Handmade dolls

I love this handmade doll! I have a soft spot for multicultural baby dolls and this one is made by Magic Rainbow Handmade Dolls, a talented lady in Queensland. She makes all kinds of dolls and will do them by request - style, colour and size - as well.

I found her on Facebook and you can purchase the dolls from her Etsy shop. This one is a Waldorf doll and cost about $167 (yes it's sold - it was a custom doll) - so the pricetag is not for the fainthearted - but Rainbow Magic makes simpler dolls for considerably less. It features organic cotton knit skin, weighted with sand for a natural feel and is a lifesize newborn, plump and cuddly. She even creates Vegan dolls featuring all organic plant fibres! Now that's specialist!

Hand crocheted baby rattle

This little character caught my eye immediately! I love the soft look of these sweet crocheted rattles and, of course, they look super safe to me, with no buttons or hard pieces that might detach. The colours used are soft and warm.

The maker is Kia Hing Fay who lives in Queensland. She is part Scandinavian, part Chinese and part Scottish! She produces her toys according the the Danish idea of 'hygge' - homely, warm and loving things. Kia also produces and sells original child-friendly applique kits and unique hand-carved stamps. A very clever lady!

The rattles are made from Australian merino wool and felt, and use hand embroidery for the features. The rabbit rattle above can be purchased online or globally through Kia's Etsy shop for AU$39.

Fabric food

Stunning little sets of imaginary play food for cooking and tea parties! Life's a Stitch is a new discovery for me.

Sydney sisters and mums Sarah and Julia handmake all their gorgeously detailed fabric food in the Blue Mountains NSW.

The stitching creates beautiful detail of seeds and patterns in the food. I'm very fond of the biscuits too but the above is a nice healthy one for kids. I also love the sushi roll!

The above sells for $40 plus P&H. The fabrics and trims used are acrylic, wool, viscose and cotton. You can buy off their website. Happy shopping!

Spinning Tops

You might have noticed my penchant for toys of yesteryear!

This beautiful spinning top is a reproduction of a famous Bolz German top from 1880, rediscovered in 1948. The modern addition of a plastic foot makes it slightly easier for kids to use. Bolz tops are renowned and you'll remember them from your own childhood (see this video of a Bolz top for a 30 second trip down memory lane).

The image painted onto this top is from the fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Toy Emporium is a Perth based business selling traditional toys - none of your flashing lights or buzzes and beeps. Very much a girl after my own heart! This top is selling for $26.95 off Toy Emporium's website.

You can find Toy Emporium on facebook too.

Le Petit Chef (junior chef) goody bag

This cooking-themed goody bag contains real wooden cooking utensils in a mini size and a beautiful handmade retro child-sized apron.

It consists of a clear PVC bag, tied with satin ribbon and a handmade tag, and containing:

• Handmade child's apron
• Wooden cutting board
• Wooden spoon
• Whisk
• Wooden pestle
• Wooden mallet (for flattening)
• Wooden rolling pin
• Wooden squeezer/presser utensil

This goody bag is highly visual, very chic, and a perfect gift for the budding cook or Junior Masterchef enthusiast! Available now from $25.90 from JordyandLu.com.au.

*Special Deal: JordyandLu.com.au is offering a free 4x rolls of cookie dough and free set of cookie cutters for each 10 Le Petit Chef bags ordered. .. Perfect for a cooking birthday party!

Matryoshka doll accessories

I'm kind of excited about these because I actually gave them their individual names! :-)

I adore those gorgeous Russian nesting dolls (often mistakenly called Babushka dolls) and they have become very trendy as children's clothing and accessory icons of late. There are other producers of such accessories around but I especially like these unusual, bright colours (the mint colour above is my favourite).

Joallie Petit calls them "Mamie clips" (click to her website to see their individual names). This one is handstitched felt at 5.5cm long and Jo has attached it to a fully lined baby snap clip. Jo is a Perth Hills handmade accessories crafter. She sells at Perth Upmarket, has a number of stockists or sells direct off her website.

Felt ball rugs

I really like these felt ball throw rugs for little ones' rooms. In fact, there is something distinctly edible about them.

These are made by Happy as Larry. They aren't cheap ($400 is the roundabout price) but you can see why - each ball handfelted and then colour matched and invisibly stitched together in a perfect pattern. I would say these are worth the money, if you can afford something so lovely for the kids' rooms. They are a firm feel floor rug (they look like cotton balls but are very solid) and the felted balls are imported from Nepal (yak wool, I'm reliably informed!). I'm not sure if the Perth woman who runs this store makes the rugs after importing the felt balls or imports the rugs complete.

You can order these online at her website and I've also seen her at the Handmade Children's Markets.