Kids
Some Bunny to Love
I love spring. What is not to love after a wet, snowy and cold winter in New England.
I love the lighter days, the brighter sun, temperatures above 50 degrees, the sound of birds, the sight of flowers, cute easter baskets, yummy chocolate eggs, colorful jellybeans, and super soft snuggly stuffed bunnies!
Recently, I came across the most adorable stuffed animals. With the sweetest faces, they were super soft and just perfect for my little baby boy’s first Spring. The product line was from a company called Jellycat.
Established in London in 1999, Jellycat is a leading creator of high-quality, luxury soft toys. Their product meets or exceeds EN71 (European Testing standards) and ASTM (Amercian Testing standards). So Jellycat stuffed animals are made to last. Yet, they are super touchable with such tender little expressions that melt your heart.
There are little ones and big ones, fluffy ones and smooth ones, and every possible friend-imal you can think of; frogs, giraffes, dogs, cats, alligators, monkeys, bears, cows, elephants, lambs, and of course, bunnies! With a constantly changing and ever expanding collection of warm fuzzy friends, from rhinos to rats, there is a Jellycat for everyone out there.
There are collections of Jellycats with fun names. There are Pipers and Puddings, Snuffles and Slapajacks, Junglies and Bunglies. Sizes range from 10 inches, 12 inches, 15 inches and 24 inches with prices from $10-$45. You can find a great selection online or at local retailers like Isis Maternity.
The care instructions? Lots of love.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Green, Eco-Friendly Party Favors
I am a huge fan of unique ideas. I mean, who isn’t. When the uniqueness trends into eco-friendliness though, you’ve got an exceptional idea.
I stumbled across a company called Botanical Paperworks when I was looking for my son’s baptism invitations. It is a Canadian based company that sells paper that blooms into flowers.
Botanical Paperworks has cards ranging from wedding invitations, birth announcements and thank you cards at $2.50-$5.50 a piece. Depending on your price point, that may be pricey or reasonable. However, they also sell favors at $1-$2 a piece, which can be the perfect thank you gift for your guests. The cards come with plantable paper embedded with wildflower seeds. When you plant the paper in a pot of soil, the seeds grow into colorful wildflowers including bird’s eye, poppy, snap dragon, black eyed susan and more. (Some holiday cards are embedded with white spruce seeds.) The paper is made from 100% post consumer waste collected from eco-minded schools and businesses in the company founder’s home town in Canada.
In addition to favors and cards, they have some great gifts too. I especially love the Yummy Card set. The card set grows six different herbs when the card is planted. Each card contains a recipe for a tasty dish using the corresponding fresh herb. Card set includes: Basil (pesto), Parsley (tabouleh), Chive (chive mashed potatoes), Dill (dilled salmon), Sage (sage and lemon cookies) and Mint (minted green tea). It’s a, well, yummy gift! They have other gifts like plantable journals and calendars. Definitely a must see!
I ultimately went with a plantable favor for my event. (A little blooming momento of my son’s baptism!) The Holy Communition or Baptism favors have a plantable paper, on a card, in the shape of a cross. Yet they also have graduation favors with plantable paper in the shape of a graduation cap, birthday favors with paper in the shape of a cupcake, Bar Mitzvah favors with a plantable star, and baby shower favors with a plantable teddy bear, bib, onesie, heart or butterfly. You can customize the message and choose the ink and paper color. Paper colors include pink, white, blue, yellow and green, and ink colors range from green and brown to blue and red. (Please note there is a minimum order of 25 for the favors.)
You can place an order on the Botanical Paperworks website. (They are super easy to work with and you can review a proof before your order is finalized). Or you can check out Creative Papers at 17 Lakeview Avenue, Natick MA. The number is 781-239-9943 or send an email to creative.papers@verizon.net.
So excited to see the reaction of my guests when they see these favors, and it is nice to know that these favors will add a little a little more color to this Earth.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Cutie-pa-tudie Q-Tips®
Most Moms-to-be spend a lot of time designing and planning the nursery the minute they found out they are going to have a baby. I was no exception! Everything from what color to put on the walls to the crib design and placement of the furniture. The biggest decision of course is the theme for the room! Ducks, dogs, cats, circles. You name it. It is amazing the choices available from coordinating towels, curtains, laundry baskets and trash cans. I personally love it!
Celebrity Nursery Designer Wendy Bellissimo has some great tips for us average moms. Even though she has designed nurseries for celebs like Kelly Ripa, Brooke Shields and Sara Evans (to name a few) and has a supertabulous website filled with outstanding mommy and baby things, she is also a mom to four little girls. She has a neat nesting checklist on her website, which was really helpful to me when I was preggo.
She also has shared some tips for designing a nursery. Here are her tips for things you should think about before you get started:
(1) Be Your Own Designer: Go through magazines, catalogs and visit baby & furniture stores to see the looks available. Choose a style that feels most natural to you so the nursery can become an extension of your home. Then create your own book or board of clippings, fabric samples and photos for inspiration. Start the design process well before your due date so that you have time to relax before the baby’s arrival.
(2) Save the Paint for Last: Select your nursery furniture and fabric before you paint. It is easy to find a paint shade to match your furniture/fabrics and not always the other way around. Keep in mind, furniture and fabrics do not all need to match – a great mix of textures that complement each other can add a truly custom, “designer” feel.
(3) Add a Personal Touch: Give your nursery a personal touch by adding framed covers of your favorite childhood books or classic black & white or sepia photos of you and your significant other when you were babies.
(4) Create A Sleepy Time Sanctuary: We all need our beauty rest, so it is important to create an environment that’s peaceful for your baby to sleep. Create a calming atmosphere with soothing colors and softer tones rather than bright or harsh colors. Then, use accents to add pops of color without being too overwhelming.
(5) Don’t Sacrifice Style for Functionality: It is easy to create a beautiful, organized space in the nursery to care for your baby (without the piles of diapers and a mess
of toiletries). Place a basket or fabric covered box (from an arts & crafts or paperstore) on the changing table or shelf above and fill with diapers, Vaseline ® petroleum jelly, diaper cream, rubbing alcohol and Q-tips®!
In fact Q-Tips ® has a new Baby Pack. They are available in two adorable nursery animal designs and are functional (with a new sliding drawer that keeps Q-tips ® cotton swabs protected for baby) so they can always be within arm’s reach. I was lucky to get a set for free and immediately put them in my nursery. I have to say, they are really cute. It is nice to have functional items in the nursery, but not have them look like your medicine cabinet. They retail for around $3.19 and have 285 Q-Tips ® per box. They can be found in-store at Walmart and Target. I mean, yes, having the Q-tip ® box match your nursery may be a wee-bit over the top, but for about a dollar more, why not! You are going to see it, and be using it, every day. They are adorable, bright, and would go with most baby room designs. I just wish my tissue box had a nursery design on it too!
As a side note for you Moms-to-be, having Q-Tips ® in the nursery is important. They are great for cleaning between fingers and toes. (You will be surprised to see what collects in there!) They can be used to apply ointments to your baby or cleaning your baby’s ears. Not the ear canal though! They are too young for that, but around the outside of the ear and even behind the ear. I even use them to get that little booger that is right at the end of the nose. Gross I know, but welcome to mommyhood.
So for you Mommies and Mommies-to-be, I am giving away one Q-tip ® Nursery set, which includes 2 sets of Q-tips ® and a little silver-like elephant bank. So leave a comment below about what your nursery looks like and you could be the lucky winner. The contest ends at 11:59 p.m. on February 22nd and the winner will be selected via a sequential drawing at Random.org! Enjoy and I am off to clean up my little one with my Q-tip ® Baby Pack!
**This giveaway is for US residents only. Limit one entry per family. Please include a valid email address so we can contact you if you win. Your email will not be published and will not be used for any other purpose. If your comment doesn’t appear right away, don’t worry. We monitor our comments for spam so there is a slight delay between the time you submit your comment and when it appears below.
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Metrowest Mama 