While browsing through a crazy amount of possible commercial toys for my kids, I decided to stick with what I love, Handmade toys! My son is always asking, or getting memory games and they usually are simple cards with cartoon characters, which are usually lost or destroyed in a few months if not days.  I haven’t ever felt to excited about them for the simple reason that besides triggering a little memory they don’t provide the kids with any message to build their minds or their spirits.

Educating our kids is not only about feeding our kids’ brains with a boat load of colors, numbers and images, it is about giving them content that is also packed with an emotion, a purpose and a lesson to build the stepping stones of their future.

When I found “The Whimsy Tree” I almost fell of my chair out of excitement! They have the most beautiful and well crafted Handmade Wooden Memory Games I have ever seen!

Leaf ID Memorty Card Set

I received as part of a Product Review Process a Memory Game Set and it is simply breath taking!  Every piece is made with a great attention to detail and the most important thing for my family, it has a purpose, an emotion attached to it, and it can be used in many different educational purposes. The best of all, it can become a family heirloom that can be given through generations!

Today, I would love to introduced to all of you Brian, the hands and heart behind The Whimsy Tree, an Etsy shop with an Ecological Twist and lots of character!  This is Brian’s story:

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1. How did you start working on such beautiful handmade toys? Who taught you the art?

I have always enjoyed creating things.  I have been drawing and painting since high school, and woodworking was always an interest of mine.  The only thing keeping me from it at that time was the money to buy tools and the space to do it.  Once I had those things I started to focus on developing my skills.  I took classes through my local community college to learn the fundamentals of woodworking.  I also spent hours and hours studying and practicing different techniques.  As well as talking to and learning from more experienced craftsmen.

2. How do you choose your materials and design?

My background in environmental education plays a big part in how I choose my materials and designs.  All of the things that I create for my business The Whimsy Tree either directly  represent nature or are inspired by nature.  I work exclusively with wood.  I love the endless  possibilities and varieties of wood, and I believe that when harvested responsibly, it is a    sustainable alternative to other toys which are often made out of plastic.  I also try to use salvaged wood whenever possible.  For example, my barkless building block sets are made out of salvaged European Buckthorn.  This is a specie that I have become intimately familiar with while working for a conservation organization.  This shrub is a non-native invasive species that   wreaks havoc on local natural areas.  Conservation organizations work hard to cut this shrub down to give the native species a chance to survive.  I salvage this wood from the cut down piles before they are burned,  and turn this harmful species into something that I hope will be enjoyed for many years.

3.What are your thoughts when working on these beautiful pieces?

I concentrate on making something that will be cherished and enjoyed.  I try to put the same amount of care and attention into each of the toys that I make.  It makes me happy to think that in the near future the piece I am working on will be bringing a smile to a child somewhere.

4. What would like Parents to understand about Handmade Toys vs. Commercial ones?

Commercial toys are often manufactured over seas and then shipped over to commercial outlets in the United States.  This requires a vast amount of resources, and the toys are typically made using unsustainable materials.  When purchasing a handmade toy you are supporting an independent artist that uses drastically less resources to create their products. You are also getting a toy that was created individually with care and passion.

5. Which is favorite piece ever?

I know I should probably be picking a wood piece, but I have to go with a painting that I did a few years back.  It is an oil painting of a woodland scene that I  gave to my wife as a birthday present.  The scene is from the park where we took our first hike together.  It is probably the best painting that I have ever done, and more importantly, it brings back wonderful memories every time I look at it.

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Thanks Brian for your passion, your talent and for sharing them with all of us!

Take your time to browse through Brian’s Etsy Shop, “The Whimsy Tree”. Please do not hesitate to contact him if you are looking for something you do not see on display. Artisans are usually very inclined to customize orders whenever possible. The Whimsy Tree is also on Facebook, check it out and become a fan!

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Here are the details for the Giveaway

• Giveaway will from Nov. 23 until Nov. 28th
• ONE winner will be chosen via random number generator and announced on Nov. 29, 2009
• You must include your email with your entry or your profile must link to your email address. (Your email will not be used for solicitation.) If there is no email address provided, another winner will be selected.

• Visit “The Whimsy Tree” Etsy Shop and find at least one thing you like about their products. Come back here and comment for your required entry.

• Follow The Whimsy Tree on Facebook back and let me know for an additional entry.
• Subscribe to Chic Mommy USA’s blog. Leave a comment letting me know you subscribed for an additional entry.
• Follow me on Twitter. Leave me a comment letting me know that you follow me on Twitter for an additional entry.
• Follow me on Facebook. Leave me a comment letting me know that you follow me on Twitter for an additional entry.
• Tweet about it! You may tweet about it as many times as you like. Come back and leave a link to your tweet for an additional entry. (Be sure to leave a comment each time you tweet about it so that every entry is counted.)
• Blog about it for FIVE additional entries! Make sure to link to this post in your blog post. Come back and leave me a comment with the link to your blog post post in it. Leave one comment for each of your five entries.

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Have fun, be blessed and bless other families by sharing the  Treasures found at The Whimsy Tree!

Happy Holidays!

Liseth

Chic Mommy USA

Beccijo is the Master Mind behind this wonderful shop.  Her love for nature, imagination and children have taken her through amazing experiences. Now a mother of 4 beautiful kids her Artistic Nature and creativity have found the perfect environment to nurture this gorgeous world of wood, color and imagination.  I love the way she manages to transfer into her toys all those amazing and magical moments experienced among the trees and fairies of her early years.

This is what Beccijo has to say about her inspiration and her toys:

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1. How did you start working on such beautiful handmade toys? Who taught you the art?

Beccijo & The Enchanted Cupboard

About a year ago I bought a blank set of family dolls for my daughter. Then I fell in love with the idea of the fairies. There were plenty of sellers making the family dolls, but no one had full playsets. I love how everyone selling wooden play dolls has a different style, and I work very hard at not competing with someone else’s idea. I really feel my doll series are born from me and my childhood. They are not just dolls, but have their own names, their own personalities on their faces and soon their own stories for others to read in book form.
As a child I was always encouraged to be creative, and I was always making toys for myself or others. I loved all the story books like The Little’s, and how the characters took items and reused them. I started drawing at 11 years old after I picked up some oil pastels and found a true love for art. My parents signed me up for art class at a local art studio. I was hooked and even won some Gold Key Awards from my first art show. I donated many of my art works to charity for auctions and sold my first painting when I was 17. I went off to study Art at college and was awarded, The Most Outstanding Student of Art for 1991, but commercial art was not for me.  At the time there was no other “real” way to make a living from your talent. Now I am a Toy Maker, and that title rolls so sweetly off my tongue. I have found a great passion for toy making and personal custom dolls painted to the likeness of other people. I love the personal side of what I do.

2. How do you choose your materials and design?

Beccijo's Workshop

I like natural materials, and use them as much as possible.   I have tried watercolors on the dolls, but I can not get the level of detail that is so important to me. So, my paints are acrylic, but they are only a small percent of the item. All my supplies are non-toxic and bought from U.S. companies.  Natural items just have a feeling of being “real”. My ideas and designs, as well as stories, come from everywhere and my imaginative childhood. I see the world in a very magical way. I have tons of little note books and scraps of papers with designs and ideas, but never enough time to make them all.
This year I have really focused on finding inspiration for toys for boys. I have 3 boys of my own, so I know there is a lack of good, fun, natural toys for boys. I have challenged myself to step out of my comfort zone.

3. What are your thoughts when working on these beautiful pieces?

Magical Moments

As I paint, the stories flow from my mind and these little miniature worlds come to life. When I am making custom dolls that look like people I think of great happy thoughts, of their dreams coming true. I really believe that “things” can hold a positive or negative feeling. I like to paint after my husband and children are asleep. Late at night the world is peaceful and quiet, and all the work and troubles of the day melt away. I can sit, create, and dream. As the holidays come upon us, I get so excited about all the children that get to open my toys on their holiday morning. I just love seeing the photos customers send me of happy children holding my toys like treasured gems.

4. What would you like Parents to understand about Handmade Toys vs. Commercial ones?

Little Hands Great Imaginations

Toys, playing, and using ones imagination is the foundation to all education. If a child does not grow up using their imagination they lose out on more then just creative play. The life and birth of a toy is just as important as the toy itself. Something created in a lab, poured in a mold, and boxed in more material then the toy has is what most kids will receive. Other children will receive a toy lovingly made by hands of an artist who charge a fraction of the true cost to make the item that will last for generations. With every stitch and brush stroke they put love into each toy. They lovingly bring that toy to life not only for their love of their craft, not only for the child they dream will love it, but for the earth that their creation brings it no harm.  Love and dedication is added into every aspect of their work even the careful packaging, as they get the toy ready for it’s new home.

Although it is wonderful to think globally, when you buy handmade you are supporting America. Do we only want our worth as a Nation to be that we are a nation that stimulates the world economy? If you want to see real economic changes buy local, buy handmade. You are supporting real people, real families, not just a company when you buy handmade.

5. Which is favorite piece ever?

Magical Moments

This is very hard, as they are all so personal to me. The fairies have been with me the longest, and they are who I most would want to bring to life if I could. So I would say if I could miniaturize myself and join the merriment of a midnight dance in The Fairy Ring, life would be good. To sip tea with Lavender and try Petunia scones and wear silly hats like Daffodil would be a real treat.

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Now, here comes the best part!! Beccijo has already been recognized by Nickelodeon! I guess they are going green, eco, and natural! Congratulations Beccijo! We are very proud of you!

To celebrate her creativity, her talents and her shop, we are going to be running a fantastic Giveaway of one her natural toy sets.

Here are the details for the Giveaway

As part of our continuous efforts for bringing to your home the best up-to-date information on Natural Healing, Chic Mommy USA, will be having our friend  GINA LAVERDE (coach for The Body Ecology Diet) visiting for a few weeks. She will directing a wonderful series and we are thrilled to have her over.

Gina is a true example of determination, love and commitment. Through her personal walk and grabbing with all she had to the Power of Knowledge, she has grown into a saavy woman, mother, business owner and a natural healer.  Through her years of learning, she has gather the tools to help her family, friends, and clients achieve better health.

She will help us understand the principles of “The Body Ecology Diet” and importance of cleaning our bodies inside out, of keeping our Gut’s health and helping our body function properly by fueling it correctly.  If we put the wrong thing in, it will work the wrong way.

As many of you know, I have been looking for ways and answers to help my son overcome his constant allergies and the shadow of his asthma, so having her knowledge come to Chic Mommy USA is great honor and I am certainly looking forward to it.

I want to invite all of you to Chic Mommy USA’s show, Holistic Living for Today’s Moms on MOMTV every Friday night at 10:00 PM EST. We will be starting this Friday, October 2nd.  The First topic will be:  GUT HEALTH.

Please, share this with your friends and family. Invite them over, spread the power of knowledge, and help our families achieve better health naturally.

You can find more information on Gina Laverde’s work at:  http://ginalaverde.wordpress.com/ and http://www.healartfully.com/

In my case, it has been tough lately, lots of changes in my life that had force me to minimize and simplify in many ways. All for good I think, but there are still those Special Requests made by our children that simply leave us with a hard choice to make.

Summer has come, School is out but in my case, there is still the crave for something fun to do. My 5 year old son asked me to send him to Summer Camp. He is so active, creative and energetic that I could not bare the thought of keeping him away from his little dream.

There were a few choices: Camp at the Pinecrest Gardens, Church Camp, Nature Camp, or Karate Camp. All of them vary in prices but after all was said and done, we both had to make a decision.

The question! How to choose the right option for you and your child? Here is were the budget issue clashes with your kids’ desires. Personally, I had to sit and first realize How Much Money could I spend before being able to open the discussion. I cut here and there and came up with an amount. Then sat down with my son and we review our options. He thought about it for a while because he could not make his mind, and finally chose Nature Camp.

It was going to be immediately after his school ended but due our schedules, it had to be as soon as possible. We came to an agreement and stuck to it. The time and money sacrificed in this, WAS WAAAAY WORTH IT!

He attended last week the Magical Heart Summer Day Camp. It is located here in Florida, in a beautiful farm area called “The Redlands” (Homestead, Florida). My friend DeAnna Carlile runs it out of her beautiful 5 acre Estate and it could have not been any better. She is a wonderful person filled with so much knowledge. The best part is that she has been homeschooling her kids for the longest time with amazing results. We know for sure that the Camp experience would be backed up by years of practice and experience on all kinds of educational matters.

My son was able to explore Nature at his maximum. He learned about how to care for it and most importantly how to live in harmony with it. He also, learned to use his hands and mind to express while dancing, crafting, painting, and doing yoga. He even learned how to cope with the sudden death of our host’s beloved pet. He had so much fun, that the excitement did not fit his tiny body. Every day was an adventure that was accompanied but beautiful friendships and wisdom way beyond his short life.

My Point in this Story: Times are rough financially for many of us, but if you prepare, budget, and choose wisely, we can still give our children Great Options to learn, enjoy and grow wisely. It does not have to be something big, but we can help our kids achieve at least one of their dreams this summer by working together!

If you are in the South Florida area, you can contact Magical Heart Summer Camp for more information at: deanna@magicalheartyoga.com, otherwise search in your neighborhood websites or Community Papers, I’m sure will find what you are looking for this Summer.

Blessings to all and great Warm wishes!