WW: Ecofriendly, green toys

My boys have found some interesting things to play with this week.
On Saturday, we were at an organic market and purchased 2 sparrows in a bamboo cage for $1.20.


The boys took turns looking at the birds and holding the cage. After a few hours we let them go.

Yesterday, one of the neighbors gave Jojo a grasshopper to play with. He was really proud of it and used it as an action figure. He let it ride in his toy trucks.

I guess "eco friendly toys" are everywhere you look!

Wordful Wednesday: Dyeing Playsilks

I love Waldorf-style toys, and I was very excited to find this tutorial on www.Make-Baby-Stuff.com about an inexpensive way to dye your own playsilks!

I ordered 6 plain white silks from here. I got 4 35x35 (at $3.75 each) and 2 30x30 (at $2.80 each!), thinking the smaller ones would be more manageable for my one-year-old, and my 3-year-old could use the larger ones for capes!

I prepared the vinegar soak as detailed here and put in all of the silks with a full tea kettle of hot water:

I first dyed red and green, because I only had two containers to work with.

The red dye was 2 packets of cherry Kool-Aid and one packet of Black Cherry Kool-Aid.


For the green dye, I had only 2 packets of some kind of lemon-lime Kool-Aid. MakeBabyStuff.com recommends 3, but I didn't plan ahead that far...

After about 5 minutes I took the green silk out and rinsed it, followed by the rinsing of the red silk.

I didn't plan ahead in my vinegar rationing either, and I noticed I would run out before I finished all 5 silks (I decided to leave one silk undyed, so it could be white "snow" for an igloo play set we have from Imagiplay).

To conserve vinegar, I saved the green dye water and added blue food coloring to it to dye the blue silk.


MakeBabyStuff.com recommends wearing gloves to prevent dye stains on the hands, but I didn't have those either...



I "recycled" the red dye concoction by adding 3 packets or orange Kool-Aid to make our orange play silk.


I used the vinegar soak from step one of the tutorial for my yellow dye. I had 2 packets of Wyler's lemonade, but it wasn't as brilliant a yellow as I wanted, so I added a good splash of my favorite brand of yellow food coloring.

It is called Best Odour Brand, made in Thailand! I just like the name! They make extracts, too!

When the silks were hung to dry, I was so excited I wanted to wake my preschooler from his nap to come see them! I refrained, because I am trying to save these until Christmas!


But I did give him the white one to play with, which made a great "snow" surface for the Arctic Playset!

Craftsbury Kids

Craftsbury Kids is an amazing selection of handmade treasures for children!

On their web page they describe their philosophy; it's like they can read my mind:

:: A breath of fresh air in a gadget-filled world. ::
Your Source for the Best in Handmade & Independent Design for Kids.

Let your senses revel in the smooth feel of real wood toys, the fine hand of natural fiber baby knits, the beauty of a hand-embroidered piece. In an industry that is over-run with shoddily-made gizmos and gadgets your child doesn't need, take comfort in our carefully handcrafted classic wooden toys, natural fiber dolls, cozy knits, and thoughtful books. A large toy room and nursery full of things may seem impressive, but a small collection of truly useful and beautiful possessions will see far more use, and prove worthy enough to be handed down to the next generation.

Bestill my heart, they are having a giveaway!!



Craftsbury Kids has a new Shopping Section, and is
bigger and better than ever with over 70 artist partners
and counting! To celebrate, we're giving away this
fun-filled prize package worth over $290 -generously
contributed by various Craftsbury Kids artists- to one
lucky person! Enough goodies to treat the kids, and
have some left for gift giving!
Or maybe you'd rather keep them all...

Here's What the Winner Gets!
As shown above from left to right:
Click the links below for more information about the
artists and items:
Gnome Doll by projectgrabbag (one doll, exact style
not pictured), Pumpkin Monster Cape by
Baby Leo Designs, Fox Creature Mask by Abigail Brown,
Itty Bitty Oak Tree by Hi Tree!, Four Pewter Drawer Pulls
by f. is for frank, Owl Bonnet by Beek (size 2-4T),
Spool Doll Family by Erica Daley, Caterpillar Pull Toy
by Brian Driscoll, 'Hello Friend' Print by Marisa Hopkins.

Giveaway Guidelines:
:: There 3 different ways you can enter to win this
amazing prize package:
1- Forward this newsletter to 5 or more of your friends
and CC contest@craftsburykids.com.
2- Blog about our New Section, or some of your favorite
Craftsbury Kids items and/or this contest. Then send a
link to your post to- contest@craftsburykids.com.
2- If you don't have a blog, comment on our blog
at littleida.com about one or two of your favorite
Craftsbury Kids items and why you like them.
:: You have until midnight on Monday, October 6, 2008
to enter. The winner will be randomly chosen and
announced on littleida.com Tuesday October 7th.

Just one of these beautiful handmade items would be amazing to win, but all of them?? I might faint!!

Silicone Baking Pans and Recycling Crayons!

I have these great silicone number and letter molds from Sillycone, Inc.:

I also have many many old bits of crayons, some of them from when I was a child! I was inspired to use the Letter Ice and Number Ice trays to recycle the crayon bits and make something fun for my son:



All I did was break up the crayons and put them in the molds, then put the entire tray (on a cookie sheet) in the oven for about 10 minutes. I took them out to cool after they melted, then easily removed the hardened wax from the flexible molds.

More than an ice tray. More than a pan. ®

It's really a mold that's colorful, educational, flexible & nonstick. A design patent pending product line that's made from high-gloss FDA tested silicone and is oven-safe to 550ºF and (-50F) is cool to the touch within minutes after baking. Food cooks and browns evenly, there's no unbaked pockets or pale looking goods. Our trays won't retain odors or flavors, and are dishwasher safe. For storing, they fold or bend to fit anywhere.

Make Ice, Jell-O, Sidewalk Chalk, Butter, Concrete Numbers, Spell your name in Soap, Make Chocolate Letters, Short Bread Cookies, Number Crayons, Brownies or Muffins, Candles, etc...
A perfect product for Kids Birthdays, Anniversaries, Graduation Parties, an Educational Tool for Back to School, and many more...



I think it came out great, and I can't wait to try it with some other silicone molds I have (hearts for valentines favors, anyone??).

Here is another great idea I found on a blog called Daily Danny. They used a large sheet of melted wax and cut it with cookie cutters while it was still a bit warm:

The full instructions are here, on the Daily Danny blog.

Get more green tips today at the Green Baby Guide! Today is Thrifty Green Thursday!

ImagiPlaying

I LOVE toys made out of natural materials. There are so many advantages to choosing wooden play things, including durability, safety, and beautiful simplicity. I was excited to discover ImagiPLAY toys, which are made from plantation-grown chemical-free rubberwood and bamboo (which is actually a grass). ImagiPLAY uses safe, renewable materials, no child labor, and pays it's factory workers a living wage. But besides being ecologically responsible and crafting toys with integrity, ImagiPLAY toys are adorable and downright fun!
My 3 1/2 year old got a new ImagiPLAY toy called puzzleplay. It is a puzzle and an 18 piece play set all in one! In the rainforest play set that we have, the pieces are in the shapes of various rainforest animals. The animals are thick enough to stand up on their own. This is a terrific toy that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways.

I wondered if Jojo would have the skills to do the puzzle; it looked pretty challenging to me, but it was no problem for Jojo.

ImagiPLAY also has a line of toys for toddlers: Baby Deeds has his very own Pushalong Duck. The wood is gorgeous and smooth, hand painted using child-safe (lead free) paints. The wheels on the Pushalong Duck have little rubber "tires" so that it rolls smoothly and doesn't scratch surfaces.

Deeds has fun pushing his Pushalong Duck, but he also likes to kick it, making it roll really quickly, so that he can "run" after it and kick it again! I have tried to teach him that ducks make a "quack quack" sound, but Deeds makes his Pushalong Duck go "vroom vroom"!

Check out this cool Arctic Expedition play set! It has a variety of arctic-themed figures that store nicely inside of a fabric igloo! I think it is one of the neatest and most practical ideas for a play set that I have ever seen! Jojo likes to hook the dog sled around the dog's tail and haul the other members of the Expedition. The Arctic Expedition play set sees A LOT of action at our house. I'm going to borrow the igloo and polar bears for a Christmas centerpiece. Shh! Don't tell the kids!

Isn't this African Safari set the cutest? I love the baobob tree the little baboon that fits so nicely on top of it. The driver of the safari jeep also slides inside like a puzzle piece.


I think it is so important to give my children quality playthings that help them learn about the world around them. ImagiPLAY playsets are a great way to introduce simple concepts of ecology and zoology.



ImagiPLAY also has an ENORMOUS variety of Colorific Earth Puzzles for teaching numbers, letters, spatial relations, and hand-eye coordination.
The hand-painted, 3-D Number Snake is a fabulous manipulative for a tactile learner to explore number sequencing (as a teacher I get excited about these things!).


So, how would you like to win an amazing prize from ImagiPLAY?

You could win the VERY COOL ZOOM TO THE MOON playset ($27 value)!

To enter, simply comment here with your favorite ImagiPlay puzzle (besides the snake, of course!).

One winner will be chosen by Random Integer Generator at www.random.org and notified by email.

This giveaway will close on Sunday, August 3, 12 midnight.

*Congrats to jnmacdonald*

Green Mountain Wee Woolies

Handmade, natural toys are something that I REALLY get excited about. I especially love Waldorf toys (which are classic, simple, and designed to be open-ended). If I had some sort of windfall of cash, I would be powerless to resist all hand felted, crocheted and knitted toys.

Since I appreciate the finer things in the world of toys, I am smitten with Green Mountain Wee Woolies etsy shop. Fiber artist Valerie has been handcrafting since childhood. All of that practice has paid off in the form of beautiful, timeless wool toys and baby knits. These are perfect for anyone who recognizes that fine hand-crafted toys are works of art as well as treasured playthings.

One my favorites is this cute little a la carte collection of veggies. Those peas look rather tasty...

There are also fruits, if that is your preference.

I also spotted some knitted gnomes frolicking about in the garden...



There are so many wonderful things at Green Mountain Wee Woolies...I have been browsing for a while now and need to pull myself away!

But first I have a generous giveaway from Valerie of Green Mountain Wee Woolies fame:

TWO winners will each receive a knitted Wool Gnome in their choice of color! The gnomes are 7" tall, knit from wool yarn, and stuffed with carded wool. Natural fibers and VERY CUTE!

To enter, visit Green Mountain Wee Woolies and look around.

Comment here with the name of something you like from the store that was NOT mentioned in this post.

This giveaway will close on June 12, 9pm CST.

TWO winners will be chosen by random number generator.

Hooray for prizes!

You ANAMALZ!

I should have a little sense of shame and avoid talking about recent purchases after my little "stop shopping" diatribe from yesterday, but I don't.
Actually I wouldn't call it a "diatribe"; it was more of a "time of reflection".
Anyway, what did I buy on my Birthday Excursion to Target? Toys. For my kids.
I couldn't resist. I found a super-adorable eco-friendly line of animal figurines called ANAMALZ.
I bought a zebra. We named him Zeebz (we aren't very good at original names).













Zeebz and all of the other Anamalz are made in Australia from (sustainable) plantation wood. They are painted with non-toxic, water-based paints. They are glued with formaldehyde free glues. They are painted by hand and put together by hand, and not in a sweat shop, either!
These are the kind of toy that I LOVE. Eco-friendly, high-quality, safe materials, and oh-so-adorable: anamalz are at the top of my list currently.
Look at these other cuties on my Anamalz wish list:

When I bought Zeebz he was packaged in cardboard. I was curious about the packaging, because the Anamalz company strives to be Green in their choices of materials and processes for toy making. I contacted the company and asked what that card board was all about, and here is what I found out:

Firstly, as we are 100% committed to producing environmentally friendly toys, we didn’t want to package our anamalz at all ,and they are usually sold in stores on an individual basis. They are displayed on an “anamalz” stand, and sold from there, rather than in the boxing you’ve seen. The only store which has boxing is Target USA, as this was necessary as part of their stockist requirements. That said however, it must be noted that the packaging used for our Target USA stock was 70% recycled cardboard.

I'm a bit disappointed in Target over this, as I was thinking how the packaging was very unnecessary. But at least it is recycled cardboard that I in turn re-recycled.

To get my spirits up I had a look at this cute animated music video featuring a song about elephant anamalz. And here is a non-official anamalz video that made me chuckle. Enjoy!

Dangers of #3 Plastics: PVC

I am still in the process of ridding our cabinets of cups, bottles, and plates that contain the harmful hormone-disrupting chemicals. It requires a lot of research to determine what things are safe and what aren't. Beyond plates and cutlery, what about the containers in which some foods are sold? What about plastic toys?
I am trying to educate myself about the plastics labels. Not only is it hard to remember what each plastic number means, some of them are not even labeled!
I was also surprised to learn that a recycling symbol on the bottom of a bottle does not necessarily mean that the product is recyclable.

The labels to avoid are 3, 6, and 7:

The products labeled with "3" contain Polyvinyl Chloride, or PVC. PVC is not accepted by most recycling programs, although it is possible to recycle PVC into building material. PVC has been found to pose dangers to human health as well as to the environment. PVC has hazardous qualities in the factories where it is produced and in our homes.
Those who work with Vinyl Chloride have a high risk of liver cancer, lung cancer, brain cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia. When PVC is made (or burned), harmful chemicals called "dioxins" are released. These chemicals can cause suppressed immune function and harm the reproductive system by disrupting hormones. They are also carcinogenic. Even low level exposures can cause low birth weight, and learning and behavior problems in children.
PVC needs many additives to make it stable and usable. Often these
chemical additives are harmful in and of themselves. Lead is often added to strengthen PVC. Another common additive is DEHP. DEHP is a phthalate suspected of causing cancer and reproductive disruption. Children are exposed to phthalates in PVC when they chew on vinyl toys. In 2005, European Parliment voted to ban the use of toxic phthlates in toys. They are still legal for use by US toy companies. Soft PVC (like those used in baby toys) contains plasticizers, usually phthalate esters,which are not chemically bound to the plastic and therefore leach or migrate. Phthalates in soft PVC toys have been banned in Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Greece and Mexico.
You know that "plastic smell", like the kind that emanates from a new car or a shower curtain? that is poisonous chemicals "off-gassing" from the PVC. According to the Center of Health, Environment, and Justice, "One EPA study found that vinyl shower curtains can cause elevated levels of dangerous air toxins, which can persist more than a month."
How can we spot harmful PVC toys? Healthy Child, Healthy World answers, "Some PVC toys may be labeled with a V or #3 inside the chasing arrows triangle usually located on the bottom of a product. Most won't be labeled at all. Generally, if a toy is a squishy plastic—like rubber duckies and baby dolls—or if it has highly flexible plastic as a component—like the clear pages in child "photo albums," the clear plastic purses that some girl's toys are sold in, or the plastic-like "fabric" used on some dolls—you should avoid it or call the manufacturer to ask if the product is made with PVC or phthalates."

Check out the detailed reports on these sites:
PVC Information

Healthy Child, Healthy World
Finding Non-Toxic Toys

Healthy Toys mean healthy kids

I have always had a fondness for beautiful, natural, unique, toys made of natural materials. I try to buy quality play things for my children, but I can't control everything that might come into the home via well meaning grandparents or birthday party guests. My preschooler, for a short time, was a fan of popular characters such as Diego or Thomas the Tank Engine. Toys that represent popular characters are pretty much never made of natural materials. Kids like what they like, don't they?
We did have a train in our collection that was subject to the Thomas recall in Spring 2007. Thankfully I had only just bought the train in anticipation of his birthday and had not yet given it to him. But it made me wonder; what OTHER toys might we have that are not completely safe? Were there recalls that I didn't know about?
HealthyToys.org is a non-profit organization that has tested a wide variety of toys to check for harmful chemicals.
A quote from the Healthy Toys website reads:

The U.S. government doesn't require full testing of chemicals before they are added to most consumer products, including children's toys. And once they are on the market, the government almost never restricts their use, even in the face of new scientific evidence suggesting a health threat. Because children can be exposed to chemicals from many sources, and because the effects of some chemicals are cumulative, it is important to look at the whole picture concerning chemicals and children's health. The law that's supposed to do this, the Toxic Substances Control Act, is outdated, according to the non-partisan U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). In 2005, the GAO found:

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has limited data on existing chemicals including toxicity and exposure information.
• EPA lacks data to ensure that potential health and environmental risks of new chemicals are identified.
• Chemical companies are not required to develop and submit toxicity information to EPA unless EPA issues a rule.
• EPA has used its authority to require testing for fewer than 200 of the 62,000 chemicals in commerce since 1979.
• For "new" chemicals, EPA estimates that...only about 15 percent include health or safety test data.
• For existing chemicals, only 5 chemical groups out of 62,000 have been restricted by EPA in 29 years

Healthy Toys.org conducts their own testing. They have a list of the BEST toys, which have no traces of dangerous toxins, and a list of the WORST toys. Parents can even long on to HealthyToys.org and request that a specific toy be tested. This website is worth bookmarking!
Also check out SafeMama.com for information about the safety of all kinds of children's products.