Build-A-Bear Workshop Rainbow Dreams Butterfly Review and $25 Gift Card Giveaway

Build-A-Bear Workshop Rainbow Dreams Butterfly

We received this product free from Build-A-Bear Workshop to facilitate this review and an opportunity to giveaway a $25 Bear Buck$ gift card to Build-A-Bear Workshop for free as well.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Rainbow of Fun Collection

The Rainbow of Fun Collection which includes a Rainbow Dreams Butterfly, Rainbow Glitter Bear and Rainbow Style Zebra are new to Build-A-Bear Workshop since April 21st. They are only here while quantities last and their outfits and accessories are sold separately. Making these stuffed critters are so much fun!

My girls with their new Build-A-Bear Workshop Rainbow Dreams Butterfly

The Rainbow Dreams Butterfly is an adorable pink plush butterfly with rainbow wings. Mine also came with the Rainbow Sequin Dress, Lavender Flats and Lavender Sequin Bow Headband. Her headband, dress, shoes and wings all are removable. I thought this was neat that the plush toy came as a caterpillar with her wings off inside her box. She can metamorphosis into the butterfly easily and the wings are quite sturdy. Her jeweled dress sparkles in the sunlight because of the many sequins all over it. Her bow is also sparkly and, as my girls found out, can also be worn by them. She also came with a Build-A-Bear Workshop box, birth certificate, cardboard hanger for the dress, cardboard insert for the shoes, and coupon.

Homeschool learning with Build-A-Bear Workshop about: rainbows, prisms and butterflies.

Spring is here and what better way to celebrate it than to do it with rainbows! Being a homeschooling mom I got out our prism makers and we had a mini lesson about prisms, light, color spectrum, refraction, and how rainbows are made. Rainbows are perfect to learn about right now in the Pacific Northwest because we have a lot of spring showers with the sun shining. The perfect conditions to make rainbows happen all the time here. My kids have observed a lot of really cool rainbows while we have been living here.

We also incorporated the learning about butterflies with our new Build-A-Bear Workshop friend. We learned about Monarch Butterflies specifically and read the book, Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons (a favorite author of mine for use in homeschool). We learned about their life cycle, metamorphosis, body parts, what plant they love to eat, behavior, and migration. We also learned how to raise a Monarch. My kids were very excited and now want to find a caterpillar to observe it changing into the pupa/chrysalis stage and the whole cycle of it changing into a butterfly.

FOLLOW THEM
“Like” them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter!

BUY IT
You can find a Build-A-Bear Workshop store near you and make a special plush toy or you can purchase one off of the Build-A-Bear Workshop website.

WIN IT
Prize: $25 Bear Buck$ gift card to Build-A-Bear Workshop to experience the magic of creating your own furry friend.

I am trying out Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product free to facilitate this review and post. Many thanks to Build-A-Bear for providing this prize for the giveaway for free as well. Winners are picked randomly on rafflecopter. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation or altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review and giveaway. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Foraging with Kids by "Wildman" Steve Brill Book Review

We received this book in eBook format free from "Wildman" Steve Brill to facilitate this review.

People these days have become so disconnected from nature. Our society has gotten so far away from gathering wild food. Foraging used to be a normal everyday occurrence, a way of life and a need for survival. Now it seems people are furthering themselves from this essential skill and losing touch with the natural world around them. Even agriculture is becoming far and distant for some. I for one, do not want my kids to grow up without this knowledge. I do not want this to become a forgotten skill.

My girls, Zari & Teela, last year with Dandelions

I love the outdoors and sharing my love of the outdoors with my kids is something I treasure. I love getting outside and learning hands-on and so do my kids. I love seeing the wonder on their faces when they are learning something new about the plants and other things that surround us. I admit that I sometimes am learning right along with them. My favorite subject was and still is science. It is the joy of seeing my kids having fun while learning that makes me also love homeschooling and drives me to make their lessons more of a enriching experience for them. Children definitely make everything more interesting and so much more enjoyable.

My hobby as a forager began when I was a child also. I learned about some edible and medicinal plants in Girl Scouts and later I picked up a book about edible flowers from our local library and devoured the contents. I don't really remember the title to the book but it had recipes too. I loved learning about how violets, dandelions, roses, and nasturtiums were all edible and what you could do with them besides add them to a salad. It was fun because the food involved something out of the ordinary for me.

Foraging is a wonderful survival skill, but it also teaches children (and adults) about all kinds of other needed skills as well. It teaches about: following directions, cooking and eating natural foods, where food really comes from, making discoveries, exploring, observation, collecting, and being in nature, etc. When you are teaching your child you can also dive into other things related that ties in with it like: science, health and nutrition, stories, folklore, history, poetry, games, and art.

This book, Foraging with Kids by "Wildman" Steve Brill, is a wonderful learning tool to teaching your children about plants that can be foraged for food. This book is perfect for the beginner of foraging with children or those that are beginners who want to teach children. It covers only those plants you can find just about anywhere with no poisonous look-alikes, especially edibles that kids tend to like a lot. It has a total of 76 wild edible species from the contiguous United States and Southern Canada. These plants are organized by season and plant type so you can easily identify the plant. It will take you through identifying characteristics, botany basics, where to (and not to) forage, how to forage without destroying the plant and wildlife surrounding it, a list of items to take with you foraging, and pictures of each plant to help you along the way get to know these plants well. Still a word of caution, you need to always verify a plant’s identity with 100% certainty before you eat it!

Foraging with Kids also has some wonderful tips, poetry, stories, folklore, history, games, activities, science, and recipes scattered throughout its pages. Each story, folktale, or blip about our history is surrounded by dashed and dotted lines and has a picture of a slightly open book with a dragon on the cover on the page so it is easily found. The science experiments and lessons are circled and have a funny anthropomorphic cucumber?? that is looking through a magnifying glass on the page. The recipes in this book are found with a drawing of a baby looking at a cookbook that says Cooking for Kids on the cover. They are all whole-food vegan (no animal products) recipes. Some have ingredients that you might not have available to you in your kitchen, but are easily found and bought at a health food store. These are all wonderful recipes without all the refined, processed junk and fillers.

My girls, Teela & Zari, this year with Violets

Dandelions and Violets are my daughters' favorites so far that we have found in our own yard. I love them too! Now that it is Spring I want to go out searching for more wild edibles with my kids. I enjoyed reading this book! It has a lot of great information packed into the 392 pages. I loved the stories and folklore and can't wait to try some of the recipes once I get to know each of these plants well myself.

BUY IT
You can purchase Foraging with Kids by "Wildman" Steve Brill for $54.95 for the print version or $12.50 for the PDF downloadable version.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate my review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Teach Your Child Herbs With Herb Fairies!

Herb Fairies is a magical tale of plants and their remedies as told by wonderful storytelling and fairies that look like the plant they are named after. These 13 interactive e-book stories were written by Kimberly Gallagher, the creator of Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Board Game. These help young and old alike learn herbs in a fun way. I love to use these in homeschooling! Both my sons and daughters love these.

Kimberly's husband, John of LearningHerbs.com will be releasing some really cool FREE recipes, coloring sheets, posters, activities and information packs along with information about how you can join the Herb Fairies book club along the way. So, make sure to sign up so you won't miss any of the fun!

Sign up here at HerbFairies.com to learn more and get instant access to the FREE stuff :)

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You can download the new Herb Fairies Cookbook and make some recipes and remedies like Dandelion Flower Cookies, Candied Violets, Lemon Balm Popsicles, Chickweed Grilled Cheese, Chocolate Elderberry Syrup, Pine Tea, and many more! There are 13 recipes total in the cookbook that use the plants from the Herb Fairies books.

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Also, I received a really neat kids activity pack free to give to my readers that goes right along with the Herb Fairies. This activity pack introduces you to Stellaria, the Chickweed fairy and gives you information on chickweed, a coloring sheet as well as a yummy recipe to use the herb in. Go ahead and download it and share it with your kids, Grandkids, or Godkids.

Activity Pack PDF

(right click to download)

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Sign up now to get instant access to more free downloads and information on how you can join the Herb Fairies Book Club!

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I wrote this blog post because I thought you might be interested in knowing this information and taking part of this deal. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any compensation for doing this post. Affiliate links can be found in this post. Thank you for your support of this blog!

Zeenie Dollz Review and Giveaway

We received this product free from Zeenie Dollz to facilitate this review and an opportunity to host a giveaway.

The Zeenie Dollz are gorgeous dolls that teach children how to be more environmentally conscious and eco-friendly. There are a total of 6 dolls that represent a different cause and what they protect. These 12 inch dolls are made from recyclable, non-toxic materials: ABS and TPR plastics (not PVC like other dolls). They also have joints that feature 24 points of articulation for maximum poseability and playability. All the dolls come with a doll stand, brush, colorful bracelet and luggage tag. Because of the small parts these dolls are not recommended for ages under 6 years old.

Mother Earth

• Zennia is the doll that started the Zeenie Dollz. She symbolizes Mother Earth and is the protector of the whole planet. To help her on the quest of combating the evil anti-environment villains that threaten to destroy the world she enlisted the help of the Eco-Warriors, fashion forward girls that save the planet and look fabulous while doing it.

Eco-Warriors

• Lina protector of the rainforests, defender against deforestation. +ocelot friend Abby.
• Sini protector of farmland, defender of mistreated and abused animals. +pet dog Misty.
• Evee protector of the skies, defender against pollution. +pet parrot Lulu.
• Kazumi protector of the polar regions, defender against global warming. +polar bear friend Ella.
• Yana protector of the oceans, defender of marine conservation. +dolphin friend Serena.

Each doll character has its own online persona with information about its cause with games, downloads and activities on the website. There is even a free Zeenie App game for iPhone and iPad.

Saving the planet...that's our style!™ (Zeenie Dollz slogan)

Follow Them
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube

I received Zennia to review. She is a beautiful doll with bright blue eyes, green lips and blue hair that has streaks of pink and green in it. In her hair she has a blue headband with two blue & two green flowers and small sparkling jewels. Before we opened the packaging and got Zennia out, her headband had fallen apart, but Zeenie Dollz has great customer service and told me another headband is on the way to me along with a complimentary tote bag. Zennia has a neat tattoo on her chest that is of a vine that comes together in the middle as a heart and has a sun and moon above on either side. She also has a long flowing gown that has a bird, the Earth and a small heart on it. On her feet are some very Roman looking sandals. She has pretty leaf earrings too.

BUY IT
I love that these dolls have a wonderful message to teach kids. Also with your purchase, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to organizations working to preserve the environment and protect all animals and the places they call home. Right now they are having a spring sale! If you buy 2 or more dolls you get 50% off! The dolls are regularly $49.99.

These dolls are perfect for Earth Day and Spring. They are also great for Easter Baskets too!

WIN IT
Prize: Winner's choice of one of the Zeenie Dollz.

I am trying out Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received products for free to facilitate my review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

ReCollected Pieces Personalized Photo Jewelry Review and Giveaway

Personalized Photo Jewelry from ReCollected Pieces

We received these necklaces free from ReCollected Pieces to facilitate this review and the opportunity to giveaway one personalized pendant ($20 value) to one reader.

ReCollected Pieces is local to me, located out of Portland Oregon. Tabitha is the owner and she makes personalized photo jewelry pieces. These gorgeous pieces are the perfect gift for any special occasion. They are also ideal for Mother's Day!

These are the photos I picked for Tabitha to use.

I received two pendant necklaces, both done in large square 24K gold plated pewter. The first necklace is in memory of my beautiful daughter, Tatiana, whom passed away in 2010. It hangs on a gold-plated ball chain with a fixed stamped "T" gold heart, rose gold drop and pink Swarovski crystal embellishment. I love this necklace of my daughter, Tatiana! She will always be close to my heart and this necklace is a perfect way to communicate this. The second necklace has a photo of my husband, Brian, and I. It also hangs on a gold-plated ball chain with two jade round bead accents that move freely up and down the chain.

I loved how the necklaces were packaged in brightly colored tissue paper and hung on a card inside when they arrived. I was not expecting the embellishments at all. They were a very happy surprise and really made the pieces even more exceptional. Both necklaces turned out very lovely. I will certainly treasure my necklaces from Recollected Pieces forever.

ReCollected Pieces wrapped up in pretty tissue paper.

Tabitha, of ReCollected Pieces, was very nice and friendly to work with. She had a few hiccups with my order. The heart pendants that she was offering just didn't work out with her resin technique, so she took them off her list. To compensate for the inconvenience, she made me two pendant necklaces instead of just one. Because the heart was no longer a choice she made me square shaped pendants. As you can probably see, Tabitha really puts her heart and soul into these pieces to make them all very special and unique to the wearer.

My gorgeous Personalized Photo Pendant Necklaces from ReCollected Pieces.

Give yourself or your loved one a truly memorable piece of jewelry this upcoming Mother's Day. Jewelry pieces start at $20. Normal production time usually takes about one week to complete then mail and can be shipped worldwide. They can be personalized with any digital photograph or art (minimum quality 300dpi). The image is cropped to fit the shape of the pendant you choose. There are different shapes, sizes, materials, and embellishments/accents that you can pick from easily from their list on their Facebook page in their photo section. Besides single sided pendants you can even pick a double sided pendant, a pendant that hangs from another pendant, a photo bracelet with multiple images, or even photo ornaments. Tabitha at ReCollected Pieces will work with you to make a truly one of a kind piece for you or your loved one.

Follow ReCollected Pieces:
Website: http://www.recollectedpieces.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/recollectedpieces
Newsletter: https://www.facebook.com/recollectedpieces/app_100265896690345

WIN IT
Prize: One personalized photo pendant ($20 value) from ReCollected Pieces. The winner can choose any pendant they would like (circle, square, oval, rectangle - gold or silver).

I am trying out Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received products for free to facilitate my review and the opportunity to giveaway one personalized pendant ($20 value) to one reader. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review and giveaway.