Kiss My Face Kids **GIVEAWAY**

I've got a great giveway up and running over at Chic Critique today. It features the new Kiss My Face Kids line of bath and body care products -- all of which totally rock. Be sure to head on over and check it out! :)

How to Make Cute Hair Clips *With Giveaway*

***Congratulations to commenter #7 mah-meee from Raising A&C! You're the lucky winner! Be sure and check your email so I can get the hair clips out to you asap. Thanks to everyone for playing along! ***

I'm updating this post to link up to Works for Me Wednesday. After you finish reading it, be sure and check out all the other great tips at Shannon's place!

So, earlier this week I confessed that when it comes to styling my daughters' hair, I'm pretty much all thumbs.

But, after re-reading that post, I realized that I neglected to fill you in on the one secret weapon in my hairstyling arsenal. I mentioned it, but I didn't elaborate.

So, I'd like to introduce you to the flower clippie:



I like to call it the "smoke and mirrors approach" to styling hair. You see, my daughters' fine hair may never boast impressive volume or curl -- but any ol' style can be dramatically improved with a flower clipped on top. I present Exhibit A:



And Exhibit B:





See? You don't notice the hair, only the flower. Sneaky, huh? And here's the best part, you don't even have to spend $10 a clip. I made these for literally pennies. Here's what you need:






faux flowers, ribbon, brads, alligator clips (available at beauty supply stores), and a hot glue gun. I pick my flowers up at the dollar store. They don't have to be silk. They don't have to be expensive. Cheap will work just fine.

The first thing you want to do is pull the flowers off the plastic stems. Then, remove the center portion of the flower. If the flower petals are just one or two "ply," so to speak, remove a few extra flowers. We'll stack them, one on top of the other, to make them look fuller.





Then, go get yourself some brads:




You can pick brads up at a craft store. There are a ton of different styles. Choose whatever you like. I happen to be partial to the silver rhinestone variety.


Next, stack your petals. I used four single-ply flowers below. Then, run your brad through the center and secure.





Now, set that aside and forget about it for a second.


This is an alligator clip. Notice that there is a definite top and a bottom. The bottom is the straight side.






Hold the clip upside down (so the bottom edge is now facing the ceiling) and open the clip. Apply hot glue to the inside of the top of the clip (which is now functioning as the bottom). Then, take some ribbon and set it on top of the glued part like so:






Now, flip the clip back over so the bottom of the clip is back on the bottom. Apply more hot glue to the outside of the top of the clip, and fold the ribbon around the top of the clip to stick.

By the way, be very careful when you do this. You can get a pretty decent burn from getting hot glue on your fingers. (That's the voice of experience speaking.) Now, apply some hot glue to the bottom of the clip (the solid silver part only):

And wrap the ribbon around like so:

Trim off any extra ribbon. Now you're home free. All that's left to do is hot glue the flower onto the top of the clip. Viola!

You can do the same thing with larger flowers, by the way. Remove the center and stack a few layers of petals. The only difference here is you're going to hot glue the layers together, instead of using a brad:

Then, cut the "peg" end off the the flower center (so it will lay flat) and hot glue that puppy right onto the center of the petals.

Then, just hot glue the flower to your ribbon-covered alligator clip. Piece of cake.

Hey, how 'bout a giveaway? I'll make two sets of small flower clips and three larger gerber daisy clips for one lucky winner. Let's keep it nice and simple. Just leave a comment below. I'll close comments a week from today (Friday, February 20th at 11:59 p.m.) and use the random number generator to select a winner.

Good luck and happy clip making!

Bloggy Giveaway: Superhero/Princess Cape and Mask Set

***UPDATE: We have a winner! Congratulations to Stephanie, who blogs at My True Loves! And, thanks to everyone who took the time to play along! ***

I live with a pint-sized superhero.

In practical terms, that means I often trip over rubber boots left in the hallway. My pot lids do double-time as shields. And my hand towels go missing when my hero needs a new cape.

That's why I fell in love with babypop Designs -- a one-stop shop for the superhero or princess in your life.



Sherry, a 15-year apparel industry veteran, designs and hand-stitches all babypop garments using quality satin and felt made from recycled materials.

My son Josh received a cape, mask and glove set for Christmas, custom-made in his favorite colors -- orange and green. To say it was a "hit" would be putting it lightly. He adores it.

And, I've finally reclaimed my hand towels.

Here's the best part: babypop has generously donated one custom cape and mask set (featuring one initial in the colors of your choosing) to a lucky winner!

To enter:

1) Head over to babypop's Etsy shop and let me know what your favorite item is. (Comments that don't answer that question will be deleted.)

2) OPTIONAL: Get a second entry for twittering the contest. Just be sure to leave a second comment so you get your second entry.

3) OPTIONAL: You can get a third entry by subscribing to Life with Three. Again, just leave a second comment saying you did so.

This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern (8:59 p.m. Pacific) on Saturday, January 31st, 2009. Winner will be determined by the good ol' random number generator.

So get commenting -- and don't forget to go and check out the hundreds of other fantabulous giveaways going on this week as part of the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival!

Good luck y'all!

Bloggy Giveaway: One Free Year of Menu Planning

***UPDATE: Congratulations to Angela who blogs at Nine More Months! And, thanks to everyone who took the time to play along! ***

Each week, I sit down and create a plan for our weekly dinners.

It has never been my favorite chore. It takes a good deal of time and involves me shuffling through a lot of recipes.

But I do it.

Because you know what's worse than planning weekly meals?

Walking into a grocery store at 5 p.m. on a weeknight with three kids in tow and asking, "What should I make for dinner tonight?"

That's pretty much my definition of hell on earth.

So, I choose to menu plan. I used to do it begrudgingly (and with a fair amount of complaining), until a couple months ago when I discovered Relish!.

Relish! is a menu planning service. Each week, they email me a new list of 10 dinners I can choose to prepare. I choose five meals from the Relish! list, then print out my ready-made grocery list and recipes.

It. Is. The. Bomb.

Meal planning now takes all of 10 minutes.

The delicious recipes are super-simple and are labeled with tags like "kid friendly," "vegetarian," and "lower calorie" for convenience. This week we're enjoying Chicken Stir Fry Lettuce Wraps with Ginger Rice, Spinach Pie with Pine Nuts and Apple Salad, and Pacific Flat Iron Steaks with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Pears.

What's more, Relish! even offers customized menus for family movie nights (think Kung Pao Chicken for a screening of Kung Fu Panda), theme parties, lunches and monthly freezer menus.

Now, here's the great news: The ladies over at Relish! have generously donated a one-year subscription to their service to one lucky winner.

That's one-year of having someone plan your weekly dinners! The only thing better than that is a personal chef , and unfortunately, I couldn't find one of those to give away. ;-)

So, here's how to enter:

1) Leave a comment telling me whether or not you sit down and make a weekly meal plan. (Comments that don't answer that question will be deleted!)

2) OPTIONAL: Get a second entry for twittering the contest. Just be sure to leave a second comment so you get your second entry.

3) OPTIONAL: You can get a third entry by subscribing to Life with Three. Again, just leave a second comment saying you did so.

This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern (8:59 p.m. Pacific) on Friday, January 30th, 2009. Winner will be determined by the good ol' random number generator.

So get commenting -- and don't forget to go and check out the hundreds of other fantabulous giveaways going on this week as part of the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival!

And...don't forget to check out my other giveaway for a custom-made cape and mask set -- perfect for the pint-sized superhero or princess in your life!

Good luck y'all!

And the winner is...

Commenter #91 -- Nina! Congratulations, Nina. Your copy of Twilight is on its way to you!

For the rest of you who haven't read the book -- what are you waiting for? Get yourselves to the store and snag a copy! I'm telling you, it's well worth the read. And, thanks to everyone for playing along!

Bloggy Giveaway Time!

I just finished reading one of the best book series I've read in a long time. It's one of those can't-put-it-down-for-one-second kind of reads.

I walked around depressed for a week when I finished because I didn't want it to end.

Seriously. It's that good.

So, to share the love, I'm giving away one brand-new, never-read copy of Twilight. It's just the first book, but it should be enough to get you addicted hooked started. (If you've already read it, enter anyway -- it would make a great Christmas gift.)

For a chance to win, leave a comment on this post by 11 p.m. on Friday, October 31st.

For a valid entry, you must include a good book recommendation -- because now that I'm done with Edward and Bella, I need something good to read. Help a girl out, would ya?

One comment per person please (duplicates will be deleted). You do NOT have to have a blog to play along, but please provide a valid email address where I can contact you. I'm willing to ship internationally, but I'm not sure how the duty and taxes will work on your end. (If you're willing to handle that part, please feel free to enter.) I will randomly draw a winner and notify you via email over the weekend.

Thanks for visiting and, if you're new here, feel free to stop back when you have time to look around. Don't forget to check out all the other fantastic prizes up for grabs this week as part of the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival. Good luck!

And...we've got a winner!

Congratulations to Mary of International Freebies! You were lucky number 75, as chosen by random.org. I'll be getting your necklace out to you this week. Thanks to everyone for playing along!

Shiny, Pretty and Sparkly...oh my!

When it comes to favorite things, pretty and sparkly almost always tops my list.

Oh, you too?

Well, I have a sterling silver pendant on an 18" box chain, set with a blue topaz that I'm giving away to one lucky commenter this week. (I have a similar necklace that I wear almost daily.) It looks just as great with jeans as it does with dresses and would make a great gift for yourself or someone you love. Here's what it looks like:

For a chance to win this pendant, simply leave a comment on this post by 10 p.m. on Friday, August 1st. One comment per person please (duplicates will be deleted). You do NOT have to have a blog to play along, but please provide a valid email address where I can contact you. I'm willing to ship internationally, but I'm not sure how the duty and taxes will work on your end. (If you're willing to handle that part, please feel free to enter.) I will randomly draw a winner and notify you via email over the weekend.

Thanks for visiting and, if you're new here, feel free to stop back when you have time to look around. Don't forget to check out all the other fantastic prizes up for grabs this week as part of the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival. Good luck!

Look What I Won!

Well, the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival has ended and look what I won! A Little Girl's Hair Helper kit from Three P's in a Pod! Whooo! Can I tell you how much my daughter will appreciate the Suave Detangling Spray? And the bow is too cute! Thanks so much, Alyson, for hosting a terrific giveaway. And y'all go over and check out Alyson's place. She's got three little ones, just like me -- so you can bet there's never a dull moment over at her place!

How About Some Bling?

***UPDATED: This giveaway is now closed****

My obsession with jewelry started young.

In 5th grade, as part of a long, drawn out Madonna phase, I wore rubber bracelets up to my elbow. On both arms. Every day.

When I tired of those, I moved on to long strands of pearls. Then it was dangly earrings. Closely followed by gaudy, plastic charm necklaces (anyone remember those?). In short, if there was a girly bauble to be had, it would inevitably find its way to my overstuffed jewelry box.

These days my style is (thankfully) a little more subdued, but my love of all things shiny and pretty is alive and well. So, for this giveaway I thought it would be fun to "spread the bling."



This is a sterling silver pendant on an 18" box chain, set with a blue topaz. I have a similar necklace that I wear almost daily. It looks just as good with jeans as it does with dresses. It would make a great gift for yourself or someone you love.

For a chance to win this pendant, simply leave a comment on this post by 10 p.m. on Friday, April 25th. One comment per person please (duplicates will be deleted). You do NOT have to have a blog to play along, but please provide a valid email address where I can contact you. I'm willing to ship internationally, but I'm not sure how the duty and taxes will work on your end. (If you're willing to handle that part, please feel free to enter.) I will randomly draw a winner and notify you via email over the weekend.

Thanks for stopping by and good luck! Oh, and don't forget to check out all the other fantastic prizes up for grabs this week as part of the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival!