Poverty.Jane Review & Giveaway

"I have a driven purpose to helping families, passionately, choose the right thing for their loved ones and for our planet." ~Poverty.Jane

Poverty.Jane offers a wide array of interesting, useful, and carefully planned out products for the naturally inclined family. When viewing her items, one can tell that the creator is an artist by the way her items are crafted with vibrant colors and prints, comforting textures, and documented by beautiful photography. Her personal blog is worth checking out for even just the photographs she posts! Everything she does is impacted by her personal philosophies about using natural materials, providing safe diapers and clothing for little people, and protecting the environment by selecting materials that are safe and reduce waste.

All of Poverty.Jane's diapers are made without the use of PUL. Why? Here's what she has to say:

"Not only are PULs the product of a petrochemical and not to mention non renewable, they contain a chemical compound known as Isocyanates (-NCO). Isocyanates(-NCO,) has been scientifically researched by the United State Department of Labor, stating that health effects from polyurethane products include "irritation of skin and mucous membranes, chest tightness, difficult breathing...compounds classified as potential human carcinogens and known to cause caner in animals. The main effect are occupational asthma and other lung problems, as well as irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and skin." Not to mention other disputes about PUL covers and disposable diapers locking in high temperatures within a babies diaper, resulting in reproductive damage. "

We had the privilege to test quite a few items from Poverty.Jane. She first mailed us a pair of wool shorties, vegan shorties, and a one-size all-in-two bamboo valour diaper (pictured here). What a treat it was! We'd never used true shorties before and I was really happy with how easy everything was to pull on, how soft the materials were against my daughter's skin, and with how they really did do a pretty good job of containing liquids. Once I felt the diaper, I fell in love with bamboo valour. Seriously, I want my own underwear to be made out of this stuff. It is so stinkin' soft and amazing! Poverty.Jane uses a lot of bamboo in her creations. She has a lot of information on the benefits of that too, which I'll be posting about shortly (yeah, she deserves a few posts).

Poverty.Jane is able to make an All-In-Two diaper (without the snaps in the insert--as she said, who wants a snap digging into your skin when you're sitting?!) without the use of PUL by using nine layers in her One Size diapers (the newer diapers--check the description to see how many layers the diaper you order has). Five layers are found in the diaper and four in the insert, providing a lot of absorption but still remaining pretty slim considering all of the layers! I love the looks of her diapers, and was like a kid on Christmas when I got to open a second package from Poverty.Jane containing a new and improved AI2 One-Size diaper along with another pair of shorties and bamboo wipes (and a package of family cloth, but that's another review...)!

The new diaper we got to review (shown in this post) is even better than the first. She's put more elastic in her diapers, making it easy to bring the wings around to the front of the diaper for snapping. The workmanship is still fabulous and I have no doubt about these diapers and snaps holding up for the long haul. I found that the crotch area is wider than a lot of diapers, but I actually like this because it assures me that it really will fit my daughter as she gets bigger. The first time we used the diaper without a cover, we did have a leak, but that issue has been resolved with a few washings and dryings (bamboo reaches its full absorbency after a few washings). I never thought we'd find a diaper that contained wetness without the use of PUL! I kind of want to switch to all natural diapers now...

Really, I can't recommend Poverty.Jane enough, and a lot of it is because of the passion she puts into her products, way of life, and Etsy store. She is generous, personal, and dedicated to your happiness with her products. Please check out her store and marvel in the beautiful items that she creates (it's not all diapers...)!

Buy It! I think I already convinced you, but be sure to check out her store if you aren't positive yet.

Win It! Poverty.Jane is giving one of my readers an entire cloth diapering package for FREE. In it is a One Size AI2 bamboo diaper, a small pack of bamboo wipes, and a 100% wool cover lanolized and ready to go. The value of this is over $50.00! To enter, you'll need to visit Poverty.Jane's site and pick your favorite item(s) and tell me one thing that you learned either from her Etsy Shop or Blog. Yeah, I know, it's some work...but you're making out like a bandit with the prize! Contest will end August 7 at 1530 hours. Leave an email address and separate comment for each entry.

To earn an additional entry...

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Mumtaz Creations Giveaway & Discount

Monique, the creator of Mumtaz Creations, uses the phrase "original wearable fiber art" to describe her business. Wearable art is surely what she offers, and her items are gorgeous, too! With original patterns and over 70 different color combinations to offer, your eyes will not be left unfulfilled when looking at one of her items. They offer pre-made and custom made goods "of many natural, renewable sources including wool, cotton, soy, hemp, bamboo, silk, and recycled fibers." --and EVERYTHING is hand made either in the "mile high mountains of Montana, and in the musical bayou of New Orleans," as Mumtaz Creations says. Do you want something hand-dyed? Hand painted (who knew that you could paint yarn)? Or even something that you or your child could dye yourself and then actually want to wear around? Now you can!

Mumtaz Creations offers hats, clothing, scarves, purses, specialty items, and (of course) beautiful diaper covers/soakers. The diaper covers come in all sorts of colors and patterns, and many are hand painted or hand dyed. I want everything that she has, but I'm absolutely in love with this mommy-daughter hat set: (I'm thinking this would be a great item for a Fall review...hint, hint) ;-)

*Buy it! Monique has generously offered to give all of my readers a 20% discount on any of her diaper covers. Just mention the code "LifeBlog09" when placing your order.

*Win it! Monique is also giving one of my readers a hand crocheted custom diaper cover for free! To enter, you'll need to visit her site at http://mumtazcreations.etsy.com/ and leave me a comment telling me which one you want including the style, colors, and size. SEE EDIT BELOW Be careful--what you post is what you win (as approved by Mumtaz Creations, of course). You must include your email address with every entry. Contest ends August 7, 2009 at 1530 hours,

EST.

EDIT: MumtazCreations experienced technical difficulties and wasn't able to let me know until now this important information: the soaker for the contest will be in a size small (0-6m) in either wrap or shortie style.

*Earn extra entries by spreading the word, subscribing to/following me, sporting my buttons...you know, I'm pretty generous, so get busy with your entries. Just make sure that you leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry or they won't count!

Be blessed!

How to Lanolize Wool

Photo taken from http://www.povertyjane.etsy.com.

It can be difficult to know when you should lanolize wool and how to do it, so I've decided to share some great information on the topic by my knowledgable friend, PovertyJane. She has plenty of cloth diapering experience, having six children, and also lots of sewing knowledge from her eight years of sewing creations.

Squeeze ¼” to ½” of tube lanolin or a squeeze of liquid lanolin (found online or in health food shops) into a cup of hot water, in a jar with a lid. Add a few drops of wool wash, cap the jar, and shake vigorously to emulsify. Let the mixture cool slightly. Pour it over the item(s) that are soaking inside out in your sink or basin, aiming at the crotch and gussets. Squeeze the items a few times to distribute the lanolin mixture. Soak for 15 minutes or so, and then dry as directed above.

When using liquid lanolin, you may use warm water to emulsify. Solid lanolin such as Lansinoh is more effective than liquid lanolin or lanolin sprays. Start with ¼ inch and see if you need more. If you overdo the lanolin, the cover will feel greasy. That is actually ok if you don’t mind how that feels, and you wool will perform very well with the extra lanolin.Also, turning the wool inside out halfway through is a good idea. Laying flat on a sweater drying rack is great so they don't stretch out yet air can circulate.

How often is "periodically"? How often should I wash the wool covers or lanolize them? It varies a lot! I've heard some say they almost never wash their Aristocrat; others wash them every other week. It seems that washing once every 3-4 weeks or so is common. Some relanolize once a month, others relanolize at every washing. It's very personal. When the cover has a foul odor when it's dry, it’s time to wash it. Or when the dampness comes right through the cover, it’s time to lanolize (or possibly it’s time to add more cotton inside, such as double diapering or adding a doubler or two).

Wool is not waterproof. Just air out the wool. Do not expect wool to be waterproof like synthetics. But it is very breathable, which is cool and wonderful. It is the lanonlin on the wool that is water resistant, and the wool is actually absorbent. The wool is supposed to get damp when the cotton inside is sopping. That's ok! Just air it out and use it again.

Defining when washing or lanolizing is needed varies tremendously. Try putting some water on the cover from the sink. If the water soaks right in, then it’s time to lanolize the cover. If the water beads up a bit, it doesn’t need more lanolin, but you might need to use more cotton to get more absorbency. Do what works for you.



Guest Blog by PovertyJane.
Check out her personal blog at http://povertyjane-povertyjane.blogspot.com/ or her Etsy store at http://www.povertyjane.etsy.com/.

Caring for Wool Diaper Covers

Wool does require special care, but it's really not a big deal! Wool is a truly remarkable natural fiber, amazingly effective as a diaper cover because it can absorb 30% of its own weight before feeling damp. Its natural lanolin gives wool an antibacterial, moisture-resistant barrier, allowing circulation of air that allows urine to dissipate and distribute more effectively in the diaper.

You'll want to avoid putting a urine-soaked wool cover in the diaper pail. Even if it needs to be washed, let it dry out. Soaking in urine may leach out the color and cause bleeding onto your diapers. In addition, it could easily get tossed into regular diaper laundry, which is a disaster in most cases, resulting in stiff, hard, shrunken wool. Always be careful with vibrant or dark wool colors, especially red. Wash them separately and squeeze them dry with dark or old towels.

If it doesn't smell, your wool probably doesn't need washing. Adequately lanolized wool covers shouldn't need to be washed for about two to three weeks unless they feel damp after only a short time over a diaper or if they become soiled with feces.

Finally – time to wash! If the wrap is only urine-soaked, rinse it under cool running water to remove residues. Then soak it in lukewarm water with a touch of liquid lanolin and Dr. Bonner’s castile soap, Eucalan wool wash for about 10 minutes, and then agitate gently by hand. A word of warning: the less processed your wool is, the more it will smell like wet sheep when it's wet. This is natural and will not linger after the item, dries, especially if you use a deliciously scented wash. (*Don’t use Woolite or other commercial woolwashes because it will wash the lanolin right off and your covers will leak, and there is a potential for rashes with those more harsh products.)

Gently squeeze out – don’t wring! -- the excess water, then roll up the cover in a towel and step on it to get the bulk of the moisture out. Extreme changes in temperature as well as harsh agitation will mat the fibers together, resulting in felting and shrinking of your wool. Be very careful then and use extreme gentleness with handling wool. Lay it flat to dry or put in the dryer on gentle/cool. If the wool cover is hand knit, do not put it in the dryer unless manufacturer's directions say it is ok.

If the wrap is poopy, wash the poopy part by hand with lanolin and Dr. Bonner’s castile soap, baby shampoo or other wool wash bars or liquids, and then soak as directed above. Do not rub a wool wash bar directly on the woolen item; lather your hands and then apply that to the cover.

Guest blog by PovertyJane.

Visit her personal blog at http://povertyjane-povertyjane.blogspot.com/ or her Etsy store at http://www.povertyjane.etsy.com/

KristyLynn Ruffle Bum Shorties Review & Giveaway

KristyLynn is an Etsy shop that sells crochet patterns and pre-made items for women and babies. The stay-at-home-mum owner recently sent us a pair of Ruffle Bum shorties to try along with a pretty flower pin that intrigues my daughter. Made of blue and yellow yarn, the shorties have a distinct style of their own with a braided draw string and ruffles around the legs and across the bum.

She offers a variety of other interesting patterns including beautiful cardigans, baby leg warmers, and blankets. Custom orders are accepted, and her patterns are both inexpensive ($3-$7) and offered in a range of difficulty levels. The already-made items are colorful, well planned out, and useful. Since the shorties are a wool item, it does need to be lanolized periodically. The benefits of wool include temperature regulation (for both hot and cold) and anti-microbial properties, making the effort lanolizing worth it.

The shorties that we tested will fit a multitude of sizes which is nice. My daughter has a round bum though (I always joke that I'm a "white girl with a ghetto booty") which ended up stretching the back of the shorties more than I think the designer intended, allowing for wider gaps between the yarn strands. This did allow for more moisture seepage than usual. I would suggest using a trim diaper and only using crocheted shorties during the day to avoid leaks. You can purchase the pattern for these shorties for $5.00 by clicking here.

KristyLynn is offering a pair if striped shorties for free to one of my readers! They are a size 0-3 months, 16.5" hip, 11" rise, and have a 2 1/4" inseam. In light blue and white colors, these will be perfect for your new baby girl or boy. Can't wait? You can buy the pattern for them for $5.00 here.

If you'd like to win thses, head on over to KristyLynn's shop and tell me either one item she already has that you'd like, or an idea for a future pattern that she could create. The winner will be chosen on August 7th around 1530 hours, EST. Be sure to include your email address with each entry!

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Types of Cloth Diaper Covers

Smartie Pants Diaper Covers from http://littlelondyn.blogspot.com

Prefolds, contours, and fitted diapers all require covers. While the good ol' leaky rubber pants with elastic trim are still around, there are much friendlier options available now. Not only are they easier to use and longer lasting, but they're so much cuter now, even coming with matching dresses or outfits sometime! A brief explanation of the most popular types of diaper covers:

PUL: These are made out of PUL and are fastened either by hook and loop (Velcro) or snaps. Easy to use, cute, and least likely to leak (at least in my experience). These don't necessarily need to be washed after each use.

Wool: There are a few different types of wool covers, so don't be confused by their names. "Shorties" would be the ones that look like a pair of shorts, "Longies" would be the ones that look like pants, and "woolies" would be any of the above. These are the most eco-friendly, healthiest for baby (temperature regulation, anti-microbial, etc.), and the most time consuming to take care of. Anything wool must be lanolized and hand washed, but the good news is that you don't need to wash or lanolize very often (wool needs to be washed the least often of diaper covers). Sometimes, you'll see the word "recycled" or "upcycled" paired with something wool. This just means that the item was made from a wool sweater or something and thus "recylced." Woolies are either pull-on or draw-string.

Fleece: You may see the terms "shorties" and "longies" floating around in the fleece category, too. Like wool covers, these don't need to be washed after every use. Cute, cuddly, fairly easy, but not as flexible as the wool covers. These are either pull-on, snapped, or hook and looped.