Featured Design: Carnival Birthday Party Invitation

You can create a memorable event for your child’s birthday party by using materials you already have at home. The homemade popcorn cupcakes make the perfect favors and a great opportunity for some quality time with the kids.

Photo Credits:
Row 1: Pottery Barn Kids
Row 2: Green Wedding Shoes, Martha Stewart
Row 3: Green Wedding Shoes
Row 4: Pink Cake Box, Posh Tot Events

The new Kidishes from Zoe B Organic are made with tempered glass, four to five times stronger than standard glass, and if it does break it doesn’t break into shards. They are 100% recyclable, microwave and dishwasher safe.

Check out the awesome video below to see just how durable the Kidishes are!

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The dark and contrasting spots all over Sophie the Giraffe’s body provide visual stimulation and make her easily recognizable to baby.

Her squeaker keeps baby amused, stimulates his hearings, and helps him to understand the link between cause and effect.

Perfect for baby’s small hands. She is very light and her long legs and neck are easy for baby to grip.

The singular scent of natural rubber from Have tree makes Sophie the Giraffe very special and easy for your child to identify amid all his other toys.

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2. Don’t use disposable plastic water or soda bottles.
Cans and glass are easier to recycle than plastic. Try biocompostable or dishwasher safe cups and glasses. Tap your own water to make sparkling soda or purchase it from a home delivery seltzer service that offers refillable bottles.

3. Bring your own bags to the store when you shop.
Keep a running count with your kids of how many trees you save each year by reusing your own cloth bags and eliminating your use of paper and plastic.

4. Buy in bulk and purchase and serve things with less packaging.
Don’t serve appetizers or drinks with throwaway plastic spoons, stirrers or bowls. Use biocompostable products like peppermint sticks or wooden popsicle stirrers for drinks. For food, try hollowed out cucumbers for individual appetizer bowls, a wide carrot slice when you need a spoon for something savory, and ice cream cone bowls with a thin biscotti spoon for dessert.

5. Grow some of your own food.
If you’ve never tried planting a vegetable garden before, now is the time to begin. Start with easy to grow vegetables such as: radish, squash, beans, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, peas, and herbs. Try growing your own “signature salad” for the event.

6. Reduce the amount of meat you serve or consider a vegetarian menu.
In relation to our diet, animal products are one of the largest contributors to global warming. Plan your menu so that there is less emphasis on large meat portions and replace with either tasty plant-based options, or with grass-fed, pasture-raised products instead.

7. Be sure to serve vegan appetizers or entrees.
How many parties have you left feeling bloated and overloaded? That’s a sure sign of a meal too high in fat and rich foods. Incorporating cheese, egg and meat-free foods creates a healthful balance, adds exciting new flavors, greens your event and pleases your guests, all at the same time.

8. Choose foods from the Most Local Plate.
Fruits, vegetables, cheese, and beer are some of the items on the “Most Local Plate”. These are foods produced in most, if not all, of the 50 states of the United States. Local, artisan cheese and roasted vegetable platters are perfect menu items for your next party. They are simple to prepare, can be put out before the guests arrive, and can be left out with no additional fuss.

9. Insist on Sustainable Seafood.
Serving seafood at your event? Make sure it is sustainably grown. Download a wallet-sized list of what is available in your area from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood program: www.mbayaq.org

10. Serve green drinks.
Organic spirits and “green” wines (sustainably grown) are becoming more popular and there are some excellent choices. Unfortunately, the “USDA Organic” label isn’t always enough to really know what is the best quality.

11. Offer rainforest certified coffee and chocolate.
Organic, fair-trade and shade-grown products can still be problematic to our diminishing rain forests. Look for one of two seals: “Smithsonian Institute Bird-Friendly,” or “Rainforest-Friendly.” To accompany your coffee, don’t forget to serve organic cream, organic GMO-free soymilk and fair-trade, organic sugar.

12. Hiring a caterer?
If you can’t find a “green” caterer in your area, ask your caterer if they’d be willing to use some local, organic or seasonal foods. Offer to pick up things from the farmers market and drop them off at their kitchen. And while you’re at it, drop off your own platters to reduce disposable containers used in food transport.

13. Choose the right tableware.
Invest in a sturdy set of dishes and eating utensils that can be washed in the dishwasher, and let people borrow them for their parties as well! It is purported that less energy is used to wash dishes in a dishwasher than by hand. If you must use disposable tableware – use products that break down in your compost pile like polylactic acid (PLA) cups made from corn, forks made from potato starch, and plates made from sugar cane fiber.

For more tips on preparing a green menu, check out The Global Warming Diet.

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Each piece in the Anne-Claire Petit collection is crocheted by hand and is therefore completely unique. Designed with a smile in mind, the collection is crocheted from the finest materials, mostly organic cotton.

This is, without doubt, a cheerful design brand. A great deal of the crochet work is done in Asia. Thanks to the work they do for Anne-Claire Petit accessories, the women are able to generate an income, from which the entire village benefits.

I look outdoors for decorations such as flowers, unique foliage/plants, rocks, interesting branches, fall leaves, etc. Look to farmers markets for freshly cut, organically grown flowers. Highlight the time of year by filling tall glass vases with seasonal produce like lemons, limes, cranberries and winter squash, or with pine cones, leaves and rocks.

Old clothes are especially useful; they inspire creativity and there are plenty around to reuse. For example, cut up checked clothing for napkins at a Raggedy Ann party, use shiny fabrics for signs or table decorations for a Star Wars theme, and wrap plain glasses in the colors of the season and tie with raffia.

Choose tablecloths made of organic cotton or hemp. Buy the unbleached, brown paper napkins, or make your own reusable ones from ready-to-recycle, colorful clothing.

Use petroleum free candles like bees wax or soy candles. These natural candles don’t emit sooty fumes and produce a pure and clean-burning flame

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MomSpit is a great option when clean running water is not available, and it was formulated in a lab to help prevent the growth and spread of bacteria.

Sanitizers are designed primarily to kill 99.9% of germs and are best used as a supplement to regular washing. They were not uniquely designed to get gas pump grunge off your hand on your morning dash to work, or ketchup off your child’s face on a picnic or in the back seat of your car.

It allows you to write down pregnancy milestones and compare experiences of previous or future pregnancies. It also makes the perfect keepsake for your child’s baby book. With the Mommy Measure you will never forget the moments where it all started.

Check out their website for more information.

Babyprints frame requires absolutely no mixing, no baking, no painting, and produces no mess.

Everything for assembly is included: an elegant shadowbox frame with glass facing, acid-free picture mats for both 4″x6″ and 5″x7″ phtographs, and non-toxic air drying impression material.

You can see the full keepsake product line at Pearhead.com