GIVEAWAY Poppy'sWickedGarden Famous Poppy Longstockings and Book! CLOSED

AND THE WINNER IS MEEYEEHERE! #42 chosen by random.org (out of 287!)

Poppy's Wicked Garden is the amazing shop of Poppy who makes incredible, one of a kind creations in her beachfront cottage outside of Cleveland. Poppy's shop is celebrating her 4 year Etsy- anniversary this week!


With her two boys, an amazing fiancee (and many pets) at her side Poppy creates some of the most original clothing you will find anywhere including her famous Poppy longstockings!

Poppy has been sewing her entire life - her work is serged to last for years and most of her fabrics are upcycled or factory thrift (the extra fabric that is not used and would otherwise be thrown out from big business) so Poppy is an eco-friendly shop, too!

Poppy also sews aprons and home accesories at PoppysGardenGate, super fun tutus and junior clothing at XPoppysWickedGardenX and handmade kid's boutique clothing at PoppysSprouts!

We are "sew" lucky to have one of her amazing creations for this week's giveaway!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive a pair of Poppy Longstockings (one size fits small-large or a child's size fits 5-10) and the wonderful Pippi Longstocking book!



HOW TO WIN:

Visit Poppy's Wicked Garden, Poppy's Garden Gate, XPoppy'sWickedGardenX or Poppy's Sprouts and check out Poppy's amazing work- then come back here and leave a comment letting her know which piece is your favorite!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

Enter by midnight, Sunday July 18th! Good luck! CLOSED

Happy 4th of July! plus some green-grilling tips from Treehugger

HCAs form in meats and fish cooked at high temperatures when amino acids and creatine (a chemical in muscle) react. Another nasty culprit, PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) form when fat drips off the meat into the flame or heating element. PAHs rise in the smoke and deposit on the food.

Yeah, lots of delicious stuff is bad for us.

Here's some steps to greener grilling with lower or no carcinogenic risk:

1. Flip meat frequently when cooking to prevent HCAs from forming.
2. Raise grilling surface from the heat source to reduce the temperature and black char.
3. Cook at lower temperatures.
4. Marinate meats to decrease HCA formation up to 96 percent.
5. Pre-cook meats to limit exposure on the grill.
6. Trim fat off meat and grill leaner cuts that drip less to reduce exposure to PAHs.
7. Spread foil on or under the grill to reduce dripping fat that causes PAHs. 
8. Grill veggie burgers, vegetables and fruits (HCAs only forms on muscle meats). Note: organ meat (liver), eggs, and tofu have little to no HCA content.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone!

photo by gerald l. campbell- stars and stripes forever