10.29.2007

Pint Sized Cleaning Trolley for Future Housekeepers



I know that kids like to "help" out around the house. We are supposed to give them chores to do starting at a young age, but to give them a whole Cleaning Trolley Set with Hand Vacuum Cleaner is kind of like taking advantage of them! What next? Little Jr size gardeners equipment?

10.09.2007

D.I.Y Kids


All over the world, parents are raising kids to get active and embrace the "design-it-yourself" spirit of homemade arts and crafts. D.I.Y. Kids encourages young readers to use basic design principles and on-hand materials to express their individuality through more than eighty imaginative projects. The book is divided into four sections—"Graphics," "Toys," "Home," and "Fashion"—each packed with fun ideas for making T-shirts, party supplies, pop-up cards, bracelets, stuffed animals, and dozens of other fun and useful items. Each project is explained with step-by-step instructions and colorful photographs of cool designs and the kids who made them. The projects—rated by difficulty, time, mess, and cost—are intended for ages seven through twelve, but can easily be modified to suit all ages.

D.I.Y. Kids is designed to trigger imaginative play, without requiring fees, teams, or a minivan. It's for parents, teachers, aunts and uncles, friends and babysitters, neighbors and citizens—anyone who wants to create a better world not only for, but also with, the next generation. Most of all, it is for kids who want to make their mark by exercising the arts of design with wit, intelligence, and style.


Ellen Lupton is adjunct curator at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and co-chair of the design department of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She is a Chrysler Design Award winner and the best-selling author of D.I.Y Design It Yourself, Thinking with Type, Design Culture Now, and Mixing Messages.

Julia Lupton is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine. She is the author of Citizen-Saints: Shakespeare and Political Theology and Afterlives of the Saints: Hagiography, Typology and Renaissance Literature and co-author of After Oedipus: Shakespeare in Psychoanalysis.
D.I.Y. Kids

10.08.2007

1950's Russel Wright styled Tea Set


Beautiful modern porcelain tea set features great colors and bold curves reminiscent of 50's classics by Russell Wright. With sleek handles and oval plates,its sure to make a great impression. 13 pieces with cups for four. Set includes a tea pot with lid, a creamer and sugar bowl with lid, four tea cups and four plates.

1950's Russel Wright styled Tea Set

9.19.2007

Sci-Fi Baby Names:500 Out-of-This-World Baby Names from Anakin to Zardoz

Babies are the courageous explorers of brave new worlds so why not name them after the most memorable characters in science fiction? Sci-Fi Baby Names compiles more than 500 distinctive names from movies, books, and television shows into a handy illustrated reference. Choose "James" to honor the captain of the starship Enterprise. Choose "Leia" (or "Leah") to honor the sister of Luke Skywalker. Choose "Neo" to salute the ultra-cool messiah from The Matrix. Hardcore fans can go even further with exotic names like "Barbarella," "Beldar," and "Tron" (just don't send us the therapy bills). Arranged by category for quick reference with chapters such as Power Names, Feminine Names, and Intellectual Names Sci-Fi Baby Names is a terrific gift for expecting parents and a wonderful roll call of our favorite science-fiction characters.

Sci-Fi Baby Names

9.18.2007

Everyone Poops


Okay, so everyone does it--does everyone have to talk about it? True, kids at a certain stage of development may find the subject riveting--but their parents may well not want to read to them about it. Here we learn that birds do it, bees do it, kids with bended knees do it. We are told about big poop and little poop, animals that poop while moving and animals that poop from a stationary position, why and where people poop--in short, we get the scoop on poop. The pictures, far from Gomi's best work, leave nothing to the imagination either. In case the message hasn't sunk in, the final spread presents a chorus line of creatures, backsides forward, each producing poop. Call it what you will, by euphemism or by expletive, poop by any name seems an unsuitable picture book subject--a view not helped by this artless presentation. Ages 18 mos.-4 yrs.

Everyone Poops

9.15.2007

What Could Be More Fun Than Badminton

Great for parties and picnics, the Park and Sun Sports BM-PS Aluminum Badminton Pro Set brings badminton to your own backyard. This set includes an official-size net with 1.5-inch two-piece telescopic aluminum poles and 0.1875-inch guy line set. The Pro set includes a pre-measured boundary, and four 10-inch ground stakes. Not only that, but this set has everything you need to get the game going with four steel racquets, and three A-grade shuttlecocks. The durable equipment bag completes the Pro Set.

Park & Sun BM-PS/ALUM Badminton Pro Set

9.07.2007

Urban Babies Wear Black


Infantus urbanus (defn.): Young mammal raised in city environment. Infantus urbanus love nights at the opera, modern architecture, and fine cuisine. Difficult to spot at night due to their penchant for black clothing.

Urban Babies Wear Black

9.05.2007

The Three Martini Playdate


Mellor, mother of "two darling little angels," tells parents it’s time take back their lives—and their right to have a few cocktails at a child’s midday birthday party. With chapters such as "Bedtime: Is Five-Thirty Too Early?" and "Screaming: Is It Necessary?," the author lays out a plan for parents to enjoy themselves and not be slaves to their children while still offering their kids a warm, nurturing environment. Mellor’s advice has a retro twang, and is always wry and often quite funny, standing in sharp contrast to the guidance normally found in books of its kind. The author urges readers to recruit children to pitch in with household chores ("Three years old is not too soon to start learning the fundamentals of decent vacuuming") and thinks excessively childproofing a home is ridiculous, since kids find a way to open complicated locks anyway ("You might as well festoon all your drawers and cabinets with brightly colored flags that say ‘Hey, You! Kid! Fun and Danger in Here!’"). Mellor’s guide will surely be a boon to parents in need of some "grown-up time."

The Three Martini Playdate

9.03.2007

Vintage Travel Trailer Kit


Use your imagination with the many uses for the unfinished kit...deluxe vacation retreat, hot dog stand, 50s ice cream stand, newlyweds home! Made from 3.6mm die-cut punch-out plywood construction. Comes with windows and door with trim, optional ledge and dowel for propping open large window, hitch, jacks, wooden wheels and pieces for two chairs and table (can be upholstered and/or painted). Top and back are both open. 22 1/2''W (plus 5 1/2'' hitch) x 9 3/8''H x 8''D
Vintage Travel Trailer Kit

8.30.2007

Waterproof Camcorder Goes Under Water!






Sanyo Xacti Waterproof Camcorder
The new waterproof Sanyo Xacti E1 camcorder captures stunning digital video and beautiful 6-megapixel photos -- on land and even underwater!

Practically four cameras in one, the Xacti E1 allows you to shoot both photos and video at a park, birthday party, or virtually anywhere else on dry land. And, when the opportunity presents itself, you can also shoot both photos and video while snorkeling or while just playing around in a swimming pool. This powerful little camcorder easily records both full 640x480 resolution video at 30 frames-per-second and high-resolution 6-megapixel digital still images, all of which are handily stored to a standard SD or SDHC flash memory card (sold separately).

8.09.2007

WeeRide Kangaroo Child Carrier

One day about 15 years ago a father took his young son with him for a ride on his bicycle. He had purchased a rear mounted bicycle child carrier and secured his son into the seat and pedalled off. Within ten minutes his son was screaming complaining he couldn't see anything and he was bored and wanted to stop. Once removed from the seat he refused to go back in. The father was forced to carry home his son and push the bicycle. He then concluded that their must be a better way to introduce his son to cycling something he desperately wanted to share with him.

Being a carpenter by trade he quickly created a wooden child seat carrier that mounted in the center of the bicycle, in front of the rider and over the bicycle's center of gravity. His son loved it and so did everyone else who saw it.

WeeRide Kangaroo Child Carrier

7.25.2007

Razor Pocket Mod Miniature Euro-Style Electric Scooter



The Razor Pocket Mod Betty is a miniature electric euro-style scooter. The Pocket Mod Betty can travel up to 10 miles on a single charge. At speeds up to 15 MPH the Pocket Mod Betty leaves similar bikes in its dust. Scaled down classic scooter design carries riders up to 220 lbs. Variable speed, chain driven motor for maximum power transfer. Large 12" pneumatic tires and rear suspension for a smooth ride. retractable kickstand.

Razor Pocket Mod Miniature Euro-Style Electric Scooter

Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera for Boys and Girls


Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera for Boys


Here's a real digital camera that's tough enough-and easy enough-for kids to use. What a perfect way for kids to get creative by taking, viewing and even printing their own digital pictures! Kid-Tough Digital Camera Features:1.3 color LCD preview screen that lets kids instantly see the pictures they've takenTwo-eye viewing which makes it easy to look through the viewfinderSturdy, dual handgrips for a steady shotBig buttons that make it easy for little hands to useControls are simple for kids to understand - no reading requiredBest of all, it's built with a durable, kid-tough designAdditional Features Include:Built-in auto flashStores over 60 pictures, with 8 MB built-in memorySD memory card slot for increased storage capacity (SD card sold separately)640 x 480 resolutionUSB cord for computer connectionCD of digital camera softwareWrist strapCamera is compatible with Windows 2000 or higher and MacIntosh.Requires 4 AA alkaline batteries (not included) and includes 1 lithium battery. Photo Software Requirements:OS Windows 2000/ME/XP Hardware: Pentium Class 500 MHz processor or better 75 MB hard drive space recommended Camera is approx. 5 1/2 W x 4 HAge: 3 years +

Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera for Girls

5.06.2007

4 Pc Peeling Fruits Set


Peel a banana, unzip an orange or shuck an ear of corn-just like the real thing! Made of durable, easy to clean vinyl, these realistic produce open through a variety of clever methods to reveal their insides. Note the Strawberry and Broccoli do not open. Ages 2+
dimplesanddandilions

Make a Kiddy Kitchen Using an Old Entertainment Center


Spotlightmama at Craftster shows us how her and Mr. Spotlightmama made a kiddy kitchen using and old entertainment stand. So very creative!

"First we took off the two cabinet doors, removed the hardware, and covered them in silver contact paper ($10, Home Depot - one roll should be enough) to give it a stainless steel look. Then we moved the handle on one of the doors to open from the top (instead of the side) so it was more like an oven. Most entertainment centers have magnets on those doors, so you should not have an issue keeping the door closed. We used all the original hardware, so this was free.

Next, we cut a hole where the TV originally sat and placed a silver mixing bowl (free from our kitchen) to use as a sink. We bought a real faucet ($7, Home Depot) to install behind it. Ideally you would have a jig saw to cut a hole for the sink, but we actually used a drill to cut out the hole since we didn't have a jig saw. We measured just below the rim of the bowl, cut a hole, and placed the bowl in the hole - we didn't need glue or anything. Same thing for the faucet - measure, cut, and screw into place.

For the stove, we removed the glass door and covered the bottom part in the same silver contact paper. For the burners, we spray-painted plastic lids (sour cream lids for the small burners and large, Sam's size cottage cheese lids for the large burners) with a high-gloss black spraypaint. We screwed a flat-head screw through the middle to screw it into the wood. The knobs were given to us for free by a friend who was trashing her stove. If you can't find a stove that is being trashed, you can buy the knobs at Home Depot for $15. We used a large bolt and washers to attach the knobs in place so they could still turn. We added the oven knob directly to the oven door using a bolt and washers.

For the back, we bought two pieces of heavy cardboard from Home Depot ($5) and covered one with floral contact paper ($3, KMart). We attached it to the back of the entertainment center using screws and lots of nails. If your entertainment center still has a backing, you can use that instead (ours was totally trashed). To give the appearance of a real backsplash, we raised the bottom piece a few inches and hung it in front of the top, wall-papered piece. We painted the portion that would hang above the stove black to match the rest of the stove. If I were to do it again (and I had a truck), I'd probably just buy one larger piece to hang. Working with two pieces was a major pain. You can buy a really big piece of the pressed board for $8 and have it cut at Home Depot and then contact paper the whole thing.

The long beam that runs the width of our entertainment center was totally chipped, so we also covered that in silver contact paper. For decorations, I bought push lights ($4, Home Depot - not yet hung as they need batteries) to hang above the sink and stove, a kitchen mat that matches the backsplash ($0.60, KMart), and two metal baskets to hold all of her dishes and utensils ($10, KMart). Total cost for materials and accessories - $40."
Craftster

Captains Mistress


"Although corporates have produced successful modern copies of this game such as MB games Connect 4™, the truth is that it goes back in history at least a few centuries and it has also been known generally as 'four in a row' or 'four in a line'. The game was taken on his exploration voyages by Captain James Cook and he became so engrossed with it during the long periods at sea that his crew gave it the name 'Captain's Mistress', a name which has lodged itself in history.

Players take turns to drop a disk down a chute, the aim being for a player to get four disks in a row, diagonally, horizontally or vertically. Masters Traditional Games has no less than 4 giant Captains Mistress games for you.

Connect 4


At last, the official Giant Connect 4 game - as licensed by Hasbro.

The game is tough and hard-wearing - ideal for children, public events or corporate entertainment. The game board stands 110cm (43 inches) tall, is packed in a strong cardboard box and is strikingly colorful. The game includes 42 colorful plastic disks."

Mastergames

Free Kid's Castle Playhouse Plans

Build your kid an awesome castle using these free plans!
Buildeazy.com

3.14.2007

Kinderkamer Accessoires




Mijnes designs accessories, especially for children’s rooms (also a little bit for grown-ups). These high-quality items are all individually designed and handmade, which makes each special. Everything by Mijnes is handmade, a lot of time goes into each product and they are of exceptional quality.
mijnes

2.07.2007

Joom's Springbuck ride-on toy

Joom's Springbuck ride-on toy, "At last, the bushveld meets the rocking horse meets the pogo stick.".