meta-dad » cool schtuff

Contemporary baby book

Meta-Dad — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:30:26 +0000

For those of you looking for a modern take on the classic baby book, check out the Binth Baby Book. Entirely screen printed. Entirely original. It simple clean no-frills layout with soft muted palette is screen-printed on recycled white stock and cloth cover.

Beautiful woodland illustrations will lead you from the day of birth through the 3rd birthday celebration. With ample room for photos, and to jot down thoughts and memories. In it’s handsome keepsake box this book will become a cherished family heirloom. In it’s handsome keepsake box this book will become a cherished family heirloom.

$110 bucks [+shipping] at Binth

Graphic Scandinavian poster for kids room

Meta-Dad — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 11:30:24 +0000

With so many cutesy things for kids out there, peculiar and unusual are not adjectives typically used to describe baby toys and decor. But not “Our Children’s Gorilla Children Unite!” poster at Huset. Just as it’s name might lead you to believe, this Swedish company’s designs border on the nonsensical, but in a good way.

Inspired by the 60′s revolution era, this graphic designer made the message big and bold, get together and make a difference. Poster of ecolabled recycled 120 gr paper.

Dimensions: 39″ x 27.3″ (100 x 70 cm)

$40 bucks [+shipping] at Huset.Com

Free Father’s Day Coloring Pages

Meta-Dad — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 22:20:32 +0000

Father’s Day is coming up and here is a list of fresh links for decent free Father’s Day coloring pages. Use the back of some old documents and recycle a bit. This will give them an opportunity to create something nice for day without spending a dime.

Granted this image caters to a dad comfortable with his internal (or external) ‘geek’. Geek or no geek, every dad will appreciate this outstanding collection of free Star Wars Coloring Pages available, or perhaps Star Trek or even a coloring book of Gangsta Rap Stars. If you Pop is a republican, here’s a fantastic John McCain or for the Obama Pappa there are plenty of printable sheets, alongside wonderful coloring pages of Salvador Dali, Ghandi and many others famous people.

There is also a small selection of puzzles can print for their ‘Old Man’ so he can have something to do with all that spare time you give him on his special day. For those dad’s more into other sports, cars and other more traditional things, scan the list below and see if anything sparks interest.

[*The image above is perfect for printing on standard sized paper, just right-click and save to you computer or send right to the printer.]

Father’s Day Coloring Books;
Star Wars Coloring Pages
Star Trek Coloring Pages
Famous People Coloring Pages
Skateboard Coloring Pages
Basketball Coloring Pages
Baseball Coloring Pages
Football Coloring Pages
Football Coloring Pages

Father’s Day Puzzles;
Football Word Puzzles
Free Printable Word Puzzles

Easy essential baby gift ideas from a dad that knows

Meta-Dad — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:30:57 +0000

Whether you are an uncle or nephew, grandpa or dad there is always one lingering person on your shopping list that may haunt you. If it is that baby nephew or granddaughter that your stuck on, here are a couple ideas.

Go for essentials- onsies, bibs, socks, etc. You get the idea, don’t get the run of the mill stuff- you want to get something memorable (also not too expensive, from my experience with three babies- expensive does not necessarily mean ‘quality’). Get natural fiber stuff and if possible get natural rubber toys and pacifiers.

Pictured above is some excellent stuff from the Modern Baby Company. There products are consistently made with quality fabrics (super-stretchy onesies and tops make it easy to change the kid) and sweet modern designs.

Kids lunch bag, BUILT-right

Meta-Dad — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:14:24 +0000

In our quest for the perfect lunch box, we found a BUILT-NY has developed a concept that incorporates whimsical fun with practicality. They collaborated with the award-winning children’s book illustrator, Stephen Savage, to take on the project of creating zoo animals for the design of the lunchboxes.

After all, what good is a lunchbox that doesn’t look good?

MADE FROM SOFT SIDED POLYPROPYLENE
TESTED LEAD AND FOOD SAFE
INSULATES FOOD AND BEVERAGE
SMALL HANDLES FOR SMALL HANDS
SAVES HUNDREDS OF BAGS OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR
UNZIPS TO A PLACE-MAT (STORES FLAT)

Munchler Bags @ BUILT-NY for $10 bucks [+shipping]

Water-powered clock for the kids room

Meta-Dad — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:31:21 +0000

The assumption is that this cool little clock design is made from a recyclable plastic since the merchant claims it is ‘eco-friendly’ but I have not verified. Regardless, it is a very clever design and will spare the landfill of a couple batteries.

With sustainable design and practical function in mind, this eco-friendly Bedol water clock keeps perfect time without batteries. Just add water and a dash of table salt to the clock’s water tank to make it work.

4.25″h x 3.75″w x 3.5″d
$22 bucks [+ shipping] via SFMOMA store

The complete Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Shopper

Meta-Dad — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:32:24 +0000

Every kid has their favorite show, right now my boys get excited about all things having to do with Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Last week it was Diego, next week- who knows! With birthdays coming up, I wanted to flush it out and see what things are available. Aside from birthdays, there is the seemingly endless need for fun, engaging activities and games for the little ones. I was able to find some pretty unique stuff, Wubbzy crochet kit, cross stitch, Here are some helpful links to build your Wubzy arsenal.

Check out the Frederator Studios link, it seems like they are involved with the production of the show and have some interesting articles and videos. Also, surprisingly, Amazon has done a decent job at creating a Wubbzy mini-store complete with free coloring pages and discounted and hard to find items.

A bit of show trivia for you thanks to the folks at Little Toons, originally based on a story by the show’s creator’s niece, Viviana Ogawa, which he assembled into a storybook called The Tail of Flopsy, Mopsy, and Ted which he later renamed as Widget, Wubby, and Walden. Wubby morphed into Wubbzy and Walden was named after Walden Pond.

Helpful Links:
Little Toons.Com | Wow! Wow! Wubbzy [*Beware! Loud streamed music on this page, adjust your speakers now!]
Baby Dreams | Wow! Wow! Wubbzy Party Supplies
Baby Dreams | Wubbzy Sticker Sheets
M80 | Great printable Wubbzy images (*great to set the stage for a Wubbzy Party)

Wow! Wo! Wubbzy! Videoblogs and Webcast
Frederator Studios | Talk to the Snail
Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Wubcast [* video webcast]
Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! production blog and webcast

Wubbzy Coloring Pages & Activities
Nick Jr. | Wow! Wow! Wubbzy Free printables and colouring sheets
Kids Turn Central | Wubbzy Coloring Book [*PDF download]
Amazon | Discounted Wubbzy Activity Books

Pay Kids Allowances Via PayJR. Card

Meta-Dad — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:30:46 +0000

PayJR.Com has an allowance system that is based on paying your kid’s allowance vis a vis a refillable Gift Card, specifically a Target Gift Card, branded as a PayJR. Visa Buxx Card. Parents can use this system to their benefit because it is complete with custom a Chore Chart and email notifications for both kid and parent.

Personally, I think this would work best if employed with a built in matching system. That is, what ever they earn on their Buxx Card will be matched in their savings account, this way they are learn about healthy money management.

Gangsta Rap coloring book

Meta-Dad — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:30:53 +0000

The Gangsta Rap Coloring Book is just as it sounds: a series of images in thick black lines of the most popular gangsta rappers from hip-hop. The juxtaposition of hard-core thugs portrayed through a children’s medium made this book an underground hit in Aye Jay Moreno’s first, self-published edition. Now expanded from 20 to 48 pages to include even more of the music’s superstars, this collection is a witty hall of fame of gangsta rap.

Pirate Ships Attack!

Meta-Dad — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:19:02 +0000

Happy Squash Toys are all entirely hand-crafted by Jim and Jenise from Hillard, Ohio, they’re a true ‘Mom & Pop’ operational. They make wonderfully original designs, never from a pattern. All toys are made of poplar wood with oak axles and all paints and finishes are applied by hand and are lead free and non-toxic.

Seems that the legislation that was recently enacted to protect us the Consumer from lead-filled toys puts the smaller toy makers at risk. The third-party testing portion of the bill adds a costly leg to the toy-making process for companies like this and may squeeze many of them out of business. While lobbists and industry are busy raising fists at each other, we should be helping out the small companies that consistently craft good safe stuff. There are two great reasons to shop from a place like Happy Squash, they make unique & safe hand-crafted toys at a good price and we need to support these smaller shops anyway we can or they will simply disappear.

HappySquashToys @ Etsy.Com