Home Maid Simple

Tag: sponsor

  • National Crafting Month Giveaway

    National Crafting Month Giveaway

    *This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own*

    Did you know March is National Crafting Month?!  I did not know that, but I have been feeling a little surge of craftiness this week.  Be on the lookout next week for some fun home crafts from yours truly.

    To celebrate national Crafting month, Kiwi Crate has teamed up with Highlights Magazine and YoYo.com to giveaway a dream craft room for your kids!

    Enter to Win Your Kid's Dream Craft Room
    To enter the contest click the picture above, and fill out the contest form. 
    Contest runs until March 31st

    Dream Craftroom Giveaway includes
    • Annual subscription to Highlights/High Five magazine
    • Annual Subscription to Kiwi Crate
    • $200 worth of arts and crafts supplies from Kiwi Crate
    • $60 worth of Craft organization supplies from Highlights
    • A Kidcraft table & chairset from YoYo.com
    For Christmas we bought Princess R a Kiwi Crate subscription. I am in love with these crates we get each month!  It helps her and I get a little more crafty, and gives us a specific activity to do together while sisters are at school and baby brother is napping. 
    We had a lot of fun making the window clings in the December crate, and Mark enjoyed helping her put together the xylophone and jingle bells in the January Music crate. 

    If a monthly subscription isn’t your thing, or you want more than one box a month, Kiwi Crate has partnered up with Target to create some exclusive crates to be sold in Target stores. They are also giving away a $250 Target Giftcard!

    What have you been crafting lately?  
  • Organizing Chaos with Thirty One

    Organizing Chaos with Thirty One

    WOW!  What an honor to be doing a guest post for Home Maid Simple!  Adelina asked me to do a post about home organization, using Thirty-one products.  
    A little about me, My name is Rachael.  I am a Thirty-one Independent Senior Consultant.  I have been with the company for over a year and it was one of the best choices I made.  I am married and have 4 boys here on earth.  I am an advocate for pregnancy and infant loss awareness since I lost a baby boy and my only daughter in 2009.  They were both born still in consecutive pregnancies.  Through their loss I have become a stronger woman and I strive to break the silence among the PAIL community to let other women know they aren’t alone. 
    One of the things I love to do is help women pick up their lives after a loss, and one of the best ways to do that is bringing organization into their homes.  Giving them something they can control when they feel like they have lost it control over everything.  Of course it is not just the bereaved who need organization in their lives!  We all do!  Organization is such a beautiful thing!  It makes life easier, makes the chaos at home a little less crazy in the busy lives we live today.  
    Who doesn’t love a well organized home?  How many times have you looked at that play room or the kid’s closet or under their beds and thought to yourself “I sure wish I had a way to make that look pretty.  It’s such an eyesore!”  Trust me in a house full of boys I have uttered that same thought more times than I can count!  I mean I love my children dearly, but organization is NOT their strong point!  So I set out to get my home together.  One room at a time.  
    One of my favorite Thirty-one products for home organization is the Your Way Cube.  And now you can even get a lid for it!  That makes it even more awesome!  It comes in several patterns and you can personalize them too. They fit perfectly inside the Ikea cube shelves. We also have a slightly smaller version of the Your Way Cube called the Your Way Cube Jr.  It also has an available lid.  This is great for smaller spaces, smaller toys that you always seem to step on in the middle of the night on your way to the bathroom in the dark….. 
    There is also the Your Way Rectangle.  I organized my entire DVD/BluRay collection using these.  And they too have lids available now!  Having the lids on them is so great because I don’t have to dust them!  Score! Less housework for me, which means more time for my kids! 🙂  Adelina here…isn’t that brilliant! I wish we had done that before packing them into cd sleeves.
    There are SO many great products in super cute prints that Thirty-one has to offer!  Whether you want to organize your pantry, your home office, your play room, laundry room etc.  I can help you find a solution and bring beautiful organization into your life!  I promise once you tame the chaos that disorganization brings into your home, you will see a difference in your day to day.  I have kids who are on the Autism spectrum and while they do not do well at organizing, they do thrive when they are in an organized environment. And you will LOVE the power that you feel when you take that room back!  If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me through my Thirty-one website.  
    ———————————————————————————————————–
    Isn’t Rachael amazing? I honestly look up to her so much. With all the trials and heartache she has had to endure, Rachael focuses on helping others. We held a Thirty-one party on facebook that was a ton of fun! You can go check it out and read through the different posts for more ideas. We learned all about home and car organization. Follow this link if you’d like to help me earn some free products!! 

    As part of this series on Children’s Rooms and Organizing, Rachael is sponsoring our giveaway this week! Thank you so much Rachael. 
  • Do you have Faith? #Compassionbloggers

    Do you have Faith? #Compassionbloggers

    *This post is written as part of Compassion Bloggers blog Month. Compassion is a Christian ministry that works to sponsor children in poverty across the world. Through people like you and I willing to give up a little luxury in our life, for the necessity in the life of someone else. 

    FAITH

    Faith in Self.
    You can do it. You believe in yourself right? I can see you. Your friends and neighbors see you. You are real. Having faith in yourself goes beyond just believing you exist though. It’s believing in your potential. Don’t you know that the world is open to possibilities for you? With the right amount of effort, and pure faith, you can accomplish anything. It might be faith to get yourself through a job interview. Or it may be faith to climb a mountain blind. Stop the excuses, you’re nervous that’s all. Step up and have a little faith in yourself. 

    Faith in Humanity
    We live in perilous times. With wars raging around us, and political unrest through many countries. Now is the time to have faith in humanity. Believe that we are a compassionate people: not a selfish one. There are opportunities to show compassion and love to those right outside your door. We pass people daily that need our help – it might just be a smile, an acknowledgement that they exist.  There are so many charities we can give to, that prove humanity is still alive, and compassion for others above ourselves is key to a better world. Would you consider sponsoring a child in poverty?  These kids need you and I to help them, and boost them. We can forget about politics for just a little bit, every time we send a letter to a child that needs a friend, or give a little money to buy them a dinner. 
    Faith in God
    I believe in God. To be honest I don’t know how some people can’t believe. I see Him in everything around me. This earth and the variety of beauty it holds. From desert sunsets to the myriad of ocean animals. I believe we were created after God’s own image, and He is the Father of our Spirits. That makes us all brothers and sisters. I have faith that as our Father, He wants us to be kind to one another; to help our fellow men and women to live. To have Faith gives us hope. Hope that this life is just temporary, but crucial to who we are on an eternal level. Be who you are today. Kind, compassionate and full of hope, because it will be who you are forever. You’ll mess up though. But it’s OK. Because our Father in Heaven is kind and compassionate back to us. He’ll lift us back up, and help us when it’s tough. But we have to hold onto that faith. Because when we stop believing, that’s when it starts to fall apart. 
    Will you have faith in yourself, humanity and God? Faith to use your full potential, to show compassion to those less fortunate, and a hope for God’s eternal love?  
    Compassion has a goal this month of sponsoring 3,160 children. That’s a big goal. But I have faith that they can do it, because I have faith in you and I, in humanity and in a loving God. 
  • Make Dessert Easy

    Make Dessert Easy

    This post brought to you by Private Selection. All opinions are 100% mine.
    We love desserts around here!  If you couldn’t tell from all my delectable Foodie Friday recipes lately, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen concocting recipes, and hoping they turn out great. When I have company coming over though, I do not like to experiment with our dessert. Sadly, that’s exactly what I did the last time we invited friends over. I spent a fair portion of the day creating these little apple pies, only to want to hide after serving them.  They really were that bad! 
    Looking back, I should have gone with one of my tried and true recipes, like cookies, but I didn’t. It would have been so nice if I had some of Private Selections Upside Down Cakes on hand. Instead of serving odd looking and a tad cold apple pies, I could have just pulled out an Amber Honey Apple Spiced Upside Down Cake. A quick warming in the microwave, followed with a flip onto a pretty plate, and voila! Dessert served without embarrassment.
    Of course the German Chocolate Fudge or Double Chocolate Molten Upside Down Cakes would have also been delightful to serve up in a pinch.
    Private Selection
    If there’s one thing I learned about entertaining from my Mother In Law, it’s to always keep something quick and easy on hand. She stocked me up one summer with brownie and cake mixes for the “just in case” events that came my way. It was so nice to have those in my pantry when the calls came in to drop a dessert off at the church…because I signed up to do it! Sometimes I sign up for too much, and easily forget until those calls are made. Private Selections look so scrumptious, and since they are already mixed and baked, are even easier to prepare and drop off in a pinch – Warm, Flip, Serve.
    Private Selection is a premium Private Label Brand sold exclusively at Kroger and it’s affiliated Stores. To find a store near you, visit the easy to use Locator Tool.
    Right now Kroger is offering a $1 Off or $2 Off coupon to Private Selection Upside Down Cakes.  
    Private Selection Upside Down Cakes coupon
    Disclaimer: Coupon ends 6/2/13. Official rules: In order to load these coupons to your card, you will need to sign into your Kroger account or set up a Kroger account and enter your card number. Limit one use per digital coupon. Digital offers are not eligible on Managers Specials, cannot be combined with manufacturer paper coupons on the purchase of a single item, and do not double. Not all items are available in all stores. A limit of 150 coupons can be loaded per household at one time.
    Private Selection uses only the best ingredients when making their cakes, so it truly tastes homemade!  
    Connect with Private Selection
    Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Facebook
    Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Pinterest
     
    P.S. Don’t Forget the Cake!


    Visit Sponsor's Site

  • Dressing up a 70’s Home – Japanese Style

    Dressing up a 70’s Home – Japanese Style

    Our home was built in the mid-late 70’s. Besides the outside structure, many of the inside features were still a throwback to the 70’s. One specifically I hope you can all imagine, is the shag carpet on the WALLS of our basement stairwell. Though they may have had the right idea – talk about sound control.  Many of the prominent walls are also covered in wall paper (as well as the inside of every cupboard, and random patches in the bathroom….).

    My favorite feature though, is the glass mirrored wall in our family room.

    The picture doesn’t quite do it justice. It is actually a black mirror with tan veins running through it. When we first moved in, I wanted this wall to go. It has since grown on me as Mark and I have debated what we could do with it.

    Mark’s parents have been living in Japan for the past 5 years. We were lucky enough to visit them one year for Christmas. Since then, Mark and I have looked for ways to incorporate some Japanese style into our home. This wall gave us the inspiration. We’ll start with a simple buffet table in the center.
    Finn Sideboard

    Something like this from One King’s Lane Day of Furniture Sale (70% off Home Furnishings now until Thursday 1/31). 
     
    A table like this would be the perfect centerpiece for displaying our Japanese Dolls I picked up at the outdoor Mall in Sasebo. We could then store all the china we also purchased inside the cupboard – and let me tell you, we purchased china! From little sake cups to rice bowls. Sadly we’ve never had a good place to keep them.
     
     
     
     
     
    
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Hanging behind the buffet table I would mount my silk Kimono – a must I insisted on purchasing. Really, who goes to Japan and doesn’t come home with a Kimono? They were hard to find though in a price range I could afford. Thankfully there were plenty of consignment stores to browse around.
     
    Framing the Kimono would be our Japanese scrolls that Grandma P sent the kids for Christmas. 
    
    
     
    Can you picture it?  Let’s go back to our Black Wall – now add the table, dolls, kimono and scrolls. Picture it on a white wall – now go back to the black wall. What a difference right? I can’t wait to get started putting it all together. I just have to decide which table I want now…
     
     
    
     
    *This is a sponsored post for One Kings Lane. All opinions are my own. One Kings Lane is having a special Furniture Day Sale from 1/29-1/31. Up to 70% off some amazing home decor items from your living room to your patio. 
  • Swim with Friends, Support Pediatric Cancer with #AflacKids

    Swim with Friends, Support Pediatric Cancer with #AflacKids

    Did you know that this year alone, about 12,000 kids will be diagnosed with cancer?  KIDS. That is a scary large number of kids with cancer.
    Thanks to some great companies, parents, doctors, and communities, I believe we will eventually find a cure! For the past 17 years Aflac has been supporting the fight against childhood cancer. 
     
    September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month
     
    You can help support pediatric cancer by donating $12 to the Swim with Friends fundraiser from Aflac.  Each $12 donation will buy you a Rubber Duck, and on October 9th there will be a virtual Rubber Duck Race.  If your duck wins, you win a family vacation for 4!

    But the true prize comes from Aflac. For every $12 donation, Aflac will match it. 
     

    SheSpeaksbutton
     
    To get even more involved, come join the Aflac and SheSpeaks Twitter party tonight!
     
    Date: Thursday, September 6th
    Time: 9pm ET
    Custom Tweet Grid: http://bit.ly/MuCM0d
    Hashtag: #AflacKids
    RSVP: http://bit.ly/AflacKids
    Questions? See Twitter Party 101
     
     
    There’s going to be all sorts of fun prizes at the twitter party, so if you have some time to talk about pediatric cancer, and support families going through it, come join us. Plus, and I just love this, Aflac will also be donating $2 to pediatric cancer research for every tweet with the hashtag #AflacKids
     
    Get yourself started and send out a tweet now! Invite your friends and followers to support Pediatric Cancer. Copy this tweet, or create one your own: 
    
    “Join the @AflacDuck and @SheSpeaksUp to support Pediatric Cancer http://tinyurl.com/9xhryq9 #AflacKids”
  • Charity Hopping Around the World – Giveaway

    Charity Hopping Around the World – Giveaway

    Welcome to the Charity Hopping Around the World Event
    Hosted by
    and
    Each blog participating in this hop has chosen a charity to feature along with a giveaway.
    I have chosen to tell you a little bit about a charity near to my heart.
    3 years ago Princess C was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata.  Alopecia is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the bodies hair. We became concerned when it looked like Princess C had rolled in a dogs bed – only it was her hair she was covered in. The doctor found about a quarter size bald spot on the back of her head. After a treatment of steroids her hair stopped falling out and began to grow back. Unfortunately steroids is not a cure, but it can help. We’ve been lucky enough to not have a recurrence, but it could come back any day.
    There has yet to be a cure for Alopecia, or even a known cause for the disease.
    The Children’s Alopecia Project aka CAP is devoted specifically to helping children learn to live with this disease.
    Although a cure would be great CAP’s main goals are to
    -Build Self-Esteem
    -Provide Support
    -Raise Awareness
    You can follow CAP on facebook, twitter and on their Blog.
    If you feel like you can you can make a donation to CAP HERE
    Sponsoring Home Maid Simple in getting the word out about The Children’s Alopecia Project are
    Kimochis – Toys with Feelings Inside
    and
    Chilanthropy – The act of relaxing while being philanthropic

    I reached out to Kimochis because I loved their concept, and feel they do for all children what CAP does for children with Alopecia. Kimochis toys are not just a toy but a way to help children understand and communicate their feelings.  You can read my review HERE.

    Chilanthropy I knew I wanted to work with as soon as I read what Chilanthropy means.  Owner and founder, Rey, has devoted his business to helping charities around the world while creating wonderfully Eco-friendly candles. You can read my review HERE

    This giveaway is over
    Use the rafflecopter below for a chance at winning a Kimochis Cloud and your choice of candle from Chilanthropy.
    Giveaway open to US only (sorry worldwide friends).


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  • Kimochis – Sponsor Spotlight

    Kimochis – Sponsor Spotlight

    Kimochis – Toys with feelings inside.
    These are my new favorite stuffed toy! If you have kids, you know how fast those stuffed animals pile up. Then you start wondering how often your kids play with them. You want to get rid of them, but you find your just as attached as your kids (OK maybe it’s just me, lol). 
    Kimochis are one stuffed toy you will all be attached to, and your kids will continuously play with. Each Kimochis comes with feelings tucked into a little pouch.  These toys can help you teach your children about different their different feelings.
    Our feelings I think are one of the hardest things to figure out, and then express to others.  Even as an adult I sometimes struggle communicating just what I’m feeling.
    Having a Kimochis to guide your child in what they are feeling is an amazing new tool for parents, and fun toy for kids.
    We received Kimochis Cloud for review. Tucked inside his pouch were the feelings Happy, Sad and Mad.  Having these little plush feelings has led to many discussions, especially with Princess V (5years old) in how to express her feelings. Tantrums have become few and further between as she now can tell us what she is feeling. Instead of throwing a fit, she tells us
    “I’m sad”
    or
    “I’m mad!”
    We still get tears, and some meltdowns, but we are better able to understand how she is feeling, and what may be causing her to feel that way. Our home has been much more pleasant since Cloud became part of our family.

    Princess V absolutely loves Cloud! She even insists on sleeping with him every night. One night this came in very useful. Princess V woke up and was scared of having bad dreams. So we pretended Cloud was a “dream” Cloud. We put on his happy face, and talked about happy things Cloud could help Princess V dream of. When she woke up in the morning, Princess V was very excited to tell me about the Princesses she dreamed of thanks to Cloud!

    You can purchase your own Kimochis by visiting their website HERE
    Follow Kimochis on Facebook and Twitter too!
    OR come back Friday to enter the Charity Hop Around the World where you can enter to win your own Kimochis Cloud!
    *I was provided with a product for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

  • Chilanthropy – Sponsor Review

    Chilanthropy – noun. The act of relaxing while being philanthropic
    Chilanthropy is an eco-conscious company striving to make the world better, one candle at a time.  Founder Rey Herrerra came up with the idea of Chilanthropy when he co-hosted his friends baby-shower and made candles for all the guests.
    In his own words Rey says
    “I live my life eco and green. With 9 million+ neighbors every little bit counts! At home, everything possible is recycled, composted and I even keep a worm farm to eat unused food – providing fertilizer for the vegetable garden. With work, I’m doing my best to make sure that my business practices emulate my eco-conscious lifestyle. Minimal, recycled, recyclable, and compostable packaging helps offset this footprint. Eco-shipping is a little tricky – So I use green boxes and Milex packing peanuts that are made from corn and even edible!”
    Not only is Rey aware of the planet and taking it upon himself to live a green lifestyle, but he is also aware of the many needs people around the world have. He has dedicated his products to make the planet better, and he uses the proceeds to donate to charities – making people’s lives better.
    Some of the charities Chilanthropy supports are
    When I came across Chilanthropy, I knew I needed to contact Rey. I wish I had more resources to donate to charities, but I feel I can at least do my part in spreading the word about these great companies!
    Talking to Rey has been a joy. You can really feel the passion he has put behind Chilanthropy. 
    Rey sent me a Mexican Hot Chocolate candle to review, and if you come back March 30th, he is offering one up as a giveaway during the Charity Hop Around the World Event.

    This candle smells amazing! I had started burning it one morning, but blew it out before running some errands. Shortly after I got home, we had an unexpected visitor stop by. One of the first things they asked was “what are you cooking? It smells delicious!”  So I got to tell them I wasn’t cooking anything, it was a hot chocolate smelling candle, that hadn’t even been burning for the last couple of hours!  

    Head over to Chilanthropy and browse the different candles (I’m thinking the Grapefruit/Pomegranate is next on my list).
    You can buy online, or see if there is location that sells Chilanthropy candles near you.
    Or you can visit Chilanthropy on Facebook

  • Sponsor Love

    Sponsor Love

    I’d like to thank all my sponsors for the Best Gifts of 2011 guide and giveaway! You’ve all been a pleasure to work with this last month, and I hope we can work together in the future!
    Please take a moment to visit each one of these wonderful sponsors! You may find the perfect gift to give this holiday season!
    Saressa Designs on Etsy – Beautiful handmade jewelery. Perfect for any occasion!
    
    Little Miss Princess Tutu – quality handmade tutu’s for your little Princess!
    HEXBUG Micro Robotic Creatures
    HexBug – The Robotic bug any child will love!
    Quilted Euphoria – maker of all things quilted and other crafty items!
    Don’t forget to also enter for your chance to win some great prizes from these sponsors!!!
    Current Giveaway!