Giveaway: Box of Eco Friendly Art Supplies from Stubby Pencil Studio – $60 ARV {11.25, WW}

This is a joint giveaway between Natural Parents Network and many other natural parenting sites. You may enter for all of the giveaways at one site only. Please find the section marked “Win it!” for the mandatory entry and optional bonus entries.

Welcome to the Natural Parents Network Holiday Gift Guide!

Natural Parents Network, Vibrant Wanderings, and 24 other natural parenting bloggers are giving away 89 items perfect for gifting for the holidays as part of the Natural Parents Network Holiday Gift Guide. The combined total value of all of the items is $2,550.

Have you finished your holiday shopping? The NPN Holiday Gift Guide is a great opportunity to complete your gift-giving purchases for family and friends, while supporting many naturally-minded small businesses. The companies who have provided items for giveaway are almost exclusively made up of small businesses or work-at-home families.

Please stop back to enter the giveaway. The Rafflecopter entry system will be live November 1 on this post (and on every post participating in the Gift Guide). Please visit some of the other review posts listed below and read about the fabulous companies offering giveaways in the Natural Parents Network Holiday Gift Guide.

***Please continue reading to learn more about Stubby Pencil Studio, which is offering our readers a giveaway of a box of eco friendly art supplies valued at $60.

About Stubby Pencil Studio

Stubby Pencil Studio is an online shop specializing in quality, earth friendly art materials, school supplies, and unique gifts for children. The company was founded by Kate who, inspired by her twin girls, continues to run it today. Literally everything in my daughter’s collection of art supplies comes from Stubby Pencil Studio and it’s a company I have remained loyal to for a number of reasons. Not only are the items Kate sells high quality and mindfully sourced, but they’re truly non toxic and safe. I love knowing that if Annabelle sticks her paint brush in her mouth during the creative process, what she’s swallowing is plant based – even gluten free and vegan!

Another thing that keeps me coming back is the incredible customer service. I’ll tell you a little story: my friend Nicole and I placed orders for art materials together a few times, so that we could share shipping. Because we were both ordering, our orders were rather large, and I received an email from Kate shortly after I placed one. She had a coupon code available that I hadn’t heard about and therefore hadn’t used. I had already paid for my order, but without my even asking, she refunded 15% of my money anyway. I was already hooked because of the great products, but that interaction sealed the deal. It’s abundantly clear that Kate is among those rare business owners who truly love what they do, care about their customers, and always remain true to their own business ethics. When it comes to items Kate carries I won’t buy anywhere else!

About Stubby Pencil Studio’s Eco Friendly Art Materials

For the lucky winner of this giveaway, Stubby Pencil Studio is offering a fantastic selection of goodies for you and/or your little artist, or for holiday gift giving. The package includes: a watercolor set, a box of FSC certified colored pencils, vegan and gluten free sidewalk chalk, a set of Glob natural blends paints, a sweet little holiday bag of crayon rocks, and even a set of four amazing, eco friendly highlighters that are great for any school aged child or adult. My favorite artist, two and a half year old Annabelle, and I have been enjoying all of these for the past few weeks and they are awesome!

Eco Friendly Colored Pencils

In the past, we have used and loved the Alpino Baby Pencils. Now that she’s just over two and a half, my daughter has developed an interest in letters and has been creating increasingly more deliberate and detailed drawings, so I was ready to offer her a set of standard sized pencils to replace her old ones. As I expected, these were a hit! Made from FSC Certified California Incense-cedar wood, they feel amazing in your hands and are such a beautiful sight, too. They’re the perfect colored pencil! The colors are rich and we’ve had no problems with breakage or anything else at all.

Watercolor  Preschool Set

As a former Montessori early childhood teacher, I have extensive experience with watercolors, and I have to tell you: I was never too crazy about them as a material for the youngest children. Of course all art materials are messy, and that’s okay – wonderful even. The thing with watercolors is that they tend to be frustratingly messy. There’s a fine line between wet enough to work properly and so wet that the colors are running into one another, and it’s not a line that preschoolers have an easy time walking. It’s a bummer when you’re trying to paint and your colors are running all over the place and mixing when you don’t mean for them to. It’s tough to remember to rinse your brush every time you want to switch colors, too. I seriously love these watercolors, though. The cakes of paint are much larger than on your standard craft store set of children’s watercolors, and the white space between them is larger as well, which means that even if things get real and there’s paint running all over, it’s harder for the colors to mix accidentally. Because the colors are so bright and the surface area so great, it’s also easy to see when you forget to rinse the brush, and there’s not nearly so irreversible a mess as with other sets when this happens either.

Natural Blends Paint

These paints from Glob are the only thing my daughter used prior to her introduction to watercolors a few weeks back, and we love them! They come in little packets of powder that you can mix with water to the desired thickness. There are so many things I love about them, too! The colors all come from food and plant sources and they smell wonderful. They’re not edible in the sense that they’re made to be eaten, but there’s absolutely nothing in them that I would worry about my toddler eating. I also love that you can mix only as much as you need, so there are no big containers to store. It’s great to be able to decide on the thickness of the paint, and alter it to suit your project. The powder is useful for coloring other things, like homemade play dough, too.  My daughter has always been big on putting things in her mouth, and I knew when I gave her something to paint with, she would inevitably be tasting it, so I have always been incredibly grateful for Glob paints. I’ll never forget the first time I turned my back when she was painting. I went to wash something at the sink and by the time I turned around again, she had gulped down the entire dish! I was so glad that I had chosen her first paints carefully, and I still think they’re pretty wonderful!

Kate also sells the most perfect little bamboo paint brushes that are just the right size for small hands. Annabelle is using one of hers in the photo above.

Veggie Sidewalk Chalk

We love this organic, veggie sidewalk chalk! It’s vegan, wheat free, sugar free, and lead and preservative free. Even though it’s not intended as food, it’s safe enough to eat, so there’s no need to worry about letting little ones explore and create with all five of their senses. The colors are fantastic, but I will say some of them aren’t quite as vivid as those found in conventional sidewalk chalk. I prefer more natural, muted colors to fluorescents anyhow, but everyone has different preferences. Either way, I feel like it’s well worth choosing this chalk over any other simply because of its ingredients. It’s the perfect size and shape for little hands, too! Not only does Annabelle love it, but so do our neighbors, who have loved drawing with her in our driveway.

Crayon Rocks

I’ve mentioned before how wonderful crayon rocks are for developing the pincer grasp in young children, but we also love them for their portability and beauty. I always keep a little bag of them in my purse as something to do when we find ourselves stuck waiting someplace. These particular crayons are also made of soy wax and colored with mineral tints, which means I don’t have to worry when my toddler takes a bite out of one. Oops! With my curious girl, I would be much more familiar with the good folks over at Poison Control if it weren’t for Stubby Pencil Studio.

I adore this little holiday set. It comes ready for gifting in a little green drawstring bag, with a ready to fill tag attached.

Eco Highlighters

It’s a bummer to admit, but as I have learned ways to live more sustainably, there are some things I’ve continued to use without even stopping to think that there might be alternatives. Seeing these little beauties was an “aha!” moment for me. I’m a list maker and I love using color to organize my work. I make an effort to avoid plastic consumption and exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) elsewhere in my life, but until I discovered these lovely wooden highlighter pencils, I was still color coding my grocery lists with things I really don’t want anywhere near my kitchen.

I was a tad skeptical about the idea of a highlighter in pencil form, but I love everything about these. The colors are highlighter bright, the pencils are chunky enough to work quickly, but not so chunky that you can’t create a fine line, and since there’s no ink, they can’t bleed through pages. I love the feel of the natural wood, too. I won’t ever go back to plastic highlighters again.

BUY IT!

You can purchase your own art materials and much more at Stubby Pencil Studio. The items on this list add up to a retail value of just under $60, but individual items start at as low as $4.95. For your holiday gift giving, you’ll surely appreciate Kate’s great selection of gifts under $10, too. Shipping is done through the USPS and is based on the size of your order, but starts at $4.95 for small domestic (US) orders.

And just for Natural Parents Network and Vibrant Wanderings readers, Stubby Pencil Studio is giving a 15% discount on all orders from now through November 30th. Enter code SAVE15 during the ordering process. Kate always seems to be offering fun freebies that would make excellent stocking stuffers, too.

Since we’re such Stubby Pencil Studio junkies, I have to give a shout out to some of our other favorite items. The  jumbo felt pens are the perfect marker for small hands. The caps go on and off easily, the short but wide shape is easy for little ones to hold, and the colors are beautiful! I love the range of colors in the set, too. We have had ours for well over a year and they’re showing no signs of running out of ink. The rich and smooth colors of the regular (not rock shaped, that is) soy wax crayons are a treat, and the beeswax crayons, which come in a perfect little cloth bag, are irresistible! They are the only crayon for which I think the word luxurious applies. I haven’t been displeased with a single thing from this shop, actually. Kate seems to have a knack for finding high quality materials you and your families will love!

WIN IT!

For your own chance to win a box of art materials from Stubby Pencil Studio, enter by leaving a comment and using our Rafflecopter system below. (Rafflecopter will be live November 1-25).

The winner will receive their own box of eco-friendly colored pencils, preschool watercolor set, box of natural blends paint, bag of veggie sidewalk chalk, holiday bag of crayon rocks, and set of eco highlighters. Contest is open worldwide, anywhere the US Postal Service Ships.

Our Rafflecopter entry system is now open.

MANDATORY ENTRY: In the box provided in the first Rafflecopter entry, tell us where you would have your prize shipped if you are one of the winners. You must enter your name and email address while leaving a comment in the Rafflecopter system for your entry to count.

Leave a valid email address so we can contact you if you win. Email addresses in Rafflecopter are not made publicly visible. Please leave the same valid email address in your mandatory comment so we can verify entries.

This is part of a larger giveaway hosted by Natural Parents Network. You may enter the whole giveaway at one site only, and we’ll be recording IP addresses to ensure that there are no duplicate entries. That said, please do visit and enjoy all of the participating sites!

Please note that each entrant can win only one prize, and NPN will be randomly assigning prizes to the winners. One of the giveaway questions asks which are your top five prizes so we can try to match winners to their preferences.

BONUS ENTRIES:
See the Rafflecopter entry system for bonus entries to increase your chance of winning after completing the mandatory entry. All bonus entries are entered directly into Rafflecopter. Give it a try, and email sponsorship {at} naturalparentsnetwork.com or leave a comment if you have any questions!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***

Thank you for your interest in the Natural Parents Network Gift Guide! We invite you to read the reviews of other participating bloggers and return to enter the giveaway between November 1 and 25. Many of the giveaway items are open worldwide!

Here are the participating sites and companies. (Reviews go live between October 25 and October 31, and all links will be live by November 1.) We’ve included any coupon codes the companies have offered so you can get your holiday shopping under way!

Publishing on Thursday, October 25, 2012

• From Ergobaby via A Little Bit of All of It — Win one of two Ergobaby Doll Carriers (ARV $25 x 2)
• From Poppy Soap Company via Fine and Fair — Win 1 of 3 a Mix & Match Organic Soap Sets (ARV $30)
  Shop now with coupon code delilah and get $10 off your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From Wild Arbutus via Anktangle — Win a Handmade Baby Hat or Plush Crocheted Toy (ARV $25)
  Shop now with coupon code NPNGIFTS10 and get 10% off all orders through December 31, 2012!
• From Lucy Locket Creations via The Artful Mama — Win a Dragon or Dinosaur De-tachable Tail (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code HANDMADE and get 15% off your purchase until November 30, 2012!
• From Job Description: Mommy via Code Name: Mama — Win 3 Pairs of Handmade Earrings (up to $45 ARV)
  Shop now with coupon code NPNJDM and get 15% off your purchase through December 15, 2012!
• From A Mother’s Boutique via Hobo Mama — Win a $75 Gift Certificate for Nursing & Maternity Wear
  Shop now with coupon code HOBO10 and get 10% off virtually any item in the store (certain exclusions apply) through November 25, 2012!
• From Terramor via ourfeminist{play}school — Win a jewelery gift set (ARV $30)
  Shop now with coupon code npn10 and get 10% off your Etsy purchase through November 25, 2012!

Publishing on Friday, October 26, 2012

• From Kid Culture via ourfeminist{play}school — Win a Superhero Cape for your Lil’ Superhero! (ARV $20)
• From Soapie Skyes via Living Peacefully with Children — Win a bottle of All Natural Balancing Shampoo (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code NATURALCHRISTMAS and get 25% off all orders through January 5, 2013!
• From The Babywearing Workout via MomeeeZen and True Confessions of a Real Mommy — Win 1 of 5 copies of Mama’s “Little” Personal Trainer (ARV $10 x 5)
  Shop now with coupon code NPN2012 and get 15% off your purchase between November 5 and December 24, 2012!
• From Wooly Topic via Our Crazy Corner of the World — Win a set of 6 Wool Rock Pods (ARV $36)
  Shop now with coupon code celebration10 and get 10% off your purchase from October 26, 2012, until December 30, 2012!
• From Yellow Elm via Mothers of Change — Win a handmade felted flower headband (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code HANDMADEHOLIDAY15 and get 15% off your purchase until December 31, 2012!
• From Intuition Physician via Mommying My Way — Win a Set of 2 Attachment Parenting-Related Children’s Stories (ARV $34)
• From Cashmere Cuddles via Amy Willa: Me, Mothering, and Making it All Work — Win a Cuddles for Kids Doll Carrier (ARV $25)
• From Sacred Rose Tea via A Little Bit of All of It — Win 1 box of Holiday Blend Organic Tea and a Tea Infuser (ARV $27)
• From Rock Paper Tree via Vibrant Wanderings — Win a $50 gift certificate good toward handcrafted items made with precious metals, crystals, and gemstones
  Shop now with coupon code TEN10TEN and get 10% off your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From Two Pink Hearts via Code Name: Mama — Win a $20 Gift Certificate for a fashion camera strap cover
  Shop now with coupon code holiday10 and get 10% off through December 31, 2012!
• From Kangaroo Care via Firmly Planted — Win a Nursing Necklace (ARV $25)!

Publishing on Saturday, October 27, 2012

• From The Enchanted Cupboard via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a $20 Gift Certificate to spend on wooden toys and dolls, custom wedding cake toppers, and more!
  Shop now with coupon code NPN and get 10% off your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From Jupiter’s Child, via Downside Up and Outside In — Win a beautiful hand dyed, hand spliced rainbow colored jump rope (ARV $25)
• From Born at Home Toys via That Mama Gretchen — Win a Fishing Set (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code THATMAMA and get 10% off all orders through November 25, 2012!
• From Monkey Mama Necklaces via I Thought I Knew Mama — Win a twiddle buster or twiddle teether pendant nursing necklace, a safe and distracting necklace perfect for little nurslings (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code ITIKM10 and get 10% off your purchase until November 30, 2012!
• From Averylee Kids via That Mama Gretchen — Win Baby Booties and an Owl Taggie (ARV $35)
  Shop now with coupon code FREEKIDS and get Free Shipping through November 25, 2012!
• From Knot Genie via Living Peacefully with Children — Win a Knot Genie Detangle Brush (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code living and get $4 off all orders through November 25, 2012!
• From Raising Green Kids via very, very fine — Win a $25 gift certificate to purchase green and eco-friendly items from bathtime to home decor!
• From BirchLeaf Designs via Hobo Mama — Win 2 Hand-Dyed Playsilks (ARV $26)
  Shop now with coupon code NPN and get 10% off through November 25, 2012!
• From SoRad via ourfeminist{play}school — Win a Ninja Sleep Set (ARV $40)
• From The Sugar Cone Shoppe via A Little Bit of All of It — Win a Mei Tai Doll Carrier (ARV $32)
  Shop now with coupon code 2012NPN and get free domestic shipping through November 25, 2012!
• From LeoandLola via Firmly Planted — Win a $50 Gift Card to spend on custom onesies, t-shirts, dresses, and many upcycled items!
  Shop now with coupon code NPNFREE and get free domestic shipping through November 25, 2012!

Publishing on Sunday, October 28, 2012

• From Anointment via MomeeeZen — Win Baby Balm, Baby Oil, Calendula Soap and a Soap Scrubbie (ARV $30)
  Shop now with coupon code npnreview and orders over $50 get free shipping to US/Canada and a free gift through December 31, 2012!
• From Dirty Diva Soaps via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a set of three soaps (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code Hybridrastamama and get 10% off your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From KR Dyeworks viaDownside Up And Outside In — Win a $25 gift certificate to purchase handpainted yarn, knitting patterns, or handknit shawls and scarves!
  Shop now with coupon code NPN20 and get 20% off your order November 1-30, 2012!
• From moksa organics via ourfeminist{play}school — Win a $30 gift certificate to purchase a wide variety of organic soaps and body care products!
  Shop now with coupon code naturalparenting and get 30% off your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From Sophisticated Play Apparel via Living Peacefully with Children — Win a Matching Set of Toddler Wrist Warmers and Cowl (ARV $34)
  Shop now with coupon code livingpeacefully and get 15% off all orders through January 5, 2013!
• From Dominna via Code Name: Mama — Win a $30 Gift Certificate toward handmade Latvian toys
• From Easy Lunchboxes via Firmly Planted — Win a Set of Food Storage Containers and a Lunch Bag (ARV $22)!
• From Anktangle Creations via A Little Bit of All of It — Win a $20 gift certificate to spend on handmade gifts including baby leggings, wool dryer balls, wool diaper covers, ear warmers, and more!
• From Howells Natural Wood Products via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a set of solid, natural building blocks (ARV $33)
  Shop now with coupon code HRM10 and get 10% off your purchase through November 25, 2012!

Publishing on Monday, October 29, 2012

• From Bent River Bobbins via Firmly Planted — Win a $20 Gift Certificate to buy high quality, reusable bags and sandwich wraps, baby toys, and more!
• From Serious Puzzles via Momma Jorje — Win a Jumbo Numbers – 20pc Wooden Puzzle By Melissa & Doug (ARV $20)
• From Hybrid Rasta Mama via Diary of a First Child — Win one of three copies of the eBook ‘Coconut Oil For Your Skin’(ARV $7 x 3)
• From Libre Tea via The Hippie Housewife — Win a Libre glass ’n poly Original Tea Glass (ARV $24)
• From Texture Clothing via very, very fine — Win a Comfy Skirt (ARV $72)
  Shop now with coupon code veryfineship and receive free shipping on all orders November 29, 2012!
• From Presence Parenting via Anktangle — Win a 60-Minute Nurturing Presence Session(ARV $50)!
  Shop now with coupon code NPN50 and receive 50% off your own Nurturing Presence Sessions through November 30, 2012!
• From Dionna Ford via I Thought I Knew Mama — Win 1 of 2 copies of For My Children: A Mother’s Journal of Memories, Wishes and Wisdom, a beautiful way for a mother to pass along her memories (ARV $15 x 2)
• From Nushkie via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a 54 piece Jigsaw Puzzle of your choice (ARV $24)
• From Barefoot Books via Downside Up And Outside In — Win a book of your choosing from independent children’s book publishers, Barefoot Books! (ARV $25)
• From Prima Princessa via Hobo Mama — Win one of 3 copies of Prima Princessa Presents: The Nutcracker kids ballet DVD (ARV $7 x 3)
• From Wise Daughters Craft Market via ourfeminist{play}school — Win a set of wooden play money! (ARV $20)
• From Wooly Moss Roots via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win your all natural Tooth Powder, Magical Healing Salve, and a Smudging Bundle (ARV $34)
  Shop now with coupon code HYBRIDRASTAMAMA15 and get 15% off your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From Glass Dharma via Living Peacefully with Children — Win a $25 Gift Certificate to purchase beautiful, reusable glass straws and straw sets.
• From Earthslings via Code Name: Mama — Win a $35 Gift Certificate toward pouch slings, dolls, dress-up costumes, and more
  Shop now with coupon code KIDS2012 and get 10% off through December 31, 2012!
• From Moby via A Little Bit of All of It — Win a Mini Moby Doll Carrier and Knot Hat (ARV $21)
  Shop now with coupon code blogger2012 and get 10% off one item through November 25, 2012!
• From Yarns and Storys via Our Crazy Corner of the World — Win a store credit worth $30, for an item of your choice at Yarns and Storys, including hand spun and hand-dyed fibers, hats, scarves and other clothing items.
  Shop now with coupon code NPN and get 10% off your purchase until November 25, 2012!

Publishing on Tuesday, October 30, 2012

• From Desert Dye Works via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a $30 Gift Certificate to spend on playsilks in all sizes and colors, silk dress-up items, or prayer flags!
• From Playful Planet via Presence Parenting — Win a Storyland Yoga DVD (ARV $15)
  Shop now with coupon code NPN20 and get 20% off of your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From Stubby Pencil Studio via Vibrant Wanderings — Win $60 worth of Eco Friendly Art Materials. (ARV $60)
  Shop now with coupon code SAVE15 and get 15% off of your purchase through November 30, 2012!
• From Earthfaeries Homebrewed Soap via Firmly Planted — Win a $20 Gift Card to buy home-brewed soaps and perfumes as well as other handmade goods!
• From Dysfunction Designs via The Hippie Housewife — Win a $20 Gift Certificate to buy handmade necklaces and bracelets for women and men.
  Shop now with coupon code NATGIFTS and get 5% off all orders through December 31, 2012!
• From MonCherPug via The Artful Mama — Win a Organic Miniature Pug (ARV $45)
• From doTERRA via MomeeeZen — Win a $20 gift card to spend on essential oils & a free phone consultation with Patti Tinholt to help you learn which Essential Oils are right for you!
  Shop now and for any purchases over $100, receive $50 towards your next purchase.
• From Snapdragon Fortress via Anktangle — Win a Knit Wool Kitten (ARV $20)!
• From Pip & Bean via Hobo Mama — Win a Superhero Kit: Reversible Cape, Mask, and Arm Bands (ARV $25)
• From The Tea Spot via A Little Bit of All of It — Win a Steeping Cup and an Organic Tea Sampler (ARV $44)
  Shop now with coupon code naturalparents and get 15% off their order from November 1-25, 2012!
• From Kid Culture via ourfeminist{play}school — Win a family set of Play Me Mama Crafts’ organic hankies! (ARV $24)
• From Z-Man Games via Living Peacefully with Children — 2 Winners will receive a copy of the board game Mondo (ARV $40 x 2)
• From Mama May I via Code Name: Mama — Win a Story Starters Game (ARV $25)
  Shop now with coupon code NPNHOLIDAY and get 10% off through December 31, 2012!
• From Maggie’s Naturals via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a 6-pack Variety Food Coloring Package (ARV $60)

Publishing on Wednesday, October 31, 2012

• From Olive Shoot Institute via Firmly Planted — Win Extreme 18X Soap Nut Liquid Concentrate and a Guinea Pig Doll (ARV $40)!
• From Flying Bird Botanicals via very, very fine — Win a $25 gift certificate to purchase artisan tea blends, rich drinking chocolates, or organic body and baby care products!
• From Lauren Wayne via ourfeminist{play}school, win 1 of 2 copies of Poetry of a Hobo Mama: The First Three Years (ARV $10 x 2)
  Shop now with coupon code SAP84AYJ and get 20% off all orders of the trade paperback at the author’s store through December 31, 2012!
• From Elemental Handcrafts via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a personalized wooden ball/spoon set with a magnet (ARV $33)
• From Worts and Cunning Apothecary via Living Peacefully with Children — Win a Happy Homestead Remedy Kit (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code NATURALWORT and get 10% off all orders through November 25, 2012!
• From Destany Fenton Fine Art via Code Name: Mama — Win an original 12×16 portrait (ARV $220)
• From RainbowSouffle via A Little Bit of All of It — Win a $20 Gift Certificate to spend on a doll ring sling, handmade toys, costume items, and more!
  Shop now with coupon code FREESHIP and get free shipping on any item through November 25, 2012!