Baby Charlotte, Canada's Eco-Kid's Store: Review & Giveaway (Closed)

For this review, I'm happy to be partnering with a business that's near (literally) and dear to me. Baby Charlotte is a baby & children's shop located in Conestogo, Ontario which has both a brick and mortar store front and an online shopping option.

I love love {LOVE} this store for a couple reasons. First, their vast and continuously growing selection of high-quality, non-toxic and eco-friendly products. Here's a li'l photo tour to give you a glimpse!

Front room - clothes & shoes:

Back room - toys, crafts, feeding supplies, stuffies & more:

Bath & body care shelf:

It's hard to restrain myself in there, with brands I totally heart including Earth Mama Angel Baby, Green Toys and Clementine Art. It's even more challenging with the numerous discounts they offer; for example, last spring I nabbed my daughter a pair of sweet Pediped sandals at 40% off! 

Second reason - the awesomeness of the employees! Every time I've visited the store with one or both kiddos in tow, they've greeted me warmly, provided helpful information and even (on more than one occasion) hooked me up with a comfy, private nook and a bottle of water to nurse my little guy. Top-notch customer service for sure! They also believe in the little touches; for example, this year in honour of Mother's Day, they gave away samples of their in-house bath bombs. They had some left over when I was at the store the other day, so the owner gave me a couple in two different scents. My daughter certainly enjoyed her fizzy, aromatic tub experience last night, and brought a bomb to daycare today to do an "experiment" with her friends!

Alright, let's rewind a li'l bit. During a shopping trip back in April, I was checking out their sensory play products as my (then) 28-month-old daughter S was at an ideal age to enjoy them.

I was mulling over the numerous options when the store manager recommended an item called Bubber. It's basically a substance similar to playdough in that it's moldable, but it's super light-weight, free of toxins and doesn't dry out. She brought out a sample that the owner's daughter Charlotte (yes, the store's namesake!) had been playing with herself and I was instantly hooked; this was one of the neatest feeling substances I'd ever laid paws on! We got chatting about my blog and she offered me a 5 oz bucket of Bubber (I picked the "Petal Purple" colour) and a castle mold kit to try out!

Product Info - Bubber:

Bubber, the award-winning and lightest modeling compound on earth! This easy-to-use product feels great in your hands, and since it is so lightweight, you can mold just about anything. Bubber is a super-soft compound that leaves clean, sharp lines and takes amazing imprints.

Bubber is non-toxic, leaves no stain or residue and never dries out, so you can play with it over and over. It is great for developing fine motor skills! Bubber is available in six beautiful colors and comes in a handy bucket for easy storage. Bubber is great for sensory therapy. Bubber is also great for kids with allergies - it is wheat, gluten and casein free and 100% safe and non-toxic.

Creative molding media Made in Sweden, unique waterless ceramic and polymer compounds to stimulate sensory experiences. Winner of numerous major toy awards like Parents' Choice and Oppenheim Toy Portfolio.

Product Info - Waba Fun Castle Molds:

This is just the thing to build the perfect castle with! Whether you are using Bubber or MoonSand, you'll appreciate the clean lines and classic castle shapes this kit can produce.

My Review:

I wish there was some way to demonstrate the tactile experience of Bubber through a blog post but, alas, technology hasn't come this far just yet. :) So let me try to describe it. First of all, I want to reiterate the "super light" point; I'd estimate it's only about a quarter as heavy as playdough (per equal volume). It also floats in water, whereas playdough sinks. (My daughter and I confirmed this tonight!) The lightness throws you for a loop, as it looks dense and heavy. Don'tcha think?

The lines and surfaces it can create are, indeed, very smooth. My hubby molded some cones using one of the shapes from the kit and they felt pretty neat-o.

 

If you press a clump of Bubber against a smooth surface, the pressed side becomes totally silky. Very therapeutic to the touch! And if you squeeze it in your fist or within another rough "vessel", it makes a perfect imprint of the corresponding imperfections. Kinda like a 3D fingerprint!

My daughter gets totally immersed when she plays with her Bubber, and even those adults we've introduced it to can't help but muck around with it too!

Here's S playing alone....

...and sharing the fun with her Nana and Papa!

Nana kept herself busy making a bunch of little tiles using the kit's square shape press.

As it can be seen, a 5 oz tub contains enough Bubber for 3-4 people to play with at once.

The shape kit has certainly upped the creativity and fun factor of the Bubber! We haven't attempted a full castle with the kit yet, though. I find a few of its shapes are difficult to use "properly"; for example it's hard to get the Bubber out of the circular tower mold in one piece. (Perhaps this is easier with MoonSand, the other product the kit is recommended for?)

As for clean up, Bubber is both messier and tidier than playdough. Lemme explain. It's messier in that it's more prone to breaking into little, tiny pieces which can end up all over the place. However these pieces don't squish into surfaces; you can simply take a bigger piece of Bubber and dab it on the smaller pieces to collect them. So perhaps a better way to put it is that Bubber's easier to clean up than playdough, but a little more time consuming.

One suggestion from my hubby - he'd like to see Bubber available in multi-coloured packs like commercial playdough. It does currently come in a total of 5 colours, but each has to be purchased separately in a 5 oz tub. Therefore, obtaining all 5 colours would be a pricey affair, and you'd end up with enough to entertain a whole classroom.

Regarding health and safety, although the company claims the product is 100% safe and non-toxic, the Type A part of me wishes it would disclose its actual ingredients so I could verify this for myself. That said, I do trust Baby Charlotte in stocking safe products, so I didn't get too hung up on this.

All in all, Bubber's an awesome playdough alternative which can provide hours of fun for little and big people alike! I recommend it for older toddlers & preschoolers in particular, who (in most cases) are past the point of putting things into their mouths which shouldn't go there, but are young enough to be totally ingrossed in sensory play.


Buy It:

Visit Baby Charlotte's online store (or, if you're in the area, visit them in person!) to purchase Bubber and browse their amazing selection of other eco-friendly baby & children's products.


Win It:

One lucky Manager to Mom reader will win $25 to spend at Baby Charlotte on whatever they wish! The credit can be redeemed online or at the store. (Note: shipping is not included.)

To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Please follow all instructions within each entry option to ensure your entries are valid.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Mudpuppy Floor Puzzle - Review & Giveaway! (Closed)

Galison/Mudpuppy is a company based in Midtown Manhattan offering hundreds of original, beautifully-designed products for children and adults. Galison was founded in in 1979 and sells boxed note cards and stylish stationery for personal correspondence or gifts. Mudpuppy Press launched in 1992 and specializes in children's toys such as puzzles, magnetic figures and educational games.

The company draws product inspiration from many sources including museum imagery, the work of famous artists, children's literature and world geography. Budding artists can also submit their own, unique artwork to be considered for future projects - how cool is that?

I was lucky enough to win a Forest Friends Block Puzzle from Mudpuppy via a recent blog giveaway. My prize arrived along with a thoughtful, hand-written note from Shannon, one of the company's customer service representatives, so I decided to email her back with a thank you note and proposal for a product review & giveaway here at Manager to Mom. She not only agreed, but generously allowed me to pick a product from their catalogue that I felt would be a good fit for my readers. Thanks Shannon!

I had fun browsing through all the great Mudpuppy products and eventually selected one of their floor puzzles to review. Why? Because I love the idea of a huuuuge puzzle that can be put together by li'l kiddos, with pieces that are extremely difficult to lose. ;)

Here are some specs:

• Measures 2 x 3 feet (completed)
• 24 jumbo pieces
• Sturdy box with a colourful rope handle
• Printed with non-toxic soy-based inks
• Puzzle greyboard contains 90% recycled paper; package 70% recycled paper
• CE and ASTM tested for safety
• For ages 3+

The puzzle comes in seven creative & colourful designs.

I chose the Our World Floor Puzzle as I thought it would provide the perfect blend of fun & learning. Each continent on the map is shaded a different colour and features illustrations of characteristic animals, structures and activities from that part of the world - kangaroos and koalas in Australia, hockey in Canada, etc. It also doesn't hurt that it won the 2005 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Gold Award; quite the honour!

My puzzle arrived very quickly:

 

The pieces truly are jumbo! Nice and sturdy too.

As you can see, the completed puzzle takes up its fair share of space!

When I made the puzzle at home, my 9-month-old daughter S liked to crawl all over it and swipe at the images...

....which was amusing and all, but not quite the intended use of the product! :) As such, I recruited my good friend's 3-year-old daughter Leena to try her hand at it. She initially had fun rummaging through the big pieces, but then started making matches with a little bit of guidance. I did see her match up a beluga whale all by herself - good job, Leena!

We didn't have much time during my visit, so I left the puzzle with Leena to play with. The next day, my friend sent me the following:

Leena loves the puzzle...she is getting a little better at it too.  She doesn't understand the yellow border or the different colours of the continents for some reason but she matches pieces up by the animals.  I think it is a perfect game for her age actually, because it is just a little above her skill level.  At this point it is definitely a parent participation activity - which is nice for us.

She included a footnote: Not appropriate for 8 month olds :) Evidently Leena's little brother Sam wanted to take part in the "testing" too! Thank goodness for that soy-based ink!

All in all, these puzzles are awesome. Colourful, sturdy, non-toxic and lots of fun! My guess is that they'd hold a child's interest for a few years as well - from age 3 as a parent participation activity, to age 5-6+ as more of a solo task. I also like how the puzzles have different cues to help make matches (such as the border around the outside and the colour-coding of the continents, in the case of the Our World puzzle) which should cater nicely to different learning styles. I really can't think of any improvement suggestions, aside from offering even MORE designs since these puzzles are so great! ;)


Buy It:

You can purchase your own floor puzzle directly from the Mudpuppy website! While you're there, take a look at the other items in their catalogue as well! You can shop by theme, theme, collection, age and other methods. Mudpuppy has generously offered my readers 15% off any website order. Simply enter coupon code ZZZ2 at checkout for your discount!

Note that shipping is available to the United States and Canada (via UPS), and different rates apply depending on location and order total.


Win It:

One lucky Manager to Mom reader will receive a Mudpuppy floor puzzle of their own!

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 Galison/Mudpuppy.  I received no financial compensation for writing my review or offering this giveaway, although I did receive the sample item free of charge.  This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours.