My latest contribution to the local, and pretty, magazine – Bellingham Alive – is about an awesome local company, Sip-T.  The company makes, blends and packages artisan teas sourced from mainly local and organic ingredients.  Sip-T is run by a mother-daughter duo and is innovative in so many ways, from the tea blends to the packaging.

Below is my original article, the one that I submitted for publication.  The second link is the severely edited, borderline hacked, article that doesn’t include some of the brightest points of Sip-T’s star.  I hope you enjoy them!

Original Sip-T Article

Published Sip-T Article

~Author Unknown

Tucker is a huge part of our life and I make a point to let him know that he’s still special even though we’re being pulled in more and more directions all.the.time.  I’ve talked about dog toys on this blog before and I really value innovative toys that are made from quality materials, particularly organic, that stand up to the brutal love use beatings that my 85-pound bruiser puts them through.  And, my latest find is Purrfect Play toys.

I’ve seen my fair share of more eco-friendly versions of the dog toys you find in the major pet stores, but I have never seen what Purrfect Play toys has put together.  Their toys have an amazing combination of creativity and organic materials.  My absolute favorites are the Wool Balls and Fortune Flyer.

The Wools Balls are an ingenious creation of all-natural felted wool that has been washed over and over until it’s a solid mass.  The design ensures that as the ball wears down and gets unruly, you can spruce it back up with a quick tumble in your washer on hot and it’s good to go again.  The felting makes the wool a chewy, hard mass that gives a bit when the dog is working it, but fully retains its shape.

The Fortune Flyer is an awesome toy.  Think fortune cookie filled with the bestest gift a dog could ask for – a squeaker!  The outside layer is a hemp canvas that is incredibly durable and the inside is two layers of organic cotton denim.  There is no fluffy piling that will come out when your dog tears into the toy because it’s filled with agave fiber and I’ve yet to see Mr. Destructive, a.k.a. Tucker, even put a wee tear in the cover.  I like the shape because it’s something unique and different from all the run-of-the-mill stuffed animals you find for dog toys.

Purrfect Play has a huge selection of dog and cat toys and pet products.  Each one is made from high-quality materials that are either recycled, recyclable, eco-friendly, organic or all of the above.  Every single product is made in the USA and with a giving heart, Purrfect Play donates 5% of their annual to local animal rescue shelters.  I am proud to showcase a company that believes in the products they make, the materials they assemble and gives back to the community.

Where to buy?  Check out Purrfect Play’s website for locations and to purchase.  Get socially connected:  Become a fan of Purrfect Play on Facebook and Twitter!

~

Ready to treat that special pooch in your life to a good toy?!  Well, good – you need to check out this giveaway then!

Two lucky Sacred Bee Blog reader will win one of the following:

• A Fortune Flyer from Purrfect Play

Interested in entering the giveaway?  Comment on this post and tell me:  What is your pet’s name?  Don’t have a pet? Then why are you entering this giveaway!? (just joking!)  What is the best name you’ve run across/heard for a pet?

Want additional entries? You must follow these directions and tell me about them via a comment on this post. Each of these options is available for one single entry per giveaway, not per day.

• Subscribe via email
• Subscribe via a reader
• Become a fan of the Sacred Bee’s Blog on Facebook
• Follow @sacredbee on Twitter and retweet this giveaway. Notify me of the retweet using a comment on this post. Only one entry per single retweet each day.
• Link the Sacred Bee’s Blog to your website and/or Facebook page (one entry for each – you must send me the link or a screen shot via a comment on this post)
• Grab the Sacred Bee’s Button and add it to your blogroll or website.
• Become a fan of Purrfect Play on Facebook
• Follow Purrfect Play on Twitter @purrfectplay
• Sign-up for Purrfect Play’s Blog

Winners will be drawn on Tuesday, February 15th, 2012 at 8:00pm PST.

The blogger was struggling with a diaper rash that wouldn’t go away and a yellow dinginess that lingered on the clean diapers. She finally resolved this by stripping the diapers – the first time she’d done so after using the same diapers for four children. The only problem I noted with the blog was that she had a top loader washing machine. I have a beautifully shiny, oh-so-wonderful front loader that holds umpteen pieces of clothing, works miracles with stains and is blissfully quiet in a very raucous house. But, it’s not always the right machine for the job. The first time I learned this was when I attempted to wet felt a knitted project. Long story short – it took FOR.EV.ER. And, apparently stripping cloth diapers is another ill fit for a front loader.

What’s stripping?

Cloth diapers have a wonderful quality, extreme absorbency, that is also a double edged sword. For all the waste they absorb, they also take on the detergents that are used for regular washings. Yes, this happens with even the super safe cloth diaper detergents, extra rinses and clothesline drying us veterans practice. The basic premise of stripping is to rinse, not wash, all of the detergent residue out of the diapers. Synthetic materials, like microfiber, tend to require stripping more often than natural fabrics, like cotton and hemp.

Stripping in a top loader is easy – just rinse the diapers until there are absolutely no bubbles in the water. This may take up to a dozen rinse cycles to get the diapers completely stripped.

Front loaders are eco-friendly because they use very little water in comparison to top loaders and have the ability to adjust the amount of water required based on the volume of clothes. The problem is that because of this feature, you are unable to get sufficient water volume to truly soak and rinse the diapers in a pool of water. My machine doesn’t have a manual water level setting, but if your machine does, you may be able to alter the water level to a certain extent.

Step 1:

• Get the diapers soaking and rinsing in A LOT of water.

Option 1: Use a top loader. If you are doing this, just go ahead and keep using the top loader.

Option 2: For those of who don’t have access to a top loader and don’t want to cart a gazillion diapers to the laundromat and drop a chunk of change in the machine – this option works awesome. Fill up your bathtub (clean bathtub, mind you) with cold water and cover the diapers with at least a few inches of water. Use your hands to slosh the diapers around. My three-year-old LOVED this job and thought it was a blast to have diapers in the bathtub.

Look for bubbles in the water. If there are any – drain the tub and do this at least a few more times. Once the majority of the bubbles are gone, enlist some strong arms and load the diapers up. Take them to your front loader and utilize your rinse cycle until the diapers are sufficiently rinsed. How do you know when this is? You don’t really. I picked a number of rinses and did that – mine “number” was eight rinses.

• Dry the diapers as you normally would.

Stripping our cloth diapers was so worth the effort. They came out of the process looking fresh and bright and there hasn’t been a single stubborn diaper rash. It would have been a bit easier in the a top load washing machine, but it’s worth the effort and diligence to rinse them thoroughly. My plan is to strip the diapers every twelve to eighteen months.

$2.70 went into her savings account.  $2.70 was in hand and counted out by Beckett herself at the consignment store to purchase her scarf.  And, we donated $2.70 to the charity her choice.

She had the two options – both explained in three-year-old lingo.  I wanted to give her a choice, but not so many choices that she’d get overwhelmed.  And, I wanted them to be charities she could relate to.

Charity #1: Local Humane Society

Charity #2: Make-A-Wish Foundation

She decided to help sick children who wanted to go to Disneyland.  She thought that would be the obvious “dream” for any child, so that is what she decided she’d like to help with.  After making her choice, she told me “I can save the doggies who need homes next time.”

I made the donation online and Jacob and I covered the additional $2.30 to reach the  $5.00 donation minimum.  After donating, we received a Thank You email addressed to Ms. Beckett Olive Ferry.  We read it and watched the attached video.  This sweet song written by a local, to Seattle, teenage girl with cancer has been on repeat in our house for the past two weeks.

I am proud that Beckett gave with her heart and understood the impact of her dollars.  Her face lit up when we read the thank you email and every time we watch the video she says, “This girl is sick, but she made this movie before going to Disneyland.”

Green Sprouts is a company that I have featured on the blog before because they embody so many of the characteristics I look for in products.  Their products are made of safe, non-toxic materials, tend to be recyclable or compostable and put the safety and well being of the child first and foremost.  In addition to that, the products are affordable and readily available locally and on the internet.

I have been fortunate enough with both my children to have an abundant milk supply.  So much so that I am able to stock our freezer, deep freeze and even look into milk donation – all after feeding my baby.  My storage vessel of choice with Beckett were the plastic bags that made extra milk easy to manage.  The downside was the bags were difficult to deal with because they couldn’t be reused, were plastic and took up a great deal of freezer real estate for being a small plastic bag.  Green Sprouts has come up with a excellent solution: milk storage bags that are compostable.  The Oxo-Biodegradable Milk Storage Bags hold 6-ounces of milk, are BPA-free and compostable under the right conditions.  I drop these into our curbside compost pick-up that works its magic in a high-temperature, industrial composter.

We have switched completely to glass bottles and now that we are going through upwards of eight or nine a day – I am picky about what we use.  In my quest to find a great glass bottle, I have fallen in love the Wide-Mouth Glass Bottle from Green Sprouts.  It comes in three sizes: 2 ounce premie, 4 ounce and 9 ounce.  The silicone nipples have an awesome milk flow that doesn’t choke Camden and are easy to clean.  And, wide mouth is really the only way to go if you are looking for effective, hassle-free cleaning.  I like the green accessories (collar and cap) because they are unique and don’t absorb the annoying food stains that sometimes distribute in the dishwasher.  The glass bottle has a sweet shape and fits just right in your hand.  All in all, it’s a great product and has a price-point that’s comparable to any wide-mouth, glass bottle on the market.

Green Sprouts and its partner company, i play, make products that an eco-mama can rely on for quality and safety.  And, as long as they keep up that promise, you’ll be seeing a lot of them on this blog!

Coupon Time!

During the month of January, get 20% off all Green Sprouts bottles using the code: IPJA12

Where to buy?  Check out Green Sprouts website to purchase and for locations.  Their products are available locally at our Community Food Co-op and Haggen grocery stores.  Get socially connected: Become a fan on Facebook and Twitter!

~

Two lucky Sacred Bee Blog readers will win one of the following Green Sprouts products:

• One 4-ounce Wide-Mouth Glass Bottle
• One 25-pack of Oxo-Biodegradable Milk Storage Bags

Interested in entering the giveaway?  Comment on this post and tell me:  How has your new year been so far?  Are you lovin’ 2012 or just wishing spring would arrive?

Want additional entries? You must follow these directions and tell me about them via a comment on this post. Each of these options is available for one single entry per giveaway, not per day.

• Subscribe via email
• Subscribe via a reader
• Become a fan of the Sacred Bee’s Blog on Facebook
• Follow @sacredbee on Twitter and retweet this giveaway. Notify me of the retweet using a comment on this post. Only one entry per single retweet each day.
• Link the Sacred Bee’s Blog to your website and/or Facebook page (one entry for each – you must send me the link or a screen shot via a comment on this post)
• Grab the Sacred Bee’s Button and add it to your blogroll or website.
• Become a fan of Green Sprouts on Facebook
• Follow Green Sprouts on Twitter @iplayinc

Winners will be drawn on Wednesday, February 15th, 2012 at 8:00pm PST.

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/Study+debunks+myths+organic+farms/5462520/story.html

I am working in the plenty decent barely adequate territory of sleep now and have ventured out on multiple occasions outnumbered by children, but Camden did require a hand-me-down stocking for Santa’s goodies and then there is still the lack of giveaways.  I considered doing a Green Gift Guide, but neglected to get it started by December 1^st, then thought of the “12 Days of Christmas” but missed my starting point of December 12^th and finally opted to kick off the new year with goodies galore!

Here’s to a very Happy 2012 from the Sacred Bee’s Blog to you!

Ready for the first giveaway… click here!

Being of fair skin and blondish-hair, I tend to look half asleep if I don’t add just a bit of color to my face.  My blue eyes are nearly lost amongst the wispy, barely-there eyelashes if I don’t do something, anything, to bring attention to them.  Eyeliner and eyeshadow require too much time, but mascara is just up my alley.  It is the single item that turns my entire face from a bleh-groggy-sleepyhead into a somewhat-awake hovering on lively flower.  If I do nothing else, be it get out of my pajamas, eat a full meal, fold the laundry or pay a bill – I make time for a swipe of mascara.  I become a woman and not just a mother.  And, even if my body is wailing for sleep, my face appears awake, which in turns helps me feel the same.

A few months ago, I stumbled across a company with an apropos name – Honeybee Gardens.  The products are not directly related to honeybees, beekeeping or honey, but their entire product line revolves around natural personal care products.  The product line was developed by an herbalist and every single one of them is made entirely of natural ingredients including vegetable and plant extracts.  I can pronounce the ingredients and I can find most of them growing in my garden.

My favorite Honeybee Garden product is the Truly Natural Mascara.  It’s lightweight, but adds distinct color without being clumpy and overbearing.  It’s pricepoint is below even the cheapo drugstore brands that are filled with who-knows-what and you can buy it everywhere.  My favorite online source for personal care products, Vitacost, has it and I have even spotted it while flying through Target.

The product line of Honeybee Gardens isn’t just cosmetics.  There is a full collection of almost every imaginable personal care product.  There is an entire line of products for that hunky man in your life and body care including deodorant, hairspray and lip balms.  I appreciate that they compliment their cosmetics line with an assortment of cosmetic tools that are made of eco-friendly materials, too.

Honeybee Gardens is a company committed to making cosmetic and personal care products from all-natural ingredients.  They are keeping them affordable and easily accessible with a variety of outlets for purchase and pricing that’s right on the mark.  The products live up to their guarantee and make me feel safe and responsible with the all-natural ingredients.  I’m lovin’ Honeybee Gardens!

Where to buy?  Check out Honeybee Gardens’ website to purchase or to find online and local sources.  Get socially connected: Become a fan of Honeybee Gardens on facebook!

Ready to freshen up your face with some all-natural mascara?!  Well, good – you need to check out this giveaway then!

One lucky Sacred Bee Blog reader will win a:

• Truly Natural Mascara in the color of your choice

Interested in entering the giveaway?  Comment on this post and tell me:  What single make-up product can you not live without?  Don’t wear make-up – no worries. What single personal care product are you in love with?

Want additional entries? You must follow these directions and tell me about them via a comment on this post. Each of these options is available for one single entry per giveaway, not per day.

• Subscribe via email
• Subscribe via a reader
• Become a fan of the Sacred Bee’s Blog on Facebook
• Follow @sacredbee on Twitter and retweet this giveaway. Notify me of the retweet using a comment on this post. Only one entry per single retweet each day.
• Link the Sacred Bee’s Blog to your website and/or Facebook page (one entry for each – you must send me the link or a screen shot via a comment on this post)
• Grab the Sacred Bee’s Button and add it to your blogroll or website.
• Become a fan of Honeybee Gardens on Facebook

Winners will be drawn on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 8:00pm PST.

From our home to yours – Happy New Year!