Customized, Inspirational Jewelry – Great Gift Idea!

Nov 16,2016 / By Maria / No Comment

I purchased this item myself, however, if you click and buy, I may receive a small commission. Thank you. A few weeks ago, I clicked Facebook ad for jewelry with inspirational sayings engraved, and ended up going down an internet rabbit hole that landed me on Etsy. After looking at a few different shops and items, I ended up browsing Emily Jane Designs, maker of eco-conscious, recycled silver jewelry.

A Year of Fluff All In One Diapers Cloth Diapers Giveaway Made in the USA Review Sized Diapers Velcro/Aplix Closure WAHM made

The Eli Monster AIO Review & Giveaway (CLOSED 10/27)

Oct 20,2010 / By Maria / 7 Comments

I bought my first diaper from The Eli Monster about 6 months ago; a size medium creme speedypants AIO. When it started to seem kind of small on him, I got a little panicky, because I love it so much!!

I had “spotted” it on The Eli Monster Hyenacart store seemingly forever, and I was really surprised when it was still in stock when I had the money to buy finally. Learn from my fail here…”in stock” doesn’t mean ready to ship. It simply means she has the materials to make the item; all items are made to order! Her about me page is kept updated with current turnaround times. Since I have impeccable timing (ha!) I placed my order just as her daughter arrived. Despite just having had a baby, Steph gave me excellent service and an amazing diaper. She doesn’t send out a diaper that she doesn’t think is her best work!

What I love about The Eli Monster is that they are totally unlike any other diaper I have ever seen. They have hand sewn appliqués and hand applied screenprinting.

The screenprinting isn’t “perfect,” but it’s not supposed to be. It’s an incredible, hand made diaper, and no two will be exactly alike, unlike if a commercial company tried to copy this with a factory made diaper!

But anyhoo, the medium diaper I bought before is the speedypants, which was $19.50. This time, I bought the “special edition miracle diaper” for $25.50. For each one she sells, she donates a diaper to The Cloth Diaper Foundation (formerly Miracle Diapers.) The other items I am just dying to have are: the Punk Rock AIO, Anchor’s Aweigh AIO, Tattooed Baby Longies, and the Nautical Star Tattoo diaper. I also need one of her camera wrist straps and a Large Speedypants! She makes nursing pads, covers and embellished prefolds too.

It sounds ridiculous but OMG. For realz, yo. I want one of everything. I love, love, love Eli Monster stuff. Totally my style and so different than everything else.

In my opinion, you may want to consider sizing up in The Eli Monster. Above is the large Eli Monster, compared to a medium Bumgenius. My son still has lots of room in the medium Bumgenius, but has pretty much outgrown the medium Eli Monster. The Eli Monster’s Size Chart gives weight estimates of 10-22 pounds for the medium, but I would probably suggest going with her more general guidelines of medium=baby and large=toddler. My guy is only 18.5 pounds now, and the medium seemed smallish when we got it when he was a year old. Since my guy isn’t even on the CDC’s growth charts, a larger baby would probably grow out of it even sooner.

Yappity yappity, here it is measured folded and stretched:

Here is The Eli Monster large compared to the medium:

The most noticeable difference to me between the medium and large, was the soaker thickness. I’ve tried to photograph it, but it’s tough to show. I wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested in me pinching diapers with calipers. 😉

After using the large, it is definitely a better fit for my son. It makes sense to me. The smaller diapers have trimmer soakers, since you’re likely to change more often and/or have lighter wetters. The older babies tend to wet more at once, so you need more absorbency even if you change diapers as soon as they’re wet!

The first photo is him in the medium, taken the same day as the other photos.

I love Eli Monster diapers, and so does my husband. They are one I reach for if I know that my son’s diaper might be hanging out of his pants. They are such cool and unique diapers, I’m always hoping someone will notice it, and I’ll be able to ~~bring them over to the dark side~~ get them interested in cloth!

Giveaway: The Eli Monster is offering a $20 gift certificate towards anything in her shop! Most items are under $20 so, woo hoo!

Here’s how to enter: All comments go in the form below. Feel free to leave a comment, but comments do not count as entries. Mandatory entries include name, email address and your favorite Eli Monster item from ~~The Eli Monster Hyenacart Store~~ or ~~The Eli Monster Etsy Shop. You may “like”~~ ~~The Eli Monster on Facebook~~ ~~for a bonus entry.~~

I will accept entries until Wednesday, October 27th 2010 at 9 P.M. Eastern. I will select a winner using random.org’s true random number generator and notify him/her by email. Winner has 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is chosen. View my ~~giveaway rules~~ page for complete details. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

Entries as of October 27th, 2010 at 9:00 P.M.: 213

https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dDZGSGxDVEdOYlA4eU5jSUxkakx5Z1E6MQ

FTC Compliance: I paid normal retail prices for items reviewed. I was not compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.

A Year of Fluff All In One Diapers Cloth Diapers Giveaway Made in the USA Review Side Snapping Sized Diapers Snap Closure WAHM made

Wee Bonnie Botts AIO Review, Giveaway & Discount! (CLOSED 10/26)

Oct 19,2010 / By Maria / 3 Comments

Wee Bonnie Botts are work-at-home-mom (WAHM) made diapers made by Sarah. Like so many other WAHMs, Sarah started out by making diapers for her own child, and it took off from there.

Sarah and I got in contact as I was looking for sponsors for my “Year of Fluff” event this month, and she sent me a side-snapping AIO to review.

I really like to keep my reviews fairly matter of fact, but it so happens that the diapers I’m reviewing this week come from some of the most talented WAHMs I know. So, you might hear a little bit more gushing than usual this week.

I of course love the pirate print; I have a fitted in this print also. Wee Bonnie Botts is one of a growing list of WAHMs that simply amaze me. The craftsmanship is absolutely impeccable; not a stitch out of place. The diaper is seamed in the middle so the front and back are both right side up!

The All-in-One I received is a size medium, which is estimated to fit 18-33 pounds. The knit outer is laminated PUL, not hidden. So there are no issues with wicking. It has an organic bamboo fleece hidden layer, organic bamboo fleece and microfiber soakers, and a stay dry, suedecloth inner.

Wee Bonnie Botts makes diapers with two patterns. Here is approximate sizing for each:

Je M’appelle Bebe
Preemie 2-7 lbs
Newborn 5-12 lbs
Small 10-20 lbs
Medium 18-33 lbs
Large 30-40 lbs
OS 5-40 lbs

Fattycakes
Small: Rise 14″-16″, waist 11″-20″, thigh 6″-13″
Medium: Rise 14″-18.5″, waist 12″-21″, thigh 6.5.”-13.5″
Large: Rise 16″-19″, waist 14″-24″, thigh 8″-14″

Here it is measured folded, stretched, width at the center, and width at the front panel:

I thought the sizing was generous, but not overly so. The medium fit my 18.5 lb guy great, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it took him through potty training.

The diaper was very absorbent, and we had no fit issues or leaks! The AIOs retail for $19-$24 (the $24 is for wool AIOs, which are coming soon. I want, I want!) Pocket diapers are $16-$21, fitteds $10-$20, and she even has doll diapers for $5!

Discount: Get 10% off if you mention me. Please email Sarah first so she can alter the price to reflect the discount!

Giveaway: Wee Bonnie Botts is offering one blog reader $20 to spend on anything in ~~her etsy shop~~!

Here’s how to enter: All entries go in the form below; I love comments but comments will not count as entries. Mandatory entries include name, email address and your favorite ~~Wee Bonnie Botts~~ ~~item. You may choose to “like”~~ ~~Wee Bonnie Botts on Facebook~~ ~~for a bonus entry. (I’m a fan and I love getting sneak peeks of what she’s working on!) As usual, I will update this post regularly so you know how many entries there currently are.~~

I will accept entries until Tuesday, October 26th 2010 at 9 P.M. Eastern. I will select a winner using random.org’s true random number generator and notify him/her by email. Winner has 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is chosen. View my ~~giveaway rules~~ page for complete details. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

Entries as of October 26th, 2010 at 9:00 P.M.: 232

https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dGpZSHZ2U2ZKVC1jaDBOc292UGctTkE6MQ

FTC Compliance: I received this diaper at no charge in order to write my review. I was not compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.

All In One Diapers Cloth Diapers Made in the USA Review Sized Diapers Velcro/Aplix Closure WAHM made

The Eli Monster AIO Diaper Review

May 25,2010 / By Maria / 2 Comments

I spotted this diaper on The Eli Monster’s Hyenacart store a few months ago. I was surprised to see that it was still “in stock” at the beginning of April when I had some money burning a hole in my paypal account. I bought right before the owner was due to deliver her daughter, and the item’s page said shipping would be delayed by about a week. I wasn’t worried since it was in stock, and I knew she hadn’t had the baby yet (I’m a “fan” on Facebook and was watching for updates!)

What I didn’t know is that the “in stock” items are simply items available for purchase, but they are made to order. I hadn’t thought to check her about me page, where I would have seen the estimated 2-3 week turnaround. I learned my lesson there and will always read “about me” pages before I buy!

It ended up being about 6 1/2 weeks before it arrived, but it was totally worth the wait, honestly! I contacted Steph to check in a few times and she was absolutely wonderful. I’m always leery of “complaining” because I never know how the seller will respond, or if they will think I’m going to be a cranky customer. She was apologetic, understanding, and acknowledged that it had been a long wait! She asked that I tell her if there was something she could do to make this a positive experience. Considering that she birthed a 10 lb, 5 oz baby and still managed to make my diaper, and respond to my emails the same day I sent them, I’m giving her a pass. 😉

If you purchase a diaper from The Eli Monster, you can expect better quality than you’d get from the “big name” mass produced diapers. I don’t think I found a single stitch out of place. I’ve only seen one other “work at home Mom” diaper with the impeccable quality of The Eli Monster. Very, very hard to believe that she made this!

I chose a size medium, which is estimated to fit 10-22 pounds. I love that the size is on the label, and the dual sided brand label is very neat! As you see, she sells on etsy as well. When I took it out of the package my first thought was “oh no! This will never fit, it’s so tiny!”

I measured it stretched…

Folded/unstretched…

As it turns out, it’s almost exactly the same size as a Bumgenius 3.0 on the medium setting.

I think it looks smaller because it is so trim. The microcloth internal soaker is extremely thin, and is sewn just through the middle of the diaper. I have to say that I prefer the elastic style of the bumgenius (I guess “cased” elastic is the right term?) Hard to explain, but it seems to be more secure and doesn’t dig in.

The inner of the diaper is soft suedecloth to keep baby’s bottom dry. There is a hidden layer of PUL, so no cover is needed.

The outer looks like a woven cotton in the pictures, but it’s actually a very soft, nylon feeling material.

This diaper is called the “SpeedyPants” and has racing stripes and an applique (hand silkscreened) patch. My husband loved the diaper, he said it looked like a race car.

I love this diaper!! It is totally my style; those who know me know I’m not a huge fan of most “baby stuff.” I’ve found solid, stripes and dot patterns that I like OK, but I love, love, love the diapers The Eli Monster makes. At under $20 for an AIO diaper, I think it’s a pretty good deal. I love how trim it is, but it is a sized diaper, so it won’t fit forever. Oops, almost forgot, I was so hung up on how awesome it looks, it performs well too!

The problem is now I want one of her camera wrist straps, newborn diapers (and a newborn to go with it!) and this diaper (buy one of those and she will send another to miracle diapers.) I’ll also take one of these and these and these longies. Oh heck, I’ll take one of everything. Hee hee! She has even made prefolds cool.

I purchased this item myself, I wasn’t given a freebie or discount. The opinions (and diaper!) are my own.