AND THE WINNER IS....Drum role.....

Thank you to for everyone who participated in my June Giveaway! All names were placed in a hat and one was chosen at random....the winner for June's Free giveaway is...Trenda Plunkett! Trenda won a Planet Playground dress valued at 9.75. She picked 'Cotton Candy' as shown in the picture above!

Congrats Trenda!!

Product Review - Conscious Boutique

After blogging about the Eco Friendly Etsy store, Conscious Boutique, the owner, Jason, was very kind to send me a little gift from his store. I received the coolest notebook ever! I am so impressed! It is so well made! Mine is in a pastel green, and has a lovely upcycled picture of some flower buds and butterflies! It is the perfect size - I can slip it into my purse (the big purse or the small purse LOL!) yet it is still big enough to make notes - whether it be inspirations, important information, or sales tracking for when I am at craft shows!
The packaging it came in too is so unique! It came in a pink fused plastic envelope! Instead of using wasteful tape to seal it, it has been stitched together! It was so pretty and thoughtful that I didn't want to open it!
These little notebooks are not only great for fellow crafters, but would also be great for gifts (everyone always needs stationary!)
A highly recommended Etsy shop!
Check his store out here at
http://www.consciousboutique.etsy.com
You'll be glad you did!

Friday Feature - Eco Fabulous Seller Jeanna From Beans Things

Jeanna sells One of a Kind (OOAK) nature inspired jewelry and home decor.
All of her images included in her items are upcycled from various printed venues. "I constantly keep my eye out for anything that I think would make a great pendant or magnet set. When I find something that works, it is like Christmas morning for me! I choose each image thoughtfully and spend much time on each item from start to finish."
Jeanna is flexible with custom orders and encourages them. "It is so great to see the creative process unfold…it all starts with an image from a magazine/catalog and ends with a beautiful nature inspired piece of art!"

Jeanna has been creating since she was a child. "At a very young age I was made aware of the impact that we have not only on our environment, but to our earth’s animals too."
She re-uses all shipping materials and sometimes makes her own shipping envelopes out of cereal boxes. "All of the wrapping I use to wrap my items after purchase have been up-cycled as well. I re-use everything!"

You need to check out this store! Prices are extremely reasonable (From $1.50 to $12.00)and her items are truly unique and inspiring!

See her Etsy store at: www.beansthings.etsy.com
See her ArtFire store at: www.BeansThings.artfire.com
See her Facebook Fan club: http://tinyurl.com/d2z6x3
Follow her on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/beansthings
See her Flickr at: www.flickr.com/beansthings

Green Living Tip

Each American throws away 160 pounds of food EVERY YEAR!!
Why not try composting your plants with your left over scraps? Not only can you do this with your gardens, but your indoor/outdoor plants as well!
Composting allows the nutrients from your scraps to turn into plant food.
For more information, check out this website for tips on composting.
http://www.idealbite.com/tiplibrary/archives/scrap-happy

Friday Feature: Eco Fabulous Seller Jason from Conscious Boutique

Jason, from Conscious Boutique has always been into making things.
A few years ago, he began a quest to minimize his personal impact on the earth. This led him to the wonderful world of recycling, upcycling, and making things out of
discarded or surplus items.

His shop features bags made from recycled billboard vinyl and notebooks made from discarded office supplies, surplus paper, and images clipped from old found books.

His shop motto is "Handmade. Responsible." His goal is to think about
every aspect of the things he creates, and to be as responsible as he can
possibly be when creating them, from the materials, to the tools, to
the process.

"My current passion is to reinvent things we use everyday so that they
are made from recycled material. This is something that lots of
eco-etsians have done. Etsy has become the Wal-Mart for recycled
everyday products!"

He happens to live near an amazing source of surplus materials, The
Black Hole (http://boozhoundlabs.com/grothus/). This is a Mecca of
materials for the nerdy maker of things. "Every time I go here, I am
inspired to create something new, or to use a different material for
something I have been making."

Jason would love to sell something to someone who is not a personal friend or relative. (I think every etsy seller has been there at one point!!) He has great plastic fused mailers that he has made himself from scratch, and is super excited to use them!!

This is a store you really want to check out as there is a lot of thoughtful products. The prices are very reasonable, products range from 5.00 to 40.00. These eco friendly products make some great gift ideas!
Lets show some support to eco-fabulous sellers like Jason! See his store at
http://www.consciousboutique.etsy.com

Ashley Markus - Off The Hooks

GREEN BUSINESS OF THE WEEK!!

Off The Hooks sells a variety of items such as crocheted and knit accessories, yarn and eco friendly goodies!

Shop owner Ashley spins her own yarn, often from local producers and farms. She upcycles and reclaims a lot of yarns for many of her items. She takes unwanted fabrics and turns them into "fabric yarns". She hand dyes her fibers and yarns with non-toxic dyes. She also uses minimal packaging when shipping her product, and loves to reuse packing materials. Not only is this shop eco-friendly, but it supports the local economy!!

Off the Hooks is participating in the YART SALE on Etsy sponsored by Team ESST. Art + Yard Sale = Yart! Check out her YART SALE section in her store!
http://www.offthehooks.etsy.com

Green Businesses

For those of you who don't know too much about me, I would just like to say that I am obsessed with being 'green' (and I love etsy lol). It is clear to me, that I am not the only one! I have joined a wonderful group called 'Team Eco Etsy' who shares wonderful ideas about ways to be kind to the environment. You can check out their website here
http://www.ecoetsy.com/
Team Eco Etsy is a community of "eco-conscious artists and crafters
who create and sell in an eco-friendly fashion."
I am always amazed at the incredible amounts of information that is available from them, and how willing they are to share everything!
I want to share these ideas and wonderful people with everyone!
Every week, I will be doing a Green Business Feature with information about these people, with links to their shops and their wonderful eco friendly items. I truly hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
**If you are reading this blog, and you have a green business that you would like to have featured here, and are not a part of Team Eco Etsy, or etsy at all, shoot me an email at planet_playground@hotmail.com and I would be happy to share your ventures of being a green business!

GIVE AWAY!!!!

It is GIVE AWAY TIME!!!!!
Starting NOW every month, I will be holding a contest! The winner will receive a FREE DRESS OF YOUR CHOICE FROM MY STORE (valued 9.75 or less). Simply follow these easy rules for your chance to win.
Rules and Regulations
#1. Visit my store www.planetplayground.etsy.com
#2. Pick your favorite dress or outfit
#3. Tell me 1)Why it is your favorite and 2)What events or locations you would have your sweetie wear it to. (leave the comment in my blog only please)
#4. Follow my blog. (In return, I will follow yours as well.)

Winner will be chosen at random. I will notify the winner on June 30th, and from there, they may pick any item in my store valued at 9.75 or less. (Includes bloomers, bonnet, or dress.) Open to US and Canadian residents only.



Have fun and GOOD LUCK!!

How to get stains out of silk

Here is an eco friendly way to get *some* stains out of silk. All you need is
1) 1/2 a cup of laundry detergent
2) 2 teaspoons of white vinegar
3)8 cups of cold water.
Mix the ingredients well. Put the silk in the solution, but do NOT soak it. Rinse it well. Roll the silk in a towel and iron it while it is still damp. Hang to dry.