Sara from Sarita Baby actually calls these taggy giraffes, but I like gourmet better. Because this is one beautiful, handmade, funky fabric-encased stuffed toy.

Here is our Gigi helping me work today. I  boldly emailed Sara and asked her to send me one to review, because I’ve coveted them for ages at various shows she’s been at — and had to show them off to you. Gigi the giraffe is for my girls, of course. Of course.

Do you see the sweet fabric? The clever use of ribbon for the mane and tail, which double as sensory pieces, loops and handles? They are the perfect size to snuggle with, and adorable to adorn a crib or bed of any age child.

Sara is a work-at-home-mom in Oshawa who sews while her two kids sleep, in the sewing room her “wonderful husband was so generous to make” for her. Her funky baby accessories — including bibs, blankets, change pads and tooth fairy door hangers — are made with designer fabrics.

Check out Sara’s etsy site to find the three Durham Region stores you can purchase these giraffes at, for just around $20. Or, you can buy off the etsy site, or email Sara for a custom order at sb13sarita@yahoo.ca.

Want to win your own giraffe? (For your kid(s). Of course.) We’ve got a gorgeous green one that needs a warm spot in a Durham Region Baby reader’s house. To win, take a spin through Sara’s store, then leave a comment here with your favourite Sarita Baby creation. We’ll draw a winner on Thursday!

For her birthday from Jen O. et. al., Lucy received a gift certificate for Build a Bear. So a few weeks ago, off we went to the Oshawa Centre — just the two of us –  for a girly morning with Jen and Eirinn.

Making the animals is quite the thing: There’s a stuffing machine (Lucy was scared of because it makes so much noise) and a big production with sewing a heart inside and kisses. Then a washing/grooming station (which Lucy was also scared of), and TONS of clothes and accessories. The place is a bit of a female-sentimental-pusher, reminding us how much we loved playing and dressing animals as kids. I can’t believe I paid $12.50 for an outfit for a stuffed CAT. I’ve never spent that much on an outfit my own kids! But Lucy loved it. Here is she is with “Pink Star” and Eirinn with “Dorothy Lamby Inch Kinch” (go visit here for the story on that one…).

We ate lunch, shared frozen yogurt (yes, Lucy DID eat an entire small on her own, eating all of us under the table, as they say), then Lucy and I stopped in the bathroom for an impromptu photo shoot.

I’d forgotten, these past months of chaos with Alice, how much fun Lucy and I have on our own. She is such a bright, funny and sensitive little girl. The whole day was just wonderful, from her uninhibited excitement to holding hands in the mall and cracking jokes with Eirinn and Jen. My heart swelled all day.

The end of us did happen. But there’s no reason we can’t recapture it every now and then.

“I have a confession to make,” I told my friend Kelly the other week.

“Ooohhh, what?” she asked, leaning forward in anticipation.

“You know those Colour Wonder books? With the mess-free markers?”

“Yep, with the Dora and Tinker Bell and Disney Princess and Cars books?”

I eye Kelly suspiciously. Her mouth is twitching.

“Do you…?”

“Colour in them after your kid has gone to bed?”

“Gahhhh! You do it, too!”

There is something soothing about colouring, isn’t there? I find it incredibly therapeutic. I don’t know why we stop colouring as we get older.

The ol’ box of crayons and thick line-drawn books — while still entertaining — are things of the past in the colouring world, though. Now we have Colour Wonders.

Jen O. first introduced me Lucy to them in the summer. The markers show up only on the special Crayola paper. Remember those books we had as kids, where that clear marker would reveal hidden pictures and words on special paper? Like that, only colouring book-based, with over-commercialized characters kids love.

Lucy calls this book “Sleeping Julie.”

They have been a lifesaver for me while nursing, because Lucy can colour freely without any worry of marking up the floor or walls. She loves flipping from page to page and revealing little sections at a time. Then going back and filling in more white spots. I love the pages that have hidden drawings underneath (you can see some in the photos here).

On more than one occasion I have picked up a marker and coloured a page when Lucy’s having bath with Eric, or has gone to bed and I’m cleaning up. As a surprise for her, of course. I do a lot of the backgrounds. I’ve even caught Eric intently working on an octopus while Lucy was trying to turn the page (“Just wait, Honey, I’m not done!”).

We’ve now gone through two books — Dora Saves the Mermaids and Sleeping Beauty — and every inch is covered in both. New books are very high on Lucy’s birthday wish list.

Two downfalls, though: Although they’re available online, I can’t find just the colouring books in stores — they always come with a set of markers. We only have the two books, and already have duplicate colours. Seems wasteful to me.

Because I can only find sets, they’re expensive — usually $8-$10 for a book and set of six markers. I did find a blank pad of Colour Wonder paper, but it doesn’t hold Lucy’s interest the way the books do.

Overall, definitely a favourite activity at Chez McDougall-Foster!

You’re all starting to think Christmas, right? Local artist/art therapist/creative guru/friend, Susanne of Art and Soul Express, recently sent us some of her unique and custom creations, which I think are perfect for one-of-a-kind gift ideas.

Lucy is drowning us in art. Perfectly wonderful, creative, show-worthy art, but a lot of it. I know many of you have the same problem. While I contain much of it in a binder, on our fridge and in Lucy’s room, as wrapping paper and cards and gifts for proud family members, it’s still everywhere. And so hard to decide what to keep and what to throw away.

Behold Riff Raff Giraffe. Send Sus your child’s art (either via mail, or a high-quality digital image), and she transforms it into magnets! Perfect for gifts, perfect to preserve kids’ art without, well, preserving the art itself. We had a bunch of Lucy’s stuff done, and she’s just tickled to see it permanently displayed. RRG’s tagline — We make memories stick! — is exactly right.

You can also get funky magnetic letters to spell a name or saying, or the entire alphabet in a cool stainless steel tin that sticks right on the fridge.

Sus does a ton of other stuff: Beautiful prints — like this pregnancy one, right — cool t-shirts via Get Real Designs (you can make custom onesies at a baby shower!), Christmas ornaments, pregnancy belly casts, and workshops at her studio in Courtice (there are upcoming, all-day ones in December just for Moms). She also runs Wee Piggies and Paws, creating custom-framed shadow boxes and casts of little hands and feet.

Check out all her ventures on her website, and email or call (905-440-4351) for workshop and other details.

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