Learn Science by Making and Breaking Toys!

I have been seeing tons of green science projects and green toys in commercial stores lately. This is something I haven’t seen before. Usually when shopping for gifts I have to do it online at green stores because they are the only ones who carry them but over the weekend while looking for some gifts I saw this My Toy Factory – Learn Science by Making and Breaking Toys!
set and I was excited! I got a few of them to give to some kids that I knew would love them.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to start teaching children at a young age the importance of our environment and being eco-friendly.  This is something that will stick with them throughout their whole lives. Click here if you want to get My Toy Factory – Learn Science by Making and Breaking Toys! of your own.

Product Description:
My Toy Factory is an entertaining and eco-friendly concept where children MAKE their own play area and play environment using everyday material like straws, ice-cream sticks and newspapers etc and then BREAK these toys to understand how they work. Children open the kit and get an appointment letter to become workers in their own Toy Factory. They make tickly whistles out of ice cream sticks, swooshing jet cars from bottles & balloons along with ten more exciting toys using their toy kit. A perfect gift to engage the creative gene pool of your kid!

Eco Nuts

Since I have a zoo living in my house (bf included) laundry builds up fast and although we try to stick to doing our laundry once a week to save water sometimes that just isn’t possible. I am a huge proponent of using biodegradable, organic and chemical free detergents and softeners. I don’t like detergents that smell too much. They never smell natural and I feel like if a detergent needs that much fragrance it is doing so because the laundry probably isn’t as clean as it should be. I’d rather have a fresh clean smell then some made up smell that doesn’t even exist in nature. What really gets my goat is some of these eco-detergents cost an arm and a leg. I never really understand that if the product is supposed to be natural have no harmful chemicals and whatever other attributes the product boasts why should it costs more than the harmful crap detergents. I always hear the excuse well to process it right or package it appropriately it is more costly. I really think that is a load of rubbish personally. Either way on my hunt for eco-awesome laundry solutions I stumbled upon EcoNuts. If you don’t know what a soap nut is click here, I didn’t know either but I will say they are quite an interesting little nut!
EcoNuts have hit my personal trifecta of green awesomeness 1. They package responsibly and don’t try to trick the consumer. 2. EcoNuts are found in nature and are a reasonable alternative to using harmful products without having to be manipulated to become a suitable green product. 3. The price is right! EcoNuts do not over charge their merchandise and because their packaging is so responsible they can’t even use it as an excuse for the high prices.  If you haven’t tried them yet you should!! If you have let me know how you liked Pure Citizen” target=”_blank”>EcoNuts!!

I never like to get rid of glass bottles and jars at home because I know they could be used for something else. Last night I was going through and organizing all of my crafting supplies and thought why not decorate some of them for funzies. I have been looking to do more crafting and send some gifts out anyway so this is a great way to reuse things I have around the house. This is also an excellent way to make a dent in my glass collection sitting in my basement. I used some ribbon, buttons, paper flowers and hot glue to attach everything and I think it looks pretty cute! If you don’t have a craft collection at home or don’t stock pile odds and ends like i do you want to decorate your own below are some links to where I got some of the stuff you see on my bottle:

Old broken or unused jewelry and hair accessories
Rags that are clean
Wrapping Paper or paper you have at home
Paper Flower Assortment
Buttons
Old Pins and Brooches
Bottle Caps
Ribbon
Glitter
Die cuts

The possibilities are endless! This is a great party craft for kids or scouting. You can even go natural and get leaves, twigs rocks, sea shells, sand anything! The Shabby Chic bottles make for great gifts or even something new to spruce up your house!

Owl Kitchen Art

As usual Pinterest has blown my mind! In my quest to find crafts for items that would otherwise be recycled or thrown out I found these crafts that use jar lids, pot tops,strainers, forks, spoons, bottle caps, whatever!! I am in love with this! The Kitchen Owl makes for a great housewarming gift or rainy day craft for students. The Kitchen Owl is the perfect way to really implement the ideas of Reduce, Recycle, & Reuse.  Think of all of the things that would have otherwise been thrown out. Talk about another man’s trash is another mans treasure!  This just goes to show that you really can reuse almost anything if you put your mind to it creatively. 
I found this at the perfect time because while reorganizing my kitchen I put aside a bunch of kitchen items that really aren’t so usable anymore and should be recycled or things we had a bunch of that we didn’t need. I cannot wait to break open that box and get started on all the fun animals that can be made. You can probably do bunnies, kittens even dogs. Get creative you can add other things to the kitchen craft they don’t have to all be metal. Use glitter or paint and make them colorful. Add stickers or jewels to them.

Don't Throw Away Your Old CD's

I have been cleaning out my house alot lately trying to organize and possibly upcycle things in my house I never use anymore. The other day I found a huge binder full of old CD’s I haven’t used in forever since I put all the music on my iPod. I didn’t want to throw them away as I had literally hundreds but I wasn’t sure how to make the best use of them. No one wanted them of course so I had to figure out something awesome to do with them. You see upcycled CD’s online and in stores often so I figured why can’ t I do the same. Here are some things I found online that I thought were cute.

1. The obvious use them as coasters. Glue either felt or some other cute fabric to it and you have automatic free coasters for your home. They make a super cute house warming gift and you can even decorate them if you want to add some personal flare.

2. Party decoration. Make flashy garland out of them for an event or even as permanent decor for your home. If you or maybe your child is a music lover why not string together some of their fave CD’s together and hang them from the ceiling or around the room as a border.

3. Make it art! Have unused frames at home? Take some CDs that are special to you and decorate them and hang them on the wall. This is also a perfect gift to give to someone that appreciates music and maybe a certain CD is special to them.

4. Use it as a party craft. Have no idea how to entertain a bunch of kids at a party. Hand out old CD’s and tell them to decorate them as they wish. Find cheap frames and some backing and let them make their own fun. Even go with the above and make their own coaster.

5. Bird Deterrent. Do you have birds that are always running into your glass doors or windows? Help them avoid hurting them selves by hanging a few on you doors and window so they can avoid flying head first into your house.

6. Are you a painter? Use them as pallets to mix your paint. There is already a hole in the middle for holding. You can keep clean them off easily and reuse them or keep them for mixing the same colors.

Do you have any fun uses for old CD’s? Let me know and I will post them on the Beagle!

Pinterest Contest

 I am absolutely loving Pinterest lately! It is a great social networking site that brings people together with images which I tend to think are much more powerful than words in situations like these. Pinterest has helped a great deal with our dog rescue efforts as well as showing people how to do green crafts, upcycle and where to find green products. When people can see the images of “green” next to other images I think it will make them less averse to try going green because in reality the difference for you is almost nothing compared to the difference for our environment and global community. So with that said here is my contest. You have until Friday March 9th to follow all of my boards on Pinterest. On March 10th I will choose a winner to send a special green prize!!

Wild Dill is one of my fave green shops for kids! You can get clothes, toys and gifts all in one spot. I appreciate a store that is really dedicated to the green cause instead of just claiming to be. I would also like to add that this is another company with awesome customer service. That is one of the most important things to me when shopping anywhere. Now on to the fun stuff!

Uncle Goose Antics Ant Blocks

Wild Dill Uncle Goose Antics Ant Blocks – Images of ant hills, a queen with her eggs and an enemy spider, Non-toxic, child safe inks, 16 blocks, Made in Michigan.

Yellow Label Kids Organic Bird Rattles

Wild Dill Yellow Label Kids Organic Bird Rattles -Set of three rattles: one bird and two owls,Fair Trade, made by groups of artisans spanning the globe from Chile to Nepal,100% organic bamboo yarn.

Roy Toy Earth Friendly Tree House

Wild Dill Roy Toy Earth Friendly Tree House – 71 pieces,Pieces tumbled for a smooth finish,Natural color with no dyes,Building instructions included,Packaged in a cotton bag,Made in USA

Zubels Organic Crinkle and Rattle Giraffe

Wild Dill Zubels Organic Crinkle and Rattle Giraffe- Hand knit,Low impact dyes,Arms span 13″ making them perfect for tying onto strollers, cribs and car seats,Fairly made in the Philippines, 100% Organic Cotton Yarn

 You must know I love body scrubs because I write about exfoliating all of the time! I generally like to make my own but sometimes you don’t have time for a fresh beauty treatment so you must go to the next best thing! If you have to purchase a cosmetic or beauty product make sure you are choosing a responsible one. Remember whatever ingredients are in the product are going in and on your body. I know the words are difficult to sometimes understand on the back of the bottle but that should be the first clue that maybe you should rethink using that product. Cocoon Apothecary has a wide variety of skin care products that are perfect for the green beauty inside all of us.  You can see for yourself in their ingredient listings.  Nothing crazy in there.  You can pronounce all of the ingredients and probably have seen most of them in nature. I am actually drawn to the site simply because I think it is pretty. It is simple and almost elegant much like their products. No flashy designs or adds to confuse the customer, their products speak for themselves which speaks volumes about the kind of business Cocoon Apothecary really is.

Product Description:

This gentle exfoliating cleanser combines the purifying powers of lavender and geranium with spherical jojoba beads to remove dead skin cells and keep pores clean and clear. This facial cleanser is for all skin types so don’t be afraid to give it a try.

BENEFITS:

•Promotes skin-cell turnover, a process that slows down with aging.
•Keeps skin pimple-free by keeping pores clear and unclogged.
•A gentle formula that can be used daily as a scrub and a cleanser.

KEY INGREDIENTS:

•Jojoba Beads Non-abrasive beads that gently exfoliate skin.
•Lavender Essential Oil Anti-bacterial, healing, combats acne.
•Geranium Essential Oil Astringent, balancing.

GOOD STUFF:

•Biodegradable with eco-friendly beads
•Cruelty-free and vegan
•Made with certified organics
•Rated 0 on the EWG Skin Deep Cosmetic Database
•Amber glass bottle, corn label, pre-cycled pump and cap

INGREDIENTS:

Distilled water, certified organic sweet almond oil, jojoba beads, certified organic virgin coconut oil, cetearyl alcohol, stearic acid, vegetable glycerin, certified organic geranium essential oil, certified organic lavender essential oil, sodium anisate, sodium levulinate, sodium cetearyl sulfate, rosemary leaf extract.

Make Your Old Candles New

While un-Christmas-ing our house last weekend I realized we have a bunch of candles that we can’t use anymore but I didn’t want to throw them out because there was still plenty of wick, wax and perfectly good jars for some left over. I have many a glass container sitting in our basement waiting for some good use and it struck me, I can make new candles out of these. I always struggle with our tea lights as well that can’t burn anymore but there is still wax left over. I did some online research and making old candles new really isn’t that difficult.

1. Separate your colored, scented and plain candle wax from each other. In the articles I have read mixing colors generally turns the wax brown so trying to mix may not always be that good of an idea. The same goes for scented wax. The idea of mixing scents sounds fun but they may not mix as pleasantly as you might think.

2. If you have wax in glass containers you can remove the wax by boiling water in a pot. Once the water is boiling put the glass containers in the water and let sit until wax is melted enough to pour out of the container.

3. While you are waiting for the water to boil/wax to melt get your new containers or molds ready.  Make sure to clean the containers first and that they are dry before pouring wax in.  Also make sure the glass is at room temperature before pouring the wax in.  You don’t want them to crack.

4. If you want to add color or scents to plain candles while the wax is melted add some food coloring, or your favorite scented oils. You can also add dried fruit or herbs if you want to get fancy. Make sure to stir thoroughly.

5. Once the was is ready you can pour into the container, mold or cookie sheet. If you are pouring directly into a container make sure to put a straw in the center of the candle while the wax is still hot so you can put the wick in it. Once you have the wick where you want it slowly remove the straw from the middle. I wouldn’t pull the straw completely out so you can make sure the wick doesn’t fall into the hot wax and melt back into the candle. If you are using a cookie sheet/mold and intend to cut out shapes let the wax harden a little before cutting the shapes follow the same instructions for adding the wick as in the container except you may have to hold the straw up if the mold isn’t tall enough to keep the straw from falling over while the wax is still hot.

6. Once the wax has dried a little and is ready to cut, do so carefully with a cookie cutter or knife. Remove the mold or cookie cutter quickly so the wax doesn’t stick to it but also make sure the shape holds. If it doesn’t the wax is too soft.

7. Once the wax is set and hard you have brand new candles without spending any money! You can give them away as gifts or keep them for yourself.

8. If you want to layer colors or scents you can use a oj or milk carton as a mold.  Pour the first layer in the mold and wait for it to set, then the next and so on until you have the layers you want.  You can follow the same directions with the straw as above for adding the wick.

Distant Lands Cell Phone Carrier Give Away

 
The winner didn’t claim their prize so we are running the contest again!! The contest begins today and ends on January 27th.
We love Novica.com for introducing us to super cool stuff made by some super cool people. The Distant Lands Cell Phone Carrie is made by Anchalika Chamnan who celebrates the colorful artistry of the Akha hill tribe people with this stitched phone carrier. Cross-stitch patterns recall the images that decorate traditional costumes. Each is sewn of cotton and lined, featuring a coconut shell button.
All you have to do is like me and don’t forget to share so your friends get a chance to win too! The winner has 48 hours to give me their contact info to where I can send their prize as well as send the shipping costs to my Paypal account. If in 48 hours I do not hear from the winner we will just start the contest over! Have fun and I hope you enjoy! Click here to enter!
If you want us to send you an additional gift friend us on Facebook at The Green Beagle and follow us on twitter twitter.com/thegreenbeagle. Once you have done this comment below and we will send you something special with the Distant Lands cell phone carrier.