Sunday, November 21, 2010

♫ These are a few of my favourite things ♫

I was just having one of those days, you know the ones where you have some yummy cupcakes hanging around and decide to play dress-ups with your daughter? Or is that just me?

Well anyway I got out all my favourite things for Miss J and took a photo and had to share.

I'll start with the fabulously yummy cupcakes. These are made in Perth by Kustom Cupcakes. We were having a picnic today and I had a voucher to use so grabbed a lolly bag dozen. The Lolly Bag generally has 6 different flavours but we didn't have 2 the same in ours so it was sooooo hard to decide on which one to eat! With flavours like Lemon Meringue, Snickers and Ferrero you can't lose! We had some that don't appear on the website like Rolo which has a caramel centre in the cake and I was lucky enough to pick out that one! Check out the Kustomize page for various combinations you could try. Kylie, the owner/cupcake extraordinaire, is so lovely to deal with and expect to see her cupcakes at a cafe near you soon!

The cute little tea set that the cupcakes are set up on I got around a year ago from Raspberry Bub. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to get it. It comes in a little wooden strawberry box with tea set for 2 and a yummy looking cake that can be 'cut' up into quarters with strawberries, cream, candles and a Happy Birthday or Merry Christmas sign. The set is currently on sale for $59.95 and totally worth it, will be something to hand down to the grandkids one day as it is great quality.

The Babushka headband is from BOWtique, I love their headbands and clips plus their new BEAUtique stuff is so cool the boys won't feel left out! Also, they don't only do hair products, we have a pettiskirt and pettidress which get commented on every time they are worn out. I've had a sneak peak at the new range and it is all divine! With 3 girls you can never have enough hair clips, bows and bands.

And finally the dress. This is by Eternal Creation and I picked it up in one of their recent sales (well picked a few up). Eternal Creation products are handmade in the Himalayas and arrive direct from there in hessian bags, you can almost smell where it was made and not the chemicals like the sweat factories most other clothes come from. Workers, both male and female, get paid maternity leave even if they are part-time. Nothing cuter than a little bub in an Eternal Creation romper. I could seriously max the credit card on their site! The dress I got Miss J is meant to be for Christmas lunch but I'm finding it hard to resist putting her in it already especially with Perth's warm weather this Spring.

Until next time I have something to write about or if I dress up Miss M next. xx


Tuesday, November 16, 2010

I love My Teddy

It's amazing how many teddy bears you can end up with when you have kids. I got given 2 big ones at my baby shower for Miss J and each birth have gotten multiple little pink ones. They have all ended up in the cupboard or toy box but sometimes come out for a teddy bear picnic. My Teddy is different, if the kids aren't hugging it you want it out where they can see it.


What sets them apart from any other teddy (besides how gorgeous and soft they are) is the cute little jumpers they wear. It was so much fun making one up for for Miss C (pictured here with her bear, though not ready to be put down!).

You start by picking which teddy you would like. The sizes start at 38cms and go up to a huge 68cms. You won't just find your average brown bear here, there's black, blue, pink, purple and a range of different browns, different fur length and super cuddly up to extra cuddly. If you aren't a fan of bears or want something different check out the cute frog, pig, cow, puppy and monkey. I would love to get Miss M the cow (the moo part of Bub & Moo) and Miss J would love Abigail with her floppy feet but for Miss C I chose the adorable Frankie in fudge.
Stage 2 you choose the colour of the jumper you would like. There are 5 colours and I went with the light pink which you can see well in the picture below.

Next the design you want on the jumper. At first I thought there was just the one page of designs but if you look at the drop down menu at the top there are a HUGE 16 categories! I changed my mind multiple times, the little hand and feet prints look so cute in the examples but the ladybird with its love heart spots was what I kept coming back to.
The final step you choose what you would like embroidered on the jumper. You can have a maximum of 30 characters on the front and 42 on the back. On Miss C's around the ladybird we got her name and date of birth then on the back wrote Lots of Love Mum & Dad.

They are all sent registered post so your teddy won't get lost in the mail or left on your doorstep, I missed our delivery so did the mad rush with all 3 to the post office 10 minutes before closing! They are incredibly soft and cuddly, will be a child's best friend for many years!

These teddies aren't just for kids either! Something different from everyone else's on Valentines day? Have a partner that works away and need cuddles when they aren't there? Having trouble thinking of a Christening gift? Would be a memorable way to propose with 'will you marry me?' on the jumper! I'm sure you could use it for nearly any special occasion and it would be something people would remember.


There's more than just the teddies on the site. Check out the My Family Stickers, I have similar to these on my car and Miss J loves saying who each one is! There's also the cuddly play mats (how cute is the lamb?) and personalised aprons for future masterchefs! Also on the site is the Huggable Pet Pillows which you can get for FREE right now if your order excedes $150! There are so many less than when I looked the other day so you will have to be quick to grab the last ones! I love the dinosaur and the cute little lamb (seem to have a thing with the lambs on this site!).

 And finally there is the Personalised Towel Sets. You can get any name up to 12 characters long printed on them in one of 2 fonts plus some great themes. I don't think I could pick a favourite here! The caterpillar would be cute for a baby boy and the polkadots are very cool for an older boy. The girls ohhh its to hard! Miss J would choose the babushkas hands down, Miss M would probably like the butterflies (or the boats!) and the sweet little baby birds I'd choose for Miss C (yes nearly the whole range!). The towel is 118cm x 60cm and it comes with a matching washer 33cm x 32cm. See further down the post for how you can WIN one of these sets!

 Payment can be made by phone, paypal, credit card, bank deposit, cheque or money order so no excuses!


My Teddy is run by Toni & Chris, they started the business 6 years ago and have done up a whopping 20,000 bears!!! They offer a 100% money back guarantee but have never had anyone request one.


The customer service is right up there with the best stores I've dealt with, Toni has been so helpful and friendly, plus it arrived so quickly you could even use them as a last minute gift!

 
Toni and Chris have been very generous in offering a giveaway for Bub & Moo readers of one of the gorgeous Personalised Towel Sets to the value of $56.00! To enter all you need to do is like their facebook page then tell me what you would buy to get the free Huggable Pillow offer. Entries close the 28th November with the winner announced on our facebook page on the 29th. Winner will be chosen by random. Goodluck!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

mmmm Jellybeans!

OK it's time for another blog about personalised products for Christmas. I can't believe it's November already! That means Christmas is next month and I don't even want to think about the fact I'll soon have to remember to write 2011 instead of 2010!

Todays blog is about a great store I found as the result of winning one of the Shopolat hunt prizes and let me add to Miss C's Christmas presents. The store is Jelly Bean Books which specialises in personalised children's books. There are a huge range of titles with a few great ones for Christmas time including Santa and Baby Jesus and a range of licensed characters which include the Sesame Street gang, Spiderman, Barbie and Superman and even a giant Where's Wally book!
The one I chose for Miss C was one of the Sesame Street range and as you can see in the picture below she enjoyed kicking back in her chair reading it before I packed it away to be wrapped for Christmas morning.
The details featured in the story can include the childs name, the suburb they live in, a few of their friends and also a special message.

Miss C has her sisters as part of her story and we put the message ' Love Mum & Dad Happy 1st Christmas 2010' in the front of it. I hope it's a book she can keep forever and one day read to her own children.

The colours are bright and keep the child's attention and has a hard cover so it's made to last. I've bought a few personalised books before but none of them have had a hard cover and 1-2 year olds seem to love ripping things!

Of the non licensed range I love the little Mermaid and Teddy Bear Land which I think Miss J would like with the pink marshmellow bunnies! There is also a My Baby Book for a new arrival which features baby's name, time of birth, hospital, doctors name and more.

Besides books there are cute letters available sent from Santa or the Easter Bunny!  Coming to your child direct from the North Pole your child will know Santa knows where to drop the presents off to!

All prices on the website include shipping so no hidden costs.

Become a liker on facebook as they often have giveaways and special sales.

The fabulous Jelly Bean Books has been extremely generous and offered Bub & Moo readers the chance to win one of the books from either of the deluxe ranges for someone special in their life this Christmas.

To win all you need to do is head to Jelly Bean Books, tell us which book you would choose and who for before the 11th of November. Winner will be chosen at random and announced on our Facebook page on the 12th.

Goodluck!