Sprig Toys Dolphin Explorer Boat: Review
by Tania
Filed under Gift Guide, Reviews
Founded in 2007 by an award winning trio of toy veterans Sprig Toys set out to create toys that would inspire children’s imaginations, be responsibly manufactured and green. A tall order in the toy industry.
In a few short years they have made their mark. Winning prestigious awards like, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2009, Creative Toy Award from Creative Child Magazine, Dr. Toy’s 100 best toy products of 2008 and others. This company has had a busy few years!
Sprig toys are made from Sprigwood™ a proprietary bio-composite of recycled wood and reclaimed plastic. So it looks almost like a plastic toy, but not quite. They use Sprigwood™ to make an assortment of eco friedly toys that they have broken into Series:
Sprigwood is dishwasher safe on the top shelf, so their non electronic toys can get squeaky clean with a little help from one of my favorite kitchen appliances.
Eco-Trucks – Excavators, Dump Trucks, and loaders oh my. Playing in the sand and dirt is good clean fun with our affordable trucks.
Sprig Hallow - Join Bee & Butterfly and other characters on adventures in the sand, garden, or pool. Includes playsets, vehicles, and outdoor tools all in one!
Story Builders – allow children to build and tell their own stories. They are a complete building playset and classic storybook rolled together.
The Adventure Series – a world full of vehicles, characters, and animals to stimulate fun filled expeditions on both land and water.
They recently sent Little Diva and Dude The Dolphin Explorer Boat from their adventure series.
The set consists of:
2 boats – Explorer Boat (largest item in the set) and smaller Rescue Boat
1 Life Preserver
2 Dolphins – Mother and Baby
1 Adventure Guide – Captain Owen
1 Adventure Hat – Interchangeable!
1 Backpack Accessory
Little Diva exclaimed on seeing photos of the Dolphin Explorer set “dolphins are my most favorite ocean animal ever!!!” Picture the hands clasped over her chest. She was so excited when the actual package arrived.
When I opened the package for a sneak preview I was surprised to find the dolphin’s bottoms were hollowed out. But after observing it in action I can see how this helps them float. This also solves another common problem with toys that get water time… Mildew. We have had so many toys end up thrown out because they had been taken over by mildew. The open bottom of the dolphins enables for thorough cleaning.
The boat and dolphins float and their simple design allow your child’s imagination to dictate how they play with the set.
One Lucky Reader will win a Dolphin Explorer Boat, but if you just can’t wait find it on Amazon:
The winner has been announced in this weeks newsletter! Check your inbox!
HOW TO ENTER:
There are a few ways you can enter, leave separate comments for each entry.
Mandatory:
Become an Email Subscriber to PND using the form in the sidebar.
– The subscription must be confirmed. You will receive and email that you must reply to for your entry to be valid.
– Already a confirmed Subscriber. Complete any one of the additional entries options – Leave a comment letting Diva know you’re subscriber name and the entry option you selected.
Additional Entries
1. Go to www.sprigtoys.com and share your favorite new toy here!
2. Stumble, Digg, Kristi, or Technorati favorite this post. Leave a comment with your name and the link.
3. Follow @purenaturaldiva and @SprigToys on twitter. Leave your twittername in a separate comment.
4. Become a Fan of Pure Natural Diva & Sprig Toys on Facebook. Post this giveaway as an update, leave your FB Name or Name with a copy of your update in a separate comment. One entry for each.
5. Tweet this giveaway. Copy and paste “Diva Giveaway: WIN the Dolphin Explorer Set from @Sprigtoys http://bit.ly/7pc4mK @purenaturaldiva”. Then come back and leave the direct link to your tweet (go to your twitter account, click on the words when your tweet was sent (ie. 5 seconds ago) and copy and paste that link in comments.
6. Write a post on your blog linking to Pure Natural Diva and to Sprig Toys – Good for two entries. Leave this comment twice so you get both entries!
This giveaway will run through midnight on Jan 3, 2010 PDT, with winner being announced on January 4, 2009. Winner will be chosen using Random.org from all valid entries. Winner will be notified via PND Newsletter – Keep your eyes posted! Winner will have 24 hours to contact me before another winner is chosen.
Giveaway is open to residents of the U.S.
Click here to see the entire Blog Hop List….
Green Toys: Diva Review
by Tania
Filed under Gift Guide, Giveaways, Holidays, Reviews
By Tania Reuben
Green Toys makes a line of toys made in the USA from recycled milk jugs! Very few toys are Made in the USA and even fewer are made from primarily reclaimed ingredients!
Most PND readers know that I’m not a big fan of plastic. Green Toys are part of the solution. They use recycled plastic milk jugs, turning waste into fun, high quality, safe toys. The milk jugs are high-density polyethylene (or HDPE), the safest plastic option in the marketplace today.
Green Toys has some great basics in their line-up. Everything from jump ropes & eco saucer (think frisbee) to a 15 piece tool set, 4 piece Sand Set and a 27 piece Cookware & Dining Set.
Green Toys recently sent me a couple of their toys to check out:
The Tea Set – 17 pieces of food safe tea fun!
Their Tea Set is great, and I’m not the only one who think so. At the time of writing this post this set had 78 reviews on Amazon and a 5 star rating!
The set is sturdy, the colors are pale pastel and the size of the cups and plates are just right. Not too big, not too small.
One of the best things about this set is that it IS food safe. Now this might seem like a basic criteria for a children’s tea set, but surprisingly it’s not. Most of the tea sets in the marketplace for children are not food safe. Yet I bet everyone of them is used to hold many a thimbleful of water that that will be refilled and consumed throughout every tea party.
Recycle Truck – Boys (and girls) loves trucks and choosing a recycling truck gives another tool for eco teaching the child in your life
The Truck is a good size, similar to those you’ll see in a sandbox or playground. It has a door that opens on the back so it can be filled with treasures – important in the Diva home. We also liked that the side of the truck had small openings that the children use to stash coins or rocks.
It’s worth noting that the doors to the cabin of the truck don’t open and close and which is fine with me, one less thing to break off and fall apart.
A Special Not About Packaging! Have you ever had to spend more time wresting to get your toys out of their excessive packaging? You won’t have that experience with green toys. They don’t use any cellophane, plastic, or twist ties! They also use all 100% recyclable corrugated cardboard to package their toys. Open the box and play! Just like it should be!
We loved the Green Toys so much that I added a few of their items to the children’s wishlist for their grandparents! I added the cookware set and the tool box.
WINNER: Samantha C Check your inbox!
Are Green Toys on your wishlist?
You’re in luck. One lucky PND reader will win The Green Toys Dish Set!
HOW TO ENTER:
There are a few ways you can enter, leave separate comments for each entry.
Mandatory:
Become an Email Subscriber to PND using the form in the sidebar.
– Subscription must be confirmed. You will receive and email that you must reply to for your entry to be valid.
– Already a confirmed Subscriber. Complete any one of the additional entries options – Leave a comment letting Diva know you’re subscriber name and the entry option you selected.
Additional Entries:
1. Share your favorite Toy from Green Toys!
2. Stumble, Digg, Kirsty, or Technorati favorite this post. Leave a comment with your name and the link.
3. Follow @purenaturaldiva (use link on the sidebar) & @greentoyspr on twitter. Leave your twittername in a separate comment.
4. Become a Fan of Pure Natural Diva & Green Toys on Facebook. Post this giveaway as an update, leave your FB Name or Name with a copy of your update in a separate comment. One entry for each.
5. Tweet this giveaway. Copy and paste “GREEN TOYS Diva Giveaway – Win a Children’s Play Dish Set http://bit.ly/4KRHql@purenaturaldiva”. Then come back and leave the direct link to your tweet (go to your twitter account, click on the words when your tweet was sent (ie. 5 seconds ago) and copy and paste that link in comments.
6. Write a post on your blog linking to my blog and to the – Good for two entries. Leave this comment twice so you get both entries!
7. Add the PND Button to your site. Leave a comment with the link.
This giveaway will run through midnight on Dec 19, 2009 PDT, with winner being announced December 21, 2009. Winner will be chosen using Random.org from all valid entries and notified via email. Winner will have 24 hours to contact me before another winner is chosen.
Giveaway is open to residents of the U.S!
Can’t wait to win:
Click here to see the entire Blog Hop List….
Plan Toys: A Different Kind of Toy Company
By Tania Reuben
Plan Toys is one of a handful of green companies in the toy business. They make high quality toys that will inspire creativity in your child from birth through to about six years of age. As a parent, when your child plays with Plan Toys
you can have confidence the toys are safe in all the ways that matter.
Last year we wanted to buy a Parking Garage for Lil’ Dude, after great deliberation we settled on the Plan Toys Parking Garage
. This was a more expensive choice, but all the other brands seemed poorly made, and most were made of plastic.
The Plan Toys Garage is classic. It has a working elevator and in the past year it’s survived the wear and tear of my two children and it still looks as good as new. It’s nice to know this toy will have a life in the future with another family.
One of the pegs that holds the ramp in place on fell off, a quick email to customer service and they were on it – no questions asked – just where can we send the part.
Plan toys are made from recycled wood. Rubber wood is planted to produce latex, typically when it’s finished producing latex the wood is burned. Not if it’s going to become a Plan Toy!
The Rubber Wood destined to become a Plan Toy isn’t fertilized for the last 3 years of growth to ensure that it’s toxin free. Then the wood is kiln dried without the use of chemicals.
The toys are assembled using E-Zero glue this replaces traditionally toxic wood glue. Then Plan Toys are decorated using Non Toxic Water based dyes.
You probably still won’t want your children chewing on their toys, but at least when they do gnaw a little, you’ll have peace of mind.
As you make toy purchasing decisions for your family, consider the merits of spending a little more, buying a little less, and taking care of what you have so it can be passed along to friends and family for years to come. Plan Toys makes that kind of toy.
