Wee Gallery Nesting Dolls - Product Review

First off, let me say that if you haven't heard Wee Gallery, and you love baby and kids products, black and white or small family run businesses, then you should check them out! The company is the brainchild of a graphic designer and teacher and it came about based on their own personal research, growth and development as new parents. In my family's experience, Wee Gallery products are not only made to last, they're made to develop and grow-with your child! This is a huge plus in my book. My favorite products for little ones are those that are designed with multipurpose use in mind, are educational, well made, and are able to transition with a child as they learn and grow.

I recently participated in and won a giveaway for the most adorable black and white nesting dolls from the Wee Gallery's Blog and facebook page. These are really well made, adorable little dolls and they came in the cutest little package imaginable! While my daughter is currently too young to play with them, she absolutely adores these animals. They'll be a wonderful addition to her room once we get a shelf put up that they can rest upon where they'll be out of reach but not out of sight. Right now they're sitting on my dresser with the traditional matryoshka dolls my husband and I purchased while traveling in St. Petersburg before we were married.

The nesting dolls next to a regular sized short pillar candle.

This set contains three fun animals: a panda, a penguin and a raccoon. They are super light weight, and are hand painted in Russia, just like traditional matryoshkas. Unlike the traditional Russian sets, this cute set of three perfectly captures the art and character of other Wee Gallery products. They have the simple, high contrast, eye catching black and white patterns of other Wee Gallery products and are made with the same care and attention to detail. However, due to the nature of this product and unlike many of the Wee Gallery's products, this set is not intended to be played with by children under the age of 3. This is primarily because the raccoon, the smallest doll in the set, could pose a choking risk as it's only 2" tall. The penguin stands at 3" while the panda is 4.5" tall. 

Here's a close up look!

These nesting dolls would make for wonderful nursery decor or a fun gift for an older sibling from a new baby! Or if you're like me, and still a child at heart who also happens to love almost anything black and white, then they might just bring a smile to your desk or other work space. I'm going to miss these when that shelf gets built! My mom gave me my first set of matryoshka when I was 4 years old and ever since then I've had a soft spot for these ingenious Russian toys! Wee Gallery's nesting dolls in the panda, penguin and raccoon are a new addition to their collection of products and became available for sale as of July 1, 2013. They retail for $38 which may seem expensive, but they are made and hand painted in Russia, so you are getting an authentic product.

If you're interested in trying out a different Wee Gallery product and one that is a little bit more budget friendly, have a look at their wall art cards a set of these is sure to delight any new parent as it did us. These were our first product made by Wee Gallery and I love them. These simple cards are my absolute favorite Wee Gallery product, at 18 months, my daughter still plays with them and talks to them daily! You can use them from birth until your little one no longer finds them captivating in a multitude of ways. Whether as a mobile, simply for something to look at, to grasp, to frame and decorate your nursery walls, for animal recognition or story telling these are sure to delight!

Ecocentric Mom - June Mom Box

I received a new subscription box in my mailbox yesterday and could hardly wait to take it inside and open it up! The box itself is small and brown and I was so curious to see just what could possibly be inside that would interest me as a mom, since that's who this box is targeted to. They also have boxes for expectant mom's and for baby. Ecocentric Mom focuses on healthy, natural products that help make your life a little easier, nicer and all around happier. You can subscribe for just $17/month shipping included and you'll get 5-9 products which will include both full size and trial products.

So here's what my box looked like: hmmm let's open it up!

Okay, so the inside is really cute. I don't love pink, in fact I try to avoid it, but the pink tissue and stamped heart on the inside of this box actually made me smile. The little brown box opened!

Underneath the sticker holding the tissue paper together you get two cards about the size of a postcard and greeting card. One lists all the box contents the other is an informational card with "Expert Tips" for that month's box. Cool! This month's tips were about Mosquito control and Going gluten-free which more and more people are doing in some capacity.

It was a hard choice on whether to read all the information outright or open the box contents and see what was in it before doing my homework and reading about the products. In the end curiousity won me over. I read the "Expert Tips" card in anticipation of what might be in the box and then I dug right into the contents. I figured I could always read the card after seeing what was inside. In reality, that only worked so well. A few products in and I was curious to know more about the things I was pulling out of the box, so then I decided to pull something out and then find it on my informational card and read about it before moving onto the next item. That system did work well. So here's what the June box held.

All said and done there were 10 products in my box and I was thrilled! I can't wait to try some of them out and oops, I've already opened the chips and boy are they tasty! Maybe lunch time wasn't the best time to open up this box after all.

So we'll start with the chips. They're all natural tortilla chips made with sweet potato and boy do they taste like it! I love all things sweet potato so honestly I was pretty excited to try these. We don't eat tons of chips so these were also quite a treat and I would buy them again if I can find them in my local grocery! The brand is "Food Should Taste Good" and they're right, it should and it did. They're also gluten free and Kosher and the ingredient list is tiny; just 6! Love that. They're still chips so they still contain fat, but they're a healthier option based on what isn't in them and they taste good which is always a plus for healthy food! They could be addicting and I may have to add them to our 4th of July Menu because I'm pretty sure my whole family could get behind these.

 There was one other food product in the box that I'm also excited to try, but will save it for a day when I actually need it, rather than biting into it now. It was an Eco Trek Fitness Whole Food Bar and it's got an awesome 10g protein along with 6 servings of fruits and veggies all

for only 195 calories and it's Vegan and 100% natural. I really hope this one tastes as good as it actually sounds when reading the ingredient list, because I'm always on the look out for great bars for outdoor activities and travel purposes!

The rest of the products are health, home and beauty products. I was a little disappointed that all of the items in the box are consumable,
so there is nothing that will last. But as far as assortment of items go, it's wide.

There is a sample of Jenuinely Clean Laundry Power Wash which looks interesting and smells really good. It's chemical free and that's always a plus! There was a full size bottle of Turtle Moon Health All Natural Mosquito and Tick Repellent which will get used this summer as we live in an area that both are a problem in! In fact I've already used it while out gardening at dusk the other night and it worked great. The bottle it comes in is aluminum as well and would be easy to reuse or re-purpose when finished with it.There was a travel sized bottle of Happy Seeds Watermelon Foaming Hand Soap which unfortunately leaked about 1/3 of the bottle on the box and tissue paper and was a disaster to clean up, but smells good. It's also gluten, nut and soy free which is a nice thing to have on around. I'm sure I could contact Ecocentric Mom about the leak, but I really don't want them to replace it, so it's not that big of a deal. I also received a Brigit True Organics Magic Healing Skin Balm Stick another new product that I look forward to trying out in the future. It can be used for just about anything that needs healing and comes in handy little tube. Great for a purse or bag if it works well!

Finally the four products I'm most excited for are the Lauren Brooke Cosmetiques Lip Color this is awesome lip color and a great moisturizer all rolled into one! It smells and feels great!

My Essence Of Antiquity Pomegranate Lip Scrub

which had to be opened and tried immediately and boy did it feel good! I might seriously be in love with this stuff.... A Green Leaf Living Lotion Bar I do wish it came in a tin or container of some kind rather than a plastic bag because it's so easy to use and would then be a lot more functional for throwing in my purse to take with on the go. I'll have to find something to put it in. Also, the information card said it was a full sized product, but the bag it came in says it's a "sample" a little confusing but judging by the size of it I'd say it was definitely a sample! Lastly, but not least of all there was a Shea Terra Organics Rose Hip Black Soap Face Wash in a 1oz bottle and this stuff is amazing! It doesn't actually smell wonderful, but it works as the label says as a "Micro-dermabrasion in a bottle." It can be used on all skin types, is 100% natural and you'll feel the difference after using it. Love this product.

So all in all, my first box from Ecocentric Mom was a hit! If you're intresested in getting your own box or just learning more check them out here. Use code "ECOMOM3OFF" before July 13th to save $3 off your first box (not valid for year or quarterly subscriptions) making your first box only $18! You can cancel at any time.


I was in no way compensated for this review. All opinions are my own thoughts and experiences. I am a current ecocentric mom subscriber. If you choose to subscribe from here I may receive a perk to my membership, but that is all. Best!