Rainforest Party Pinata and Invitation

Don't forget to link up to my Marvelous Mess party.... I'll be choosing one project to feature on my sidebar for a week!!
My Munchkin chose a rain forest theme for a birthday party this year. It was funny that it was the theme....it happened this past Sunday when Irene came to visit us. We had a tropical rain forest party during a tropical storm.  :-) 

For the invitations I made something very simple using a leafy stamp and a butterfly stamp on some blank cards (one of my hobbies for a while has been to make my own invitations, fancy or not-so-fancy):

To match the card I made a Pinata with tissue paper and glue/water:

I was in love with this pinata. It was so simple to make....blue, green, and yellow tissue paper pasted onto the balloon with watered down glue. I'll tell you....this pinata was a tough one....it took 18 kids to bring it down. :-)

I shared this post at the following funky linky parties:

Show and Tell @ Blue Cricket Designs

Prefense Giveaway!!

Being a Mom and worrying about germs is one thing.....being a Mom with OCD worrying about germs is another. I take it to a whole new level. :-) I got the opportunity to review a new hand sanitizer recently and I *jumped* on it. Munchkin is back to school now and I am on that germ-worrying train. Have you ever heard of Prefense?

Prefense is just like the tag line says in the picture above. One spray lasts all day.....and it doesn't contain any alcohol!! Yay!! I am NOT a big fan of using regular hand sanitizers because of the alcohol (ethanol) in them.......If a child were to ingest a 2 oz bottle it would be like drinking 4 shots of vodka (thank you Dr. Gupta)!!!! SO, I have always avoided them and used the natural, essential oil types. No problem there...and my hands smell delicious. But, they don't quite get the job done like Prefense. Here's why it works:

**Prefense contains a type of silica complex that coats the hands and lasts for up to Ten Washings!! Ths coating of silica is like a spikey invisible glove that pops the bacterial walls of all the germs you regularly come in contact with. **

Cool idea, huh? I'm all for popping bacterial walls. I also checked out it's ingredients to see the level of toxicity present. The most problem causing agent it contains is cocamidopropyl betaine....which is known as a possible skin irritant in some cases. Here are is the complete list of ingredients:

Amosilq Silica Complex, water, cocamidopropyl betaine, and essential oil fragrance

From what I can tell, the Amosilq Silica Complex is just a type of silica coating for the hands....people ingest silica complex pills as part of a daily routine. I'm DEFINITELY not saying you should ingest this....but I do believe this product to be quite safe compared to regular hand sanitizers!! You can buy it (for a great price) right on their site HERE or you can find them on Amazon HERE.

Now, I'd like to give one away to you!! It's an 8oz bottle of Prefense with 640 sprays in it.....if you kept up with one spray a day you would have this product for almost two years. With school season starting up, I think now is a GREAT time to start a routine of germ prevention!!

This contest is open to US residents only.

The contest ends on Friday, September 9th, at 11:59 EST

To enter this contest:

*(Mandatory) Leave a comment on this blog post

*(Optional) Like Marvelously Messy on Facebook

Speaking of facebook....you can find Prefense on there and on twitter:

Facebook

Twitter

I did receive compensation for this review in the form of product. All opinions are my own and this post is written entirely in my own words.

Back to School Clothing

Have you ever seen Tea Collection clothing? I just discovered them today and I am totally in love!! They have the best boys and girls clothing. They have such a great ethnic flair....these outfits aren't like anybody else's. Right now their back to school clothing is focused on Modern Mexico. The patterns are fantastic....

I love the look of the girls clothing in particular. It is feminine but not ridiculous (i.e. hot pink with frills) and playful. These clothes will take a kiddo from play date to dining out. I love long dresses and legging combos. The short sleeved dresses can just be layered with long sleeve shirts through the winter!! That's a cost effective outfit!!

The goal behind Tea company is to bring a little of the world to our dressers.....there by making the world a little less "distant" and a little more friendly. They find their inspiration in the many ways the people of a region express themselves. It's such a cool idea for a clothing company.

Their prices rival Gymboree but are still on the expensive side....look for deals when you can find them. Though I don't own any pieces of their clothing (Yet....) I can bet they are well made and of good quality fabric, like Gymboree. For the a little more money than a cheap outfit....you can get a piece of clothing that will last your munchkin much longer. I hope you have good luck shopping at Tea Company!!