Season of Light - Making Candles

Recently, A Toy Garden sent us a candle-making kit to review. The girls were so excited when they heard we were going to make candles to decorate the Thanksgiving table.

Multicolored Beeswax Candle Making Kit ($19.95)

After my little "we can only have fun if we listen" speech, I handed each girl a sheet of beeswax.

"This is going to turn into a candle?!?"

Linnea smelled hers....mmmmm....beeswax. There's just a touch of honey scent.

I showed them how to roll the wax.  Our house is chilly, so we warmed the sheet with a hair dryer first.

Look how careful Arielle is.

Linnea is all done.

"Look, Mom!" She was so proud.  This is a great project for preschoolers like Linnea who like quick results.

Arielle was still working.



 

A Toy Garden also sent Stockmar Wax Sheets ($31.95)

We used small cookie cutters to cut out leaves and other shapes.

 

 We just wrapped them around the candles and pressed them on.

 

Beautiful!!!

The girls got lots of compliments on their hard work.

This is a great holiday craft.  You could make it a family tradition.  I think we will. The candle making kit is also available in Christmas or Hannukah colors (make your own Hannukah candles - cool!) and in natural beeswax.

And, check out A Toy Garden for stuffing stuffers and unique holiday decor. Arielle loves the child-sizes cardinal wreath ($14.95) that decorates her door.

Thank you, A Toy Garden! This was a super fun review.  We'll definitely do this again.





We Love Stubby Pencil Studio and a Holiday Coupon Code!!!

Not only has Stubby Pencil Studio donated an awesome arts and crafts gift bag for our auction on December 1-7, but they have a most amazing selection of eco-friendly school supplies and art supplies that are guaranteed to make even any little student feel a little better about going back to school after the holidays.

I don't know about your children's school, but Arielle's school had a very specific supply list and I was a little disappointed that I couldn't make everything as eco-friendly as I would have liked. But, I did what I could.

Arielle took KUM Correc-Brick Erasers ($2.50) and Wildlife Colored Pencils ($7.95) to school. I put a small recycled paper notebook in her backpack, so I could write her little notes to look at while she's at school.

Birds Aqua Notebook ($4.50)

Linnea doesn't need school supplies, but she loves the little mushroom erasers.

Mushroom Pot Erasers ($3.95)

She calls them "Mushroom Babies" and can spend hours taking care of them or carrying them around in a little purse ($6.00).

This year, Linnea is spending two mornings a week at a neighborhood preschool. The other three mornings, I give her "work" to do while I try to get my own work done. Sometimes her "work" is drawing and sometimes it is about learning. She learns a letter a week at school, so I always write out the letter and let her decorate it with something apropriate - apple chunks for "A", buttons for "B", next week we'll make a "C" out of tiny cookies. She also decorates a letter with stickers.

She also loves to string beads. The wooden beads at Stubby Pencil Studio are safely colored using child-safe, water-based paints or natural oils. And painting is always a favorite - the triangular paint brushes ($7.95) make it so easy for Linnea to get paint exactly where she wants it.

I thought it was funny, but the staff at preschool is really impressed with Linnea's ability to color, draw and use scissors.  We've always had art supplies available to her (I have tables set up for art in both the kitchen and in my office), and I think that makes a difference.  Art isn't just an activity, but a part of our lives.

Crayon Rocks ($6.95)

I'm totally bragging, but here is her picture of five monkeys jumping on her bed. I love it!

If you are ready to get creating in an eco-friendly way, check out the all-natural art supplies at Stubby Pencil Studio  There are plenty of great stocking stuffers and party favors.

Sara's Toy Box readers may discount code STBSAVE10 to save 10% on purchases through 12/31/10. Happy holiday shopping!!!

Beautiful Toys, $5 off: Bella Luna Toys

Hi Readers,

I'd like to introduce you to a new favorite, Bella Luna Toys.  Bella Luna Toys is owned by a Waldorf teacher, Sarah Baldwin, who chooses each toy with care.

The small tree house ($89.95) is a fair trade toy made in Vietnam out of sustainably harvested wood.  But, mostly it's really cute.  I can picture little gnomes and fairies having a tea party .

If you need gnomes, Bella Luna has gnomes. Or, you can make your own using the Forest Gnome Family Kit ($19.95).  These would look so cute peeking out of a stocking.  I may need to make some for Arielle's stocking.

So many beautiful choices! Check out the lovely Waldorf toys and art supplies at Bella Luna and take $5.00 of your first order with the coupon code "Sara5".

Sara

Boom Boom Cards at Giving Gifts

Arielle and Linnea have been learning about good deeds. They play a game called "Fairy" with their big sister. At first, the fairy just granted wishes. But, some little girls were getting greedy and making a lot of wishes. So the fairy said, "You must do three good deeds first."

"What's a good deed?", they asked.

The Boom Boom cards from Giving Gifts arrived just in time. What are Boom Boom cards?

Boom Boom Cards Original Deck ($12.00)

Boom Boom cards are a deck of 26 cards. Each card is printed with an act of kindness. You do the act of kindness, log it on the website and pass the card on to a friend.

The girls were very excited to do the good deed. Arielle read the card.

Our first good deed was "Plant a seed!" This was easy because we had cone-flower seeds left over from Arielle's birthday party (more about that in a few days). Cone flowers or Echinacea are especially Earth-friendly because they provide food for birds and butterflies.

The seeds are from Green Bird.






Then we decorated the pots with stickers. Not so Earth-friendly, but fun.





After we did our good deed, I went to BoomBoomCards.com and registered our deck. When you register, you can choose a charity that will receive a donation. We chose NatureBridge, a non-profit organization that helps students connect with nature through activities in outdoor classrooms.

I wrote about our activity and posted the picture. Now, I'm sending the card to Eleanor who will write about her family's experience.

The next card says make a card for someone who lives far away. Good idea. The girls can't wait.

Giving Gifts is a Canadian company that sells eco-friendly and fair trade toys and gifts that are good for both the recipient and the environment.

In addition to the Boom Boom Cards Family Edition ( $16.00) that we used, they sell beautiful Blabla bird rattles ($30.00), natural art products, Envirosax (cool Sesame Street ones), lunch boxes and other treats.

Giving Gifts has offered our readers ten percent off all purchases. The code is "Sara10." That's another good deed.

The Winner Is.........

Congratulations Betsy, the winner of the $25 gift card to Franklin Goose.

Betsy likes the all-natural art supplies from Clementine Art. We do, too.

Thank you, Franklin Goose.