Sunday, May 2, 2010

Eco-Friendly Baby Shower Ideas


Do you want to bring oohs and aahs to your best friend's baby shower?  Diaper cakes are the way to go.  You can find many online, the above are eco-friendly and from GrowInStyle.com.  

They're made with 100% eco-friendly usable diapers and organic accessories.  Diaper cakes range in prices from "Do Your Own" at $35 to fully decorated from $45 to over $150.  

You can make a diaper cake even more affordable by making it yourself from scratch.  Add to the diapers:  pacifiers, blankets, onesies, stuff animals whatever you like.  You can even add a bottle of sparkling cider or champagne for the expectant parents hidden in the middle.


Miracles and Blessings, Kiki here ... my iCafe Woman Moderne divas are buzzing around our virtual cafe getting ready for our second baby shower this year.  We've got three more before the year is out.  

Oh yeah, this time we're going eco-chic and affordable.  But if money isn't an issue we have a few of those items too.  Affordability can also translate into a product that has more than one use or grows with the baby to college.  iCafe Woman Moderne has some great eco-friendly baby shower gifts to unveil.  

Eco-Friendly Baby Shower Gifts



Shannon, our 43-year-old fitness trainer diva and expectant mother/ guest of honor -- loves environment-friendly products and would like to introduce her boy and girl twins, due in late June, to a healthy home environment starting with their bassinets.  Our eco-friendly Eden "3 in 1" (above) convertible bassinet from Baby Planet have won rave online reviews.

iCafe Woman Moderne's baby shower gifts to Shannon are a no-brainer -- Eden Bassinets, one in pink and one in blue.

Baby Planet's Eden puts an end to the "one use wonder" design common in most pricey bassinets.  Instead of your baby growing out of it in a few months, he or she can enjoy it as a toddler seat up to two years.  This modern design has its own eco-friendly and great usage bells and whistles.    

For example, the "Easy Release" hand grips have an internal trigger to release the bed from its latched position on the base so you can move it around your house, nixing the need for a Moses basket or a second bassinet.  

Peaceful music and dual speed vibration soothe your baby to sleep, a storage basket below and a recycling program that takes the bassinet back when you're finished with it, disassembles the parts so it can go to a recycling center and not a landfill.  

Now, your baby has a soothing hangout for the first few months and becomes the gift that keeps giving for years to come.


   
Kolcraft KOLCRAFT BASSINET ZB004MOD WOOD CHR 
 Kolcraft Contours Classique 3-in-1 Bassinet

Since affordability and putting three products into one are the name of the baby product game --The Kolcraft Classique TM bassinet fills the bill with a full-size bassinet, Moses basket and changing table all in one.

Features:

  • Solid wood frame provides elegance & stability
  • Changing table securely attaches on top of bassinet. Conveniently clips underneath bassinet when not in use.
  • Handles on removable Moses basket for easy carry
  • Two removable wicker storage baskets with fabric liners
  • Hanging deluxe storage organizer & diaper stacker keeps baby's items handy.
  • Mesh side windows provide increased air flow.
  • Quilted and padded interior fabric.
  • Thick vinyl covered mattress with washable terry cloth fitted sheet.
  • Easy-roll casters with locks.




Timi & Leslie Eco-Friendly Baby Stroller





TRANSFORMING CRIBS

As I mentioned before, affordability in baby furniture comes from the stages the product evolves with your child.  This eco-friendly Stokke Sleepi Crib constructed from cultivated beechwood has a $799 price tag, but affordable when you think of the many years of use it can provide.

By age seven and beyond this crib transforms into two chairs.  And if you live in a small space the lockable wheels and oval design will be a blessing. (Additional parts to convert to a bassinet and junior bed sold separately.)

Stages:
  • birth to 9 months: crib with mattress set to a higher setting
  • 9 months to 2 years:crib with mattress at a lower setting
  • 2 years to 3 years:remove front panel for a toddler bed
  • 3 years to 7 years:convert to junior bed using conversion kit
  • 7 years+: convert crib to 2 chairs without any additional parts!    
 Eco-Chic Cribs - Oeuf Sparrow Crib
Our guest of honor loves modern design, (like most of our iCafe Woman Moderne Divas) she couldn't resist ordering two Oeuf Sparrow Crib crafted in Europe from birch wood in this relaxing, gender neutral, gray finish.   If she was expecting only one, she probably would've ordered her dream crib, this baby below.
 Spot on Square Roh One-Sided crib is a modernist's dream from the Roh Collection and gives your baby a room with a view.  Durable half-inch, BPA free, phthalate free, 100% recyclable, clear acrylic framed by locally sourced Walnut creates an innovative design for the modern nursery with a price tag of $1,595.  This crib will stay in your family for generations to come.


All of the products here at Shannon's Eco-Chic Baby Shower have no harmful pesticides, chemicals or dyes and built from sustainable wood with low VOCC finishes. 

A PLAY YARD AND BASSINET
 Shannon's sister, Sabrina wraps an organic twill ribbon around her gifts (left): two Nature's Purest Complete Comfort Play Yards Sleepy Safari made of organically grown and naturally colored cotton for our fraternal twins.
  • Includes a full-size bassinet and canopy with an embroidered bumper for nap time
  • Removable/ washable play yard sheet for bassinet/ floorboard
  • Musical unit that plays 3 melodies, 2 nature sounds, and 1 womb sound for a soothing effect
  • Changer with parent-assist tray
  • Wheels for portability and a travel bag for on-the-go       
STROLLER

A Cool-Climate roll up gives this unique Jeep Wrangler Twin Sport G-Edition stroller a cool seat during hot Summer days and a warm ride in the Winter.  You'll feel good about helping the environment with the stroller's PET fabric constructed from recycled 16 ounce bottles recycled from 100% post consumer waste.


DIAPER BAG
A diaper bag has never looked this good!

This PVC-Free, Teflon-Free Lexie Tote from Fleurville has a Green-LAM water-resistant exterior with Green "Leather" trim, a seam sealed, water-proof lining, multiple pockets, a Slip Knot universal stroller attachment, Fleurville see-thru wipe case and Carabiner key clip.

Durable, elegant and eco-friendly, what more could you ask for in a diaper bag.  Oh, yeah ... and it comes with the essential changing pad.

 Innovative High Chair - Stokke Tripp Trapp













At last, a high chair that gives baby a place at the table.

The Stokke Tripp Trapp literally grows with your child from infancy to adulthood. Cultivated beechwood gives this minimalistic high chair a sustainable design that can support up to 300 pounds. An adjustable seat and footrest is the key to its staying power.  

Adults naturally rest their feet on the ground when sitting, but child-sized legs dangle from seats, resulting in a lack of balance and support. The Tripp Trapp's adjustable footrest provides stability and allows children to shift their weight to promote good posture and optimal comfort. To seat teens and adults, simply remove the footrest and adjust the seat for proper positioning.

Stokke' Tripp Trapp's places your child directly at table-height, giving him or her a place at the family table.
Plus, unlike traditional high chairs, the Tripp Trapp's footprint is the same as a typical chair, and the base slides underneath your table, maximizing space and making your dining area safe and clutter-free.

Planning Our Green Eco-Friendly Baby Shower

1. Invitations
Cheap Baby Shower Invites 
To save on trees, we used e-vites.  Evite.com has dozens of shower invitations, or you can design your own.  We designed our own.

You can name the shower an "Earth Friendly Baby Shower on the invitation.  But if you want a more formal invitation, try using plantable seeded paper or recycled paper for invitations.  

2. Gift Wrapping
We suggested earth friendly gift wrap ideas on the invite e.g. -- the comic section of a newspaper, (I use for most of my gifts, except weddings.) organic blankets or towels wrapped with an organic bow -- jute, twine, twill, etc.

3. Green Baby Shower Decorations

Since Shannon loves panda bears and black & white damask, she'll just love our white & black color scheme using white & black damask pattern table cloths and runners made from organic light bamboo with touches of pink and blue.  

Our tables and every flat surface are filled with white flowered plants:  hydrangeas, azaleas and mums in pots wrapped with jute bows and vases of bamboo and white lilies floating in pink and blue water made from organic food dye.


Paper panda balloons, white and black and pink/blue paisley paper lanterns suspend throughout the room.


(baby in sepia - flickr.com)

For green baby shower decorations use natural items like: glass, twigs, fruit, seashells, water, bamboo, crystal filled with fruit.  We incorporated a baby bassinet made out of a watermelon filled with fruit and white chocolate dipped strawberries, raspberries and blackberries around the potted plants centerpieces. 

4. Buy organic food and drinks from local farmer's markets and Whole Foods.

5. Use real china and silverware

6. Ask guests to bring a favorite childhood item to the shower, the hostess can put in a treasury chest for the baby.
7. Activity - Organic Onesie Painting

A unique and memorable activity for mom to be as well as the baby. Provide guests with an organic white onesie or t-shirt and non-toxic paints or natural dyes (you can find a lot of great natural dye ideas, such as beet juice for red color, etc). Guests will have a lot of fun decorating the shirts for baby. 

8.  Make Baby Booty Cakes and display on organic cupcake carousel.  Recipe from Martha Stewart.com
Substitute with organic ingredients.
9.  Create a Sorbet Cake
Purchase 4 pints or 2 quarts of organic sorbet in one or more flavors. Thaw  sorbet at room temperature until you can easily spoon the sorbet into a 9” x 11” sheet cake pan. To create layers alternate flavors. Use a spatula to smooth between layers and on top. Place in the freezer for 3 hours or overnight. Day of the party, decorate the top with pink or blue fruits. Then, let thaw slightly, slice and serve! Quantities mentioned serve 12.

10. Eco-Friendly Favors - Use the plant centerpieces and additional miniature flower pots as favors.


Green Baby Blogs and Web Sites
Its a Belly, it's a Blog
Newborn Mom