Showing posts with label giveaway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label giveaway. Show all posts

Monday, December 22, 2014

THANK YOU, MOM, FOR MAKING ME ONE OF THE 30%



When I was little, all I wanted to do was draw. I would sit for hours and draw the covers of my Disney movies. My Mom bought me every drawing medium you could think of – crayons, charcoal, color pencils, markers, etc. I remember my first set of ‘expensive’ colored pencils. They were from a small art shop downtown and I might as well have won the lottery that day. Much like today, all I wanted to do was create things.

My Mom saw this quality in me and she fed it every chance she got. I was in every art class in school and every art class in summer school. If there was an Art Cart event at a nearby park, we were there. Every gift was an art supply. I could sit for hours and paint, draw, sculpt, cut, and paste.

The trend continued into high school. I remember going into the art studio as soon as I got done eating lunch. I would spend the remainder of my lunch period gluing tiny pieces of glass onto a wooden frame to make a mosaic mirror or making glass beads with a blowtorch. One day my Mom came home from work with an application in her hand for the local Dairy Queen. She had seen in the newspaper that they were hiring a cake decorator. She knew if was the perfect job for me. I filled it out, got the job, and spent the remainder of my high school years decorating cakes at not only the Dairy Queen, but the Piggly Wiggly as well. (Yes, the big time in cake decorating, I know! ;)

When it came time to discuss college, it was never a question. I was going and I was going for art. I don’t even remember trying to make this decision. It was like everyone, including myself, knew all along that this was the direction I was taking. I didn’t realize how lucky I was to simply KNOW what I wanted to do with my life until I saw the many college students around me struggling to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives, starting with their generals and hoping to figure it out by the time they finished their first two years.

So here I am, an adult. Like most of the world, I spend about 1/3 of my life working. According to Forbes.com only 30% of Americans actually like their jobs. So, I guess what I am trying to say is, THANK YOU, MOM - for making me one of the 30%. Thank you for noticing my passion and nurturing it. Thank you for guiding me into a career I love. I only hope to notice my own children’s passions and nurture them in the same way.


As parents, we all know feeding our children's passions in not always cheap, so I have teamed up with Consumer Crafts to give away a $100 gift card to consumercrafts.com! Consumer Crafts is my go-to online craft store with everything you could want or need at the best prices. 

Comment on this post either 
- what your child's current favorite activity or interest is or - what you would use the gift card to buy 
to enter the giveaway and unlock other ways to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, December 15, 2014

2014 KIDS HOLIDAY GIFT BUYING GUIDE: ROUND TWO + A GIVEAWAY



Just in case you need a few more gift ideas for the little people in your life...

PLUS a fun giveaway from Educational Insights!
TWO lucky winners will a Magic Moves Electronic Wand! Enter below to win!



#1. JILLEE BEAN AND THE ONE GOOD THING CHILDREN'S BOOK: $13.00
An endearing story of a Dad that teaches his daughter all about serving others by doing one “good thing” at a time. A great message with beautiful pictures illustrated by a third generation Disney artist, this book would be a great addition to your child's library. Watch the book trailer HERE.  

#2. MAGIC MOVES ELECTRONIC WAND: $21.99
Living in Wisconsin, winters can be long... and hard... and boring... and filled with inside 'fun' for our kids, which can translate to a lot of screen time. Ugg. I love this toy bc it promotes active play indoors! It is one of Educational Insights best selling toys with fantastic reviews! Any toy that gets my kid up and moving is a win in my book! (WIN ONE OF TWO of these great toys - enter to win below!)

#3. MAGNA-TILES: $50-$120
These things are awesome. Even Logan and I can play with them for hours. We belong to the Children's Museum here in Madison and that is where we first saw them. They have a few sets in the arts and crafts area and Ellis will sit and build with them for a the majority of the time we are there. They are not exactly cheap, but they are worth the splurge!

#4. TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS IN WISCONSIN CHILDREN'S BOOK: $9.36
I learned about this book from my co-worker. She is pretty much the ultimate gift-giver, so I get a lot of ideas from her. This is her go-to children's book for the holidays. I bought it for Ellis and we have read it several times in the past few weeks. It sums up winter in Wisconsin perfectly!

#5. MR. (AND MRS.) FOOD FACE PLATES: $12
These ceramic plates, inspired by the famous Wooly Willy Toy, are such a fun gift! I got them for my niece and nephew a few years ago and they love them! They do encourage kids to play with their food, but I am ok with that! Half the time toddlers don't eat anyways, so they might have fun while you make them sit there. ;)

#6. FAMILY CHARADES GAME: $26
Living in a digital age, I sometimes feel like we forget how nice it is to play a good old fashioned game of charades. I loved charades when I was growing up. This game has separate decks that cater to all different age groups.

#7. BUGNOCULARS: $9.99
I loved catching bugs as a kid. Fireflies were my specialty. I love these bugnoculars b/c not only can you catch the bugs in it, but you can view them through the two magnifying glasses in the top! Ellis had something similar to this last summer, but it was from the dollar section at Target and lasted a whole two days. In those two days, I drew a bunch of bugs on cardstock, cut them out to make pretend bugs, and hid them around the house. She would search for them and put them in her 'bug house.' She loved it and would do it over and over. It was a great way to keep her entertained!

#8. DISCOVERY KIDS FORT: $19.99
What kid doesn't love a fort? We don't have a huge house, so it is nice that the fort can be put up, but easily taken down for storage. Plus, the kids can put it together several different ways!

#9. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BLOCK SET: $100
I am in love with these blocks! First off they are wooden, which I love and second they are great for toddles when they just want to build and then serve as a learning toy as they get older. Each block features information such as the state capital, motto, flower, bird, and tree. They are handcrafted in Michigan and made of Basswood grown in the Great Lakes area!

#10. JULIA, CHILD CHILDREN'S BOOK: $12.30
This story is about two girls, Julia and Simca. They are two young friends who agree that you can never use too much butter -- and that it is best to be a child forever. Sharing a love of cooking and having no wish to turn into big, busy people who worry too much and dawdle too little, they decide to create a feast for growing and staying young. A playful, scrumptious celebration of the joy of eating, the importance of never completely growing up, and mastering the art of having a good time, Julia, Child is a fictional tale loosely inspired by the life and spirit of the very real Julia Child -- a story that should be taken with a grain of salt and a generous pat of butter.

#11. ROWDY HORSE: $49.95
This thing is so darn fun! It has nearly 700 reviews on Amazon with 4.5 star rating. Our friends have one for their two boys and every time we go over to their house, Ellis loves hoping on it. She falls over half the time and it is hilarious! It is just a funny looking thing and I love it!



Enter to win one of TWO Magic Moves Electronic Wands from Educational Insights.
a Rafflecopter giveaway