This holiday season I discovered Kiss Naturals. I really love their kits and if you have little ones like me I know you will, too! Kiss Naturals makes DIY kits which come with everything needed to make your own natural lip gloss, perfume, soap and bath fizzies. A bit about Kiss Naturals:

At Kiss Naturals, we believe that Nature got it right the first time. We don’t add fillers, additives, dyes or synthetics to any of our products. We simply use Nature’s ingredients in their purest form.

I reviewed the lip balm kit. My girls LOVE “chop stick” as they call it. However, I have heard horror stories about the crud that can be found in the stuff you buy from the store and half the time I can’t stand the synthetic scents. The kit includes:

A fun all-natural do it yourself kit that makes 10 amazing lip balms! This treat for your lips contains 2 bottles of pure essential oils, Shea butter, Safflower oil and Beeswax in pre measured bottles. You simply melt the beeswax, safflower oil and shea butter (on stovetop or in the microwave) then once they melt get creative and start adding the essential oils of your choice! A great treat to make at birthday parties or to share with friends and family!

Lip balms are ready to use in 30 minutes!

Our kit came with orange and peppermint oils. I’m a sucker for peppermint so I was as excited as the girls to get these made! This was really easy to put together. I have to recommend you may want to use some disposable bowls for this. I’m sure you can clean everything up, but it is a bit of a greasy mess. The beeswax took a tad longer to melt then directed in my microwave, but I’m sure that will vary. Finally, don’t take your time with the final pour, the balm starts to harden up quick, as soon as you add the flavor you need to have the containers ready.  The end result was 10 little containers of lip balm that we love to use. The girls gave a few away to friends and grandma and we kept the rest. I want to try a few more of these kits for sure!

Kiss Naturals is letting one of my readers win a kit of their choice to try as well! With the count down to Christmas coming up, I won’t promise Marie will have these out in time – although, mine arrived in about a day. If it doesn’t get there in time for Christmas, no worries this will still make for a fun project during the holiday break.

Do as many of the below as you wish and leave a separate comment for each one:

• Visit Kiss Naturals and comment here on which kit you would love to buy if you won.
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post.
• Follow @kissnaturals on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook and comment that you did.
• Tweet this giveaway
• Stumble this giveaway
• Use other forms of social networking to spread the word about this giveaway.
• Subscribe to my feed to stay up to date with the latest from Eco-Office Gals.
• Buy anything from Kiss Naturals and comment 5 times that you did! Don’t forget to use the coupon code! (I will confirm)

The deadline for entering is Wednesday 12/22/10 at 8am EST at which time one winner will be randomly chosen.  Please don’t forget to leave a separate entry for each one of the above that you do and any entries that show obvious laziness i.e. a simple “Thanks for the great giveaway” will not be published therefore not counted. It’s just not fair for the people that do know how to follow simple directions. US & Canada residents only. Thanks!

(In compliance with the new FTC Guildlines, please note that this is a sponsored post.  I was given these products to test and review free of charge.  However, I was not paid for the review and the opinions are my own.)

And the winner is..

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Green Gift Giving: Kiss Naturals

One area of our home that is not green is our kitchen cabinets. I confess, our plates, cups and travel mugs… they are littered with plastic. With 3 kids in the home and a husband that walks out the door with cups full of coffee or soda, never to return (the cups, he normally comes back), plastic is a cheap convenience. In our defense, we are paperless in the kitchen, no disposables, no coffee filters, no paper products and we recycle, and compost. Am I forgiven?

When I came across The Green Glass Company, I was intrigued. What better way to step beyond simple recycling efforts then turning wine, beer and soda bottles into tableware?

With origins dating back to 1992 in South Africa, The Green Glass Company has seen many incarnations and has grown into the largest producer of reclaimed glassware in the world.The Green Glass Company strives to satisfy not only its recycling heritage but also its eclectic and diverse clientele. With its patent on the unique wine bottle to goblet conversion process, The Green Glass Company team and its state-of-the-art equipment are at the forefront of the reclaimed glassware market.

Revered throughout Europe and other parts of the world as collectible art glass, The Green Glass Company goblets have even been chosen for the table of King Carlos of Spain, a former Mayor of New York City, movie sets, and, celebrity dinners. In addition to their popularity with consumers and collectors, The Green Glass Company products are quickly becoming a valuable marketing tool in the corporate world. Sandblasted with a company name or logo, the glasses not only provide enduring brand exposure, they also provide insight into a company’s awareness and commitment to preserving our resources.

From Kings and Mayors to the Smith household, we have had the pleasure of sampling a set of these glasses in our home for a few weeks now.  As much as I loved the goblets, I went practical with a set of tumblers, or the bottom section of the bottle.

Through a partnership with Cave B winery, these tumblers are created from reclaimed Bordeaux bottles collected from the organic restaurant, B&B and tasting room on the Cave B estate.

I was sent a set of 4 glasses, each one different from the other and they are really nice. They are thick, heavy weight glass, not the thin garbage you get in the sets from the store.They are made from wine bottles, after all. Another plus, my husband doesn’t walk out of the house with them and the little ones won’t touch them.

The Glass Company’s product line creations don’t stop at glassware. Their line includes vases, pitchers, candle holders, even coat hooks made with bottle tops! There is a wonderful variety to choose from when deciding on your Green Gift Giving this season!

How about giving (or receiving) something from The Green Glass Company this holiday season? The Green Glass Company is giving away a $40 gift code to one of my readers!  Do as many of the below as you wish and leave a separate comment for each one:

• Visit The Green Glass Company Store and comment here on what you would love to buy if you won the GC.
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post.
• Become a fan of The Green Glass Company or Eco-Office Gals and comment that you did.
• Tweet this giveaway
• Stumble this giveaway
• Use other forms of social networking to spread the word about this giveaway.
• Subscribe to my feed to stay up to date with the latest from Eco-Office Gals.
• Buy anything from The Green Glass Company and comment 5 times that you did! Don’t forget to use the coupon code! (I will confirm)

The deadline for entering is Friday 12/10/10 at 8pm EST at which time one winner will be randomly chosen.  Please don’t forget to leave a separate entry for each one of the above that you do and any entries that show obvious laziness i.e. a simple “Thanks for the great giveaway” will not be published therefore not counted. It’s just not fair for the people that do know how to follow simple directions. US residents only. Thanks!

(In compliance with the new FTC Guildlines, please note that this is a sponsored post.  I was given these products to test and review free of charge.  However, I was not paid for the review and the opinions are my own.)

And the winner is….

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Green Gift Giving: Green Glass Company

The Sodastream products had struck my fancy for a few holiday seasons. Several blogs had been giving them away and unfortunately, I hadn’t won one yet. So, I was excited when the company agreed to be part of my Green Gift Giving series this season!

Sodastream’s products are a great addition to the home or office making green steps:

How Does SodaStream Help the Environment?

SodaStream is an “Active Green” product, meaning that consumers  are actively reducing their CO₂ footprint every time they make soda  or sparkling water at home instead of buying it from the store. The more the system is used on a daily basis, the more CO₂ footprint the user actively saves. (This differs from “Passive Green” products, which use green-friendly production processes, but their products are not inherently helping the consumers save on their daily footprint.)

Because SodaStream uses water straight from the tap, the system makes traditional store-bought beverage bottles obsolete. That means less plastic manufactured, less plastic waste is created, and fewer bottled beverages must be transported from manufacturers to distributors to stores to homes.

Globally, 206 billion liters of bottled water were consumed in 2008 (Zenith International Global Bottled Water Report, 2008). The energy required to make water bottles in the US only, is equivalent to 17 million barrels of oil (Container Recycling Institute, 2002).
According to the US Recycling Institute, more than 80% of bottles in the US do not get recycled and end up in landfills. Also, an estimated 4.7 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions were produced in the process of replacing the 134 billion bottles and cans not recycled in 2005.

Using your own home carbonation system means:

• Less packaging waste from cans and bottles.
• Less pollution caused by transport of bottled beverages.

One SodaStream carbonator makes 60 or 110 liters, equivalent to 170 or 310 aluminum cans! When empty, the carbonator is refilled and reused, ready to make more fizzy and tasty soda whenever you want it.

I was sent the Fountain Jet Starter Kit in black and silver to review. It came with 2 1 liter blottles, 1 carbonator, 6 flavored syrups from their regular and diet line, 2 of their Sparkling Naturals, and a 3 pack of MyWater Flavor Essence retail $99.95.

The Fountain Jet was super simple to get together, just insert the carbonator and you’re ready to go. No batteries, plugs or assembly required.  The first and only problem with the product I had: when asked which flavors I wanted to try I mentioned that I am a Diet Coke Gal, so since I was the main reviewer be sure to include that. No Diet Cola syrup was included. Since I don’t really like any other soda I had to leave taste testing to the rest of the family. So far Root Beer has been the family hit, Orange falling close behind. My Mother-in-law really liked the Sparkling Naturals Apple Mango, we sent her home with a large glass and a stainless steel bottle full.

Now, I have found myself drinking something I HATED when I was younger… Seltzer Water. I haven’t tried any of the flavor essences, yet. It’s next on the list (when there is a spare bottle not filled with Root Beer), but I have a new found craving for seltzer and to be able to make it in seconds is really cool! My son took a swig of it (probably thought it was lemon-lime) I heard him gag! That’ll teach him to drink out of the bottle! How many times do I have to say it??

The guys in the house go through soda fast, so this is great. No running out of drinks, running to the store, we’re reducing waste from store bought sodas, too. This has many pros for sure! SodaStream is available at several retail locations and you can search for a location near you on the site. I’ll need to take a trip to a location near me to buy some of the diet cola, then I can start to really enjoy the SodaStream.

This will make a great green gift for the soda lover in your life. So why not try to win one? Yep, SodaStream is giving one of my readers a Fountain Jet to keep or give as a gift this holiday season!

Do as many of the below as you wish and leave a separate comment for each one:

• Visit Soda Stream or the Ms. Fizzy Blog and comment here on which flavor or drink recipe you would love to try if you won the Fountain Jet.
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post.
• Follow @sodastreamusa on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook and comment that you did.
• Tweet this giveaway
• Stumble this giveaway
• Use other forms of social networking to spread the word about this giveaway.
• Subscribe to my feed to stay up to date with the latest from Eco-Office Gals.
• Buy anything from SodaStream and comment 5 times that you did! (I will confirm)

The deadline for entering is Monday, 11/22/10 at 8pm EST at which time one winner will be randomly chosen.  Please don’t forget to leave a separate entry for each one of the above that you do and any entries that show obvious laziness i.e. a simple “Thanks for the great giveaway” will not be published therefore not counted. It’s just not fair for the people that do know how to follow simple directions. US residents only. Thanks!

(In compliance with the new FTC Guildlines, please note that this is a sponsored post.  I was given these products to test and review free of charge.  However, I was not paid for the review and the opinions are my own.)

Congrats…. um anonymous… at least you left an email

Comment:

I would love to try the Pete’s choice and the orange.

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Green Gift Giving: Soda Stream Review & Giveaway!

Chloe & Abby 2008

Chloe & Abby 2008

So, time to take a little step away from green business and get into the holiday season.  We decorated our Christmas tree over the weekend.  The kids had fun putting all the ornaments on while I scrambled to grab the more delicate decorations from their grasp.  We did multi-colored LED lights and that angel hair stuff… not really my style, but the kids loved it and it’s still pretty.  I’ve been grabbing boxes of candy canes here and there, my son, Sebastian, putting his up top out of the Chloe & Abby’s reach.

This is our first Christmas in our new house which is really kinda neat!  We’ll make cookies and fudge and my husband will be home from working in Texas, wanting his favorite Champagne Shrimp Pasta. It will also be my first Christmas since my best friend, Dez passed and a time to reflect on memories of my grandparents, also recently passed.  It’s a season that really gets mixed with emotions and memories. Through every memory, the Christmas tree stands… in the living room, witnessing the good and the bad… the happiness and sorrow.

I was given the opportunity to read the book “A Tree’s Christmas” by James Andrew Bowen over the last two nights.  A short childrens’ (tween) book written about a family’s Christmas, narrated by the Christmas tree.

The summary (from the site):

Did Anne dream this story of the talking Christmas tree, or could it be real? You must decide for yourself. The story starts when a love-filled family’s Christmas in the country is over. The Christmas tree’s decorations are gently removed. Anne, her dad and their dog, Lucky, take the tree outside and lay it down in the snow-covered garden. That night, to the amazement, surprise and delight of the trees around the garden, the Christmas tree begins telling the exciting story of its wonder-filled adventures inside the family’s home during the Christmas season. All night, the trees listen as the Christmas tree tells its stories, and then…

“A Tree’s Christmas” will inspire children of all ages to appreciate anew the wonders of a family Christmas, and how the tree, at the center of it all, can play an even more meaningful role in the celebration than anyone can imagine. And, as the Christmas tree tells of its adventures, readers will come to understand the importance of leading a rich, full life that makes a difference – no matter what others say.

It’s a story that can be told over and over every Christmas, for generations to come, and still have genuine meaning for all who read it.

This book was such a sweet story to read during the holiday season.  Written so innocently from the perspective of a tree that is trying to understand traditions and human lives it has been brought into during the last season of it’s own life. This will be a definite read to Chloe and Abby in a couple of years (they’re still a little too young) and my son may like it if they make a video game out of it! LOL! He’s just not the voluntary reading type, but what can you expect from a 13 year old boy… he didn’t even want any part of the picture I took!

So, if you’re looking for a great Christmas book with a different twist on the holiday, you may want to purchase “A Tree’s Christmas” and reflect on your family from the angle of the tree.  Enjoy!

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

A Tree’s Christmas: Book Review