Etsy Spotlight - Crocheted Hat Review

Are you obsessed with Etsy like I am? I just want to buy all the things. My favorite things to buy on etsy are cute handmade toys and clothes for CJ. Two months ago, from the blog Mommie Again, I won a crocheted hat of my choice from Naturally Sweet Surprises. Since CJ was then (and still is) in the midst of his dinosaur obsession, I chose the dinosaur hat. I loved it so much, and Amy, the maker was so nice, that I decided to do a review of the hat. Amy was super excited and then offered to do a giveaway to go along with the review.

The hat is big enough to fit both CJ and I, so we share it. The yarn is very thick and warm. It is cotton and 100% machine-washable, which is very important. I am in awe of Amy's crochet skills. I asked her if I could ask her a few questions about her methods and her shop, so here's my little mini-interview.

One of my favorite products you have is the super adorable Very Hungry Caterpillar set. So besides books, where else do you get your inspiration? 
When I first started (about a year and 1/2 ago), I found some designers who I absolutely loved and would purchase their designs.  They are still some of my favorites and my best sellers.  Now I've begun to do my own designs and much of what I do is based on my children.  For instance, my 4 yr old loves Lightning McQueen and begged me for a McQueen hat for Christmas.  So I designed a hat for him to wear.  (which I need to get listed!)   I made hats for all of my kids, nephews and niece for Christmas this year based on their personalities and some of them will end up in my store.   My passion is for babies but as my kids get older, I find myself branching out into items for young ladies and boys (and that's why I launched my new Couture shop)

Do you make the products in advance or do you make them after their ordered?
For the most part, all of my production is done after an order has been placed.  Recently I began doing vendor fairs and craft boutiques for the holiday season and needed to have a lot of product on-hand.  What didn't sell I've been using for giveaways on my Facebook Fan page or selling in my RTS album on my FB page.

How long does it take for you to make the products, for example, CJ's dinosaur hat.
It depends on the item.  Cocoons or items with detailed design (like the caterpillar) take longer.  Special order items (i.e. a reindeer I just completed) that I've not made before and need to design also take longer.  But in general a hat takes 2-3 hours and a set 3-4 hours.  Cocoon sets approx 7 hours.  The hat part is always the easiest...it's whatever goes on it to give it the personality that takes longer. 

When did you start your business? How did it come about? 
I began crocheting when I was in Jr High back in the 80's.  However it wasn't very fashionable for a young girl to knit and crochet so after high school I stopped.  When I moved overseas to Korea after college I saw that women made absolutely gorgeous crochet items that didn't resemble any of the "granny" style of America.  I began to copy them and crocheted bags for myself and friends.  Once I returned to America, and had two babies, I started to look for patterns that were modern and that's how I fell into doing items for babies.  A photographer friend asked me to make her a diaper cover, then another friend asked me to make her baby's Halloween hat and it just took off from there.  On Dec 27th, 2011, after a year of collecting photos from different photographers, I was ready to launch my shop.  I've since launched a second shop and quit my part-time job to do this full-time from home and be with my kids.  Crochet is my hobby that has become my livelihood.

What is your favorite book? What is your favorite children's book?   
My favorite children's book is the easiest to answer.  Goodnight Moon.  I've loved that since I was a child, it was my first book to buy when my daughter was born and I still love reading it to this day.   For myself, I don't have one specific book that I read over and over and call my favorite, other than the Bible.  Reading has always been my passion and the only hobby (other than crochet) that I have.  My favorite genres are mysteries and "chick lit".  I love Christian books as well as secular.  My favorite authors are: Terri Blackstock, Janet Evanovich, Kristin Billerbeck and Robin Jones Gunn.  Now that I have a Kindle I go through 3x the number of books that I used to and I love having my books with me everywhere I go!

Because she is an absolute sweetheart, Amy is now doing a giveaway here. You can win any product from Natural Sweet Surprises under $25. To enter, just go to etsy shop, then come back and leave a comment letting me know which you would choose. Extra entry for liking Naturally Sweet Surprises facebook page.  

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CandiCheeks Baby Socks Review & Giveaway

You know what my favorite part of a baby is? Toeses. I loves toeses. CJ has the cutest toeses. I may be biased but it is true. The best thing about a baby boy is that he gets to wear the cutest socks and shoes on his toeses. (Ok I promise I won't say toeses again.) Before CJ was born, I went into a baby consignment store and they had a giant box of socks. I asked the lady how much for each pair of socks and she said $5 for the box. It was awesome. Unfortunately, CJ quickly outgrew almost all of those socks.

So I get to go shopping for new socks. The best place I've found for the cutest socks is a company called CandiCheeks. CandiCheeks' socks come in different characters. Here are some of my favorite sets.

Sea Character Sock Bundle 4 pack

Outdoor Character Sock 4-pack

Creature Character 5 pack

Winter Character 5 pack

The packs range from $16.99 to $21.99 and single pairs are $4.99. There are adorable girl socks too, but since I don't have a girl yet, I only got boy socks. The socks range in size from from newborn all the way up to 4 years.

Here are CJ's favorites, the polar bear socks. He of course refused to let me take a picture of him actually wearing them. These socks are thick and stretchy, so perfect for growing baby feet. The colors are extremely vivid and bright. These have been worn as slippers so all day long all over the house, and they didn't rip or get faded on the bottoms like some socks do. They've been washed and the colors didn't run into the white part which can sometimes happen. These are very sturdy and well-made socks. More importantly, they are freaking adorable. Just look at CJ's toeses! (Uh oh. I sad toeses again.) I'll definitely be adding these to my Christmas gift list for everyone I know with babies. If you have a few babies in your family, you could buy a 5 pack and divide it into stockings. That'd be awesome and save you some money.

If you would like to win your choice of a cutesie pair of CandiCheeks socks, just fill out the rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

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What's in the Bible DVD Review & Giveaway

CJ and I are both huge fans of the Veggie Tales series. They are entertaining for CJ and teach him great messages. When I heard the Phil Vischer, creator of Veggie Tales (and possibly more importantly, the voice of Bob the Tomato) had a new project coming out, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I emailed over to the people at the new project and they were awesome in replying back and sending me a copy of What's in the Bible to review. So check it out.

First off, who is Buck Denver?! As he says in his introduction, he is the "man of neewwwwws". Seriously, he says it like that, and it is hysterical. Buck is a newscaster and he is supposed to be the host of the show. Unfortunately for him, this show is a collaboration and there are a ton of characters sharing the stage with him. There is Sunday School lady with her Magic Flannelgraph, Australian (I assume) brothers Clive and Ian, country singer Chuck Wagon, Dr. Schiffenhausen(sp), and my personal favorite, Michael. Also, Phil Vischer himself is the main host, and he is awesome.

This is Michael. On the show, Michael is in his mom's minivan being driven to his grandma's house. He has a lot of funny comments to make about the bible and this show through it. His bible has a few more books than others because he stashes his comics in it. He will be more than happy to read to you from "the gospel according to the Green Lantern".

The first DVD, titled Genesis, has two parts. The first focuses on facts about the bible while the second part delves into Genesis and what Genesis means. It explained that the bible was written by many people over what was probably about 1600 years. They explain in what order it was written, by whom, and how it is ordered within the bible. It explains what words like testament (not testa-mints for fresh breath like Michael thinks), inspired, and genesis actually mean. I particularly loved Phil's explanation of God taking seven days to create everything. He explains that not all Christians agree on every part of the bible, and that that is ok. He explains that some people believe that when the bible says that world was created in seven days, it literally means 7 earth days or 144 hours. He explains that other people believe that it means seven "God" days, that for God time is eternal. I just thought it was great how he explained both sides of everything, and most importantly taught that sometimes Christians don't agree, and that is ok. He also teaches that sometimes we just don't know the answer, and that is ok too.

As you can tell, I am in love with What's in the Bible. I honestly can't come up with one negative thing about it. The songs are funny and informative, the puppets are hilarious. It amuses the heck out of both CJ and I. I love its' message and that not only will CJ learn from it, but I am learning from it myself. I never knew who wrote each book of the bible, or what order it was in. I just never bothered to think about it. Check out this preview of the series, and don't forget to enter to win your own copy with the rafflecopter form below!



You can find out more on the What's in the Bible website, on their facebook page, or on twitter.

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Organa Kids' DVD & Giveaway

We are a big TV family in our house. I know that is bad, but we can't help it. Hubby and I like to relax at night and watch some TV, so I can't begrudge the little one for wanting to do the same. He isn't always watching TV, but it is usually on in the background. He isn't allowed to watch just anything though. I make sure that whatever he is watching is age-appropriate (except when dada watches Spiderman with him) and somewhat educational. We don't have cable, so CJ is limited to Netflix and his DVDs. I'm always on the lookout for new fun and education DVD's.

I was recently introduced to the DVDs put together by Organa Kids. Organa Kids was started with the intention of producing quality children's DVDs. They wanted to introduce American children to multicultural stories with universal themes. Many of the characters comes from stories popular in various other countries, but with ideas that resonate with American children. For more information, go to OrganaKids.com.

The awesome people over at Organa Kids sent me two DVDs for CJ and I to watch and review. First we got Happy Valley. Not going to lie, at first I thought that the illustrations were kind of goofy. They reminded me of South Park, so I thought it was going to be campy and dumb. I ended up thinking it was really cute. Happy Valley is for pre-schoolers and it just follows a group of young children as they go about their daily lives. They live in an ideal place where they can frolic and sing nursery rhymes and explore the seasons. It is very simply and lively. CJ loved it. He loved all of the music and especially loved the Fall scene with all of the leaves falling down. Check out a sample below.

The second DVD we got to preview was Nelly & Caesar. Nelly and Caesar are stars of an internationally beloved book series. Nelly the mouse and Caesar the frog are best friends. Along with their many animal friends, including a hedgehog, beaver, and squirrel, they go on daily adventures. Along the way they invite your child to come with them. Each episode invites your child to come along with them and play whatever game it is they are playing that episode. Through interaction, your child will learn while playing. CJ really liked this one. He is obsessed with frogs, so this was right up his alley.



CJ and I are now big fans of Organa Kids. We will definitely be getting a few more of their DVDs.  I have my eye on  Dougie in Disguise and possibly one of their Yoga for kids DVDs. If you would like to win your own set of DVDs from Organa Kids, just fill out the rafflecopter form below.

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Eat Your Vegetables! CopyKids Review

I am very lucky that CJ will eat pretty much anything we put in front of him. From time to time though, he will resist eating some vegetables. He likes broccoli, but sometimes he will just refuse to eat it. I think this is just because he's stubborn, not because he necessarily dislikes the food.

If your child does fight you when it comes to vegetables, there's a great new series that aims to help. CopyKids has twelve 7-minute segments that show regular kids eating vegetables. It sounds simple, and it is. Kids are natural copycats. When they see kids their own age eating and enjoying vegetables, they might decide all of a sudden that they like vegetables too. The video is produced by a pediatrician, Dr. Gordon, who provides a discussion on the DVD about healthy eating. There are also some adorably funny outtakes of the kids.

CJ loved this video. He keeps finding it in his DVDs and asking me to play it. His favorite is actually the apples and bananas segment. Those are his favorite foods anyway, but he just enjoys watching the kids. After he finished watching the DVD, he brought me into the kitchen and wouldn't stop signing "eat". We had salad for dinner the other night, and he was all over the broccoli. He even brought me the DVD after we ate to remind me that there was broccoli on it. These are some adorable kids. Check out the video below.



If your kid has trouble eating vegetables, you are in luck. One reader will win their own copy. Just fill out the rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

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