Amber, Author at Rays of Bliss

Wordless Wednesday with Linky ~ 10/30/13

My son won a raffle to Pie his Principal! He was so excited because out of all the prizes to win, that was the one he wanted most! Lucky Boy!

On a side note, The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) song has taken over my home! It’s been 3 weeks strong and shows no sign of getting old. My boys play it over and over and love it more and more!

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Not required but would be nice:
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Homegrown Collective Box ~ GREENBOX “Sustainable Laundry 101”

Blog, Product Reviews, Reviews

Two things that I love and are super important to me: Living Green and Living Green Easily! Well, The Homegrown Collective has put my two loves in one monthly package!

The Homegrown Collective is subscription boxes professionally and seasonally curated each month to help you promote self-sufficiency, environmental stewardship and sustainability. Each month a new box will be delivered and help you “greenify” a different part of your home and lifestyle.

They have some awesome past boxes. They have included items such as a mushroom growing kit, heirloom seeds, water kefir supplies, DIY cheese kit, DIY herbal tinctures, DIY homemade cough syrup, raw honey, beeswax, gourmet treats and more. See past boxes here. I actually need that DIY homemade cough syrup box now!

I had the opportunity to review their September GREENBOX “Sustainable Laundry 101”! I was schooled on making my laundry routine as green as can be!

I love that The Homegrown Collective provides you with all the products you will need to make your own laundry detergent (even mason jars for containers!) and also instructions on how to make it. They don’t make it for you so you will have the knowledge and skills to do again in the future!

This box was amazing and the instructions were very easy to follow! The hardest part was grating that soap bar. I tried to get my husband to do it half way through, but that was a no go! Really, it was not that bad just a little work out for your arm.

The Wool Dryer ball was nice quality. The essential oil blend they provided smelled so good and made my whole laundry room smell wonderful! This was also the first time I ever used soap nuts. Soap nuts are a 100% natural, safe and hypoallergenic way to do your laundry. They are recommend for babies and people with sensitive skin.

I have been using all the items sent in this box for over a week and have been really happy with the results. All the products curated for this box where very high quality and I was very impressed with it. I was happy to “greenify” my laundry routine with this box!

I can’t wait to see what next months box will be and how it will help me live more sustainable! I know I can count on it being quality items and will include a couple of immediate gratification surprises and a couple of items that will give back over time, again and again.

The Homegrown Collective seasonally curates the boxes and passes those savings along to you. You can utilize the “group buying” strategy and find more information at Homegrown Collective website.

Visit the Homegrown Collective to subscribe here.

Connect with The Homegrown Collective: Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. rays of bliss received the products mentioned above for free. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

AllyZabba Baby Blanket Review

Blog, Kids & Baby Reviews, Reviews

I got the oppurtunity to review an AllyZabba Baby Blanket. I chose the Dino print and Aqua color for the plush side.

My son and I love the AllyZabba Baby Blanket we were sent! It is so soft and cuddle worthy! I really can’t believe how much my 6 month old loves it!

The blanket was sent in a cute little mesh bag with ribbon and included a card with washing instructions. They also recommend letting mom use the blanket for a few hours before baby does. The familiar “smell” of mom should complete the illusion for your baby and help them love their new blanket.

So I hung out with my blanket…I mean his blanket, for a while and then handed it over to my baby boy.

You should know he does not own a soft blanket or anything like this, and I have never given one to my other 2 boys. So I wasn’t sure if he would even react to it or even care about this really soft and silky blanket.

I wish I had made a video! He literally laughed out loud and was playing with this blanket for the longest time! I couldn’t believe it and now I give him this blanket all the time! I lay it with him for his nap and I lay it on the ground with other toys during his tummy time on the floor. You would be amazed at how many times he reaches for the AllyZabba Baby Blanket!

The AllyZabba Blanket company knew that babies, especially newborns, love the feel of silk against their skin and designed this Blanket based on that fact! I wish I had this blanket sooner for my son but at least he has it now and loves it!

Quick Facts About The AllyZabba Blanket

Designed specifically to replicate the texture of a mother’s womb.
The AllyZabba Blanket is made of raised plush fabric and silky satin backin.
Is machine washable.
It’s incredibly soft and cozy.
Many Cute Prints and backing colors.
Available in Small, Large and Mega Sizes

The large AllyZabba is approx. 34″ x 28″ and the smaller TravelZabba is 16″ x 14″ and is a perfect lovey for the car seat or stroller. The MegaZabba is huge. Approx. 58″x58″.

I think AllyZabba Blanket is a great design and is truly comforting to my son. I think this a perfect gift for anyone expecting. Truly, it is great for babies, newborns and children of all ages because really who doesn’t love a soft cuddly blanket!

Visit AllyZabba’s website to check their entire line and purchase your very own blanket!

You can sign up for their newsletter here to receive discounts on AllyZabba’s products.

Like and follow AllyZabba on: Facebook , Twitter and Pinterest

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Gluten Free Tuesday Linky 10/22/13

Blog, Gluten Free, Gluten Free Linky

Thanks for joining us for Gluten Free Tuesday! Enjoy sharing and checking out all the GF goodies!

Here are my Top 3 from last Week in no particular order:

Gluten-Free Blueberry Coconut Muffins from Frugal Local Kitchen.

Low Carb Mini German Apple Pancake from annumography.

Warm Apple Crisp with Cinnamon Ice Cream from heavens garden.

Link Up and Share your Gluten Free Recipes!

I will PIN all entries to my “Gluten Free Tuesday” Pinterest board for more exposure!

Rules: ~New or Old Gluten Free Recipe Post, Gluten free product reviews or menu plans.

~Family friendly Post.

~Link directly to your Recipe post (not your homepage).

~I have permission to use your submitted photo, if chosen as my favorite, in next week’s post. I will give credit and link backs to you.

Not required but would be nice:

~Please be courteous to your host and link back to Gluten Free Tuesday at rays of bliss.

~Please visit some other links and show some comment love! Let’s support one another.

~Follow your host, rays of bliss,on: Bloglovin, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram or Google+ ~Grab my button add it to your post, sidebar or your link party page!

Wordless Wednesday with Linky ~ 10/23/13

Blog, Wordless Wednesday

Here are some pictures of my two little guys in their Halloween Costumes! I bought the Luigi and made the Toad Costume. You can check out my post on how I made it Click Here.

Also, I love the Ghostbusters shirt! I found it at the Thrift Store for a $1!

Please share your favorite family-friendly post. Wordless or Not So Wordless!

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Family friendly Photos Only
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DIY Toad Costume / Hat ~ Baby or Kid

Blog, Craft Ideas, DIY

This year my 6 year old and 3 year old decided they wanted to be Mario Brothers. So obviously that means I get to dress my baby boy as Toad! Unfortunately, they do not sell an infant size Toad costume! I had to get creative and crafty for this one and make my own DIY Toad Costume and Hat! This DIY will work for a baby, kid or even an adult!

I am still learning to sew with a sewing machine so my husbands grandmother helped me with this project. All references to sewing was all her! But, I am getting weekly lessons so soon I will be a sewing machine master!

What You Will Need for Toad Costume

First I purchased white pants for my son. You will probably have to go into the girl section for some reason they do not sell boy white pants. I actually got these from a resell store for $2 in the girl section! I already had a tan/beige colored onesie. I purchased the royal blue vest on Ebay from a store that sells vest separately for $12. I also already had some yellow fabric for sewing around edge of vest, but you can purchase a small amount of yellow fabric for under $1.

You will have to sew or use Iron-On Adhesive to put yellow around edge of blue vest.

The hat was the hardest part but was not too difficult.

How to Make Toad Hat

Supplies:

1/2 yard of white flannel fabric

1/4 yard of red flannel fabric

winter hat or beanie that fits your child

batting

Iron-On Adhesive

iron

scissors

needle and thread

sewing machine (optional)

Directions:

Cut a large white circle. My son is 6 months so my circle was 18 inches wide. You will need to leave a lot of room for batting. Bigger hats may need 1 yard of white fabric to cut larger circle.

Cut 4 ovals out of red fabric.

Cut 1 small circle for top of hat.

Use Iron-On Adhesive to attach ovals and circles to white fabric. (I went ahead and also used sewing machine to sew dots on but iron-on adhesive will do the job)

Cut batting down to fit inside hat.

Sew around the outer part of white fabric and pull thread to pull hat together.

Put winter hat or beanie inside of hat.

Sew the winter hat into Toad hat.

*Optional instead of using a winter hat you could sew in an elastic band.

Here’s a picture of my 3 year old as Luigi and my baby boy in his Toad costume. I couldn’t get “Mario” to cooperate! Those pictures will have to wait until Halloween!

Amber

Quick Facts About The AllyZabba Blanket

Link Up and Share your Gluten Free Recipes!

What You Will Need for Toad Costume

How to Make Toad Hat

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