Coquette Maman

My Town by Delphine Doreau - A Paper Town Kids Can Build

We love crafty things in our home and when they are small and cute, it's extra special. My Town: A Little World for You to Build ($11.48 on Amazon) by my friend Delphine Doreau is just that sort of special, magical book. The book (translated into English from her French book Mon Village) features perforated buildings and animals that can be made into a fun play town. Featuring Delphine's adorable illustrations of animals, you'll love building the various stores and houses that make up the little town.

The back of the book features a pull out map that acts as a sort of playmat for the buildings. The pieces were easy for my 4 1/2 year old to punch out and I helped her fold them into place and glue. I loved how each building had it's own special magic to see from the pastries in the bakery to the fruits and veggies at the grocery store. There are also pages where your child can color in their own buildings and animals. This is the perfect activity to keep your child busy and entertained. Chloe would build each little house with me and start playing right away with the characters. We are looking forward to making more together on the weekends.

(Photo: Non Dairy Diary)

Here's a version Delphine's son built complete with cars at each house and a big truck. I love how each child can interpret their own imagination into their own special town. Read more about it in her post here.

My Town: A Little World for You to Build ($11.48 on Amazon)

For daily inspiration, visit Delphine's blog at Non Dairy Diary. She has lots of paper toys you can download for free.

For Little Preschool Writers

Little preschoolers love to practice their letters and numbers, sometimes pretending they are writing a letter. At home we have a lot of books and sets for kids to practice letter writing but by far my daughter's favorite and the most used in our home is this Crayola Dry Erase Activity Center ($15.01 on Amazon).

The board is just the right size for her to write large and she loves to erase the board when she is done. The board comes with multiple template cards for ABC writing, numbers, games, and a blank one for them to doodle for fun. I love that everything stays together in this set and the dry-erase pens and eraser fit nicely in the board. You can also make your own templates online at Crayola.com. I haven't tried this yet but I love how this little dry-erase pad can grow with her.

Of course, writing with a marker is slippery so I don't think you should banish the idea of your child writing pencil to paper. There's definitely a tactile necessity for them to be able to slowly write on paper. In this case, I really like the Mead See and Feel Learn to Write Raised Ruling Pad ($6.29 on Amazon). The lines on the paper are not only printed but also embossed so a child can feel the pencil go over the lines. Chloe likes this a lot but she also is more inclined to start getting off the task of writing and will begin to doodle on the paper. Yes that's ok too but I found that with the activity center, when she chooses to doodle, she'll put the right template in to do so.

I'm also inclined to get her the Mead Letter Stories - Capital Letters ($4.64) and the Mead Letter Stories - Lowercase Letters ($4.90) with the letters printed on each page workbook-style so she can practice the letters she is having problems with.

If anyone else has some great writing activity sets their kids like, please let me know in the comments!

Crosely Cruiser Portable Turntable: The Cutest Record Player for Kids

(Photo: Instagram coquettenatalie)

This summer on our family vacation to France, my husband found all his old records in his parents' garage. He tried to get his old record player to work but it never did. We decided to take the records back home with us and get a record player back in the U.S.

In our world of iPods, iPads and everything digital, I love the Crosley CR8005A-GR Cruiser Portable Turntable for it's retro turntable look. It comes in an array of cute colors (comes in pink, green, blue and orange) and the portable size (14" x 11" x 5") is great. I love how it closes up to look like an adorable vintage suitcase. The price point of $99.95 was just perfect and I was surprised at how the speakers sounded so good for something so compact.

I found my old Alvin and the Chipmunks and Disney records at my parents house and now Chloe is enjoying records from her parents' childhood. The sound of the needle on the vinyl is pure heaven to me.

The turntable comes with RCA outputs and my husband was able to connect some other gadgetry to it in order to convert our records into digital audio files for safe keeping in case our 35 year old records go kaput forever.

Wildlife with Love by Betz White

Make some holiday cheer for the little ones with Betz White's Wildlife with Love patterns. Each PDF pattern is only $12.95 and you can sew up an endangered animal with her baby. Animals include seals, polar bears and penguins. The collection was inspired by Betz's 10 year old son who donated some of his birthday money to the National Wildlife Foundation. Betz created Wildlife with Love with all children in mind, to raise awareness and to support NWF. It's an extra special gift to make something and here's a chance to create a treasured toy that will be fun for you to sew up.

Betz White is one of my favorite artists and crafters and you can visit her at betzwhite.com. Follow her blog, it's very inspirational!

Wee Wonderful Dolls at Land of Nod

I have been a long time fan of Hillary Lang of Wee Wonderfuls blog and have a lot of her doll/toy patterns. She's just launched her new Wee Wonderful dolls ($39 each) with the Land of Nod, just in time for the holidays. Choose from Winx, Fern, Skip, Bertie, or Charlie. Each doll is handmade and measures 11" wide by 17" high.

For crafters:

If you want to make your own dolls, pick up this PDF pattern or booklet to make Kit, Chloe & Louise ($15 at Wee Wonderfuls). I have this pattern and love it. I plan on making the Chloe doll for my own Chloe some time soon.

Hillary also has a fabulous book called Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love ($18.15 on Amazon) where you can learn how to sew up 24 dolls and clothes.

Petit Collage: Modern Kids Decor + Toys

From wall art to mobiles, I love the beautiful designs from Petit Collage. Chloe has one of their ABC posters framed on her wall in her room. It actually became a great way for her to entertain herself in her crib and say her ABC's. New to their site are the personalized wood panel art ($60) and the soft dolls ($44). All of their items make great gifts!

Petit Collage is also celebrating their newly launched website so spend $50 and up and receive a set of Petit Collage notecards along with free shipping! Use the code NEW2012. Add the notecards of your choice in your cart before you enter the coupon code.

Here are more of my Petit Collage favorites:

Animal ABC Poster ($40)

Butterflies Fabric Wall Decal ($60)

Tree Party Jumbo Wood Panel ($220)

Up in the Air Deluxe Bamboo Mobile ($66)

ABC Flash Cards ($14.95)

Cheery Birds Boxed Recycled Note Cards ($14)

Inntrax Crayons on Sale at Gilt Groupe

I am always in search of cool kid gifts because birthday parties always seem to pop out of nowhere. These Inntrax Crayons are a little artists treat because they are handmade from discarded Polish wooden twigs. Each set comes in a white birch desktop holder that will look beautiful on a child's table or easel holder. This set of 12 twig crayons is only $16 now on Gilt Groupe (regular price $26). Join Gilt Groupe to view all of the stylish Inntrax Crayons that are on sale. (Go to the Babies & Kids section.)

Chili Dog: The Passport Pup

Chloe's favorite Christmas gift is her little Chili Dog. She actually received this a week or so before Christmas and he has been a loyal companion by her side while she has been sick with a bad cold. (Yes Lulu's been by her side too but a little suspicious of this new little dog!) Chili Dog is The Passport Pup perfect for little travelers or ones who like to travel with their imagination. I like the Complete Travel Pack ($32.95) where you can get the six inch plush Chili Dog, adventure passport and sticker sheet that comes in the most adorable keepsake suitcase. The little dog is the perfect size for kids to carry and they can tote him in the suitcase along with any other toys they need to bring.

Chili Dog is the brainchild of my friend KC Hoppe who travels around the world and snaps photos of her Chili Dog in action. This little pup has seen the world! You can read more in Chili's Adventures and see his photos but my favorite travel stop is this sweet little pup along the Seine in France. Bien sur!

As well as running along the Great Wall of China.

But most of all you'll love the way your child will nurture and love little Chili Dog. Chloe can't get enough of him!

Visit the Pet Shop to adopt your own Chili Dog today!

Little Tikes Pop Tunes Big Rocker Guitar

One of toys Chloe plays a lot with is this Little Tikes Pop Tunes Big Rocker Guitar (Pink) ($18.80 on Amazon). I love it because it doesn't play kid songs but plays musical versions of “Message In A Bottle” by the Police,“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen,“Wild Thing” by The Troggs,“Love Shack” by the B-52s,“Allstar” by Smashmouth. The sound quality is really good too! Any kid that comes over for a playdate loves this guitar!

It also comes in a blue version: Little Tikes Pop Tunes Big Rocker Guitar (Blue).

Sanrio Small Gift Mobile Tour

Sanrio's Small Gift Cross Country Mobile Pop Up Tour kicks off in my city San Francisco, the weekend of October 23-24. The tour celebrates 50 years of Sanrio and will be stopping at cities all over the country through December 12th (see map below). Sanrio has joined forces wtih Target for this special tour where you'l be able to purchase 50 special collectables in the Small Gift product selection, like the tote and wallet below. Remember Little Twin Stars and My Melody? They were my favorite next to Hello Kitty!

Saturday, October 23
Justin Herman Plaza
1 Market Street
San Francisco
11am - 6pm

Sunday, October 24
Pier 39 - East Park
The Embarcadero
San Francisco
11:30am - 7:30pm
There will be free goody bags to the first 50 shoppers! Find out more on the Sanrio Facebook page.

Click on the map above to enlarge and see the tour stops.

Here's a photo of the mobile Sanrio truck!