Where to Shop This Holiday Season

Disclosure: Some of these links will pay me a small percentage of any purchase made when clicking them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Can you believe it is already Black Friday? Do you know why today is called Black Friday? Traditionally this is the day stores would finally show a profit for the year or they would be in the black instead of the red (loss). Can you imaging running a store for almost the entire year in a loss? In honor of Black Friday I thought I would give you some suggestions as places to shop or at least some of our favorite places to shop. A few of these are affiliate links and will provide me with a small payment if you shop there, but most are just places I find amazing and want to let you know about them. Next week I will do a post on our favorite things from our reviews this year with gift suggestions for people of all ages!!

The Grommet -- a Place to Shop for Unique Gifts

Disclosure:  The links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share! I was also paid small stipend to write this post. All opinions are my own.

Do you have those people who seem to have everything and you struggle to find them a gift? You know the type. Those impossible to buy for people. They don't need anything and you have no idea what to buy for them. A place to go for something they do not have is The Grommet: Discover What's Next. It has unique things that are just hitting the market. 

Photo Canvas from Canvas Factory Review & #Giveaway

Disclosure: Canvas Factory sent me this canvas of my photograph free of charge and is providing the giveaway prize in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Some links in this post are affiliate links where I will receive a small payment for your purchase at no cost to you. 

I know summer is over. Hazel is back to school, and she loves it. However I am still trying to capture the summer memories. We went on a family vacation in July to North Conway, New Hampshire. This year we went up to the summit of Mount Washington. It was our first time going. We took the guided van tour offered by the Mt. Washington Auto Road.  It had been suggested to us as the best way to get up by an employee at the Mount Washington Weather Discovery Center and Gift Shop. We loved it and would definitely recommend it. So I wanted to use one of our photos from our trip for our canvas print. My first idea was to use a family photograph from the summit. However we needed to crop it and the quality was not good enough. When it was cropped it was perfect for a portrait canvas. 

Hostess Gifts & More for Summer Parties

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post and this post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Have you been looking for a gift to bring a hostess of a summer party? Or perhaps for those hard to buy for people? One of my favorite places to check out is Shop gifts under $25 at The Grommet. The Grommet is a company that helps launch new products onto the market. Usually it is the inventors/creators of the items that they are helping. The gifts are unique and new. Check out some of these great ideas from the gifts under $25 at The Grommet. 

Slimed DIY -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Leisure Arts sent me a copy of this book in return for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.  The links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Have your kids jumped into the slime wave? Hazel discovered slime a few weeks ago when one of her classmates was looking for some buyers of slime her older sister made. This was right after I had heard about the blisters and burns some kids experienced, so I decided the only way she was having slime was if we made it so I knew exactly what was in it. Enter Leisure Arts. They just published a new book called Slimed DIY.

Doll Food Finds

Disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!
 
I haven't shared with you any of cheap doll finds lately and have had a few of these sitting there waiting to be shared so here they are. Now the first finds I found around the start of the school year. I think they were either at Target or Michael's but am not sure. The first is a burger pencil sharpener and french fries eraser set. They are on one of Hazel's dishes for her dolls to show you the size.

Finding coupon codes that work when shopping--my review of Dealspotr.com

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.

Do you shop on-line and search for the latest deals for certain sites? Then always wonder if the code is still working? Or perhaps go into the store but search for coupons first? Or maybe you are one of those people who do not want to give your email out to get the coupons. (I have a Hotmail account for businesses that I only check when I want a coupon.) However I have recently discovered Dealspotr.com.

10 Cheap Food-Free Valentine Ideas & Printables

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post. This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.Thanks for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Schools today usually request non-food Valentines. Does yours? I know Hazel's does and there is always at least one family if not more in her class that pays no attention. And her class has someone with severe food allergies. Of course the candy Valentines are so easy since you can buy them everywhere for pretty cheap. Today I am going to share some non-food Valentine ideas and printables to go with items you can order from Dollar Tree.

Fairy & Ice Cream Party Updates

Disclosure:  Some of the links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

I am finally stopping to catch up after the holidays and Hazel's birthday. Today I am going to share some of the details of her two birthday parties. First we always have a family and adult and younger kid party for her birthday. This year we decided on an ice cream theme. I made invitations with My Memories Suite.

The Grommet -- Product & Company Review

Disclosure: I was given a coupon to purchase a product for this review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.  The links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

 Recently I became an affiliate with The Grommet. Now I will admit I had not heard of them when I was first approached, but after checking them out, I was excited to be able to promote them a bit. The Grommet: Discover What's Next is a company that launch undiscovered products. The products have a purpose and are invented by people with a story. To check out the company, they provided me with a $10 coupon code to order my choice of product. After looking several times I finally decided to get the Frego: Food Storage Container - 4 Cup. I ordered the one in blue. I decided on the four cup because I figured it could hold smaller or larger lunches.

Photo Gifts with Tiny Prints

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Please consider making a purchase and supporting Crafty Moms Share. Since I do not accept advertising, this is my only income from this blog. Click pictures for links. I was compensated for this post.

Are you still trying to figure out the perfect gift for your kids to give your husband or perhaps a grandparent? This year Tiny Prints saved us with one of their Deal of the Day and we got this photo mug for free. We just had to pay for shipping and handling. Hazel helped me design it and is very excited to give it to Steve this Christmas. He is one of those impossible to buy for people. He usually only tells his mother what he wants from her because she will buy for him no matter what. He always tells me he doesn't want anything. Ugh!!  Photo gifts from Tiny Prints are the perfect gift for dads, moms, grandparents and more! Then I saw that the Deal of the Day was a free Tiny Prints Custom Photo Mugs that was white so I went for it.

Holiday Cards -- Holiday Preparations

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Please consider making a purchase and supporting Crafty Moms Share. Since I do not accept advertising, this is my only income from this blog. Click pictures for links.  I was compensated for this post.

 "On the second day of November, my stress free holiday preparations had me order my holiday cards." Now I am one of those people who send their cards out right after Thanksgiving. I have friends who always comment on how mine is the first they receive. How do I do this? I order them early!! In fact I already have mine. We decided to use a picture from our trip to Santa's Village this past summer. In fact I had Hazel pose for the picture knowing it would be our Christmas card photo. Then Steve got a reward from his company where we could choose a prize and one of the things we picked was the gift card to buy our cards from Shutterfly.

The Mystic Princesses and the Magic Show -- A perfect chapter book for Earth Day

* Disclosure: The Gymboree links in this post are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Can you believe Friday is Earth Day? I feel like spring is just beginning and it is already the end of April. How do you get your children to focus on taking care of the Earth for Earth Day? We have the perfect chapter book for the day and it is also perfect for next week which is National Princess Week. Anyone who has been following Crafty Moms Share knows I tend to look for books about princesses who are less frilly and typical fairy tale princesses but ones that show courage, strength and independence. Well the Mystic Princesses are just that type of princess. Of course what makes them the Mystic Princesses is that they each have a parent who is a god or goddess or Mother Nature. Each princess also has a special magical talent as well. 

These princesses however have joined together to protect Harmonie. She is the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares. Aphrodite sent Harmonie away with her brother Eros when she was a baby for protection from Ares. Harmonie brings peace and calm to everyone around her which goes against Ares desire for war. Now his other children are after her and Eros so they separated and the Mystic Princesses have sworn to protect Harmonie. In the first book, The Mystic Princesses and the Whirlpool, PJ LaRue introduces the princesses and the story. We had the pleasure of reviewing the first book in the series for Multicultural Children's Book Day. Now we are bringing you the second book in the series,   The Mystic Princesses and the Magic Show by PJ LaRue.

Wedding Season

Disclosure: I received a free membership for the service of one of these on-line greeting card services. All opinions are my own. 

Did you know the most popular time to get engaged is the month of December? So if it seems like many friends are posting that they became engaged over the holidays, it is probably true. At work the push is on for everyone to be trained to take custom print orders. I am almost through my training and I thought I would share with you some things I learned as well as my own DIY invitation. I was very much a DIY bride and our wedding was pretty casual so we were not worried about the formal standards. Now I am finding out there are many out there.  Shutterfly now offers wedding invitations which use to be called Wedding Papers Divas. I am no longer an affiliate with them. Since my links and many of the pictures I shared previously are no longer available I am updating this and sharing about Greetings Island.

Foreign Language for Kids by Kids -- New Year Resolution Review

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links where I will receive a small commission if you purchase through them at no cost to you. I was given access to Foreign Language for Kids by Kids programs for six months free of charge in exchange of writing honest reviews. All opinions in this post are my own. 

Do you make new year resolutions? I often do not or should I say I pretend to but never keep them. Now that it is over a week past New Year's Day, I have time to think about what I want 2016 to really look like. This week I am going to share with you some of the products that are helping me with some of my resolutions or let's say desires for the new year. 

Resolution #1

The first resolution is to work more consistently with Hazel on her Spanish. Back in September we shared a new program that we are trying. I had big hopes but first grade brought things like homework and exhaustion. But now that it is January my goal for us is to do the lessons at least four times a week. 

DIY Christmas Cards & Gift Tags

Disclosure: My Memories gave me a copy of this product free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.

Are you getting ready for Christmas? Have you mailed your cards yet? Wrapped the gifts? There always seems to be so much to do this time of year. I always look for ways to stop and enjoy the season. In our house this often includes some crafts. This year we made our own Christmas cards. We always do a photo card and we still did, but we added our own personal touch with a simple craft. I had bought the tree punch at work as well as a pack of spruce flat cards. We punched them and decorated them with gel pens, liquid pearls and washi tape and then glued them on to the cards and added a sticker star. Some we used plan cardstock and covered in the washi tape and then punched.

Learning Spanish in 10 Mintues a Day

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links where I will receive a small commission if you purchase through them at no cost to you. I was given access to Foreign Language for Kids by Kids programs for six months free of charge in exchange of writing honest reviews. All opinions in this post are my own. 

Do you want your child to learn Spanish? Is your child taught a foreign language at school currently or do you wish he or she was now? Hazel's school is a classical school and it teaches Latin to the students. Since it is such a small school, they do not offer any other languages. Since I took Spanish in school, I want to teach Hazel Spanish. I bought some books and CDs and won some as well as a DVD, but we have not gotten very far. Hazel can count to ten in Spanish, say hello and goodbye and knows most of her colors. The truth is even though I was in honors Spanish from seventh grade until eleventh I don't remember everything and do not know the best way to teach it by myself. Luckily along came Foreign Language for Kids by Kids. 

Back to School Lunch Ideas and Clothes: Everyday Bento Book Review & More!

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation. I am a Little Passport and a Gymboree Affiliate. If you purchase from the Gymboree or Little Passports links provided I will earn a small commission.  

Are your kids back to school yet? Here in Massachusetts we have between one to two weeks more to go in general, but there is a lot of buzz about the start of school. I also know my Facebook news feed is full of those first day picture from friends across the country. Well I know as a mother there are two things on our minds besides those school supply lists we all get from the teachers--school lunch ideas and new school clothes. I remember as a child going back to school shopping. I always looked forward to it. Since Hazel wears a uniform to school we do not worry so much about back to school clothes as we do just new fall clothes. This summer she definitely grew in fact many people have commented on how much taller she seems as the summer winds down, so she has changed sizes again. This meant a few trips to Gymboree for new fall clothes. But first lets talk about those lunches. 

Summer Fun: Activities & Crafts for Beginning Campers

For a very long time Hazel has really wanted to go camping. She has seen various television characters go camping and has heard about it from her friends. Now I grew up camping with my family, but Steve did not. I own a very small tent, but have always camped with people who know how to camp better than I do, so I do not have much confidence. We have promised to take her at some point, but in the mean time I made her a tent and campfire for her doll and then we tried some beginner activities. 

Mermaid Kisses and Sea Star Wishes Pajamas and Free Printables

Now Hazel and I frequent our local Gymboree store often. Someone Steve graduated from high school works there and through our visits to her we have gotten to know basically the whole staff. Hazel feels at home there and loves to go in to see if there is anything new in stock. She loves their clothes and has quite a few. A couple of weeks ago we noticed the Starfish Wish Two-Piece Short Pajamas .

Starfish Wish Two-Piece Short Pajamas