Elastic Toddler Belt Twist

If you've ever seen our elastic toddler belts, you know that they are just about the best $5 you can spend on kids' gear - if you have a tall, skinny kid.  Someone mentioned this idea to me last week, and I thought it was so neat I had to share it...


I always used to put the belt under the belt loops, roll them to the front and snap them.  And that totally works.  But have you ever thought of putting it on this way?  (I find it easier to do this before I put the pants on my daughter, but she's 2 so it could just be an attitude thing :).

Works the same, I just find it a nice, clean look.  What do you think?

Brainstorming

I don't know about you, but sometimes trying to picture something in my head isn't easy.  And I can't tell you how many times I've finished a project and had it turn out WAY different that I expected (sometimes good, sometimes not-so-good)...

With that principle in mind, we invite you to our brainstorming photo shoot. On our big shopping spree yesterday we purchased coordinating prints for anything that didn't already have a coordinating print. Here are the results... Which is your favourite?

Hot Mama!

We've been thinking lately...  Why should the little peanuts have all the fun? 

I will confess that we weren't going to launch this just yet, but the email requests are been too few to ignore.  So here goes...

Introducing THE HOT MAMA SHIRT (yes, that is what we're calling it, and that is EXACTLY what you need to call yourself when you wear it!).  It's a similar style to the SCARLETT dress, which also means it's a perfect opportunity to do a little mother/daughter coordinating!  Alone, under a suit, over jeans - this is one of the most versatile pieces you can add to your wardrobe!

Shirts are $35 each, and available in XXS-XL (and we can send you chest and hip measurements to help you get the right size).  If you want to get the ball rolling, take a look at our FABRIC album on our Facebook page, and then drop us an email at yourplayfulpeanut@gmail.com and we'll take it from there!  Don't see anything you like in there?  Drop us a line and tell us what you're looking for and we'll find the perfect match for you!

The Snack-Loc Bag Is Also a Sandwich-Loc Bag!

I've had some questions about this, so I thought I'd post some pictures to demonstrate.  The Snack-Loc bag measures 6 inches square when finished.  While that's certainly big enough for lots of snacks, does it fit a sandwich?

Allow me to demonstrate using...  Two pieces of bread...  Not the most exciting sandwich, but it's after midnight and if these last few baby pounds are ever going to disappear it's not exactly the best time to eat carbs...  It doesn't leave a lot of excess space, but it does fit if you're looking to pack a sandwich.  We have also played around with a sandwich wrap (which is the eco-friendly cure to anyone who loves their saran wrap).  We'll post more on that in a bit - but if you're curious to learn more ASAP please drop us an email at yourplayfulpeanut@gmail.com.

Brag Book

Nothing puts a smile on our face like seeing our playful peanut gear being loved by others.  Here's two cute pics that crossed Facebook this week.  Seriously cute.  The one on the left is my (Kari-Ann) newest guinea pig.  If you've got a 2 year old, like I do, you know they don't cooperate well when it comes to trying things on, in their hair, etc.  Fortunately my cute little niece, Emma, does!  The other is the seriously cute Allegra.  Look at those eyes!  Seriously, what else can we say?! (Okay, it may show that I've been watching my Grey's Anatomy DVDs while sewing this week.  I'll cut the seriouslys.  Seriously.  I promise :).

Refer-A-Friend

As moms, we all know the best products in our houses are the ones our friends recommended to us.  We all have that go-to person who seems to have tried everything and have honest reviews of each of them.

With this principle in mind, we're launching our first Refer-A-Friend Promotion on our Snack-Loc Bags.  August is Back To School month, and while we think these will be the handiest Back To School purchase you make this month, we don't just want you to take our word for it.  So here's how it works...

-If you have previously purchased Snack-Loc Bags and love them, please tell your friends.  (You can find current fabric selections on both our Facebook page and our website - playfulpeanut.com.)  If your friends decide to purchase our Snack-Loc bags, ask them to mention your name when purchasing.  On August 31st, we'll draw one pairing and both the person who made the referral and the person who was referred will win their purchase FREE!
-If you haven't yet purchased Snack-Loc Bags but know someone who has, contact them to find out what they think, and then use them as your reference when purchasing and your could both win your purchase FREE!
-Don't know anyone who's tried them?  Be the first and if you like what you see refer your friends and you could both win your purchase FREE!

The more friends you refer, the more chances you have to win!

Oh, and did you notice on our Facebook page that Snack-Loc Bags are shipping FREE in August? 

If you live in the Elm Creek or Morden areas and would like to check Snack-Loc Bags out for yourself, please drop us a line at yourplayfulpeanut@gmail.com to make arrangements.  We're always happy to show off our little basement "stores." 

*We know that there are other reusable snack bags on the market, and we also know that lots of crafty people are interested in making their own.  All we can say is that we're very proud of the product we've come up with, and the price point we sell them at.  If you opt not to purchase our product in favour of either other option, PLEASE do your homework.  I recently came across a few on the market that are lined using a substance that is only one molecule off gasoline.  Please be careful.

Starting Fresh

I don't know about you, but I love starting fresh.  I'm the one you call when you want to clean out your closet because there is nothing more satisfying than not looking at the same ol' stuff anymore.  You know what they say about how if you've had something kicking around your closet for a year and you haven't touched it, chances are that you aren't going to in the next year either.

That's sort of how we're feeling right now.  We're basically sold out of stock.  I've got a few bibs, blankets, headbands, hair clips and soother clips, but otherwise we've done a pretty good job of cleaning house the last couple of weekends.  And that means a chance for us to start fresh.

I'm not kidding when I say that between the two of us we've ordered something like 60 yards of fabric in the last week or two.  The first batch came today and we're like a couple of kids at Christmas thinking of what we're going to ear mark for what.  In fact, as soon as I hit publish on this post I'm going downstairs to start cutting out more and more projects.  Corn and Apples Festival in Morden isn't far away, and we've also got something a little fun planned for our Facebook page in August, so we can't be out of stock for long!

I'd love to show you all 60 that we've ordered, but I'm not even sure I remember what they all are (isn't that half the fun?!).  Here's a little taste of what I know is on order.  If you see anything you love tell us your vision for it!  If all the dresses I've been sewing lately are any indication, you are far more creative than us!  yourplayfulpeanut@gmail.com!

Soother Clips

Let me start by saying that we love our ribbon soother clips.  But just because we love the old, doesn't mean there isn't room for something new!

I'd bought these supplies a while back, but then got sidetracked with a few other projects (in other words, have you seen some of the cute dresses that are being posted almost daily?!).  Someone recently contacted us to see if we made such a thing, and so the supplies were dug out, and it was time to try something new...

What do you think?  Doesn't it look like the most delicious string of bubble gum?  They are available for purchase.  Cost is $8 each, and they'll hit the website soon, but you can email if you want to be among the first to have one - yourplayfulpeanut@gmail.com. 

Dresses, Dresses, Dresses!

We're never short on ideas of what to make...  Sometimes we overwhelm ourselves just thinking of what to do next.  So I have to admit that sometimes we pick and choose what WE think, over what YOU think.

Silly, silly, silly.

We held an Open House a while back, and Courtney got to talking to us about whether or not we made dresses.  Our response?  WE're capable, we just never had as part of the 'biz.  She was in need of matching ones in size 1 and size 9, and that's not something you can find in the store.  So inspired by her, we got a pattern, got looking at some fabric, and then posted it up on Facebook.

And then realized that we should have probably started making dresses eons ago.  But that's water under the bridge.  :)

Anyhow.  The only unfortunate postscript to this little story is that Courtney's dresses didn't turn out just like we'd hoped.  You see, we order a lot of our fabric from the states (and it breaks our hearts because we love to support our fellow canucks, but the price and selection just does NOT compare).  In all the time I've been ordering fabric from the states (and we're talking well before the playful peanut days), I've never had an issue.  A week/10 days and it's here.  So I ordered up what she wanted, and we waited.

And waited.  And waited.  And WAITED!  Until 2 days before her scheduled family picutres at which point we opted to wait no longer...

Courtney seemed pretty okay with the final result (basically picked from the masses of fabric in my basement), but I will admit to being pretty disheartened at how it all went down.

At least, I was until I saw the pictures on Meaghen's phone while sitting at Carman Fair.

What do YOU think??  Or can you even get past the ridiculously adorable family to even focus on the dresses??

PS - Big thanks to Jodi Lee from Memories by Me Photography for letting us borrow your pics.  I was in such a rush to get these dresses to Courtney that I never actually took pictures of them before they left.  Having now seen Jodi's pics, I'm pretty glad I don't have my mediocre photography skills next to it.  :)

The Contenders

I'm going to sleep on whether or not we'll do some voting...  Maybe the decision will come to me in my sleep (hey, it was a crazy dream that convinced me that we had the right name for our daughter!).

By the way - thanks again for the suggestions.  I hope you had as much fun with this as we did.  And we're super overwhelmed by al the nice things you had to say about our little company.  Honestly, we sometimes still pinch ourselves that this little business venture is so well received wherever we go.  We don't take for granted that we get to spend our days with our babies, and flex our creative muscles at night while they sleep.  :)

Okay - now for the complete list...
-Snack bag
-Peanut pack
-Play n Pack
-Playful Pack
-Snacky Snack
-Snack-loc bag
-Snacky pack
-Sandwich pack
-snackeeper

-zip-n-trip
-re-luncher
-re-lunchie
-mod pod
-re-baggie
-SnaKSaK
-EcoSnacSac
-Snakalopes
-In a Nut Shell
-Small Wonder
-Pouchini (preferably said with an Italian accent :)
-Litterless Lock Bag