Have some time off this Memorial Day? Here are a few fun & inspiring springtime posts for you from around the blogosphere:

• Wonder @ Mommin' It Up
  


• Icy Fresh "Squeezed" OJ @ Flipflops & Applesauce

• Simple Bandana Dress Tutorial @ Joy's Hope

• Brownie Bottom Ice Cream Cupcakes @ Joy the Baker

• Spring Cleaning: Tips & Techniques @ Simple Mom

• It Doesn't Have To Be Perfect To Be Beautiful: The eBook @ The Nesting Place

• Sun Safety~ Is Your Sunscreen Putting You In Danger? @ Gidget Goes Home

There's a fun campaign starting soon on Twitter that I think will be fun to follow! In just a few days the "Sling & Swaddle Journey" will have chosen 30 moms to participate in a competition on Twitter where the mom with the most followers, posts/tweets, and creative content will win! You can read more about it on the website, and be sure to check back there on May 25th to see who the moms are so you can start following them and supporting your favorites on Twitter.

While you're at it, you can follow us on Twitter, too! 

  Well, readers, the time has come for our last giveway in this series! It has been fun getting to know some of the product lines featured at PAD Showroom and the moms behind them. 

This week's giveaway is brought to us by PAD Showroom and the Punkybunks Baby Boutique! 

Hollie White, owner & president says, "We strive to bring you the most unique, hard-to-find, quality products. You will love the assortment of plush blankies with matching accessories; designer socks; leather shoes; gorgeous hair bows and hats; fashionable nursing shawls; comfy baby clothes and many more fun things that you just can’t live without."

 
Hollie started the Punkybunks online boutique and loves that she can run her business while still staying home to raise her adorable kids. If you're dying to know where in the world she came up with the cute name (I was sure curious!), be sure to read about it on her About Us page. 

1.  Click to enter via our entry form (*mandatory*)-- no comment here necessary.

2.  Tweet or blog about this giveaway and post a comment with the link to the tweet or blog post. 

3.  Follow us on Twitter and leave a comment telling us.  

4.  Subscribe by RSS or email to our blog and leave a comment telling us.     

5. Put this code for our cute button on your blog and leave a comment with a link to your url:

<a href="http://www.patriciaanndesigns.com/blog/" target="_blank">
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  Giveaway ends Saturday, May 9th, 2009 at midnight, PST.

Good Luck!  

Do you ever feel inundated with plastic toys?  I know I do.  Sometimes it's hard to find for our kids the simple, more environmentally-friendly type of toys that we had growing up.  Try finding a metal toy pot/pan set or simple wooden blocks and you'll see what I mean.  Non-toxic (and by that I primarily mean non-plastic) toys exist, but they are often hard-to-find and/or hard-to-afford.  Thankfully, we have the internet to help us find these sort of items.

But it can also be hard to know how to teach our children how to live a greener life.  By far, the best way to do this is by modeling a sustainable lifestyle for them, but sometimes it helps to be more specific and practical with kids, too.

Here are a few ideas for going green with your kids without breaking the bank:

1. Get Crafty.  Babies and toddlers will love to play with a few balls of yarn or some fabric that you might have lying around. When they're a little older, you can even teach them to knit, like Amanda Soule does in her book, The Creative Family .

2. Think Simply.  Sometimes the best toys come from things lying around the house.  We all know how much fun a cardboard box can be for a little one. I once made a shaker toy out of a toilet paper roll and some beans, and covered it with duct tape - my daughter loved it!

3. Go Outside!  Living in San Diego county provides the benefit of great weather.  Go outside with your kids to play in the yard, at the park, or at the beach. Instead of the cheap plastic toys (which will probably break or may get chewed up by a curious pet), round up a few items from your kitchen (think empty cottage cheese or yogurt containers) or garage that could be used for sand toys.  You could even go on a nature walk and inspect the plants you find.

4. Plant a Garden.  There's no better way to teach your kids about living a more sustainable life then by showing them how to grow their own food. You can even start small with a few pots and some herbs.  I recently planted a few seeds and let my toddler help me scoop the organic potting soil into an egg-crate in which I planted the seeds.  I want to start teaching her even at a young age how growing our own food saves fossil fuels that are normally used up to bring food to our grocery stores.

If you have more kid-friendly green ideas, please share them in the comments!

I came across a fun video with Shelley from Patricia Ann Designs, showing off a few of PAD's products.

Click here to view the video! 

Congratulations to Kaitlin Martin, winner of the Piggy Paint giveaway! You'll be contacted soon!

This week's giveaway is brought to us by Kurly Girlz and the PAD Showroom!

Kurly Girlz is a mom-owned company that specializes in Accessories for the Young and Young at Heart.  Like most mom-prenuers, Kurly Girlz started in a spare bedroom with a passion to create quality, one-of-a-kind accessories for mom and the girly-girl in her life.  Our accessories are not only inspired by girly-girls but are tested by these pint-sized divas as well.  Each accessory is lovingly made to endure ballerina twirls, giggles with friends and skipping in the park. 
Kurly Girlz currently offers posh tutus, sassy headbands and mom-inspired wristlet keychains for wholesale. 

You can visit their website to view the entire Kurly Girlz collection. You'll find everything adorable from tutus to tote bags, hair accessories, keychains and more. Look at how precious these tutus are!!

1.  Click to enter via our entry form (*mandatory*)-- no comment here necessary.

2.  Tweet or blog about this giveaway and post a comment with the link to the tweet or blog post. 

3.  Follow us on Twitter and leave a comment telling us.  

4.  Subscribe by RSS or email to our blog and leave a comment telling us.     

5. Put this code for our cute button on your blog and leave a comment with a link to your url:

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  Giveaway ends Saturday, April 25th, 2009 at midnight, PST.

Good Luck!  

Congratulations to Misty Sohl, winner of the Creative Clips giveaway! You'll be contacted soon!

*This giveaway is now closed!*

This week's giveaway is brought to us by Piggy Paint and the PAD showroom!

I'm super excited to introduce a company to you who offers an environmentally-friendly (yay!) and safe product for painting little girls' nails.  Piggy Paint is a company started by stay-at-home mom Melanie Hurley who wanted to paint her daughters' nails with something that would be non-toxic and non-smelly. Piggy Paint nail polish is geared towards little girls, but I can't wait to try it myself, too!

How it Started

This mom always hated the thought of her children putting their hands in their mouths after she painted their nails with traditional kid polishes. Not only did the ingestion of chemicals worry her, but the smell left her light-headed after painting two sets of fingernails and toenails. 
One day while Melanie was painting her girls’ fingernails over a foam plate, her daughter dropped a big glob of the solvent-based polish onto the plate. Shortly after, the paint began to bubble and “ate” through the plate. She looked in dismay at the hole and decided to test all of their other “kid” polishes on the foam. Within minutes, all of the solvent-based polishes began to bubble and eventually left big holes in the plate. From that day on, this Stay-at-Home Mom decided that any flammable substance that could eat through foam was unacceptable for her children’s fingernails, which would inevitably end up in their mouths. Her quest was on, and Piggy Paint was born.

About the Product

As you may have guessed it, the polish is non-flammable and sits beautifully on the foam.  This water-based, non-toxic polish is specially formulated of natural ingredients and is proudly made in the United States of America. It is free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, biphenyl A, ethyl acetate and acetone.  Piggy Paint’s hypoallergenic, odorless formula makes it gentle enough for sensitive little hands and noses, yet it dries to a hard, durable finish that can easily be removed with Piggy Paint Polish Remover. This unique remover is also non-toxic, safe to use, and contains none of the solvents that could offend your nose or harm our atmosphere. 

This week, one lucky winner will win  a $25 Gift Card to Piggy Paint! They offer all sorts of colors so you'll be sure to find something your little girl will like.

Congratulations to Jill Myrick, winner of last week's Cade Christian giveaway; you will be contacted soon!

*This giveaway is now closed!*

This week's giveaway is brought to us by Creative Clips and the PAD showroom!

  We've got another great mompreneur to spotlight this week! Creative Clips is a unique hair clip line that captivates customers with it's unique collection! 

Many celebrities such as Jessica Alba, Nicole Richie, Denise Richards, Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck's children have been photographed on many occasions wearing Creative Clips! These hand crafted clips are made using high-end ribbons, and all clips come with a special Velcro strip used to help keep clips secure in fine hair. From flowers to skulls, your child will be without a doubt be full of bling!

  The company began when Colleen Connon started making her own hair clips for daughter since she couldn't find any fun accessories to stay in her daughter's fine hair. Colleen began making hair clips that she thought were unique and cute with a little bit of "bling" that were fun for all ages. Her friends and family started requesting clip after clip! Soon after, Colleen began to sell the unique creations to local baby, children's and ladies boutiques, along with children's hair salons.

You can follow Creative Clips on Twitter! 

  This week, one lucky winner will win two clips (winner's choice!) from Creative Clips. Here are just a few of the adorable clips...

  How to Enter to win your choice of 2 Creative Clips: 

1.  Click to enter via our entry form (*mandatory*)-- no comment here necessary.

2.  Tweet or blog about this giveaway and post a comment with the link to the tweet or blog post. 

3.  Follow us on Twitter and leave a comment telling us.  

4.  Subscribe by RSS or email to our blog and leave a comment telling us.     

5. Put this code for our cute button on your blog and leave a comment with a link to your url:

<a href="http://www.patriciaanndesigns.com/blog/" target="_blank">
<img name="Image" alt="14 Sweet Weeks of Giveaways from The Lily Pad Blog!" src="http://www.patriciaanndesigns.com/store/pc/images/content/banners/14_sweet_giveaways.gif" width="125" height="125" border="0" alt=""  /></a>  

  Giveaway ends Saturday, April 4th, 2009 at midnight, PST.

Congratulations to Janet Carpenter, winner of last week's Bling Around The Rosie giveaway; you will be contacted soon!

*This giveaway is now closed!*

This week's giveaway is brought to us by Cade Christian and the PAD showroom!

This week, readers, I want to introduce you to Cade Christian hats --- where cute meets cool. Established in 2008, Cade Christian is the newest…and hottest line of children’s trucker and military style caps. Fun, funky, urban and edgy are just a few words that describe the Cade Christian brand.   

The Story Behind Cade Christian

Carefully constructed for little heads (toddler through 6 years), Cade Christian trucker and military style hats were primarily designed to help keep the sun off your child’s face, out of their eyes, keep them feeling cool and at the same time, looking ‘cool’. 

The founder of Cade Christian, Charity Andersen, has always had a passion for cutting-edge fashions, and when her son was born she wanted to dress him in style, too. “When Cade was born, we spent a lot of time outside. Because, like many babies, his head was bald, I didn’t want to take him outside without covering his head and eyes. I don’t go out on a sunny day without putting sunglasses and a hat on, so it just makes sense that you’d want to protect your children the same way.” The only problem was that when she and her husband Freddy went out in search of “fun, funky, urban and edgy” hats for their toddler, they were hard pressed to find anything that fit the bill, and that is what isnspired Charity to start Cade Christian.

 About The Hats

Cade Christian is proud of the fact that each of their hats can be classified as Carefully Constructed, a Unique Treasure, with Perfect Fit & Quality Workmanship! 

All designs are custom and unique to the Cade Christian brand. With colorful embroidery and a fashionable, edgy feel --- your loved one’s Cade Christian hat will be something they treasure for years.

Cade Christian hats are specifically crafted for children, adjustable, and easy for your little one to take off and put on...and the comfortable soft fit feels nice on their little heads.

This week, one lucky winner will win one Cade Christian hat (winner's will get to choose 1 from among those on the website):

1.  Click to enter via our entry form (*mandatory*)-- no comment here necessary.

2.  Tweet or blog about this giveaway and post a comment with the link to the tweet or blog post. 

3.  Follow us on Twitter and leave a comment telling us.  

4.  Subscribe by RSS or email to our blog and leave a comment telling us. 

5. Put this code for our cute button on your blog and leave a comment with a link to your url:

<a href="http://www.patriciaanndesigns.com/blog/" target="_blank">
<img name="Image" alt="14 Sweet Weeks of Giveaways from The Lily Pad Blog!" src="http://www.patriciaanndesigns.com/store/pc/images/content/banners/14_sweet_giveaways.gif" width="125" height="125" border="0" alt=""  /></a>  

  Giveaway ends Saturday, March 28th, 2009 at midnight, PST.

Be sure to also visit Cade Christian's new website, and check out all this additional giveaway that Charity has been so generous to offer our readers! 

If you sign up for their eNewsletter via their Contact form, you'll be entered for a chance to win one of the following:

You may remember, the first of our 14 Sweet Giveaways was with the adorable georgie tees... well Emily and LeShan have some exciting news-- they are ready to sell georgie tees to move on to other projects!

 LeShan and Emily, the women behind georgie tees, are looking for a mom or moms who are interested in owning their own business and who would be a perfect fit for their company. LeShan and Emily have spent over three years building their business and as much as they’d love to continue, both women have new projects they are working on and entrepreneurial husbands who could use their wives’ help to grow their own businesses. Even with all the multitasking these women do, they can’t make time for everything in their busy schedules! They have built a strong foundation for georgie tees and are excited to see it grow under new ownership. If you or someone you know might be interested in georgie tees, you can email LeShan and Emily at bizinfo@georgietees.com for more information.