Blog Archives

Finding the Right Venue

By Stefanie

April 22, 2013

There are a lot of events in life that require just the right venue. It may be a wedding, reception, party, meeting, whatever it may be, you want to host it at just the right location. For certain events the right venue can make or break the event. I participated in a craft show once that was not in the right venue. It was in a hotel conference room and over flow was in the hallway. I don’t think the hotel was the problem, it was that it was hard to find, tucked back a little far off the street and an immediate turn from getting off the freeway. The location of this venue was horrible for this type of event that was dependent on drive in, spontaneous traffic.There are a lot of things to consider when planning a venue!

Another tricky aspect to planning an event is all the driving around looking at each venue. If you are looking for a venue to hold your next event you might consider this fantastic site http://www.venuefinder.com/. This website offers a free database of over 15,000 venues in the UK and all over the world. I was impressed as I explored this site because it has so many features to make sure you find the right venue in the right location. You can search by your country, the venue name, the venue style even by the capacity! Surely this site will help you narrow your search. Some of the venues even have a video tour or a 360 degree virtual tours, you can cut down on all that driving with these tours! I love these options because you can really see what the venue has to offer and make sure you are happy with all the amenities your venue offers. I haven’t ever been in charge of a large event, but next time I am, I know where to begin my venue search!

This article was brought to you by our friends at http://www.venuefinder.com/.

About Stefanie

Stefanie is a stay at home blogging Mom of three. She writes for Making of a Mom. Connect with her at Google+

0 comments

Fancy Nancy Party Featuring The Orb Factory

By Stefanie

April 22, 2013

Disclaimer: I received the following products for review purposes. No other compensation was received. All opinions and experiences are 100% my own. Your experience may differ. If you click a link in this post, you will be taken to the sponsor’s site.

When we find a series of books we love we stick to it! We love Fancy Nancy at our house. She is such a sweet little girl with some high style! My daughter was very excited to learn that The Orb Factory wanted her to throw a Perfectly Posh Fancy Nancy party! We invited several friends over for this fun little craft play date. We set out some fancy snacks.

And set up a table with all of the crafts so everyone could see and get what they needed. The Orb Factory sent me 8 Fancy tiara crafts and 24 jewel by number Fancy Nancy stickers for our little party.

And then the girls got to work! They each had a fun time choosing their favorite “Fancy Taira” to work on. There were plenty of stickers to go around, but sometimes the sheet another girl needed was in use, so I started cutting the different colored jewels into their own sheets so that everyone could keep working. It took about an our for the girls to do their tiaras. The Orb Factory also sent some Fancy Nancy jewel by number stickers for each girl and they each ended up taking them home. Of course we needed a group shot with our finished tiaras!

And as an added bonus, my daughter received a “host gift” from The Orb Factory as well. Some fancy sunglasses complete the look don’t you think? Do you think she loves The Orb Factory? You bet she does!

You already know that I am a HUGE fan of The Orb Factory! These Fancy Nancy products just complement the already fantastic line up of other crafts and toys. All the girls loved making their tiaras together and the party was a hit! I would totally recommend The Orb Factory for your future party plans. Every activity we have ever received from them has been amazing and tons of fun! You can stay up to date with The Orb Factory by following them on Facebook. Thank you Orb Factory for sponsoring such a fun party!

About Stefanie

Stefanie is a stay at home blogging Mom of three. She writes for Making of a Mom. Connect with her at Google+

0 comments

Happy Birthday Talking Ginger #gingersbirthday

By Stefanie

April 8, 2013

Talking Ginger is a cute little kitty turning 5! He and his friends have their own apps with interactive toys! To celebrate his birthday, his friends are throwing him a huge virtual party, and you are invited to join the fun.

Take a look at a great website called Talking Ginger’s Playground where you can see a trailer about Talking Gingers Birthday app that will be out in late April. There is also an email address where you can email Ginger birthday wishes that will be put into a drawing to win a Talking Ginger Superstar plush interactive toy! There is also a party cookbook and links to all the Talking Friends app available in the App store.

We have been playing with our Talking Ginger Superstar plush interactive toy for a couple weeks. We downloaded all of the talking friends apps that are available so Ginger could interact with all of them. It is a really fun toy! My kids love to play with Ginger and the corresponding apps. There are games, songs, videos and lots of other fun things incorporated into the apps. One of my favorite features of the Talking Ginger app is the teeth brushing timer. In the app you canhelp Ginger brush his teeth or you can use a timer to help your kids brush their teeth along with the app and the Talking Ginger Superstar plush is encouraging them to keep going the whole time. It is a lot of fun!

My daughter sent Ginger a birthday card. Here is what she came up with: Another fun thing is happening along with the birthday party! Talking Ginger is going to one of my readers a big box full of Talking Ginger swag! Check out all the goodies in this package: Included in the box ($150 value) is your own Talking Ginger Superstar interactive plush toy, a water bottle, magnets, notebooks, a keychain, tooth brushes, tooth paste, gift cards to the Talking Friends shop, an iPhone hard case, and 2 bags! It is a very fun box of goodies!

This giveaway will run from April 8 thru April 30. The giveaway is open to US residents ages 18+. The winner will be verified and emailed. Enter through the Rafflecopter below. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received the above mentioned products free of charge in exchange for my opinion and to help spread the word to celebrate Talking Ginger’s Birthday.

About Stefanie

Stefanie is a stay at home blogging Mom of three. She writes for Making of a Mom. Connect with her at Google+

45 comments

Santa Bread

By Johanna

December 18, 2012

Today’s recipe was visually an epic fail! But my girls LOVED it and it was yummy, so it was totally worth it! I know what changes I’ll need to make the next time we make it- and there WILL be a next time! It was so fun!

Gypsys Melting Pot gives a recipe for the dough that I’m sure is delicious, but I’m a lazy chef, so I just bought Pillsbury Simply Rustic French Bread Dough instead. (I used 2 of the Pillsbury containers)

“Divide into two portions, one slightly larger than the other.

Shape the larger portion into an elongated triangle with rounded corners for Santa’s head and hat.

Divide the smaller portion in half. Shape and flatten one half into a beard. Using scissors or a pizza cutter, cut into strips to within 1 in. of top. Position on Santa’s face; twist and curl strips if desired.

Use the remaining dough for the mustache, nose, hat pom-pom and brim. Shape a portion of dough into a mustache; flatten and cut the ends into small strips with scissors. Place above beard. Place a small ball above mustache for nose. Fold tip of hat over and add another ball for pom-pom. Roll out a narrow piece of dough to create a hat brim; position under hat.

With a scissors, cut two slits for eyes; insert raisins into slits. In separate small bowls, beat egg each yolk. Add red food coloring to one yolk; carefully brush over hat, nose and cheeks. Brush plain yolk over remaining dough.

Shaping Santa Step-by-Step:
Step 1
On a lightly floured surface, shape the larger portion of bread dough into an elongated triangle with rounded corners for Santa’s head and hat.

Step 2
Shape and flatten half of the smaller portion of dough into a beard. Using a scissors or pizza cutter, cut the beard into strips to within 1 in. of the top of the beard.

Step 3
Carefully pick up the cut beard piece with both hands and position the beard on the bottom of Santa’s face.

Step 4
If desired, twist the cut strips in the beard and slightly curl up the ends of the strips to shape the beard.

Step 5
Add red food coloring to one beaten egg yolk and carefully brush the tinted red yolk over the hat, nose and cheeks.”

About Johanna

1 comment

Gyspy Melting Pot

By Johanna

December 11, 2012

Okay folks, you know how I feel about creative and simple recipes! I just fell in LOVE with Gyspys Melting Pot! They do an awesome job compiling super cute and totally adorable recipes and crafts that are so simple and so creative! I was so excited to share them with you! I’ll post 2 today and 2 more on Thursday.

Christmas tree

Gypsys Melting Pot made it with veggies, (Click here to see theirs!) but my kids are MUCH more likely to eat fruit! And our family tradition is a Christmas breakfast, so this is perfect!

Tree- kiwi- I cut my kiwi in half, then use a spoon to scoop out. Then slice- EASY!! No peeling necessary!

Ornaments- grapes and cherries

Tinsel/garland- mandarin oranges (in juice- not syrup)

Trunk- canned, sliced peaches (juice- not syrup)

Star- canned, sliced pears (juice- not syrup)

(My picture pales in comparison to theirs, but it sure was tasty!)

Penguins (recipe on fb) Aren’t these so cute!!

I used Laughing cow queso fresco and chipotle, but you could used any soft white cheese or even Cream cheese.

Also, GMP uses carrots for the feet and beak, but I just used cheddar instead…

Here is GMP’s recipe:

“Ingredients:
1 can of jumbo or large black olives
1 can of small black olives

1/4 to 1/3 pound of soft cheese, such as fromage blanc (I used goat fromage blanc), or cream cheese (what was served to us originally).
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced into rounds
Frilled Toothpicks

For the feet:
Cut a triangle out of the carrot rounds.The big piece will be the feet.

Take the small piece and cut into small slivers for the beak of the penguin.

Next take a large olive and cut a quarter inch wedge from it.

Now stuff olive with soft cheese and smooth out.

Now take your carrot feet and place the cheese filled olive on top, then place a small olive on top of the large olive.

Use a toothpick to secure. Poke a small hole in the middle of the small olive and then place a carrot beak in the hole.”

So cute! Thanks GMP!! You’re my new favorite!

About Johanna

0 comments