recently debuted at the famous Milan Furniture Fair, would be perfect. With 16 different blocks and three different shapes, your child can create practically anything from their imagination or follow the patterns included with the set. These soft and lightweight Tono-8 Cork Blocks are colored with natural paints and make a wonderful alternative to wood blocks painted with toxic paints.

READ MORE >

READER’S CHOICE Top Ten Stories of 2008

THE VOTES ARE IN! Yesterday we listed the most popular Inhabitots stories of 2008 (according to traffic and comments), and asked you to weigh in and vote for your favorite story. Well, the votes are rolling in and a clear winner seems to have emerged. With 18 votes and a sizable lead over all the other stories listed, our post on Matthew Carden’s food photography is clearly the winner in terms of reader’s choice. We’re not sure if this is due to the controversy in the comments over the origins of his work, or if this just means that you guys are a bunch of art lovers, but either way Matthew Carden takes the cake. Read on to find out which stories Inhabitots readers found most scintillating in 2008….

READ MORE >

TOP TEN MOST POPULAR STORIES OF 2008

2008 has been a good year for Inhabitots. After all, it’s the year this bouncing eco baby blog was born! Inhabitots is still very new, but in the five months we’ve been around, we have covered a lot of territory in the world of eco design for kids. From maternity wear to monster dolls, diapers to bike seats – if the environment and kids were involved, we were there. Here were the most popular Inhabitots stories …

READ MORE >

ANNOUNCING…The Green Halloween Winners

Drumroll please…. And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the announcement of the winners of our Inhabitots Green Halloween Contest! We had a ton of really great creative entries this year. From crafty home decor made from old aluminum cans, to awesome costumes, to clever Halloween treats – the ingenuity of our readers was on full display in this contest. Because the entries were so varied, we’re going to give out a number of different types of prizes instead of just a traditional 1st – 5th place. Without further ado, here are the winners of the Inhabitots Green Halloween Contest…

READ MORE >