fawn&forest

New Shirin for Spring & Summer! I always am eager to see what designer Shirin Roubeni has concocted for the new season. Shirin is brave & brilliant.

Shirin has 3 lovely little girl dresses this season (my favorite is the Cotton Plant Puff) as well as this great boy-ish option, the Cockatoo Bird one piece (pictures above, left).

To shop Shirin, click here.

Fresh for spring, Petit Collage has a handful of new goodies out!

I'm partial to the new Forest Friends mobile (above left), though the Folk Farm mobile (above middle) is rather sweet as well. Petit Collage's new Fabric Pennant wall decals are fantastic - their prints are inspired from vintage wallpaper -- cool!

To shop Petit Collage, click here.

What a fun Earth Week celebration this has been at fawn&forest ! In the final hours.... don't forget to:

1. use the earth day discount code (more info here!) 10% off sale ends friday 4/23 at midnight PST.
2. enter to win our fantastic earth day prizes! Click here to enter! Contest ends 4/23 at midnight PST.

BIG thanks & love to the Shambala, the publisher of Let's Go Outside! I Love Dirt! and The Green Hour as well as the lovely ladies of Barley & Birch for being a part of our fantastic Earth Week Celebration!

I am thrilled to have today's guest post by the much loved Sara Sophia of the blog Tout-Est-Des-Roses to round out f&f's Earth Week celebrations! Sara Sophia is a sweet mother to 4 children and lives  purposefully with her family.

Popcorn Snacks!

Snacks for children are NOTORIOUS for their unnecessary amount of packaging---not to mention unhealthy ingredients.  For Earth Week why not try making your own goodies?

Some ideas to fill reusable snack pouches are: banana chips, raisins, homemade oatmeal cookies, and granola.  One thing that we love to make as a family for snacks is popcorn.

Not your average theater-variety either---we make ours on the stove top with coconut oil and organic popcorn kernels! Its super fun for the wee ones to listen to the kernels pop---and leftovers can be turned into caramel corn.

Here is a quick how-to:
First take a 6-quart pan and add about 3 Tablespoons of coconut oil. Turn your stove onto a Medium setting (we dial to 4) and wait for the coconut oil to melt. Once it has melted add three popcorn kernels and wait for ONE to pop. (This way we can make sure that our pan is hot enough to pop the corn--and yet won't toast the outside while the oil heats up, giving it a burned taste.)

Once your one kernel has popped, add the rest (about 1/2 -3/4 cup of popcorn kernels). Place a lid on the top and keep the pan in continual movement (my husband calls this the "Snack Time Shake Down" :P), sliding it back and forth on the oven top. In a few minutes most of your kernels will have popped (listen for the popping to slow down) and you can turn off the heat.

Remove the pan from the stove and make sure ALL popping has ceased before tossing your popcorn out of the pan, and into a big bowl for sharing. BUT, we aren't done yet---put the still warm pan back on the stove and add a bit of butter to melt. Then drizzle this over your popcorn and add salt, pepper, cinnamon, parmesan cheese--whatever makes you happy.

Best snack ever--and takes only about 10 minutes to make.

If you want to go the extra mile and make some super yummy caramel corn for your littles--here is the recipe we tried (and loved!).

So, for Earth Day---and every day--we are making an effort to eat only homemade snacks, which are healthy for us---and we are also making an effort to forgo all that packing, which is healthy for our planet. Will you join us?

Big hugs & thanks Sara Sophia for making our Earth Week celebration extra special. Be sure to visit Sara Sophia's blog Tout-Est-Des-Roses! 

Happy Earth Day from fawn&forest!

1. Be sure to enter our giveaway & win some fantastic earth-loving prizes! Contest ends Friday.

2. A discount? Enter EARTH into the discount field at check out to save 10%. Click here for more info.

3. Catch our fun Earth Day projects here & here.

... and tomorrow we will have another fantastic Earth Day project & recipe for the whole family!

We're celebrating Earth Week at fawn&forest by taking the kids outside & getting creative! Today we have an intriguing outdoor project from Jennifer Ward's fantastic book let's go outside!

Buried treasures. Treasure maps. Excited kids. My older son (pictured above) decided that he wanted his buried treasure to be snap pea seeds. So we set out... to do project #11, Buried Treasures in let's go outside!

"Many animals in the wild bury "treasures" as a means of survival, such as squirrels who stash nuts for the winter. ... Invite your children to bury some "treasure" and then create a map to its location. Invite a friend or family member to follow the map to see if the treasure can be located. If she has never buried anything or created a map before, read on to discover how it's done."

The boys placed their treasure in a tiny metal canister & we set out in the yard looking for the perfect place to dig a small hole for the treasure. We buried our treasure and spent some extra time digging in the dirt, always exciting! Afterward, we spent time drawing maps of our yard -- a great outdoor observational activity. Of course, our map included a giant X where the treasure was buried. Will Dad be able to follow the map and find the buried treasure?!

"Excerpted from LET'S GO OUTSIDE! by Jennifer Ward, (c)
2009.  Published by arrangement with Trumpeter, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston.  www.Shambhala.com."

To purchase Jennifer Ward's book Let's Go Outside! click HERE.

We're celebrating Earth Week at fawn&forest by taking the kids outside & getting messy! Today we have a whimsical outdoor project from Jennifer Ward's fantastic book i love dirt!

How about the birds? All children naturally are amazed by birds. Together learn more about birds & nest building with activity #12 in i love dirt! : Build That Nest. 

"Just how do birds build such incredible nests? After all, when you think about it, they don't have hands. Try to test your own bird's nest making skills. Collect items in nature (such as grasses, leaves, twigs, fiber and mud) that a bird might use to build a home. Try building a bird's best with these materials. How difficult is it? Even though we can use our hands, birds have us beat in the department of nest building!"

The boys & I gathered simple materials found around the yard & home: whirly twigs, a bit a fuzzy string, fiber lint from the dryer, and leaves. Gather a lot of supplies, as you'll need much much more than what is pictured above!  We spent time together out in the grass trying to make our bird's nest. And while we may not have made anything bird-worthy, we giggled & had fun while working together, learning about birds & 'how they get cozy' in their nests.

"Excerpted from I LOVE DIRT! by Jennifer Ward, (c)
2008.  Published by arrangement with Trumpeter, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston.  www.Shambhala.com."

To purchase Jennifer Ward's book I love Dirt! click HERE.

Happy Earth Week here at fawn&forest! There are many ways to celebrate the Earth. You can learn how to recycle, conserve and use less water. But do your kids love... the Earth? Love Nature? Connect them! Take time this week to connect your kids to the Earth. To the dirt, to animals, bugs and sunshine.

We've teamed up with Shambhala Publications and Barley & Birch for the most fantastic giveaway ever -- giving away 3 amazing "go outside"  books ( I Love Dirt! Let's Go Outside! and The Green Hour) as well as organic, eco-friendly clothing for your little ones by Barley & Birch. Ten winners in total will be chosen. Click here for more info.

To enter the contest, click HERE.

Fun links :: ideas & projects to do with your kids
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has a site for kids.. and a kids club!
Earth's Birthday Project has lots of info & fun projects.
Plug your kids...... into nature! Children & Nature Network (C&NN).
A super cool site: Nature Rocks! Be sure to click on the Spring Activity Guide (right hand side).

Is your high chair portable? Can it fit in a suitcase? At only 5 lbs, The Minui Handysitt Portable Seat is  the world’s most compact modern high chair! Designed for kids 6 months – 5 years old, the Danish-designed, European-made Portable Seat transforms just about any adult chair into a high chair.

Wow. That is... really handy! The Portable Seat also fits onto it's own chair to create the complete Handysitt High Chair (pictured above, right).

To shop the Minui Handysitt collection, click here.

Frazier & Wing's new mobiles & garlands just make you..... happy all over again! I am constantly amazed with the depth & interest achieved through just paper shapes and color.

The new mobiles are an array of delicious & edgy color combinations. My favorite new mobile just happens to be called Summer -- yellow & turquoise!

And the garlands? Not only are they versatile for your child's room or party, but the garlands also have a fantastic new lower pricepoint ($23 for 72" of fun!).

To see & shop the all the new Frazier & Wing coloways, click here.

Total swoon! Dwellstudio's Owls Sky pattern is not only a best seller here at fawn&forest but has become such a fav, they've come out with a handful of new products in the much loved pattern!

The new products include a coated apron & toddler bib, bottle holder, lunch box and kid's back pack as well as storage bins (not pictured). I don't advocate living in a matchy-matchy world.... but OH! The Owls Sky pattern is just so tempting... and it's color palette is fantastic!

To shop Dwellstudio, click here.

Wow, they've done it again. Barley & Birch has recently come out with their new Spring 2010 collection of tees, lap tees and one pieces! 

Turn your kiddos into secret agent environmentalists with b&b's super organic, made in the USA, digitally printed with water based, toxic-free inks one pieces & tees with obvious earth loving designs!

My favorite? The Jellies tee & the Tricera yellow one piece.

Bravo! To shop the new collection, click here.

Do you hear the the Eicho? The affordable Eicho Collection by Spot On Square not only has an iconic design, but also has amazing features:

Made of 100% recycled/reclaimed, formaldehyde FREE MDF
Finished in 100% bright white NON-TOXIC paint
Member of the JPMA (Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association)
Made in the USA!
Incredibly affordable pricetag: $595 for the crib, $675 for the changer/dresser

To shop the Eicho Collection, click here.

Author Jennifer Ward, a part of April's Forest Finds, will get you & your children outside and in the dirt/trees/fresh air. Both of her books are packed full of inspiring ideas & projects to expand & inspire your time outside.

"When playing outside in fields or a naturally landscaped backyard, children stretch all of their senses, something they do not do in front of a screen. This book helps show how to extend our reach beyond the technological bubble. Here is the potential for much fun, meaningful expeiences -- and a trove of shared stories."  - a portion of the foreword by Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods.

While both books are aimed to engage the entire family, I Love Dirt!  is geared toward 4 to 8 year olds, while Let's Go Outside! will get 8 to 12 year olds excited.

To purchase, click here.

Happy April! Happy Spring!

April's Forest Finds are refreshing. Honeyami's simple, organic cotton bedding. The "get outside" ideas & inspiration from Jennifer Ward's book and the reassuring process of family creativity in Amanda Blake Soule's books. 

To shop this month's Forest Finds, click here.