Green Gal Pick: WestMama Designs Review and Giveaway!!

I am so excited to introduce this next Etsy shop to all of you.  WestMama Designs is an ADORABLE little shop that features all sorts of earth and people friendly apparel and gifts.  

Kimberly kindly sent Miss C a 100% organic cotton t-shirt in her unique giraffe design.  WestMama Designs uses only non-toxic inks and people friendly materials.  Kimberly cares about the people behind the materials she chooses in her shop.  

Onto the review of this cute t-shirt.  First thing that I noticed is that this t-shirt is SO SOFT.  It has a silky, light feeling to it.  The color is beautiful.  It is a muted orange that is ideal for a boy or a girl.  But, what really impressed me about this shirt was the unique design.  At first glance, you see a giraffe, but then you notice that the giraffe has stars for spots.  I think it adds a touch of whimsy to this children's shirt and makes it special.  Miss C loved her giraffe shirt and kept growling at it (she isn't so great with animal sounds just yet, haha).  This shirt is nice and light, so it is perfect for layering in the spring and fall when you aren't quite sure what the day will bring.  It also works great for summertime, because the light soft material is so breathable.  

WestMama Designs caters to a natural parenting crowd.  She uses phrases and  images that tie us to our earth and one another.  Here are a few that I know the more "crunchy" crowd would love:

I had the chance to talk with Kimberly and get some insight on her business and her inspirations.

How did you get your start in green clothing and accessories?

I have always been a creative person and for long time wanted to start a business on Etsy. After my daughter was born I knew I needed a an outlet for my creativity to help combat my ppd. Act of going green was a no-brainer for me. It is very important to me that the product I use treat people and the earth kindly. It's that simple. 

Where does your inspiration come from?

My inspiration comes from my immediate environment. Often my back yard or my son's interests. The Bird and Tree design is from a dogwood in my back yard. It is the lone tree back there and brings me a lot of joy. I also want to create items that are different from the mass produced gender specific stuff. 

What is your favorite item in your shop? 

It is hard for me to pick a favorite. I'd say my bird and tree shirt is up there. 

My little bird card set, because they were inspired by a great late winter day in Oregon. 

And my cuttlefish because I LOVE cephalopods.  

What are you hopes for your business over the next five years? 

My hope is that I'm still in business. That my products are in more stores locally and that I can earn enough income to stay at home with my kids as long as possible.

Well, I for one, certainly hope that WestMama Designs sticks around because the quality and caring behind each item is certainly going to make this shop popular for any baby presents I need to buy!

WIN IT!

Kimberly has generously offered to host a giveaway for one LUCKY Baby To Green reader!  The winner will get to choose a shirt in the size and style of their choice!!  What a great prize!

To enter each entry must have an email address in the comment or visible in your public profile.  No email address = no winning.  Each comment is worth 1 entry into the drawing.

Mandatory Entry:  You must be a follower of Baby To Green via Google Friend Connect and you must become a fan of WestMama Designs On Facebook.  After we are all friends, leave a comment saying that you will be our friend forever!  That counts as your mandatory first entry.

Extra Entries (only after Mandatory Entry has been entered):

• Fan me on Facebook.  
• Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter ID.
• Follow WestMama Designs on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter ID.
• Tweet this ONCE per day and leave the permalink in your comment. "Win an organic tee from @WestMamaDesigns and @Baby2Green http://bit.ly/bcSS3J #eco #giveaway"
• Go to WestMama Designs Etsy Shop and pick one item you LOVE and come back here to tell me what it is.
• Become a follower of WestMama Designs Blog

So that is at least SEVEN chances to win.  Be sure to pay attention on Twitter and Facebook.  I may or may not be giving out bonus entries throughout the week.

Deadline for entries is Friday, April 23th at noon Eastern Time.  All entries will be checked and any entry that doesn't qualify will be removed before the drawing.  The winner will be drawn via Random.org for fairness.  Winner will be notified and has 48 hours to respond.  If winner does not respond, a second drawing will be held.

Disclaimer: I did receive a sample product for review.  

This does not affect the review of this product. I was not paid for this review and the opinions are mine and mine alone. 

Green Gal Pick: Sew Natural Watch Me Grow One Size Pocket Diaper Review and Giveaway!

Chrissie over at Sew Natural Diaper Company was kind enough to send me one of her fabulous Watch Me Grow One Size Pocket diapers to review.  As you all know, the majority of my stash is pocket diapers and I really do love them.  I was so thrilled to try out the white Watch Me Grow that I washed it that night and had it on my daughter first thing in the morning.  Notice the morning bed head (no, her hair is not in pigtails - it is stuck that way from the hairdo the day before):

 

As you can see, the Watch Me Grow diaper fits my daughter very well.  I really love that it is a trim fitting diaper and I was even able to put jeans on her that day.  It is not only trim enough to fit under jeans, but it also is trim in the crotch area.  I like that in a diaper because it means it is more comfortable for my baby.  Some diapers are ridiculously wide and I think that can be really annoying in a baby who is learning to walk, crawl, or run.  

 On the smallest setting with lovely crossover buttons:

 

(Chrissie is changing the name over from DewDrops Handmade)

One the largest setting:

Inside:

 

The trimness doesn't affect performance a all.  This diaper held up to a 5 hour span when daughter fell asleep on her bedroom floor one afternoon.  I usually worry when I don't change her right before a nap, but I didn't have to stress at all with the Watch Me Grow.  She woke up with a very heavy diaper, but she was dry, her clothes were dry, and her carpet was dry.  Yay!!!

I love the this fits from 8 pounds all the way up to 28 pounds.  That is great on the wallet (especially since these diapers are priced at just $16 a piece -- great price for a reliable pocket) and the earth!  The inner absorbent layer is Sew Natural's ROBIN tri-fold insert.  This insert has six absorbent layers of bamboo french terry and 3 layers of cotton velour.  I have some of the velour inserts and they are S-O-F-T soft.

 

Chrissie was kind enough to answer my obnoxious questions and it really makes me love small mom businesses even more.

What got you interested in cloth diapers/cloth diaper making?

I always knew that I would cloth diaper my children. Initially I began with just prefolds and covers - I was already overwhelmed with making clothes, blankets, and enjoying our first baby to really think about actually making the diapers myself! When I found out we were expecting our 4th I knew I was going to need to restock our diaper stash so I decided I would make my own. I have gone through several trial diapers to end up here and I'm constantly working to make my pattern better.  

What inspired the new diaper design?

The new diaper design was inspired by the fact that I want people to understand that cloth diapering is EASY, and I was hoping to make it as painless as possible! I used to avoid AIOs because they take so long to wash and dry, it completely defeated the purpose to me. So I incorporated some new fabrics developed by Wazoodle Fabric company designed specifically to increase the effiency of diapering! I think that the new diaper brings the trimness and ease of a disposable and the practicality and eco-friendliness of cloth diapering together nicely.

What do you hope for your business in the future?
I really hope that I can continue to grow my company, so that in 5 years when my youngest enters kindergarten it can be a full time job for me. Eventually I would love to open and fabric/sewing store here. . . but for now I have babies to raise!

WIN IT!

Christine has generously offered to host a giveaway to one LUCKY Baby To Green reader!  The winner will get to choose a Sew Natural AIO in their choice of color and size!  

To enter each entry must have an email address in the comment or visible in your public profile.  No email address = no winning.  Each comment is worth 1 entry into the drawing.

Mandatory Entry:  You must be a follower of Baby To Green via Google Friend Connect and you must be a follower of Chrissie's Blog at Naturally Sewn.  After we are all friends, leave a comment saying that you will be our friend forever!That counts as your mandatory first entry.

Extra Entries (only after Mandatory Entry has been entered):

• Fan me on Facebook.  
• Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter ID.
• Tweet this ONCE per day and leave the permalink in your comment. "Win a @SewNaturalDipe AIO #clothdiaper from Sew Natural Diaper Co. and @Baby2Green http://bit.ly/cvUSrR"
• Go to Sew Natural Diaper Company's Etsy shop and pick one item you LOVE and come back here to tell me what it is.
• Follow Sew Natural Diaper Company on Twitter and comment with your Twitter ID.  
• Stop by Naturally Sewn and comment on any post. 

So that is at least SEVEN chances to win.  Be sure to pay attention on Twitter and Facebook.  I may or may not be giving out bonus entries throughout the week.

Deadline for entries is Wednesday March 24, 2010 at noon Eastern Time.  All entries will be checked and any entry that doesn't qualify will be removed before the drawing.  The winner will be drawn via Random.org for fairness.  Winner will be notified and has 48 hours to respond.  If winner does not respond, a second drawing will be held.

Disclaimer: I did receive a sample product for review.  

This does not affect the review of this product. I was not paid for this review and the opinions are mine and mine alone. 

Green Gal Pick: Fridge-It Odor Absorber Review and Giveaway ***CLOSED***

As everyone knows -- diapers stink.  In my home there are a LOT of diapers.  My daughter uses cloth diapers which I keep in a pail liner inside a regular trashcan until it is washing time.  But, I also have my own home daycare and most of them uses disposable diapers which end up in my trash can each day.  Needless to say, by the end of the day my hallway STINKS.  Since I do not use chemical air fresheners and the weather isn't quite warm enough to open the windows and let some of the stink out, I am stuck with a stinky house until the end of the day when I can take out the trash and wash diapers.  I knew that there had to be a green way to control odors inside the home without spraying toxic chemicals to cover up the smell, but I couldn't find anything for a long time.  Then I saw Innofresh's blog.

As I read, I realized that their line of eco-friendly, fragrance and chemical free line of activated carbon odor absorbers was exactly what I needed.  Another huge plus, these are made right here in the USA.  Which makes them greener because they do not have to ship from halfway around the world.  I do not use chemical cleaning products in my home for the safety and health of my family, my dog, and my daycare children.  A find like this was something I needed to have ASAP!  Unlike other products that just mask odors, their activated carbon odor absorbers actually eliminate the odors by absorbing and neutralizing - so the odor is permanently eliminated - not just covered up like other "air fresheners."   So I contacted Bruce over at Innofresh and he generously offered to send me some of their awesome odor absorbers to review.

So once I received the odor absorbers, I out them to the ultimate test -- well my daycare kids did.  I stuck one at the bottom of the garbage can and put in a fresh bag.  Within an hour, there were 5 soiled diapers in that can.  For the first time, I could walk through the room without smelling anything at all!  I also clipped one to the lid of my daughter's diaper pail.  That pail sat for 3 days before I washed the diapers and there was no odor in or around the pail.  Usually I have to take the pail down into the basement each night and store the dirties down there until washing, but not anymore!

Since I love to put things to the test, I also put one in our fridge, freezer, and my husband's lunchbox.  My fridge stinks like onion because I use a lot of onions and garlic when I cook.  And that old box of baking soda just isn't cutting it anymore.  Nothing is worse than putting butter on your bagel in the morning and your butter tastes like old onion -- ICK!  My freezer had that lovely smell of freezer burn -- at least I think that is what it is. I'm not actually sure what freezer burn smells like.  I wanted to see how long it would take to remove the odors from the fridge, freezer, and lunchbox.  I clipped these absorbers in at 8 in the morning and by lunchtime the odors in all three locations were completely gone.  I was amazed.  

Now, if only I could get my dog to wear one on his collar...

BUY IT!

You can buy Innofresh Odor Absorbers directly through their website or use their site to find a retailer near you.  Use coupon code BK409B to receive an automatic 10% discount on purchases made on line at www.Innofresh.com   This coupon code must be entered into the required coupon field during checkout.

WIN IT!

Bruce over at Innofresh generously offered to give a FREE six pack of FRIDGE IT cubes to one lucky Baby To Green reader!  

To enter each entry must have an email address in the comment or visible in your public profile.  No email address = no winning.  Each comment is worth 1 entry into the drawing.

MANDATORY ENTRY:
Leave a comment telling me your "stinky" story.  Make me smell the stink people.


Extra Entries (only after Mandatory Entry has been entered):

• Tell me the closest retailer to you where you can buy Innofresh products.
• Follow me via Google Friend Connect on the sidebar and leave a comment.
• Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter ID.
• Follow Innofresh on Twitter (say hi to Bruce while you are there!) and leave a comment with your Twitter ID.
• Tweet this ONCE and leave the permalink in your comment. "Kick stink to the curb with @Innofresh and @Baby2Green #eco #clothdiaper http://bit.ly/cd9ZXa"
• Friend me on Facebook and leave a comment with your Facebook name.

So that is at least SEVEN chances to win.  Be sure to pay attention on Twitter and Facebook.  I may or may not be giving out bonus entries throughout the week.

Deadline for entries is Wednesday March 17, 2010 at noon Eastern Time.  All entries will be checked and any entry that doesn't qualify will be removed before the drawing.  The winner will be drawn via Random.org for fairness.  Winner will be notified and has 48 hours to respond.  If winner does not respond, a second drawing will be held.

Disclaimer: I did receive Innofresh products for review.  

This does not affect the review of this product. I was not paid for this review and the opinions are mine and mine alone.