So I’ve got babies on the brain.   A coworker and a good friend both have newborns as of the last week, and I’ve been using them as a reason to buy adorable objects for aaaages now.  So imagine these lovely baby things being opened to choruses of too-saccharine oohs and ahhs, but try not to melt from the overwhelming preciousness of it all.  The toys I was most struck by at Tactile Baby were the rolling animals and the stackable farm animals.

Flower Power Rolling Dog, (4″ high 5″ long and …

Friend of Moue (FoM) Adam became a proud uncle last week and I’ve been looking for an appropriate shop to feature in honor of baby Stan. I’m not fond of many of the indie children clothing companies out there because the goods are rather expensive for something that’s only going to be worn for a relatively short period of time.

But decorations have a much larger shelf life. Fat Cat Designs 6 has lamp-shades and accessories designed to match popular children’s bedding.

Zygopsyche makes this adorable and terrifying collection of plush things inspired by the tribbles from Star Trek. Be prepared to fall in love with something captivatingly ugly.

I don’t have children but I am acquainted with enough parents to know that baby goods can be a costly enteprise. The blankets from Cupcake Cuddles are appealing because they are relatively low and price and the featured patterns- while brightly colored and whimsical- aren’t “babyish”. The blanket could continue to decorate the child’s room (in its natural state or converted into a pillow) for years to come. 
But, deity creature willing, the burp clothes won’t be needed for as long. 

Pink Chocolate Polyester Blanket, $35.00
 

I’m a little unclear whether this technically qualifies as “indie,” but since this is a storybook/toy project that arose from a tiny art show, I’m going to err on the side of rags to riches at worst.  Andi Green designed these “WorryWoo Monsters” originally in 2001 for an exhibition called “Monsters in My Head” and then went on to create storybooks and plush toys for each.  My favorite is here but everyone is sold out.

the lonely little monster, $14.50 (book w/plush toy here for $36)

My cousin Jami gave birth to a beautiful baby boy over the weekend. She and her husband decided to find out the gender in the delivery room so when it came time to decorate the nursery, they painted the walls in shades of green and yellow then added accents of various colors through animal artwork. 
The drawings from Silly Lily Animal Art are similar to what they used. The original pastel drawings have been sprayed to prevent smearing but you should be cautious while framing them because smudging is still possible. 

Monkey …

Poink is a small, one-woman business that sells adorable plush critters with the tagline of “handmade friendship.” Plus, I’ve been playing Spore lately and I think I might try and recreate one or two of these (for the record, no the game isn’t the be all and end all, but I do enjoy making cute critters and running around the place).  The flavour text on these items is charming … I’d like to introduce you to Ramone:  “When you say Ramone’s name, you have to roll the ‘R’. He’s an …

The Particle Zoo sells plush toys based on subatomic particles (with a subset based on antiparticles). A perfect gift for your incredibly nerdy child or physicists that are still children at heart. The toys are handmade and aren’t recommended for children under five because of small parts that are attached. The toys filling depends on the weight of the particle. The heaviest are stuffed with polished gravel, the middle weights with poly beads and the lightest with polyfill. 
The subatomic plush toys are divided into quarks, leptons, force carriers, nucleons and …

I’ve done a few posts now on vinyl wall art for adults and noted how easy they are to apply and remove. Liapela has wall decals for adults in training (aka children) that can make it easier to  keep their room in tune with their ever changing interests. 

Elephant and Mouse Vinyl Wall Decal, 26″ x 18″ for $35.00 

Book bags are as essential to the school experience as pencils. Elementary school aged children get to have some fun with their backpacks shaped like animals or dyed bright colors. By the time they’re in junior high and high school- if things are still as they were ten years ago- book bags are the lead weights they have to strap to them in an uneven distribution that will come back to haunt them years later in the form of early onset back pain. But I digress. 
Ecogear has kid’s book bags …