Red Envelope Deluxe Baby Keepsake Kit Review & $100 Gift Certificate Giveaway (CLOSED 10/28)

Oct 21,2011 / By Maria / 11 Comments

Red Envelope has all sorts of fantastic gifts for anniversaries, birthdays and of course new baby gifts. I’ve shopped with Red Envelope for several years, and I’ve bought my husband unique gifts (I bought him personalized collar stays for our anniversary this year!) as well as baby gifts. In fact, I not only bought the Deluxe Baby Keepsake Gift for my 6 1/2 year old daughter and 2 year old son, but also for my husband’s brother when their first baby was born!

I received the Deluxe Baby Keepsake Kit for the new baby, but I’m also picturing my son’s and daughter’s so you can see what they look like completed! The kit comes securely packaged, so you don’t have to worry about the glass breaking in transit.

All of the pieces are included inside the frame. The kit comes in different color frames; you can choose from espresso (what I received), mahogany, white or natural.

Inside the frame, you’ll find two, two-sided mats, so you can choose from pink, beige, blue or green.

It comes with everything you need, including a rolling pin, straight edge/ruler, double stick tape, and two packages of modeling clay stuff. It’s soft and spongy, and you can squish it back together and try again if you like. It’s super easy to use, and dries within a day or two.

We bought the kit for our daughter after we had zero luck with the plaster of paris type kits. We even tried waiting until she was asleep, but couldn’t get a good imprint, and just ended up with a huge mess. The Red Envelope kit is simple, quick, and (I think anyway) a beautiful keepsake.

I think they look wonderful on our hallway wall, with our other family photos! The deluxe keepsake kit is a little bit pricey at $59.95, but well worth it in my opinion.

You can buy everything from plants, cigar cases, toys and jewelry to home decor and gourmet foods at Red Envelope!

~~Giveaway: One winner will receive a $100 Red Envelope gift code, to spend on anything they like! Entries go in the Rafflecopter form.~~

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Baby Products Virtual Baby Shower Event

Carousel Designs Custom Baby Bedding Designer!

Oct 18,2011 / By Maria / 3 Comments

This next post isn’t sponsored, it’s just a super awesome ~~time suck~~ thing I stumbled on and had to share!

I happened upon Carousel Designs (a.k.a. babybedding.com) when I was doing my zillionth google image search for crib bedding. When my son was born, I bought him his own crib bedding set, and I wanted the same for this baby. I know many will say it’s a waste of money but hey, everyone is allowed a small indulgence that makes them happy, right?

Anyhoo, I knew pretty much what I was looking for, and as is always my luck, it didn’t seem to exist. I started clicking on images that looked even sort of close, to get a better look. When I clicked on one, it took me to the listing on babybedding.com. I almost clicked off, but then I saw the custom tab at the top.

Nursery bedding designer? Uhm, yes please?! Luckily, I found this after my kids were in bed, but I am not going to tell you how much time I spent playing around with it! I will tell you that it was punctuated by a lot of “OMG, this is so awesome!” and “holy cow this rocks!” I may or may not have told my hubby at one point that I wanted a divorce so I could marry the bedding designer, ha ha.

No really, maybe I’m weird but this was so.much.fun. You can choose a fabric category (by color, or pattern like animal, dot, gingham etc.) and once you select one you like, you can elect to only see fabrics that match! It will even warn you if say, the brown you selected for your bed skirt may not match the brown you selected for your comforter.

You can customize like crazy, down to the length, style and trim on your bed skirt.

You can even customize the color of the crib, color/type of flooring and wall/trim paint, so you can really get a good idea of what the bedding would look like in your room.

Additionally awesome is that most fabrics are available by the yard, so if you are crafty, you’re pretty much free to make anything your little heart desires to match your custom bedding set. (They do have nursery decor available, but it may not necessarily be just what you’re looking for!)

Also super awesome? They have fabric swatches available for 50 cents each. Why is that awesome? Well, not only can you see and touch the fabrics, look for things that match, see if they match things you already have etc., but Carousel Designs will send you a coupon code to use on your next order of $75 or more, equal to the cost of your swatch order!

OK, so I haven’t actually ordered one of their custom products. But I will say, they have a ton of available fabrics, including organic fabrics, and the quality of the fabric samples I bought was excellent.

Price? Yeah, it’s not cheap, but I didn’t expect it to be. Pricing depends on the options and fabrics you choose, but my creations were around $99-$139 for a comforter, $99-$114 for a bed skirt and $19-$37 (high price is for sateen fabric) for a sheet. The MSRP of the crib set I bought for my son was $265.99 (granted, I paid around $50 on Ebay since I’m ~~cheap~~ frugal!) but all I actually used from the set was the bed skirt and comforter (and when DH lowered the mattress all the way down, he said the skirt no longer worked.) Not just that but man, that stuff was/is cheap with a capital c. The Carousel Designs fabric isn’t even in the same neighborhood, it’s like comparing Wal Mart to Saks Fifth Avenue. I was really flabbergasted when I saw how expensive most crib sets really were!

So anyway, we really haven’t had to buy much for the new baby, so this is going to be my one and only splurge. A bed skirt and comforter (and maybe a sheet.) I thought I knew what I wanted, but once I started playing around, we decided to wait to order until after the baby is born, so we can get something gender specific!

Here are some of the designs I put together (I know some of them are icky, but it’s really easy to save & work on them later!)

If you’re not into the custom designing, they have tons of crib bedding in stock. You can even browse those and use them for inspiration/find things to tweak in the designer! Best of all, they have individual pieces available a la carte, so you’re not stuck with a huge set if all you want is a bed skirt or something!

I can’t wait to order ours and I will definitely post an update/pics when I do!

FTC compliance: I did not receive product or any other compensation for this post, and all opinions are my own.

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Itzbeen Pocket Nanny / Baby Care Timer – Review & Giveaway (CLOSED 10/24)

Oct 17,2011 / By Maria / 8 Comments

The Itzbeen Baby Care Timer is one of those things that made me go “it’s a what?” then “whoa, this is awesome!” shortly followed by “why didn’t I think of that?” and “why didn’t they have this when I had my first baby?!”

In a nutshell, the Itzbeen is a pocket nanny that makes up for the short term memory loss that you may have, thanks to the life-with-a-newborn fog you’re living in.

At it’s simplest, the Itzbeen allows you to push a button for diaper, food, sleep/awake or misc, and it starts a stopwatch. Say you can’t remember when you changed the last diaper, just take a peek. Even now, with a 2-year old, I find myself looking at which diaper my son has on, and trying to remember what I was doing when I put it on him, and what time that may have been! Even worse is if my husband changed the last one! Fortunately with cloth, I can tell it was changed, since it looks different, LOL.

All you (or your significant other) have to do is press the button, and the clock starts ticking. This handy dandy lock switch on the side prevents you from accidentally re-setting them. The other side has an alarm mute button, but I haven’t gotten to that feature yet!

The back cover slides off easily for you to insert three AAA batteries, then you’re ready to go. The itzbeen even has a digital clock built right in, and it’s easy to set.

Forgive me for the terrible pictures, but lights off/no flash was the only way I could show you the night light/flash light feature (goes off automatically after 7 minutes), and the back light.

So when you’re ready to start the “stopwatch” you just press the appropriate button, and the colon flashes, to let you know that it is timing. There are options for feeding, diapering, awake/asleep and misc. There’s also a L/R slide switch towards the bottom to keep track of which side the baby nursed on last!

This next feature is what I think makes this super awesome. The stopwatch/counting feature is nice if you want to glance and see how long it’s been (i.e. should we change him before we go to Grandma’s?) Still, that’s a lot of remembering to look. But wait, there’s more! (Would I be great on an infomercial or what?)

You can sent reminder alarms in 30 minute to 24 hour intervals. So not only can you time when you last fed/changed baby etc., but you can set a timer to remind you when it’s been 2 1/2 hours since the last diaper change, feeding etc. The alarm will go off for 30 seconds, and you just press the lighted button to acknowledge it, and begin the timer again.

I think this would be an awesome gift for any new parent, especially if they have twins!! The Itzbeen is available in white, pink, blue and green, so you can have one for each child with no confusion. When your children are older, you could use it to track when medication was taken and when it needs to be taken again, or even to track TV or computer time!

The Itzbeen is available at many online and brick & mortar stores, or you can buy online directly from Itzbeen.

You can also find Itzbeen on Facebook and Itzbeen on Twitter.

~~Giveaway: One winner will receive an Itzbeen pocket nanny of their own! (ARV $24.99) Entries go in the Rafflecopter form.~~

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Green Babies Shampoo & Wash Review & Bubble Bath Giveaway (CLOSED 10/21)

Oct 14,2011 / By Maria / 3 Comments

Green Babies sells organic cotton clothing, accessories, bedding, wooden toys and the Green Babies Body Care line!

I received a full size Baby Me Shampoo & Wash and a sample packet of the Lotion Potion Moisturizer.

The Shampoo & Body Wash does not contain synthetic fragrances, phthalates, parabens, sulfates or petrochemicals. It’s also vegan, hypo-allergenic, tear free, and never tested on animals. The bottle is made with a minimum of 50% recycled material!

INGREDIENTS: Water, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine°, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Xanthan Gum, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Benzoin (Styrax Benzoin) Gum, Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower Oil, Carum Carvi (Caraway) Seed Oil, Cedarwood Oil, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Oil, Myroxylon Pereirae (Balsam Peru) Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens (Geranium) Flower Oil, Pogostemon Cablin (Patchouli) Oil, Rose Flower Oil, Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil, Dipteryx Odorata (Tonka Beans) Oil, Vanilla Planifolia (Vanilla) Fruit Extract, Viola Odorata (Violet) Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract*, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract*, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate+, Sodium Benzoate+

*Certified organic ingredient, °Derived from Coconut, +Food grade preservative

It has a “Sweet Baby Scent” which I love. There are no synthetic fragrances in the wash, the scent comes from the ingredients! It lathered well, rinsed easily and didn’t irritate my son’s skin. A 12 oz bottle retails for $10.99.

The Lotion Potion Moisturizer is the same story! No synthetic fragrances, phthalates, parabens, sulfates or petrochemicals. Vegan, hypo-allergenic, tear free, and never tested on animals, bottle made with a minimum of 50% recycled material.

INGREDIENTS: Water, Cetearyl Alcohol°, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycerin, Isocetyl Stearoyl Stearate, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil*, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract*, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract*, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Flower Extract*, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Flour, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Benzoin (Styrax Benzoin) Gum, Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower Oil, Carum Carvi (Caraway) Seed Oil, Cedarwood Oil, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Oil, Myroxylon Pereirae (Peru Balsam) Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens (Geranium) Flower Oil, Pogostemon Cablin (Patchouli) Oil, Rose Flower Oil, Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil, Dipteryx Odorata (Tonka Beans) Oil, Vanilla Planifolia (Vanilla) Fruit Extract, Viola Odorata (Violet) Extract, Vegetable Oil*, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Polysorbate 60, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate+, Sodium Benzoate+

*Certified organic ingredient, °Derived from Coconut, +Food grade preservative

The Sweet Baby scent is light and pleasant. What I liked best about the lotion potion moisturizer is how quickly and thoroughly is absorbs into skin. My son has some sensory issues and he freaks.out when I try to put lotion on him. He will occasionally ask me to put a tiny dot of lotion on his hands, but when I try to put anything on the dry, irritated skin on his arms and legs, you’d think I had put bugs on him or something.

I put some of the Green Babies lotion on him and as usual, he said “Take it off! Take it off Mommy!!” I rubbed my hands on his arms & legs where I had applied the lotion, and pretended to rub it on my own arms instead. Then I told him it was all gone, that I had put it on myself instead. The lotion had already absorbed into his skin, and it just felt soft, but not slimy or greasy. He rubbed his leg, seemed satisfied, and moved on. Phew!! An 8 ounce bottle retails for $8.99.

I’d love to try the Smooth Me Detangler spray also. I know my daughter would love the bottle!

Giveaway: I have a Green Babies Energizing Bubble Bath to send one winner (ARV $10.99.) Entries go in the Rafflecopter form.

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Carole’s Cozy Comforts Newborn Hats (Keep Me off Etsy Please!)

Oct 13,2011 / By Maria / 3 Comments

It may sound silly, but since all three of my kids have been/will be “surprise” genders, it’s really fun to put them in their first pink or blue outfit. My first two were born in the hospital, so they received a cute little pink or blue hat to wear, which I saved in their memory boxes. This baby will be born at home, but I still really wanted a cute pink or blue hat! Oh and uhh…have I mentioned how much I love Etsy?

After sifting through 8 jillion baby hats (which OMG, be still my wallet, you could spend a fortune on hats alone!) I found Carole’s Cozy Comforts. Oh dear, you have to look at some of her baby hats. Acorn hats, pumpkin hats, apples, tomatoes and blueberries? So cute!!

A few days after my hat hunt, I had a dream that a friend and I were at the craft store trying to learn how to knit baby hats, ha ha!!

As cute as all the pom pom hats and elf hats and everything else are, I just wanted a basic, plain old hat in pink and blue. I found it in the Basic Baby Hat in Light Blue and the Basic Baby Hat in Light Pink. You can get a hat in pretty much any size you want, I of course chose the newborn!

They are machine washable and dryable, though it’s recommended that you hand wash them and lay them flat to dry. They are made from 100% acrylic yarn and are stretchy to fit nicely and comfortably. They were $10 each, which I think is fair considering how well made they are!

It’s a little big for my model, but hopefully it will fit a baby better, tee-hee!