Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Glass Straws Made in the USA: The Perfect Eco-Friendly Gift

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Friends, pull up a chair. Bring your favorite beverage to the computer and sit for a spell. I have a super cool item that you probably never knew existed.

Glass Straws (Made in the USA)

glass straws made in the USA

photo credit: prideandvegudice via photopin cc

 glass straws are BEAUTIFUL, practical, super eco-friendly, and you don’t know it yet, but you want one. Promise.

Glass Dharma is the name of the company that is working hard to kick plastic straws to the curb by introducing glass straws for you to use, re-use and truly enjoy. The owner of the company has been a glass blower for over 10 years, and he sees these glass straws as a wonderful way to really cut back on plastic use. I know what you are thinking: are straws really that big of a plastic problem, Tiffany??? Well, on the Glass Dharma website, they share this interesting tidbit: “As of March 2008, McDonald’s serves an average of 52 million meals PER DAY!” You know that the vast majority of those meals came with drinks, which means they came with straws. And that’s just McDonald’s, folks! So, yeah, plastic straws kind of are a big problem.

Many of you have already made the switch to bringing your own bags to the grocery store (woo hoo!). Putting a glass straw in your bag is really quite easy to do. And no, they won’t break! Glass Dharma has a guarantee against breakage! Should they break, however, for ANY reason, you may return the straw for repair or replacement!

In addition to their green factor, which I love, I also just find these straws to be gorgeous and fun. Who knew that a straw could be luxurious? I swear to you, my DIY iced coffees taste better out of straws, and that’s probably because it makes me think of having a Starbucks drink, only without the price tag! I like to freeze my straws, as well, so that they are extra cold for my drinks (if you try this, make sure they aren’t in the liquid while freezing, though!). My Glass Dharma straws add to my iced coffee experience!

In my opinions, these are fantastic stocking stuffer or special occasion gifts. It may not be on someone’s wish list, but once you try them, you will really love them and want to buy them for all your friends! I know I do!

And of course, it’s worth noting that Glass Dharma proucts are proudly made in the USA (Fort Bragg, California, to be precise).

Buy it!: Glass Dharma offers a wide range of straws, from simple to adorned, from super slim to just right for smoothies! My personal favorite is the Beautiful Bend straw! Prices start at $6.50 and go up to $12.00. They also offer different glass straw sets! Glass Dharma straws area available for purchase on Amazon!

Edit: this giveaway is now closed. 

Win it!: One lucky winner will receive $25.00 to spend at Glass Dharma! The contest will run until February 11th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me which straw you like the best and why!

My answer: I already told you I like the Beautiful Bend straw, and I like the wider version, because we love smoothies around here!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Glass Dharma on Facebook
2. Blogger love: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. 

Crazy Story Alert: A Raccoon Fell Through Our Ceiling

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This post brought to you by Victor Pest. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

Sit back for a minute. You are definitely going to want to hear this story. About 6 years ago, Tim and I were living in a fabulous older home in Memphis. We did not own it, but we tried hard to take care of the property to the best of our ability and knowledge (we were 24 at the time, so I can’t say that we “knew it all”).

One thing we realized was that this home had a rodent problem. We could hear quite large animals in the ceiling of our second floor. We expressed our concern to the landlord, and stated that we really didn’t think the problem was mice, rats, or even squirrels. Whatever was in our ceilings was LARGE!!! Now, even if the animals in question had just been mice, that doesn’t mean the situation wouldn’t have been serious. But I think our landlord assumed that it was something smaller, and decided not to really worry about it. BAD IDEA. So one night, at about 11:30pm, Tim and I were in bed watching a movie on the laptop (oh for the days when we could stay up late watching movies…). Suddenly, we heard a loud crashing noise one room over. This was a guest room in our house, on the second floor. It couldn’t have been a burglar, therefore. But we knew it was something crazy and weird. We go to the door, and I kid you not, PAWS come out, wrap around the door, and start shaking it!!!!! Yes, a raccoon had literally fallen from our ceiling. OMG. WHAT?!?! Thank goodness the door to that room had been shut, or else we would have had a loose raccoon running around in our house. As it was, s/he was running around like crazy in that guest room, and we could only imagine the destruction happening in there.

We did find a company who would come out and trap the raccoon without killing it. I’ll never forget that man. What bravery he had to go into that room, not really knowing what he would be facing. And when we saw the raccoon, we could not believe it. Seriously, it must have weighed 20 pounds. It was HUGE!!!!

And guess what else was huge? The hole in our ceiling!!! What a mess, huh? The landlord certainly wished he had taken a more proactive approach and dealt with the problem before it got so crazy. I really don’t understand why he didn’t. Pests like this can chew through your wiring and cause all kinds ]of crazy damage. The story is hilarious, to be sure, but only because we didn’t own the property. I really shudder to think about the damage caused and how much it cost to get it all fixed. So if you are hearing any strange noises in your walls or in your ceiling, I implore you not to ignore them.

Victor is a company that can help you with rodent control. They set the industry standard 100 years ago with the invention of their spring-based mouse trap. They offer a full line of products that will get the job done, while also being safe for kids and your pets. They are also non-toxic!

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Different people have different opinions on the best approach to take with rodent control. To kill or not to kill? I’m more on the “not to kill” side of the fence, personally. Fortunately, Victor has a Protect Your Space Combo Kit for $99.99 (plus free shipping) that includes 
(1) Victor® Sonic PestChaser® Heavy Duty Sonic, (2) Victor® Sonic Mini PestChaser® Ultrasonic Rodent Repellent, and (2) Victor® Electronic Mouse Trap. The Pest Chaser uses sounds only audible to rodents that will have them running from your house! Awesome! It keeps those rodents away so that you don’t have to even make the tough decision about whether or not to kill them.

So what about you? Have you had to deal with any crazy rodent issues in your home? What’s your approach to controlling or preventing this problem? Have you tried any Victor products?

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Miracle Body Jeans: The Anti-“Mom Jeans”

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Can we talk for a minute about what having a baby does to your body? And can we all agree that it most definitely changes it??? There are a select few of you out there who bounce right back to how you looked before. Congratulations for winning the genetic lottery on that one. I’m jealous of you. For the rest of us, isn’t shopping for things like cute jeans becoming such a difficult ordeal???

Post-Baby Body

And now that I’ve congratulated/secretly hated all 3 of you who can still fit into your high school prom dress after having 4 babies, I want to tell you about how my body changed after having a baby.

Well, it wasn’t exactly how I thought it would be.

The truth is (please don’t throw a tomato at the computer screen), I weigh a few pounds less than I did before I had a baby. Yes, I feel extremely lucky, because I didn’t really exercise before I got pregnant (bad Tiffany) and I don’t really exercise much, now (bad Tiffany).

But that doesn’t mean that I look BETTER than I did before I had a baby. Oh no. That’s not how it works for most of us.
Let me break it down for you a little bit.

  • My boobs are slightly smaller (I’m actually thankful for this).
  • My stomach is a MESS. Maybe my waist is smaller than it used to be, but oh my. I’ve never seen such a bowl of jell-o as what is sitting on top of my abs. No, really. All the moms out there…you know what I’m talking about (except the 3 of you mentioned earlier).
  • My butt shrank! But not in a cute way. It flattened. I have a flat mom butt! What?!

Mom Jeans?!

So yeah, my pre-pregnancy jeans don’t fit any more, and yes I’m lucky that I’m a tad smaller than I was before. But it turns out, the solution isn’t as simple as just getting a smaller pair of jeans. Oh no. MY HIPS DON’T LIE, I have most definitely had a baby, people! I just can’t rock a pair of low-waist, curve hugging pants.

In all honesty, I’ve been bopping around in ill-fitting jeans for several months now, pretty much at a loss for how to find jeans that look cute on my hot (mess) bod. And no, “mom” jeans aren’t the answer (though I now have to acknowledge that I understand why some women reach for them…they fit that whole smallish waist but still have a serious tummy thing I’m currently “blessed” to have!).

Miracle Body Jeans

miracle body jeans Enter Miraclebody. These are jeans that claim to make you look 10 pounds slimmer in 10 seconds. They are also on Oprah’s list of favorite things for 2010. Excuse me for a moment while I climb on top of a mountain, and now shout as loud as I can, “THEY WORK!!!!” I don’t know what magical charms these jeans have sewn in them, but they turned my jell-o tummy into a washboard. Shazam!!

I got the Samantha boot cut jean, and I decided to get crazy and go for the granite wash. I’ve been wearing only dark blue denim for at least the last 5 years, so I thought perhaps it was time to switch it up a bit. They are my new favorite jeans, and I suspect that it will take quite a while for another pair of jeans to take that spot away from them. In fact, I’m going to go ahead and ask those of you who know me in real life to let me know when this style becomes hopelessly outdated, because otherwise I’ll be sporting these bad boys proudly in the year 2020. Just sayin’. I will. Anything that makes my tummy look flat is “timeless” in my view!

Ok, ok, here’s the part that will make you squirm a little. Miraclebody jeans aren’t exactly the cheapest jeans you will find. The pair I reviewed runs for $110 . If you are like me and normally spend $30 or less for jeans, then this might be a tough sell. But oh my, I am SOOOO happy to own this pair of jeans. I will be wearing them so often that the cost per wear will be minuscule before you know it! Also keep in mind that I have been wearing jeans that DON’T fit me well. So you can see how well that whole “go as cheap as possible” strategy was working for my denim wardrobe. I looked like the Saggy Baggy Elephant! If you are already buying premium denim, then you just need to switch over to Miraclebody, which will seriously rock your curves!

What about you? Do you have trouble finding jeans that compliment your assets and minimize those trouble spots? Ever tried Miraclebody jeans?

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links. I only recommend what I love! 

Coloring App: iCrayonMaker

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When I was a little girl, one of the career ambitions I had was to be a color crayon creator. I wanted to invent new colors for Crayola and also name them. Think about it: somebody out there has that job. For real. Frankly, I’d still like to have that job.

Coloring App

coloring app And now I sort of do! There’s a fabulous new app out called iCrayonMaker, and yeah, perhaps it is designed for kids, but let me tell you, I’m having lots of fun with it! With this app you get to custom create different crayons and then build your own personal crayon box. You guys wouldn’t believe the fabulous blue gray color I’ve already whipped up. It’s positively dreamy and I want to color my whole house with it! Not really joking, folks…

As part of the app, you can color with your crayon, and use it in crayon, felt marker or glitter, which makes the final product look even more awesome. Darah and I have been working on shapes, numbers and a few basic words (we’re doing that teach your baby to read program…too early to tell if it really works).

This app is available on the iPhone and also has a version for the iPad, which we especially love. The iPad becomes a giant canvas to be filled with swirls and squiggles. You can save your masterpieces as wallpaper or email them to yourself or others. What a fabulous (and paper-free) way to capture your little one’s artwork!

Get it!: iCrayonMaker has a free version that you most definitely should download! You can upgrade to the full version for just .99! GREAT BUY!!!

Edit: this giveaway is now closed. 

Win it!: FIVE lucky Stuff Parents Need readers will win the iCrayonMaker app (full version, of course!). The contest will run until February 8th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winners will have 48 hours to respond to notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: In honor of my fabulous iCrayonMaker color that I want on my walls, tell me what color you love to have on your walls (it could already be there, or it could be one that you’d like to put there!).

My answer: Besides my beloved new blue-grey color, I also loved this color we had in our old house. It was called chocolate froth, and if you can imagine what the bubbles from a chocolate milk look like right after you mix it up, that was the color! Gorgeous!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Download the iCrayonMaker lite version and tell me what you think!
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Sand Gone: How to Remove Sand from Your Body Easily

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Raise your hand if you are already OVER winter. Oh yeah, right here, folks! I’m already daydreaming of a trip to the beach this summer. I really hope we get to go!

Do you vacation at the beach? We have an aunt and uncle who have a beach home in California, and while we don’t make it out there very often, it is always SUCH a treat to get to go! I always want to bring a small gift when we visit, but it is hard to know just what to get. I’m tempted to get beachy decor for their condo, but I think I’m not the only one who goes for that, and they probably have enough of that stuff to decorate 3 homes! Ha! But now I have found something perfect: Sand Gone.
sand gone how to remove sand
This is a powder that you apply to your sandy body and it takes the sand right off. No water needed! If I’m ever at the beach, I always cringe a bit when I rinse off under those showers at the top of the beach. Even though I’m not on the sand anymore, there’s always more sand between that shower and the car (or the house), and so, I always get sand back on me again. Yuck. I seriously can’t stand that feeling.
This is such a perfect thing for a beach home owner to have on hand. It will go very far in keeping sand out of the house. If you are fortunate enough to have a beach home or to know someone who does, I really think this is a terrific gift option. If you have plans to go to the beach this year, consider picking some up for your family; it will save you an extra car detailing for the year. Or if you are like me (cheap), it will keep you from having sand in your car for the next 6 months after your trip.
Even if you aren’t planning on going to the beach any time soon, this also works for cleaning up the kids after playtime in the sand box! I love a product that keeps sand out of my house. Hooray!

Buy it!: Sand Gone is available for $12.95 plus shipping here. It is invented by a mom, so you know that means it works! ;-)<

Cultivating the Potential of Our Babies (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Sometimes, as parents, we get too caught up in imagining what we want our children to be like. In some ways, we want them to be exactly like us. In other ways, we probably hope that they are polar opposites! I will fully confess to the fact that I bought a bib for Darah that said, “Harvard: Breakfast of Champions.” I mean, come on. That’s pretty cute, right?
But I want to be careful to make sure I’m not still putting clothes on her when she’s 10 that say, “Harvard Class of 2031.” That’s just a little too much pressure, don’t you think? No disrespect to the Harvard College alums out there, but as someone who spent some time in the Yard while working on my master’s degree, I wouldn’t exactly be thrilled if that’s where Darah sets her sights. But that’s a topic for another post…

What I do want for Darah is to create an environment where she is challenged, but also supported to explore and pursue her own personal interests, which might vary to some degree from my own. Baby Potential is a company that recognizes the importance of seeing the potential inside every child. This company offers an adorable line of onesies and shirts that demonstrates the potential of children. They have all sorts of career fields listed, from lawyer to artist, scientist to chef.

My suggestion for how to make a purchase from the Baby Potential line is to go for something that might not even appeal to you, personally. Just because I couldn’t possibly have less artistic talent, that doesn’t mean that Darah can’t be a little artist-in-residence at my house, and I don’t want to forget that! It doesn’t always occur to me to plop her down with water colors or sidewalk chalk and let her scribble, but she loves it whenever I remember to do so. I don’t want to limit her, just because drawing isn’t my own cup of tea! Baby Potential shirts can help remind the adults out there that our children have almost limitless possibilities, and we need to encourage them, not limit them, or try to decide for them.

I just have to tell you one major reason that this company rocks: they are supporting the women and children in their community. From their site, “Baby Potential – through a partnership with the Family Service Association (FSA) of San Antonio, has established a Sew Circle to produce the custom patches in our specialty line. Swe Circle associates, who are women receiving services from FSA, earn extra income from home by hand-sewing patches and embroidering career names onto garments. Baby Potential will donate a portion of profits to support various community outreach and educational programs funded through FSA.” Baby Potential is employing local women who need the work opportunity and also giving back to those same women through community support initiatives. I love this in a major way.
And by the way, the hand sewing work that these women do is beautiful! I’ve seen it first-hand, and it is very impressive!

Buy it!: Baby Potential products are available at the Baby Potential website starting at $15, in sizes 3-6 months all the way up to 4 T. They have onesies, shirts, outfit sets, and a whole bunch of other great goodies. Definitely check them out! They also have a limited selection available through Target.com!

Win it!: Ok, here’s your chance to tell the world about your baby’s potential! One lucky reader will receive their choice of a onesie or shirt from Baby Potential! Woo hoo! The contest will run until February 7th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.
Mandatory entry:

I would love to hear what baby potential patch you would put on your child, especially if you were to go outside your own personal comfort zone!

My answer: Artist, obviously. But my second choice (as a reach for me!) would be Engineer!
Additional entries:
1. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need via RSS or email
Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

A Fogless Shower Mirror that Really and Truly Works

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Have you ever had a mirror in your shower? I have. They are such an awesome idea, in theory. The problem that I have experienced with them, though, is that they don’t stay put, and they don’t stay clear. They get fogged up and they fall down. So basically, they are a hunk of junk.

Best Fogless Shower Mirror

I’ve been hearing about this fogless mirror from the company ToiletTree. I thought I’d give it a try, but had my suspicions that it wouldn’t be any better of a product than the ones I’ve tried before. And as hard as I tried to make this mirror not work for me, I failed. The mirror won. Let me tell you about my experience.

best fogless shower mirror First, I knew that I would have to decide who would be getting to use the mirror: my husband or me. Tim is almost a foot taller, so there’s no way we could install a mirror that we could both see out of. But ToiletTree anticipated this problem, and made the mirror easy to adjust. I was very pleasantly surprised by this, because I had already decided that Tim should install it for himself.

Second, I just knew this mirror would fall down within a handful of days. But it didn’t. In fact, it has been installed for almost 4 weeks now, and hasn’t budged. I’m just as shocked as you are.

But then I found something that I thought I was going to be able to complain about. When I read on the instructions that I had to fill the back of the mirror with warm water before every use, I was less than thrilled. I thought, “Ah. So using this is actually going to be a pain in the rear.” You know what? I was so wrong. Can we all just think on this for a minute….when you are in the shower, is there a steady supply of warm water within easy reach? Why yes, there is!

Ok, but then I thought, “Yeah, but I’m not going to remember to dump out the water, and then it is going to get all gross.” It is true that I never remember to dump out the water. However, between myself and Tim, the mirror is getting used every single day, so water is sitting for, at most, 24 hours. It isn’t even remotely gross by the time we throw it out. Also, I have to say that getting the mirror on and off its stand is super duper easy.

So all my griping and bemoaning was for absolutely nothing. This mirror truly is user-friendly. And Tim is loving it…he shaves in the shower and that saves him a few minutes every morning!

Buy it!: If you value efficiency, this is a terrific product to help you shave off a few minutes from your daily routines like washing your face or shaving! The ToiletTree Fogless mirror can be purchased for $29.95 on Amazon.com.

Edit: This giveaway has ended. 

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will snag a ToiletTree Fogless Mirror! Hooray! The contest will run until February 6th at11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me one trick you have to save time in some way throughout the day.

My answer: I live by my timer, especially when Darah is napping and I have more control over how time is spent. I give tasks a certain amount of time, and then work like mad to get them done within that time frame!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like ToiletTree on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. I only recommend products I love! 

Wooden Play Kitchen for Toddlers

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I have been blown away with my little girl over the past 6 months. She has really blossomed when it comes to how she plays. When she had just turned one, she definitely loved to play. But her games were very simple things, like pat-a-cake, peek-a-boo, and just crawling around, investigating stuff on the floor. She was still very much a baby in that regard.

But now, oh my goodness. She’s a child. With an imagination. She PLAYS. And I just love watching her. As she has grown in this area, we’ve actually been able to weed out a good number of toys. We had so many different toys just hanging around just in case she developed an interest in them “later on.” We can get a sense for what she likes and is drawn to now, and as a result, we’ve taken some toys to be donated, and we’ve also put some away for later. So as she has become more into her toys, we’ve pared them down. Seems counter-intuitive, but it actually makes a lot of sense!

Wooden Play Kitchen for Toddlers

wooden play kitchen for toddlers from HearthSong But there is one major toy that we added to her collection, and it has really been a HUGE hit. Darah now has a play kitchen. I originally thought that I would be getting a kitchen for her when she turned 2, but The My Size Kitchen from Hearth Song is just perfect for her now. It is petite, so a young toddler is not overwhelmed with it. She will outgrow it in a few years, but not before she gets a heck of a lot of use out of it.

We have her kitchen set up in the spot where her pack ‘n play used to live, in our dining room/kitchen (sort of a symbolic swap, don’t you think?). She will often pretend to cook while mom or dad is in the kitchen actually cooking! She loves to check on the progress of anything she puts in her oven, and she also loves to have us taste-test whatever she has simmering on the stove, which she wisely points out to be, “hot.” She usually blows on the spoon before “tasting.” Love it!

Hearth Song is a company that I was unfamiliar with until recently. I’m so glad to know about it now. They are a company that has been around since 1983, “committed to helping parents follow their instincts to provide their children with age-appropriate, wholesome, quality playthings.” I always appreciate when a company understands the difference between a toy that will be cherished and a toy that will likely be overlooked. They offer an impressive selection of toys that I would be thrilled to get for Darah, or to give to other children as gifts. AND….right now they are having a blow out sale in their outlet! You absolutely must stop by and see if you can snag some amazing finds for your gift closet, for upcoming birthdays, or even for Christmas 2011. The Jumbo Monkey Mat has definitely caught my eye, and it is 42% off!

Buy it!: There are so many fabulous finds at Hearth Song, and the prices are right. The play kitchen is a total steal, you guys. It is just $49.99, and it isn’t made of plastic! WOO HOO!

Edit: this giveaway is now closed. 

Win it!: One super lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is about to get a kitchen makeover! That’s right, you’re going to win a My Size Kitchen! Pretty awesome, huh?! The contest will run until February 6th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Two things: 1. You must follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect, and 2. Tell me one other toy or game that Hearth Song offers that you would love to bring to your home. (These two things together count as one entry)

My answer: The Under the Sea canopy is so amazing. Can you just imagine the hours of fun children can have playing in it?

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Hearth Song on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by email or RSS

rare bonus entry: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter and send out a tweet about the contest (leave the tweet url in your comment here) (you can only do this once)

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Decorating Cupcake Ideas: Try a Sleeve!

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Even though Darah isn’t even in preschool yet, I already feel the shame that comes along with being the un-crafty mom. I swear, Darah’s daycare program, that only meets twice a week, has a party every single month. For real. There’s always a party happening, and when a party is happening, parents are asked to bring, “goodies.” GROAN! I’m just not the mom who is going to make something really cute and fun. But it seems I’m the only one in this boat. Darah has come home with some really cute stuff. And I know I’m long overdue to reciprocate.

Decorating Cupcake Ideas

decorating cupcake ideas: cupcake sleeve Thank goodness for products like Roundabout Cupcake Sleeves. For the upcoming Valentine’s Day party, they are going to not only save me from major embarrassment, but they may even give folks the impression that I’m not horrible at putting together cute food. Hooray!

Roundabout Cupcake Sleeves are pretty much what they sound like: wraps that go around your cupcake to turn it into something extra special, with minimal effort on your part. What’s so fabulous about this product is that they have over 70 designs, and can help you turn a cupcake into, well, just about anything! They show you how to use certain toppings in conjunction with the cupcake sleeves to create hamburgers, sushi, popcorn tubs, ice cream cones…you name it! While there are a few design ideas that exceed my own abilities (which, as a reminder, are non-existent), I have spotted many things that, gasp, I can actually do! Woo hoo!

Buy it!: Roundabout Cupcake Sleeves are absolutely adorable, and can be purchased online for $8.99/dozen.

Edit: this giveaway is now closed. 

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will score one package of cupcake sleeves in your choice of design! The contest will run until February 5th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Post a link to your favorite cupcake sleeve and why you want it (choose wisely, as you will get what you post here if you win!).

My answer: I like the icy igloos, found in the kids party section! Super easy and super cute! I’d send them to Parent’s Morning Out with Darah and totally relish my moment of being the crafty queen. Just being honest! 🙂

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Follow Roundabout Cupcake Sleeves on Twitter
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the side bar of my home page.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.