Simple Pillowcases: Featuring WholePort Fabric, Sponsor Post

It's time for my monthly blog sponsor post and sharing my latest projects using the complimentary supplies WholePort sent me.  This time I used this darling Twill Cotton Bedding Fabric - Purple Childhood Dream 62"*23".  It has beautiful soft muted colors and vintage style graphics.

There is a cute little town on it and a charming "handwritten" styled sentiment "Economy for our environment needs some power of muscles," by the girl on the bicycle.  Other girls on the print are busy doing things like walking the dog or out picnicking by the birds.  There's also a cute little bus picking up the children and filled with animal friends.  It's very sweetly patterned fabric.

My daughter has an infinite amount of confidence in her mama's sewing skills, that's not entirely warranted based on my previous output!  She got the notion that I should make her some new pillows out of the Purple Childhood Dream fabric.

Since, regardless of what my daughter thinks, I am a pretty inexperienced seamstress I did a very simple pillowcase.   It's basically just a rectangle of fabric folded in half, sewn up on two sides, with a basic hem on the third.  It almost seemed like a crime to use such pretty fabric on something so simple!  Nevertheless E loves her new pillowcases and feels they completely justify her belief that I could make them in the first place.

She has an iron daybed and her new extra pillows are perfect for lining the metal frame so that she won't roll into the hard metal during the night.  She really loves them and is now after me to get her some bedding that matches better, so we may be out looking for a new purple quilt soon!

I had just enough leftover fabric from making the pillowcases to make one more little project.  It's a quick and easy way to make a simple gift and I'll be sharing it on Friday.

New Blog Sponsor: WholePort

I'm excited to introduce you to my newest blog sponsor, WholePort an online craft supply resource with a wide range of materials to help you create beautiful projects.  Each month I'll be receiving some of their best products and creating with them.  I can't wait to get started and share with you!

The first month I'll be working with WholePort I decided to focus on some of the Packaging options, specifically the super cute Decorative Packing Tape.  I love these cute Masking Sticker Sets they carry, what a great way to get several designs to play with and the whole set is only $2.79.

This Transparent Decoration Tape Sticker Paper Happy Bear Family is also really cool, and I love how you an either use it as a big strip of stickers or cut them apart.

Those sweet bears are also on this Transparent Decoration Tape Sticker Bear Postage Stamp design, you get two rolls for just $4.59!

If bears aren't your thing, WholePort has a whole bunch of designs, like Transparent Decoration Tape Sticker Lovely Fairytale.  Wouldn't this be a great multipurpose design to add some color to your wrapping projects?  I think a little bit on a plain white gift bag would look great!

I'm also diggin' this whimsical Transparent Decoration Tape Sticker Lovely Umbrella, set of 2 two rolls for just $3.99 and I can't wait to get mine to decorate a really sweet picture I just took of my daughter all soaking wet after we got caught in the rain.

Decorative tape is not just great for packaging.  It's a very popular supply to use with all sorts of papercrafting projects from home decor, try wrapping some unfinished letters with it - very fun to adding a bit of color to scrapbook pages and I've even seen it used to embellish and personalize things like notebooks.   I'm am very happy I get to show you all of the awesome stuff WholePort has to offer for crafty folks and glad to have them on board as a sponsor of Katie's Nesting Spot.

If you are interested in sponsoring Katie's Nesting Spot, I'd love to help connect you with my readers.  Send me an email so we can begin the discussion!

ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™ One Direction Toothbrush & Rock with One Direction Sweepstakes

I have some really exciting news for One Direction fans!  Now one of your favorite bands can also help you keep brushing and taking care of your pearly whites.  ARM & HAMMER™ has teamed up with One Direction and added them to their collection of Tooth Tunes™ brushes!  

These music playing toothbrushes are really fun.  My soon to be seven year old is crazy about One Direction and was literally jumping up and down when she saw the band's picture on the brush.  When she realized that it also plays their song, she was so eager to use it, she wanted to run upstairs and brush right then!  She's told me that getting to listen to "What Makes You Beautiful" makes brushing more fun because she can dance at the same time. 

She is really cute bopping around to the song and I love knowing that two minute play time will keep her brushing to the dentist's recommened brush time.  I have to admit, that at first I thought the song went on and on.  I had not idea how long two minutes really is.  I realized that there was no way I am brushing long enough myself.  It was a nice reminder that I could be doing a better job of brushing too!

My daughter's ARM & HAMMER™ One Direction Tooth Tunes™ brush plays "What Makes You Beautiful", but you can also choose one that plays "One Thing".  Both chart-topping hits are performed by the band and the ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™ brushes are the only toothbrushes that plays One Direction in North America.  The brushes are equiped with proprietary technology that streams sound vibrations from the bristles of the toothbrush through the teech.  This lets the kids hear the music while they brush. Pretty neat isn't it?

Other ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™ brushes include:

“All Day” performed by Cody Simpson

“Dynamite” performed by Taio Cruz

“I Gotta Feeling” performed by Black Eyed Peas

“If I Ruled the World” performed by Big Time Rush

“Round & Round” performed by Selena Gomez & The Scene

“Tonight, Tonight” performed by Hot Chelle Rae

“We Will Rock You” performed by Queen

Currently available at retailers nationwide, the ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™, including the One Direction toothbrush, have a suggested retail of $9.99. Learn more and connect with  ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™  at their website and Facebook Page.

Brush with Tooth Tunes™, Rock with One Direction Sweepstakes

Telling you about the new One Direction Tooth Tunes™ brushes isn't  the only piece of big news I have to share with fans today.

There's also an awesome sweepstakes going on, with a Grand Prize of FOUR tickets to a One Direction concert in August 2013!  {Insert squeals of excitement here}

That's not all!  100 First Prize Winners will receive One Direction prize packs, with One Direction merchandise.

There are multiple ways to enter for a chance at these cool prizes. 

To Enter:

Make a video of you or your child brushing with their One Direction ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™ brush.  If you do this you'll not only get an entry but could also be featured on ToothTunes.com.  Making a video is not required.

{or}

You can visit ToothTunes.com and complete the rgeistration form.  Don't forget to click submit to make sure your entry is counted. 

You can enter once per week, now through 6/30/13. 
Winners will be chosen July 2013.

Rules:

No purchase necessary
The sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, who are 13 years of age or older
For official rules, visit ToothTunes.com

Click Here to Enter the Brush with Tooth Tunes™, Rock with One Direction Sweepstakes!

Disclosure: I am part of the Mom It Forward blogger network. Mom It Forward and ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™ partnered in support of this campaign. ARM & HAMMER™ Tooth Tunes™ compensated me for participation in this campaign. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

COLLECTIVE CREATIVITY AT MEMETALES - Let us create a picture book together!

Today I want to let you all know about a really FUN opportunity! It's easy to do and your child have a chance to be included in picture book! What a great keepsake that would be and I'm sure your child would love to proudly show off his or her work! But most importantly, it gets us all thinking about being grateful, a concept on most of our minds in the United States as we get ready for November and Thanksgiving. This can be a tough idea for young children to grasp, and this is a good way to introduce it. Check out the details below...Katie:)

We are creating a collective picture book at Memetales and we want YOU (YOUR child!) to be a part of it! If you would like your child be a part of a published book, then read on ...

Answer a question and submit a piece of artwork by your child (before Nov 5th) and YOUR child could be a part of a picture book published by Memetales. 3 participants will also get printed copies of the book! The entries have started coming in, so hurry if you want to be a part of it!

Read below for the details. All the best!


"I am grateful for my friends as they play with me!"
The theme for the book we are creating is Gratitude or Giving Thanks.

Since we are publishing the book just in time for thanksgiving and the holidays, what better theme than gratitude, right?

STEP 1 - ASK YOUR CHILD A QUESTION

Take a few minutes or hours. Sit down with your child and ask them who and what they are grateful for. Is there anyone they want to thank and why? Did someone do something special for them? Do they have a friend, relative or even a thing they feel lucky to have? Do they want to make a thank-you card for somebody?

Then complete one of these sentences -
I am grateful to _________________ because ________________________
Thank you _____________________ for ______________________________
I thank __________________________ because ________________________

STEP 2 - HAVE THEM CREATE SOME ART -

Let your child create anything - a piece of art, coloring, a craft or a photograph of a project or a person with them. Anything really - as long as it involves the child in a fun creative way, it is game!

STEP 3 - SUBMIT IT!!

1. If you are interested in participating, fill this form here.
2. When ready, send an email to maya at memetales dot com . be sure to attach the following -
a. Your child's name, age and picture
b. The artwork picture or a photograph along with the tagline


"Stories with happy endings make me happy! -Elizabeth, 6 years"
The Deadline for entries is November 5th. We will publish the book for Thanksgiving, so that the parents and kids that participate can enjoy the book they created! If there are enough entries we will certainly publish 2 books, but be sure to get your entries in early, since we will pick the first 15 eligible entries for the book!

About Memetales

Memetales is a site to share and celebrate children's stories. At Memetales, you can read books online and discover book related crafts and activities from the best bloggers/contributors such as yourself. If YOU want to be featured along with our books, be sure to add yourself as a creator here. Find us on Facebook and on twitter too!

All the best! We cannot wait to see and share back your entries!!



We are thankful to the great people at Memetales for sponsoring this post and for giving our readers the opportunity to participate in this book-publishing opportunity! This is a compensated post.

Wisk Lab - Tailgate Party Experiment.

We live next to a big university town and tailgate season is in full force around here! While I may not be the biggest sports fan, I'm always ready to dig into some delicious tailgate food! A juicy burger hot off the grill is one of my favorite things, but my tendancy to make a mess on myself means that I have ruined many a t-shirt!
After this Wisk® Lab experiment, I know that no longer has to be the case! I was really happy, and I'll admit also a little surprised, by how quickly the new Wisk® with Stain Spectrum™ Technology took care of a ketchup stain. We did simple experiment so you can see how great Wisk® worked too! We started with a clean white t-shirt AND we ended with a clean white t-shirt! We really had fantastic results! Here's the first half of our Tailgate Party Experiment.

After staining our t-shirt with ketchup, we pre-treated with Wisk® Laundry Detergent, and after scrubbing the stain for 15-30 seconds let it sit for five minutes to give the Stain Spectrum™ Technology time to penetrate the fibers. Here is our shirt before the final rinse phase. Now it's time to hand wash the shirt in some lukewarm water. Watch as the new Wisk® with Stain Spectrum™ Technology goes to work and how fast the entire stain disappears! I think you can hear the surprise in my voice at how quickly and easily it was removed in the video below.
Wisk® is available in August at major retailers nationwide, such as Walmart, Target and Kroger. The suggested retail price is $5.99 for 50 fl oz. bottles that cleans 32 loads. Visit Wisk® at http://www.facebook.com/wisk and http://www.wisk.com/ to learn more about Wisk® Stain Spectrum™ Technology, the different categories of stains, and download a coupon.



Disclosure: This is the third in a series of posts sponsored by Wisk. I received monetary compensation for my participation, but my review and opinions are my own.

K12 Virtual Academy & Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed, thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to: Ticia, comment#7 , who said, "We're currently studying early history, so that'd be fun to have something else to refer to."

As many of you know, I am a former kindergarten and special education teacher. I get many questions from parents about how they can be active in their child's education. Many of my readers choose to home school their children and are looking for support and guidance. I would like to introduce you all to my newest sponsor, which provides an option for parents interested in home based education. I really like their emphasis on support for the parents, because I while I have the benefit of a education background, I know many do not and are afraid to make this momentous decision without help. Please read about one users experience and enter the giveaway at the bottom.
I never pictured myself as a “schooling at home” mom.

I was a big yellow bus believer! I even threw a party for myself when, after 20 years, I sent the last of my six children to school! The balloons were not all popped from my party when my husband, a state legislator, invited me to see some of the new education options now available in our state.

I went along just to be with him, so when I heard the words, “schooling at home,” I scoffed, “Not for me!” But something happened inside my mind and heart as I listened to what could now be offered to my children--at home. My mind drifted to my 12 year-old daughter who had been holding back in class, afraid to be labeled a “brain” or a geek.

I was told that the Virtual Academy option could open up doors for her and let her excel at her own pace. I remember the sigh that escaped when I knew this was something I wanted to try in my home.

My family has been enrolled since 2002. I am now the parent of a Virtual School graduate, and though it has not been an easy road, I cannot speak highly enough of the Virtual Academy option for schooling children.

A Virtual Academy is an online public school with most of the bells and whistles of a traditional school, but with all the comforts of home because that is where the student is—at home.

The Virtual Academy became my choice when I learned that this online school could provide my children with:
1. The top quality K12 curriculum
2. A state-certified teacher assigned to my family
3. All the supplies I would need to put together the highest quality education available
4. All this would be paid for by my tax dollars.

The Virtual Academy has remained my choice for more than eight years because I discovered that the curriculum can be individualized to the needs of each of my children. I no longer wonder where they are in their education or if they are grasping the material. I know...
~Online tools show where to begin and suggest a plan for each day.
~The teacher brings the lessons and the online learning all together with regular contact, live lessons, and help with individual needs.
~Office hours are conducted online so that a family can virtually drop in to visit about a lesson or receive more instruction.
~During the day, I work directly with my child, as the child’s learning coach.

The child knows that education is important to me, and something to value. This encourages deeper dives into subjects that hold our interests. K12 provides resources for just such research in many of the lessons. There is a lot of multiple generation learning going on here.

The K12 curriculum builds lessons that include flash technology, brilliant photography, and exciting interactive programming to give variety to each lesson and peak the interests of students. I was stunned when my second grader watched the news and informed me that the Middle East conflict was taking place on the Fertile Crescent. And when one of them wanted to go for a drive so they could see a cold front and a warm front meet in the sky so they could explain how it worked. What inspires the child, inspires the Learning Coach, as well.

The Virtual Academy hosts regular meet-and-greets, as well as local activities for families to get to know one another and to network support. Activities are optional, but families tend to come and enjoy visiting museums, libraries, movie houses, parks and local historical sites. Parents pool their time and talents to offer additional support as Virtual Academy Boosters. These events are parent-run activities that vary from region to region, but include co-ops, clubs, gym days, bowling leagues and field trips.

My virtual academy hosts spelling bees, geography bees, science fairs and literacy fairs. My children have had pen pals, dance partners, and lego robot races. In enrolling my children in this program, I have found “virtually” everything my children need to have a top-notch educational experience right at home

This article, written by Heidi Higgins, is a sponsored post on behalf of K12 and was originally posted on ThinkTank12.

GIVEAWAY
I've got a copy of the book, "The Human Odyssey: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages" edited by Mary Beth Klee, John Crib, and John Holdren (all K12 employees), to give to one of my readers.

It's more than a history book--it's more of a storybook of history, complete with images, diagrams, maps, and charts in full color. This volume begins the odyssey of the development of civilization over a twelve-thousand year span from the Ice Ages to the Middle Ages. A great addition to any home school classroom or home library.

Here's how to win:
Please leave a comment here simply saying how you'll use the text or what you think about the Virtual Academy. That's it!

(Please include your email address so I can reach you if you win.) Winner will be chosen by random.org. This giveaway ends at midnight on 09/8/10.



Disclosure: This is a compensated post on behalf of K12 Virtual Academy who provided the content and giveaway.

The New Wisk®: Protein Lab

Today I'm continuing to work with Wisk to tell you more about their brand new laundry detergent, in its red-hot bottle with Stain Spectrum Technology. This time I'm conducting a laundry experiment with the help of my assistant. You can see how it went below.


Like many kids, my preschooler is hard on her clothes. Now that fall is approaching I know I'm going to be seeing stains on the knees of her favorite pants. It's good to know I can count on Wisk's Stain Spectrum Technology to take care of those!

Wisk is available in August at major retailers nationwide, such as Walmart, Target and Kroger. Suggested Retail Price: $5.99 for 50 fl oz. bottles that cleans 32 loads. Try it for yourself, with this $1.00 off coupon.



Disclosure: This is the second in a series of posts sponsored by Wisk. I received monetary compensation for my participation, but my review and opinions are my own.

Giveaway: BitDefender's BitMoms Community Teaches Families to Stay Safe Online

Today I'd like to introduce you to one of my sponsors, Bit Defender, who will be sharing some interesting information with you, as well as offering a valuable giveaway!

I know this is one company you'll all want to learn about, as so many of you are parents and as concerned about Internet safety for your family as I am. With technology constantly evolving, I know ER will grow up in a world where access to the Internet is the norm. I need help keeping up to date on all the dangers!

Please read about Bit Defender's new community and find out how you can be a part of it and WIN a copy of their excellent BitDefender 2011Total Security.

If words like sexting, social networking, tweeting, wall posts, cyberbullying, objectionable content, security, and privacy settings make you uncomfortable, the free BitMoms.com community can serve as a useful resource to help you keep your kids safe online. BitMoms provides news, content, and resources about family internet safety and security issues to make the internet a safer place for children.

Powered by BitDefender, the award-winning provider of innovative internet security solutions, BitMoms is an interactive website and social network. It serves as a hub for conversations on internet safety topics, as well as online safety news.

Members engage in information seeking through the discussion Forum, sharing diverse perspectives on current events involving internet safety topics for families, and accessing resources from the Content Library. The Content Library includes information about talking to your children about internet dangers, protecting yourself when online shopping, safeguarding Facebook photos from hackers, and a PDF download about online safety that can be easily shared with friends or used to educate fellow parents PTA meetings.

New content is constantly being added to BitMoms, making it a dynamic and exciting site to visit daily. Chief BitMom Leticia Barr, of TechSavvyMama.com creates blog posts and videos that are uploaded several times per week and the BitMoms community members are also regular contributors to all aspects of the site.

“As a mom of two, technology expert, and educator I am proud to serve as BitDefender’s Chief BitMom and blogger,” said Barr. “With BitMoms.com, we’re really trying to provide a constructive place for moms to go, to talk about the issues we experience as part of our daily digital lives as well as a place to gather information, industry news and helpful tips to keep our families safe online.”

BitMoms also encourages fellow bloggers to apply for the BitMoms Blog Network. BitMoms Blog Network members are an exclusive group of individuals who are passionate about helping other parents keep their kids safe online. Benefits include exclusive content, a stipend to attend a blog conference of your choice, and the opportunity to win a full sponsorship to BlogHer 2011.

BitDefender encourages all mothers, regardless of their experience using the internet and ages of their children, to visit and become a member of the free BitMoms.com community to become knowledgeable about family internet safety.

Giveaway Information:

BitDefender has three copies of the newest BitDefender 2011Total Security to give away! Three winners will each win a copy, but you'll need to go to my other blog to enter. Head over now! Good luck!

You can find and enter the giveaway here. The giveaway is open for entry until August 31st, 2010.



Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of BitDefender.

New Wisk® with Stain Spectrum™ Technology

I've always seemed to attract stains. If it's possible to spill, drip, or drop something on myself, I will! I know my mom's always had to worry about getting things out of my clothes. Unfortunately for her, when I was little, she didn't have a full arsenal of stain fighters at her disposal or sophisticated multitasking detergents. She just had some powdery stuff I remember watching her scoop out. Mom spent a lot of time doing the whole soak and scrub routine. Many times it was to no avail and yet another shirt of mine would be ruined, sometimes after only one or two wears.



As the first liquid laundry detergent to market in 1956, Wisk® has been cleaning America’s laundry for the past 50 years. You may also recall the well known catch phrase associated with them. They've upgraded their formula, but not their price, to tackle stains and continue to prevent you from having "ring around the collar".

Wisk is bringing science to stain fighting with an upgraded formula featuring Stain Spectrum™ Technology. Wisk’s enzymes and cleaning agents target the full range of stains on a molecular level for a powerful clean.



New Wisk® with Stain Spectrum™ Technology is engineered to target the major stain groups
New stain vocabulary:

There are hundreds of different stains but most stains fall into three major groups:
* Carbohydrates such as milk chocolate
* Proteins such as grass
* Oils such as peanut butter

The other groups of stains include:
* Bio such as blood
* Bleachable such as coffee
* Particulate such as dirt
* Synthetic such as ink

The new Wisk with Stain Spectrum ™Technology is the solution to tackle them all! Coming August to major retailers nationwide, such as Walmart, Target and Kroger. The suggested retail price is $5.99 for 50 fl oz. bottles that cleans 32 loads.
All of this is great news for me because unfortunately, ER takes after Mommy in her spill generating ability. Honestly, that girl can't eat a single meal without part of it ending up on her. Even when she wore bibs, she'd still manage to spray food on some part of her that was unprotected. Just a day ago she actually made it through lunch clean, only to knock over her juice while getting up. She then slipped on it and it got all over her shorts. My child has a lot of clothes, she HAS too. Sometimes we go through three changes a day!

This is one household that NEEDS the powerful new formula. I can't wait to get my red hot bottle in the mail and sharing our experiences with all of you! While we wait for it to arrive please visit Wisk at http://www.facebook.com/wisk and http://www.wisk.com/ to learn more about Wisk’s Stain Spectrum™ Technology, the different categories of stains, and download a coupon.



Disclosure: This sponsored post on behalf of Wisk laundry detergent was facilitated by One2one network. While this is a compensated post, the experiences and opinions expressed are my own personal ones.

Ten Minutes for Me

I don't know about you but I need a "ten minutes for me" break during the day! Not that I always get it, but when I do it certainly helps me keep my sanity and helps me be a better mommy and wife. I think it's a lot easier for me to keep my cool about the little things when I feel refreshed and calm and not harried and stressed out. I think Brad likes me a lot better that way too.

There's a lot of things I'd like to do with some extra time. It would be nice to read a chapter in my latest book, work on a scrapbook layout, edit some pictures, or catch up on my favorite blogs. Lately, Brad has been helping me out and taking ER out for a bike ride so I can exercise.

While not exactly the me time I dream about, it does help me stay in shape and with my diabetes control and for once I get to watch something on TV that does not involve singing animals or pets who rescue.
Sadly, with everything going on in our crazy lives, my personal "time out" usually means a quick cat nap, which I don't even get to take by myself! I think ER is permanently glued to my side, and while I know this will change and I'll miss it one day. Sometimes all I want is ten minutes of preschooler free personal space!

What would you do with ten extra minutes to do whatever you want?



Disclaimer: Sprint has just launched Gaming on the Now Network™, bringing you the first wireless 4G network from a national carrier. Sprint and JuiceBoxJungle have sponsored and compensated me to write about what "ten minutes" a day means to me.