** UPDATED: So, I’m about two weeks late posting the winner of this giveaway. Sorry, guys. The winner is commenter #1: Betty!! Congratulations, Betty! Email me at katie@marriageconfessions.com to claim your prize. Thanks for playing everyone!**
I have been meaning to post about these flash cards since Bean got them for Christmas (or maybe his birthday?) last year. Chris’s mom gave them to him. She is always finding the most educational and creative gifts for Bean and Gracie. Jackie gives things that most people don’t find and so her gifts always have something unique and memorable about them. These Eric Carle Animal Flashcards are the perfect example.
First of all, I am a sucker for Eric Carle. I love his art work. I think it is beautiful and whimsical and bright and vibrant, which is everything I think art should be. His baby books are big hits around my house, but these flashcards might be an even bigger hit, actually.
You can’t really tell from these pictures, but they are a nice sized, sturdy flashcard on board-like material in a gift-quality display box. They hold up really well to a toddler’s rowdy learning style, or a baby’s gummy slobbers.
The letters are large, colorful, and easy to read for Bean. And I like that they show the upper and lower case letters for each.
And what would Eric Carle flashcards be without beautiful artwork?
Each card has a vibrant drawing of an animal or sea creature on the back that corresponds with the letter on the front. Unlike other flashcards, these are large pictures since the flashcards themselves are the size of a medium-sized board book. It makes them easy to see and easy for tiny toddler hands to manipulate.
Another thing I really like about these flashcards are that some of the animals and sea creatures are non-traditional. For example, everyone has bunnies on B flashcards, but this set has a buffalo instead. It gives Bean a chance to learn other animals that he might now normally see, such as a yak, a quetzal, or a narwhal.
I really can’t recommend these flashcards enough. They are so nice that they would make a lovely baby shower or first, second, or third birthday gift for a child. I was thinking about giving a set away to you all and was a little worried about how much they were going to cost. I easily thought these were $25 or more, given their high quality, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were only $10 on Amazon! So – I’m giving away TWO sets!
To enter to win, leave a comment below telling me what word you always have trouble pronouncing or spelling. What word would you need a flashcard for??? The giveaway will be open until 8:00pm EST on Friday, 2/3. I’ll announce two winners on Monday.
Good luck!
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This giveaway is sponsored by Bean. Because he loves these flashcards. And he’s nice.
01Jan
Hi, I’m Katie and I’m a Pinterest addict.
But, at least I don’t Pinterest alone. I am here to share with you what I find, whether you want to hear about it or not. You are supporting my Pinterest habit. Thank you for your contribution to my non-existent social life. (My user name is MarriageConfess, by the way…)
Anyway, the other day I was browsing through the household goods pins (I have become so good at my addiction that I can now hone in on what I’m looking for by using the “Search” box at the top of the website…) and I came across this brilliant idea for storing cleaning products.
We have been contemplating our cleaning products lately. Odd, yes. But it’s been a problem. We store them under our kitchen sink, but with two little ones running around, we’ve been wanting to move them somewhere else. But where? And then I found this…
It’s a shoe hanger for your closet door that you put your cleaning supplies in! BRILLIANT! I immediately went out and bought a shoe hanger for $6 from Target and hung it on our closet door in our foyer. It hangs over the door and is so inconspicuous that you would never even know it was there.
I love this for the obvious storage reasons, but I love it even more because not only does it lift everything away from the kids (that closet door has a child latch on it, so they couldn’t get in there anyway), but it makes it so much easier to see what cleaning supplies I have. I am always on my hands and knees, digging around to find the 409 or to see if we need more Windex. But now, one look at my door will tell me what I need and what I have. So simple! I even used the bottom two rows of pockets to hold things like our trash bags, plastic grocery bags, dust cloths and rags, and plastic cleaning gloves.
I have found so many things I love on Pinterest, but this might be at the top of my list for 2011. Such a great, practical, cheap, simple idea for making life easier!
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I wanted to link to the actual blog post that originally posted this idea to give the girl credit, but I couldn’t find the post on her blog. So, here’s the link to her homepage instead. Go visit her and tell her how brilliant she is!
In the next few weeks, I’m going to be previewing some of the websites and products that are my go-to gift resources for friends and family this year. Hopefully, you’ll get some good ideas for those last minute Christmas gifts.
I can’t talk about go-to gifts without talking about handmade camera straps from Broward Patch. I have a Broward Patch strap on my camera and I love it.
For one thing, the padded strap is much more comfortable to carry around (and a lot more fashionable, too!) than the standard strap that comes with the camera.
I also really like it because everyone in my family has the same camera, so when we all get together and our cameras get thrown together onto tables or wherever, our individual camera straps help us tell them apart.
A couple years ago, I gave everyone in my family monogrammed Broward Patch straps for Christmas and birthdays. It was a huge hit! I think they make such nice gifts because they are unique, original, and thoughtful. Not just something generic you pick up at the mall. They really take people by surprise and everyone I’ve given them to has loved them!
The best part about the Broward Patch, though, are the prices. Her DSL straps are only $27 for patchwork and $18 for solid prints. Her smaller wrist straps are $8 and she even makes cute keychains (which I have on my key ring and love!) are $6. She can even monogram, too!
Jen just moved to a lovely new website at Thanksgiving, so if you’ve seen me blog about her before, be sure you click the new link to see her new digs. Also, if you’re not already a fan, be sure to “like” her Facebook fan page. She sometimes puts killer coupon codes there (at Thanksgiving it was a 25% off coupon!). I can’t say enough about what a sweet person Jen is and what a fun product she has! It is a great Christmas or birthday gift…and be sure to pick up something for yourself, too!
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This is not a paid advertisement. I just wanted to share.
22Nov
**AND THE WINNER IS… JESSICA IN OK! Congratulations, Jessica! Email me at katie@marriageconfessions.com to claim your beautiful dress! Thanks to everyone who entered and a special thanks to Shabby Apple for hosting such a great giveaway!**
I normally try to be as gender-friendly as a mommy blogger (cringe! I hate that phrase!) can be, but I’m going to go ahead and tell you that this post is for the ladies. Girls, if you do nothing else today, then you need to go to Shabby Apple and design a show stopping, glamorous wardrobe for yourselves. It is the most fun clothing website I have been to in a long time because the clothes are so unique. When I first saw the site, I thought, “Yeah, but where would I ever wear that?” But when you look closer, the dresses and skirts are actually totally doable in a day-to-day wardrobe.
My fashion sense is fairly limited, but I do know a few basics, thanks to my good, Southern momma who taught me that you wear pearls during the day and diamonds at night, showing too much skin is the same as walking into a room naked, and white after Labor Day is never okay (though I have amended this law so that “winter white” after Labor Day is acceptable in certain situations…). But one of my Mom’s timeless fashion tips that I live by is that you should have certain staples in your wardrobe, like black and white cardigans and a good pair of khaki pants, but then you should also have a few accent pieces that can jazz you up in a jiffy.
Shabby Apple is that jazz.
If I could live in any fashion period, it would be the 1940s. Dresses with full skirts, white day gloves, fishnet hose, pearls, clutch bags, and bright red lipstick. Oh, how I wish these were staples in my wardrobe today! I see a lot of that 40s style in Shabby Apple. Maybe that’s why I filled my shopping cart with $900.00 worth of dresses before I realized what I was doing.
I mean, look at this dress. Does that not live up to it’s name of “Gondola?”
Or what about this one? Redheads of the world, can I get an “AMEN” for the color of this dress?
And look at this gem. It reminds me of the movie “Pearl Harbor.”
Shabby Apple is very, very kindly offering one of their dresses as the giveaway today. And (here’s the best part) I GOT TO PICK IT! I chose this dress because I think it is DESTINED to be a fabulous New Years Eve dress. It NEEEEEEDS to be taken out to a fabulous party! The only accessory you need with this dress is a glass of champagne.
I mean, really. This is how an adult should do ruffles. And that color is to die for.
What I love most about this dress, though, is the sizing note on the description:
To win this fabulous dress, I’m going to make you do three things. Because I think this dress is worth it. First, head over to the Shabby Apple Facebook page and “like” them. Then, leave me a comment below telling me where you would wear this fabulous dress. Lastly, if you win, you MUST send me a picture of you in the dress because I have to see where this little thing ends up calling home!
Also, Shabby Apple is offering a 10% discount to MC readers. Shop around for all your upcoming holiday parties and enter the coupon code “marriageconfess10off.”
Special thanks to Shabby Apple for such a fun giveaway and for giving me a 1940s fashion fix.
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This is not a paid advertisement.
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