Eco-Friendly Stationery from Night Owl Paper Goods [Review]

Cute little owls with their big eyes make my heart smile.

Seeing the face of others when they receive beautiful stationery makes me smile.

What if someone put the two together, threw in some handmade love and added a giveaway as a bonus.

Look no further because this post is full of smiles,

Thanks to Night Owl Paper Goods!

Smile #1: The Little Details. Customized fabric bags where the location states "Birmingham, OWLabama", owl stickers, and colourful matching envelopes. Here's a bit more information about the people behind the details;

With a passion for fine craftsmanship, detail and the environment, Alan Henderson and Jennifer Tatham went out on a limb to start a stationery company devoted to creating handmade letterpress cards and eco-chic wooden goodies.

The duo finds inspiration in the versatile works of Swedish and American folk artists, British haberdashers, as well as the cute critters and colossal colors that Mother Nature provides daily.

I'm a list maker. In turn, I have tons of little, ugly pads of paper everywhere. They're the flimsy kind so the pages often get torn off. Only the important pages. They've even been known to get eaten by the "shuffle of papers gremlins" that are on my desk. That's a disaster of the past with

Smile #2: The Journal and matching notebook.

The journal measures 7.5x5.5", contains a sturdy 5/8" wire spiral binding, lined paper-double sided and has a cover made of wood! Like all their products, it's eco-friendly as it's made from sustainably harvested wood. I love that the wood grain is visible as it adds to the folksy nature of the designs and makes the colours pop. From now on, my lists are styling at the top of the pile.

Smile #3: A Wooden Card? Have you ever received one because I haven't. The closest I've come is one made of cardstock so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Even when they arrived, I thought, they're so thin, they'll probably snap in two. As you can see from the picture, like the journal cover, they're really flexible. Even when The Kids got a hold of them, they didn't break. And the wood felt so smooth.

They offer pre-existing greeting cards for a variety of occasions such as; birthdays, anniversaries and thank yous. If you don't see something in your style, create your own for as little as only $4 (depends on quantity)!

I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of these products and pleased to see that they were made in North America. I am very excited to hand deliver the first one.

Connect with Night Owl Paper Goods!

Website | Facebook | Twitter.

Tweet Share this Eco-friendly and Folksy company!

This post originally included a giveaway. It has since ended and the confirmed winner was Beth R.

Disclosure: Journeys of The Zoo received a copy of this product(s) that enabled us to complete this review.

  Besos, The Zoo

Simplify Life with Glow Baby’s First Journals {#Giveaway} CAN, 3/18

Baby brain makes you forget things.

Baby brain makes you forget things (smile).

New parents are often pushed to their limits, with lack of rest, stress and an overwhelming sense of insecurity.


Glow Baby understands this and can help alleviate some of this pressure, especially in the early days. By keeping adequate track of your baby's activities with their journals, you can know when to seek help and when you and your baby are on the right track.

Piece of Mind is Only a Journal Entry Away.

Glow Baby is a Canadian company whose focus is providing unique and user-friendly scheduling tools for today's busy parents. Glow Baby products are all about helping parents save time and reduce the stress of the day to day. Glow Baby Journals, Calendars and Lists help parents keep track of daily activities such as; feeding, sleeping, diapering, bathing, first foods by type, meal planning, family activities, general to do lists for daily tasks, groceries etc. All Glow Baby products are designed with both function and fashion in mind.

After the birth of my first daughter, my in-laws were visiting and helping with the supplemental feeding of formula. It would have been really handy for everyone involved to have an organized system like the "Baby’s First Journal" for recording feedings and diaper changes.

The journal is printed in Canada and contains over three months of pages. It can easily fit in a diaper bag or purse and is coil-bound so it lies flat when opened. A real convenience when writing with only one hand! I like that there is space to record both breast and bottle feeding as we've had to do a bit of both this time around as well.

Nursing mothers that are concerned about their food intake affecting baby's stomach could also easily use the "notes" section on each page to track what they themselves eat, in order to identify any issues. I especially loved the checkbox for "vitamins" which I can never keep track of.

Things got really interesting last time when we introduced solid foods so I was excited to also get a chance to review the Baby’s First Foods journal.

The journal is laid out by food group (Grain, Veggie, Fruit, Protein, Dairy and Snack) and includes a sample page for suggested use. A parent or caregiver can track the foods tried, the texture, child's reaction and any sensitivities. Again, there is space on each page for notes.

Another useful tool in our home are the meal planning and favourite recipes sections. They help with variety in my meals and ensure that I'm not forgetting any important foods. I'd find it useful to have a list of items we play to try so I'll be adding that checklist to my journal.

Overall, I found both journals very helpful and easy to use. They would be a useful addition to any parents collection of baby-care tools, especially those that have low birth-weight (slow-growing) kids like The Zoo or ones with other caregivers. Knowledge transfer made easy with journals from Glow Baby!

Enter to WIN Two Glow Baby Journals!

Never too Late to Say "Thank You" with Grace Announcements.

My parents have always taught me to be polite. That included saying "please and thank you", behaving when out in public and sending out thank you notes. There was probably a whole lot more...

Sending out thank you notes was just as important as the others and started before I could even write. At that time, my parents would either sign my name or trace my hand and let me draw a picture.

Once I learned to write, I would send out my own cards, usually handmade. Nanna kept a bunch and it's fun to try and decipher them.

As I grew, my days were filled with teenage pursuits which lead me to procrastinate. Sometimes I would delay writing a note for several months.

Nanna would remind me that it was "Never too late to say Thank you".

Never.

To this day, I send out thank you notes. Maybe not as many as I should but I know what it feels like to receive one so I try my best.

When I found Lindsay's Company, Grace Announcements on Pinterest, I knew that her personalized cards were perfect for The Zoo.

Much Anticipated Review of my Mailbox Contents

Here's another installment of the much anticipated, never duplicated (but often attempted) insanity that is our mailbox.

1. JustBYou
This story of compassion starts with a "win by default". Some things are not a coincidence.

My prize, one personalized dog tag! Note that personalized/monogrammed items are currently right up there with my love of collecting buttons and sewing machines (note to self, give up the sewing machine obsession and exchange it for something smaller). Anyways, a lovely, personalized dog tag. What to put on it?

I hummed and hawed and finally, I decided to ask the artist herself, Kim (well actually, her daughter is the artist but work with me here). Kim made things a lot easier (or tougher depending on how you look at it) by offering me THREE dog tags. Wow! I immediately knew that I wanted a "Zoo" themed one and one for Alexander.

With the help of Kim and her daughter, they designed and hand-stamped (how neat is that) the following two tags (in the end I felt that three would be too many). Sorry about the poor picture quality (I think I've lost my credibility as I've blamed the problem on the camera too many times).

When I received them, I knew right away that I wanted to put them on my keychain. To have them with me all the time. I shared this sentiment with Kim as I wanted her to know how important they were to me. Her response; so as not to minimize any heartache over possibly losing my tags, her daughter would make me a second set for safe keeping (on Alexander's shelf). Meeting these kind souls was no coincidence!

For those of you that don't know the quote reference, it was on Alexander's baptism certificate. We didn't choose it ourselves but it has come to mean so much.

You'd think that having the tags rubbing up against my keys and purse items would make them all scratched but they're holding up nicely. Besides, I want them to look and feel loved (yes, I just wrote that, see, I'm a softie).

If you have any need for anything, you should check out Kim's etsy shop, Just By U as they sell everything but the kitchen sink including Candy (hello, Praline Cashews, yum), cards and suncatchers. Something for everyone!

2. Tweet Heart
I’m sure you've noticed the prominent use of our "Z" logo. I made it myself. I know hard to believe that it wasn't made by a professional (I get that all the time, smile). When I won a $25 gift certificate for wall art, I knew that something "Zoo themed" was in our future.

With the patience of a giant, Sunny worked with me to create a custom piece of genius. The purpose behind the greatness was that I will mount the vinyl lettering on particle board, frame it and hang in on the wall. The advantage of this is that I can take it with us when we move. No plans yet but it’s inevitable, we're "The Zoo"...

So, pretend that what I described above has been done. Doesn't it look great! If I waited for my vision to be complete, I wouldn't get out this post. Ed just suggested that we put it on our front door (that has a large glass panel), it would fit perfectly...

Bare walls? Need a simple and affordable change on a budget? Don’t know what you want but know you want something? Stop by Sunny’s shop, Tweet Heart and look around. You will not be disappointed with the process, price or quality (I got all this for $25 and it included shipping!).

3. Brandy Cattoor
When Brandy a.k.a. Artist Extraordinaire told me that I had won a 3.5" x 2.5" oil on canvas portrait, I knew exactly which picture I would pick.

We have a bunch of pictures of Alexander but the one (in the middle) stands out as our favourite. The really neat thing is that we have the exact same pose and proportion of one of Max. Don’t they look identical (note to readers, they are identical).

I emailed Brandy the picture with a request to make it look like he didn't have tubes/was in the hospital. I felt badly asking her to paint a picture of a child that had passed away (although not in this picture) and I told her so. She was compassionate but did not seem concerned that she wasn't up to the challenge.

We are so pleased with the results. Can you believe that this picture was painted by hand! I can't put into words how much it means to have a tangible picture of Alexander looking back at me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

If you have any portrait requirements or would love a beautiful piece of art, please stop by Brandy's Shop and take a look around.

4. The Orange WindMill
I'm running a social experiment. It's a surprise.

What I can tell you is that you should get a good look at this journal because you might not see it again for a long time (if ever).

Why get all excited about a journal? Well, this isn't any ordinary journal. Besides the fact that it's going to change the world as we know it (okay, maybe not but I like to think BIG), it's made from leather and was hand stiched by Shirley in Hamilton (yah, another Canadian)! See, no ordinary journal.

Want to look like the consummate professional? Check out all the different colours and sizes of journals and other business-like things in Shirley's Shop. Support Canadian!

Thank you So Much!

  Besos, The Zoo