Best Kids Snow Activities: Snow Painting

They scooped it, they rolled it, they threw it, and even licked it - what more can kids do with snow? Paint it. A great way to keep kids outdoors in the fresh air for just a little longer is to ask them to paint their snow sculpture after they've built it. Naturally, we recommend non-toxic natural paint. We woke up to more snow in Vancouver this morning and another pro-D day. In an effort to keep busy, we pulled out the paints. Painting snow proved so fun, the neighbourhood kids joined in and gave it the thumbs up as one of the best activities for snow!

Make your Own Natural Easter Egg Dyes with these Easy Recipes

Want to colour eggs with the kids but without the chemicals? You might think certified food dyes are fine but even these can include petroleum derivatives. We've found some easy recipes for making your egg dyes with things from around your kitchen that are a whole lot safer -- think onions, beetroot, lemons and carrots.

Post by Louise

Making your own egg dyes may take a wee bit long than dropping tablets into water, but it'll be well worth it.

We found these clever recipes at care2.com and more details can be found there. Some of the dyes are boiled with the eggs (as noted). If you are using juice, just use it straight. Bulky materials will be boiled with the eggs or boiled and allowed to cool for dipping. Don't forget to draw on the eggs with crayon for a batik effect or use rubber bands for lines. Another great idea is to rub your dyed eggs with vegetable oil when dry for a glossy look.

Red
Red onion skins, use a lot (boil with eggs)
Pomegranate juice

Orange
Yellow onion skins (boil with eggs)

Yellow
Lemon or orange peel (boil with eggs)
Carrot tops (boil with eggs)
Celery seed (boil with eggs)
Ground cumin (boil with eggs)
Ground turmeric (boil with eggs)

Yellow Brown
Dill seeds (boil with eggs)

Brown
Strong coffee
Instant coffee
Black walnut shells (boil with eggs)

Yellow Green
Bright green apple peels (boil with eggs)

Green
Spinach leaves (boil with eggs)

Blue
Canned blueberries and their juice
Red cabbage leaves (boil with eggs)
Purple grape juice

Violet Blue
Violet blossoms
Red onion skins, less amount than you need to make red (boil with eggs)

Lavender
Diluted purple grape juice
Violet blossoms plus squeeze of lemon (boil with eggs)

Pink
Beets, fresh or canned
Cranberries or cranberry juice
Raspberries
Red grape juice

For more green living ideas, visit our eco boutique Lavish & Lime where you can learn about non-toxic and eco-friendly alternatives for a healthier life and a healthier planet. If you have any thoughts or ideas about Easter crafts or dyeing eggs, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Stuffies with Purpose: upcycled pillow pals

It really is amazing how many stuffed animals kids can accumulate. At our house, the stuffie population feels overwhelming at times - despite semi-frequent cullings that more often than not end with 'not that one, I love that one.' That's why when we came across these purpose built Pillow Pals, we breathed a sigh of relief.

Yes, they're adorable, lovable and yes, being handmade of reclaimed wool they're ultra soft, cuddly and planet-friendly. Yet, even more importantly for us - in the realm of stuffed animals - they have a purpose. Each one of these eco-friendly animal stuffies are designed in such a way that a child can really snuggle with them and lay his/her head down on them. Perfect for watching TV, napping wherever or snoozing in bed.

If you're a sewer, a crafter or simply love to follow along with Martha Stewart, you're in luck. The Canadian designer behind our Pillow Pals is featured on marthastewart.com where you can download templates and follow instructions to make your own Pillow Pals.

Or if you're like us and sewing an actual pillow seems rather daunting, you can simply order these adorable eco-friendly stuffed animals handcrafted in Canada by experts and we'll send them to you pronto. Being made from reclaimed wool, each stuffie is unique but you can choose from a happy hippo in generally girl-ish colours or an adorable dog in browns and blues.

Also from this designer are our popular reclaimed wool animal puppets - choose from our dog puppet, giraffe puppet, frog puppet or monkey puppet.

For more eco-friendly gift ideas for kids, visit Lavish & Lime. If you have any thoughts or ideas about eco-friendly craft projects, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

Great Valentines Ideas for Making your Own Cards

Without a doubt it's easiest to buy one of the many packs of Dora, Spiderman or other licensed Valentine's Day cards we see in all the shops but why not teach the kids slightly more planet-friendly ways and encourage their creativity at the same time?

Making your own Valentines cards with things you already have around the house is not only easier on the environment but it's a great way to help build kids' self-esteem with a sense of accomplishment.

We've scouted around and found a great UK-based site with lots of make it yourself Valentines cards ideas. From finger painting to printing and tissue paper to recycled fabric bits, there's a card here for every interest at pretty much every level. For some, you might have purchase supplies, like non-toxic finger paints, chemical-free natural felt markers or soy crayons but for most, you should be able to use items you already have.

If your child is to distribute cards to the entire class, our #1 card-making tip? Get started early. It's absolutely do-able, you may just have to do a little at a time, a few times. Happy card-making!

For more green living ideas, visit eco boutique Lavish & Lime. If you have any thoughts about cards or valentines ideas, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

Eco-Friendly Christmas Tree Decorations to Make Yourself

We've found one of the best green crafts for Christmas that also makes great eco-friendly Christmas tree decorations - Creature Creations. We spotted this craft while admiring the Christmas tree at North Vancouver's Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre.

These little creatures struck us beautiful, unique and being made of reused egg cartons, they're eco-friendly decorations too!

Simply cut one or more compartments out of a cardboard egg carton then paint or draw your favourite animal - a bird or owl works well. Non-toxic paints and natural felt markers are ideal, especially if you're making this craft with kids. Use colourful pipe cleaners or twist ties to tie the creature creation to the branches of your Christmas tree - or even poke a couple of holes and thread the pipe cleaner through to the branch.

This is a great eco0-friendly Christmas craft to keep the kids busy over the holidays and the result is a beautiful tree decoration for your tree or someone else's. A handmade Creature Creation makes a great Christmas Gift!

Natural non-toxic paints, felt markers and other non-toxic art supplies for kids are available at eco boutique Lavish & Lime. Visit www.lavishandlime.com for more greener living and giving ideas. If you have any thoughts or ideas about eco-friendly Christmas crafts, please leave a comment below - we'd love to hear from you!

Natural chestnut decor and chestnut crafts

The second day of Autumn and it was beautiful - sunny and warm. Took the kids for a walk and ended up stopping under every chestnut tree we saw.

It started with who could find the shiniest chestnut - then the biggest, then the smallest. Then it was the ones still in their spiky shells that had to be stomped on and opened. The gem of the bunch was heart-shaped. Needless to say, the kids came away with armloads.

An hour later and they had sorted all the chestnuts into different glass vases for a great display in the living room - also perfect for the Thanksgiving table.

A great idea to keep the kids occupied before and after Thanksgiving dinner is chestnut crafts. We're going to set them up with toothpicks, moss and other bits to make little chestnut people, caterpillars, flies and anything else they can think of.

Never imagined the chestnuts we gathered would be the source of natural eco chic decor at its finest and some great natural kids crafts - we were just enjoying a sunny Autumn day!

For more eco-friendly crafts and green decor ideas, visit eco boutique Lavish & Lime. If you have any thoughts or ideas about chestnut crafts and decor or Autumn activities in general, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

Essentials for Summer: Buddha Boards

According to one of Canada's leading online sources for Canadian moms, Savvymom.ca, our Travel Buddha Board is a must-have favourite summer essential.

The Savvymom.ca writers say the handy laptop style water painting buddha board is good for entertaining the kids on airplanes, car trips and on rainy days.

Why did it make their list of essentials for summer? "The Buddha Board is covered with a special material that allows you to paint on it with plain, old water. No mess, no waste, you paint with the special fillable water pen, enjoy your creation and then when it dries, start again. It’s very zen and the laptop-style with folding cover and pen holder is perfect for travel. ($25, available in blue or red at lavishandlime.com)"

The Travel Buddha Board is ideal as a travel activity in the car for those longer road trips.

At Lavish & Lime, we particularly like the 'no mess, no waste' bit plus the fact that there's no chemicals or toxins involved.

The buddha board also comes as the larger Laptop Buddha Board in five great colours with a bamboo brush and in a handy pop-in-your-purse smaller gift size, the Mini Buddha Board.

The Travel Buddha Board Water Wizard is available at Vancouver-based eco boutique Lavish & Lime. For more ideas about summer 2010 essentials, including natural sunscreen and natural DEET-free insect repellent, visit Lavish & Lime. If you have any thoughts or ideas about buddha boards or water painting in general, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

3 Easy Earth Day Crafts with Recycled Materials

Earth Day is all about being aware of our impact on the environment so why not get the kids involved in a craft project that helps bring this concept to life?

Craft kits and science activity kits make great gifts and are ideal for special days with the kids, but what about doing projects on everyday days? We've found three fun crafts kids will love to make and use - and they all involve recycling easy to find items from around the house.

1. Recycled Rainbow Wind Sock
This is our favourite of the three not just because you have to eat ice cream to make it (well, actually that is the best reason) but because you can make it as vibrant as you want and watch the colours twirl in the wind. To make a colourful wind sock simply take an empty ice cream container and a few other bits from around the house. A bit of cutting and pasting and voila - you can make a pretty outdoor decoration to hang on your porch, outside a window, in a tree, wherever you'd like to look at a bit of moving colour.
Craft idea and photo from Preschoolrock.

2. Plastic Jug Ball Catcher
What better way to put your empty plastic milk jugs and bleach bottles to use than with a game of catch? You can make this funky ball and catcher set for one, or double up and make two catchers for two players and enjoy a proper game of catch. You make the ball out of newspaper and tape so you can decide how hard to make it. Ideal for preschoolers + up.
Craft idea and photo from Lakeshore Learning.

3. Milk Carton Truck
Boys love a good truck - and girls do too! This craft is not only fun to make but provides hours of enjoyment and endless play possibilities afterwards. All you need to make a class A dump truck is some straws, bamboo skewers, plastic bottle caps and milk or juice cartons - then go to it. Your little one will love decorating the finished product too.
Craft idea and photo from Origami Mommy.

For more green learning ideas, including eco activity and science kits, visit online eco boutique Lavish & Lime. If you have any ideas about Earth Day crafts, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!