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Giveaway: $30 Gift Certificate from Desert Dye Works ($30 ARV) and a 6 Pack of Natural Food Coloring from Maggie’s Naturals ($60 ARV) {11/25: Worldwide}

October 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

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.

Natural Parents Network Holiday Gift Guide

Welcome to the Natural Parents Network Holiday Gift Guide!

Natural Parents Network, Hybrid Rasta Mama, 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.

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Today I would like to introduce you to…
Desert Dye Works and Maggie’s Naturals


First Up – Desert Dye Works

I love a good playsilk! I really do. It can be used for so many things. Really, the playsilks outer limits are as far as they imagination will take them!

You can find playsilks in many shops. But to be honest, most end up looking all the same. I mean, even I can dye a basic playsilk. Shoot, even Tiny can dye a basic playsilk. Finding an artist that makes a playsilk come alive is a rare find!

When I discovered Desert Dye Works, I was ecstatic! One look around the shop and you know you have discovered a gem! Kathy, the silk artist has a keen eye for color and when she creates her silks, magic happens! The blending of colors is unique; the designs refreshing!

What Can You Find At Desert Dye Works?

Hand dyed playsilks, playsilk dress up, silk scarves, prayer lags, and tie dye!

Hand-dyed items are dyed using quality Procion dyes. These are environmentally low-impact dyes. They give vibrant colors that are long-lasting and fade resistant because they actually become part of the fabric rather than just coloring the surface of the fabric.

Kathy uses a variety of silk and sizes to create her playsilks and scarves. However, most of what she uses is a selection of the 8mm Habotai scarves, including the 21inch, 35inch, and 45inch scarves. She also uses cotton and other natural fiber fabrics as a palette for a rainbow of colors and designs.

So What Exactly Do I Own From Desert Dye Works?

Well, playsilks! Imagine that! However, I own some really unique silks including a couple of Kathy’s Mandala playsilks. One adorns my meditation corner (and is in a rasta colorway – shocking I know)! Another is hanging in our hall bathroom. It’s gorgeous and well, a bathroom needs ambiance too! We also have several of the small silks, all of which are in heavy rotation in Tiny’s play! My mom even has several of Kathy’s playsilks at her house.

Recently, I purchased a new addition to Desert Dye Works. When I saw the alphabet prayer flags, I knew we had to have them! Here is a little bit about the flags from Kathy:

This banner is inspired by the traditional prayer flags. The whole alphabet is ready and waiting for little minds to learn it. The individual flags vary in size from 3″x3″ to 4″x5″ and are unhemmed like traditional prayer flags. Each flag is hand dyed then printed with hand cut stencils using a method of removing the dye instead of using ink. The flags are strung into a bunting using a hand dyed cotton bias ribbon tape.

The banner is divided into three sections, so that it can be tied all together to make one long banner or hung separately, as seen in the images. Each section has approximately 18 inches of ribbon on either end to allow for easy tying. The approximate length of each banner section, letter to letter is:

  • A to G- 28 inches(7 flags)
  • H to P- 36 inches(9 flags)
  • Q to Z- 42 inches(10 flags)

Let me tell you – the alphabet prayer flags are gorgeous and look great hanging in Tiny’s room. While I am not “teaching” Tiny the alphabet any time soon, these flags allow her to see the alphabet and inquire about it when the mood strikes her. So far, she is just casually interacting with them. She basically wants to see the letters than make up her name. The real one. And Tiny. Because I really do call her that!

As part of this giveaway, Kathy sent me a set of the three Ocean themed playsilks! These are gorgeous both in the dyed patterns on the silks but also with the sea creature prints that adorn them! Tiny and I have been having all kinds of ocean adventures with these. As per the usual, they are very high quality and will withstand years of Tiny’s torture enjoyment.

Want to win? Desert Dye Works is offering one lucky winner a $30 gift certificate which can be used on anything in the shop! 

Stay Connected To Desert Dye Works:

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Next Up – Maggie’s Naturals



I don’t know about you but there is NO WAY on earth that I am using any of those disgusting synthetic food dyes out there. If you do not know why they are seriously dangerous for you to consume, check out this site for more information. Mind. Blowing.

Anyway – I have been on the hunt for a natural food dye that I can have on hand and that actually works well! After I consulted with the natural mama community, I discovered Maggie’s Naturals. Intrigued, I immediately asked to review their dyes!

What Can You Find At Maggie’s Naturals?

You will find food coloring made from all natural and organic plant, fruit and vegetable extracts. The best part is that all the dyes are gluten free!

Maggie’s Naturals is available in six colors:

  • Blue: blue gardenia extract, organic vegetable glycerin, citric acid
  • Brown: caramelized sugar, organic vegetable glycerin, citric acid
  • Green: green gardenia extract, spinach, parsley, organic vegetable glycerin, citric acid
  • Pink: beets, sweet potato, organic vegetable glycerin, citric acid
  • Orange: annatto seed, organic vegetable glycerin, citric acid
  • Yellow: curcumin, organic vegetable glycerin, citric acid

So What Exactly Did I Review From Maggie’s Naturals?


Well, I think it is obvious…I reviewed the food coloring!

I decided to take a different approach to this review and test the food coloring not only on food but also on silks. I figured that these dyes were safer to use than the dyes I typically use on playsilks. So why not?

Let’s talk about my coconut cake first! I used this recipe and made cupcakes instead of the cake. I added Maggie’s Naturals to the batter itself and then also to the coconut cream frosting!

The colors turned out gorgeous. I used a lot less than I thought I would have to as well. So this actually is a really cost effective healthy food coloring option!

I will admit that I do not often use food coloring in my baking so this was pretty fun! I think I will be adding color to my creations more often!

About those silks…

Totally random decision on my part but Tiny and I were bored so I thought that we would give this a shot. I prepared my playsilks as I normally do, then created a tie dye type pattern with rubber bands. We used a super small silk for the purposes of this review since I wasn’t sure how it would work out.

Instead of describing the results, let me show you…

Pretty awesome right? Tiny did all the dying. I let her use a little dropper and she picked out her color scheme and went to work! I think it is pretty cool that you can use these dyes for more than just food! The best part is that they help up in the wash. Of course I used my dye setting solution but even so, I was actually surprised that they did not fade or wash out!

Want to win? Maggie is offering one lucky winner a 6 pack of their natural food coloring! Enter using Rafflecopter.  

Stay Connected To Maggie’s Naturals:

Be Sure To Check Out Their Other Site:

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

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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

Publishing on Friday, October 26, 2012

Publishing on Saturday, October 27, 2012

Publishing on Sunday, October 28, 2012

Publishing on Monday, October 29, 2012

Publishing on Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Publishing on Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Disclosure: Our reviewer received a sample product
for review purposes.
Some links are affiliate links.
We try to seek out only products we think you would find
relevant and useful to your life as a natural parent.
If we don’t like a product, we won’t be recommending it to you.
See our full disclosure policy here.

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