Kids’ Toys, Christmas Handprint Art, and some BONUS items!!!!

First off, if you are a girl mom, you are going to be over the moon for their entire shop dedicated to Frozen!  Click HERE and make your little girl’s dreams come true!!!!  🙂
There are 67 items to choose from!

And I know these aren’t technically toys, but you can click HERE for the kid’s sport shop that includes kids’ sports fan gear!  I know little boys obsessed with certain teams are always happy to get more sports gear!

Okay…now it’s time for TOYS!

Here’s Carter with one of his Kn friends and our little neighbor friend playing with his Magformers!
I’m telling you that on playdates, with a room full of toys, the boys ALWAYS go for the Magnaforms first.  Girls definitely enjoy them too, but boys go crazy for them.

The box says for ages 6+, but Carter has been actively playing with these since he was about 3 years old.  I would say that most kids need to be at least 4 to follow the directions booklets to build certain things (which Carter loves doing), but he also has just as much just using his imagination and building his own creations!  I’m telling you, these blocks are awesome.
They are definitely in Carter’s TOP 5 toys of all times.
 In fact, he liked THIS set so much, that we got him THIS set also.
Because Magformers alone are awesome, but Magformers WITH WHEELS?  Mind. Blown.

Here’s the official review I left on nordstrom.com (not sure if it’s live on the site yet):
My 6 year old son has 2 Magformers sets.  He got the first set as a Christmas gift from grandparents several years ago, and I couldn’t believe how expensive the set was.  I no longer think that because Carter has now played with this set for 3 straight years in a row! That’s a really long shelf-life for a toy!  It still captures his imagination, and he continues to reach for it often.  He likes playing quietly by himself with these blocks, but also loves to play with them when friends are over (and the friends always think they are so cool!).  The pieces are very durable (my 15 year old nephew likes playing with them too because of the sticking power of the magnets)! And just as much fun as building?  Squishing it all down after you’ve admired your work!  I promise you this, you will get your money’s worth, and you will end up buying additional sets!

Here’s Carter and my PRECIOUS nephew Brody (15 months old) at my parent’s house this last weekend.  You can see Carter has made a headband and necklace with the Zoobs.
He also had a lion whip he had crafted which didn’t make it into the picture.  He may or may not have gotten into trouble for whipping it around like a lion tamer (“because Mom – lion tamers have to tame their lions!) too close to the t.v.

Whenever we travel (to the ranch, to the grandparent’s house, etc.), we always take the Zoobs and the Magformers with us!  We store them in these little $5 containers from Target, and the containers make them very easy to clean up at home as well as super portable and easy throw in the car whenever we need to!

So, if you have any lingering doubt about these Magformers or Zoobs, don’t.
TRUST ME.
These toys are awesome.
Not only do they ignite your child’s imagination, but they also give you a little bit of peace and quiet because they are perfect for independent play.
Now…for mamas…that’s as good of a recommendation as you can get!
Magformers HERE (3 different sets to choose from)/ Zoobs HERE (3 sets to choose from)

After buying the Magformers and the Zoobs, if you still need the other gifts, there are
still lots to choose from!

MORE GREAT GIFT IDEAS:
a)  melissa and doug learn to play xylophone HERE
b) busy bead tree toy HERE
c)  wooden farm train HERE
d)  block and roll push toy HERE
e)  Melissa and Doug wooden doll house HERE
f)  princess stamp set HERE
g)  karaoke system with disco lights HERE
h)  show horse stable HERE
i)  park and go parking garage HERE
j)  Melissa and Doug activity table HERE
k) Melissa and Doug railway set HERE
l)  dinosaur stamp set HERE

Click HERE for kid’s Christmas pajamas if you still don’t have anything for your little one to wear on Christmas morning.
(My little guy just sleeps in his underwear, but I get him Christmas pjs every year so we don’t have to have undy pics!)

So, for a review, just scroll through for amazing toy choices!
Just click on the toy(s) you are interested in!
AND REMEMBER, NORDSTROM HAS FREE SHIPPING AND FREE RETURNS!

Also, you can click HERE for a grouping of BEST SELLERS!
And if you look down the left-hand side bar, you can see toys divided into the following other groups:  boys, girls, wow-factor toys, and toys under $25.

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PART 2:  CHRISTMAS HANDPRINT CANVAS ART

First….

I’m going to be highlighting some canvases that Carter and I have made in the past.

True to form, I found inspiration on Pinterest.
because Pinterest Told Me To!

#clearly

I typically don’t enjoy craft-type activities (perhaps because I suck at them),

 but I really got in to this one!

Can you spot ’em?
(These are pics from our old house….our Christmas decorations aren’t up at the new house yet!)

Do you see the handprint and footprint canvases on the left?
You guys.

I cannot tell you the joy they bring to me each time I look at them.

The Christmas tree is the first one we did in 2011, and it’s probably my favorite.  We did them with my bestie Lisa and her daughter Blakely and had the best time.

 I love all of Carter’s 3 year old little hands stacked on top of each other.
They really tug on this mama’s heart.

How did we do it?
Easy Peasy.
We used a 16×20 canvas for this one to make sure we had plenty of room.
 I just used a pencil to do a rough sketch of about what size I wanted the tree to be.

The two bottom rows are both made up of 5 handprints, I just overlapped them more on the 2nd row.

I then had him do 4 handprints, then 3, then 2, then 1.

I painted the tree trunk and the star.

I drew the light string with a sharpie marker, and the colored lights are…

wait for it….

Carter’s fingerprints.

That was my own idea.
I know.
Every so often, genius strikes.

I was sooooooo flipping proud of myself after the Christmas tree turned out so well, 

I kind of went canvas crazy.  Again, I searched Pinterest for additional inspiration.

I found some snowmen made out of feet and this next little guy was born.  I painted the entire canvas with a mixture of blue and white paint for a nice light blue.  (The canvas needs to be a color so the white snowmen will show up.)

I painted the eyes, mouths, and noses. 

It was cute, but there wasn’t enough wow factor.

And this is where I again totally surprised myself.  I used scrapbook paper for the hats, the earmuffs, and the scarves.

Again. I KNOW!

I’m feeling less and less like I suck with every passing second.

In fact, I pretty much ROCK.

And yes…that’s my foot, Carter’s foot, and the hubby’s foot.

Please take a minute to oooh and ahhhhh appropriately.

 So, now that I had 2, I HAD to have 3.  

You know..the whole odd number design thing came in to play.

So, I went back to Pinterest…..again.

I settled on the handprint Santa, and I think he is precious!

The hat is scrapbook paper, but everything else is painted.

 These are now the very first decorations I put up each year, and the very last ones I take down.

They just straight up make me happy.

I know that I will treasure these each and every year I pull them out!
I imagine I will BAWL MY HEAD OFF the first time I pull them out and he’s not living with us.

Last year I added an additional little angel.  Sigh.

I highly recommend taking time out of your busy holiday to make at least one of these canvases.  You will treasure them for years to come!!!!

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PART 3: BONUS ITEMS!

HOLD ON TO YOUR TOGGLES LADY, BECAUSE THE NAVY PUFFER IS ON SALE!!!!

I mentioned this on facebook last night, but the puffer is now 40% OFF!!!!!

Click HERE for the vest.

For size reference, I’m wearing a medium.

#youhadmeattoggles

Speaking of Hunters….my specific pair isn’t on sale, but a small group just went 30% OFF!
Click HERE for the sale selection!

Do you remember this next cardigan that I featured on Monday?  Well, I wasn’t able to find the exact color online and lots of you were disappointed , but I finally found it yesterday morning!
AND GUESS WHAT?
IT’S ON SALE!
MAKING IT $20.
TWENTY DOLLARS.
Click HERE for the cardi.
For size reference, I’m wearing an x-small.
(similar leopard belt HERE / UGGs  HERE / blanket scarf HERE)
This entire outfit is totally laid back, uber comfy, but still pretty dang cute ifidosaysomyself!

This next item isn’t on sale, but I still thought it was worth posting.
The BIG cardigan trend doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere.

xoxo,
Sheaffer

p.s.
I forgot my Santa Alert for today!
Click HERE for these amazing personalized pouches!  ONLY $16.50!
For $16.50 think TEACHER GIFTS, FRIEND GIFTS, GIFTS FOR EVERY GIRL ON YOUR LIST!  Sadly, many of the letters are already sold out, but maybe you’ll get lucky?!?
Click HERE.

Click HERE for pillows from the same maker that are absolutely darling!

Remember, you can click HERE to see all my 2014 Santa Alerts!

p.p.s.