Vintage Indie

Teach Me Art: Christmas Mandalas

Tis the season! Today we're making Christmas Mandalas from Woo Jr. We love this network, it is full of great craft ideas, project templates and supplemental worksheets for school time learning.

Visit Woo Jr. for your very own free printables!  

Teach Me: Music O Holy Night

As some of you already know, we are homeschoolers around these parts and this year, I've decided we are going to learn a real Christmas song. One full of truth, heart, joy and love. My favorite is O Holy Night. Have you heard Josh Groban sing it? Ahh, it warms my heart to the core.

We'll be learning it a little at a time. Learning how to write the lyrics in our best cursive and then with our voices.

You can find the lyrics here.

Mama to Mama: Straight Up Coconut Oil

Many moons ago I started a bath and body products company from the ground up. My goal was to find alternative products to the chemical laden and massed produced products of today. Since then, I've sold that business to pursue my role as a mother first and foremost as well as my writing.

Just recently, I've discovered organic extra virgin coconut oil (thanks mom). The particular brand we use around here is Nutivia.This isn't your ordinary organic coconut oil. If you do a quick search on how coconut oil is processed you can see that there are many different methods.

From Nutivia's website;

• Certified organic and non-GMO
• Made from fresh coconuts, not dried copra
• Cold-processed
• Unrefined
• Chemical-free
• Unfermented *
• Unbleached
• Undeodorized
• Unhydrogenated
• Pure white like fresh coconut
• Tastes like fresh coconut
• Has a fresh coconut fragrance

Can you say YUM!  I love it when my boys step out of the shower and lather themselves up with coconut oil. For one, I don't have to worry if the little one gets some on his lips and happens to have a taste. After all, it is safe enough to eat and cook with! Some days I add a dollop into my morning coffee, it curves my appetite and gives my coffee a yummy sweet coconut aftertaste. The coco-nutty goodness makes me feel like I'm on a desert island without a care in the world. Seriously, wouldn't that be nice.

Since Nutivia didn't pay me a lick or probably care that I wrote this post, you are probably wondering why would I waste my time? Well, because I want a better, healthier life for you and your family. Mamas before me, who started introducing me to organic, natural and whole living changed my world. The truth is, simpler is in fact better. Natural is in FACT better.  Do we really need to slather our children with chemical-laden products just so they can smell like kiwi? Introduce them to whole natural products (make sure it really is natural, these days you can't trust the labels), that are actually good for them at the same time. I only wish I would have known what I know now when they were babies.

Now go forth and get some coconut oil! Make sure you check how it is processed before you buy it!

xoxo - Mama Gabreial

Nourish Me: Boulevards™ Organic Hot Chocolate Product Review

In my quest to feed my children a healthier chemical free diet my family and I have been changing to healthier options from cereal to cleaning products. I was thrilled when the opportunity arose to try Boulevards™ Organic Hot Chocolate. Who doesn't love a smooth and creamy mug of luscious hot chocolate?

If you are anything like us, you love a good dark chocolate. Not only is dark chocolate better for you, it is often found with the least amount of additives. When looking for a good dark chocolate look for a high percentage of cacao. We usually go for 65% cacao or higher. Boulevards sent us their Dark Dairy-Free Hot Chocolate.

This USDA Organic product is Whey and Rice Filler Free. Ingredients include: Organic evaporated cane juice, organic cocoa, organic maltrodextrin, organic guar gum. I like that list. It is short, simple and I can pronounce all of the ingredients. I choose the Dairy Free option so that I could add what type of milk that we prefer, which is whole organic milk. You can choose to use soy milk, rice milk, coffee or your favorite mixer. I love this option! If you are lactose intolerant you can enjoy this delicious hot cocoa your way.

Now on to the good stuff. The hot chocolate was easy to make. We warmed a mug of milk and followed the directions using two tablespoons for 6-8 ounces of milk. The mix whipped up and blended in with the milk perfectly. The consistency was very creamy luscious and a delightful foam formed at the top of the mug. The taste was very sweet, possibly even to sweet for our taste so the next round I used only half of the suggested amount and this made a perfect cup of steamy hot cocoa. This product has been tried, tested and retested throughout this past couple of weeks by all members of my family. They all needed to make sure the cocoa was as delicious as the day before. Sure enough it was just as good the second and third time around.  As a family we give this product a very large A+ and plan to purchase more in the future.

Thank you Boulevards!

Truth in Review: Boulevards™ did provide me with all of the products mentioned to review including shipping. Boulevards™ did not pay me for the review or require any certain context within my review. All reviews posted by me are truthful in content and not bought. Gabreial Visit our Disclaimer  for more info.

Vintage Indie Kids

Come and meet me and my friends over at Vintage Indie Kids!

Play With Me: hasenpfeffer

Free form knitting, recycled vintage clothing and cast off materials are combined to create these darling Little People by Hasenpfeffer. A heirloom quality toy of today, these Little People would make wonderful gifts. 

Visit Hasenpfeffer's shop at Etsy to see their Thanksgiving and Christmas specials.

Vintage Indie Kids Review: Mama K's Play Clay

Visit Vintage Indie Kids today for our most recent product review of Mama K's Play Clay!

Play With Me: Mama K's Play Clay - Product Review

Good morning lovelies. It is that time again here at Vintage Indie Kids. Time for another kid tested and momma observed review. Today I bring you Mama K's Play Clay.

Mama K's sent my boys a sweet set of her Play Clay for review. Of course when any new package arrives in the mail, they are front and center awaiting to see if it is for them. To their surprise it was. Mama K's included samples of the Play Clay in various fragrances and a full size of Bergamot. The boys couldn't wait to try the clay out and opened the lids to get a whiff of organic essential oils. 

Mama K's Play clay isn't your ordinary dough/clay. First of all it is 100% natural. Certified Gluten Free flours are used as well as all natural dyes. From the start this is a great selling point for me. It is very hard to find 100% natural toys and play things for our kids these days, not to mention the chemicals used in so many of our kids products.

Mama K's Play Clay is also scented with organic essential oils. My boys had two favorite fragrances. They included Sweet Orange and Lemongrass. The other scents were just OK to them (they didn't mind playing with the other fragrances). I think they are more like their momma and stick with the fruity and citrus notes. My least favorite fragrance was the Bergamot. It gives me an instant headache, but I'm sensitive to smells and everyone is different. Mama K's aromatic Play Clay offers information on specific scents and how they effect your mood. You can read more about those below. 

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The play clay itself is a bit sticky at first, but once you let it dry just a bit it becomes more pliable and doesn't stick to your fingers. The Play Clay is soft in texture and easily mold-able. Our only issue with the product, was the essential oils mixing with a finger cut and scrape. Similar to what salt does to a small paper cut, the essential oils do burn a bit. We found this out first hand with my youngest. If you find your little one has a cut or scrape, I would suggest waiting until it has scabbed over before playing with the clay. Other than that, this family gives Mama K's Aromatic Play Clay a thumbs up. We also think Mama K's would make a fun stocking stuffer! Thanks again to Mama K's for providing your product for us to review. 

If your are interested in having your product reviewed by Vintage Indie Kids. Please email us. Please also visit our Disclaimer for any questions.

Truth in Review: Mama K's did provide me with all of the products mentioned to review including shipping. Mama K's did not pay me for the review or require any certain context within my review. All reviews posted by me are truthful in content and not bought. Gabreial

Bébé: Snugars

Can you say " AH DORABLE! Snugars is the creator behind these sweet hair accessories for infants, toddlers and little girls. You can shop their entire collection on Etsy. These would make a great stocking stuffer!

{ SHOP SNUGARS }

Nourish Me: Amazing Grass™ Experiment - Product Review & GIVEAWAY!

The lovely folks over at Amazing Grass™ were kind enough to send me a slew of products to try along with my kids and hubby. Let me give you a little background information first before I start going all " organic and healthy on you"

Organic, whole foods, natural and minimal sugar have been my personal goals for my family for over a year now. It was when I first picked up the book A Guide to Green Housekeeping by Christina Strutt, that I started noticing how many chemicals where in almost everything around us. They are on our foods, in the materials we use, the very wood that was used to build our house, my kids clothing, EVERYTHING.

At that time, I started with our cleaning products. After more and more research I moved to what is going into our bodies. Since then, I've been on a quest to find healthier alternatives to the chemical-laden processed food, that we are accustom to.

Off an on for a year or so, I've made green smoothies for myself and my family. If I disguise them just right, the kiddos don't even see the green spinach and slurp away. Yep, I said spinach that you drink. It is all the rage you know. Anyways, I was looking for even more ways to get greens and organic vitamins into their bodies  and found Amazing Grass along the way.

 

So what is this Amazing Grass that I speak of? Well, I'll have to take it directly from the experts themselves.

"Amazing Grass™ Wheat Grass is one of the most alkaline green leafy vegetables known and part of the cereal grass family, which includes barley grass, oat grass and rye grass. Amazing Grass wheat grass is a potent, convenient and affordable way to get your daily quota of 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables. Each serving of Amazing Grass™ Wheat Grass is packed full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, phytonutrients and carotenoids to promote optimal health."

Whew, that was a mouthful of healthy goodness wasn't it. So my goal was to convince meat-and-potatoes-hubby and kids to try out the Amazing Grass products. Well I  did so and I'm offering our full opinions here. Even though they graciously provided the products we aren't holding anything back. 

Up first, we tried the Amazing Meal Chocolate Infusion.  (If it has chocolate in it, I'm usually good to go) We blended it with whole organic milk and served it up as "chocolate milk" I have to tell you it was yummy. My kids did notice that it wasn't like the "regular" sugar-laden chocolate milk, but that didn't stop the gulping. I even enjoy it as a quick meal on the go or a sweet treat when I'm feeling a craving coming on. 

Next up ( not on the same day) we tried the Whole Food Energy Bars. The energy bars were a little tough to get everyone to try. Their appearance isn't pleasant and you can definitely see green when you take a big ol' bite. Chocolate and Chocolate Peanut Butter were the only ones I could  get my kids or my husband to finish. I kind of half to agree with them, if you aren't used to protein bars, you may have some trouble. Although my husband did use one of them for breakfast out on the golf course and said it filled him up to feel satisfied for an hour or so. 

Third we tried the Super Foods, the Outrageous Chocolate Flavor, Pomegranate Mango and Wild Berry. I have to be honest I haven't been brave enough to try the Original Blend or their Wheatgrass but it is on my list. We mixed these in various fruit smoothies, no added juice just good organic fruits, a splash of honey and filtered water. These were a very refreshing and filling treat. The SuperFood seemed to mix right in.

Overall, I know that my family is feeling better. I know I am and I'm eating drinking breakfast again, the most important meal of the day.  We are making better choices. I also have the peace of mind that on top of whole foods we are eating, these added nutrients and vitamins are so good for their growing bodies.

I also feel great about the company and their labeling, everything is there for you to see exactly what you are getting. Most all of their products are USDA Organic, and processed in such a way to not harm those valuable vitamins.

Now if I could just get Amazing Grass to give me a lifetime, selection of the Amazing Meal Chocolate Infusion we'll be in business. 

I hope you enjoyed this review of Amazing Grass. Thank you for your patience. With that said, I'd love to give away a gift pack provided by Amazing Grass.

ENTER TO WIN!

Here's what one winner will receive:

1 Amazing Meal 8.5oz Chocolate Infusion

1 Kids SuperFood Wild Berry 6.5oz

How to Enter: Visit the Amazing Grass website come back here and post a comment as to what product you think you would like to try personally or for your kids. Be sure to leave your first initial, last name and a way to get into contact with you.

Earn a Second Entry: Post this contest on Twitter! Come back here and enter an additional comment with a link.

Contest Ends November 9th, 2009. Void Where Prohibited.

Truth in Review: Amazing Grass did provide me with all of the products mentioned to review including shipping. They are also providing the contest giveaway free of charge to me. Amazing Grass did not pay me for the review or require any certain context within my review. All reviews posted by me are truthful in content and not bought. Gabreial

My Room: Vintage Jane - Vintage Child's Seat

Are you looking for a special chair for your child's room? What about a special "time out " spot. I love these vintage chairs from Vintage Jane.

 

You can find more vintage for decorating the higher shelves in your child's room or vintage chairs like these over at Vintage Jane's Etsy shop. I have a few favorites already marked!

Vintage Indie Kids: My Room

Reclaimed barn wood, vintage buttons, hand stitching and more. Visit Vintage Indie Kids today to find out what I'm talking about!

My Room: Daisy Barn Arts

If you're looking for nursery art, Daisy Barn Arts wants you to check out their shop. Artist and shop owner of Daisy Barn Arts contacted me awhile ago about showing off her nursery art.

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Reclaimed barn wood, vintage buttons, printed fabrics, and wool crewel yarn, hand stitches are combined on linen to create charming nursery art. I love the reclaimed wood frames.

Visit Daisy Barn Art for more!

Enjoy

Vintage Indie Kids: Special Offer Buy one Get one Free!

Head over to Vintage Indie Kids for an exclusive buy one get one free offer from today's My Room feature.

My Room: Arian

I recently landed on Arian at Etsy. I fell in love with her inspirational art as well as her charming prints.

Arian has created a special offer just for Vintage Indie Readers! You are so lucky, aren't you?

Buy One Get One Free (free print excludes custom name print). Purchase a print then mention your Vintage Indie Kids and which free print you'd like in the "message to seller"

{ SHOP NOW }

Vintage Indie Kids: Teach Me!

Head over to Vintage Indie Kids for a new Teach Me feature!

Explore the winter with your kids!

Teach Me: Coping with the Cold

Just a heads up, my friends over at Shining Dawn Books have just released a new unit study. Coping with the Cold, How Animals Survive the Winter Season. I think nature has really brought my kids and I closer together. They are leaning so much about the life around them. I can't wait to get started on this one.

Enjoy!

Get Dressed for Winter: Wooly Baby

With all of this talk about the Holiday Gift Guide/Market, It is hard to not think of the fluffy white snow that will soon show its face here in my neck of the woods. Don't get me wrong though, I am not rushing it. As much as I love vintage details, I love classy recycling.

Wooly Baby does vintage sweaters good, with their adorable line of wool slippers and booties.  Head over to their shop to see high tops, low tops and even cashmere offerings. 

Get Dressed: Rove Arounds

I don't know about you, but here in my neck of the woods summer left over night and on came chilly fall temperatures. I guess it is time to start thinking about jackets and coats for the winter.

I really like this handmade suede swing coat by Rove Arounds. It is fully lined with cotton corduroy and hand covered buttons. I think this is such a classy style for a young lady. Visit Rove Arounds for this coat and other handmade coats and childrens wear. 

Vintage Indie Kids: Marshmallows & Pickles

I bet that title grabbed your attention. Head over to Vintage Indie Kids to see what it is all about.

Get Dressed: Marshmallows & Pickles

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Born out of necessity Marshmallows & Pickles shop owner says, "My littlest wears clips like these everyday and I grew tired of trying to find something that was not only fun to wear but also fun to look at."

I love businesses spurred on by the fact that there is a need, and hopefully a way to help others. I know it's just the start of fall, but these would make great stocking stuffers! 

Vintage Indie Kids: Get Dressed with Bitsy Bear!

Head over to Vintage Indie Kids to dress your child in the most adorable handmade clothes!

Get Dressed: Bitsy Bear Flap Jacket

I love fall colors and I love jackets. Isn't this Brown Twill Flap Jacket adorable!

You can get your little cutie pie one at Bitsy Bear. This is just one great item from Bisty Bear's Fall 09 collection. Go see!

 

Vintage Indie Kids Review: Daily Planner & Organizer

Head over to Vintage Indie Kids for a full review of The Well Planned Day.

Teach Me: The Well Planned Day, A Family Homeschool Planner

Talk about a kid in the candy store. When it comes to office or school supplies, I'm your lady. I love pens, pencils, notebooks, binders and especially planners. Daily calendars and family planners are something I seek out each year. Usually I have a calendar/family planner and this year I've added a school lesson planner. I was head over heals when I found The Well Planned Day. A family and homeschool planner all in one! The Well Planned Day is brought to you by the same company who publishes Home Educating Family magazine. 

My review copy was that of the PDF file version. A down-loadable file, to be printed at home. The process is easy if you choose to purchase the down-loadable file. It requires Adobe which most everyone has already on their computers or can be downloaded for free. This version is a simple print and store in a binder as you wish. Although the printable version is instant gratification and after purchase is at your fingertips, I think I would prefer the printed and bounded version for $24.95.

Now that we've talked about the various ways to obtain The Well Planned Day planner, I'd like to talk about the pages themselves. This planner is well thought out if you have more than one child you are teaching. The calendar and daily planning pages are set up, for up to four children. However, if you have more than four children and you purchase the pdf file, you can simply print off more pages. I only have two children so the printed version would work just fine for us.

The planner itself has life. It's colorful, well organized and easy to understand. In the five day spread covering two pages there is room for four daily lesson plans including Bible, English, History, Math, Science and Electives. On the right page there is a place for Weekly Priorities, Dinner Menu and more. Keeping homeschool and life together in one. It makes since!

There are many other pages that fill the planner including Class Plans for the semester, Year at a Glance, Semester Goals, Daily Time Schedule, Full Calender for each month, Field Trip Notes, Monthly Expenses, Books to Enjoy list and so much more. Another favorite detail are the helpful articles like " 10 Habits of a Healthy Homeschool by Lina Johnson that enrich the planner throughout. Bible Memory verses are also printed on each week spread making it easy to incorporate into your week.

Overall I think this planner is an excellent start to getting your home and homeschool organized. As a new homeschooler I think this will be a valuable resource to the success of our home.

Even though it is almost October, getting organized and taking control of your schedule can start when you are ready and easily with The Well Planned Day. Visit Home Educating Family to read more and find out more about their magazine. Also, coming 2010 The Well Guided High Schooler.

Edited to Note: Home Educating Family is offering 25% off price the original $24.95 price for the printed planner. Use  this link for the discount. 

Have a great day!

Gabreial Wyatt, Editor in Chief