Popsicle Sleeve Tutorial! (and giveaway...)

To kick off the start of all things hot, all things sunny, and all things summer... how about a tutorial?! 

The popsicle sleeve serves two purposes... it keeps your little one's hands from getting cold while enjoying their tasty treat and it catches any sticky drips that ensue.  The terrycloth lining also adds enough traction to help those little hands slide up the popsicle as they're eating it!

First, gather your supplies.  You will need:

Scrap of fabric for exterior

Scrap of terrycloth fabric

(That's it!)

From exterior fabric, cut out two pieces, each measuring 2 inches x 6.5 inches.

From terrycloth, cut out two pieces, each measuring 2 inches x 6 inches.

Layer exterior fabric (wrong side) with terrycloth (x 2), matching up fabric at the bottom edge.

Fold over exterior fabric at the top, 1/4 inch.  Repeat.  (The hem will overlap the terrycloth.) Pin.

Using a straight stitch, sew along each edge of overlapped fabric, creating two parallel lines.  (I use a contrasting thread because I like the detail, but you don't have to...)

With exterior fabric (right sides) together, pin along outer seams and sew a straight stitch (using 1/4 inch seam allowance).

Snip the bottom corners and turn.

Press along seams and corners with your turning tool (aka chopstick!).

Add popsicle (pop-ice, otter pop...), an adorable kiddo and ENJOY!!

For those of you out there who maybe aren't sewing-inclined... I'm giving away the popsicle sleeve made in this tutorial!  Here's how to enter:

1.  Leave me a comment (with your email address so I may contact you if you win!)

2.  Post about this tutorial on your blog for an extra entry (let me know you did via a comment!)

Winner will be chosen Monday, May 31st, 2010! 

Good luck!

got cookies? GIVEAWAY!

I've been whipping up some of my lollipop kids cookies for my Etsy shop, and I thought... giveaway!

So... got cookies?

No?

Wanna get some?

Then leave me a comment!

Giveaway ends on Friday, February 5th... so these will arrive just in time for that special little one's Valentine's Day!

You Can STILL Win This!!

Come on guys... I've still got one You Can Make This prize to award! So leave a comment for a chance to win!

This last bundle giveaway will end December 31st at midnight. Tick, tock...

You Can Win This!!

With the holidays just around the corner, we thought it would be fun to showcase some quick and easy gift ideas you can give to friends, neighbors, co-workers, and oh yes…even your family! You can enter to win eBooks from http://www.youcanmakethis.com/ and learn some fun new techniques, tips, and ideas not only for the people on your list, but also creative ways to decorate your home!

You Can Make This has created a free download for some fun gift tags. Each of them coordinate with ideas found as part of the DIY Gift Giving Series videos that can be found at www.youcanmakethis.com/blog , as well as designs and patterns found at http://www.swakembroidery.com/ and http://www.youcanmakethis.com/.

You can also enter to win hundreds of dollars in gift certificates just for watching the videos that are part of the DIY Gift Giving Series and answering a question on the You Can Make This blog!

And thanks to Courtney at You Can Make This, you have chance to win one of two giveaway bundles! The giveaway bundles include instructions for making the Kimberbell Kids 24” Doll and “Gift-Giver” Patterns. These are the perfect toys to make every little ones eyes light up on Christmas or any morning!!

To enter: leave a comment on this post - it's that easy! You can also earn extra entries by tweeting or blogging about this giveaway and coming back here to give the info in the comments.

Giveaway ends: December 21st, 2009. Two winners will be chosen at random.

So what are you waiting for??!! Comment and enter to win!

Precious Girls Club - Review and Giveaway!

Thanks to MomSelect, I was given the opportunity to review Operation Kindness, a new book from the Precious Girls Club collection.




Like many moms these days, I'm worried about the way the world will affect the lives of my children, and although I can't shelter them forever, I can arm them with values and morals to help them make the best decisions in difficult situations. This is the exact premise upon which the Precious Girls Club book series is based.

"An all new book series for girls that revolves around the life of Katie Bennett and a diverse group of her friends. Through the experiences of Katie and her friends, wholesome values are reinforced in a fun and engaging way. Their world is brought to life bot only by books, but also through a state-of-the-art virtual world, and exciting retail product offerings. In a world where little girls are growing up too fast, Precious Moments is happy to introduce Precious Girls Club. More than a club, it's a way of thinking and being; a safe place for young girls to discover how wonderful it is to be precious."

The book Operation Kindness is about Katie and her friends' mission to bring cheer to the sick children in Shine Community Hospital and realize along the way the right reasons for doing kinds things for other people. While this story is a little advanced for my daughters' attention span right now, they enjoyed the story and I think, eventually, will understand the message it sends. It was refreshing, as a mom, to read a faith-based story to my children that was engaging. I look forward to continuing this series and reading the entire collection to my children in the future.

The virtual world where Katie resides provides safe online entertainment for your children; my daughter loved picking out her avatar's clothing and walking her around the community of Shine. Parents, you can even set up your own online value points system to reward your child for demonstrating the Precious Girls values!


And now... the best part! A giveaway!


The lucky winner will receive their own copy of Operation Kindness, complete with web access code allowing your child entry into the Precious Girls virtual world. In addition to that, you will receive a plush puppy for your child to snuggle while you read the story together!


*** For entry into the giveaway, just visit the Precious Girls Club website and post a comment about your favorite part of the site. Good luck!!
*** Contest ends August 3rd, 2009 at midnight, CST.

Ecostore USA Review and Giveaway!!

Going green appears to be the slogan of the decade, as millions of people, and parents, attempt to reduce the mark they leave behind on this earth. I am no different, and am warming up to the trend, trying to decrease the amount of toxic chemicals I use in my household by switching to eco-friendly products. So when I was contacted by Ecostore to review some of their products, I jumped at the chance.

"No Nasty Chemicals™ is the foundation of the entire product line and philosophy
of ecostore. All of our products are made from plant- and mineral-based ingredients, free of toxic chemicals that bring people closer to nature with non-toxic, environmentally safe solutions that also help to reduce our carbon footprint. "

I chose to try out the Citrus Spray Cleaner and Toilet Cleaner.

The Citrus Spray Cleaner has a pleasant scent that wasn't as strong as most of my usual cleansers. It worked great on my biggest area of mess - the kitchen - I used it on my granite counters, in my sink, and on the stuck-on grime on the highchair. (What is that stuff?) I was left with a sparkling clean kitchen that didn't make me cough in the process!

The Toilet Cleaner was a great find as I have a septic system, and have to be careful with the products I flush down my toilets. It took care of the ring around the toilet as well as the drips that come along with kids and a husband! I have to admit, I do love the smell of toilet freshly cleaned with bleach... but I may just be convinced to leave that habit behind.

Many thanks to Ecostore for allowing me to review these awesome products and - for one of you lucky peops - giving away a $25 gift certificate to Ecostore!!

That's right -you get the chance to win a gift certificate and try out some of Ecostore's products for your home, pets, body, hair, and baby!!

So how can you enter??

Go to Ecostore's site and peruse their products, then come back here and comment on which product you'd most like to try. This is mandatory for entry! For extra entries, you can tweet about this contest or write a blog post about it. Make sure you come back to comment with the link!

Contest ends June 15, 2009 - the winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Good luck!!

And the winner is....

Jennifer!!

The random number generator picked 7 and the seventh comment was:

Jennifer said...
I tweeted you (jwilliams057).
April 7, 2009 12:42 PM

Congratulations Jennifer! I will be forwarding your information to Beth so she can set you up with your gift certificate!
Thanks to all who participated and stay tuned for more giveaways!!

Review and Giveaway!!

Every day, I wear two necklaces bearing the names of my sweet baby girls, and I always get the same reactions... "Those are so adorable (great, cute, wonderful)!", quickly followed by "Where can I get one?!" So today, I'm letting you in on the fabulous company that makes them!

Heart on Your Wrist is a handmade jewelry business created by Beth Philbin, a mother of three who started designing and creating the hand-stamped pieces after her own attempts at finding stylish and unique mother jewelry failed. Each hand-marked piece is created with sterling silver, 14K gold of 14K gold-filled charms and components, giving you a gift that is sure to be treasured for a lifetime.

The necklaces I own are the Sterling Name Discs. I designed mine with the 3/4 inch discs, and each is on a fine ball chain. I like the look of two different-length necklaces, but you can put several discs on one chain and customize them with bead spacers, charms, whatever you choose! These are mine:

You can design your own unique piece, right down to the length of the chain, color of bead, special stamped designs... Heart on Your Wrist has so many choices that it's difficult to make up your mind! Luckily the prices are incredible, so it's easy to get several pieces if you can't decide - don't worry, it'll be our little secret...

And these pieces aren't just for you, Mom. There are other items as well that make great gifts for children, baby and bridal showers, fathers, grandmothers, special aunts or friends. There are mommy necklaces and bracelets, initial jewelry, mommy rings, military tags, key chains, and photo jewelry - and the designs are classic so they span any generation. I love that these pieces are timeless in design and quality.

And now for the best part! Drumroll please...

Beth, owner and designer of Heart on Your Wrist, is offering a $40 gift certificate to her shop for one lucky winner! Is that going to be you?!

Here's how to enter:

1. Visit Heart on Your Wrist and peruse the beautiful shop, pick out your fave and comment here to tell me what it is! Note: this first step is mandatory for entry. All entries that do not complete this step will be null and void.

2. For an extra entry, blog about and and link to this giveaway on your blog and comment here with the link to the post.

3. (Oh yeah, a third chance to win!) You can earn another entry by tweeting about this giveaway on Twitter!! Comment here with the tweet link.

Be sure to comment separately for each entry, and leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!

Giveaway ends April 15th, 2009 at 7:00 am. Winner will be chosen at random and will be announced that evening - it may be the only good thing about Tax Day!!

So what are you waiting for?! Good luck!

Giveaway!

Camille is giving away some gorgeous Moda fabric on her blog - go check her out and comment to win!