2010 Hot Holiday Toys

Well the Toys R Us 2010 Hot Holiday Toy list is out and although there are some cute things on the list this year there are also a few questionable toys that leave me saying WTH?!

Look a this!... Uhm for real!??  Look at the size of that thing compared to the little boy standing next to it!  That thing would scare me for sure standing in the corner somewhere when I got up to go to the bathroom at 1am!  And here's the description that they give on the website:

Imagine a little monster with a big personality. That's the Fisher-Price Imaginext Big Foot the Monster. He's happy. He's angry. He's sleepy. He's fun. He talks, walks and throws a ball. He also chews, burps and exercises. Kids can bring him to life with an easy-to-use wireless remote control. The symbols on the buttons show what Big Foot will do, so no reading is required.

He Burps!? No thank you!  I have enough of that going on with the real people at my house! LOL And maybe I am just not into it because I have a little girl, but I just can't see paying $110 for this thing! Now if they make this thing wash clothes and dishes, I will buy a whole army of them! lol  Whatcha think?



Sewing Adventure

I am pretty crafty and can make quite a few things, but this next project I am about to take on may take the cake.  I am not the best seamstress, sewing is not one of the things I claim to do well, but I am going to give it a shot.  Call me crazy, but I got a patten for the cutest pair of baby shoes and I am going to attempt to make them before March 2011.  See I found out that I will now have a niece in March... so she gets to be Auntie's model baby! The pattern actually looks pretty easy as do the instructions....hopefully they will look like the ones below! LOL  Has anyone else made baby shoes before and if so how did they come out?



Precious Patterns





Candy apple anyone? I GOT FEATURED!!!

Check it out! I was featured on 3 Four and Under Saturday! My candy apples that a lot of you thought looked yummy were the feature! Check out Trisha's blog when you get a chance, she's one of my BlogFrog friends!



With the weather getting cooler around here I am starting to feel like I want to make some candy apples.  My mom and I make them at Christmas time and give them away but I need one NOW! Don't want a plain one like they serve at the State Fair (plus gotta save my stomach for much more yummy things there)  I want one like the ones I made last year...(pics below) YUM

Nice crisp Granny Smith's covered in caramel and pecans, Heath bars, M&M's, white chocolate, dark chocolate...you name it!

So, putting this on my list of things to make in the coming weeks.  Will post pics....well hopefully I will be able to take some pics before I bite into them! TTFN!

Football & Crafts

Well it's Saturday and we are off to a football game today (GO KNIGHTS!!!) AND this evening is craftime....I dug out ALL of my hair bow making supplies and will be a bow-makin mama tonight!  Everything I make this weekend will end up in my Etsy store so make sure to check it out sometime next week.   I am sure my husband will be more than happy for me to get rid of some of this stuff (lol)



Let me try my first blog hop! If you're crafting today or have done in recently, leave me you link!

Recipes - Swiss 'n Chicken Casserole

I am always looking for recipes (easy one's) that involve chicken.  We eat A LOT of chicken at my house, and it just gets SO boring eating it the same ol' way.  I got this recipe from Kraft Foods....check it out



What You Need4 cups chopped cooked chicken 2 cups croutons 1-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Swiss Cheese 2/3 cup MIRACLE WHIP Dressing 1/2 cup milk 4 stalks celery, sliced 1/4 cup chopped onions

HEAT oven to 350°F.


COMBINE ingredients.

SPOON into 2-qt. casserole.

BAKE 40 min. or until heated through.

Costume Dilemma

Since Halloween is on a Sunday this year, my  3 year old Mini-me's school is having Trunk or Treat on Saturday the 30th.  If you're not familiar with Trunk or Treat, it's basically where all the parents park in the parking lot of the school and have candy stations set up out of the trunk of their cars and the kids just walk from car to car and gather candy to their hearts content. Nice, safe event for the kids.  Well my dilemma is that Mini-me keeps changing what she wants to dress up as...so we've narrowed it down to these three. Which do you like best?


Belle




Jazmine



Minnie

As I am writing this she NOW tells me that this is what she might want to dress up as...



She's REALLY into The Cat in the Hat right now!





But the REALLY funny part is that she said me and her daddy could dress up as this... ROTFL!!!!!

Thing 1 & Thing 2







{Guest Spot} - I'M NOT ONLY YOUR MOM- A Writers Den



Not really sure how I came across "A Writers Den" blog but I love it!  One post that I especially loved was the one named "I'm Not Only Your Mom" 10 Things your kids should know about you.  Here's an excerpt...Check out her blog to read the rest!

Here are 10 things your kids should know about you:

• Mommy Is Not My Real Name: I hear the word “mommy” so many times a day that I sometimes forget my own name. “Kid, my name is NOT mommy.” About 30 or so years ago, your grandma and grandpa had a baby. That baby was me, and the word “mommy” doesn’t appear anywhere on my birth certificate. Although I do enjoy you calling me mommy, at some point in your life, I need you to know that I was and still am the young lady that I was before I became your mommy.

• I Do Have Eyes In The Back Of My Head: This means that every time I tell you to do something, and then turn my back to walk away, and you proceed to cut and roll your eyes at me, sulking and pouting with your arms folded, I SEE YOU.

• I am Psychic: I know that I’m raising you to believe in God, and there will be no black magic in this house. But it’s time I let you in on a little secret, I’m psychic. In fact, all moms are psychic. God granted me these special powers so that I could be a better mother to you. Part of me being a good mom, is preventing you from hurting yourself. So if I tell you the fire is hot, and you will most certainly get burned if you touch it, DON’T TOUCH IT. I don’t think I owe you any further explanation on this matter.

Thanks for letting me share this with my readers! YOU ROCK!!!!

Cre8tive Swag 2011

So here's a little peak into what I am working on for 2011! Really excited about this, it's a lot of work but it will be great.... if you would like to participate or know someone that would, please send them my way!

Cre8tive Mocha Presents:

Cre8tive Swag

Sampler Boxes

 

Connect with independent business owners and try out their handmade products!

Cer8tive Swag will launch its first box of samples in February 2011

Looking for artisans that make the following items to participate:

Bath/Body Products

Cosmetics

Candles

Jewelry

Paper products

Hair accessories

Party favors

If you've got an Etsy, Artfire or any kind of e-tail store, then this is the place for you!

The goal of Cre8tive Swag is to promote independent business owners that might not otherwise be seen by the masses! We want to help you reach your target audience.

Who doesn't love samples? So now is your chance to get samples of your products into the hands of hundreds of consumers!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

It's really simple, just send us the following information to let us know you are interested in participating:

Web URL

Email address

A brief description of your business/products

Number of samples your would like to contribute

Small banner (125X125) for advertising purposes on our website

Our minimum number of samples that we require is 25 ...they can be small sample sizes or full size items(please contact us if you plan to send full sized items), it's totally up to you. Remember the more samples you send the more exposure you will receive. Those who send 50+ samples will be our featured contributor and their item will be placed on top in the box as well as their banner being prominently displayed for that month on our website and blog.

HOW MUCH IS THIS GOING TO COST?

We advertise your products absolutely FREE...there is no cost for you to participate!

All you need to do is create and package your samples and get them to us at the appointed time...we'll do the rest!

WHERE WILL YOU PROMOTE MY BUSINESS?

We are all into the Social Media scene and will make sure your products are promoted from our Official Facebook and Twitter pages. You will also be listed on our official blog!

We are working hard to start a Cre8tive Swag Etsy team as well.

We will also be promoting Cre8tive Swag and its participants on many other blogs with large readership!

PACKAGING YOUR SAMPLES

Make sure that your samples are packaged very carefully and will not leak or break. Attractive packaging is always a plus and will help your items stand out! Make a good first impression!

PLEASE NOTE: All bath/body products as well as cosmetics must have all ingredients list plainly and legibly. Any items that do not follow these specifications will not be placed in our boxes...Safety first!

More information will be posted in the weeks to come including our new website and social media sites, so check back often.

If you have questions, please contact us at cre8tiveswagbox@gmail.com

OFFICIAL BLOG

http://cre8tiveswagsamplerboxes.blogspot.com/

TWITTER

http://twitter.com/cre8tiveswagbox

FACEBOOK

coming soon

100th Follower! Yaaay!!!

Woo Hoo! Cre8tive Mocha made it to 100 followers!

Thanks to everyone who has become a follower! The best is yet to come!  Bring on the next 100!



Working Together

I am still working on a project that I hope to have up and running by January.  As you can see I make A LOT of different things.  And I'm always trying to think of creative ways to get the word out about my stuff, but I also know others that make some pretty amazing things that other just don't know about.  So my new project is a way to get these products out and help promote not only myself but other mom's in business.  It is by no means an original idea of my own (meaning it is being done by others) but I believe it will certainly work!  I will be posting more about this in the weeks to come so make sure to stay tuned.  It is a slow process getting everything together (along with working a full-time job AND taking care of my family) so don't abandon me if I don't post EVERYDAY! LOL  I'm here and working on something super exciting!  Of course I will continue to post my projects as well as others that have been sent to me. So stay tuned and stay cre8tive!