Do you have a great new Eco-friendly product, website, or service you would like to get exposure for? Would you like to have your product featured on Mkokopelli? Please feel free to email me with any requests! I only review safe, Eco-friendly family products. Mkokopelli offers product reviews, reviews with giveaways, website reviews, and advertising.

If you would like information about product reviews, giveaways, or advertising please feel free to email me. There is a contact button on the top bar.

I look forward to working with you!

Crunchy Granola Baby was awesome enough to not only donate a pair of her Organic Yoga Pants for a review and giveaway, but also a ImagiPLAY Vision Quest playset!

ImagiPLAY has been making high-quality educational children’s products for over a decade and they truly inspire your child’s imagination. Vision Quest is a 9 piece handcrafted, rubberwood playset to help teach your child about on the prairie Indian life. Rubberwood is the most Eco-friendly wood used today. Rubber trees are used to make all of the latex products we use today. After the rubber tree complete its latex producing cycle, it then dies and is recycled into rubberwood. So unlike trees that are cut down for 1 sole purpose, rubber trees serve 2.

When Ella opened up her Vision Quest set, she was beyond excited. She had never seen a tee-pee and had no clue what a “chief” was. She especially loved the chief could ride the horse! The first thing Ella did with her Vision Quest set was line them up in a row and move them around the table in order. She has been doing this for weeks, hours at a time! Lining up toys is one of her quirks and OCD traits. And if you move one of the toys, she gets really upset and moves them back.

This is how they are supposed to look.

She is now having the children talk and interact with one another! There are so many different things I love about this toy, but mainly it will allow me to teach her about our history and early life in America.

Like what you see? You can get 15% off at Crunchy Granola Baby by entering ellachelle15 at the checkout until October 31, 2009! Just in time to start your holiday shopping. (I know, it’s too early to think about that)

Don’t forget to enter the organic Yoga pants giveaway from Crunchy Granola baby which ends on Sept. 2!

The Giveaway: One of my lucky readers will win a Vision Quest playset thanks to Crunchy Granola Baby

Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST September 14, 2009 to enter. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced after they respond to the winning email. The winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email, or a new winner will be chosen. You must leave your email address! This contest is open to the US.

How to Enter: Visit Crunchy Granola Baby and tell me something else you’d like to have. Click on “Comments” to leave your post. Make sure to leave your email address!! I cannot contact the winner without it!

EXTRA entries: You must complete the “How To Enter” before making any extra entries. Make sure you leave a comment for each extra entry and tell me which one.
2. Become a fan of Mkokopelli on FB, Mkokopelli on Twitter or Follow my blog
3. Subscribe to my blog by email (on the right sidebar)
4. Blog, Tweet or send a message on FB and leave a link here (3 extra entries)
5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post
6. Sign up for Crunchy Granola Baby’s Newsletter
7. Follow Crunchy Granola Baby on Twitter or Facebook
8. Add Mkokopelli’s Best Eco-friendly Toy Week button on your blog or FB page


Thank you to Crunchy Granola Baby for both amazing giveaways and good luck to everyone!

I added a 3rd sidebar since my other one was filling up with all my great sponsors! But my old layout didn’t fit with the 3rd bar. So I had to get crafty and design my own. When I look at my layout in Moxilla, I see the whole layout with a orange border. When I look at it through AOL I don’t see the border and the color is off. 

So this is where you come in… Can you see a border or do the sidebars fill up your screen? Also, do you like the new layout? I’m going to be playing with it more this weekend, so if you have a suggestion I’d love to hear it! 

Thanks!!!

This contest has ended. Thanks to all that entered!

I remember very vividly sitting in the chair waiting for the ultrasound tech to tell me if I was having a boy or a girl. When she said, “it’s a girl!” I burst into tears. I always knew I’d have a little girl and made my mom save all of my baby clothes, dolls, barbies and other girly toys. When I heard those words I instantly pictured my daughter and I playing with our dolls and having tea parties… a dream come true. For E’s first birthday I bought her several dolls in hopes she was ready to play mommy. I just couldn’t wait and was ready for the fun to begin! She loved feeding her babies and took them everywhere with her. She was such a good little mommy.

Then I found Healthy Toys.org and my bubble was kind of burst. Healthy Toys is a project from the Ecology Center that tests random toys for lead, cadmium, bromine, chlorine, arsenic and mercury. When I saw that my daughter’s first doll contained high levels of chlorine or PVC and low trace amounts of bromine I was a bit upset and let down. I knew what I had to do, but I felt really guilty taking her babies away. Ella was still putting everything in her mouth, especially the baby’s hands which were part of the high levels of PVC, so I had no other choice. I then vowed to never buy a plastic baby again… which isn’t an easy thing to do.

The first fabric doll I bought Ella she wanted nothing to do with. It was a really cute doll and E had been without her plastic babies for a couple of months, so I thought she’d be thrilled. But no, the baby is now lost somewhere in the house. So I gave up on the idea that she would love dolls for the moment and focused on learning toys.

Then I came across Swaddle Babies. Priscilla Rose, the amazing creator, hand stitches every baby for your customized order. Priscilla is a stay at home mom who was inspired to make her daughter a Waldorf style doll that was the perfect size for small hands. After seeing her creation, many of her friends started asking for her to make them dolls and then Swaddle Babies was born.

All Swaddle Babies are crafted with organic cotton knit, organic wool or viscose made from bamboo fiber (your choice), and a variety of natural and organic handspun yarns. Here’s how it works… you first pick out of 4 skin tones for your baby. Then you choose sleepy or smiley eyes, straight or loopy hair, the color of hair that you want your baby to have (8 choices), and which blanket you want it swaddled in. You have the option to get velour or minky. After you create your baby you get to name him or her and it will be embroidered on the tag. I had my fingers crossed when Priscilla was making our baby that Ella would love it like she did her first babies. And…Ella got her baby Ella and was so excited!
The first thing she wanted to do was rock baby Ella because she was sleepy.
Then baby Ella needed kisses before going “night night.”Now every night, baby Ella reads with us, rocks with us and then Ella puts her to sleep in her bassinet. Or some nights, baby Ella needs to sleep in Ella’s bed because she’s scared. Gotta love 2 yr. olds. 🙂 Baby Ella is beautifully handcrafted with lots of love and time put into her. She is also a perfect size for infants-preschoolers and super soft for cuddling. I love that you get to decide every detail of your baby and choose your child’s favorite colors. Being part of the process of her creation has made her even more special.


You can get free shipping for purchases made in Sept if you enter the code BIRTHDAY in the “Message to Swaddle Babies” box during checkout.
The Giveaway: 1 lucky winner will receive their very own Swaddle Babies custom made doll

The Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST September 13, 2009 to enter. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced after they respond to the winning email. The winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email, or a new winner will be chosen. You must leave your email address! This contest is open to the US

How to Enter: Visit Swaddle Babies and tell me how your baby would look if you won. Click on “Comments” to leave your post. Make sure to leave your email address!! I cannot contact the winner without it!

EXTRA Entries: You must complete the “How To Enter” before making any extra entries. Make sure you leave a comment for each extra entry and tell me which one.
2. Become a fan of Mkokopelli on FB, Mkokopelli on Twitter or Follow my blog
3. Subscribe to my blog by email (on the right sidebar)
4. Blog, Tweet or send a message on FB and leave a link here (3 extra entries)
5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post
6. Follow Swaddle Babies on Twitter or Facebook
7. Tell me what people are saying about Swaddle Babies on their review page
8. Add my Best Eco-friendly Toy Week Button to your Blog or FB page (5 additional entries) email me if you need the code
Good luck to everyone and Thank You Priscilla for making Ella such a beautiful baby!

This is from ALEX Toys and I wanted to pass it along! Note: Do not enter to win on Mkokopelli. You must complete their rules which are below.

Calling all Moms!
ALEX Toys, the maker of quality creative products that foster personal expression and build self-esteem, is launching a contest just for you and your tot! Team up with your little one to enter the Ready, Set, Create Contest! Mom, we want to know: How do you encourage your preschooler’s creativity? Send ALEX Toys 1-2 paragraphs about how you create an environment that stimulates your child’s artistic imagination.
Tot: The proof’s in the pudding! We’d like to see some original artwork by you that illustrates just what mom does to let your creative genius shine. Ask your mom to scan or photograph an art piece of yours. Whether it’s a crayon-drawn masterpiece or modeling clay extravaganza, it’s up to you! The winning teams will be chosen by the ALEX Toys Arts & Crafts Panel.
1st Place Prize: ALEX Toys Floor Standing Easel + Paper Roll (value $129.99)
2nd Place Prize: ALEX Toys Little Hands My Tabletop Easel ($59.99)
3rd Place Prize: ALEX Toys Little Hands My Giant Busy Box (value $34.99)

The art submissions from all winners will be displayed on the ALEX Toys website (www.alextoys.com)
The deadline to enter is October 15, 2009. Winners will be announced by October 25th.
Bragging rights included. To enter:
Become a Fan of ALEX Toys on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alextoys
Send a single email to contest@alextoys.com with a .jpg of your tot’s artwork and your 1-2 paragraph submission.
The photo may be attached but your submission should be included in the body of the email with your full name, child’s first name and age, email address and phone number. Children ages 3-5 are eligible for this contest. Mom’s age may vary.
Check out the complete rules on Facebook!

This contest has ended. Thanks to all that entered!
Last year around Christmas, I was searching for fun Eco-friendly toys for E. Which if you read my previous post about Eco-shopping in Charlotte- it’s slim pickings. But, I was at my local bookstore of all places when I came across a Green Toys Tea Set. I knew E would love the set, especially since the tea pot was pink and the lid purple- her two favorite colors! The Tea Set ended up being her favorite Christmas present and she didn’t care about any other toy that day.8 months later, it is still one of her favorite toys. Which says a lot since most of her toys end up hidden in her toy box. Green Toys sent us a amazing Cookware & Dining Set to review and Ella hasn’t stopped playing with them. The Cookware & Dining set comes with 4 plates, 4 bowls, 4 cups, 4 place settings, a stock pot with lid and a skillet. E likes put all of the utensils on the plates, she eats raisins out of the bowls, takes her tea cups and plates to the bath for a wet tea party, she even “cooks” dinner for me every night. She loves to cook her fake food in the stock pot and then on her plates. This set is every little girl’s dream toy!

The best part about Green Toys is that all of their products are made with recycled milk jugs!! Milk jugs are made out of HDPE plastic, which is the safest and cleanest plastics on the market. So not only are you getting a safe toy, you are supporting the reusing cause. Another great fact about Green Toys is that all of their products are made right here in the USA in California. So that means no shipping overseas, which saves energy and reduces greenhouse gases. Green Toys really knows how to use the 3 R’s! All of their toys are packaged in recycled corrugated boxes with no twist ties holding the toys down. So your child can easily access the toy without needing your help! Even though Green Toys are made with safe plastics, they still undergo numerous product testing to make sure all of their toys are the highest quality. So you will find no lead, BPA, Phthalates or cadmium in their toys. They truly are one of the Best Eco-friendly Toys!

Atlantis Natural has the Green Toys Tea Set on sale for $18.49! There are only 4 left, so hurry if you want to grab one before they sell out.

The Giveaway: One LUCKY reader will win a Green Toys Tea Set!
The Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST September 12, 2009 to enter. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced after they respond to the winning email. The winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email, or a new winner will be chosen. You must leave your email address! This contest is open to the US

How to Enter: Go to Green Toys and tell me another toy your child would like. Click on “Comments” to leave your post. Make sure to leave your email address!! I cannot contact the winner without it!

EXTRA Entries: You must complete the “How To Enter” before making any extra entries. Make sure you leave a comment for each extra entry and tell me which one.
2. Become a fan of Mkokopelli on FB, Mkokopelli on Twitter or Follow my blog
3. Subscribe to my blog by email (on the right sidebar)
4. Blog, Tweet or send a message on FB and leave a link here (3 extra entries)
5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post
6. Sign up for the Green Toys Newsletter
7. Tell me where can you find Green Toys in your area
8. Grab my Best Eco-friendly Toy Week button and post on your blog or FB page

Good luck to everyone and THANK YOU Green Toys for making such Eco-friendly toys!

There are 2 great Eco-friendly Toy Giveaways going on in the Blog world right now- other than on Mkokopelli of course. 🙂

Go to Jolly Mom for a chance to win a Plan Toy Eco Town Set!! Plan Toys have amazing Eco-friendly natural rubber wood toys that Ella has loved for a while.

Also, on Natural Mommie you can win a Oh Simple Baby My First Kitchen set! It comes with 32 pieces including pots, pans, utensils and play food – even a salt and pepper shaker.
Good luck to everyone!

If you haven’t heard of ImagiPLAY then you need to head over and check them out! They carry amazing child safe, Earth-friendly, fair trade wooden toys that every child will love. ImagiPLAY has infant rattles, pull toys and flexible worms. They also carry a huge variety of unique puzzles for every age. My favorites are the imaginative play items, like the Veggie and Fruit Cutting set and their whole line of playsets which include: Noah’s Arc, A Day at the Zoo, African Safari, Arctic Exploration and Zoom to the Moon.

ImagiPLAY is offering all of my readers 20% off their online store until September 22, 2009 by entering the code integrity09 at the checkout.

Be sure to stick around Mkokopelli’s Best Eco-friendly Toy week! Later this week you will have the chance to win a ImagiPLAY Vision Quest Playset from Crunchy Granola Baby.