Back to School with Wild Dill

Back to School season is upon us. There is a lot to do to get ready for school to start. If you homeschool like me you are probably getting your curriculum and homeschool room ready and new school supplies bought. If you do public school you are probably buying a new ensemble and supplies for your school age children.

There is no reason that baby, toddler, and mom can't be fashionable too for the new school year. Wild Dill has great clothing, footware, and accessories for baby and toddler that are organic, fair trade, and natural. They have beautiful jewelry and bags for mom as well to spruce up her wardrobe.



Not only do they have clothing and accessories, they have educational toys that will help your little one's mind grow. These toys teach wonderful learning concepts that should be taught before littles get to school age. What better way to teach these concepts than with fun toys at home!



You can find other organic, fair trade and natural essentials for baby and toddler at Wild Dill as well. They also have bedding, feeding essentials, bath products, nursery decor & furniture. Their products are made in the USA, are European made, or handmade. I love all of their gorgeous products. Wild Dill is a fantastic online store with a wonderful selection of products at reasonable prices that can't be missed!



DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: This is a sponsored post. 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. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

20 Mule Team Borax Review and Giveaway

Borax is the common name for sodium tetraborate: a naturally occurring substance produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes. 20 Mule Team Borax comes from California where one of the world’s largest deposits was discovered in 1913. Absolutely nothing is added. No phosphates, per-oxside, chlorine, or other additive chemicals.

20 Mule Team Borax is a laundry booster and multi-purpose household cleaner. It removes stains and neutralizes odors. Borax naturally softens hard water and improves your detergent’s cleaning power. It also helps keep stains from being re-deposited back onto clothes. It is also a wonderful all natural alternative to color safe bleach. To boost your detergent, simply add 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax to every load, along with your regular detergent. You can also use 20 Mule Team Borax to pre-soak tough stains.

Over 85% of homes have what most people call “hard water.” Hard water is defined as water that contains calcium and magnesium (ions). Since I live in Oregon I am one of the lucky ones that has soft to only slightly hard water. Even though I do not have that hard of water here, I have found many other ways of using Borax besides keeping my laundry smelling fresh and looking clean too.

Handy Uses for 20 Mule Team Borax:

Cleaning

• Laundry: Add 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax to every full load, along with your regular detergent.
• Dishes: Dishwasher detergent - put 1 cup washing soda or 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax (additionally you could add these optional ingredients: 1/2 cup of table salt and 1/2 cup of citric acid) in a glass jar. Secure tightly with lid. Shake to combine. Add 1 tbsp. of dishwasher detergent to each load. Add distilled white vinegar to the rinsing compartment to give the dishes a sparkling shine (plastic dishes will need sprayed with additional vinegar and rinsed by hand to get the sediment off). Handwashing Dish detergent - fill kitchen sink halfway with hot water and add a quarter of a cup of Borax, and a quarter of a cup of washing soda or baking soda. Mix well until dissolved, then add dishes. Clean dishes normally and rinse thoroughly. You can also use a little Borax on a dish cloth or scouring pad on dishes, pots, and pans that need extra scrubbing power.
• Deodorizer: Add 1/2 cup of Borax to a 12 ounce spray bottle of water and shake until dissolved. Spray on area needing deodorized. Example: Mattresses, Upholstery, clothing.
• Carpet and Upholstery Stains and Deodorizer: Stains - Pre-treat tough stains in carpet and upholstery. Make a paste of Borax and water and rub into stain. Let dry and vacuum. You can also place 1/2 cup of Borax per gallon of water in carpet steam cleaning machines (Warning: You are doing this at your own risk...the risk of possibly breaking your cleaner. The manufacture guidelines and specifics in the manual are usually put there for good reason.). Deodorizer - Sprinkle Borax on carpet, let stand overnight and vacuum.
• Tile and Grout Cleaner: make a paste and use a toothbrush for cleaning.
• Garbage Disposal and Unclog a Drain: Disposal - dump 1/4 cup into disposal and splash in a bit of water. Wait an hour and rinse with hot water. Clogged Drain - dump 1/2 cup into clogged drain and wait 15 minutes. Rinse with hot water.
• Surface Cleaner: Borax is safe to use on most surfaces including tile, ceramic, porcelain, slate, marble, granite and stainless steel. Great for toilets: put 1/4th cup into bowl, wait a bit then swish with toilet brush. It is great for removing soap scum, hard water deposits, and dirt!

Insecticide

• Ants: Mix equal amounts of Borax and powdered sugar, place near ant problem area (especially around anthills) - keep away from pets and small children. Others have said this also works for other bugs too including: silverfish, bedbugs, water bugs and roaches.
• Fleas: Sprinkle Borax on carpet and upholstery, let stand overnight and vacuum. 

Gardening

• Weed Control: Dissolve 10 ounces of Borax in 1/2 cup warm water and place it in a 5 gallon bucket. Dilute with 2 1/2 gallons of water. Fill empty spray bottles or a garden sprayer with solution and spray over problem area evenly and quickly. The borax solution will treat 1,000 square feet. You can cut the recipe in half if you need to cover as smaller area. Don't spray it on other plants you do not wish to kill. Remove weeds by hand around plants that you are planning on eating.
• Boron Supplement/Soil Fertilizer: Depending upon the amount of boron in your soil your garden crops and flowers might be suffering from boron deficiency. Hollow stalks in broccoli or celery, black spots on leaves, rot and fruit-pitting might be indicators of this. Test your soil to make sure and if it is lacking, make a borax solution. Add 2.5 oz. of borax into 5 gallons of water. Spray the solution evenly on plant foliage. Do not concentrate the solution in one area.

Crafts

• Crystal Snowflakes: Twist three 5-inch pieces (one pipe cleaner cut into 3 equal sections will do nicely) of white pipe cleaner together in the middle to form a 6 sided snowflake, then add a 1 1/2-inch piece to each point. Tie the flake with 4" string to a pencil on the opposite side. Find a big enough jar so the suspended flake won't touch the sides or bottom. Fill with 3 tablespoons borax and 1 drop food coloring of choice per 1 cup of boiling water. Hang the snowflake in the jar and make sure snowflake is completely submerged in the solution. Let sit overnight without interruption; remove and hang where you want to display. Science behind it: as the water cools, borax forms crystals that cling to the pipe cleaners.
• Goop: Goop has many names including: flubber, glurch, glorax and GAK. Pour 1 1/2 cups of warm water into a container and then add in 2 cups of white glue. In another container, mix 1 1/3 cups warm water and 3 tsp. of borax. Mix both containers well. Then empty the second container into the first and mix again. You can put in a few drops of food coloring at this point if you like. Stir or knead the mixture by hand until all the liquid has been soaked up and the material looks thick. Some people find that borax irritates their skin, so you should wash your hands after working with it and, of course, never eat it. Be careful as it might stain if you put in the food coloring.
• Dried Flowers: Mix 1 part borax and 2 parts of cornmeal with one tablespoon of uniodized salt. The Uniodized salt helps retain the color of the flower while drying. Spread half of the dry mix across the bottom of an airtight container. Prune back stems and leaves of picked flowers and place the blooms into the container. Carefully sprinkle the rest of the borax mix over the flowers (avoid crushing them). Cover and dry for a week to 10 days.

WIN IT
Prize: Win 1 coupon for a FREE box of 20 Mule Team Borax (3 Winners!)

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: Thanks to 20 Mule Team Borax for sending me product for free and promotion information to facilitate my review and free coupons for this giveaway. This opportunity was provided to me because I am a Purex Insider. By posting I will be entered to win rewards. 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 posting this promo.

CSN Stores Noritake Elements Marine Plates and Bowls Review

Since I am a CSN Preferred Blogger I received a $65 Gift Code free to use at their stores and review the items I got with it. I decided to get the Noritake Elements Marine Dinner Plates and the Noritake Elements Marine Multi-Purpose Bowls with it because I was lacking in a matching set of good hardy dishes in my kitchen. I wanted a set of 8 dishes each so I splurged a little and bought the extra with my own money because I went over the $65 of the gift code quite a bit, but it was well worth it in my opinion. These dishes have a beautiful deep marine blue and lighter blue textured finish to them that reminds me of the dancing moonlight on a calm rippling ocean. They are a part of the Noritake Elements Marine Collection and I am going to be coming back for more of the set :) They are wonderful because they are made of stoneware which is microwave, oven and dishwasher safe! These dishes are beautiful, very functional and practical!

The plates that I got are 10.75" in diameter and the bowls I got are 6.5" in diameter. They have other sizes in both plates and bowls in this collection, but we decided on these and we are glad we did. The plates are a very good size for a whole meal to fit on and the bowls are great for all sorts of things especially large bowls of soup or salad. They both hold quite a bit and I am truly happy with our decision! I am thinking of purchasing the mugs and salad plates too to go with these. I also love the creamer and covered sugar dish and currently have them on my wish list on CSN Stores as well :)

BUY IT:
I paid $11.85 each for them and now they are listed as $16 each...so the price will probably vary depending upon when you buy the item and how many are in stock at the time. I have also noticed that when you add them to your wish list when the price happens to be lower the price stays the lowered price listed in your wish list even if it goes up in price later on in the website and it looks like CSN Stores will honor that lower price if you add the item to your cart from your wish list. Which is neat!

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to CSN Stores for providing me with the $65 Gift Code free to use at their stores so that I could review the items I got with it. 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 posting this review.

Untangled Living ANYWare Collection Review and Giveaway

Canadian based Untangled Living ANYWare Collection is a stainless steel dish set for kids. Unlike plastic/melamine dishes that might leach harmful chemicals; wooden dishes that might splinter, mildew or crack; or glass/ceramic dishes that might break; these dishes are durable and have a lifetime guarantee. They are made from high quality, food grade #304 (which is corrosion resistant), 18/8 stainless steel with a brush finish. They are also SGS tested and approved. Free of plastics, BPA, PVC, phthalates, lead and other harmful toxins. The Untangled Living 5-piece ANYWare Collection includes a bowl, plate, cup, fork and spoon. Available in butterfly or gecko etched designs.

I received the complete butterfly set for my daughter, Teela. Untangled Living was perfectly honest and upfront with me beforehand. This particular set has an imperfection and one of the butterfly etchings on the cup is missing. All other aspects and pieces are completely beautiful and functional. I totally understand that developing stainless steel items is not cheap and her inventory was running low. She had these perfectly wonderful sets sitting around with minor imperfections not being used so she sent me one for product review. These dishes are wonderful and very eco-friendly. You are able to reuse them over and over without causing waste in landfills because of durability. These are also dishwasher safe and stackable. They are beautiful and heirloom quality. They are the perfect size for little hands to handle and are proportioned correctly. These are also great for taking on trips and camping with.

The only cons I see with any metal dish set is that you have to be tremendously careful if you are filling them with hot foods or drinks as the dishes also tend to get hot to the touch and you wouldn't want to burn yourself or your child on one. Also, stainless steel tends to have pitting corrosion breakdown if foods or liquids (especially acidic ones) are stored in them over long periods of time.

I love to teach my children about being eco-friendly. It really does start with the parent to teach their children responsibility for the environment and to make healthy decisions for themselves and for the others whom they will care for when they are older. These dishes are a great start to teach your babies about being eco-friendly.

BUY IT:
Purchase the ANYWare Collection of your choice for $40 US or $45 Canadian on the Untangled Living website.

WIN IT:
Sue at Untangled Living has generously offered a full retail value gift certificate ($40 US or $45 Canadian) for an ANYWare Collection of your choice for one of my readers to win. (Available in 2 styles: butterfly and gecko.)

Mandatory:
1. Go to the Untangled Living website and tell me by commenting on this post which ANYWare Collection you would want if you win and why.

Additional entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog by feedburner or by email and let me know which way. (2 extra entries each)

2. Fan/Like me on facebook and write something on my wall. (1 extra entry)

3. Blog about this giveaway on your blog and provide me with the link. Make sure you have the link to this post and Untangled Living in your blog entry or it won't count. (2 extra entries)

4. Grab My Button (see sidebar to the left) AND/OR Put My Blog URL in Your Blogroll - Leave Your Link. (1 extra entry)

5. Technorati my blog and let me know your link. (1 extra entry)

6. Fave me on Momfaves. (2 extra entries)

7. List this giveaway on any giveaway listing website or blog giveaway linky and tell me where you listed it. (2 extra entries)

8. Post this on your Facebook wall, Kirtsy, and/or StumbleUpon. (2 extra entries for each)

9. Comment on one of my regular (not giveaway) posts. (1 extra entry per post you comment on)

10. Follow me on Twitter. (1 extra entry)

11. Tweet this: @finamoon: @untangledliving WIN A Untangled Living ANYWare Collection stainless steel dishset #giveaway http://bit.ly/9cre3S (Daily Extras are Available)

12. Fan/Like Untangled Living on Facebook. (1 extra entry)

13. Follow Untangled Living on Twitter. (1 extra entry)

Make sure you leave me your email in all posts so that I can contact you. If you subscribed, blogged about this, listed it, commented on another post, or faved me on Momfaves leave 2 entries saying you did. This contest ends on Friday November 26, 2010 at midnight (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada). This Giveaway is open to all 18 years and over in the U.S. and Canada Only!!

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Untangled Living for sending me a ANYWare Collection dish set in butterfly for free to test and review and for providing the giveaway. 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.