UncommonGoods Recycled Glass Bumblebee Nightlight and Tube Kneeling Pad Review

We received products free from UncommonGoods to facilitate this review.

UncommonGoods is a unique online store with some very unusual items (some handmade) that you don't find in every day shopping usually. Their products make great gifts for the holiday and Christmas season! Click here to see some unique affordable gifts they have under $50. They also have some really interesting facts or what they call "Uncommon Knowledge" posted around their website and feature some of the artists and designers of their handmade goods in highlights on some of the pages on their website and their print catalog. They are committed to the environment and print their catalogs on recycled paper and there is also products in their store that are made of recycled materials. In their Better to Give Program they donate a portion of each order to your choice of non-profit organizations: American Forests,Women for Women International, City Harvest, and the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).

I was recently approached by them to pick something from off of their website that was under $65. I picked two items. One was the Recycled Glass Bumblebee Nightlight and the other item was the Recycled Tube Kneeling Pad.

Bumblebee Nightlight, seeds, and packaging.

The Bumblebee Nightlight arrived in a recycled cardboard box with shredded newspaper all around to protect it from breakage. It came with the 4 watt bulb needed to create the ambient light. It also came with some weedy wildflower seeds to spread around for the bees to collect pollen grains to pollinate the flowers with and nectar to convert to honey. I love this! My bees are going to be very happy! Wildflowers are some of my favorite flowers and I love that I can give back to the earth and help the bees at the same time.

Bumblebee Nightlight with room light on and with it off.

The Bumblebee Nightlight by Vawn and Mike Gray of Reborn Glass located out of Cape Coral Florida is definitely something worth buzzing about. It is a gorgeous nightlight that is made with recycled broken bottles that were rescued before they reached the landfill. Each one is unique and are fused and formed in the kiln. The art glass is textured with its purple blooms and adorable plump bumblebees. Its curved form hugs the light perfectly and I love the warm soft glow it makes. So Bee-autiful :) Click here to see some unique lighting from UncommonGoods.

The Recycled Tube Kneeling Pad in use.

The Recycled Tube Kneeling Pad by Flat Tire Décor located out of Milwaukee Wisconsin is a great gift for any gardener or anyone who works on their knees. This extremely durable pad is smooth and flexible. The rubber exterior is made of reclaimed industrial tire inner tubes and the inside is lined with a inch thick cushion of anti-fatigue foam. It is also naturally slip resistant, water resistant, abrasion resistant, and easily wipes clean. This cushion is so comfortable for my knees and the curved semi circular shape is contoured where you can shift left to right without repositioning! It works on dirt, cement, brick, wood, stone or other surface. I no longer get my knees dirty when I garden and my knees don't feel stressed. I can garden longer and not feel any pain. Besides gardening I can see this being used for other jobs that have to be done on your knees. I also think that it would be an ideal seat for watching a game in the stands or having a picnic while seated at a park bench or picnic table. It does become hot if in direct sunlight. It also has a study nylon strap that you can carry or hang it from. 37" L x 14" W x 1" D, Strap: 30" L Click here to see some wonderful gifts for women from UncommonGoods.

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.

Lamps.com and Tiffany Parrot Table Lamp Review

I received a gift code of $100 to use at Lamps.com to order a lamp or light fixture of my choice to facilitate this review. I chose their Tiffany Parrot Table Lamp because we were given a collection of Lynn Chase Parrots of Paradise (Parrotdise) dishes from Brian's Grammy as a wedding gift when we were married and this lamp matched them. Someday I would love to display these lovely dishes in a china cabinet in my kitchen or dining room. The Tiffany Parrot Lamp will be displayed there as well if I have my own way.

I ordered the lamp. It was under the $100 gift code price, had free shipping and handling and you had the option of also adding a free set of light bulbs that would fit it. I chose to get the free light bulbs also because I was sure that I didn't have any bulbs currently to fit it. Ordering through Lamps.com was very easy and straight forward. I ordered the lamp and the bulbs on February 21st and received the lamp on  March 1st. I however; didn't get the courtesy bulb pack until March 11th. I was told this was because they ship out of separate places. So I had to wait to try the lamp out until the Candelabra 7w (E12) Incandescent bulbs came.

After the bulbs arrived we got one out to place into the lamp. This particular lamp unscrews with two screws at the base of the parrot shade where it joins the tree trunk that it sits on. It is fragile so you have to be careful when replacing bulbs into the socket or handling the lamp in general. Thankfully the lamp only goes on one way (clockwise) onto the stand and it came with easy step by step directions to put it all together. You probably can't tell in my pictures, but there are little parrot bird feet perched on the tree trunk to help you line everything up before you screw it together. It has a lovely dark bronze, circle gold finish and a felt on the bottom of the base so that it won't harm furniture. The polarized plug had a bushing on it that we took off so that we could plug it into the outlet. The cord wire has a good length to it with a simple inline on/off switch to operate the light.

With the lamp also came a little pamphlet that told about Dale Tiffany lamps. Dale Tiffany is the world-renowned manufacturer of fine glass lighting and home decor in the tradition of Louis Comfort Tiffany. With their "opalescent glass" shades the century old tradition continues in these lamps with the same copper foil technique as the original. This "opalescent glass" or stained glass is made of genuine hand rolled art glass. All pieces are hand-crafted art. Each becomes its own truly unique heirloom piece.

I love this lamp. It is gorgeous. The mosaic stained art glass is elegant and definitely fits into my eccentric eclectic style well within my home. When the lamp was on it held a delightful ambiance and was not too bright to make my dog go crazy because of lights and shadows it produced. I was pleased with it even though I would have liked the areas of the tail and beak of the parrot to light up more. It definitely enhances the mood and environment where I place it and proves to be a great accent piece.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received 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.