I love a funky, unique, and greener business concept so when I was introduced to the Ecocessories jewelry line and the designer Jessica – I couldn’t wait to write about this awesome company that recycles jewelry. And with Valentines Day on the near horizon and everyone wanting to show their love and devotion with a more eco-friendly message this year, the timing is perfect.

An amazing aspect that owner Jessica has included in her business model is recycling jewelry and then passing savings onto her customers. Who doesn’t have some mis-matched single earrings, broken necklaces, or dated costume jewelry cluttering up their jewelry box? You mail it to Jessica and will receive 15% off a future order. And when you take a peek at her one-of-a-kind creations, you’ll be loving the savings and feeling great that 100% of your old jewelry’s components will be recycled into a new design.  Take a peek at these Valentine pieces any only one word comes to mind… “Swoon”!

I asked Jessica why so many moms, brides, and everyday women would want to purchase jewelry directly from a designer. I loved her answer and wanted to share. “A designer has paid the highest attention to detail in your jewelry design. A designer goes to great lengths to provide a high quality item, and will often stand behind that craftsmanship such as with Ecocessories lifetime guarantee. A designer has a low environmental impact and the products are created in favourable and fair working conditions. Designers are transparent about the creation of their items and the story behind a piece is part of its charm! We also deliver superior customer service with customization services available and adjustments to existing pieces if need be. Most of all, we care – about our products, our processes, and our customers!”

Jessica’s designs are made from sterling silver that is free from harmful metals and of the highest quality. Chemical-free alternatives in her silversmithing processes keep her designs not only lovely, but environmentally safe both in production and design. Working with a designer is the best-case scenario for those that love unique and one-of-a-kind pieces.  Jessica loves asymmetrical design and calls on her collection of recycled beads to assist in her inspiration, along with seasons and what is inspiring with fashion.

I personally am drawn to jewelry that represents interests or a story in people’s lives. What a magical concept to wear a piece of jewelry that not only tells a great story but also includes an earthy element. The Ecocessories online store and the ocean and Cypress jewelry collections really had me at first glance.  In my opinion, Jessica’s real specialty is her nature inspired designs that are artistically interpreted long before she starts to hand-forge shapes, signature clasps, and silver.

The above pieces are currently available on her site and are one-of-a-kind. They are named Antique Ocean Oval Pendant, Antique Ocean Circle Earrings, and Cypress Street Organic Bracelet. With names like that I wanted to hear the story behind the Cypress line. With many of you knowing that my beautiful Province of BC is hosting the Winter Olympics next month I thought the inspiration behind the Cypress piece would be fun to share explained by Jessica.”This line was inspired by many afternoons carving down the slopes of Mount Cypress in West Vancouver. I remember the first time driving up there, the road was lined with such vivid blues and greens. Then when we were almost at the peak, everything turned white as soon as we turned a corner. It was the most awe-inspiring moment, almost like the trees had been sprayed with whipped cream. I’ll never get over the amount of life and colour the forest and the mountains contain here in BC and often like to reflect that in my designs.

Have you already fallen in love with a piece and are nervous about the cost?  Go to the Ecocessories site and fall in love because they are affordable and offer a rich history with a wonderful eco-story standing behind each piece. Jessica is also offering Mommy Footprint readers a 10% discount on any Ecocessories order. Simply type MommyFootprint during step 2 of the online shopping cart after entering your address. Or just be direct and let’s call it ‘helpful’ and forward the Ecocessories link to you partner and make his Valentines shopping easy this year.

I love blocks and if there was only one toy a child could own I would recommend building blocks. Even babies love to chew blocks and knock over anything mommy or daddy builds.  Toddlers are so incredibly proud of themselves when they manage to stack a few blocks before they tumble down. And older children, even my 7 year old, creates amazing designs from his imagination with blocks. They are a classic toy that should be a staple in any child’s closest.  Here are 3 amazing sets of blocks – all different – all with serious WOW power.

Ukoonto Blocks

Canadian manufactured, produced, and distributed, these blocks are made by hand (yes that is correct!!) by Hans, the founder of Ukoonto. These blocks are made from never-used, recycled Maple wood. The blocks are untreated and contain no toxic materials making them safe for teething gums and all children to explore. Each of the 50 blocks included in a set are hand-crafted by Hans – what a different experience than traditional painted blocks that are mass manufactured in China. Available through Pedagogy Toys – call and order with contact info on their website:

Tree Branch Blocks:

The creativity of nature is abundant with this next set of blocks. Made from Alder trees, these blocks are kiln dried with a wax finish. I love that Natural Pod has sourced this product local to their home base on Canada’s West Coast ~ Vancouver Island. These blocks are sold in 3 different sets of sizes – with a great scale in price. Tree branch blocks are like functional pieces of art for children.  A magical gift idea for kids of any age.

A Little World

Here is a little gem that reached through my monitor and just made my heart so happy.  These blocks are truly special and creative, made by an Etsy artist that is simply brilliant with their design concept of little Christmas house blocks made with felt.  Are they not just the cutest?

Obviously for the younger crowd, but what a wonderful, heirloom, unique gift these would make for an expectant mom or baby’s first Christmas this year. While you are at A Little World’s Etsy shop – check our the mobiles for babe (the sheep are my favorite). . . simple, modern, and fun designs!

Whether you prefer traditional, nature, or artistically inspired designs, building blocks are a classic, timeless gift for all children. If you are looking for ideas this Christmas – these three featured products are just the ticket. And yes with Halloween only hours away, it’s officially time to start Christmas gift planning for 2009 – Santa has started listening.

The feedback to the article about Graze Organic ~ a company trying to eliminate our need for plastic baggies ~ really got people commenting. The next question has been ‘how do I eliminate using plastic freezer bags for food storage?’  I’ve touched upon some alternatives in the past, but recently tried using a stainless steel solution from The Tickle Trunk and would love to share.  Here are my recommendations for eliminating freezing with plastic wrap or bags from your food storage.

Stainless Steel:

The Tickle Trunk is now carrying top of the line, stainless steel grade 18/10 food containers that seal air tight because of the awesome design of the silicone lid that latches closed so the food inside is free from air entering the container. The design is great and the quality is wonderful, with a great price-tag for stainless steel.  Look for the containers on The Tickle Trunk site that are made in Korea and are 18/10 steel grade as a new freezing alternative. This will solve the problem of people trying to store frozen food in glass jars in their freezer, because you quickly run into a space problem. These stainless steel containers are stack-able and can be purchased in a full range of sizes ~ small enough to freeze baby food, pesto, etc. to a large enough container for full size lasagna! The body of this container is dishwasher safe, but because of the silicone around the lid, this part should be hand-washed.

Glass:

These products are timeless and still very popular and effective for freezing food – Pyrex, CorningWare, and Anchor Hocking.  All of these glass food storage solutions have stood the test of time and are wonderful for baking, fridge storage, and effective with freezing food or sauce. If you are looking to completely eliminate plastic, it’s tough to find an airtight lid for these products that isn’t plastic. Most come with plastic lids, but rest assured that the plastic is made from food safe #5 plastic, but the exercise here is to eliminate plastic from touching your food while it’s stored in the freezer. If you are concerned about the plastic lid, but like these products, I would say just don’t pack it full enough so that the food is touching the lid. These products always seem to be on sale at Walmart, Target, Save-On-Foods, etc. so you can’t beat their price-point.

Other options:

Tin Foil can be used for short term freezing of chicken, etc.  I almost typed parchment paper but then started wondering what that slippery coating on the surface contained. I researched it and the material that makes it such a great help for baking because of the non-stick factor is a plastic coating. I guess I won’t be recommending that one for these purposes!

 
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We are such big fans of Piggy Paint at my house – the twins squeal with delight when I ask “who wants their piggies painted?!!” It’s wonderful to use a nail polish on children that doesn’t have an odor and was created without chemicals.  The slogan for this all-natural nail polish is ‘Natural As Mud’ and it’s very accurate since the product is actually biodegradable! I’ve written about the ingredients and details of this amazing product line before, the purpose of this post is to let all of my fellow Halloween fanatics know it’s time to start preparing for the best holiday of the year!  Today marks the first day of October’s magical month of fun to start! And for those of you that don’t believe in decorating quite yet - just paint your toes, it’s okay, it’s Fall ~ nobody will see them.  =)

‘Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun’ is the 3-polish gift set that has arrived just in time for October and includes Sleepover (black), Glass Slippers (white), and Mac-n-Cheese (orange).  Order from the Piggy Paint site and have fun with your little monsters all month long.  While you’re on the Piggy Paint site, read Melanie’s tips on Piggy Paint as a learning tool. Very cute ideas to spark some new ideas for moms while bonding and painting nails.

Green Planet Parties is also carrying the individual Mac-n-Cheese color and has brought in some green items for extra Halloween magic this year. Add some sustainable Halloween zip with our 10-flag banner (perfect for a kid’s party or classroom event) and cotton tablecloth with 12 felt bat appliques that sprinkle like reusable confetti. Never buy plastic buckets or bags for kids to collect candy again because we’ve got low-priced cotton trick-or-treat bags that glow in the dark and are the size of the old pillow cases we used as kids. Skully hair accessories and organic candy like the newly arrived snack size gummy bears complete this unique and fun category.

Let the fun begin!  October 1st marks the day that my family no longer looks kooky for already having our house and yard decorated for Halloween and I can talk openly for my love of the pumpkin patch, hay rides, Nightmare Before Christmas, and planning costumes with my husband and kids. Enjoy what is truly the most wonderful time of the year.

I love a good story. The best stories come from companies that are closing the loop by producing environmentally safe and effective products without chemicals or damage to human health. Enter the main character of this story…Diane Bernard who is also known internationally as ‘the seaweed lady”.  Diane’s story came to me while visiting The Grotto Spa this summer when I learned of ‘the seaweed lady’ a special environmentalist that lives on BC’s West Coast that harvests seaweed and has produced a one-of-a-kind certified organic skincare line called Seaflora.  It is unique because Diane hand harvests the main ingredient <seaweed> and with her method of using clean cuts there is no damage to the reproductive parts of the seaweed so it continues to grow and flourish. Diane’s ocean ‘garden’ of 250 assorted species of seaweed reflect her strong commitment to sustainable marine environments. Her harvesting techniques and the wild seaweed is 100% USDA and OCIA certified organic.  The story only gets better because the Seaflora skincare line is packed with vitamins and minerals – you don’t need to worry about toxic ingredients that pollute so many products in the beauty industry today. Diane knew the health benefits of using wild seaweed as the Seaflora core ingredient as it’s been known for centuries to heal and hydrate skin. The surprising twist in this story is how sustainable and fast growing seaweed is in nature – making it a wonderful and truly organic ingredient in a skincare line.

An example of the sustainable nature of seaweed is bull kelp. It is the fastest growing plant on the planet. It can grow three to four feet a day during peak time and 120 feet in a season. The beauty industry needs to harness this amazing resource much like the clothing and bedding industry did with bamboo last year.  Diane’s example of how to cultivate and harvest her ingredients with such environmental integrity is amazing with it’s authentic purpose from start to finish.  Picture below from the Seaflora site of Diane pulling bull kelp along the beach.

For a consumer, the certified organic line Seaflora is simply wonderful. I’ve been trying this line for months and love the ‘glow’ my skin has after using the mud mask. You can feel the difference between a paraben, phthalate, and formaldehyde -free product because your skin is instantly moisturized and clean without the slippery feeling afterwards. My favorite Sea Flora products are Iridaea exfoliator which is a facial masque combined with ocean mud that makes my skin feel amazing and Laminaria Body Lotionfor the eczema patches on my ankles.  The Seaflora facial cleanser line contains certified organic seaweeds, Vitamins A, C, and E to cleanse skin.   Did you know that wild seaweeds contain anti-septic and healing properties?  So many products in the Seaflora line are recommended for rosacea, eczema, sensitive skin types. 

For woman trying to conceive or already pregnant – the Sea Flora line is an amazing organic solution to avoid synthetic chemicals that effect developing babies.  Seaflora contains no artificial colours or fragrances, GM ingredients, dioxins, petrochemicals, mineral oils, parabens, imidazolidinyl urea, propylene glycol, hexane, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate, aluminium or animal derived ingredients. Seaflora skincare is perfect for people committed to an organic lifestyle and looking for a truly natural way to rejuvenate and sooth their skin. The line is certified organic in both the US and Canada and this is not as common as you might think. Diane warns that consumers need to be careful as skincare lines claim to be organic or natural can still contain petrochemical, synthetic, and other harmful ingredients. You need to look for USDA or OCIA seals for your assurance before purchasing organic skincare.

You can find Seaflora available to purchase in many high-end spas across North America or visit the Seaflora store and discover a new way to pamper yourself …sadly without the spa, but happily without the toxic ingredients.