Stitched by Hand (Etsy): #Review & #Giveaway! (Closed)

Holly from A Mommy's Blessings is one amazing gal! Mama to six super-sweet children, she home schools, cooks just about everything from scratch, gardens, practices natural parenting and green/eco-friendly living and manages to keep her home clean & organized amidst the chaos! :) I'm not sure how she finds the time, however she also blogs on pretty much a daily basis, featuring weekly themed posts such as Mommy Mondays and "Blessed to be His" Wednesday, and LOTS of awesome reviews/giveaways! Her writing style is friendly, accessible and engaging as well! Holly is one of my absolute favourite bloggers, so if you're not following her yet yourself, what are you waiting for? :)

If all of the above isn't enough, Holly is also a talented seamstress! She hand crafts many items for her family and regularly sells her goods at a local farmer's market. In the past, she has had some experience selling on Ebay, however she recently decided to continue her online sewing adventure by opening an Etsy shop. Thus, Stitched by Hand was (re)born! 

So what all can you find here? Beautiful patchwork clothing, messenger bags, soft toys, crocheted hats, mama cloth, nursing pads and much, much more! 

You can even find gorgeous glass beaded jewelry made by her 7-year-old daughter! (Creative talent obviously runs in the family!) 

Holly is continously adding new merchandise and hopes to expand her line of products to include hand-made soaps, lotions and lip balms as well. Is there anything this mama can't do? :)

Naturally, I was excited and honoured when Holly contacted me about partnering on a blog review/giveaway for her shop! She was kind enough to send me a super-cute Stripey Giraffe stuffed baby toy/teether for review purposes, and I also purchased a Crocheted Owl Baby/Toddler Beanie Hat. I simply could NOT resist the cute factor! Since this was a custom item, Holly walked me through how to properly measure our daughter's head to ensure she'd get us a good fit. The resulting measurements put S into the 1-3 year size, which means she'll get plenty of wear out of it!

The two items arrived together wrapped very simply in tissue paper with an enclosing bow and small label. I love that Holly uses minimal packaging to reduce waste.

Here's our Stripey Giraffe!

 

Product description: This soft and squishy giraffe is made of cotton fabric, stuffed with cotton batting, and even has ribbon tags for baby to chew on. Your sweet little one will love snuggling on this adorable stuffed animal!

And our sweet li'l owl (who's had her fair share of caffeine for the day! ;)

Product description: Whoooo loves owls as much as I do? Your little one will be the cutest hoot on the block in this adorable crocheted owl hat made of soft acrylic yarn, trimmed with 100% cotton yarn, and either closed or little button eyes! Ear flaps and braided ties make it even more darling!

Now, I'm no seamstress myself (far from it, as evidenced by the jagged, clumpy stitchwork marking my sad attempts to repair torn seams in our duds), however even I was able to appreciate the quality worksmanship in these items. No flaws, and lovely attention to detail. Holly clearly knows what she's doing and takes her time to get things right!

I also felt just fine giving both of these items to S right away. Since all of Holly's items are hand-made and shipped directly, I wasn't worried about exposing S to nasty factory dust. And, of course, since she is a natural-minded mama who strives to provide a toxin-free life for herself and her family, I know the materials used are safe for my little one in general!

As expected, Starryn's first reaction to Ms. Owl was to rip her off, but she does this with everything put on her head! Once we had her sufficiently distracted making froggy faces, however, she seemed quite happy with the situation.:)

Despite the fact that she's on the low end of the age range, the hat already fits her quite well! It's snug enough that the brim stays up above her eyes now, but there is definitely room for growth.

The soft 'n' thick material and ear flaps ensure that our li'l one's noggin will be fully protected in the chilliest of weather, which is vital up here in the "Great White North"! ;)

Finally, it doesn't hurt that just about everyone who sees her in the hat can't help but comment on the utter adorable-ness. :D

As for Mr. Giraffe, we've discovered a super fun game to play with him at bed time! The space between his legs is perfect for perching him on the edge of her crib, so we put him up there and let her bat him back off, laughing hysterically! Lather, rinse, repeat. (It's amazing what entertains a 1-year-old, huh?) Sometimes we slide him along the edge and let her chase him, which is fun too! The size is just perfect for her little hands.

She hasn't taken to chewing on his ribbon tags, but she appears to be past the "chew on anything" stage herself. I'd imagine that a younger baby (4-8 months-ish) would be all about gumming at those puppies! 

We leave the giraffe in her crib at night. I love that its surface is smooth so it won't trap nearly as much dust as a plush toy would, plus it's machine washable which is another bonus!

All in all, I {{heart}} these two items, and there are so many other things I would love to have from Holly's shop! How about you?


Buy It:

Want a crocheted hat or animal stuffy of your own? Or how about some mama cloth or nursing pads? Or.... the list goes on! Shop to your heart's content for natural, handcrafted goods at Stitched by Hand right here! I think you'll agree that Holly's prices are extremely reasonable, especially considering the quality and attention to detail that goes into each one! (Note: Etsy policies apply to all purchases.)

Win It:

Holly has generously offered a $10 gift code for one lucky Manager to Mom reader, good toward anything at Stitched by Hand!

To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Comments do not count as entries, however feel free to add a comment to remind yourself that you entered!





Disclosure:  The prize is being provided and shipped to the winner by Holly at Stitched by Hand.  I received no financial compensation for writing my review or offering this giveaway, although I did receive a sample item free of charge.  This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours.