Big News... and YOU Are Invited!

You are invited to kick off summer with us in style at a Chillin' and Grillin' Pinterest Party, Wednesday, May 22 9pm EST/6pm PST. Jenny from Bloom Designs and I are so excited to put together this 1 hour event with some top bloggers and very special guest pinner. We will be sharing more details this week, so stay tuned for a BIG announcement you will not want to miss!!!!

Goldfish Party: O-Fish-Ally Five

My youngest just turned five and we celebrated with a goldfish themed birthday party.  Hope you will check out the full post over on Craft That Party.

Sweet Vendor Shout Outs!

Goldfish Printable Party Collection (banners, invitation, FISH-O, goldfish poster): Piggy Bank Parties

Go Fish Banner: She's Kinda Crafty

Chocolate Covered Oreos: Love and Sugar Kisses

Fondant Toppers: Lynlee's Petite Cakes

Goldfish and Bubble Cookies: Samantha's Sweets

Favor Boxes, party hats. horns, tattoos, plush fish, plates, and plastic containers: Birthday Express

Candy sticks, bitty bags, orange divine twine, paper straws, candy cups: Bloom Designs

Poms, tissue fans, candy vending capsules, and wood scoops: Shop Sweet Lulu

Styling, Photography: Crafty Fish Jenny, Craft That Party

Cake and Fish Toss Bean Bags: Crafty Grandma Fish Jackie

*Goldfish marshmallow pop inspiration and tutorial found on See Vanessa Craft

Sitterati: A Brand New App for Parents and Sitters

I love my kids, but sometimes we parents need a night out. Finding and arranging reliable babysitting is often the most stressful part of leaving the kids. In this day and age there's got to be an app to help us parents out, right?  Pull out your smart phones because guess what, there is {jump for joy!}

Sitterati is a brand new app that helps you find, contact, schedule, and pay your sitters. Don't worry, I'll explain the steps. 

First, download the app and plug in your information. You can add your all your sitters directly to the app- it's like having big contact list of your sitters all in one place. Once your sitter accepts the request to join, sitters can accept babysitting jobs from people they know, keep track of the jobs they have agreed to do, and even get paid for jobs right through the app. Once friends within your social network download Sitterati, they can share their sitters on the app as well. This will give you all access to a bigger list of sitters available in your area. 

Need a Sitter for Saturday night? No problem, just post the job and send it to all your sitters at once. It's easy to book right from the app! Just enter information such as date, start time, end time, details, and sitter rate. If a sitter would like to accept the job they can respond through the app and confirm the job. So much easier than having to make multiple phone calls or texts. 

My favorite feature of Sitterati is that you can automatically PAY your sitters through the app with your credit card. No more running to the ATM for cash and NO awkward exchanges of money!

You are lucky to be the very first people to learn about and get to try this brand new app. So Sitterati wants to hear from you! Once you have tried the app, they would love your feedback. They want to make this a truly useful and beneficial app for both the parents and sitters. So if you've tried it and liked it or see ways to improve it, the Sitterati team wants to know.

Hope you enjoy this new app & cheers to more date nights!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Rainbow Peg Fairies

In case you missed my lastest post over on my new site Craft That Party, I am sharing how I used butterfly wings found in Michael's Dollar Bins to make Rainbow Peg Fairies!

Aunt Jemima: Lil Griddles Review #AJLilGriddlesCG #spon

How psyched was I when Aunt Jemima sent over some new products for my family to try?  We really love breakfast in our house. We love it so much that we often save our favorite breakfast foods for dinner. Yes, hello BRINNER- anyone else do this?!!! Dinner is the only meal that all four of us eat together daily, so I try to make it as special as I can.

Last night's dinner consisted of Aunt Jemima buttermilk pancakes, cinnamon french toast, fresh blueberry sauce, strawberries, and sausages.  No joke, it took me longer to make the coffee than dinner.

I just popped the french toast in the toaster over and the pancakes in the microwave. In less than a minute the food was on the table. I have to admit that I was very surprised how fresh everything looked and smelled. My entire house smelled exactly the way it does when I spend an HOUR making pancakes for brinner. I think that it totally helps that Aunt Jemima uses quality, real ingredients like eggs, milk, and sugar - exactly the same ingredients as I use in my own. It really lives up to the slogan "Every batch made from scratch".

My family gave Aunt Jemima two thumbs up! Everyone quietly devoured the meal and then begged for more. I cut my 6 year old off after 5 pancakes (growth spurt?!!!). In fact, the boys requested pancakes again before school this morning! I love that our busy family can still have time for a hot meal before leaving the house. It feels good to send my boys to school knowing they had a hearty breakfast. Score one for mom!

Got toddlers in your house? Aunt Jemima also makes Lil' Griddles that offer a big breakfast taste, yet bite-sized. Perfect for little eaters. They come in three bite-sized breakfast options: Aunt Jemima frozen Blueberry Mini pancakes, Aunt Jemima frozen Mini pancakes, and Aunt Jemima frozen Cinnamon French Toast Sticks. I have a feeling we will be trying all three soon!

Thank you to Aunt Jemima Frozen Breakfast for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Hyundai’s Epic Playdate Sweepstakes! #EpicPlaydate #CGC

I have two very energetic and outdoorsy boys. Time outside to play and get dirty is a necessary part of each day. We love it when we can plan extra special and extended playdates on the weekend. Our favorite weekend plans include packing up the bikes, fishing gear, picnic lunch, snacks, and drinks and hitting the road. Usually we head out to find a nice spot to ride bikes and do a little hiking. We enjoy a picnic lunch followed by some fishing in a nearby creek. There is nothing better than turning off our cell phones and surrounding ourselves in nature for an afternoon.  

What would your ideal playdate with your kids look like? Would it include:

• camping on the beach?
• an ice cream sundae bar?
• a paint fight?
• a kids’ photography class?
• a hula-hooping workshop?

If any of those sound appealing to your kids and inner playdate-loving self, then you would be the perfect family to win a four-pack of tickets to an exclusive invite-only Epic Playdate Weekend in Santa Barbara, CA on April 27 from 9am- 5pm hosted by Hyundai. 

Hyundai has teamed up with some seriously fun bloggers (such as Dooce, Mighty Girl, Oh Happy Day, Oh Joy, Say Yes To Hoboken, Girls Gone Child, BoingBoing, and How To Be A Dad) to put on this Epic Playdate! 

Want to come? Of course you do!  You can enter to WIN a trip for four to Hyundai’s Epic Playdate Weekend by entering the sweepstakes HERE!

How To Enter:

• Enter the Sweepstakes HERE
• You must have a Pinterest account to enter 
• Choose Clever Girls Collective when the form asks “How did you hear about us?”
• Lastly, keep your fingers & toes crossed and message me immediately if you win!
• Good Luck and Happy Entering!!!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

You Are Invited to a Pinterest Party!

 A Blissful Nest is hosting an Easter Pinning Party over on Pinterest and you are all invited to join in the fun. I along with some fun bloggers will be pinning and sharing our favorite Easter entertaining and traditions over on Pinterest on Wednesday, March 20th at 6pm PST / 8pm CST / 9pm EST. Grab a glass of wine and join us! 

Are you on Pinterest?  If so, leave a link to your boards here so I can follow you!

You can follow my Pinterest Boards HERE. 

{Sponsored Post} Sittercity: America's Top Sitter Contest

We all know how important it is to find sitters that we can trust, are dependable, and fantastic with kids. Are you lucky enough to have a sitter like that? If so, you can nominate them for Sittercity's 2013 America’s Top Sitter contest!!!

Image courtesy of Someecards

How To enter: To nominate your sitter, visit the Sittercity Facebook app between February 13 - 25, 2013. Upload a picture of the special sitter you would like to nominate, and share your reasons why your sitter would make America's Top Sitter. 

Voting:  A panel of experts judges chosen by Sittercity will choose ten finalists. The Sittercity Facebook community will then vote between March 5-15, 2013 to determine the final winner. 

The Grand Prize: $5,000!!!

So hurry over and get nominating. Show your sitter how much you appreciate them! And then make sure you head back over to The Sittercity Facebook Page to cast your vote in deciding which of the top ten sitters best deserves to win the $5,000 grand prize!  

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

February Updates

Just wanted to catch you up on what has been going on over at Craft That Party. I will no longer be posting new content here, but I will be leaving this page open to reference past projects and parties. Hope you will follow my new page Craft That Party. Same craft content just a new name and site!

Here's what's happening over at Craft That Party...

A Valentine Keepsake Box Tutorial

I am excited to announce that my ruffle cake box is a finalist in Funkytime's DIY Valentine Competition! The winner will be chosen by HGTV Host and Designer Kelly Edwards!

Many new ruffle garlands in new color combinations have been added to my shop!

and Valentine Pegs are back!

Gingerbread Girl Party featured on Amy Atlas!

I am excited to announce that my Gingerbread Girl Party was featured on Amy Atlas this week! Hope you will check out all the fun details! As of January 1st, I will no longer be posting on this page. Please visit my new site Craft That Party to continue following my blog. I don't want you to miss out on anything!

VENDOR CREDITS:

Gingerbread Printable Party Collection: Blush Printables

Desserts: Samantha’s Sweets

Fondant Toppers and Oreos: Love and Sugar Kisses

Photography: Studio One Two One

Styling and Gingerbread Girl Peg Dolls: Craft That Party