Girls Crochet Headbands (...and More!) Review & Giveaway (CLOSED)

I was so excited to get the opportunity to review some items from GirlsCrochetHeadbands.com because I've always been a sucker for some cute girl accessories. I received a Baby Pink Lace Romper, an Ivory Princess Diamond Headband, and a pair of Pink/White/Grey Chevron Cotton Ruffle Leg Warmers! Unfortunately, Z was not up for modeling all of these wonderful pieces we received but I did the best with what I had!

I had no idea rompers were even made in Z's size so I was really excited to find out they have some! She received the Baby Pink Lace Romper. It's so cute, so chic, and so perfect for Z! I do want to add that although the romper is adorable and would be great for photos, it definitely wouldn't hold up as a daily outfit. Oh and the ribbon doesn't come tied in a bow so I had to look up videos on youtube to figure out how to tie it beautifully. ha

I absolutely love the Ivory Princess Diamond Headband! It is going to go absolutely perfect with her Elsa costume for Halloween. The main issue I've had (if you look at the picture above) is I cant get the petals to lay down flat so they don't cover the beautiful gems in the middle! I've tried several methods to unfold the petals and I think my next method to try to use my hair iron on low!

Oh, leg warmers. Who doesn't love leg warmers? Especially Toddler Leg Warmers! In the pictures above, Z is sporting the Pink/White/Grey Chevron Cotton Ruffle Leg Warmers. They are seriously so cute.

The Good
You simply just cant beat these prices. I was actually shocked to see the prices on GCH. For example, you see bows on Etsy for like $15 per bow and on GCH, the highest price for a bow is $3. Um, amazing much?! You can now buy a bow for each outfit your daughter has without taking out a second mortgage on your house! You can even buy a cute romper or dress for less than $10!

The Bad
Everything sold by GCH is wholesale which is GREAT for pricing but it also means that everything is made in China (or other foreign countries). As a mama who proudly likes to shop local or at least made in the USA, this is a bit of drawback for me. Also because they are mass produced, the quality suffers sometimes.

Connect with Girls Crochet Headbands on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+!

One lucky I'm No Domestic Goddess reader will receive a promotional code with a $10 credit + free shipping to order any products they like! With $10 you could afford almost everything in their shop! The only requirement to enter the giveaway is to go visit girlscrochetheadbands.com and leave me a comment with what you might spend your $10 credit on! This giveaway is open to the US only.

Entry-Form

Disclosure of  Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Snow Day Indoors! {Infant/Toddler Sensory Activity}

Today was the second day in a row we woke up to a winter wonderland outside! This is the first big snowfall of Baby Z's life and she is absolutely in awe of the snow. The only problem we have is that it hasn't stopped snowing long enough for us to go out and play in it (she doesn't like the snow blowing in her face and who could blame her?) soooo today I decided that if she couldn't go outside in the snow, I would bring the snow inside to her! I just brought out a vinyl tablecloth I got from the dollar store and some snow friendly toys and we were ready to go! Here's a couple pictures from our day

I highly recommend trying this sensory activity for your toddler or even your infant! We absolutely had a blast (while staying warm) and Baby Z learned so much about snow. We talked about what the snow felt like (cold, wet, etc), the color, how it melted in our hands, and so much more. This snowfall was just what I needed to brighten my mood. 

What winter activities do you do when its too cold or snowy to go outside??

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The Story Of Christmas Board Book Review and Giveaway

Anyone getting in the Christmas spirit yet? No? Just me? Well, I wanted to share this beautiful book with you as soon as I could so that whoever wins this giveaway would have enough time to enjoy it before Christmas actually gets here. So yeah, you're welcome, giveaway winner. Anyway, The Story of Christmas is an adorable padded board book that takes young readers (ages 0-3) through the miraculous story of Jesus's birth and shows them the true meaning of Christmas.

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Candy Corn Toddler Craft

Welcome to the 2nd day of Fall, ya'll! haha This is the first Fall-themed craft we have done this year and Baby Z had so much fun with it. Depending on how independant your toddler/child is, they could probably set this one up by themselves! 

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Crayon Rocks Review and Giveaway

I had first heard about Crayon Rocks from a friend and I knew I just had to try them! I reached out to Barbara and asked her if Baby Z and I could review them and she quickly sent me some samples. Words cannot express how impressed I am with these crayons. I cannot believe they are not in used in schools everywhere!

The creator of Crayon Rocks, Barbara Lee, taught children with special needs for 23 years. She created them after learning how important it was for children to develop a good tripod grip early. From her website, "Since a child's first writing tool is usually a crayon, that crayon should be one that encourages him or her to use thumb, first and second fingers in a tripod grip.  This is what makes Crayon Rocks a wonderful tool for fine motor development."

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Glow Stick Bath!

I've been trying to think of new activities for Baby Z because sometimes I feel like we're in a rut. So when I was at the dollar store last week, I picked up some glow sticks. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, I just knew that I'd think of something.

Well, bathtime is Baby Z's favorite time of the whole day. She has homemade bath crayons (I'll make a post on that later!) but I thought it would be nice to change it up a bit. So, as I was getting Baby Z ready for a bath, I decided it would be fun to pull out a few of those glow sticks and throw them in.

She LOVED it. She went crazy over them. I turned off the bathroom light and we just played with the glowsticks in the dark. She also loved that she could take them out of the bath with her and play with them until bedtime.

During the bath, we talked about the different colors and we hid them in toys to see what bath toys glowed and which ones hid the light. After the bath, I got her an empty paper towel roll and she really enjoyed putting them in that! Baby Z is such a girly girl that I think her favorite part was when I turned them into bracelets and she wore them around her wrist.

Actually, I think her favorite part was that she could take the glow sticks out of the bath with her. She absolutely loved carrying them around the house and figuring out new ways to play with them!

Some of the best toddler activities truly are the most simple ones.

Please note: Glowsticks are made for children 3+ and you should supervise your children at all times with them. They can break and they have small parts. And IF YOU ATTEMPT THIS, PLEASE BE SMART ABOUT IT! Crack the glowsticks yourself and make sure there are no leaks in them before putting them into your child's bath and NEVER break the glow sticks open and dump the liquid in the water (yes, people have done this before), they have glass and chemicals in them!

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What To Do And What Not To Do When It Comes To Salt Dough Handprints

To me, salt dough handprints are the easiest, cheapest way to beautifully display how little our babies truly are. I have made several handprints and footprints for Baby Z. I've even given some away as gifts (my mother-in-law and grandmother absolutely love these!). Salt dough has been around forever and its fairly easy to do. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup salt
1/2 cup water
food coloring (optional)

Things needed:
bowl
cookie sheet or aluminum foil
rolling pin (or something else to flatten the dough)
knife or molds

Optional Things I Use:
latex gloves (optional but I prefer it)
toothpick
straw
ribbon

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IndieBambino Etsy Shop Review

In our house, we are big fans of wooden toys so I was ecstatic when I found IndieBambino.  Indie Bambino is a shop where a wonderful WAHM, Mindy, sells all natural wooden toys for all different ages. I could spend all day looking in her shop that is filled with wooden teething rings, waldorf toys, matching and sorting sets, and more!

 It was so hard to choose what I wanted but The first thing I decided to get was a personalized teething ring. Some of my favorite things about the teething rings are you can choose to personalize them to say any name you like and you can choose the finish she uses (organic flax, organic coconut, or beeswax and olive oil). My daughter has such a unique name that we can never find anything with her name on it in the store so personalization is extra special for us! It is absolutely perfect for her when she’s teething and she seeks it for comfort quite often. I highly recommend these for teething babies and they would make great baby shower gifts!

I also got baby Z a Rainbow Hand Kite (shown above). It is absolutely beautiful and I put it away for Christmas (she’s going to love it!), I cant wait to see her running around the house with it. The Rainbow Kite is just darling, it is made from a teething ring and rainbow of colored ribbon. You can also personalize the Rainbow Kites to say any name you want! I think once my niece sees Baby Z’s, she’s going to beg me for one as well. Such a beautiful little toy that girls and boys both would love!

Some other items from her shop that I love are the Wooden Sorting Acorns and the Wooden Bowling Game in Rainbow.  All of her prices are very reasonable and she is so friendly and welcoming! She shipped my order as soon as she could and I got it within a week! I cant wait to order more from her!

Love what you see? Go check out her Etsy shop IndieBambino (you wont regret it, I promise!).

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this review in any way, all opinions are my own.

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Cloud Dough

Since, this is my very first blog post, I thought I'd start out with one of my favorite toddler activities! Cloud Dough!

Cloud dough is an amazing type of dough that starts out crumbly like sand but when you put pressure on it or hold it in your hand, it has the characteristics of play dough. Its really easy to make and would be perfect for a child who loves to help! Its so soft and is only made out of flour and oil.

The ratio for the dough is 8:1 flour and oil.  I used 8 cups of flour with 1 cup of vegetable oil and it made the perfect amount. I made my dough with vegetable oil because it's what I had and it's safe for toddlers but I've also heard of it being used with baby oil, sesame oil, canola oil, and olive oil. So, whatever type of oil you have should work just fine!

Baby Z doesn't like to have anything on her hands so I wasn't sure how much she would like this activity but she had a great time scooping it up and moving it from one side of the container to the other. This activity can be rather messy so it would probably be easiest outside but if you do it inside, I recommend laying down something underneath the tub just in case (you can use a shower curtain or tablecloth from the dollar store!).

I've heard of people adding essential oils for the aromas but if you have a toddler who still puts things in their mouth, I would stay away from those for awhile.

When done with your dough, don't throw it away unless its dirty! I keep mine in a tightly sealed tupperware container and it has kept pretty well so far! Although, I can't wait for it to "go bad" or "get dirty" because that means I get to make some more. I think I heard someone say they made pumpkin cloud dough?! Sign me up for that!

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