Category: giveaways

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Saturday Giveaway – from Muddy Feet!

Two sets of wonderful handmade goodies from Muddy Feet, a talented member of the Natural Kids Team, to giveaway….

First a bit about Kelly, the woman behind the handmade goodness ~

I make the toys that I would have wanted to have when I was a kid. I love little miniature worlds, fantasy and nature. I create with materials that are good to the earth and provide the most natural, tactile experiences possible for children. Some of my favorites are hemp, wool and wood. I believe that there is no job more important to children than playing; and I love that as a toymaker, I get to be a part of something so wonderful!
What she is giving away today ~ Both offerings would make great party favors.
A Set of 10 Hemp Bracelets ($25.00 value)

Feel good about the party favors you give out! Sustainably grown and cotton soft, these brightly colored bracelets are a perfect choice for birthday parties, pep rallys, school stores and even weddings! This is a fine, long fibered hemp that has been sustainably grown in Romania. This hemp is much softer than the usual craft store hemp, and will only get softer with wear!


The hemp has been dyed with low-impact dyes, some of it at the factory, and some of it by hand by me. You’ll get a set of 10 bracelets in bright bold colors, randomly selected from the current colors I have available. The main band of each bracelet is either 6, 7 or 8 inches long (see chart below), with “tails” at both ends to tie it on. Most colors are suitable for either girls or boys, but if you would like to keep it “girly-girl” or “boys only,” just let me know and I will select appropriately.
AND


Ten little mushrooms (a $15.00 value), so many possibilities. Give them out as party favors or keep them all for yourself. Line them up on a window sill or hide them in corners with little notes attached for your loved ones. Add a little magic to a dinner (or tea) party by tucking between dishes or use them to hold down simple place cards.

You’ll get 10 of these fun mushrooms to do whatever you please with. They measure about 3/4 of an inch tall and 1 inch wide. They may or may
not have a hole in the bottom. Stamped with non-toxic, waterproof inks using a hand carved stamp, then colored with more ink (also non-toxic). They’ll come in a little cotton pouch.
Due to the small size, these could pose a choking hazard. For children and adults ages 5 and up.


To enter, leave a comment mentioning a favorite item from Muddy Feet. To be entered again, simply leave another comment letting us know that you have either blogged, facebooked, or twittered about this giveaway. The drawing will be Friday morning at 7:00 am est.
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Saturday Giveaway – Wool Crown from Kats in the Belfry

The winner is Jaspenelle! Kats in the Belfry will be contacting you to confirm mailing information.
Thank you for entries and look for another giveaway this Saturday!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Come visit us each Saturday morning for a giveaway of handmade goodness!

This week Kat, from Kats in the Belfry, is offering this beautiful handmade crown.
Made of wool felt, it will last through many birthdays and is sturdy enough to withstand daily wear by little dress-up artists.
The adorable buttons are upcycled from a child’s shirt.
The crown adjusts to different head sizes with an extra-long grosgrain ribbon tie for maximum comfort.
Kat enjoys making toys that inspire creative play. All creations she makes are made from natural materials; fabric, wood, felt, paper. She strives to make things that spark the imagination, feel good in children’s hands, and are just plain pretty. Kat also makes every effort to use reclaimed or recycled materials when possible.
To enter this giveaway for the beautiful wool crown, please visit Kats in the Belfry, and then come back here and leave a comment about what your favorite item is from her shop. The drawing will be Monday morning at 7:00 am EST.

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WIN a pile of natural kids toys

Pop over to Inhabitots (the fabulous modern eco kids blog) to enter the NaturalKids giveaway!

You can win a pile of natural kids toys worth over 100$, including:
a knitted bunny from The Fairies’ Nest, a wooden car stacker from Just Hatched, an upcycled vintage cotton duck rattle toy from SewnNatural, two knitted acorns in a pouch from Woolies and a set of five tubs of Mama K’s Aromatic Play Clay.

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Giveaway from Living Crafts

A thank you to Living Crafts for offering this wonderful giveaway. This is a giveaway for your choice of either a one year subscription to Living Crafts or 4 back issues (in case you are already a subscriber but may have missed out on some of the previous issues).
Living Crafts is a community of readers who value the work of their hands, use natural and organic materials, and live an authentically holistic lifestyle.

Living Crafts provides craft enthusiasts with the information, ideas, and inspiration they need to support their desire for self-sufficiency, sustainability and a natural lifestyle. In each issue there are projects for the entire family, including fun crafts for parents and children to do together.

Our readers are people who consciously choose natural materials for their handwork projects because of aesthetics, quality, personal health and the environment. Living Crafts aims to inform and inspire readers to choose Mother Nature’s supplies whether they create their own or buy ready-made handwork.

Each issue focuses on a season of the year, bringing ideas and the how-to for projects that are in harmony with nature to create a seasonal rhythm at home. Editorial content includes projects making toys, apparel, home items, gifts, and seasonal crafts.

To enter, just leave a comment below. If you become a follower or blog about the giveaway, please leave one more comment for each.

The drawing will be on Sunday evening at 7:00 pm EST.
Thanks from all the members of the Natural Kids Team!

(If you don’t win, Pardis, the Editor of Living Crafts, is offering the current summer issue for free to all new subscribers by entering the following code at checkout ~ when you subscribe you will receive five issues all together instead of the usual four that come with a one year subscription ~ Sum10NE )
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Earth Day how-to :: make an upcycled shipping envelope {and another GIVEAWAY!}

Earth Day is just around the corner, and the NaturalKids team here on Etsy is having a huge (56 shops!) sale and promotion to celebrate. With the Earth as our muse, today’s tutorial is timely and fabulously functional. It’s by Kat from katsinthebelfry, her lovely shop full of gnomes, toys, kits, crowns and more.

Oh, and you can enter another beautiful GIVEAWAY of natural kids toys and more over at the beautiful blog, NaturalSuburbia

(a beautiful playsilk from PolkadotDragon, a felted snail from MuddyFeet and a wooden iron from PrettyDreamer)

Now onto the tutorial….
New (upcycled) shipping envelopes – the tutorial, by Kat

People have been emailing, asking about the envelopes I talked about recently. Since I needed to make a few the other day, I thought I’d photograph the process for you.

*prepare the bag: carefully remove the handles, & toss them into your recycling bin. Next you’ll need to cut the bag open; do this by cutting down one corner seam, then around the base. now your bag should lie flat.

* place your item on the bag, & measure 2 inches around. you can either cut out 2 of of this size, or fold your bag over, then cut once. i did the latter here. definitely fold if your item is bulky.

*with your machine set to zig zag, stitch around three sides. leave a bit of a seam allowance, & don’t forget to back stitch.

*slip your item in. make sure you ease it to the bottom of your envelope, so you don’t accidentally sew through it. for a bit of padding you can first wrap your item in some of the tissue you saved from your birthday prezzies.

*sew the fourth side closed, back stitching once more to avoid ravelling.

*if your bag has a fancy design, as does mine, add a label for the address.

*a reminder to recycle your envelope would be a lovely addition. perhaps i should have gone with a color not in the bag’s design.

*make more! my bag made 1 small, & 1 large envelope.

these are fun to make, & take very little time. happy envelope-making!
~peace.

Here’s something lovely from Kat’s shop!

Sunee, a Shakespearian wooden doll, clothed in Shakespeare’s writing, and sweet as can be!

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buttermilk chocolate cake recipe {+ cookbook giveaway!!}

by Jen of SewnNatural

Our new Thursday recipe/tutorial feature is off to a huge start with today’s chocolate cake recipe… and cookbook giveaway from Cynthia Lair, author of “Feeding the Whole Family – Recipes for Babies, Young Children and Their Parents.”

MARY’S BUTTERMILK CHOCOLATE CAKE

I found this recipe in a wonderful cookbook I highly recommend. Cynthia Lair’s “Feeding the Whole Family – Recipes for Babies, Young Children and Their Parents”. As a mom of a toddler, I’m always on the look-out for quick, delicious and nutritious recipes I can whip up to spice up our meal routine.

The cookbook is packed with simple recipes that excite the tastebuds, employ whole, organic foods and can be easily adapted for everyone around the supper table. You need not be a parent of little kids to enjoy this book – it would be a wonderful treat for anyone.

Check out Cynthia’s new humorous {+ fabulous} online cooking show CookusInterruptus, about how to cook fresh local whole foods despite life’s interruptions. You can also read her “baby food is not rocket science” article here about how it’s best to feed babies “family food”.

Note: For a dairy free version, substitute 1 cup soy milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice added for the buttermilk and use melted coconut oil in place of buttter.


image by elana’s pantry

Prep time: 45 minutes
Makes 2, 8-inch layers

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup organic cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup of maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly oil two 8-inch cake pans. Mix flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients and stir into flour mixture (do not overstir). Pour batter into cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or a little less, depending on your oven.

I poured Cynthia Lair’s strawberry sauce on for added fruit, presentation and contrast. With strawberries being out of season right now (unless you’ve stored some away in your freezer from the last harvest), I’d recommend using pears, apples, whatever is freshest & has travelled the least distance to get to your plate.

image by anashruti

STRAWBERRY SAUCE
Prep time: 10 minutes
Makes 1 cup

1 pint organic strawberries
1 tsp lemon or orange juice
1 tbsp maple syrup, honey or agave nectar

Wash and trim strawberries. Place them, the juice, and sweetener in a blender and blend until smooth. Use at once or refrigerate the rest. Will keep a few days in the fridge.

|”Reprinted with permission from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair”.

TODAY’S GIVEAWAY

Cynthia has generously offered one reader a copy of her book!

That’s Cynthia 2nd from left!

To enter today’s giveaway, simply visit CookusInterruptus and leave a comment about something you enjoyed or learned (one entry per person, please!). This giveaway will end at 9am EST on Sunday, and the winner will be announced soon after.

image by Bruce Tuten

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED.

The winner (drawn at random) is… comment #12 Katherine Robb! CONGRATS (now you don’t have to go out and buy one!!)

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Saturday Giveaway – from Muddy Feet!

A giveaway from Kelly at Muddy Feet – A set of 10 Hemp Bracelets and 10 Adorable Mushrooms.

First a little bit about Muddy Feet and Kelly ~

I make the toys that I would have wanted to have when I was a kid. I love little miniature worlds, fantasy and nature. I create with materials that are good to the earth and provide the most natural, tactile experiences possible for children. Some of my favorites are hemp, wool and wood. I believe that there is no job more important to children than playing; and I love that as a toymaker, I get to be a part of something so wonderful!

Kelly is offering –

A set of 10 Hemp Bracelets

Feel good about the party favors you give out! Sustainably grown and cotton soft, these brightly colored bracelets are a perfect choice for birthday parties, pep rallies, school stores and even weddings!
This is a fine, long fibered hemp that has been sustainably grown in Romania. This hemp is much softer than the usual craft store hemp, and will only get softer with wear! The hemp has been dyed with low-impact dyes, some of it at the factory, and some of it by hand by me.

You’ll get a set of 10 bracelets in bright bold colors, randomly selected from the current colors I have available. The main band of each bracelet is either 6, 7 or 8 inches long with “tails” at both ends to tie it on. Most colors are suitable for either girls or boys, but if you would like to keep it “girly-girl” or “boys only,” just let me know and I will select appropriately.
And
Ten little mushrooms, so many possibilities. Give them out as party favors or keep them all for yourself. Line them up on a window sill or hide them in corners with little notes attached for your loved ones. Add a little magic to a dinner (or tea) party by tucking between dishes or use them to hold down simple place cards.

You’ll get 10 of these fun mushrooms to do whatever you please with. They measure about 3/4 of an inch tall and 1 inch wide. They may or may not have a hole in the bottom. Stamped with non-toxic, waterproof inks using a hand carved stamp, then colored with more ink (also non-toxic). They’ll come in a little cotton pouch.

Due to the small size, these could pose a choking hazard. For children and adults ages 5 and up.

To enter, please leave a comment below after you visit Kelly’s shop, Muddy Feet, and let us know what else you like from her shop.
To be entered a second time, blog about this giveaway and enter another comment.
The drawing will be Monday morning at 7:00 am EST.
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What’s Going on with NaturalKids

Real quick… three updates from the NaturalKids Team on Etsy!

First, we have revamped our collective shop, NaturalKidsStore.com, adding new members and updating the look of many of the pages. If you get a chance, you must stop by!

Second, we have a stocking opening up in our Hyena Cart shop on Saturday, April 4 (hey, that’s today!) at noon. Check out the previews up now, and be ready to snatch up some lovely natural items when the shop goes live!

Third, we are having an awesome giveaway at Woolies blog. Every two weeks you’ll find three new prizes just being out-and-out given away! Click through to find out what’s happening and to enter.
Posted on

What's Going on with NaturalKids

Real quick… three updates from the NaturalKids Team on Etsy!

First, we have revamped our collective shop, NaturalKidsStore.com, adding new members and updating the look of many of the pages. If you get a chance, you must stop by!

Second, we have a stocking opening up in our Hyena Cart shop on Saturday, April 4 (hey, that’s today!) at noon. Check out the previews up now, and be ready to snatch up some lovely natural items when the shop goes live!

Third, we are having an awesome giveaway at Woolies blog. Every two weeks you’ll find three new prizes just being out-and-out given away! Click through to find out what’s happening and to enter.