An Ethical Gift Guide // Gender Neutral Gifts for Kids.

I had quite a few requests for a more gender neutral gift guide and I loved looking around for this. My big girl doesn't have a penchant for pretty or glitter and prefers to run free and come home muddy and exhausted from her adventures. Here are some lovely and timeless gifts for boys and girls of many ages.

1. Fanny + Alexander are a very cool small business creating high quality keepsake toys. This adorable satchel would be perfect for the many adventures of childhood.

2. The original A frame tent, The Natural Wonder Tent is the perfect hideaway for quiet play or stealthy adventures. Made by one of our favourite Australian brands, Such Great Heights.

3. This apron set, made in the USA by Oddette Williams lets little people help in the kitchen or create mud cakes outside. Find it at the creative and cool shop, Mercimilo.

4. Sustainably made and educational, these wooden scales aim to please big and little people. From Shorties.

5. Answering the question, "What lies beneath", this beautiful story adventures into the world below the surface. Find it at Flora and Henri.

6. BOBO. BOBO. BOBO. Y'all know how deep my love runs for this brand. This pink and mustard jumper is perfect post beach in summer and to cosy up in winter.

7. Perfect tea party kit. Shorties.

8. A bug hotel to create a home to study and observe the movements of incredible insects. Found at Fawn Shoppe.

9. Unisex sandals. Classic, timeless and well made. From Tiny People Shop.

10. A beuatifully crafted kit of child sized tools from French toymaker Moulin Roty. Find them at Flora and Henri. There is a smaller version at HoneyBee Toys.

11. A star sleep suit from Aussie brand Thread Store. Swoon.

12. A Jess Brown Doll. We have three of these rag dolls and I have restitched parts and made them clothing for many adventures. Piper has a boy doll on her list this year.

13. This treehouse is buildable and sustainably made. So open ended it can be used as a fairy home, a pirate's ship, a medieval castle, an animal shelter...the list is endless. A toy that would last for many generations to come. Clever Santa! Find it at the amazing HoneyBee Toys.

One more to come, for those with a penchant for glitter!
♡

Simplicity Parenting // A quick toy tidy + A Fair Trade & Beautiful Giveaway.

I have referred to the book Simplicity Parenting countless times in this space. I love the premise behind it. The simple guidance of less is more in parenting (as is the case of all things) and that we need to invest in our children. Less stuff, more time, less noise, more peace. The goods.

Despite my desire to just have things simple, the battle is a constant one in our tiny home with toys and "stuff." I stand on the edge of worshiping design and pretty things and knowing that space is what I and my children need to have. So I make sure to keep things simple here. If a birthday is coming we pile up bags and boxes of items to donate, sell and throw (badly broken) and make more room than what we have coming. It keeps the peace.

I have been working on finding some good solutions to the toy box explosion that occurs regardless of my clearing the clutter.

A quick way to tidy but provide order in miss. four's space.

At the moment we have a Trofast in her closet with each bucket holding a type of toy. Duplo, a wooden train set, barbies and my little ponies, kitchen toys and fake food, Schliech animals and felt playmats/baskets for homes. The top of her closet has baskets with colouring books, craft kits, play-dough, and puzzles neatly lined side-by-side. This is our rainy day collection. In her bedroom sits a Stuva Storage Bench filled with dress-ups. On top is a cosy lambswool and her Sylvanian Families treehouse and little cottage. In the corner is a tee-pee we pull out for hideaway nooks some days. Finally, a doll's bed and a beautiful hessian sack of stuffed toys and dolls.

For the most part, the girls share these toys so it is more than enough for two little souls to keep amused. We don't really need all the toys we have but they are all played with and open-ended enough to grow with the girls.

The beautiful storage sack comes from The Dharma Door. The Dharma Door has searched the world for the most highly skilled Fair Trade artisans, using raw materials, to create modern style merged with traditional making. Bringing resources to remote villages, the ethical work of The Dharma Door provides a lasting opportunity for men and women in these villages to continue working in their traditional skills.

The Sari Hessian Sack is 44cm x 38cm and handcrafted in Bangladesh. It holds more than enough stuffed toys (never an easy feat!) and would be equally beautiful as a laundry basket or near the door to catch shoes and other such objects. There are a beautiful selection of other beautiful Hessian Sacks on sale at half price right now too.

The Dharma Door has generously offered one lucky winner 1 x Sari Hessian Sack {rrp. $79}

To win just leave a comment below that includes which item at The Dharma Door you most adore. For an additional entry follow @piperandpoppies + @thedharmadoor on Instagram. Just leave a separate comment with your insta name below. You can also enter via Facebook, just leave a comment on either. The winner will be drawn on Wednesday July 23rd and be notified via email. Open to Australian residents only.

♡ ashley

Kid's Room Tour // Piper's Precious Pine Forest.

I am so excited to finally complete this project. Piper's room is a dreamy space for a dreamy three year old full of wonder and adventure. 

This room started with a Dulux Paint wall design inspiration {instructions for the diamonds effect can be found on the Dulux site here}. The pastel colours were chosen as I love the vintage feel they give and Piper already has a lot of pastel and vintage things. The walls are painted in Dulux's Natural White.

The monogram circle wall sticker on the door is a wall sticker from 41 Orchard. The giant black mushroom wall sticker inside the door is also from 41 Orchard and is a chalk board! How clever is that?! Above the mushroom we painted 5 dresser drawer knobs with the Dulux colours used on the feature diamonds and drilled them into the wall. The perfect spot for Piper's ever changing favourite jewellery and bags.

On the floating wall shelves sit storage vessels by KohLiving. They are from the Danish designed OOhh range. They are handmade by women living in poor communities in Western Sri Lanka. The initiative allows the women to earn a living from their home while  also being able to care for their children. They are made from natural rubber and recycled materials. Divine. 

The little owls are from Adair's homewares range and Piper claims they help watch over her while she sleeps. I made the crochet dream catcher for her, the doily is an old family keepsake. 

The print above the dollhouse is the 'I live here A Little Forest' art print by the amazing Mara Girling from Print Space. I love the way the trees share the geometric shapes around the room. 

The Love Mae 'Let's go camping' wall decals again add to the shapes used around the room but mostly stole my heart as they remind me of my childhood, growing up in Canada, where I spent the majority of the summer days camping with campfires, tents and amazing huge pinetrees. 

Piper's doll house was bought at a garage sale for $5. We repainted it using Dulux paint and a few Love Mae decals. In it sits some of her most precious toys and books. 

Her bed was also bought secondhand and was a dark navy originally. We used Dulux Spray Pak in off white enamel. The bedside stool is from Ikea and was also painted with the Dulux feature colours. The dried lavender is to help her sleep. 

Her bedding is from Adairs. The duvet cover is pure bamboo and cotton and the sheets are a crisp, soft & pure cotton. The throw and gold cushion are also Adairs. I "upstyled" the throw with some homemade pompoms. The gold cushion is Adairs. The love heart cushion and rag doll are from Fabrik.

Above her bed is an Ikea spice rack again painted with Dulux feature colours. Hanging over her bed is a dream catcher sent from her great Grandmother in Canada. It is surrounded by wall decals by Love Mae.

Her tutu is a precious third birthday present and is also from Fabrik.

She adores her new space {as do we}. It is like a little daydream and she can let her imagination run wild. Thanks for visiting! xx

Source/s

Paint〫
Dulux Australia. Walls :: Dulux Wash & Wear Low Sheen Plus in Natural White // Skirting and Doors :: Natural White AquaEnamel // Wall Feature :: English Rose, Corn Kernel, Ice Pack Quarter, & Grey Pail.

Bedding〫 
Adairs 

Wall stickers〫
41 Orchard monogram circle & chalkboard mushroom 

 I Live Here a Little Forest Print〫
 Printspace

Wall stickers〫
Love Mae Let's go camping set

White Storage Vessels〫
KohLiving

Rag doll, heart cushion, tutu
Fabrik

Rabbit Alphabet Print
Lucy Player

〬denotes items generously gifted for the room makeover.

♡ ashley

play.

Our view on play has changed and morphed over the past few years. In the beginning of this parenting gig, we had so many things given to us- a lot that beeped and buzzed, flashed and shouted. They were cute and colourful. Then I started reading about 'stimulating' children, 'spirited' children, 'high-needs' babies and started to piece together a plan on changing the environment we were raising Piper in.

Since this, we are more conscious of the toys we buy. Well made, mostly natural and not too many beeps attached. I keep learning about environmental stimulus and the effects on child development. For our family {I say this as I by no means think Fisher Price doesn't have a place for some} it has helped us to stop buying as much stuff and when we do, we choose well made items constructed with love and care.

Things have purpose and meaning. Piper can play independently much more than ever before. These toys are helping her imagination- they don't make the sounds/movement, she does.

Another bonus has been the slow clean out of items, donated to op shops for those that love beeps in their homes. Win, win. The more the plastic fantastic has left, the calmer we all feel. We still have a fairly good collection of lego, those are precious.

The occasional Dora doll, plastic car, etc. is given to Piper and does sneak in, but often they are played with and put away for desperate days where a distraction may be necessary. But we could definitely live without them and they are spending 99% of the time in the top of her closet.

Some reading on the Steiner Waldorf education system is a great start for explaining why these toys are helpful for little people.  The general idea:: natural objects give children a beautiful, true image of the world. They are warmer, with texture and often unique from one another. They feel, look real allowing for play that mimics what big people around children are doing. The ultimate goal of all children is role-playing being a big child!

Do you have a 'toy type' house or are you more 'anything goes'?

♡ ashley