Monthly Archives: May 2010

Apparel & Accessories Giveaway Handmade Items Made in the USA Reusable Products Review

Voodookitten / Cranky Cat Studio Review & Gift Certificate Giveaway (discount too!) CLOSED

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Deborah of Cranky Cat Studio doesn’t make your typical cutesy baby stuff.  If the business card graphic & font didn’t tip you off, here’s her son’s 1 year portrait (she said I could share!)
So flippin cute!  All he needs is this diaper to go with it.  No, I don’t think I’ll ever stop moping about that diaper.  I want it!  (Imagine me pouting and stomping my foot like a petulant child.)
Cranky Cat Studio sells from her Bonanzle store (you can also get there by typing http://www.voodookitten.com/  For those who had never heard of Bonanzle (I hadn’t), Deborah described it as “an upscale eBay. Kinda like what would happen if eBay and Etsy had a baby!”  That cracked me up.  She also has an Etsy Shop.  She has lots of products for sale including baby blankets, bibs, purses and totes, hair clips, shopping totes and tutu overalls (you have got to see these!)  She has quite a bit more in her Bonanzle store than in Etsy, including items that aren’t handmade, like squeaky shoes.  My fingers would be nubs if I tried to list and link to every single thing she makes; she makes a lot!
Deborah sent me a shopping tote and a clutch purse to review.  She’s also offering up a $30 gift certificate to one lucky blog reader and a discount code good for 10% off that you can all use.  The code is MamaRocks because “gosh darn it…Mama does rock!”
The bag is actually intended for my hubby to keep in his car to have handy for when he picks up a few things here and there.  The guitar print seemed more manly than some of the other reusable bags, LOL.  It’s also perfect for a blanket, a few toys and some snacks for a trip to the park!
It’s nice and roomy, but rolled up small, around 5 x 3.
I just realized that I didn’t get a good shot of the bag itself, sheesh.  I was so focused on function!  My hubby has been using it and has it in his car.  I promise it looks as great as it functions!
That’s 15 pounds of flour and sugar.  No problems at all.  I’m quite sure it could have held more weight.  It was also both comfortable to hold and secure thanks to the design of the handles.
I easily fit five boxes of cereal in it.
Still no trouble holding it!
Overstuffed and overloaded it was still really comfy to hold.  No double bagging like plastic bags, no ripping holes in the bag like plastic, and no digging into your fingers, cutting off your circulation like plastic!
Most of Deborah’s diaper bags started out as purses, and this clutch/wristlet is no exception.  The fabric is gorgeous.
It is the perfect size to use with a pretty dress for a night out (Night…out??  What is that again?) when you just need keys, wallet, lipstick, phone etc. 
One strap is longer than the other, so you can tuck the long through the short and cinch it.
The intention is to use as a grab and go diaper bag, for those quick trips when you just need a few diapers/wipes.  Those situations get a little more complicated for cloth diaperers, since you can’t just cram a couple into your regular purse!  I use my wet/dry bag when I know I will need to change several diapers while we’re away, but when I might only need to change one, it’s a bit much to lug out with me.
I put a Bumgenius 3.0, a Rumparooz, a PlanetWise medium wet bag, a Planet wise wipe bag with 10 wipes and a spray bottle of solution in this teeny bag!
Yep, it’s all in there!
Close it up and hit the road!
Love it!  I think both bags are really well made and they’re unique in form, function and style.  I can definitely see using the wristlet with a little black dress someday when I don’t need it for diapers anymore!
So, want your ownShop Cranky Cat Studio and use coupon code MamaRocks to get 10% off.
Or, win a gift certificate!  One reader gets $30 to spend at Cranky Cat Studio.  It will be good for anything out of either her Etsy or her Bonanzle store!

Here’s how to enter:  The first entry is mandatory, do as many or as few of the others as you like.  You must enter a separate comment on this blog post for each entry.  Please make sure to include your email address if it is not visible in your profile.

1. Visit Cranky Cat Studio and let me know what you would buy if you won.
2. Follow my blog publicly.  Comment to get your entry.
3. Fan me on Facebook.  Comment here to get your entry.  (Yes, I know it’s not “fan” anymore but all this like, liker, liking stuff is too clunky!)
4. Fan Cranky Cat Studio on Facebook.  Comment to get your entry.
5. Follow me on Twitter.  Comment to get your entry.
6. Follow Cranky Cat Studio on Twitter.  Comment to get your entry.
7. Tweet about this giveaway.  Please no more than one tweet per day and make sure to include @chgdiapers and @CrankyCatStudio.  You may use this tweet if you like “Enter the @chgdiapers #giveaway for a $30 @crankycatstudio gift certificate and get great #handmade items! http://bit.ly/cF7xai Ends 5/21”
8. Blog about this giveaway, this blog, Cranky Cat studio etc and leave a link to your blog post to get your entry.

I will accept entries until Friday, May 21st, 2010 at 9 P.M. EST.  I’ll choose a winner with random.org’s true random number generator and contact the winner by email.
Thank you to Deborah at Cranky Cat Studio for sending me the bags to review.  The freebies in no way affected my review and the opinions are my own.  Results may vary and all that rot.  🙂
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Giveaways Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Winners of QwertyO and YoBaby Giveaways and other stuff…

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First up is the giveaway for the QwertyO reusable mop pads or produce bags.  Yay Sarah!

Next is the YoBaby Yogurt giveaway.  Congrats Greta!

Congratulations to both of you!

In other news, I’ve been trying to do a little sprucing up around here, so if you see anything funky, give it a few minutes or refreshes, and if it persists, please let me know. 

I have several reviews coming up including four or more different diapers, two swim diapers, green cleaning products and some random HFCS free and dairy free food reviews.

I have two more giveaways coming up soon (as soon as I get my act together, this cold has been kicking my tush!)  I’m actively pursuing more giveaways and I think I may have a pretty good chance of reviewing a great product in July.  I’m hoping if I can keep growing at the rate I have been (preferably my blog and not my thighs) maybe it will be a giveaway too!

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Baby Food Coupon Discount Giveaway Natural and Organic Food Retailers Review

EcoMom Review, Giveaway and discount/coupon code CLOSED

I was given the opportunity to try some yummy, organic snacks from EcoMom.  They’re also sponsoring a giveaway and offering a 15% discount on my readers first purchase.  Enter code SBBL287 at checkout to get 15% off your first order.  (valid through 5/31/10)

Formerly Sprout baby, they’re now Eco-Friendly Baby Products – Eco Mom.
 
Eco-Mom sent me Revolution Foods Jammy Sammies in blueberry flavor and Plum Tots fiddlesticks in apple carrot flavor.
 
Someone wise recently told me that a company’s true customer service is measured by how they handle problems.  EcoMom and I got off to a rocky start when I was sent the wrong blogger’s package and caught them in the middle of their website redesign.  Jody at EcoMom responded to me immediately and was very apologetic for the mix-up.  I received my replacement package in the mail just a few days later.  (EcoMom sent me the blueberry flavor, the others pictured are flavors I purchased myself.)
 

The Jammy Sammies come in lots of different flavors.  We had actually just discovered them a few weeks earlier at our local organic market.

My daughter loves them and I think they’re pretty tasty too, I ate an Apple Sammy as I was typing this!
 

I had never had anything from Plum Organics, the Fiddlesticks were the first.

They look like little breadsticks, but they are softer.  I tried one and they weren’t bad.
 

They make great Cheerio picker-uppers.
 

My son really enjoyed it.  🙂
 

My son is 11 months old, but I don’t think he’s quite ready for these yet.  He likes to shovel things in his mouth, and he was breaking pieces off that were a bit big for him to handle.  My daughter ended up eating the whole rest of the box the same day!

EcoMom sells tons of other organic baby food and snacks, but they sell a whole lot more too.  They have a few cloth diapers, they have bath & body products, toys and books, even green cleaning products.
 
One thing that makes EcoMom unique is their EcoPass.  A one-year membership costs $99 and gets you 15% off everything they sell and free shipping on every order.  That includes expensive and oversized items like the Boon Flair Pedestal High Chair and organic crib sets.
 
The 15% off would pay for the membership if you spent $660 over the course of your 1-year membership.  That’s $55 per month, which is not hard to spend! 
 
It’s definitely a good idea to check their prices on any items you may be interested in.  Their price on the Sammies is higher than my local store, but I’m blessed to have a store with such low prices.  However, my store only has three flavors while EcoMom has a lot more.
 
I didn’t price compare anything else, since I’m not really in the market for anything right now.  As a savvy shopper though, I’d always recommend doing that, since $100 less a 15% discount one place is the same $85 elsewhere.  Just make sure you are including shipping charges and sales tax when you do so!
 
EcoMom is offering a 15% discount to my readers.  It’s good through May 31st, 2010 and is good only on your first order.  Just enter code SBBL287 at checkout.
 
You can also sign up for EcoMom’s Newsletter if you want to know about new products and events.
 

EcoMom is also giving one lucky winner $20 worth of Plum and / or Revolution Foods!

 
Here’s how to enter (you may so as many or as few as you like, each counts as one entry):

1. Visit Eco-Mom, browse and tell me what you’d buy (if money were no object!)
2. Follow my blog publicly, comment saying you follow to get your entry.
3. “Like” me on Facebook.  Comment here saying so to get your entry.
4. “Like” EcoMom on Facebook.  You know the drill, comment here to get your entry.
5. Follow me on Twitter.  Comment saying you follow to get your entry.
6. Follow EcoMom on Twitter.  Comment saying you follow to get your entry.
7. Tweet about this giveaway.  Please link to the post and be sure to @ecomomceo and @chgdiapers.  One tweet per day please!  You may use this tweet if you like “@chgdiapers has a #giveaway for #organic food from @ecomomceo until 5/17 http://bit.ly/cyot7U
8. Blog about this review/giveaway, this blog or EcoMom.  Be sure to link to EcoMom and me (use the new address, https://change-diapers.com/)  Comment with a link to your blog post to get your entry!

Open to residents of the U.S. only.

I’ll accept entries until Monday, May 17th, 2010 at 9 P.M. EST.  I’ll select a winner using random.org’s random number generator, then email the winner.  Be sure to leave your email address in your comment if it isn’t in your profile!
Thank you to EcoMom for providing the Jammy Sammies and Fiddlesticks to me at no charge to review, and for sponsoring the giveaway.  All opinions are my own and weren’t affected by the freebies!
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Apparel & Accessories Review WAHM made

Nikki’s Little House Custom Embroidered Ooga Shirt!!

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I bought a special shirt for my son’s first birthday, but after washing it looked like it wasn’t going to fit on his big day.  So when I found out that Nikki’s Little House had Ooga Monster embroidery, I was all over it!
I just told her what color shirt I wanted and which monster I wanted and I am SO happy with how it turned out!  The shirt itself is very nice also, not cheap or thin.

I guess a lot of people who have been cloth diapering for a while are “over” the ooga prints.  I don’t have any ooga, though I really liked the brown color they ended up not printing, and I like the brand new turquoise.  I’m not wild about the other colors they have in the ooga fabric.  The monsters are just so darn cute though!!

I wish I had asked her to make be a custom birthday bib too, and now I want some embroidered pants too!

We use our sleepy wrap most of the time, but we use a stroller when we go for walks.  I want this stroller blanket she has so bad!  I wish I’d had something like that for my daughter, I had never even heard of such a thing.  NLH has lots of other stuff, but the other thing I’ve been spotting for a while is the custom boppy cover.  Super soft minky, personalized for you, and way cheaper than mass produced.

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Handmade Items Review

Boo Boo Bag

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I finally won a “FFS” drawing on Hyenacart!  I’ve entered hundreds of them, and that’s no exaggeration!  “FFS” means that the seller is offering the item up for free, the “winner” of the drawing just has to pay shipping.  Basically, anything I have any interest in, where the shipping is reasonable (to me) I enter.
What I won was a “Boo Boo Bag” from the congo “Bliss,” seller Homemade Love.  The shipping was $1.50 and I figured that was fair.  I’d pay that much for a cold pack at the store.  The winner was able to choose boy or girl fabric, round or square.  I didn’t really care since I have one of each (boy/girl, not circles/squares hee hee.)
The print is really cute and it smells like fruit loops or something.  It didn’t come with any care or use instructions, so I’m afraid to wash it.  The fabric looks really thin in places and I don’t want to end up with a hole in it.
I was kind of disappointed that the finishing was so sloppy.  I’m spoiled by my turned and topstitched WAHM made diapers!  But, I guess you get what you pay for, so it’s all good!  🙂
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