Up the chicness of any outfit with the artful, playful bangles, necklaces and earrings from New York designer Alexis Bittar. I adore the lucite jewelry, and apparently, I am not alone…his work is consistently mentioned, in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and countless other fashion oriented magazines.
The lucite is nice and strong too, so the bangles will hold up to the usual toddler tugging … Mama Jen
Add comment May 29th, 2008
Luca Bleu is having a crib bedding sale for girl’s! Check out the beautiful designs available for all those spring chicks that are ready to hatch!! Enter promo BED20 to receive 20% off of your purchase. Yea!
Mama Jen
Add comment May 14th, 2008
Being a product junkie myself, I naturally continued the habit for my daughter since she can’t very well be one on her own yet. Thymes, a Minnesota based company has a new collection of products for babies called Sweetleaf Baby.
The Sweetleaf Baby collection is formulated to be oh so gentle on that new skin you’ll be pampering. The scent is light and airy with hints of lavender, chamomile.
The gift set is so wonderful with a refreshning hand sanitizer, diaper balm, cute yellow washcloth and nursery mist…mmmm! Perfect! The massage oil I tried is delectable—not too greasy, great smelling and paraben free which is fab!
Happy pampering!!
Mama Jen
Add comment May 5th, 2008
Like the rest of you parents out there, I think some of my kids’ artwork is super cool. Now I can have it with me constantly (around my neck or wrist, on my keychain) and show it off at will. All you have to do (dads, this means you) is upload a scan of your child’s artwork and, vóila, the gals at Mommy Tags will emblazon it on a 1-inch-wide circular tag made of recycled silver. Last step is to order a chain — silver or leather — and wait for the masterpiece to arrive. And, you get a professionally mounted rubber stamp of the artwork as well — great for making cards, Ts, etc.
Mommy Tags is very clear that YOU own the copyright to your child’s artwork; they will not use or distribute it.
Tags are $95. Chains start at $15.
And, dads, while your order probably won’t make it by Mom’s Day at this point, you at least can frame the original artwork and let Mommy know what’s on the way.
Mama Kate
Add comment April 27th, 2008
My inner Martha Stewart is making a rare appearance these days before she goes back into her usual hibernation….I am organizing a family cookbook!
My husband’s side of our family put together a wonderful family cookbook that each family member can go to when looking for their family’s favorite recipes etc…I loved the idea and wanted to do it for my side of our family.
I found a phenomenal site called Heritage Cookbook. Even Oprah likes it…
The best part of being able to make and publish your family cookbook with this site is that everyone you want to contribute can enter their recipes on their own. You simply sign up, add your desired contributors, and an email is sent to them to invite them to join in on your cookbook adventure! This saves the cookbook organizer from needing to decipher family penmanship and enter in all the recipes. Ugghh…the horror!
Make your own cookbook if you are a “culinary queen,” gift a collection of your family recipes to your mom for mother’s day, or make a cookbook to sell and donate the proceeds to charity! Actually 5% of your purchases to this company go to charity. Also, they only print on FSC approved paper so Heritage Cookbook.com has that great green thing going for them! Great great stuff!
The customer service here is top-notch. When you email Susan Love, the creator of this site a question or comment, she gets right back to you with whatever information you need! That is so valuable!
Enjoy!
Mama Jen
Add comment April 8th, 2008
OK. So I’ve often thought I could make my own gift bags — just some cool fabric and a few zigzags on the sewing machine, right? Well, that means that I actually have to get out my sewing machine and go to the store to pick out fabric, iron it, make sure the kids are outta they way before I try to run the sewing machine, etc. etc. So, pretty much, my little spurt of craftiness is not gonna happen.
Enter Lucky Crow fabric bags, owned by Green Approach LLC in Portland, OR. Though I’m a fine papers fanatic, the sustainable/green aspects of our MomAppeal personas LOVE these. By design, they are reusable and, made of fabric, are much sturdier than any of the old paper gift bags, wraps and trimmings I have filling up two bins in my basement. And, the ribbons are attached and the fabric are cool: From the Retro-Rocket Rascals and the Sock Monkey patterns to some ’60s flashback prints (Carnival, Free Spirit and Happy Tree) and even holiday and hip organic prints, you’ll find a design that matches your gifting style and theme.
Lucky Crow bags are sold individually in a range of sizes ($4.50-$13.50), including those that just the right fit for tiny bling boxes, wine bottles, CDs, books and even bigger gifts. The largest size almost fit a Rody bounce-on toy; two extra large bags would work better, and allow you to wrap other similarly sized assembled gifts (we all know wrapping those well with paper is just about impossible).
Or, make your life really easy and choose from one of five collections ($17.99-$115.99) that include bags of assorted sizes and patterns. We love that the Lucky Crow tells you how much purchasing by collection saves vs. ordering oodles of individual bags, and that the company has some fun and free gift tags you can print from your browser window.
Here’s something else we like: Lucky Crow is a member of 1% for the Planet, an international group of businesses that donates one percent of their sales to nonprofit environmental organizations.
Lucky Crow has created a special promotion code for MomAppeal readers — so you can stock up now and be set for birthday parties, house warmings and holidays for the rest of the year. Type in the promotional code MomAppeal at checkout and you’ll receive 20% off any order of $50 or more. Thanks Lucky Crow!
Mama Kate
Add comment March 24th, 2008
If you are interested in teaching your child yoga, Little Yoga: A Toddler’s First Book of Yoga is a great place to start.
Full of colorful illustrations of beginner poses and whimsical text, you can both take a much needed breather and practice yoga together. (This works great especially if your child was more interested in taking props from other little yogis while in yoga class…not my daughter of course)
Watch for the DVD to come out—Gwyneth Paltrow will be doing the commentary since she loves the book for her children. Currently, the book is available at most book stores including Amazon, Borders, and Barnes and Noble.
Namaste!
Add comment March 20th, 2008
With Spring officially arriving this Thursday (wahooooo!) you may be getting that spring cleaning fever. I know I have been organizing here and there—only for it to be re-organized by my two year old, but I am making a little, more, OK, some headway! Buttoned Up is a company that helps “stretched and stressed out women” get themselves and their families organized. Personally, I think they are going to rescue our bulging file cabinet.
Buttoned up features about 30 great products or “kits” that will help you organize your tax documents, be prepared if you are in a vehicle collision, get your fitness goals in order, organize to-do lists diaper bags, moves and more…virtually all the important parts of our lives that would be so much easier if they were neatly “buttoned up!”
You can browse their selection of nifty kits that help you organize life’s important information at their website, or look through them in person at Target, where they are available in some locations.
The company was invented by a Alicia Rockmore (a mom) with her business partner Sarah Welch and her sisters, who know just how much you are juggling and found a way to help.
Fabulous idea that has major MomAppeal! Mama Jen
1 comment March 18th, 2008
Remind yourself of the superhero mom you are everyday with a great, handmade necklace from Superhero Designs.
I came across this amazing jewelry while living in San Francisco and fell hard for the colorful and vibrant necklaces that the Superhero Andrea makes. I even had her make some jewelry for the bridesmaids in my wedding!
The necklaces are all unique because you choose from the color families provided( I loveEarth and Joy!) and Andrea will make you a fab piece of jewelry from sterling silver and vintage glass and lucite beads. Perfect for all of the superhero necks that will be transporting their families to and from camp, games, family outings and vacations all summer long….Ahhhhh….it’s coming!!! Summer!!
Check out the great onsies and t-shirts available as well! Great for superhero moms, dads and kids… Love ‘em!!
Mama Jen
Add comment March 12th, 2008
Amazing handmade baby changing pads, diaper and wipe totes and beautiful items for mom can be found at b. handmade designs.
The colors and fabrics used are so adorable, fun and playful. Perfect for spring handbags and whimsical baby items!!!
This crafter also makes duvet covers, curtains and pillows. There are also fashionable beds for your four-legged children!
Custom orders are always welcome, so if you have a theme going for your child, or would love a purse in your favorite fabric, b. handmade designs can do it for you…this is very helpful for moms like me who can dream up ideas, but don’t know their way around a needle and thread to save their lives!
Mama Jen
1 comment March 6th, 2008
