Hooked on Classics!

I thought I came up with a BRILLIANT idea (if I don't say so myself) last holiday season for gift giving.  I wanted to give the children in my family and my best mate's little ones something of a keepsake that they would treasure for a very long time. Enter Puffin Classics Cloth Bound Books!
 

These three titles available at Chasing Firefies

                                                 


















I have always thought reading to children out loud from a classic that was not in picture book form is one of the best ways to develop their imaginations. Without the pictures they can just listen and are then free to create the scenery, people, experiences themselves.The books are not only beautiful and would look lovely grouped together on a bookshelf but open up the magic door to wonderful stories we had when we were children.

Perhaps a chapter or two a night until the story unfolds to the end? Then on to the next enchanting tale! My idea was for each birthday to give them a new book and just keep track of who has what as their collection grows.  I like that there are many choices for boys or girls such as Black Beauty, Call of the Wild, and many more.

There are two more brand new titles due out this May 2012. Build your collection here.

 

So get tucked in and may the magic adventures begin!

xoxo Queen Laura

You had me at me at Tally Ho!

I'll be honest, my heart skipped a beat when I saw this wallpaper! Designed and made in England ( no surprise to me, those Brits are truly genius ) from Hibou Home.

Feast your eyes on their Enchanted Wood Collection-an enchanting world of whimsical woodland animals. Imagine the stories a child would create as they drifted off to sleep with this beauty of a magical forest as their backdrop?

I want to wallpaper my whole house with it!

Of course I am partial to the pink and I just adore the darling bunny family!

 They have a wonderful Pirate Seas for boys that is equally as imaginative and would be the starting point of many Ocean Adventures I am sure.

 Find all this wonderfulness here!  

Do you love this as much as I do? Please let me know!

XO Queen Laura

Party All the Time, Party All the Time!

It is my heartfelt belief that there are not too many things in the world more wonderful than glitter unless of course its Edible Glitter! Seriously, isn't that all children want to do with glitter anyway but EAT it??? I would like to give the creator of edible glitter a big fat kiss on the cheek and say BRAVO! You did good! You have made me very happy!

With the Oscars this Sunday I wanted to create a Party Popcorn that would please the young viewers.
Shimmering Stars by Wilton is Edible Glitter that I picked up at Michaels Crafts (JoAnn Fabric carries it too )and some popcorn was just the thing.

 I made the popcorn and then buttered it before sprinkling the glitter on so it would stick. I chose gold stars but it comes in silver too. Then Voila! The fanciest snack around that will sure to be a Winner no matter what happens with the show!

Find the glitter here.

Happy snacking and viewing! XOXOX Queen Laura

Having a BALL!

      Pass the parcel is a popular British party game and as most of you know, I love ALL things British so I love to play it often at parties. My favorite way to play this party game however is with a Surprise Ball! Or as the company Tops Malibu calls it, SurPRIZE Ball. Surprize Balls are created from 100 ft of colorfully changing paper ribbon with lots of fun treasures. As the crepe ball unravels, surprises and gifts spill out of each layer. Fun right? I think this is just a perfect game you can conduct yourself for both boys and girls ages 4 and up.

 

      Here is how you play:

      The children sit in a circle while music plays and pass the parcel/ball around until an adult stops the music. Whoever is holding the parcel when the music stops gets to open one layer of paper and gets to keep the treasure that is revealed. You would just need to make sure that there was one layer to open with a treasure for each child playing. The Tops Surprize Balls offer 3 inch balls with 5 prizes and the deluxe 4 inch balls that has 11 prizes. Play as long as each child has a turn unwrapping and getting the surprise!

 I love the different themed decorations.

   

Deluxe Crowns Surprize Balls

Deluxe All Occasion

Deluxe Flower Surprize Ball

Find the Tops Mailbu Surprize Balls  here. 

Now if you wanted to get crafty, you could make your own. Check out this tutorial  here. 

Either way,I hope you all have a BALL!

xoxo Queen Laura 

A SHOE-in!

Dress-up shoes can be one of the first introductions to dress up for a girl and a favorite subject of early play in general. But once your little shoe- girl wants to take that play outside, you can't very well have her teeter in your heels now can you? And those plastic ones made by a certain huge company I shall not mention...well, when my students come to class donning those I am afraid they are going to break an ankle!! There is lots of time to practice in heels so in the mean time I am over the moon for the most darling shoes from Joy Folie.

 

Can you imagine your little girl pretending in her Royal Rose Garden in these?

Genevieve Glitter T -Straps

Or ruling her Queendom in these?

Kat Shoe- Shakespeare Mary Janes

Or dancing at the Ball in these?

Luna- Silver T-Straps

 Or flying like a fairy in these?

Harlow- Ruffle Bow Shoe

They go up to size youth 1.Too bad she won't let you try them on!

See more of these exquisite creations here.

xo QUEEN LAURA

Pony UP!

Do you all know about the most fabulous children's online magazine Babiekins? Well, if you don't, please allow me to be the first to introduce you.

 This Horse Show Party is part of the newest issue 8 by their party editor Loralee Lewis. She is by far the most incrediable event stylist I have seen. There isn't a thing I don't love about this party! This Equestirian Affair is refreshing change to any Princess Theme and just as sweet and girly. 

Feast your eyes on all of this loveliness,won't you?

 

Even if you didn't have horses for the guests to ride you could go heavy on the imagination and get the petite riders to pretend! Feeling inspired? Show me the pictures if you create this party yourself, I would love to see.

Go to www.nofussfabulous.com to see more wonderful parties and shop for darling paperie. And don't forget to check out the rest of this issue of Babiekins here.

Tally Ho! xoxo Queen Laura

Playing House

 Come on in!


Do you ever come across something and think" Oh I would have just LOVED that as a child!" I have that very moment EVERY time I see this Table Cloth Play House.
I truly think it is one of the most clever ideas for make-believe that I have ever seen and believe me I see a LOT! My younger sister and I were always making forts and playhouses out of blankets and sheets when we were little and I am fairly certain had we had this MAGIC cloth we may have never come out from under the dining room table!

 How perfect would this be to bring out on a play date for some imaginary fun or on a rainy day when you need something extra special for siblings stuck in the house? It makes me want to be a little girl all over again. Honestly, I would have a ball playing with it even now!

What things do you wish you had when you were little?

(Find the Table Cloth Play House here.)

xoxo Queen Laura

For The LOVE of the Game

Valentine's Day Parties for children are so much fun. But after the delivering of the cards and eating perhaps a few dozen conversation hearts what is there to do then? Whether you are having guests for a gathering at home or you are in charge of the fun for a classroom party, here are some specially designed games to play for HEART DAY that everyone will certainly LOVE.

My Heart Belongs to You

You will need- A Medium size cardboard heart with a very long ribbon attached

How To Play: Two players pair up while everyone else watches. Everyone closes their eyes and has their backs turned while one player hides the heart where it can't been seen and leaves the ribbon out to show. The ribbon can go over furniture or desks, under books, around chairs, etc.and the heart should be hidden. The second player opens their eyes and takes the end of the ribbon and follows it to find the heart.  Then the next pair can play.

 Find Your Heart-Mate

You will need-Large construction paper hearts and scissors

How To Play: Cut hearts in two pieces in different angles with pinking shears or decorative scissors. Mix up the pieces and hand one piece out to all of the players. The players go around to find the piece of heart that matches their own to find their heart-mate.

Heart Hunt

You will need- 50-100 small construction paper hearts 

How To Play: Hide the hearts while the children are out of the room. Each player hunts for as many hearts as they can find in a certain amount of time. Each player counts how many hearts they have found.  The player with the highest number of hearts collected gets to have a treat first and pass out the rest to the group.

Here are some Love-ly suggestions for the supplies:

 Heart ribbon for My Heart Belongs to You

Hearts for the Heart Hunt

Cut Out Hearts for the Heart-Mate Game

Sweet Treats at the end of the games

 And/Or stickers

Bags for the treats

Do get back to me and share some LOVE, won't you, please?

oxo Queen Laura

Sweet Tokens of Love

Valentine's Day is by far my most favorite holiday and always has been even before I met my P Charming. Children LOVE this day too and all the fancy preparations that goes into. I adore the tradition of reminding those we love how special they are to us and it certainly doesn't have to be anything GRAND at all! Here are some small and sweet tokens of love that would definately make any child feel treasured and that is something wonderful any day of the year!

1. Thumb-less Mittens for making snowballs (real or imaginary)
2. Sequin Hair Clip or Pin you will want to borrow
3.Fairy Heart Necklace
4. Little Love Tokens to leave here and there
5. Small Treasure Knit Coin Purse
6.Heart Embossed Journal for Royal Secrets
7.Vintage Valentine Socks

Happy Valentine's Day!

xoxox Queen Laura

Yes Sir, That's My Baby!

I will tell you right now, I despise when I discover I am out of the loop on something.  And not just about any something but the somethings I love the most like glitter, pink candy and children's books (to name just a few).

Well, I am just going to have to forgive myself this time as I just discovered the Baby Lit series by Jennifer Adams and Alison Oliver. Now, if you already know about these impossibly cute board books then I ask you, why didn't you tell ME??

If you don't know, then you have just made me feel sooo much better and because of that,I am going to share my findings with you!

Here are hands down the most darling edition to any library you ever did see! Baby Lit is the newest (and fashionable) way to introduce your child to the world of classic literature.


Little Master Shakespeare  Series with Romeo and Juliet

Now, don't worry, there is no tragedy in this adaption just darling illustrations and a very clever concept for a counting book!

Then there is Little Miss Austen Series with Pride &Prejudice

Equally as cheeky and beautifully illustrated with "9 fancy ball gowns" and so forth.

Now, I will tell you they have gotten some criticism for" dumbing down classics for children "but I have to totally disagree. Really they are just great fun and more for the reader than the audience . Honestly, it is a refreshing change from counting farm animals and would make the very best new baby gift don't you think? Even for your Book Worm Bestie!

Little Master Carrol Series Alice in Wonderland and Little Miss Bronte Series Jane Eyre coming in March. Can't wait to add to my new collection!

I linked all of these books to Amazon but as always I suggest requesting them at your local bookstore. My two favorites are Books and Cookies and The Dinosaur Farm.

xoxo Queen Laura