Photo Pendant Tutorial Guest Post

Today I have a guest post at Crystal's Craft Spot and am sharing how to make these fun photo pendants. They are so easy to make; in no time you can whip up a whole bunch! Please check it out at Crystal's!

Me Times Three

I'd like to start off today's post with a moment of silence...........
In remembrance of all the innocent souls who lost their lives through an act of terrorism nine years ago. You are not forgotten and the nation still grieves for you, your families, and the heros in New York who fell in the line of duty trying to rescue you.

Back to Our Regular Programming Now....and on a much a happier note....
I've been showing up all over the place, and traveling around the blogisphere lately that I've logged quite a lot of digital miles lately! My bloggy friends were so nice to host me☺ and I'd love it if you popped in and told them hello! They are all great ladies, as I'm sure you can tell by the high quality of guests they have:) and I'm sure they'd love to meet you!
The Frame Franatic featured my Sweet Memories Frame. She's, you guessed it, a big fan of frames and quite talented too! She just opened an Etsy shop. I love her cute designs that feature pretty papers combined with the sweet little buttons.
My new partner for A Crafty Soiree Malia, featured an interview with me for her Behind the Blog series. So if you'd like to know more about me, cause I know you don't get enough here, be sure you pop on by!
And just last week I did a guest post on Maryanne's blog Scrappy Gifts and featured three of my older projects that you might have missed the first time around. So be sure to check it out!

Thanks ladies!!! It's my honor and privilege to be a part of your blogs!

We're in Family Fun Magazine!!!

I am so excited, I can hardly stand it!!! Do you remember the Ocean Themed Play Date I hosted last August? Well I got a lot of my activities from the August edition of Family Fun Magazine and actually remembered to email them my pictures.

Right away I got a response, telling me that they were on deadline but hadn't found a blog to feature in their mailbag for the November issue. After some emailing back and forth with details, we got the news that we were in! It's especially exciting because ER loves to look at the magazine and point out the fun activities that she wants to do. She was so thrilled when I showed her, her pictures. What a fun moment for us! I've already put aside an extra copy for her to keep.Family Fun Magazine has subscribers for life now! If you haven't heard of this magazine, it's a must read! Full of creative activities to do with your kids, way to celebrate holidays and birthdays, parenting advice, and more I started reading it when I was a kindergarten teacher and have ever since. Now is a great month to check it out at the newstand if you haven't perused one before! Their website is also a must see resource.

Product Review Tips from the Experts

Well I don't know if I'm an "expert" but yours truely was recently featured in this summary of reviewer tips. It's nice to be included among such talented ladies! I thought these might come in handy if any of you are interested in doing product reviews on your blog too.

The experts have spoken! The bloggers writing reviews at The Product Review Place were tasked with coming up with the most useful product review tips. These tips are designed to help those just starting out but can help even the most seasoned reviewers.

Read on to learn what the product review experts had to say:

I always try to get the company to realize the added exposure by offering a giveaway!If a giveaway is tied into the review ask sponsor to direct ship. I HATE going to the post office and it takes me FOREVER to ship winners their things. Not only is it time consuming, but it can be VERY EXPENSIVE! I am going Saturday to the PO to send off things and I know it is going to cost me about $50! Two words: direct ship

Lisa from Mom of 2 Boys, Wife of 1

Be extremely organized. You need to keep track of items that come into your house and when you are going to post. I use outlook to keep everything organized. I organize all my e-mail into sub-folders and place everything I review on my calendar.

Louise from Momstart

Don't be afraid to ask! The worst they can do is tell you no, right?Angie Knutson from My Four Monkeys

When I offer a giveaway along with the review, I always seem to get more hits on the post.If your not organized you won't know what product goes where or find your notes of what you planned on saying. Take notes on the product you are trying to review. Note everything, even if you don't think its important..you can always weed out your notes later.Ask the company if there is anything that they want the readers to know about the product..you never know what they might say.

Jo from Jo's Blog Spot

I think stats are important. They might want to know: how many people are viewing your blog? your google page rank or how many followers you have? Be prepared with this information.

Jaqueline from My Lil Guyz

Be detailed in your review. If your review is just 3 lines long with nothing more than general information in it, you're not helping your readers at all. Readers want to know more than what they can just read on the product's website. Plus, companies and PR folks will come back to you with other items in the future if they see you took the time to write a good review.Also, don't be afraid to post a negative review. Make sure you mention that it's your opinion only, but don't be afraid to say why the product didn't live up to your standards. Moms want to know if it is really worth buying, or if it is just going to gather dust or be thrown away!

Storm from Confessions of a Psychotic Housewife

DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK. My first giveaways came from my persistence. I simply asked and I received.

Keonte from The Verdict: Parenting on Trial

When approaching a company, include why you're a good match for their company in your pitch. Include specific references to their company and products in your request so that it doesn't seem like a form letter.

Katie from Katie's Nesting Spot

Request a giveaway and explain that it improves visits to their site.Ask what link(s) the company would like for me to direct my readers to visit. I am always sure to send a link to the company once my post is up.I never, ever ship my giveaways unless I'm running them myself. I once did a week worth of them on my newest blog and let me tell you, I spent way too much money. The other issue I have now, but will soon be over, is that I don't have business cards. Sending items without them seemed so cheesy to me.

Connie of Brain Foggles

My best advice (and this may not be too popular with the PR people) is to be honest. If you didn't like the product, that doesn't mean you shouldn't do the review. Just give your open and honest opinion. Your readers are intelligent and can decide for themselves if they like it, especially if there is a giveaway attached.

Adrienne of Adrienne's House

Product Review Tips from the Experts courtesy of The Product Review Place. The Product Review Place connects bloggers and consumers with PR.

The Product Review Place *** The Search is Over *** Reviews. Defined. Refined.

Creative Parties & Shower's Feature: Mother's Day Tea Party

Hey everyone! I wanted to share with you some exciting new, I've being featured today for the first time on Creative Parties & Showers! This is especially thrilling as you all know I love hosting themed play dates for my little and put a lot of work into the Mother's Day Tea that is being featured.

I've been waiting to share last year's luau birthday party that we threw for ER until closer to her third birthday but will be posting that soon. I thought the cute touches I put into things came out really cute so I'm excited to show everything off. In the meantime I thought I'd share some links to past parties I thrown and shared here as well as to some party related project posts.

Valentine's Day Play Date, links to tutorials for the party favors I made can be found in the post
Easter Treat Containers, made for our Easter play date my friend Margaret hosted
Graduation Party Decorations
Red, White, and Blue Patriotic Decorations, for a 4th of July BBQ we had last year

That's all for now, but I'm having a summer play date next week and have a Halloween play date to share too but you'll have to wait all the way until next October for that:)

Please head over see my feature and leave me some comment love over there, big hugs if you do! Thanks for all the support and encouragement!

Other Fun News:

I just found out from Sara Bonds that I won her Cherish Bound giveaway! Plus last night I heard from Laurie at Tip Junkie and I won one of her birthday bash going dot com day two giveaways too! These two are on top of the $100 toy give away I also won from ebeanstalks. We just got that package on the doorstep yesterday and ER was so excited to see all the new toys to play with. We had to play one of the games immediately. I'll share all the prizes when I get them too and I've been working on a post showing off the fabulous Sew Fierce customized monogramed dress we won. That should post next week; can't wait to show off Steph's beautiful work!

Just Checkin' In

Hi Everyone! I figured out what the problem was, the really bad headaches were due to build up in my ears. This happens from time to time with me, I've had my ear drum burst more than once. It's tricky because you don't realize it's your sinuses at first because you're nose isn't runny, that's cause it's all impacted in your ears. Anyway, I started taking some medication and Tylenol for some pain relief; the pressure and stinging in my ears has gone down. I am able to get upright again. A good thing as Brad's been watching the kiddo all weekend and needs a break! Thanks for all the well wishes, I'm taking it easy so I may not be posting very much this week. Cause I'm the birthday girl this Friday and I want to be all better to enjoy my coffee flavored ice cream - one of my faves and splurge for me!

Oh and I wanted to let everyone know if you're looking for St. Patrick's Day activities to do with your children, Rachel at One Pretty Thing has put together a Kid's Roundup and I'm featured on it twice!

Simple Felt Cuff Bracelet

My toddler has broken more than one beaded bracelet, lucky for us my MIL makes jewelry and has been able to fix each one. Since she likes to take them on and off over and over again, I decided to make an alternative to string and bead bracelet that would hopefully stand up to busy little toddler hands.

(I noticed after uploading the photos that our kitties must have wanted to be on the blog more, as one of them left a bit of themselves on the felt, sorry about the cat hair! Will try to take new photos during naptime!)

Begin by using a measuring tape to measure around your child's wrist and add a bit of length so the bracelet won't be too tight and so there is a bit of extra for attaching the hook and loop Velcro.

I made mine eight inches long which gave me plenty of length to add Velcro and made it long enough so she can just wiggle her little hand out of it. Later on, when her wrist grows she can use the Velcro to take it on and off. The felt is 8x1.25 inches, in the future I'd make it at least two inches wide so it's easier to cut straight with my pinking scissors.
Cut sides with pinking schears to give the felt a decorative edge, you could also leave sides straight. Cut ribbon slightly longer than the length of your felt. Pin in place and sew on, folding ends under and attaching with some stitches. You could also hand stitch in place or use fabric glue. I didn't use hot glue because I was afraid that then the bracelet wouldn't be pliable. If anyone tries that and it works let me know, cause then it would be a super easy no sew project.
Attach bracelet decorations, I die cut a flower with my Sizzix machine, added a little bit of hot glue around the center of the die cut, and then sewed on a button. You could also freehand draw a simple shape or use one of the patches I've seen at craft stores.
Attach hook and loop tape, i.e. velcro to ends. I hot glued it on. The blue line was made by my water soluble pen to help give me a guide for velcro placement.

Enjoy squeals of delight when your little princess sees it and puts it on for the first time. This really was really easy and quick, seriously only ten minutes max if all your supplies are laid out and ready to go. I think they'd make great quick little party favors and you could change the decoration to match your party's theme.

Please be careful when using materials such as buttons if this is going to a young child as they can be a choking hazzard. My daughter is two and a half and leaves that kind of thing alone.

UPDATE: Whoohoo, just heard from Rachel over at One Pretty Thing that my bracelet is going to be featured in today's Kid's Valentine's Day Roundup! It's my THIRD feature on One Pretty Thing! Click on over to check out the best crafting compilation on the web!

Recipe Roundup - Turkey Chili

This easy peasy recipe comes from my friend Heather. I met her way back in junior high! We lost touch after high school and recently found each other on Facebook. She's the one responsible for my MyFarm addiction, update on that: I recently became a virtual millionaire on that game! It was ridiculous how thrilled I was by that! She recently started following her dream of becoming a chef and has just started culinary school. Isn't that great! I love FB and have reconnected with a ton of people from high school and some of my kindergarten students' mommies from CA too. It's a great way to keep in touch.

Turkey Chili

Serves: 8 Serving size: 4oz.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil 1tbsp
Onions, small dice 1 cup
Minced garlic 1 tbsp
Yellow bell pepper, med dice ¼ cup
Ground Turkey 1Lb
Crushed tomatoes (DO NOT DRAIN) 28 oz can
Kidney beans (drained and rinsed) 16 oz can
Chili powder 1 tbsp
Sugar 1tbsp
Chicken stock 2 cups
Garlic powder ½ tsp
Hot sauce 1 tsp
Sea Salt 1 ½ tsp (if you use regular salt start with half or just season to taste; sea salt isn’t as strong as regular salt)
Dried basil 1 tsp
Dried oregano ½ tsp

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, saute onions, garlic and bell peppers in olive oil over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add ground turkey and cook until browned.
2. Add remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Additional Notes: We served this for lunch along with corn bread muffins. We also made pasta to serve it over and had sour cream, shredded cheese, and onions for toppings. I needed some extra dashes of hot sauce to kick up the spiciness too.

We served this for lunch today when my mom and dad came over for a visit. It was very easy to prepare and the extra lean all white meat ground turkey made it a healthy meal. It has great flavor, but it tasted very different in my opinion from traditional chili. I think of it as more of a light fresh tasting turkey soup.

Thanks so much to Heather for sharing this! And don't forget to head over to Katie's Souper Saturday for more recipes and to add your own!

Update: Feb 10: Also added this recipe to Forever Wherever's Tasty Tuesday...so head on over for a ton of great ideas! Take a look at the Cranberry Chicken Pizza, that looks original and yummy, a great dish for Valentine's day.
One bit of exciting news, my Valentine countdown is on Today's Creative Blog on February 8th post: Addicted to Love... I have been a huge fan of that blog for ages and seeing all the creativity on it was one of the main reasons I wanted my own blog. It's so thrilling to be on there!

One Pretty Thing Feature

Check this out, notice the third picture in the top row? That's me, or rather my Valentine Countdown. How cool is that? One Pretty Thing is one of my favorite sites because it's a round up of a ton of great projects on the web and updated frequently. I'm always inspired by at least one craft featured, and I've also found some great free printables on there too. It's exciting to be featured on today's Valentine's Day Roundup.

Plaid Kid's Crafts Blog of the Week is ME!!!

I think I'm going to have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming!

I just got an email from Kia, the editor of Plaid Kids Crafts, a blog produced by Plaid, the makers of Mod Podge. As many of you know, Mod Podge just happens to be one of my favorite crafting supplies, so this was especially thrilling to me!

If you haven't already, check out my previous posts: Altered Baby Board Book, NOEL Letters, and A Love Note and Our Sweet Kitties to see three projects using Mod Podge.

Guess who's next week's Blog of the Week? Yours truly!!! Kia is going to email me some crafting related questions, but the post featuring my baby board book is already up. So please stop by and be sure to leave a comment, cause I've noticed previous Blog of the Week features don't seem to have any. So please leave me some bloggy love and your support ♥ I'd really appreciate it!

There are a lot of fun things on the site including a whole category on Mod Podge, party ideas, recycled crafts, ideas for room decorating - check out these kid's wall canvases, and Valentines - I'm already planning on making these.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their sweet words of encouragement and their compliments. I appreciate each and every one and they really do mean a lot to me.

My FIRST FEATURE on TIP JUNKIE!!!

I can't believe it, how great can this be! I'm featured twice in one day! I submitted my button heart pillow awhile back to Tip Junkie, but didn't know if it would ever really "make the cut". How thrilling to find out after getting home from dinner that I'm featured there too!

UPDATE: I wanted to add that my pillow can also be found on petit elefant and Ashley at Domestic Divas Fancy made a really darling pillow door hanger, complete with ribbon hanger inspired by my project.

My FIRST GUEST POST

Hi Everyone!!! I am so excited today!!! I can't stop with the !!!, so can you tell? I wanted everyone to know that I am featured at Little Window Shoppe and it's my very first guest post. Emily, who's the founder and editor also said the nicest things about me and I am truely so honored and happy. I feel like I need to celebrate for sure! Please stop by to see the feature: Make Keepsakes from Your Old Baby Board Books. See the original post here.

And while you're at the Little Window Shoppe be sure to look around at all the great finds that Emily has found! There's a little bit of everything on the site from yummy looking recipes, easy to make crafts, the best giveaways, and a great collection of store featuring the cutest of cute. And did I mention how bright and cheerful the site's design is? I love visiting!

Featured On

I am pleased and honored to have been featured on the following blogs and sites:

Mother's Day Tea Party





My First Guest Post!
Make a Baby Board Book

Travel Felt Board
Valentine Countdown
Mommy and Me Valentine's
Toddler Felt Cuff Bracelet
St. Patrick's Day Activities
Cupcake Holder Daffodils
Mini Envelope Book
Mother's Day Polka Dot Pot
Monogramed Princess Clippie Holder Our Pumpkin FrameHalloween Banner Paper Plate Wreath

Blog of the Week, 2/4/09
Board Book and Interview

Decoupaged Hanging
Board Book
Handmade Pocket Book
Snowy Wishes Card

In their first post!


Valentine Heart Button PillowMini Password BookPatriotic DecorationsTraveling TipsMonogramed Princess Bow HolderExploding Box Mini Book Lady Bug Hair Clippies

Valentine's Day Countdown