Nostalgic Graphic Tees: Fairy Tee Giveaway

by Kate on September 29th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Giveaways

Elizabeth Horton is a professional graphic designer for her day job and, thankfully, she’s put her talents to designing tees for children. Nostalgic Graphic Tees feature “silhouette designs that capture the nostalgic, memorable moments of good, old fashioned childhood.” I love the clean, simple lines of the shirts.

Quality Tees

You may remember the Nostalgic Graphic Tees review in April, and my son still wears the Dream Car tee months later. The shirt has held up extremely well. But, Elizabeth has improved on her designs and now uses exclusive high end, boutique quality garments for all her shirts. The silhouette graphic is professionally silk screened using a double pass of ink. And it must work, because our shirt looks just as great now as it did when it arrived months ago.

New & Holiday Designs

I just love some of the new designs Elizabeth is offering just in time for the fall and holiday season. I love the Little Cheerleader shirt for fall football games.

The Little Angel and Perfect Tree tees are simply perfect for the holiday season.

Shop! Nostalgic Graphic Tees by Elizabeth Horton Design short sleeve tees are $18 and long sleeved tees are $21. Make sure you check  out the sale section for some discounted designs.

Win! A Whimsical Fairy Tee from Nostalgic Graphic Tees!

Prize details: The fairy tee will be in aqua and white and is available in sizes 18 months to 8 years.

How to Enter: Visit Nostalgic Grahic Tees by Elizabeth Horton Design and leave a comment with your favorite design.

Bonus Entries – valid only after completing the first required entry. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.

  • Join Nostalgic Graphic Tees on Facebook
  • Follow The Shopping Mama on Twitter and tweet this giveaway. You may do this every day, just leave the link when you do.
    Check out the good, old fashioned silhouette tees from Nostalgic Graphic Tees & WIN! @TheShoppingMama http://bit.ly/aZfuGY
  • Like The Shopping Mama on Facebook. Leave an extra comment if you Share or “Like” this on your Facebook.
  • Subscribe to The Shopping Mama in email or RSS
  • Be a “Shopping Buddy,” AKA follow in Google Friends Connect (widget at the bottom of page)

Giveaway ends October 13. Open to US mailing addresses only.

Disclosure:  Thanks to Nostalgic Graphic Tees for providing the giveaway prize and for being a sponsor of The Shopping Mama.

Wordless Wednesday: Under the Big Top

by Kate on September 28th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Weekly Features, Wordless Wednesday

We went to the circus the other day. The highlight? Well, that depends who you ask. If you ask my husband the best part was the human canon ball.

If you ask my son, it was the pony ride.

And if you ask my daughter, it was the popcorn.

I look forward to seeing your photos.

Baby Registry Advice – Top Baby Registry Programs

by Kate on September 28th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Baby Shopping Guide, Shopping

There are tons of places to register for baby gifts – and it’s impossible to mention them all. But, using the  “PERKS” advice from the Tips for Registering for Baby post and taking into consideration the places we like to shop, here are our suggestions for our top registry picks!

Convenience: Babies R Us

Given that Babies R Us is both online and located in thousands of cities across the United States, Babies R Us is our top pick when it comes to convenience. Whether your friends are shopping across town or across the country, they will easily be able to navigate your registry and shower you and your new baby with gifts you love!

Value: Diapers.com

Diapers.com offers incredible benefits for all expecting couples. Not only do they offer the standard 10% Completion Coupon, but they also offer a $50 Diapers.com credit for every $500 purchased from your registry. Total all the items on your registry and you could easily have a couple hundred dollars of free diapers (or any other baby items) once your little one arrives!

Military Customers: Zoolu!

Being a military wife, I’m always on the lookout for my friends still living overseas. For those of you expecting while living overseas, Zoolu! is the go-to place that combines both convenience and value. Not only are they experts at shipping to APO/FPO addresses, but they also offer the same excellent benefits offered by Diapers.com – 10% Completion Coupon AND $50 Z Cash for every $500 purchased from your registry. A win-win if you ask me!

Upscale: Magic Beans

Magic Beans is a Boston-based toy company with an amazing website full of valuable information for a range of baby products, particularly upscale and green goods. If you’re unsure of what baby gear to add to your registry, the detailed product descriptions, videos and blog posts are very helpful. And the Stroller Matchmaker is a dream come true for indecisive types.

Happy reigstering!

The Juno Baby Company Debuts Juno Jr.

by Kate on September 28th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Shopping

Last month while at BlogHer, I felt like a kid in a candy store giant toy store when I got to attend a Juno Baby Brunch at FAO Schwarz. Prior to the brunch, my knowledge of Juno Baby was limited to an iPhone app that my son plays, so the brunch was a great way to learn more about Juno Baby directly from the creator and executives passionate about the brand. Since the event, my kids have been enjoying the Juno Baby DVD samples we received and my daughter has a new favorite doll.

About Juno Baby

Juno Baby is the passion project of founder, composer and mom, Belinda Takahashi, Ph.D. All of our products are based on her lifelong love of music and the belief in its power to open hearts and minds. Juno Baby believes that by surrounding young children with beautiful music, we can engage their minds, inspire them artistically, and nurture them emotionally.

We have collaborated with top researchers, artists, and musicians to create an award-winning line of products. Our CDs, books, and DVDs feature a cast of lovable characters that interact with your child, along with original music composed for and performed by live orchestral musicians.

Juno Jr. Launch at FAO Schwarz

Last weekend, the Juno Baby Company celebrated the launch of Juno Jr. with a celebrity-filled party at FAO Schwarz. To introduce its new brand for pre-schoolers, Juno Jr. is all over the famous FAO toy store from its display windows  to 20′ Juno Baby towers as you enter, giant light-boxes as you go up the escalator and Juno displays throughout the entire store.

The new line Juno Jr. targets growing pre-schoolers, focusing on music, education, and appreciation through a variety of storylines. The Juno Company creates products that develop a lifelong appreciation of music. The Juno Company lines include DVDs, CDs, plush toys, and board books and the products are aimed towards children ages 12 months to 5 years.

Juno Jr. Party

The Juno Company co-founders Belinda Takahashi and Adam Adelman along with CEO Barrett Cohn and celebrity moms and moms-to-be enjoyed the company of Juno and friends at the launch party over the weekend. Here’s some inside scoop from the party,

“A lot of our friends are having babies and one of them gave us the Juno Baby DVDs to watch and we instantly fell in love with them,” mom-to-be Melissa Rycroft, host of Bachelor Pad, said. Her baby update? “We don’t know what the sex is yet, but we’re slowly starting to put together a nursery–we can’t wait to fill it with Juno Baby and Juno Jr. DVDs and plushes for him or her.”

Elisabeth Röhm (from Law & Order and Heroes) and her daughter Easton played with the puppets on display and nibbled on Juno Baby cookies. “My two-and-a-half year old daughter and I are already part of the Juno Baby family and have been for a while,” the star said. “Juno’s her best friend and she’s learning to express her feelings through music which is really the best part of it all.”

Shop! Find the entire line of Juno Baby and Juno Jr. products online at TheJunoCompany.com. You can keep up with product updates and news by liking Juno Baby on Facebook.

Baby Must Have: Boppy Nursing & Infant Pillow (Giveaway)

by Kate on September 28th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Baby Shopping Guide, Giveaways

Before my son was born – almost four years ago! – there were a few items on my baby registry that I was certain I had to have. The Boppy Pillow was one of those. I’d heard great things, and was planning to breastfeed so I had high hopes for it. After using the Boppy for two babies, I can say it lived up to my expectations and the Boppy Nursing & Infant Pillow is a must have on The Shopping Mama Baby Shopping Guide.

About the Boppy Nursing & Infant Pillow

This little pillow is for feeding.
This little pillow is for play.
This little pillow is for sitting.
This little pillow saves the day!

With so many uses, it’s no wonder our Boppy® pillow has been voted America’s favorite baby product a record six times.  Our pillow not only lifts babies to a more ergonomic position for comfortable feedings, it also transitions to support them as they grow.  Offering the perfect spot for playing, sitting, relaxing or just discovering little fingers and toes.

Boppy’s Always Improving

One of the things that I admire about Boppy is that the company isn’t content to sit with a good product. They continue to evolve and improve an already great product. For example, Boppy pillows now have the Miracle Middle stretch panel so the pillow can comfortably cradle most waists.

More recently, Boppy introduced the Protective Cover and Newborn Booster. The Protective Cover keeps your pillow nice and dry even when baby spits up all over your cute Slipcover. And, as Monica reported, the Newborn Booster is helpful when feeding infants or baby’s with reflux.

And, of course, what’s a Boppy Pillow without an adorable Slipcover? The selection of covers is awesome with a range in prices and styles. I love the Designer Slipcovers and Heirloom Slipcover Collection. Although, my kids and I were perfectly happy with our boring solid colored slipcovers circa 2006.

Shop! Boppy products, including the must have Boppy Nursing & Infant Pillow, are available at Amazon. The Boppy Bare Naked Pillow is $29.99 and Boppy with Slipcover start at $34.99.

Win! A Boppy Pillow with Slipcover!

How to Enter: Visit Boppy and check out the line of products. Leave a comment with your favorite slipcover or another product that catches your eye.

Bonus Entries – valid only after completing the first required entry. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.

Giveaway ends October 13. Open to US mailing addresses only.

Disclosure:  Thanks to Boppy for providing the giveaway prize.

Tips for Finding the Best Baby Registry Program

by Kate on September 27th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Baby Shopping Guide, Shopping

The Baby Shopping Guide is showing you the best of the best baby products. So you know what to register for, and now we have advice for where to register for baby gifts. This is a guest post written by Megan Glynn, the mom of two young boys and owner of Zoolu!, an online boutique for moms and babies. Zoolu! has hundreds of name-brand products for less, and yes, it has a Gift Registry program!

***

Congratulations! You’re going to have a baby! After having a minute to digest this life-changing news, it won’t be long before you start realizing all the things you will need in order to welcome home your little bundle of joy in style. As you create your registry, keep in mind that you are looking for a Gift Registry Program that both is extremely user-friendly and allows you to maximize your “perks”. Most likely, you yourself will be purchasing very few items from this list, so it is important that you find a store that will provide your friends and families with a shopping experience that is both pleasurable and easy! It all comes down to the “PERKS” of registering. Read on to learn more.

P – Price-Match Guarantee

This is particularly important for the larger items on your list (think car seats, strollers, diaper bags, etc). If, over the course of your pregnancy, you find a retailer that has the exact stroller you hope to have for your baby, it will put you at ease knowing that your registry will honor that lower price and ensure that you receive all your top items for the best prices possible.

E – Excellent Customer Service

When you register with a company, you are driving A LOT of business to a company with very little effort on their part. As a result, this company should do everything in their power to please you as their customer. Ask around to ensure that they not only “say” they have 100% Customer Satisfaction, but that they follow through as well!

R – Returns Made Easy

Keep in mind when registering that it is not uncommon to actually use the items you receive off your registry months after you receive them. For that reason, it is important that your registry has a forgiving return policy that will, at the very least, award you store credit if an item does not meet your expectations.

K – “Kash” Back Rewards

Many companies recognize the value of their Gift Registry Program and are fighting to earn your loyalty. Therefore, many companies are willing to give you special “perks” to encourage you to register through them. We are all familiar with the standard 10% coupon to complete the items left on your registry. However, have you heard of receiving cash back for “x” amount of purchases made from your registry? Do your research – it will pay off in the end!

S – Shipping Fees Got You Down?

With more and more people becoming “online shoppers”, it is important that you factor in the shipping costs. Will your friends and family pay an arm and a leg for shipping? If so, it might be worth it to keep looking!

What do you look for in a baby registry program?

Sweet Paper Lane: Invites, Announcements & Gifts (Giveaway)

by Kate on September 27th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Baby Shopping Guide, Giveaways

There are a lot of reasons to like Sweet Paper Lane – the amazing selection of invitations and announcement cards, the easy to navigate and user-friendly website, the commitment to customer service. But, I also really like Sweet Paper Lane because it is a stay at home mom success story. The site was started a couple years ago by a mom of two and has grown into one of the web’s largest invitation websites. And for good reason: when you browse the baby shower invitations, photo birth announcements and baby stationery you’re sure to find something you love.

About Sweet Paper Lane

Sweet Paper Lane is your place to shop for the widest selection of invitations, announcements, photo cards and stationery items for all of life’s milestones and occasions. We carry over 6,000 invitations and stationery products from the top designers in the industry. From chic to trendy, classic and elegant, whatever your style, you’ll find it here!

Baby Shower Invitations & Gifts

If your group of friends is anything like my group of friends, it seems like there is always someone pregnant. Which means there’s always reason to celebrate and throw a fab baby shower. Nothing sets the tone for a great part like a great invitation, and Sweet Paper Lane has great Baby Shower Invitations.You can search for boy, girl or twin announcements or browse by designer.

Even if you’re not throwing a baby shower, Sweet Paper Lane offers affordable and unique baby shower and new baby gifts. Every mama carries baby wipes, so every mama can use the fun and functional Handmade Baby Wipe Cases. I just love the fabrics used on all of them – they’re so colorful and infinitely cuter than the standard wipes case.

Another super sweet and unique gift idea for a baby shower gift is the Sonogram Frames at Sweet Paper Lane. There are a couple different designs to pick from and they are all very, very sweet. And thenthe mama-to-be can put that fuzzy black and white photo in context.

Birth Announcements

If cute birth announcements were reason enough to have a baby, I’d be totally on board for baby number 3 after browsing the birth announcements at Sweet Paper Lane. I particularly like the selection of Photo Birth Announcements because I think it’s fun to include a picture of the new baby (even if they do all look a bit alike at that age). But, seriously, these kind of make my ovaries ache.

Baby & Kid Stationery

Sweet Paper Lane has the most adorable Baby Stationery. Some of the note cards are perfect for thank you cards and even have mom and baby’s name on them. Others are sweet but not too cutesy and would make great note cards for an older child. And I totally wouldn’t just any grown up for using them either. Just saying.

Invites and Announcements – Just The Way You Want

Sweet Paper Lane takes a personal interest in each and every order. I love that they offer a FREE proof emailed to you within one business day on almost all orders. You get a real copy of the card so you can see exactly what it will look like and then you get unlimited revisions, ensuring your invitations or announcements will look just the way you want when you receive them. Can you imagine the new mama hormones if your birth announcement didn’t look perfect or had a typo? Oh my! So, for obvious reasons I really appreciate the peace of mind that comes with ordering from Sweet Paper Lane.

Shop! Sweet Paper Lane has over 6000 invitations, announcements and gifts and plenty of goodies to celebrate baby before and after arrival! (And there’s plenty to enjoy that’s not baby related – there are even a bunch of Halloween Invites!) Get Free Shipping on your order over $100!

Win! A $50 Gift Certificate to Sweet Paper Lane!

How to Enter: Take a look around Sweet Paper Lane – there’s a lot to see! – and leave a comment with something that catches your eye.

Bonus Entries – valid only after completing the first required entry. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.

Giveaway ends October 13. Open to US mailing addresses only.

Disclosure:  Thanks to Sweet Paper Lane for providing the giveaway prize. We were not compensated for this post, but are grateful that Sweet Paper Lane is a sponsor of The Shopping Mama.

Silhouette Tutorial – Sweet Little Boxes

by Amy on September 26th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Life, Shopping

Just a few days ago we announced our giveaway of a Silhouette Craft Cutter valued at over $300. Haven’t entered? Run, don’t walk, to enter the Silhouette giveaway at The Shopping Mama.

I’m back today to show you one of the many things I’ve made with my new, sleek and amazing Silhouette! I have what I would classify as a borderline embarrassing paper addiction. I just can’t resist buying when I see a print that I want to work with. I decided to put some of my paper to work with my first Silhouette project — candy boxes.

Each year as it gets closer to the holiday season, I bake huge batches of chocolates to have on hand for family and friends. Said family and friends have come to expect a certain amount of treats leading up to and during the holidays, and I am forever on the lookout for sweet ways to present my chocolates to loved ones. Enter the Silhouette. One of the templates that comes with the Silhouette is a box that is the perfect size for candies, jewelry, even a fancy bar of soap. The best part of the template? You can resize the file to fit your needs – so, for example, if I want to give 3, 6, 9 candies, I can print an approprite little box.

So let’s get to it!

After your Silhouette software is installed and the machine is plugged into your computer, open the software and select a new document. Click on “My Library” in the lower left side of your screen (see image below.) Select the file Box_1003, and the box will appear within your document, as shown. From here you can resize your document as needed.

Next, load your paper onto the cutting mat, and insert it into the machine. The heavier the cardstock, the more sturdy your box will be, so use good paper! Select ‘cut’ and ’ok’ on your computer, and then the ‘enter’ key on your Silhouette, and your machine will do all the cutting.  Peel the design from the cutting mat (result shown below).

Once your box is cut, you’ll notice tiny perforated lines which serve as your guidelines for folding. You can see below that folding is a sinch with the guidelines.

Seal the sides of the box together with craft glue or even double sided tape.

So, I couldn’t stop making these sweet little boxes! Here are three of them – I ended up making an obscene number of these little guys!

My plan is to line these with some parchment, and they will be all set to house my holiday chocolates this year. I’ll be back in a few days to show you a Halloween-themed project!

How about you? What will you make with your Silhouette? If you haven’t entered yet, you can enter The Shopping Mama’s Silhouette giveaway here!

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