Friday, December 31, 2010

My Resolution for 2011

For 2011, my resolution is to offer more posts to my readers that have meaning.  In the coming weeks, I will be featuring moms every Monday in my "Spotlight on Moms Monday" post.  This post will include a Q&A session with another mom who wears many hats (don't we all).  She will share tips and stories about being a mom, as well as talk about a business or project she is working on.  Then, on Friday, I will review her product/service in my "Feature Friday" post, and offer my readers a giveaway and/or discount code for this mom's product/service.  Through these features, I am hoping that other mothers who are on the fence about turning a hobby/craft/love into a business can find some inspiration in these stories.  Speaking from experience, my new product, the SoothEaze blanket and my business, Inspired by Savannah, all came about from seeing other mom's juggling being a mom, wife and successful mom entrepreneur.  I am living the journey everyday, and will also find inspiration and drive through these features.  If you want to be a "Spotlight Mom," and have a product/service to share with others, please send me an email with the subject "Spotlight Mom" today.  What are waiting for?  What is your new years resolution?

If you are mom blogger, why not consider joining me in the Blog Dare 2011.  Check out some of the other mom bloggers who are participating.




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Feature Friday -- Oliver's Labels





 








Today is label review day. Next up, I had the opportunity to test and review labels from Oliver’s Labels. They, too, make high quality waterproof labels and tags, which stick to all your children’s belongings. And, they are dishwasher and laundry safe – so, they will never fade or peel off. Oliver’s Labels offer iron-on clothing labels, bag tags, shoe labels, safety wristband labels and self-adhesive (sticky) labels. Every parent needs to get a set off these around the house and have them on hand for the school year, or for their baby’s bottles, sippy cups and toys.


 

There are many design options to choose from, including butterflies, toy animals, sea life, solid colors, sports and transportation. So, you are bound to find a design that suits your son or daughter.






For my labels, I chose the butterfly theme and had them personalize my labels with Savannah’s name. I was impressed with the quality of the design when I received them. And, the best part about these labels is that you have the option of adding a “Found -it” tracking system code to each label. So, if you lose an item with a label on it and someone happens to find it, all they have to do is log onto the Oliver’s Labels site (website added to your labels) and enter the code. Then, Oliver’s Labels will match you to your Found-it™ tracking system code and send you a notification email right away. They act as an intermediary between you and the finder, so you never have to share any of your personal information! How cool is that? Best of all – this tracking service is free of charge.




How it all began (taken from Oliver’s Label website):
"It all began with a small idea to keep Oliver, my nephew, from losing his stuff. After seeing the overwhelming positive reaction from his teachers and other parents, I realized there was a huge demand for high quality labels. I used my 6 years of experience in the printing industry to develop a label that was both durable and beautiful. The business was born and now our full-colour designs and exclusive Found-it™ tracking system are a few of the things that set Oliver's Labels apart from the competition." - Debbie

To learn more about Oliver’s Labels, or to order a set of labels for yourself, please visit their website. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook for updates on new products and more.

What will they come up with next?

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com and the Tomoson weekly featured sponsor Favorite Wigs - Shop Name Brand Wigs at Low Prices! Large Wig Selection of Forever Young Wigs, and other Quality Wigs. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.
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Feature Friday -- Dishwasher and Laundry Safe Labels for Kids and Baby!



I had the opportunity to try out labels from Applied Labels LLC and boy was I impressed. These labels are a must for any family with children. They come in handy when you want to label items like bottles, sippy cups, shoes, school supplies, clothing, hair clips, and anything else you don’t want your children or yourself to misplace. These also work great for labeling things that go with your children to daycare centers. And, the best thing about these labels is that they are waterproof and permanent, so they can put through the
dishwasher and laundry. So no more relabeling items after they come out of the dishwasher or wash.



I ordered labels with my daughter’s name on them and decided to try them out on her winter coat and shoes, along with a couple of her bottles. After being put through the wash, each label came out intact and like new. Now, I don’t have to worry about misplacing her belongings when we are out and about.

Labels come in packs of 30, 60 or 90, and can be customized with the font of your choice (4 to choose from) and/or the addition of an icon. Note, if you select an icon, you are only allowed 1 line of print, as compared to 2 with just text.

Icons to Choose From

So, you are wondering how they do you apply them on clothes. It is easy. To label clothing, sandwich an Applied Label (TM) with one of our blank backers. For shoes, stick on a Shoe Shield (TM) that will keep labels in place all year long.

Go here to check out  a brief You-Tube video demonstrating this process.
To learn more, or to order your own set of labels, please visit their website. Don’t forget to follow them on Twitter and Facebook.


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com and the Tomoson weekly featured sponsor Favorite Wigs - Shop Name Brand Wigs at Low Prices! Large Wig Selection of Forever Young Wigs, and other Quality Wigs. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.




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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Upcoming Product Reviews

Here are just some of the products I will be reviewing in the coming weeks on my Feature Friday posts.  In addition, some reviews with carry coupon codes and giveaways.  So, keep an eye out or subscribe to my RSS feed to make sure you don't miss out.

1. Purex Crystals (with giveaway)
2. NaturalSkinShop.com (with coupon code)
3. FrancescaBaby 
4. Yoplait Delights (with luxury prize pack and coupon codes)
5. KenziesCloset (with coupon code)
6. Nini-Baby (with giveaway)
7. With Babies in Mind
8. Little Pig Studios (with giveaway -- a custom print)

If you have a product or service you would like me to review, please send me an email.




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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Stay Tuned for a Naturalskinshop.com Review

As I get older, taking care of my skin has become an important part of my daily routine.  I stumbled across NaturalSkinShop.com and found some great products that I can add to my daily regime.  One product I am eager to try out is their Squalane moisturizer, as it is ideal for sensitive/allergy prone skin like mine, and will help with the dry skin I experience during the cold, winter months.  It also helps with anti-aging.  What more could a girl ask for?




Stay tuned for my review, and for a discount code for skin products of your own from NaturalSkinShop.com!

Disclosure: I will be receiving a product sample for review from NaturalSkinShop.com, through a SheBlogs.org promotion. I will not be compensated for my review or opinion. I always give my honest opinions, feelings and beliefs about the products reviewed on this blog.




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Thursday, December 23, 2010

ICaughtSanta.com Review and Giveaway




I had the opportunity to try out ICaughtSanta.com the other day, and boy was I impressed. After trying out this product, I would recommend it to anyone who has children who are on the fence about Santa Claus, or for those that want to share something special with their children on Christmas Day. What child (or adult for that matter) wouldn’t want to see Santa caught in the act, while putting gifts under the tree, or double checking his list to make sure you have been nice this year? These a just two of the 20 Santa poses/inserts that you can choose from once you upload a photo of your Christmas tree or fireplace. Once this is done, the fun begins. You can then select your Santa pose and then enlarge or rotate him to fit into your photo. If you want to draw more attention to the tree or mantle, you can do this by enlarging the photo you uploaded. And, as an added feature, you can add a border around the final product.

After you are done editing your photo and confirm the photo, you are brought to the checkout section. Here you have the option to print out, download or order prints, which range in size from 4”x6”, 5”x7” and 8”x10”. The cost to add Santa to your photo is only $9.99. But, who can put a price tag on seeing your little ones smile after they see that Santa was at their house, or making those non-believers believe again? I can’t.


Take a look at the photo I created at ICaughtSanta.com.


So, what are you waiting for? Head over to ICaughtSanta.com today and create a lasting memory that your family can cherish for years to come, and that your children will be talking about for weeks after.


And now for the givewaway:

As a holiday treat for my readers, I am offering 5 free codes, so that you too can try it out for yourself, and see how simple the process is. All you have to do is be one of the first five people to email me and request a coupon code. Good luck and happy holidays.

In addition to the 5 free codes I am giving away, ICaughtSanta.com has generously donated a discount code for my readers to use and receive 25% off their orders. All you have to do is enter CT-MOM-REVIEWS at checkout.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com and sponsored by Favorite Wigs Shop Name Brand Wigs at Low Prices! Large Wig Selection of Estetica Wigs, Quality Wigs. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Sponsored by Tomoson.com




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Thursday, November 4, 2010

My Recent Shutterfly Experiences



Today, I want to share with you my recent experiences with Shutterfly. As many of you know, we welcomed our first daughter this past July. And, like many new parents, we created announcement cards to share this news with our family and friends. This was the first time I used Shutterfly’s services. My overall first impression of their services was favorable. I found the website easy to navigate and uploading and creating my announcement cards was a breeze. I loved how they offered a wide variety of layouts and backgrounds to choose from. I think this was the hardest part of the process, as there were so many designs I liked and wanted to use. As for checking out and receiving the order in the mail, I cannot complain. My order arrived at my doorstep within 5 business days of placing my order.

Because of my positive experience with the birth announcements, I decided to use Shutterfly again this past Halloween, and created photo books for the grandparents, to show off Savannah’s many outfits. The best feature of creating the photo books, was that it offered manual placement. All I had to do was upload the photos and they created a lovely photo book just for me, with the layout design I chose (again, they offered a vast selection to choose from).



So, why not try out Shutterfly this holiday season. If you have never created holiday cards because they were difficult to set up and pricey, you will not be disappointed with Shutterfly. Or, if you are looking for a unique gift this holiday season for the person who has everything, why not create a personalized calendar with photos that they can cherish for months to come.



Special Offer: For a limited time, stop by Shutterfly and create a photo page to share your photos with family and friends. And, once you set up your personalized page, you will get 30 free prints to order. All you have to pay for is shipping and handling. To learn more, check out this offer today.




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Thursday, July 1, 2010

Melissa & Doug Bird House Shape Sorter Product Review




I had the opportunity to review the Bird House Playset by Melissa and Doug from Ebeanstalk the other day with my 18 month old son, Sebastian, as well as a few of his friends at our weekly playgroup meet up. For those of you who are not aware of Ebeanstalk, please see my previous post from last week. Ebeanstalk is an educational toy store site that offers toys and products for children of all ages, from baby toys to kids toys .

First off, I was impressed with how Ebeanstalk sends their toy purchases to customers. Inside the box, they include an informational card that details the developmental milestones and how this toy would benefit each, as reviewed by child specialists. I have never received something like this with a product/toy I bought for my child. The developmental milestones included: imagination, education, language, dexterity, locomotion, social and emotion aspects of learning, and how this toy would benefit each. The only question/concern I had in regards to the information presented on the informational card was that it specified that this toy, the Bird House Playset by Melissa and Doug, was for children ages 3 months-6 months, but on the outside of the toy package itself, it stated it was for children 9+ months. Confused, I began to search online at various stores and noted the same discrepancy. I decided to go with the boxes age range and offered the toy to Sebastian to play with. Even though he is 18 months old, he enjoyed playing with the bird house and the 4 birds that came with it. He understood the concept of fitting each bird into their respective peek-a-boo holes, and was able to tell the colors apart. I don’t think a child 3 months-6 months would get the same enjoyment that my son had with the toy. After my son was done playing with the toy, I offered it to a few children, ages 6 months and 12 months at our weekly playgroup. The 6 month old could not figure out that he was supposed to put the birds in a specific hole. Instead, he tried to cram each bird into different holes and then when they wouldn’t fit, gave up and just played with the birds themselves. The best feature of this product is that the birds come in different shapes and colors and each offers their own unique sound, either jingling, rattling, squeaking or crinkling. The unique sound feature of each bird kept both the 6 month old and the 12 month old content. With the help of mom, the 12 month old was able to fit some of the birds into their respective holes, but again, chose to play with the birds, rather than fit them nicely into the bird’s nest.

Overall, the product was crafted nicely, with the exception of the eyes of the birds. The eyes were made out of black plastic pieces, which the 6 month old began to chew on after awhile. His mother had to take the bird away, as she was afraid he would break the plastic piece off and choke on it. Because of this, I would suggest this toy for older children, 9+ months. The bird house has vibrant colors that caught the eyes of my son and the other children playing with the toy, and with the handy loop on the top of the house, my son was able to carry the toy around when we went out. Overall, based on the how my son interacted with the toy and my own personal review of it, I would give the Bird House Playset by Melissa and Doug a 4 out of 5 rating.

If you are looking for the perfect gift for your son or daughter, why not check out this bird house set on Ebeanstalk, or any of their other toys shown on their site, and broken down by age. I can say firsthand that the quality of their products and product selection is suburb and I will continue to purchase my children’s toys/gifts from them.

Coupon Deal: Check out Ebeanstalk today and don’t forget to use the offer code: THANKYOU15%, for 15% off your order.

Happy shopping!




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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Ebeanstalk--Your One-Stop Educational Toy Site

Today, I wanted to share a site I stumbled upon, which offers fun learning toys for children of all ages, ranging from birth to age 12.

I know that when it comes to choosing toys for my children, I want to make sure that they are not only fun and enjoyable to play with, but will also assist in the developmental aspect of their growth. What I love about Ebeanstalk is that they categorize their toys based on your child's level of development stage and age range. Many toy store online don't offer this, and I find myself having to read through the entire toy description or doing an internet search to see if the toy is appropriate for my child's specific age. Ebeanstalk takes the guessing out of this and makes it enjoyable to shop for toys.

With a new daughter on the way, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Ebeanstalk offers a wide array of toys and baby gifts for expectant parents like myself. And, the best part of all....the prices are reasonable and you are bound to find something for your little one. From my own experience, I know that my children like brightly colored, soft toys that they can hold and play with. In addition, many of these baby toys will fit nicely in a diaper bag or your purse, so you will have toys on the go when you child becomes fussy.

So, what are you waiting for? Stop by Ebeanstalk today and take a look at their selection of educational toys for your child(ren) today. You will not be disappointed.

Moms, don’t forget to use their current codes for free shipping. Use ECON$49 for orders over $49 and PREM$75 for orders over $75.

Enjoy!




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Friday, June 11, 2010

Hi Moms -- Get Ready for Great Baby Product Reviews and Much More...

Hi Moms,

With only 6 weeks left until the birth of our daughter, Savannah Rose, I have decided to put my months of baby product research and purchasing to good use. I will share with expectant mothers, friends and relatives and new moms what new products, baby trends, etc. are out there. In addition, I will provide coupon codes (when available) for items reviewed, offer giveaways and contests of products that I have tested and reviewed and offer up other suprises and goodies baby-related.

This will be your go-to blog for all things baby/infant-related. In addition, I will share with you reviews on products/sites geared towards older children (ages 3+).

So, get ready......




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