Beautiful hand-crafted dolls made from up-cycled materials by a Minnesota mama.
Lauren, owner and creator at Little Ren Creations is one talented human. She creates these adorable dolls, as well as a few other styles. I was really drawn to Lauren's creations because of their uniqueness. I had never seen such a pretty handmade doll that can be worn in a little sack and I thought it's perfect for my little adventurer. I also love that Lauren named these little dolls "leaf babies" after Mother Nature's beautiful leaves, making these a great tool for helping children to learn the importance of nature and our beautiful Earth.
When Lauren sent me this in February, I told her I was going to wait to gift it to Rowan for her 3rd birthday, but you guys! I seriously just could not wait another two weeks for Rowan to see it, so she got it as a "just because" gift. Those are good for everyone sometimes, ya know?
The doll came so sweetly packaged and it even came with a tiny baby bottle that Rowan loves to use to feed it, with the occasional breast feeding session from time to time. I'm happy Rowan understands diversity in feeding babies. LOL. But really it is important for kiddos to grow up knowing all the ways babies are fed, because fed is surely best!
Any who, another thing I love about these little leaf babies, is that they are playful and colorful, and they also fit so nicely in a young child's hands, making them a great addition to our "tools" for open ended play. During our little photo shoot, I set these little houses up for Rowan and she immediately started to play with the dolls, talking to them, having them walk around and into the houses, sleeping in the houses, etc. I just love seeing her imagination and creativity flourish with beautiful, hand-crafted, toys that allow it to do so.
Another way Lauren's dolls help children to understand the importance of caring for our Earth is that they are all made from up-cycled materials. These materials are ones needing a new life and she gives them that in the most beautiful way. She uses yarn left over from her amazing creations at her other shop Mezame Designs (stay tuned, I will be sharing that shop later this month) and thrifted and gifted fabrics. When she does buy new, she makes sure to purchase from local farms and shops so that those materials are also sustainably and thoughtfully produced.
Lauren has some great dolls available now in her shop and they would make great additions to any Spring (easter) time baskets you may be putting together for your little one, go give her some love on Etsy and Instagram.