RVA Naturals

Have a birthday coming up in the family? Let’s make number ornaments for the birthday ring! These are made with a simple pipe cleaner and needle felted wool roving. We are asked often if we carry the @grimmswoodentoys ornaments and numbers for the birthday ring. We do not keep them in stock, but did you know we are happy to special order them for you (along with many other items you might be looking for.) Just come in or send us a dm to ask! Make sure to plan in advance as much as possible to ensure there’s plenty of time for shipping 💛

Isn’t it amazing what a piece of silk fabric can become in the hands of a playful imagination? If you’re unfamiliar with play silks, they are the perfect foundation for open ended play. They can used as water, fire, dirt, snow, grass, trees, just about anything in small world play. They can become baby doll hammocks or child sized baby carriers (just like mama or dad wears!) They make excellent dress ups, can be flown like kites tied to sticks, made into stuffed animal parachutes, doll blankets, or draped across a nature table in seasonal colors. Play silks make excellent learning tools as well - practice form drawing or letter shapes by creating them with silks, then walk along the shape to get good physical input. Tricia hand dyes all the silks we carry here at the shop. She also creates dancing wands and comet balls with them! It’s amazing to see the magic created.

Let’s explore the @grimmswoodentoys Natural Geo Blocks set. This set of blocks comes with 60 pieces in a net bag. The blocks all fit perfectly with each other. Many are halves (or quarters!) of larger blocks in the set, making math become a natural part of play. It’s a set full of potential - younger children enjoy simple stacking, while older children can use the blocks to create within builds - things like shelves, castle and house details, stairs, paths, anything their imagination can dream up. Oh and the @joguines_grapat mandala pieces make wonderful additions when you build shelves - have a market fully stocked with loose parts fruits & veggies!

We carry gifts and goods for all ages at RVA Naturals. Sustainably sourced and made from all natural materials like cotton, wool, wood, and beeswax. We pride ourselves on researching every product we carry so you can rest assured you’re taking home something safe and made with love and care.

The holiday gnomes have been quite busy since they moved in. Today they tested all of our best stocking stuffer ideas. If you’d like to see their round up of favorites, watch our stories! Shop in store and online. If you’re local, you can place an order online and we’ll have it packed up and ready to be picked up (making sure to keep all the treasures inside well covered, of course) If you’re shopping online, make sure to place your order by Monday 12/16 for west coast shipping and Tuesday 12/17 for east coast shipping.

✨Happy first of December. And a very happy first day of Advent. Time to set up our advent spirals and prepare for the spiral walk. Each Sunday of advent, we light the candle and read that week’s verse. Each night we move the tomten forward until he reaches the very center on Christmas Eve. This time together is also a great moment to read each day’s chapter in the story The Yule Tomte and The Little Rabbits. We now have both the book and the @grimmswoodentoys Advent Spiral in the shop! Make sure to save this reel to come back to the verses each week. Or even better, make yourselves some beautiful verse cards with watercolors to have them right on hand✨

We had to build an entire new table to fit our holiday @grimmswoodentoys order! Check out a few of the new pieces we unpacked, and come visit us to see the whole collection. You really can’t beat seeing these in person and feeling that wood in your hands. Magic just waiting to unfold.

We enjoyed one more Tinkering Tuesday with an autumn theme yesterday. Potions were expertly crafted, leaves were dipped in beeswax and we heard the story of The Pumpkin House. Next week we begin into advent! Join us, we offer morning groups and afternoon. Sign ups are in the link in our bio. Invite some friends and make it a fun play date!

A few new trucks drove into the shop recently! Made in Sweden from pine and beech, these trucks have many movable parts and will delight any transportation loving child (or let’s be honest - any natural toy loving adult!)

We took a little break from Tinkering Tuesday this week but we’re back at it next week! Come join us for some sensory fun, a cup of tea, a story and some time with friends. Sign ups are linked in the bio - hope to see you there!

Martinmas, also known as The Festival of Compassion is this Monday, November 11. A day to celebrate the light and gentleness we all carry within us. This light must be protected, just as our lanterns protect the candle light we carry. Join us in making a Martinmas lantern to light Monday evening when the stars come out to honor our inner light and the light of St. Martin who was known for his ability to bring warmth and light to those in need.