Herbolution

I have to say that my experience with Sasha and Veronika at Herbolution has been a delightful experience from start to finish. I was pleased to be able to review two of their many body care items. First I'll point out that they are all Organic, many are vegan, handcrafted in the US and made with recycled and sustainable packaging. In addition to their body care line of products, they make home, office and
fashion items with the same care and attention.

 

I reviewed Herbolutions Baby Floral Water and Baby Balm. As soon as I opened the box that came in the mail I was treated to an herbal experience. I have to admit that I have a weakness for lavender so when each baby product came wrapped in a biodegradable bag with lavender and herbs I was impressed. These whole dried botanicals are food grade and all natural so they are easy to add to a loose tea if you want to have the full experience. They also enclosed a sample of another wonderful sample, a return customer coupon, and other descriptions of their products all printed on sustainable banana paper.

 

 



This is the Baby Floral Water in a glass spray bottle with it's accompanying herbs. My two main uses for this product were bum cleaning, and hair taming. For diaper changing it's great to use on my cloth wipes when it's not too messy of a diaper just to freshen her up and clean any ammonia left on her skin. The lavender scent is wonderful and is paired with a chamomile that is a little too sweet for my taste but I have been known to be picky when it comes to scents. I am certified scent crazy by a receptionist with whom I once worked. I used to sneak into her office down the hall and turn her plug-in air fresheners off when she was away. Usually I could smell spiced apple or Tahitian vanilla for an hour after I left work. We weren't close, she and I.

 



 

Coral has a crazy hair do most days but I hardly notice since mine is usually just a crazy. Here's a picture of Coral's usual hair mess at the local bookstore. While she fits in with the intellectual crowd, she is looking much more dapper with a few spritzes of my Baby Floral Water. Other uses for the spray are as follows:  a light facial toner with soothing properties, hair reviver, linen spray, clothes freshener, air freshener, add 2 Tb to bath tub to enhance the relaxing experience

 

 



The Touch of Nature Baby Balm is so wonderful. It is a light paste that melts in your hands to a gentle and lightly scented moisturizer and protecter that quickly absorbs into your baby's skin. I used it on her bum when chapped and regularly on her legs and arms since it's so dry in our house this time of year. It's also a treat for me to use and my hands are lightly moisturized after using on the baby.

 

 

Sasha and Veronika are generously offering one Baby Balm and one Floral Water Spray to our readers. We will be picking two winners and giving the balm to the first, and the spray the the second!

 

Please check out our friends at Herbolution at any of the following places!

Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/herbolution

Artfire studio: www.artfire.com/users/Herbolution

Facebook : www.facebook.com/Herbolution

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Herbolution

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Golden Bums

Golden Bums

Ashley is a WAHM that creates custom diapers, crocheted items, as well as a range of other things. She sent me this cute one size peace sign print pocket diaper for review.

This is the diaper snapped at it's middle rise. Nyla is very into peace signs right now so when she saw it, she was very excited for Kynlie to be able to wear it.

Here is a bum shot. It looks really wide at the bottom (which it isn't) because she puts a nice snug elastic at the top by the waist line. (more pics below)

This is one of the leg sections. It has a nice soft fabric that goes against the skin and fits snug to keep anything from leaking out. The elastic was nice and tight and seems like it will last a long time. 

Here is the front section (goes by the belly). She uses a single row for waist snaps. I love the purple snaps for accents!

There are three snaps for the rise which gives it four full settings if you include it being fully open. We were able to use it on the second snap rise and Kynlie is about 23 pounds so this will work really well for tall babies and last quite a while.

Here is a pic of the back elastic. You will get no explosions leaking out the back of this baby!

Here is an inner pic of the pocket opening in the back of the diaper. It is nice and wide and fits an insert in perfectly. I had to hold it stretched open because the elastic in the back is so tight! 

This is the pocket opened. There is a small flap that tucks under the opening to prevent the microfiber from sneaking out and touching baby's skin. This diaper shocked me when I saw that crazy teal PUL!

This diaper was nice and trim. It wasn't the most trim diaper I have ever used but it really depends on the type of insert you use as well. We used a pretty thick microfiber insert in this picture and it still is a pretty trim fit. You can also see the diaper bunched about half way up as well. I probably could have snapped the rise down one more at this time. Here is was at the third rise snap. 

We were able to get a good snug fit around the legs and even though the elastic made it wavy around the legs, we had no leaking issues. The wavy-ness reminds me of a Grovia newborn diaper. 

Bum shot! The fabric on the outer is not actually PUL so it did fade a bit after a few washed but it is still vibrant and fun! My girls love the peace signs and hearts. You can see the elastic at the top of the diaper. It gave us a good fit at the top.

Here you can also see that she uses crossover snaps (on the left side of the pic) for those skinny minis. We didn't end up needing them for Kynlie which she normally does. My only concern appears in this photo...it isn't anything major but something I want to point out. You can see the curving up of the bottom of the diaper "flap". This didn't cause any issues of any diaper functionality but I think could be prevented by adding a second row of waist snaps. It didn't make us like the diaper any less. With some diapers, this is what encourages the drooping of the wings underneath. I have seen some of her other diapers with the double row, so if you prefer that, just let her know. 

Kynlie was sick of playing model so she decided to take things into her own hands. As you can see the sucker bribe didn't work so well.

Love this print!

Overall this diaper worked great for us. We used a microfiber insert during the day and a microfiber and hemp insert at night. We didn't have any leaking and very minimal red marks on the legs. 

You can find Goldem Bums on Facebook and her pricing list here.

Ashley, the mama and owner of Golden Bums is very generously offering a $20 custom diaper to one Cloth Diaper Addiction reader. Simply fill out the rafflecoptor form and we'll pick a winner on February 28th! It isn't required to like her page but since you'll have the chance to win one of her diapers, it would be nice! Tell her CDA sent you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Amy*made hair clips

Amy*Made Handmade Hair Clips

A while back we had asked if any WAHMs would be interested in having their creations featured on the blog. Amy from amy*made handmade hair clips contacted me and told me her story about how she started her work. It began quite simply that she wanted something special to do with her daughter!

Here is a little bit of Amy's story:

Amy * Made started out as a project to create original and truly authentic hair clips for and with my daughters. My middle daughter is very active in designing, assembling and creating each piece. It is our "mommy and me" project we do together weekly from shopping for supplies to creating the pieces themselves.  It is also a way for my daughter and I to have a special project that we can share with others and provides wonderful conversation about teaching children the passion for the arts.

My one of a kind creations for both adults and children are stylish hair clips that have been handmade by me and my daughter.  We personally select all the felts, ribbon and clips myself. Then, the felts are cut by hand, assembled and then sewn.  None of the work is massed produced or made in large quantities.  Each and every design  has much time and effort into it, but that is the true beauty of a handmade items. 

Our handmade pieces are for individuals looking to set themselves apart from the mainstream stores and vendors. They are creative like minded individuals who pride themselves in high end boutique or artistic clothing, jewelry and accessories. Many of our clients have had custom pieces for the weddings, showers and birthday events. 

Custom orders are welcome and that is what makes our creations so unique. 

Here is what Amy sent for me and my daughters to try out. The clip on the left is a medium alligator clip that is lined with a grosgrain ribbon. It has a handmade crochet flower on it with a cute little button. The clip on the left is a small 30mm clip that is lined with a grosgrain ribbon as well. It is also embellished with a set of cute crochet flowers with a little pearl bead in the center. 

A neat feature of her toddler sized clips is that it has a no slip grip and will not fall out of even the finest of hair. They can hold a larger amount of hair and it doesn't slip down. Nyla has really fine hair and we had no issues with it sliding down even after long days at school and running around.

Her clips come custom made with an embellishment of your choice from a crochet flower, button, clay cabachon or felt flower. Amy makes all of they embellishments herself and selects the materials individually rather than in bulk. You can see some additional examples of her work on her page here.

Here is Nyla! This is after school and she had been wearing it all day! She does like to take it out and re position it herself and it is an easy enough pinching clip that she can. 

She likes to show it off at school and it is fun to have something that is unique and whimsical!

The colors on this particular clip pop and are super bright! At first I wasn't sure if we would be able to match it to many outfits, but it has coordinated quite well with quite a few.

We tested it lower on her hair to see if it would slip down. We had no issues even after I made her run around the house with it in! haha

Here is the baby clip. These clips will hold baby fine hair on a newborn or baby but it also can be a cute little addition to any adult hair style as well.

The small clips can come with any of the above mentioned embellishments as well! I was a little concerned with the little bead in the center. I was worried it would pop off but it is hot glued on there and we had no problems with it. Kynlie is 2 now and she doesn't put things in her mouth. But if a little one who still chews on things, you may request that the little bead be left off. I even tried to pop it off myself  and it held pretty well.

Here is Nyla modeling the small clip. (Kynlie wasn't in the mood for pictures.) Even though it was a small clip,we were still able to hold her hair back and keep it from falling down.

We tried it in a different way as well. We were able to pull a section of hair up and it help really well.

As I was browsing her etsy site, I also found that she does many handwritten maps and calligraphy invitations, programs and more. Isn't this map gorgeous?! 

You can also find hand crocheted hats, cowls, head bands and more. I love the little man tie clips!

Amy is generously offering an great deal on her etsy page.

Just place an order and enter in the memo "Cloth Diaper Addiction" and you'll get an additional bonus hair clip!

If you have any questions about your order, just contact Amy.

Little Butt Diapers

I've had so much fun checking out all the great items these last few weeks during our WAHM month!  And hopefully, you guys have, too.  Today, I'm really excited to share a wonderful WAHM with all of you-Hope, from Little Butt Diapers.
Hope is married to a Staff Sergeant in the Marine Corps, so she's moved around a lot.  She's currently in Illinois, but will be moving to sunny San Diego next month!  She was first introduced to cloth diapers from another Marine mom, and thought she was nuts at first!  But she went home and started doing a LOT of researching.  She still wasn't convinced, and it was actually her husband who convinced her to try it out... and she got completely hooked!  However, she was a little disappointed with the boy-print options, so she decided to start making her own, which is how Little Butt Diapers was born!
She got the name of her shop, Little Butt Diapers, from the nickname she and her husband have had for their son since he was tiny (she recently changed her shop name from For the Love of Fluff, so don't be confused if you see that name on her facebook page!).  She specializes in boy prints, but also has lots of gender neutral and girl options available.

Hope sent me this adorable robot-print diaper.  It came packaged so nicely.

It's a one-size, pocket diaper.  It has a nice sized opening in the back.  

The inner fleece is so nice and soft.  And after quite a few washes, it's still buttery soft!  

It also came with an insert like I've never seen!  It's a birdseye cotton insert that you fold to get the right fit.  It also has a layer of OBF inside. 

 This is her heavy-duty soaker, and I must say, it is heavy duty!  I love that I only needed to prep it once, and it worked amazingly!!  My son can be quite a super soaker, but we have never, ever had a leak in this diaper!  I absolutely love the insert.  It's so absorbent.  It is quite thick, so it does make the diaper a little bit bulky, but that doesn't bother me at all.  The insert that normally comes with her diapers is made out of birdseye cotton, without the OBF layer.  It's a little smaller, so you'd get a slimmer fit.  It has 5 layers, and when you fold it up, you get 10 layers of absorbency!

We get a great fit in this diaper.  There's barely any gaping at the legs.  

While Myles was in childcare at a Mother's group I go to one morning, he had a really gross diaper.  The ladies who watch him aren't very fond of cloth diapers, but they even had to admit they were shocked that there was no leak!  The mess was completely contained.  I don't know if I converted them to liking cloth diapers, but I think this diaper may have started to change their minds!
This diaper also has 3 sets of sizing snaps, which gives it 4 sizes, which I love.  At 20 months, we're on the top snap and it fits great. And we still have the option of having it completely open, so I know this diaper will fit for quite a while longer.  It has a great rise.

The quality of this diaper is fantastic.  The PUL is nice and thick, which makes it a great option for naps.  The stitching is beautifully done.  And the snaps are nice and sturdy.  It does have double snaps on each side, which I like.  We never had an issue with wing droop at all.  There are no cross-over snaps, but I actually think this diaper will get pretty small.  On most of our diapers, the wings get pretty close together, and on a few, I actually still use the cross-over snaps on my skinny guy.  But we usually have two or three sets of snaps between the wings on this diaper, so I think it will get pretty small for littler babies.

sorry, the lighting isn't very good!

The only, small concern I had, was with the pocket opening (I know, so picky!).  I thought the flap covering the opening was a little small.  This isn't even a problem if you use the insert that comes with the diaper, because it's made with natural material, so it's safe to be up against babies' skin.  But just be careful if you use microfiber, that the flap doesn't open and let the microfiber touch the babies' skin!  We actually didn't have an issue at all, and I don't think you would on a smaller baby because the back of the diaper won't be stretched out.  It just may be an issue with a bigger baby, where the back is stretched out, causing the flap to open.

Besides that, I'm completely in love with this diaper!  It's one of the first ones I reach for.  The insert is SO absorbent, we get an awesome fit and never have leaks!!
And lucky for you guys, Hope has offered a giveaway AND a 15% off coupon code for her etsy shop (use code LITTLEBUTT15 at checkout)! The winner of the giveaway will have their choice of girl, boy, or gender neutral PUL for their very own pocket diaper.  Be sure to enter below to win an awesome diaper!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rebourne Clothing

Today I am excited to introduce you all to a lovely WAHM shop called Rebourne Clothing. The mama behind the shop is Marni, and she has a fantastic selection of cloth diapering items for sale in her shop. She makes and sells organic prefolds, flats, and fitteds; wool covers, wraps, and longies; blankets, clothing, and mattress toppers. One really unique thing about Rebourne Clothing is that they are committed to keeping their business green and Marni uses a cool cargo trike to take packages to the Post Office!  I asked her to share a little with us about how her shop got started and what types of diapers she likes to make.

My shop got started after the birth of my first daughter in 2006. We cloth diapered her from birth, but made many mistakes like assuming a fitted diaper was a cover! I got pregnant again in 2007 and started making diapers for our second baby. At first, I sewed a lot with PUL, synthetic fibers, and microfibers. Now I only sew with natural, organic fibers. They are safer for our babies and our earth. I opened my shop in 2008, but I didn't start selling many cloth diapering items until 2009. Rebourne has been my full time job since last January!

I also make organic fitted cloth diapers, organic prefold diapers, and organic flat diapers. My favorite to make are the fitted diapers because they are the most challenging (and often the cutest!). My favorite items to make are the unique ones: quirky Woolie Wraps, custom footies or custom overalls! I like the challenge of working with recycled wool and the constraints of holes and sleeves. I also just designed some fabric for fitted diapers that will be released this Spring!

Marni sent me this beautiful wool wrap to review and we have been loving it! This wool wrap is made with an upcycled wool outer and an organic merino wool interlock on the inside. It has a perfect amount of stretch to it and plenty of crossover snap options, giving a great customizable fit for babies 7-35 lbs. I am relatively new to using wool in my cloth diapering journey, and I feel like a wool wrap that snaps on is a perfect introduction to wool if you are looking to start! You get all the benefits of wool, but in the wrap shape that you're used to with PUL covers.

Marni is a licensed seamstress for the Nifty Nappy pattern, and has these cute tags on her wrap that show both her website and the Nifty Nappy information.

Here is a shot of the interior of the wrap. The organic merino on the inside is just lovely!

This is as close to a front shot as I could get with Ava, but you can see that we got a nice smooth fit with this wrap. These pictures are of the wrap over a GroVia Kiwi Pie fitted (review coming soon!).

Here is a side shot of the wrap. One thing that I love about this wrap is how gentle the elastic is on Ava's legs. Ava has chunky legs and a skinny waist so usually I really struggle to get covers tight enough around the waist without having it too tight around the thighs. With this cover though, it was so easy to get a perfect fit every time and the wool is so gentle on Ava's skin!

Here is another side shot so that you can see another view of how nicely this fits Ava.

Here is a shot of the back of the wrap. I just love this fit of this on Ava and the color is just so gorgeous!

Overall, this cover has worked so well for us! Since we started using this cover at night we have not had a single leak, and it fits great over even the bulkiest of our nighttime options. The wool washed up and relanolized great and has stayed beautiful through many uses. I like to put fitteds underneath this cover, but we have also used it over prefolds and it works great over both. 

Rebourne Clothing has such a lovely selection of diapers for sale that I truly would love to have one of everything Marni makes! I have my eye on a few of her wraps and fitteds that I might just have to add to my stash the next time I'm ready to make a diaper purchase.

Marni has generously offered a $10 gift certificate to one of our readers! This is a great way to get one of her lovely products in your hands and I just know you'll love them. Enter in the form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway