Does Mommy Love It?

Restaurants can be the place where a total meltdown of a child can happen.  You need to have all the great weapons on hand to diffuse or prevent them.  I have found bringing activities that will keep them occupied will do just the job!  Hello Hanna has designed some of the best activity products for your child for trips out or simple craft ideas to do at home.

The Get-Set Placemats can be a perfect accessory to any excursion that requires your child to sit for a prolonged period of time.  Each special themed set comes with eight placemats and eight sticker sheets with four different designs.  They also get an important lesson on proper place setting with a coloring of a fork, knife, and spoon printed on the mat in the appropriate place.  The “Hello Me” placemat is the cutest for a four or five year old girl.  Each mat has a cut out of a girl that can easily pop up and be personally designed using the included stickers!  How unbelievably adorable and brilliant?  What a great idea to keep the little one occupied!  Hello Hanna also makes placemats with a robot and jungle theme. These mats would make a wonderful craft time activity for any child’s party.  The kids will love personalizing them and then throwing them in their goodie bag!

Along with their fanciful placemats, Hello Hanna has designed Hello Books. They are accordion card size books that include custom die cuts and 5 sheets of removable stickers shapes to build various images.  I love craft ideas that allow my son to create using his imagination with simple steps and little to no clean up!  My most favorite aspect is that each card is printed on FSC-certified recycled paper!  My son has the Monkey Business card and loves making the monkey sound as he creates a storyboard, with my help of course.  When he has tired himself with this card, we can mail it to grandma in a 5.5X5.5 envelope!

You can never have enough simple, yet clever craft products for your child.  I love the idea of lots of free and imaginary play for my son.  Hello Hanna is a company that is making well designed and creative modern ways of making imaginary play possible on outings that can be retraining for your child.  I am so thankful to have discovered this company and hope that you will journey along with them too!  Order a set, you will not be disappointed!!

Hello Hanna is offering a product to one of our US readers! Simply visit their Hello Hanna and leave a comment here that you did.

For additional entries:

1) Subscribe to Does Mommy Love It? then leave a comment stating you did so.

2) Twitter about the contest and leave us a hyperlink to the tweet!

3) If you haven’t, please join our FACEBOOK FAN PAGE!

4) Write a post on your own blog about this giveaway and comment with thepermalink to this post.

5) Grab our button and put it on your sidebar and comment with a link to your blog.

6) Email 5 of your friends and tell them why they should check out DoesMommyLoveIt?. Be sure to COPY us on the email (doesmommyloveit@gmail.com)! Then comment stating you did so.

This contest ends August 20th, 2010 Midnight EST. Click here for contest rules at DoesMommyLoveIt.com!

This review is based strictly my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or experience with the product listed above. Hello Hanna provided the Mats and Book, and I provided my honest opinion. No other type compensation was received for this review.

48 Comments | In: Ages- Elementary, Ages- Preschooler, Ages- Toddler, Arts & Crafts, Craft | tags: cards, crafts, entertaining, Hello Books, Hello Hanna, parties, Placemats. | #

Ever since grade school, I have rather obsessed with penmanship.  During these years I remember practicing a certain handwriting style before it became a skill.  Writing letters to friends was an everyday activity and beautiful handwriting sure made the letter look more interesting.  In today’s age with texting, emails, and ichat, letter writing is becoming a lost art.  This is one art I do not want my son to bypass.  Thankfully, there are companies who are keeping this art alive such as Design Schooled Kids!

Tracy Sullivan created design Schooled Kids with hopes to recapture the art and skill of handwriting in this modern age.  She created Design Schooled Kids Note Cards to enable our children to learn printing and etiquette through old-fashioned letter writing.  They can learn through tracing the letters on the card and practicing their own handwriting on the blank side.  Each card comes with a sturdy turquoise envelope for mailing.  You can either purchase these cards in a set for 19.95 or individually for 4.95.  This would make a fun activity at a party or during craft time! J  It’s fun walking my child to mailbox and letting him drop the letter in and knowing it is going to brighten someone else’s day.

I stayed up late last night writing letters to friends and family.  There is something so special about receiving a handwritten note.  I pray we do not let our children lose such a beautiful and meaningful art.  I am so thankful for Design Schooled Kids for keeping it alive!  Invest in your children’s handwriting, friend!

Design Schooled Kids is offering a set of cards to one of our readers! Simply visit Design Schooled Kids and leave a comment here about your thoughts and favorites!

For additional entries:

1) Subscribe to Does Mommy Love It? then leave a comment stating you did so.

2) Twitter about the contest and leave us a hyperlink to the tweet!

3) If you haven’t, please join our FACEBOOK FAN PAGE!

4) Write a post on your own blog about this giveaway and comment with the permalink to this post.

5) Grab our button and put it on your sidebar and comment with a link to your blog.

6) Email 5 of your friends and tell them why they should check out DoesMommyLoveIt?. Be sure to COPYus on the email (doesmommyloveit@gmail.com)! Then comment stating you did so.

This contest ends July 25th, 2010 Midnight EST. Click here for contest rules at DoesMommyLoveIt.com

This review is based strictly my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or experience with the product listed above. Design Schooled Kids provided the cards, and I provided my honest opinion. No other type compensation was received for this review.

24 Comments | In: Ages- Elementary, Ages- Preschooler, Arts & Crafts, Craft, Educational, Stationary | tags: cards, Design Schooled Kids, education, letter writing, Stationary. | #

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!  CONGRATS, EUNICE!  YOU ARE THE WINNER!

The holidays are right around the corner and let Dimple Doodles customize your holiday cards for you!  Started in November 2005 by Sarah Lee, Dimple Doodles “designs cards to fit your unique occasions!”  I am an avid holiday junkie and lover of all things paper, and Sarah worked with me one-on-one to create a card that made Christmas even more special.

It was my son’s second Christmas and I was eager to share with my friends and family, how much he’s grown and what our family was up to.  Her card did that beautifully.  Not only did she have an incredible front layout of my son’s picture and holiday greetings, on the back of the card, I was able to write a little blurb about our family news!  (The picture below is an example due to privacy and you can replace the picture with a text! ) This was the perfect combination for me!

At Dimple Doodles, you  can choose from one of our pre-made designs here, (text and colors can be altered per request at no extra cost) or have Dimple Doodles create a one-of-a-kind custom design for you this holiday season or any for any event.  It’s easy as emailing your pictures and ideas, and Dimple Doodles will produce a card perfect for your family.  Did I mention that she is a full-time mommy of two, so she understands how unique each milestone, birthday, holiday, event is important in your life?  Dimple Doodles has a card for EVERY occasion, you name it:  baby shower, first birthdays, birthdays, holidays, baby announcements, family updates, moves, and etc.  See…you must check it out!

Dimple Doodles is offering a 15% discount on orders by December 4, 2009.  CODE:  DMLI

Dimple Doodles has offered one of our readers a personalized set of 30 notecards! To enter, simply visit Dimple Doodles and then leave a comment here on our site with your favorite holiday card!   For additional entries:

1) Subscribe to Does Mommy Love It? then leave a comment stating you did so.

2) Twitter about the contest and leave us a hyperlink to the tweet!

3) If you haven’t, please join our FACEBOOK FAN PAGE!

4) Write a post on your own blog about this giveaway and comment with the permalink to this post.

5) Grab our button and put it on your sidebar and comment with a link to your blog.

6) Email 5 of your friends and tell them why they should check out DoesMommyLoveIt?. Be sure to COPY us on the email (doesmommyloveit@gmail.com)! Then comment stating you did so.

This contest ends December 15th, 2009 Midnight EST. Click here for contest rules at DoesMommyLoveIt.com!

This review is based strictly my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or experience with the product listed above. No
other type compensation was received for this review.

21 Comments | In: Accessories, Ages- Elementary, Ages- Newborn to 1yr., Ages- Pregnancy, Ages- Preschooler, Ages- Toddler, Contest, Discount, Stationary | tags: cards, dimple doodles, holiday, occassions, personalization, stationery. | #

I find it sad that many people have traded in personal card writing for quick and impersonal emails and now texts!  I find it incredibly encouraging and uplifting to receive a beautifully written message in an artistic card from a friend or loved one.

Egg Press makes the most amazing greeting cards using an old letterpress.  They use an antique press to print art on cards, calendars and more.  What I love best is that the studio resides in an old warehouse in Portland, Oregon.  It’s hard not supporting a line with such a wonderfully vintage look.  I was fortunate enough to receive their 2010 calendar that sits beautifully on my desk and an adorable screen-printed baby onesie.  They are most famous for their hand-made letterpress greeting card line.  I have personally loved using these cards for expressing my gratitude to my closest friends or just saying that I am thinking of them.

Egg press makes sending a personal card to a friend very enticing because they provide such wonderful starting points with their designs. Some of my favorites are “Oceans of Thanks”, “Vinyl Thank You”, and “I Love Your Birthday”.  Shop Egg Press when in need for cards or seek them out to personalize a set for a special occasion!

No Comments | In: Accessories, Arts & Crafts, Clothing, Craft, Stationary | tags: cards, Clothing, Egg Press, family calendars, invitations, onesies, Stationary. | #

THIS CONTEST HAS NOW ENDED CONGRATULATIONS KATHY!

It’s that time of year again! Card season! These days sending out cards is more fun than ever. Why, you ask? There are so many options of creating the perfect photo greeting cards. So, now where do can you start? Let me suggest Simple Salutations. Read what they have to say about themselves.

“We are a small company of two sisters, one with a graphic design background and one with the organizational skills to pull of running a company. We both have sons, who are within three months of age of each other, so we are busy moms as well as invitation designers.

Kris, the designer, comes from a background at Walkt Disney Feature Animation where she worked for eight years before becoming a freelancer. She does design work for companies all over the world including publishers, magazines, realtors, and non-profit organizations.

Shea, the organizer, comes from a background in human resources and most recently worked for the American Red Cross. She is now a stay-at-home mom and part-time business owner.

Both of us graduated from Virginia Tech and are avid Hokeie Football fans as are our husbands.

The business is something we have planned for many years and are thrilled to have finally gotten it off the ground.”

Not only is it great to support a work-at-home mom team, but with Simple Salutations you can be assured you are getting the best in quality and customer service.

Their prices are pretty reasonable in their comparative market. They are able to customize an invitation to your needs free of charge. Meaning, if you would like to change something like a background color, or if you prefer different wording, fonts, embellishments, and etc. they will easily accommodate. You also receive an email proof with text for your review, free of charge!

Invitations are printed on 80 lb. matte or glossy finish card-stock and the white envelope is included.

Aside from holiday cards, Simple Salutations also offers cards for other occasions such as save the date, bachelorette, thank you, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, birth announcement, baby shower, baptism, kids birthday, and new home.

Simple Salutations is offering a $20 gift card to one lucky randomly drawn Does Mommy Love It? reader. To enter comment on this post after visiting Simple Salutations about the card you like the best. For additional entries:

1) Email 5 of your friends and tell them why they should check out DoesMommyLoveIt?. Be sure to COPY us on the email (doesmommyloveit@gmail.com)! Then comment stating you did so.

2) Subscribe to Does Mommy Love It? and then leave a comment stating you did so.

3) Follow us on Twitter and leave a comment stating you did so along with your twitter name.

4) Write a post on your own blog about this giveaway and comment back with the permalink to this post.

5) Grab our button and put it on your sidebar and comment with a link to your blog.

Contest ends Midnight of November 21st, 2008.

39 Comments | In: Contest, Stationary | tags: cards, christmas, Contest, greeting cards, holiday cards, holidays, Stationary. | #