Life, Gluten Free

Non-Toxic Crafts, Part 1 (+ a giveaway!)

*update* the winner is Carol, #28 and her comment was "I love the recycled cards to color."

Crayola products are labeled non-toxic but I have my doubts. Sophie was given two products by Crayola for her birthday from a friend; paint and sidewalk chalk. First, she tried the sidewalk chalk and broke out in hives. The next day, she tried the paint and broke out as well. We called the company and they said that some of their products contain gluten, so there is a definite chance for cross-contamination. We didn't want Sophie to use Crayola products to begin with, especially since in the past, asbestos was found in the crayons.

The verdict? Think twice about Crayola products if your child has celiac disease or a gluten allergy. Always check products and call the company to ask about allergens, because non-toxic doesn't mean allergy-free. 

One of my favorite places to find non-toxic craft supplies is the Stubby Pencil Studio. For crayons, Sophie uses the soy-based crayons. If your child has a soy allergy, opt for beeswax crayons.

Stubby Pencil Studio was created in 2006 by Kate Rosenthal. She recognized (thank you, kate!) that there was a need for eco-friendly, do-it-yourself stationary products for young children. Her inspiration was her two daughters.

Kate is offering one lucky-ducky reader a beautiful package of beeswax crayons and a recycled sketchbook!

Here's how to enter:  

1) Visit Stubby Pencil Studio and tell me another product that you like. (required to be eligible to win)

2) Leave a comment with the above answer.

3) Entry entry? Follow my blog (left side of page, under Subscribe). Leave a separate comment.

4) You must have a U.S. mailing address to qualify to win.

5) Contest is open until Friday, April 10th at 11:00pm MST.

Good luck! 

-heather

snackTAXI Review & Giveaway

snackTAXI is a family-owned company. They offer lunch-sacks, sandwich-sacks, and snack-sacks. The material used for the outside of the sack is 100% cotton and the inside is nylon. The sacks are free of heavy metals (including lead) and phthalates. They can be hand washed OR machine washed!

The dimensions are:
Snack-sack: 6"W X 4.5"H
Sandwich-sack: 7.5"W X 6"H
Lunch-sack 10"W X 11"H with a 3" bottom

They can be purchased online through snackTAXI but they are also available at some retail locations.

Sophie was thrilled when we received ours to review. She started putting some of her gluten-free bread in the snack-sack right away. And after I photographed them in our craft area, I realized that their use could go beyond food. They could also be used as a nice pouch for crayons. But, right now we are using them for snacks and sandwiches. I have taken them on a picnic a couple times now, but they are also very useful around the house. I can put something in the snack-sack and my daughter can easily eat out of it.

These are great for children and adults and I highly recommend them! If you haven't stopped using ziplock bags yet, then you definitely need to give these a try. They are colorful, functional and will save you money (and the environment) in the long-run.

Win a set to try! snackTAXI is offering 1 sandwich-sack and 1 snack-sack to one lucky winner.

Here's how to enter:

1) Visit snackTAXI and tell me which is your favorite pattern(s) AND tell me how you will use these. [Be sure to complete this step in full to be eligible].

2) Fill in your answer in the entry form below.

3) Entry entry? Follow my blog (left side of page, under Subscribe).

4) You must have a U.S. mailing address to qualify to win.

5) Contest is open until Friday, March 27 at 10pm MST.

If you are unable to access the entry form below, then leave a comment.
Good luck! 

-heather

Non-Toxic Crafts

You might be surprised to learn that the term "non-toxic" has no official definition or independent certifying agency. While you can assume that most companies test their products to ensure they are non-toxic, I would be more skeptical.

My daughter has allergies and she is very sensitive to chemicals. Through simply doing crafts and {attempting} to have fun, we have found some products that in our opinions, are not only NOT non-toxic, but should definitely not be labeled as being so.

 I will be posting about ways to "green your craftmaking." This will include safe craft products to use, and ways to recycle and be creative while making crafts.

If you want to join in, grab my button (below) and post about ways you recycle to create new things, or what products you have found that are safe. 

One thing that never really fails is the sniff test. If the craft product you are using with your child has a heavy chemical smell, ditch it! Children are even more prone to being damaged by chemicals. This is truly something that every parent needs to be more concerned about. We can't assume that companies know what is best for our children. That is our job :)

You might be wondering, "Okay, so certain products bothered your daughter, but my child doesn't have allergies. Why does it mean that we should avoid products that you've found to be harmful to your daughter?"

If you are wondering that, good for you. It is a great question. Children who have allergies and are sensitive to chemicals are a red flag for all of us. Children who are playing with products that are labeled "non-toxic," but aren't having any reactions, doesn't mean it is because the product is non-toxic. Some children are able to filter out the chemicals more efficiently. The children who aren't having a "surface" reaction (meaning: a noticeable reaction) are still being bombarded in the inside and the chemicals they endure may have an affect on their long-term overall well-being.

Stay tuned for more information and the first post about safe and not-so-safe products. And of course, more gluten-free recipes :)

-heather

Saving Money?

We do everything we can to cut corners and reduce our spending. It's not only about the environment, but it's about not continuing to go into debt.  

What do you do to save money? The natural grocers that we shop at has new sales every month, and when we see items that we use a lot (like organic olive oil), we try to buy several.

We happen to live less than a mile from Vitamin Cottage, and we walk there as much as possible. Just last week, we took a walk with Sophie's wagon to refill our jugs of water and buy a few things. I know that refilling plastic bottles has a few negatives (like potential plastic leaching after long-term use), but it's what we can do right now. We are trying to figure out what type of filtration system we could use that really filters.

During times like these, it can be easy for people to fall victim to depression and other emotional problems. The best thing to do is be positive. Don't be afraid to make positive affirmations, but don't give up if you don't see any drastic changes right away. It takes time, and you really have to believe what you are saying.

I recommend the book You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay. She also has a dvd based on the book.

Be positive! :)

-heather

Happy Green Bee Tights Review & Giveaway

Happy Green Bee was created by Roxanne Quimby. She created the company with the philosphy in mind that the clothing be comfortable, colorful, playful and ecologically responsible. In my opinion, she did just that! 

The clothing is cute and upbeat. My daughter got to try the Watermelon/Sky tights. I love them! They are spunky and fun plus soft and comfy. The best part is that they are made from organic cotton.

Happy Green Bee also offers tops, bottoms, sportswear and incredibly cute dresses!

It is important to wear organic cotton because non-organic cotton is grown with petroleum-based pesticides and chemicals. This chemically-grown cotton can cause rashes and eczema. 

My daughter has rashes and eczema, and when we found out how profoundly non-organic cotton can affect you, we switched her to only organic clothes. We have seen an improvement and we love the durability and softness of the organic cotton clothes.

Win it! Happy Green Bee is offering one of my readers one pair of their organic cotton tights. You get to choose the style and size! Sizes infant to 4 years.

Rules on How to Enter:

1) Visit Happy Green Bee and tell me what style/size you would choose and tell me who you want to win these for.

2) Leave a comment with the required information (above) or you comment will be deleted.

3) You must have a U.S. address to qualify to win.

4) Deadline is February 8th at 11pm MST.

5) Extra entry? Grab my button and put it on your blog or web site. Be sure to leave a separate comment telling me that you did. You can also blog or twitter about this giveaway. If you blog or twitter, be sure to leave a link so that I can verify it!

And lastly, Good luck! Leave a creative comment. The winner will be chosen randomly, but if they do not respond, the person with the most creative and wholehearted comment wins!

-heather

Flip & Tumble Reusable Bags (Review and Giveaway!)

Flip & Tumble bags were created by Hetal Jariwala and Eva Bauer. They met while attending Stanford University's Product Design graduate program. After graduating, they took a leap and started flip & tumble bags!

There are two bags, the 24-7 bag and the loopt bag. And I can tell you that the bags are durable and are able to hold a lot of groceries, toys, clothes, cloth diapers and wipes, you name it! I use them for my shopping and for trips to the park. The 24-7 bag folds up into a ball for storage (see photo at top left). You can carry them in your purse or even in your pocket so you will be sure to have one at the check out! For a serious shopping trip, you can easily use several loopt bags to carry all of your purchases.

The 24-7 bag boats a 25lb carrying capacity and the loopt bag has a 23lb carrying capacity, so you can be sure they will hold all of your groceries and more. My favorite is the 24-7 bag not only because it rolls up easily but because the shoulder strap is comfortable, leaving my hands free to grab my running toddler. (and run she does!)

The 24-7 bag:

Just fold and roll the loopt bag for storage and secure it with the elastic:

Why use reusable bags?  from the web site:

The average person in the U.S. goes through 332 bags a year. Often we use these bags for what amounts to just minutes or hours, but plastic bags stick around for 500+ years.

Win it! Flip & Tumble has offered one loopt bag and one 24-7 bag in the winner's choice of colors. 

Rules on How to Enter:

1) Visit Flip & Tumble and tell me what your favorite feature and color of each bag is. *You must complete this step in full or your entry will be deleted*

2) Fill in your answer and information in the form below.

3) You must have a U.S. address to qualify to win.

4) Deadline is January 21 at 11pm.

5) If you are unable to fill out the form, you may leave a comment and be eligible to win.

Extra entry? Grab my button and put it on your blog or web site. Leave a separate comment telling me that you did!

Ring in the New Year!

If you do your research, you will find that most people agree that new year's resolutions fail because the person has set their expectations too high or have made too many resolutions at once. I have a different take on this and a solution to the dreaded new year's resolutions.

Most resolutions are to change something that you don't like about yourself, for example, to lose weight. Instead of thinking about what you don't like about yourself, find ways to appreciate who you are. Think about how you might could improve yourself, in a positive way.

If you do feel that you need to trim down, restructure your words, they make a powerful impact on how you feel about yourself and how you feel about whether or not you will accomplish your resolution(s).

For example, test out these two sentences and take time to notice your emotions:

"I am very overweight. I don't eat right and I need to lose weight."

"I am at my proper body weight. I am eat nourishing foods and my body image reflects that."

Take time to realize what you want and act as if you already have it. Don't be your own critic. Instead of feeling bad about yourself and judging yourself, appreciate who you are. A lot of good things can come from that.

This year, we are going to be focusing on things that we can do to improve ourselves and our relationships. We are going to be careful to not focus on the negative, but rather think of what we can do in a positive light, instead of bashing ourselves because of our self-perceived weaknesses.

We are also going to be watching Louise Hay's movie You Can Heal Your Life.

Beyond that, here are a few tips on some resolutions you can make to help the environment:

1) Use reusable bags. Keep extras in your car for the times that you may forget to grab them on your way out. Don't limit them to just grocery shopping, use them for all your shopping trips.

2) Use biodegrable trash bags, like these: 

- Eco-Smartbags Biodegradable Trash Bags.

- Perf Go Green Kitchen Bags With Handles.

- Seventh Generation Trash Bags.

3) Use cloth diapers and cloth wipes. We use FuzziBunz. If you don't want to purchase specific cloth diaper wipes, you can simply use wash cloths. We have a mixture of cloth wipes and regular wash cloths.

4) Use reusable water containers like Sigg or Klean Kanteen. 

5) Recycle! Make sure your recycling container is larger than your trash container. We have that option in our city, and we have the smallest trash container instead of the largest.

May you all have a blessed and positive New Year.

-heather

Our Cardboard Christmas Tree

Eco-friendly Christmas!

We didn't know what we were going to do for our Christmas tree this year, and because of my daughter's allergies, we couldn't get a real one. The artificial christmas trees on the market pose a health hazard because they contain lead, and they are also not very good for the environment (they aren't biodegradable).

It was getting to be pretty depressing as Thanksgiving drew nearer, because my tradition is to start decorating the tree on Thanksgiving. I am subscribed to a web site called Mom Giveaways, and from that I found a giveaway titled "Eco-friendly christmas tree from the cardboard tree." from a blog called Purple Pink and Orange.

And I won. :)

My husband painted the Christmas tree while Sophie and I started working on decorating the ornaments. We used paint and ribbon.

And while I do realize that using paint decreases the eco-friendlyness of the tree, we are still really pleased and are looking forward to bringing it out year after year. 

One of the best features is that it folds for storage, into a slim box. Can you believe it?

And my husband took the time and patience to string LED lights on the tree. :)

Below is one of my favorite ornaments (the round colorful one).

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,

Your branches green delight us!

LED lights save on energy but they still contain lead. All Christmas lights contain lead because it is in the PVC wire covering. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly and do not allow kids to touch the lights.

-heather

Save the Bees, Save life as we know it

It's not that I don't think people care. Rather, it seems some people are unaware of the seriousness of the situation. Also, I believe some people suffer from "someone else will take care of it" syndrome. Well, in that case, I just have to say: wake up. We all have to do our part and there is something that each and everyone of us can do. For more information, I have listed some sites below that contain excellent information.

Here are some excerpts from the links below:

"Honeybees are the only insects that produce food for humans."

"In recent years, beekeepers have been losing 25 percent of their hives each winter."

"Insects pollinate two thirds of the world's crop species, whose fruits and seeds together provide 15 to 30 percent of the foods and beverages that we consume--approximately, one out of every four mouthfuls."

"The United States alone grows more than one hundred crop plants that need pollinators, such as apples, cherries, pumpkins, blueberries, and many other fruits and vegetables filling grocery store shelves."

"Insect-pollinated crops contributed an estimated $20 billion to the United States economy in 2000."

•Save the Bees Article
•Colony Collapse Disorder
•Join the Hunt for Bees
•Adopt a Hive
•Help the Bees

•Save the Bees Facts and Info
•5 Ways to Help

Simple things you can do to help:

• Do not use insecticides
• Support local organic farmers
• Plant seeds to attract bees:
      › Calendula
      › Clover
      › Shasta Daisy
      › Lance-Leaved Coreopsis
      › Plains Coreopsis
      › Purple Coneflower
     › Sweet William Catchfly
• Buy honey only from bee keepers that use sustainable practices (no chemicals!)
     › Honey Gardens
• Spread the word!

-heather

Labels: green living, health

Earth Day 2008 and Comments on Whole Foods' reusable bags

Happy Earth Day! 

I am pleased to see that a lot of companies are celebrating Earth Day. Whole Foods and Vitamin Cottage are among them of course. Other companies such as Tokyo Joes are also celebrating by planting a tree in your name if your purchase a reusable water container. 

If I'm not mistaken, WF and VC are both giving away free reusable bags tomorrow on Earth Day. We don't have anything special planned, although it seems we should...

A note on reusable bags...

Some of our favorite resusable bags:

Chico bags:These are durable and have a handy-dandy pouch. String cotton bags: These are very versatile bags. We even use one to hold bath toys.

We bought some reusable bags from Whole Food's recently. They are blue nylon (or nylon-like) material. At first glimpse, they seem durable and expansive. However, I went to use one today and noticed the seam had ripped on one side. Because of the stitching, the bag is still useable because there are other seams holding it together. I am not sure if this happened as a result of my use or prior. I was only carrying a few light items, so I can only imagine what would have happened if I was truly carrying large grocery items.

Whole Foods does not have my full trust for many different reasons. The CEO has proven himself to be a nut case. But that aside, here is an article about Whole Foods that I recently found:

The Whole Story About Whole Foods Market

One thing we are going to do to celebrate is plant a tree.... 

-heather

Labels: green living