Hi,

 I'm new here (and I hope I didn't break any rules by bypassing the intro board) but I just have one quick question.

 I saw on the "Things Not To Send" list, it said not to send homemade anything. I was wondering if this applies only to food, or to everything? I'm a beginning soapmaker, and I've heard about others sending handmade soap to the troops.

  Can anyone tell me if this is allowed?

 Thanks, Lisa
 

Hi, Lisa -- welcome to the Forum.  To answer your question, I say no.  Unless an item is factory sealed, there's no guarantee to the recipient that a harmful substance had not been added.  To be on the safe side, I wouldn't chance it.

--Marilyn

Lisa,

As much as you want to help, I would applaud you for the willingness to do so, but I would discourage anyone from sending anything so intimate as food and cosmetics that are not commercially made, even though they may be better quality.  We would all like to package up our homemade whatever to give them a better quality of life, but it makes them choose between safety and need.  All that I have ever sent that was homemade was the Cool Ties and aprons for cooks.  Even the Cool Ties can be a possibility of contamination, which I find sad to even consider.

Gran

I just think it's so sad we have to be so cautious Gran! It's like back when I was a kid and people started putting those razor blades in the candy apples. I don't recall ever accepting or being offered a homemade candy apple in the following years. A real bummer if you ask me. Although, my favorite are caramel... Anyway - I tell my fiancee he is to throw away anything which is not sealed and when I send him things and have to open them I make sure I include that info in his letter because that way he knows it was me that opened it and if it wasn't - he should throw it away asap!

Gran,

 I just purchases 45 cool ties from a lady that makes them, were your contacts unable to use them, or they are just leary of anything not commercially packaged.

I thought I would send a couple to 3 of my regular contacts, and tell them to try them out, and if they wanted more to let me know.

If it's not a good idea to send them, let me know, I guess I could find some construction workers that could use them :-(

Dawn

Send the cool ties, Dawn.  Lots of people make them and send them and we've gotten good feedback from the troops about them.  My sis-in-law made some darling ones with dinosaur camo fabric.  One of my favorite photos is one of my contacts with one of those tied around his bald noggin!

Dawn,

I only got started with my cool ties after hot weather had hit last summer, so only got them sent to two units, and the one unit that replied didn't mention specifically anything about them, so I couldn't tell you anything except that many people are making them both in groups and individually.  There are groups sending them by the hundreds, and some contacts have praised them.

Gran

Dawn,

Maybe you can include an MSDS [Material Safety Data Sheet], that is, if you know which polymer the lady uses for her ties.

I've made a few hundred Cool Ties.  I get the polymer from Watersorb.com.  I always include a copy of their MSDS in each box [http://watersorb.com/msds/pifl3005K4msds.htm].

I put each tie in a gallon ziplock [so they can just dump the water directly into the bag instead of finding something to soak it in]  Also in the bag is an instruction page that states that the fabric is 100% cotton and thread is 37% cotton/63%polyester.  And, to repeat, ONE MSDS for the entire lot.  Might be a bit overboard, but I feel more comfortable letting them know as much as possible.

Believe me, they'll love 'em!  There's also patterns out there to make full vests!

Hi.

Thank you for sharing the cool ties.

Will you please share where the best place is to purchase the watersorb product? I looked at the website Michelle posted and saw the company for watersorb, but wondered if there was possibly another company or craft store someone has purchased the cooling material and made these cool ties.

Thank you for your response!

 A couple of years ago a few of us sent literally hundreds of cool ties.  They loved them. I had an Army Reserve officer take some of them over for me when he went.  And my nephew just mentioned a few weeks ago how much they used the ones I sent him. 

 http://watersorb.com/polymer_cool_neck_bands.htm  

This is the place we bought the beads to put in the cool ties. We didn't put in as much as the particular site calls for.  If you put too much in, they get gooey and it squishes out. We used 1/2-1 t.  The best thing to do is try one and wet it and give it a little while to see how much it swells.  My husband and I used them when we ride our motorcycles.  They are really great!!!! 

A friend who loves to sew just made some for us to send over, as well as helmet coolers.  She's working on more, she sews, I send, works out great.  We're waiting on some feed back from Afgh on the helmet coolers, not sure exactly how they stay in but had heard they were very helpful during the hot season.    Don't know which is worse the harsh winter or horribly hot summers.

Anita