{Guest Blogger} Sweet Things and a Sweet Giveaway

November 15, 2010

Congratulations to JC's loft for winning the Sweet Things Giveaway!

Please email us at thesavvymomsguide@yahoo.com with your contact information.

Are you ready for a "Sweet" Post and an even Sweeter Giveaway?

We are certain you will fall in love with Sweet Things Kids just as much as we have. Nicole is talented beyond words. Enjoy spending time getting to know her and getting lost in her creations.

Hello all, my name is Nicole and I run a small business called Sweet Things! Amy and Bri kindly asked me to do a guest blog post on their Savvy site to introduce myself to their followers and leave you with a SWEET tip! So here it goes…

Growing up I am sure that none of my friends or family would have thought to say Nicole and “girly” in the same sentence, but here I am shortly after turning 30 and I have created my own little “girly” business, Sweet Things. When I had my first daughter back in 2007, I was convinced that she would be a tom boy, and I was right. She loves cars and bugs and can’t be bothered with tutus and frill!

Then little N came along and everything changed. She is now 22 months and into everything girly! So the mission was on: make affordable dress up costumes for my girly girl!

When starting the venture one of my biggest inspirations was, the one and only Gwen Stefani. I LOVE her! She is a sexy mommy and business woman, with amazing style. One of my favorite videos of hers is “What You Waiting For”. Her Alice in Wonderland interpretation made me start sketching and creating my first costume!

Well, once Tim Burrton’s “Alice in Wonderland” movie broke it big at the box office, I was off and running on my Alice creation. After several attempts I think the final product turned out perfect!

After that I was creating new costumes daily! Next came costumes inspired by Tinkerbell, Minnie Mouse, Dorothy, Fairies, Bumble Bees, Jessie and LOTS more. I am up to 15 creations and working on more all the time!

I don’t only make costumes. I also make everyday and special event tutus, pillowcase dresses, hair accessories, birthday hats and COMING SOON trendy kids clothes! I really try hard to make my designs unique and affordable for EVERY mommy (and daddy for that matter J)! Next year I plan on creating some more edgy kid costumes, clothes and adult costumes!

I am so lucky to be able to do what I LOVE in creating SWEET creations for your SWEET kids. I am also fortunate to have a supportive husband who will give his opinion on tulle color and shirt designs even though he would rather be watching the Dolphins, and I could never forget my two little ladies who put life into perspective and make every day SWEET!

“I'm just a girl in the world...
That's all that you'll let me be!”

So I guess I run with it!!

SWEET Tip:

How to make your little girl into a ROCK STAR on a budget! It’s easy to make a cute dress up costume from home!

What you will need:

An old pair of tube socks

An old mens collared shirt

Markers

Glitter

Kid friendly paint

Blue eye liner

Ribbon

Empty paper towel roll

Glue

Scissors

Pieces of 8 ½ x 11 paper

Flashlight

You favorite No Doubt or Gwen Stefani Music!

Set up your men’s dress shirt, tube socks, and empty paper towel roll on a table outside with the glue, glitter, markers and kid friendly paint and let them be creative. Make stars with the markers and circles with the glitter and let them make it colorful and unique! Inspire them to be their own designer by joining in! When the socks are dry cut small holes in the top for your little ones fingers.

During nap time let the items dry and start on the top of the microphone. Take the 81/2 x11inch sheet of paper and ball it up. Then dip it into glue and cover it with different colors of glitter! Make sure to leave one small piece of your paper with no glue or glitter so when it is drying you can leave it on that side and it won’t stick! Once it is dry glue it to the decorated paper towel roll with the undecorated side down.

Time for dress up:

Put your child in their shirts and put the tube socks on their arms. Wrap a ribbon around their waist. You can add some leggings or tights if your little one wants. Put there hair up in a teased pony tail and add some glitter. Take your Blue Eye liner and draw some stars on their cheeks! Give your little ones their microphones and set up the music and let them go to town! Shine flashlights on them to make them feel like they are on stage! (Mosh pitting not recommended for children under 8 hehe)

Anyone can be a designer! Just let the ROCK STAR in you come out!!

We told you you would love her..... And guess what she is giving away an adorable Cupcake Apron and Yummy Chocolate Chip cupcakes in a jar!!!!

3 ways to Enter to Win.

1) Head over to Sweet Things Kids and tell us your favorite Design! Here

2) Become fans of The Savvy Moms Guide and Sweet Things on Facebook. Leave your Savvy Smiles on their pages!

3) Suggest The Savvy Moms Guide and Sweet Things Kids to your Friends and Family and share that you did here!

Smiles~

Amy & Bri

{Guest Blogger} A Celebration Shoppe Giveaway

November 8, 2010.

We are beyond thrilled to have Kim as our Guest Blog today. We found Kim through our "How Savvy are you" feature of Ava's Princess Party. Kim was so kind and complimentary and even featured the party on her own Blog.

She is Amazing and Inspiring. So much so that Martha Stewart's Dreamers Into Doer's just named her Doer of the week.

Please Welcome Kim!

Hi! My name is Kim Byers and I’m the owner and creative director of The Celebration Shoppe. I’m so excited that Amy and Bri asked me to be a guest blogger while Amy’s enjoying some time off with her new little bundle. And what kind of guest would I be if I didn’t come bearing gifts?!

With Thanksgiving just around the corner I thought I would share my new Harvest collection (50% off in the shoppe right now!). It could be perfect for your “kid’s table” this Thanksgiving! I know I’ll personally be using it at my house!

These are just a few of the items in the printables collection, so stop in the shoppe for all the details!

“To say Thanks for having me, I am giving away my Harvest printable collection to one lucky winner.”

3 Ways to Enter to Win

1) Head over to The Celebration Shoppe and tell us your favorite collection! Make sure you check out the newest Mod Candy Cane collection sneak peek while you’re there. It will be available in the shoppe later this week and the printable collection will be 40% off through Saturday!


2) Become fans of The Savvy Moms Guide and The Celebration Shoppe on Facebook. Leave your Savvy Smiles on their pages!

3) Suggest The Savvy Moms Guide and The Celebration Shoppe to your Friends and Family and share that you did here!


Please leave a separate comment for each entry.
Winner will be chosen on Friday, November 12, 2010 at 10:00pm (PST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Winner will be chosen using random.org

Kim

1.000 Thank You's and {Free Printable}

November 5, 2010

It is Crazy.....We have over 1,000 followers on Facebook.

Shocking that our Little Blog and ideas have found a following.

Excited that you all care what we Share.

Thrilled and Overwhelmed at the Support in such a short time.

Humbled, by you.

So to say Thank You We have a gift

Being Savvy is a lot of things.

Organization is Savvy.

Planning is Savvy.

So we asked Nicole of The Two Savvy Sisters to Design this Meal Planner for you.

Download Here

Hope this Makes you Smile and Your Week a little Savvier!

Thank You For joining us on this Adventure....

Thank You our Savvy Sister...

We Appreciate and Love you all.

Smiles~
Amy & Bri

{Guest Blog & Giveaway} Rosebud Lips Headband

And We have a WINNER!!!!

Congratulations to Shelley.

She said....

How Did I not know about this shop?! It is over the top adorable. I am in love with The Ella Rosebud Headband. So So cute. Thanks for introducing it to me!

Please email your contact information to thesavvymomsguide@yahoo.com. And Thank You for entering. Smiles~

First of all, I’m honored to be a guest on The Savvy Moms Guide! Thank you.

I am Lauren the creator of Rosebud Lips . I am just having a blast creating things that make women feel beautiful.

Here’s a little bit about myself and my vision.

I'm 27, and a dreamer. I am a stay at home mommy in The Woodlands, TX, and love to do what I do. I have always been creative, and learned to sew at a young age. I was taught by my grandmother (Nana) and my mom (Tama). I have always loved fashion, and at a young age moved to New York City. I had the opportunity to intern for designer Cynthia Rowley, which was an amazing experience.


To tell you why I became a designer would have to be because of my sweet memories of being a little girl (about 4) and dancing around in my Nana's silk bed sheets (my cape), adorned with her costume jewelry. I felt like a princess. My Nana has collected jewelry from my family generations back, and I felt like each piece had a story. This inspired me to use antiques in my pieces. I love textures, antiques, fabric and jewelry. Together, these form my concepts for my collection-- Making every woman feel beautiful.

I started the company in 2009, shortly after my mom passed away from Cancer. She was my best friend, and my biggest supporter. She was an artist herself, and she told me to follow my dreams and be creative. This motivated me to leave the marketing/PR world that I worked in for over 5 years. She has changed the course of my life, and I'm so excited for what the future holds.

The name Rosebud Lips was actually the nickname that she gave me when I was little, then my little girl (her grand daughter). My other passion is to support The Mercy Project. Please know that each item that is sold through my shop directly benefits Mercy Ministries of America. They provide hope and healing to generations of desperate young women who are seeking freedom from life-controlling problems such as: drug and alcohol addictions; depression; eating disorders; unplanned pregnancy; physical and sexual abuse; self-harm. Go to www.mercyministries.org for more information.

We love Lauren, her mission to support other women, and of course Her Designs.

In honor of the Camp Cupcake Inland Empire Event that we are participating in this Sunday for the Fight Against Breast Cancer we are giving away a Breast Cancer Awareness Headband!

3 Ways to Enter to Win

1) Head over to Rosebud Lips and tell us your favorite Design here!

2) Become fans of The Savvy Moms Guide and Rosebud Lips on Facebook. Leave your Savvy Smiles on their pages!

3) Suggest The Savvy Moms Guide to your Friends and Family and share that you did here!

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 10:00pm (PST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Winner will be chosen using random.org

Smiles~

Amy & Bri

{Giveaway} A Polka Dot Prints Designed Milk Carton

October 14, 2010

So you saw the "Cookies and Milk" themed baby shower yesterday and every detail was perfected at the hands of some talented people. When Amy came across these adorable milk carton printable favors, she knew they had to be a favor for each of the guests to swoon over!!! Thanks to Jordan from Polka Dot Prints she is offering a Giveaway in her shop for one of her original Polka Dot Prints designed Milk Cartons for your next party, shower or event that will surely add a touch of Savviness!!!!

3 Ways to Enter to Win
1) Head over to Polka Dot Prints and become a follower and tell us your favorite printable here!

2) Become fans of The Savvy Moms Guide and Polka Dot Prints on Facebook. Leave your Savvy Smiles and on these pages!

3) Suggest The Savvy Moms Guide to your Friends and Family and share that you did here!Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

Winner will be chosen on Monday, October 18, 2010 at 10:00pm (PST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Winner will be chosen using random.org

Smiles~

Amy & Bri

{Giveaway} A Candle & Coffee for a Cause...

Congratulations to Ginz . You are the Winner of our Candle & Coffee for a cause. Ginz Said "Wow, the Pumpkin Hollow scent sounds absolutely DIVINE! I love the coffee cozzees, I think my current favorite is "The Ginny". ;" Please email us at thesavvymomsguide@yahoo.com with your contact info. Smiles~

Did you know that Every 69 seconds, globally a woman dies of breast cancer. And 80-85 percent of breast cancer cases happen in women with no family history of breast cancer. These statistics are terrifying for us as mothers, daughters, sisters and friends. With October being Breast Cancer awareness month we decided to reach out and find amazing Mompreneurs who are raising money to help find a cure. I am sure you are all familiar with The Susan G. Koman Fund, a Worldwide Charity that has revolutionized research and funding for Breast Cancer. So many woman owned and operated businesses are doing the same.

We were thrilled to find Soy Breeze Candles, a home-based business located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Izabela followed her dream of creating a 100% natural soy wax candle that burns clean, lasts long and smells fabulous! After much research and trial Soy Breeze was born. We fell in love with Izabela and her candles and admire her for her entrepreneurial spirit. What is also admirable about Izabela is that she donates 20% of the sales of her Strawberry Shortcake Breast Cancer Candle.

We love all things girly. So we were excited to discover Melissa of The Coffee Cozzee. Coffee Cozee’s allow you to "Go Green the Fashionable Way!" with a reusable Coffee Cozzee. No more throwing away countless coffee sleeves from your favorite coffee shop... just one stylish Cozzee to reuse again and again! They are heat resistant to keep your hands cool on a hot cup... or if you get your drinks iced, they will keep your hands from freezing... AND the insulation actually keeps your drink colder LONGER!! Available in dozens of styles for every style and personality. Custom orders welcome, too!

For us a wonderful Fall morning (or really any morning) is made better with a Cup of Coffee (Pumpkin Spice Latte) and a yummy Candle Burning. What makes the start of this fall season better is that we are burning a delicious Strawberry Shortcake Candle from Soy Breeze Candles and Sipping a Latte with our Coffee Cozzee (we look super chic taking our coffee into preschool…we know that other Moms are jealous). And the cherry on top is that 20% of proceeds of these 2 Amazingly Savvy and Stylish finds go to Breast Cancer Awareness.
Since we hope you love coffee the way we do….since every house is better when a yummy candle is burning…since Breast Cancer is reality and there needs to be a cure and since we LOVE YOU!!! We are giving away a Coffee Cozzee and a Soy Breeze Candle

3 Ways to Enter to Win

1) Head over to Soy Breeze Candles and Coffee Cozze and check out their Shops and tell us your favorites here!


2) Become fans of The Savvy Moms Guide, Coffee Cozzee and Soy Breeze Candles on Facebook. Leave your Savvy Smiles and on their page!

3) Suggest The Savvy Moms Guide to your Friends and Family and share that you did here!

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.
Winner will be chosen on Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 10:00pm (PST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Winner will be chosen using random.org

Smiles~
Amy & Bri

{Giveaway} Spooktacular Glamorous Canvas

September 27 2010

Congratulations to Tawny....You are the Winner of the Spooktacular "Glam" Canvas. We hope you enjoy it!!!!

Please email us at thesavvymomsguide@yahoo.com for your contact information.

Are you ready for a "Spooktacular" and Glamorous Giveaway? Kerry from Canvas by Kerry designed this Amazing Canvas for our "Spooktacular" Play Date we held last week (picture to follow shortly). She has graciously offered to give it away to our Savvy Viewers.

Here is how to enter to win!!!! Good Luck….

1) Head over to Canvas by Kerry and tell us your favorite sign here!


2) Become fans of both The Savvy Moms Guide and Lucky Girl Canvas on Facebook. Leave your Savvy Smile here!

3) Suggest The Savvy Moms Guide to your Friends and Family and share that you did here!

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.
Winner will be chosen on Sunday, October, 2010 at 10:00pm (PST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Winner will be chosen using random.org

Smiles,

Amy & Bri

Momarazzi Got her Camera Strap....You can get one too!!!!

September 23, 2010

Remember that amazing Giveaway we did for the SewTamz Camera Strap? It was a HUGE success (congrats again to Charity for winning).

As you know I was in serious need of a camera strap that has a Lens Cap pocket so that I did not need to invent Lo-Jack (do they still have that?) for my Lens Cap. And etsy lead me to amazing Sew Tamz! I was beyond thrilled. Over the moon excited when the UPS man rang my doorbell (which is a regular occurrence since I have twins and loathe shopping in public with them) with the "Package". I could not open it fast enough.....What do you think?

Photography by Ella B

I Love the colors. And the quality is excellent. Tammy really does an AMAZING job. And I am proud to report that I was momarazzi yesterday and did not have to interrogate anyone on the location of my lens cap. I knew exactly where it was.....right inside the "B" pocket, Brilliant!

And now I know you really WANT one. In fact trust me you NEED one. .... So SewTamz has been gracious enough to offer our Savvy Followers:

*10% off an order - mention Savvy Mom in notes to seller at check out.
*Orders $50.00 or more - Get a free Dual Lens Cap (fabric of your choice) mention Savvy Lens in notes to seller at check out.

We love her. Show her your love too and follow SewTamz Designs on FB and Show us your love and follow us too.

Smiles,

Amy & Bri

A Thoughtful Giveaway....

September 20, 2010

We have a winner!!!

Congrats luvnandz.....So excited to see what Everyday Blessings creates for you.

Please email us with all of your contact information at thesavvymomsguide@yahoo.com.

If I have not mentioned before I will tell you now. I hate to waste and get rid of things. Everything has a memory or story. But, I am always happy to donate to charity. Nothing is better than a good re-purpose of an otherwise useless item. But what do you do with a toilet....throw it away? Not if you live in my house. We plant it (more to follow in a later post).

And since I think everything needs its purpose explained I asked my amazingly talented friend Marcie at Everyday Blessings to create me a sign that really says it all…….

You see I struggle with accepting life’s situations sometimes. I am a perfectionist and a control freak. But I am learning…and am now reminded when I am outside watching the twins play that we all must “Bloom Where You are Planted”!

And because we know that this is strange. Because sometimes things just don’t make sense, like a toilet as a planter. And well because we just love you. We are giving away a $25 credit for a custom sign from Everyday Blessings.

Here is how to enter to win!!!! Good Luck….

1) Head over to Everyday Blessings and tell us your favorite sign here!

2) Become fans of both The Savvy Moms Guide and Everyday Blessings on Face book. Leave your Savvy Smile here!

3) Suggest The Savvy Moms Guide to your Friends and Family and share that you did here!

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.
Winner will be chosen on Sunday, September 26, 2010 at 10:00pm (PST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Winner will be chosen using random.org

Smiles,
Amy & Bri

A Tasty Frontier Inspired Giveaway

UPDATE......

We have a winner!!!! Congratulations to Tina who is the winner of the Pioneer Woman Cookbook.

She says she is a huge fan of Savvy Moms Guide and am so delighted that they introduced me to The Pioneer Woman Cooks.
Please email us at thesavvymomsguide@yahoo.com with your contact information.

Happy Cooking. Smiles~

Do you know Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman? Neither do we. But we sure wish we did. We might not be able to speak if we were on her frontier, but we are certain over a Starbucks we would become the Best of Friends.

Anyways….Ree is a desperate housewife, who lives in the country, channels Lucille Ball, Vivien Leigh, and Ethel Merman. She is a witty writer. Phenomenal Photographer (she offers helpful tutorials). And an amazing Cook.

Do you have her cook book The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl?

Publishers weekly best explains the book as giveing readers a slice of frontier life in this likeable-enough collection of recipes and dispatches from the Oklahoma ranch she shares with her husband and children. Replicating the step-by-step photography that made her blog such a hit, Drummond walks readers through dishes ranging from simple-Guacamole, Chili, Artichoke Dip-to more complex, such as from-scratch Cinnamon Rolls and Sherried Tomato Soup. Drummond's careful coaching will help anyone intimidated by the kitchen fearlessly crank out favorites like Chicken Fried Steak, Meat Loaf and Rib Eye Steak with Whiskey Cream Sauce. While the recipes are reliable home cooking standards, relentless references to her husband, known as the Marlboro Man, range from distracting to juvenile, giving what could have been a comfort food classic the feel of a junior-high class project.

So do you want to run out and Buy it…Or order it? Or maybe you want to hop on a plane and fly to Oklahoma to meet her (ok so maybe that is what we want to do).

Oh yea, Back to the book. You don’t have to buy the book just yet because We are Giving it Away!! Enter to Win your very own copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl?

Here is how to enter to win!!!! Good Luck….

1) Head over to The Pioneer Woman and tell us your favorite Recipe here!
2) Become fans of both The Savvy Moms Guide and The Pioneer Woman- Ree Drummond on Face book. Leave your Savvy Smile here!
3) Suggest The Savvy Moms Guide to your Friends and Family and share that you did here!

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

Winner will be chosen on Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 10:00pm (PST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Winner will be chosen using random.org

Smiles,

Amy & Bri

What...Another Giveaway????

I (Bri) am obsessed with pictures. A straight momarazzi..... my poor children. Someday I know they will appreciate the millions of pictures I have taken to capture every single moment and memory of their lives. For now I am just annoying. Even still I always have my camera ready for the perfect shot. So for my birthday this year my husband bought me the Cannon DSLR camera I had been talking about obsessively for years.

The stipulation was that I would learn how to use it. Well, 9 months later and I am still learning, aspiring to be like our very own Ella B and my beloved Laura Kent Photography, even though she moved hundreds of miles away (clearly I am still bitter and miss her).

I digress….. But in all honesty, I am failing miserably.

Nonetheless, I Love the Camera but hate that I am ALWAYS misplacing my lens cap, asking if anyone in my entourage has it. Because they should right? I have the camera but they of course have the lens cap when I cannot find it. So just last week on the 1st day of preschool there I am sobbing as my husband dragged me out of the twins class (I just could not leave) panicked that he had lost my lens cap, because of course I could not find it, and he should have it. So then and there I decided this needed to stop, I cannot keep asking my “peeps” where the lens cap is. So I turned to Etsy…you know about Etsy right? And there it was…the perfect Camera strap, from SewTamz Designs; sassy and stylish with a lens cap pocket! I could not get it in my cart fast enough. How cute am I going to look pretending like I am a professional photographer? My pictures may not be great but my camera will look Snazzy.

So, since you are such great followers…..Since you have put up with a couple of my bad pictures; with many more to come (can you tell which ones are mine & which are Ella B?)….Since you have embraced us and just because we love you…. We are giving away a SewTamz Designs Personalized DSLR Camera Strap with Lens Cap Pocket! Get a $30 credit to this fantastic Etsy shop, we love her…..

How great will this look with a Jo Tote? You can still enter TomKat's Giveaway until September 8. I am crossing my fingers, toes, legs and arms hoping that I win the Rose in Teal tote to match my new Camera Strap Cover.

3 ways to Enter & Win.....

1) Go to SewTamz Designs on Facebook. "Like" her and visit her Amazing shop then comment here with your favorite Strap Design.

2) Become a follower on SewTamz Designs, come back and leave a comment letting us know you are there!

3) Become a fan of The Savvy Moms Guide on Facebook, go to the Blog and leave a comment telling us your favorite photo tips.

Be Sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. Entries must be submitted by 8pm PST Sunday September 12. The winner will be selected using random.org

Smiles,

Amy & Bri

Baked Apple Chip Recipe and Our 1st Giveaway!!!!

In each of our play dates we will have a yummy recipe to share with our followers. While for our “Apple of our Eye” play date we would have liked it to be Apple Fritters, Apple Pie, Apple Cookies or even Apple Pie Ice Cream (Have you tasted Dryers Apple Pie Ice Cream???? To die for) we again chose the healthy route thinking of our kids, and our thighs. So here is the Recipe for the

Baked Apple Chips….

You will need

Recipe calls for 2 apples….we recommend you double it and do 4 apples
Water
Sugar
Lemon

Apple Chips are a healthy snack that our kids love. These are so easy to make and a great alternative to running to the store and buying a bag of potato chips.
Not only do we try to be Savvy about cost and nutrition, we also think being “Savvy and Going Green go hand in hand”. So we started using snack bags…..do you use them???? If so great, you will love our giveaway. If not, we hope you enjoy these adorable snack bags from Sweet Things. There are so many benefits to snack bags, they are pennies compared to plastic bags. They are reusable, washable, they are stylish (since they can be made in several fun prints and colors) and earth friendly!!!

To enter our giveaway and receive 2 apple themed snack bags you need to do the following.

• Become a Fan on our Facebook Page. Comment on your “Savvy” Green Skills
• Become a Follower on our Blog. Comment on your favorite “Savvy” find from the Apple of my Eye Play Date.

Be sure to enter by Sunday. Who knows you may be the only one who enters!!!!

Smiles,

Amy & Bri

Sneak Peak....

Tomorrow The Savvy Moms Guide will launch our first Play date. We are excited to unveil our Back to School series of Crafts, Recipes, and Savvy Details. Come back to play and enter our giveaway.

Smiles,
Amy & Bri