wood toys for wee ones (and a giveaway)

Imaginationkids, an Artisans Gallery team member, is one of those shops that catches your eye and never gives it back. A year and a half ago, a little girl sitting on my knee spotted Erin's rainbow stacker toy online, and we had our own version a few weeks later. It's still a very important part of creative play at our house.

It is used as a rainbow, tunnel, set of building blocks, doll hats, pieces for color matching games, gnome homes, playground equipment for toy babies, and much more.

Along with the rainbow stacker, Erin creates modern, colorful wooden toys that are wonderful learning tools for imaginative, open-ended play. Mister Rogers once said that the most important work of childhood is play, and I think he's absolutely right (clearly, so does Imaginationkids!).

We have recently embarked upon a series of collaborations together, pairing our SewnNatural work with her wooden pieces to create textured, multi-sensory sets. Our matryoshka nesting dolls quilt is paired with a handcrafted wooden dolls teether. A wood swan teether travels to families along with our organic bamboo swan appliqued blanket. Our newest collaboration is our version of a modern woodland fairy: a gingham dress paired with a toadstool magic wand.

Working together on these projects has been a joy and we look forward to many more projects before the holidays arrive.

Oh, and Imaginationkids is giving away a double set of beautiful wooden toys on our blog here - come visit for your chance to win a large sun stacker (pictured above) and a large rolling hedgehog toy!