Over the past week, the news has been saturated with coverage on the devastating tsunami and earthquake in Japan. Of course, we’ve seen the commercials and the Tweets about how to donate with a text message, and that’s a really great and easy way to help out (more about that here). Though, there are also some unexpected ways to help the rescue and cleanup effort with your wallet. One of these unexpected ways to give is simply buying from certain Etsy sellers who are donating their proceeds to charities to help Japan! For this edition of Etsy Thursday, we’ve rounded up a few products from Etsy from which the proceeds go directly to reputable and well-known charities aiding in rescue and cleanup effort in Japan.

Help Japan | PerfectTwo | Canadian Red Cross

Kitted Bow Hair Clip | Little Honey Pies | American Red Cross

Hand Stamped Metal Cuff | Maxington Bear | Global Giving

Gift Tags | Pretty Petals Paper | American Red Cross

Lotus Teardrop Necklace | Shiho Yamashita | Direct Relief International

There are hundreds of Etsy sellers donating their proceeds to the Japan relief effort and it’s so great to see the creative community come together during this time. To view more Etsy items, just type “Japan” in the search bar. Do you have a favorite Help Japan Etsy item or seller? Share it with us and the readers in the comment section…

We’re busy getting the guest room Grandparent-ready. Well, as much as possible, anyway. We’re still down one lamp and two side tables, not to mention the situation with the non-white chair. Right now, we’re working on getting the bed “all inviting-looking and cozy,” as Ashley calls it. Ashley’s testing out a few decorative pillow choices, but here’s a sneak peek of what it’s looking like now…

Ordinarily, we are white, 100% cotton, wrinkle-free sheets kind of people. Our favorites were at Bed Bath & Beyond but we were told they don’t carry them anymore. Rumor has it that Target now carries something similar, but we haven’t had a chance to check those out yet. During our trip to Tuesday Morning this past weekend, we found 100% Bamboo sheets. Even though we felt like we were totally cheating on our tried-and-true 100% cotton bedding, we thought it would be fun to try something different in the guest room. Some of you reading this might be thinking, “Um, bamboo sheets have been around forever.” I guess maybe we’ve been too stuck in 100% Cotton Land to notice them. Even though we didn’t know too much — actually, anything — about bamboo sheets, we decided to go ahead and put them in our shopping basket. After all, the discount was pretty awesome (the duvet set was originally $300, on sale for $89.99 and the sheets were originally $325, marked down to $89.99).

When we opened up the packages, we realized that bamboo sheets are really soft and almost silk-like. We decided to turn to Google for answers our bamboo curiosities. Here are the facts:

• Bamboo textiles are made from Moso bamboo — not the same kind pandas like to chow down on.
• Bamboo is Earth-friendly and 100% biodegradable.
• Because bamboo is comprised of fibers with lots of little holes and gaps, it’s really, really good at pulling moisture away from anything it comes in contact with. When bamboo is made into fabric form, it wicks moisture away from your skin, which keeps you cool and dry.
• Dust mite resistant.
• UV Rays don’t get through Bamboo. Only .06% of UV rays get through Bamboo fabric. Cotton lets 25% through.  That’s not really all that important for sheets, but apparently bamboo shirts are pretty awesome!

• Bamboo yarn is very, very fine.  Thus thread counts for bamboo vs. cotton aren’t exactly apples-to-apples.  If you have a sheet with a 250 thread count construction, it’s equal to the softness of a 1000 thread count fine cotton sheet.
• Bamboo stays 2 to 3 degrees cooler than cotton.
• Bamboo fibers are naturally anti-bacterial and contain an agent, called ‘”bamboo kunh” which prevents bacteria from cultivating. They also resist odor and stay fresh longer.

Once we washed the sheets, and put them on the bed, we were amazed at how soft they were (even softer than before they were washed). Like, silk, cashmere kind of soft! We’re anxious to hear the feedback from Ashley’s grandparents as to how they sleep.

Do you own bamboo sheets? Share your bamboo experience with us in the comments section…

Bamboo photo found here.

Today, we are so very excited to share our very first giveaway here at 7HL! We aren’t planning on making this a weekly feature but we thought it would be fun to do a giveaway every now and then when something cool comes across our e-mail inbox, right? So, without further ado, let’s get to the goods…

The super kind ladies at Pinwheel Press are giving one of our lucky readers a set of their stylish, yet oh so convenient, custom calling cards. Long gone are the days of fumbling your way through your purse for a pen and paper. Just whip out one of these handy dandy calling cards from Pinwheel Press. They are a great way to give out your contact information for play dates, your blog, or even your own home business.

One lucky winner will receive 24 custom calling cards in the design and color of their choice (my personal favorite: Chevy Love). To spice things up a bit, we’re giving you TWO ways to win.

Here are the details…

PRIZE: 1 Set of Custom Calling Cards from Pinwheel Press in the color and design of your choice
2 WAYS TO ENTER: 1) Leave a comment telling us your favorite Pinwheel Press Calling Card design (check out the designs here). 2) “Like” Pinwheel Press on Facebook and come back here and leave a second comment letting us know. 
NUMBER OF WINNERS: One, Uno, Un, Eins… you get the picture.
GIVEAWAY WRAPS UP: Friday, March 18th @ Midnight EST
LOGISTIC TALK: To keep things fair and square, up to two entries per email address. The winner will be selected using Random.org and will be announced right here on Saturday, March 19th. Good luck!

Btw: We were not paid for hosting this giveaway.