Me on TV, a Magazine and The Nest

Hello dear readers! Today, I want to share some exciting things that have been happening recently at Echoes of Laughter.

First up. Last week I was absolutely thrilled to make my very first TV appearance on CTV News at Noon here in Edmonton. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to pitch some ideas to Erin Isfeld, the news anchor for the program, a few weeks ago while I was at BlogWest.  The following week, I received an email from the producer, inviting me to come on the show to share some Easter crafts and recipes. I cannot tell you how happy I was!  If you would like to see my 4 minutes segment, go HERE and scroll down to where you see the video for "Easter crafts and decorating for kids".

Last week, I also had 2 of my ideas featured at Style At Home Magazine's website. My Easter Petit Fours and Easter Cookie Decorating Kit were featured in an online article there and my Easter Petit Fours picture was on the home page for the day. You can see it  HERE.

And awhile ago, I was asked to write a new blog on a large Canadian network called UrbanMoms. This new blog is called "The Nest" and I will be sharing ideas and inspiration there twice a week for the UrbanMoms community. I am super excited about this opportunity to share  ideas in  a new forum with a new audience. And guess what else? To kick off "The Nest" at UrbanMoms, the wonderful owners of Greenmunch donated an amazing prize worth over $150 of lovely party supplies for one lucky reader at UrbanMoms. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on my new blog HERE. {Canadians only.} And here is what you can win:

And as you might have noticed, I am now doing some sponsored post work for brands here at EOL. I will only be working with brands/products that I love and use in my own home. But I hope you understand that earning some income for Echoes of Laughter is a good thing for my family. I have been using family money to fund the projects here for years. So, it's nice to be at the point where EOL can now fund some projects on it's own, so that when I go shopping for craft supplies, recipe ingredients, paint or whatever, the blog can fund these things for me. And I love having the occasional giveaway to share with you!

I am so looking forward to Spring, despite the fore casted snow storm for tomorrow. I can't wait to get outside to spray paint some furniture.....and  I have lots of fun projects coming up which I can't wait to share with you all!


Thank you so much for visiting here at EOL. You are all AMAZING!


This post is linked to:
StoneGable, The 36th Avenue,

Fantastic Eco-Friendly Stocking Stuffers & Greenmunch Giveaway!

{Please note: This giveaway is for Canadian residents only.}

 

Since it is that time of year again, I really want to share with you some amazing eco-friendly products that I love and that can be ordered quickly and easily online from this small, family-owned & operated Canadian company...Greenmunch.

 

Greenmunch is based out of Sherwood Park, Alberta,  by a young couple with 3 young children and they work so hard to bring their customers the latest in eco-friendly and sustainable products for every day living. They also strive to source and carry North American products.

 

I first met owner, Joy,  at a blogging conference last March and since then I have been thrilled to test out and try their products! If you have been following my blog, you know that I regularly use their fun party ware....like straws and goodie bags, and then in September, I tested and tried out their wonderful line of products for packing school lunches. 

 

Giveaway:  

I am so excited about this fun giveaway that I can hardly stand it, and I hope you are excited about it too!

One lucky reader will win this fun & festive party pack provided by Greenmunch to make their Christmas merry & bright!

It consists of every thing you see below: 8 red & 8 green polka dot paper bags, a package of striped straws, polka dot straws, and baker's twine...all in Christmas colours!

 

To Enter:

All you have to do is leave me a comment in the comments section telling me which of the products below is your favourite Christmas gift idea and you could win this Christmas party pack. Closes: Friday, Dec. 7 at noon MST.  I will mail it out on Friday, December 7, 2012!{open to Canadian residents only.}

 

Below you will find some of my very favourite products from Greenmunch that I own and have tested myself. They are all high quality products that are eco-friendly, budget friendly and

I love that I'm supporting a small, family-owned Canadian business!

 

~Art Supplies~

 1. Endangered Pencils-made from recycled newspapers and feature endangered species. There are 5 animals to choose from and come in packs of 2.
2. O'BONanaza Coloured Pencils {12]-beautiful high quality colour pencils made from recycled newspapers.
3. Wax crayons- beautiful, high colour quality crayons made in Germany's oldest crayon & chalk factory.
4. Pastels- 6 lovely pastels for art projects made in Germany's oldest crayon & chalk factory.Love the retro packaging!

~Men, Pets & Kids~

 5. PoopBags-get the toughest and biggest bags for your pets. Completely bio-degradable too! Comes with dispenser and 1 roll of 15 bags for $2.00! Terrific price!
6. Ice pack-designed perfectly to fit into your child's lunch bag.
7. The Freaker-Keep your hands warm and dry with this one size fits all bottle/cup insulator! Love the lumberjack pattern!!!
8. Beer Soap-Made in Montreal with 66% organic ingredients, gentle & non-irritating!

~Partyware~

 9. Partyware- Who cannot love these amazing paper straws and baker's twine, especially if you order them in colours for Valentine's Day?

~Pure Wool Organic Dryer Balls, Handmade in Canada~

 10. Love these balls! They are a safe, natural alternative to fabric softeners!

~Mason Jar Must Haves!~

 11. reCAP mason jar lid  I LOVE this product! Turns any standard size mason jar into a pourable container...great for homemade salad dressings, gravies, etc. I use it all the time!

 12. Transform any mason jar into a PIGGY bank with this lid.

13. Another product that I LOVE! The CUPPOW will turn any mason jar into a travel cup or sippy cup! This is brilliant! Last week, when my house was all sick with the flu, this sure did come in handy! Comes in standard size and wide mouth sizes.

 

 14. Square 8 oz. mason jars are so pretty for dry soup mixes and dips!
15. Daisy and star mason jar lids are perfect for dressing up mason jars into pretty cups  & perfect for striped straws.

 16. Let's talk about the freaker again! Keeps your hands dry and insulates any travel cup!

~More Partyware~

 17. SO many fun goody bags in prints, stripes, polka dots, and chevron patterns!

~On the Go~

 18. We are now in the habit of using reusable shopping bags, so let's enjoy the first eco-friendly tote to go for drinks on the go! Great for carrying drinks from home to the car too, to save money on those drive-thru trips with kids! Folds up neatly for storage too!

Be sure to visit Greenmunch to see their amazing collection of fun, unique and eco-friendly products.
 Hint: I believe they have 10% off orders until December 6th, so go check it out!

{Thank you so much to Joy & Phillip of Greenmunch for providing me with all of the above products to try, test & enjoy! All opinions are my own.}

School Lunches Made Easy...

Who likes the chore of packing school lunches?
I do...when I have a strategy and some super cool & fun products to use!

If you have kids just entering the school system for the first time and are packing lunches for your littles for the very first school year, it may seem fun....at first.

But then it becomes gradually....not so fun.

I have been packing school lunches since the fall of 2001 when my daughter started full-day school at age 5.

Over the years, I have really learned how to get the chore done as quickly and as easily as possible, and I really want to share with you how I easily pack my kids nutritious and tasty lunches.

And I am also here to tell you that although those super cute animal sandwiches being pinned on Pinterest by everybody are lovely...I don't know any mom who creates them.

Last August, I wrote a post about school lunches, "5 Easy Steps To Packing School Lunches"...which is still one of my most popular posts. This time around, I am going to share just a little more updated information now that I have a daughter in high school. But I still stick to 5 easy steps...which are:

1. Start with a main course.

It can be a sandwich, salad or soup. If you are making sandwiches, remember to switch up the breads every so often to relieve the boredom of the same thing over and over again!

 A main course can also be a salad.. If packing a salad, remember to pack the salad dressing separately so the salad doesn't get soggy. My daughter's favourite lunch for years was a pasta salad.

A main course can also be soup. Both my kids love hot soup in the winter. I like using stainless steel thermoses over plastic or glass since they are sturdy and don't leach chemicals.

2. Add some vegetables. 

 Adding veggies into your child's lunch is a great way to make sure they are getting their required daily servings of fruits & veggies.My kids like their veggies with dip, so I add a little of their fav ranch dressing to the bottom of the container for a 'veggies & dip' snack.

3. Add Fruit.

Fruit cups. Fruit salad or fresh fruit. Apples. Watermelon wedges. It all counts. Just add fruit to your child's lunch to build towards those daily servings fruit & vegetables. And they are learning healthy snacking habits to serve them throughout life.

And if the thought of cutting up fruit for lunches is a little overwhelming to an already crazy busy schedule, use one of these great helpers from the grocery store!

One new thing that I have discovered this year is these amazing LunchBot  containers. Love them.

They are stainless steel and extremely sturdy, and come in different configurations.

I also love that they are a great size...not too big and perfect for serving sizes for elementary school kids.

I also find that the lids are not too tight for little kids to open.

This is the quad LunchBot, which has 4 different sections.

I love it because it holds the main course and fruit & veggies all in one container!

LunchBots also come in a 'tri' combination with 3 sections.

Here I tucked a small sandwich into the long section and added fruits and veggies to the other sections.

Brilliant, right?

4. Add a little treat.

After adding a main course and fruits and veggies, I always add a small treat to my kids' lunches. It can be homemade cookies, granola bars, a muffin or something that I know they like. I give my kids complete control over when they choose to eat their treat. My son always eats his treat at recess before lunch! {If you would like to see the recipe for our family's favourite chocolate chip cookie, go here.} 

5. Add a drink and a napkin.

This is the last step in my "5 Easy Steps" to packing school lunches.

*Now here is some other advice I would like to add.*

•  Having lots of little containers really helps when it comes to packing lunches. They hold everything from salad dressings to fruit and veggies.

• Having fruits and veggies washed & prepped in little containers ready to go into lunches in the morning makes lunch- packing a breeze. You are  essentially making your own pre-packaged foods for lunches that are healthy and without added salt, sugar, fat or preservatives. This system works extremely well when lunches are prepped on Sunday and then throughout the week, you are just adding prepared foods in containers to lunches.
• Have a  container/bin of some kind in the fridge to store lunch items all in one place.

•  I love these Lunchskins. They replace the need for plastic baggies and are dishwasher safe and good for 1000 uses, which saves you money, as well as being great for the environment. They are made of high quality fabric, toxin free and  come in a couple of sizes...sandwich, snack and sub size. 

{Photo Source below: Lunchskins}

• This year, I also found this brilliant lunch bag, which has 2 different insulated compartments...so one compartment can be a 'cold' side, and the other can be a 'warm' side. They are made by a Canadian company called "BalancedDayBags".{You can order them here.} It's the perfect bag for my son in elementary school.

 Each side has a number on it's cover. I used the 'One' for the warm side with soup in a thermos and bread.

 The number 'Two' side I used the for the cold side, with the LunchBot and an ice pack from the dollar store.I love the practicality of this design and it would be great for a school day with 2 breaks where you could let your child know which food is for Break 1 and which is for Break 2.

•  Another thing  I learned this year is that my high school student is not interested in taking containers of lunch items to school any more. She just wants to take packages she can throw away. And although this is not good for the environment, I do want her to eat throughout the day, so I have made lots of 'GRAB & GO' items for her. {She does not like cafeteria food or fast food.}. I keep baggies of  fresh fruits and veggies  and single servings of Greek yogurt, guacamole and dips on hand for her, as well as bags of pita wedges and crackers, etc. in the pantry. Hopefully, when she gets a little older and out of high school, she will go back to using environmentally-friendly products that her mama has uses!

•    I store the 'grab & go' items in these fridge bins that I found at Bed, Bath & Beyond. You can read more about this in my post, "Active Kids & Healthy Snacks & Drinks."

And that, my friends, is how I have made packing school lunches easy!

I hope you find some of these ideas useful for your family!

What strategies do you use to help make packing school lunches easy for your family?

{**Thank you so much  to the lovely folks at Greenmuch for providing me with Lunchbots, Lunchskins, and BalancedDayBags to test and try! All opinions are my own and I love these products.**}

If you liked this post, you may also like:

Back To School Breakfast Cookies

6 Best Back To School Organizing Tips

This post is linked to these terrific parties:

http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/2012/08/uncommonly-yours-link-party-43.html

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/

http://www.tipjunkie.com/all-crafts/handmade-projects/homemade-projects-9-11/