A Pampered Baby

As a new parent, my sister wanted to make sure she had everything for her baby.  Baby registries lead you to believe that you should get everything for your baby. Only after she had my baby did she realize it's like buying a new home or car, you want it all right away, but you don't really NEED it right away or even at all. So she learned that just the essentials (ie. diapers, wipes, milk, some clothing) were all she needed to keep her baby content. Things like: a Jolly Jumper, exersaucer, playard/playpen, Bumbo chair, bouncy chair, swing, high chair, even shoes, were extras. And a lot of those things are nice to have, but not must haves. What she did to save some money was borrow some of the bigger ticket items, look for sales, buy some gently used items, and even look on the local free cycle. It's amazing what you can get for a fraction of the cost! I know my parents didn't have that luxury when I was growing up! ...

Before I became a mother myself, I didn't realize how challenging it was to be a good mom--and keeping track of my family's schedule is one of the main challenges! The constant running between work, volunteering, lessons or grocery shopping only to get home and still have to make dinner and catch up on the cleaning gets quite overwhelming. It seems a mother's work is never finished! Enter, the 2012-2013 momAgenda Desktop ! This is one of the many adorable momAgenda products. The momAgenda Desktop helps busy moms manage multiple calendars for up to four children and features helpful planning areas including vacation planning and party prep pages. Plus the accompanying momEssentials pamphlet lets you keep your family’s medical information, birthdays, websites and passwords all in one handy place. Celebrity moms like Rachel Zoe, Felicity Huffman, and Kimberly Williams Paisly love momAgenda products! Best of all, in honor of Mother's Day shop through 5/6 and ...

Have you heard about the new personalized greeting card company, Treat ?   Treat is   a new brand from the folks at Shutterfly and Tiny Prints that lets you create unique, personalized greeting cards. With more than 4,500 customized   card designs at launch, the Treat service offers one of the industry’s largest   selections from the best designers, including   Hallmark. To ensure that you never miss an important date like a birthday   or anniversary,   Treat offers an integrated service that will remind you of all those important events. A Treat calendar can be set up with reminders for anniversaries, events, family holidays and more. Users can also use Facebook   Connect to link their Facebook and Treat accounts to import friends’ birthdays!     Treat is a great new way to make personalized greetings all your own style and personality just in time for Mother's Day! Here is how it works:   Choose your card f...

I made this pretty zebra cake for my daughter's birthday. She wanted a zebra birthday cake and I had no idea where I would find a zebra cake topper. I thought of making an icing zebra or a fondant zebra, but didn't have time to attempt something that was so foreign to me, so stuck with what I know. Paper products! Lol. I used my Cricut Expression Machine along with the Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge to cut out the shape of the zebra. I cut one zebra out of white cardstock and used hot pink cardstock for the second zebra. I cut the stripes out of the white one and placed it on top of the pink zebra to create the two tone layered look. I taped popsicle sticks to the bottom of each of the legs (in between the white and pink zebras) so the sticks wouldn`t show too much. Then I was able to insert the popsicle sticks with zebra onto the top of the cake! I decided to make the zebra even more girly by tying a little bow out of matching pink ribbon and used a Mini Glue Dot to pl...

I love to accessorize and really believe that the right pieces can make an outfit stand out. Tori & Cate offers fun and pretty accessories for little girls and their mommies as well. They even have pieces that are wearable to weddings and other events too. Enter to win  $50 worth of accessories of your choice! Please follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. Good Luck!

This is an amazing tutorial on how to make ruffle curtains......a Guest Blog Post by Karen of Homemade Glamour . Check out her blog for more creative ideas and tutorials! Ruffle curtains are the all the rage and a personal crush of mine for the last year. Anthropologie and  Land of Nod  both offer exquisite ruffle curtains for around, I don’t know, $100+ which to me is outrageous! And begging for a cute knockoff. This curtain was surprisingly easy to do after you get the hang of  “ruffling” fabric. The easiest possible way would have to be using a ruffle foot, but since I don’t have one I had to ruffle by hand. For this curtain I used two flat full size sheets in a solid color, make sure that they are flat sheets and not fitted ones, which would be a little too difficult to work with. I cut the sheets into strips that were 4 inches wide and the length of the sheet. --> To ruffle stitch along your fabric ½" in from the edge (for seam allowance). Leave at ...

With online sources, it has never been easier to earn an income from home. With Stella & Dot, it is very well possible to earn $75 an hour working for yourself and running your own fashion social selling business. Joining Stella & Dot  as an Independent Stylist allows for flexible, work from home business opportunities for entrepreneurial women.  Their fabulous boutique-style jewelry and accessories line is adored by both fashion editors and celebrities. To find out more information on becoming a Stella & Dot Stylist visit www.stelladot.com/stylist