Eco-friendly Crafting with Kids

Spring vacations and even summer vacation are soon upon us. I know there are days when I hear the inevitable "I'm booooored." Now I know to have an arsenal of activities up my sleeve. Rain? No problem! We can craft now. Our favorite is Eco-Friendly Crafting with Kids by Kate Lilley.

Kate Lilley's hugely popular blog, Minieco, chronicles her adventures in crafting with her two small sons. In Eco-Friendly Crafting with Kids, she presents 35 bold, colourful and ingenious new projects especially designed for preschool children up to and including the age of five. Starting with Homemade Materials, learn how to make basics such as play dough, chalk and crayons. In Music, create musical instruments then enjoy getting noisy with them afterwards! Nature reveals fun ways to get in touch with the natural world, while Recycling Bin has ideas for making a kaleidoscope or a robot costume from discarded cardboard tubes and boxes. Paper and Card features paper-crafting projects that involve snipping and sticking, while Sewing and Threading projects will help develop fine motor skills. Science is packed with messy stuff that kids will love, such as homemade gloop and magic potions. The final section contains 50 boredom busters for parents to pull out of the bag in an emergency. Every project is explained in clear step-by-step instructions accompanied by easy-to-follow photography, showing exactly how to create these gorgeous, rainbow-bright toys and games.

I usually mark the pages of a book for the activities we will want to try, but I soon realized with Eco-Friendly Crafting with Kids that I wanted to make every single thing. We have been crafting warriors since we got this. My husband made the cardboard box guitar with my daughter. She loves it!
We have made our own playdough which we dyed with red cabbage and tumeric. We conducted a red cabbage and lemon experiment to talk about color-change.

My personal favorite was making our own watercolor paints with natural egg dyes and using old bottlecaps for the containers. They are amazing and so fun.
I love that every craft is so easy to do and that most of the items are found around your home helping you to reuse and recycle them. Gotta go, more crafting to be done!

Eeboo Makes Colors Shine

Kids loves creativity and they love fun. One of my favorite companies for eco-friendly toys and fun is eeBoo. eeBoo is a family-run company that is taking the world of play by storm. The company began with a concerned parent that wanted to be responsible about the safety of toys kids play with.
Almost all of their products are made simply of paper, cardboard, (often recycled) and non-toxic inks. Product Mommy has been an eeBoo fan for a very long time. I find the toys they offer grow with my daughter and she never gets tired of playing with eeBoo toys.

Her new faves are the Metallic Pencils which come with their own sharpener and are chunky enough for little hands to get a great grip on. She is partial to the cool silvery streak these fabulous pencils make.
The Activity Books give children puzzles, coloring and word games that spark their creativity and challenge their little minds.

We bring along the activity book the smaller set of 12 Tool Color Pencils when we are on the go. They are small enough to take along in her art portfolio and when she is forced to accompany me to the gym.
eeBoo keeps my child, and this mommy happy with safe, delightful toys for all ages!

A Toy Garden Stockmar Giveaway!

One of my favorite sites to shop on is A Toy Garden. The products are all so diverse yet with the same theme of simple, creative play. I did my first review of A Toy Garden when I began this blog.
In the winter there is nothing we love more than creating in our home. When the weather keeps us in, we still have fun. The Multicolored Beeswax Candle Making Kit is a great way to keep little hands busy while creating beautiful candles for home and hearth. I adore the scent of beeswax, and these candles are easy for little hands to make. My daughter was very into the fact that she could do this all on her own (I helped cut the wick). She was so into the beeswax, that I also pulled out the Stockmar Modelling Beeswax. It is easy to warm in hands and very pliable. It never dries out! The smell is so comforting and it is very therapeutic to play with. My daughter and I discussed Fall and what it means. To her, Fall means apples. She decided to make her own little wax apple with tiny green leaf. She then used more green to make an owl.
Want to win your own Stockmar Modelling Beeswax 12 piece set? Here's How:

Giveaway Rules:
This contest is only open to US readers. You must be 18 years or older to enter. You must be a Product Mommy follower. All entries must be received by 11:59pm on December 7, 2011. Please include your email address in each entry. Winners will be chosen at random. I will notify the winners on December 8, 2011 via email (please respond within 48 hours) and your Stockmar Modelling Beeswax set of 12 will be mailed directly to you.

How to Enter: You must be a Product Mommy follower. Leave comment after the post with your email.


Extra Entries:
You must do the "How to Enter" first and be sure you leave a "comment" for each extra entry and tell me which one you did. Don't forget your email address too.
1.Become a fan of A Toy Garden on Facebook
2.Become a fan of Product Mommy on Facebook
3.Become a fan of Product Mommy on Twitter
4.Subscribe to Product Mommy by email (top left of blog page)
5, Twitter about this contest (and leave a link to the Tweet)
6. Post this giveaway on Facebook (and leave a link)

Made to Play!

It must seem like I am harping on this, but winter is fast approaching. My daughter has a wonderful vivid imgination, but she does get bored, especially when we are home-bound with 14 inches of snow on the ground outside. This year, I am ready for it. I have tons of ideas and crafts planned for maximum fun. Made to Play! by Joel Henrigues is full of ideas for projects made from paper, cloth and even wood.

Overall, the projects here are meant to stimulate imagination, build confidence through success and enjoyment, and enhance the bond between family and friends through the creation of unique, artistic handmade toys and crafts.

Many if not most of the projects in Made to Play! can be done using scrap materials, which also means less waste for you. My dad and I made the Small Wooden Animals (which fit into a mint tin. I had him cut them out from a piece of scrap wood and I used a simple wood-burning tool to make their faces and spots. My daughter and I made the Animal Finger puppets together, and we had out own puppet show. We now bring the Small Wooden Animals with us on outings because they are so compact, yet provide hours of fun.
I love having more ideas in my arsenal for making everyday full of creativity and fun for my little one.

Mama K's Aromatic Play Clay

Maybe some of you heard about the snow...on Halloween weekend! It was my first taste of being caught indoors, but we actually had some really fun things to do. We recently were lucky enough to get some Mama K's Aromatic Play Clay. With scents like Lavender, Geranium, Sweet Orange, Cardamom,Lemongrass, Chamomile and Bergamot, they are really a feast for the senses. Mama K's was created by Kari Erickson-Valenzuela, aka Mama L. She created her scented Play Clay for use with her own active three-year-old, Olimpia.

Avoiding the artificial ingredients and cloying fruit and soda scents seen frequently marketed to children, she came up with a product that inspires focus and creates a calming atmosphere, all while encouraging creativity.
Mama K's Play Clay is a kid-safe clay with subtle aromatherapy oils to soothe the mind. Ingredients are basic and natural: they include certified gluten free flour, extra virgin olive oil, vegetable colorants and pure essential oils.

I love that the ingredients are 100% natural and suitable for kids with Celiac and Autism Spectrum disorders. The colors themselves are really soothing and not shocking, and the feel is just perfect. They are easy to mold into whatever shapes you want. I have never been a fan of some of the play doughs and clays available, so Mama K's is perfect for me. The scents are delightful rather than artificial. My daughter was hooked from the minute she opened the Geranium play clay and she (and my husband) played for hours. Maybe I imagining things, but it did seem to soothe and calm a cranky, indoor-bound child. I think this play clay does wonders for all of her senses!

Hello, Dolly! (Corolle Doll Giveaway!)

Every little girl and boy has had that favorite item, whether a blanket or doll. We have lots of cloth dolls for my daughter, and she has a great time playing mommy, but she wanted something different. When a cousin recently had a baby, my daughter was after me for a "real baby doll". I finally figured out that that meant a vinyl baby doll. My baby doll was named Zachary, and he was a Corolle baby doll. I knew my daughter would be thrilled with a Corolle doll because they are so real-looking, and because they really are heirloom quality (I also adore the delicious vanilla scent). Corolle dolls come in all shapes and sizes, as they have for over 30 years. Corolle dolls are made for children to bond with.

Our first Corolle doll was the Bebe Do. This adorable soft-bodied baby doll comes complete with its own feeding bottle and soft bunny. It also comes with a book that teaches little girls how to take care of their dolls like a "real mommy". She measures 14 inches, so she is a good size. Her soft body makes her so cuddly, and she is really the perfect size for little girls and their first larger baby doll. Bebe Do has logged a lot of time in my daughter's carriage and cradle.

For "little mamas" that want an even more realistic "baby", the Corolle Bebe Amour is perfect! Bebe Amour is the size of a real 3-month old baby. She has a soft body and sleeping eyes. You can actually use your child's onesies (or even a younger siblings clothing) to dress this doll. It is amazing how real she does feel.

I love that Corolle fosters a child's creativity by giving them these objects of love. Children learn to bond, care for a childhood friend, and make memories to last a lifetime. I love watching my daughter respond to her doll's imagined "needs". Bebe Amour and Bebe Do run the gamut from tired, to hungry to playing. No batteries, no flashing lights, just childhood fun!

Want to get a Bebe Amour for your little one? Here's how:
Giveaway Rules:
This contest is only open to US and Canada readers. You must be a Product Mommy follower. All entries must be received by 11:59pm on August 6, 2011. Please include your email address in each entry. A winner will be chosen at random. I will notify the winner on August 7, 2011 via email (please respond within 48 hours) and your Bebe Amour will be mailed directly from Corolle.

How to Enter: You must be a Product Mommy follower. Leave a comment with your email address under this post.

Extra Entries:
You must do the "How to Enter" first and be sure you leave a "comment" for each extra entry and tell me which one you did. Don't forget your email address too.
1. Become a fan of Corolle on Facebook
2.Become a fan of Product Mommy on Facebook
3. Become a fan of Product Mommy on Twitter
4. Subscribe to Product Mommy by email (top left of blog page)
5. Twitter about this contest (and leave a link to the Tweet)
6. Post this giveaway on Facebook (and leave a link)

Topozoo

I love watching my daughter create. I also think giving her a challenge every now and then helps to further develop her mind, and her imagination. Topozoo are the perfect way to combine both imagination and problem solving. Topozoo are made in the USA from formaldehyde-free recycled wood and child-safe color stains. All sets are safe for kids age 3 and up. They have everything from dinosaurs to mythical creatures, safari animals and even Spring-inspired rabbits and ducks.

When we first got the dinosaur set, my daughter made sure to put all of the blue pieces together, red, etc., then she got creative. So the T-rex became a fun hybrid of her own design. Topozoo are also a great way for kids to have fun together. We had some friends over, and it was fun to watch the kids create their own designs and make up stories to go with them. I love that Topozoo are made from recycled wood. It is an eco-conscious company. The cardboard box they come in are perfect for storage. I cannot wait to get more. These would also be so adorable in a child's room (or even an office, as my husband sneakily suggested because he wanted them).

Folkmanis!

I love anything that helps me communicate better with my child. I find the sometimes a little spoonful of fun makes her do the things she is not so fond of, like letting me brush her teeth or helping to clean. That is probably why I am in love with Folkmanis. As far as puppets go, there is not a better selection out there. From simple stage puppets to real-life looking hand puppets, and finger puppets they have it all. We are animal lovers here in Product Mommy land, and our first Folkmanis was a Polar Bear, and the collection has expanded from there. Folkmanis is always bringing out new designs and they are all hard to resist.
Our newest puppet friends are the Hermit Crab, which is probably hands-down the coolest puppet I have ever seen. It looks like the real thing, and it makes my daughter giggle like crazy. So far Hermit Crab has joined us for dinner and bed time, where he “read her a book.” This Hermit Crab brings summer home, and makes everything more fun. Our other new friend is an adorable Standing White Rabbit. This rabbit looks like the real thing and is a great pal to read Goodnight, Moon with! During a particular tooth brushing struggle, Rabbit jumped in and brushed her teeth.
Puppets are a great way to help children learn, read to them and make an argument dissipate with a little bit of fun. There is no greater resource for puppets than Folkmanis!