PRODUCT REVIEW: eShakti

*! DISCLAIMER !* - I am NOT a fashion blogger. To be a fashion blogger I would have to have some sort of personal style - which, especially at the moment, i.do.not.  :) I barely do my hair and make up in the morning, much less put something cute on. I have hope to have style someday. Really, I DO!

Now that I have denied being any kind of fashionista, I can go ahead with the post. A company called eShakti contacted me a few weeks ago and asked me to review one of their dresses. I had never heard of this company and was pleasantly surprised when I looked at their website and saw clothing I actually really liked. Needless to say, I said I would LOVE to try out a dress!

This company is not your average run of the mill clothing company. They have a niche - a reason why you will want to buy from them vs. another online clothing company. They are more than just stylish clothing. They specialize in clothing that fits EVERY size woman. They carry size 0 to 36W. Not only do they carry a wide range of sizes, but you can customize their garments just the way you want them for only $7.50 extra!!! Yes, for real. You can pick your skirt length, neckline, sleeve type and even further customize your item (like having the option to take pockets out) or have it made EXACTLY to your measurements. Yes, for only $7.50 extra! The garments are made to your height, size and style and delivered to you in 14 days. MIND BLOWN.

So below is me in the dress I picked out. Ignore the awkward poses (I have no idea how to pose for this type of thing) and terrible gloomy day.

The day might have been gloomy, but the dress was fabulous. I got so many compliments on it when I wore to Christmas mass and to work on our holiday company meeting day. It is a perfect holiday dress for me b/c it isn't too dressy. It is an awesome flannel type material. I love the detailing on the top and it fits me like a glove! I was super impressed by how well it was made. It is fully lined and the skirt is nice and full. Happy camper right here! Thank you eShakti for making me stylish... even it was just for a day or two! :)

They are having a great sale right now, now head on over to eShakti and check it out.

Below is an example of all of the options when ordering.

And here is where you can put in your EXACT size:

And here are a few of my favorite dresses on their site right now. So many of the dresses would be perfect for bridesmaid dresses!

I also love how the site shows ACTAUL women wearing their clothing. See below!

2015: Resolutions & free printable calendar picks!

Happy 2015! We rang in the new year with a few friends at our house and made a delicious dinner of salmon, swordfish, balsamic asparagus, blueberry and avocado salad and mini salted caramel cheesecakes! YUM! I will probably put the marinades for the fish and the salad on here at some point b/c the fish turned out amazing!

So here we are in 2015. I am always a bit ambitious when it comes to new years resolutions, but these are all things I truly want to work on this year. Now if I could just get Lennon on board with #2. ;)

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2015. And just incase you are in need of the most adorable 2015 calendar tea towel or FREE printable calendar, see below!

I am kind of in love with this tea towel. How awesome that it shows what fruits are in season each month?! It is actually fabric that you buy and hem, so in does involve a little DIY.

Sarah Woodrow free printable calendar

Free printable calendar from Lemon Thistle

marguerite-gribouilli free printable DIY calendar

~ HAPPY 2015! ~

CRAFTING: DIY SNOW GLOBE SHOT GLASS ORNAMENTS

Yeah,  I know... Christmas is over. I had fully intended on getting this post out the door BEFORE Christmas arrived. Heck, I even intended to get it posted a good week or so BEFORE the big day b/c well, that would make sense now, wouldn't it? Well, let's just chalk that up as a fail. Looking on the bright side, they are cute, fun, and better late than never. Right? RIGHT!

PIN IT and put it on the crafting board for next Christmas! ;)

Things you MIGHT need (depending on what you decide to do) - let me stress MIGHT. You do not need all these things to make an ornament.

1. (pearl shimmer metallic cardstock)  //  2. (buttons)  //  3. (hot glue gun)  //  4. (plastic shot glasses)

5. (baker's twine)  //  6. (Elmer's glue)  //  7. (2" hole punch)  //  8. (silver spray paint)

9. (mini pink or white bottle brush trees)  //  10. (silver pipe cleaners)  //  11. (chunky glitter)

12. (mini frosted dollhouse trees)  //  13. (craft paint)  //  14. (white polymer clay)

15. (penguin trinkets)  //  16. (black sharpie)

And here is a little diagram on how you put them together. Attaching the base to the shot glass is the tricky part. Make sure to seal your ornament shut with mod modge.

1. Punch out two circles with your 2" hole punch. One out of the white metallic cardstock and one out of some other type of card stock - a cereal box, an old greeting card, etc. Mod podge them together to make a thick circle that will be the platform of your globe. The white metallic cardstock should be what is facing up in the globe so it blends in with the glitter.

2. Glue your trinket in the center of your circle onto the white metallic side. You can put all kinds of different things in your snow globe as long as they fit. I used little dollhouse trees, silver spray painted plastic penguins and a house and snowman that I made out of white polymer clay. I got my trees from Hobby Lobby - four for $1.99. They were too tall, so I clipped them with a wire cutter and then reattached them to the base with hot glue to make them shorter.

3. Fill your shot glass with glitter - just enough to cover the base when flipped over. make sure to use chunky glitter. It looks more like snow and the super fine stuff will cling to the sides of your shot glass.

4. Take your Elmer's glue and make a thin line of glue all around the edge of your cardstock circle on the white metallic side. Please it on top of your shot glass and place something like a glass on top to weigh it down and hold it together. Let it sit for a few hours until the glue is dry.

5. Seal the ornament by putting a coat of mod podge around where the shot glass meets the cardstock. Let it dry for an hour or so. It dries much faster than the Elmer's glue.

6. Using hot glue, glue a pipe cleaner around the base of your ornament. It will cover up any imperfections of gluing the shot glass to the base.

7. String your baker's twine through your buttons and tie a know. Attach it to the top of the ornament with hot glue.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE BUELLS

DIY BATH PAINTS KIDS GIFT

A few weeks ago I picked up a couple tubes of bath paint in the dollar section at Target and Ellis loved it! Being two, Ellis has a super short attention span, so the fact that she actually sat and painted in the bathtub for an extended period of time made me happy!

I am one of those people who looks at things and almost always thinks to myself  - I can totally make that! It is a blessing and a curse all at the same time. One 'I can totally make that' idea leads to several hours of mass producing bath paints in my kitchen. 

It is simple, cheap, super easy and fast.... unless you decide to make 24 bottles of it as presents for all your nieces and nephews. :)

When I made these, I didn't really use specific measurements. I dumped a box of corn starch in a mixing bowl, squeezed in what I thought looked like an equal amount of hand soap and mixed it with a whisk. I then added some water (one tablespoon at a time) until it was the consistency I wanted. I then added some gel food coloring. I always use gel vs. liquid b/c it gives whatever you are trying to color a more vibrant color. 

I got the soap at Costco - TWO (80 fl oz.) containers of hand soap for $8!!! I only ended up using one of the containers of soap and three boxes of corn starch (about $1 a box) to make 24 (4 oz) bottles. That's about 29 cents a bottle! You DO have to buy the bottles though. I got my 4 oz bottles off ebay for about 70 cents a bottle (after S&H) but I wouldn't recommend them. If you screw the tops on too tight, the tops bust. :( Hobby Lobby has some much better ones or you could just buy travel shampoo and conditioner bottles at Target! 

I got these fun brushes from brushes from Consumer Crafts ($5.97) 

and the Magic Grow Bath Capsules from Amazon (12 packs for $13.93). 

Gift tags (free printable) HERE.

TIPS & TRICKS:

And just b/c they are too cute not to share, I am giving my littlest niece and nephew these adorable 'career' olliblocks from Caravan Shoppe. 

Also, do not forget to enter to win $100 to Consumer Crafts. Enter HERE.

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!

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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.

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