Mamas Like

It’s time for The Mama’s Holiday Gift Guide EXTRAVAGANZA! We LOVE to promote small businesses and moms who have created their own product or website. Now, especially for the holiday season, we want to have a place for you to find some great gift ideas and support fellow moms and dads.

CLM Designs - Pamper yourself or a loved one with unique, creative and beautiful jewelry from CLM Designs! Specializing in personalized family birthstone bracelets, name bracelets, wire-wrapped gemstone jewelry, bridal sets, cancer awareness jewelry, pendants to match Vera Bradley products, handmade custom pendants, as well as sparkles for wee little ones. Whatever your personalized jewelry need, CLM Designs has an elegant treasure in store for you!
I am in LOVE with my beautiful new bracelet. I was pleasently surprised at the high quality of the bracelet and jewels used to make my personalized bracelet. My mother-in-law is jealous and wants one for herself! ~Angie

Your Little Stinker - Custom Photo Designs for all the “Little Stinker’s” in your life….. Enter “mamaslike” and it gives 15% off entire order (will be active upon approval into the guide).

Booples - Booples animated videos each deal with a different topic and lesson (e.g., forgiving, loving one another, etc.) based on a Bible verse. The videos each contain a song with the Bible verse included in the words of the song to help children recall the lesson, retain the message and remember the verse. The videos are fun and the songs are catchy which makes them fun while teaching a godly message! (images, clips, etc. can be seen at booples.com) Buy one DVD, get one free: In Paypal’s “Comments” section during checkout (see attached image for example), enter “mamaslike” to BOGO the DVD portion of the order.

Renee Trudeau & Associates - Nurturing, supportive, and empowering, this year-long guide featuring monthly themes, inspirational stories, and soul-searching exercises, focuses on enhancing balance and emotional well-being in mothers’ lives. Recognizing that they are more than their “to do” lists, the Guide gives mothers permission to care for and nurture themselves and reconnect with who they are. Soothing the body, mind, and soul like a cup of hot tea, and providing a mini retreat away from the hectic stress of day-to-day parenting, this guide invites women to take control of their lives—to learn about the power of self-care and how it can be their best friend, to manage and increase their energy, to adopt a “good is good enough” approach, and to become more comfortable saying no. Read reviews at: http://www.reneetrudeau.com/book/praise.html. Purchase the Guide at a 10% savings for a limited time.

Bella Button Designs - Bella Button Designs is a mother/daughter design team, creating custom boutique fashions for little girls and stunning jewelry for girls of all ages. Our elegant, yet chic Simplicity sterling & soldered glass necklace is the perfect gift for the favorite ‘girls’ on your shopping list. Customized with her name, nickname or favorite saying, it’s sure to be a favorite! Free shipping with discount code ‘Mamas’.
I LOVE my necklace! It’s very personal and made just for me. I think personalized gifts are the best to give and receive. ~Angie

Christian Santa Letters - These Christian Santa letters emphasize Jesus as the reason for the season. One letter is sent to all of the children in the household. Each Santa letter will be personalized with all of the kids’ names, the names of the parents or other caregivers, the location where the children will be on Christmas day, and an optional p.s. message that you enter when placing the order.
My daughters received a letter from “Santa” last week, and it is really getting them excited about the Holiday Season. I am “required” to carry it with us in my purse from now until Christmas. ~Angie

My Family Meal Planner - My Family Meal Planner includes a 12 month Calendar with meals planned for 4 days out of each week, all the Recipes that you need, and a weekly Grocery List. This 8.5 x 5.5 inch, coil bound book with laminated covers will be very helpful to any busy family. The grocery lists are included in the book, but to make it easier for you, it also includes a Magnetic Grocery List Notepad to put on your refrigerator. Just cross out what you already have, add any additional items you may need and head to the store. IT IS SO SIMPLE! Meals are planned for 4 days a week, so you can still add in your family favorites or head to your favorite restaurants the other days! 10% off with code MAMASTEN
I have used my Meal Planner, and as a non-chef, I can tell you, the Planner is the perfect gift for the person who hates to cook or doesn’t plan well. HIGHLY recommended! ~Angie

Once Upon A Family - Lessons for Little Ones are set up as a game, where the child(ren) has to earn their way to learn that particular value. Each one comes with a recipe to make together, and you also write your own family “recipe” about your meaning of the value in your home. It can be used for more than one child at a time, over a shorter period of time than a month if you like. Receive 10% off your order: go to the Events section of my home page. Go to today’s date on the calendar, and choose “MamasLike.com 10% Discount” from that date. It will bring up a pop-up box with information about your discount. Click the link “Shop for Event”, and you’re on your way!

Carabella’s - We are getting ready for the holidays at Carabellas! Some of our favorites are personalized aprons and art smocks. Other great gift ideas are personalized diaper covers, totes and holiday dresses. Custom orders are always welcome! Most of the items you see are the result of some creative Mommies. I enjoy matching popular clothing lines and bedding. If you don’t see what you are looking for, please ask. I have hundreds of sample pictures and access to thousands of designs.
I LOVE the personalized apron we received for my girls. It is the perfect addition to the new kiddie kitchen Santa is bringing them this year. ~Angie

Menza Designs - I’ve always enjoyed putting my creativity to work. To have a beautiful vision, then turn that vision into a tangible wearable work of art is so rewarding. I love working with my hands and found that designing and crafting jewelry is my true art and passion. Beautiful colors inspire me in so many ways. The colors of nature have so much depth and variation, offering limitless possibilities . . . wonderful autumn leaves of crimson and gold, crystal clear snow, the cool ocean waves and the amazing rainbow of garden flowers. I am proud of the fact that the jewelry I make is high quality; that each piece is handcrafted and carefully reviewed. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that women can wear my jewelry and feel happy about what they’re wearing! With every purchase, Menza Designs will include a free gift PLUS delivery confirmation e-mailed to you for the holidays! Just write “Mamas Like” in the comment section at the end of the purchase!
We both received a beautiful pair of earrings made just for us. They are simple, yet elegant enough to dress up any outfit. ~Angie

Caren Online - Creating a company to educate and help others in their quest for pure skin care products was the natural step for us. We searched the globe for the most effective, organic and natural skin care products available. The products we sell are truly wonderful, natural products. They have a shelf life because they aren’t filled with harmful chemicals that preserve them for years. Best of all, by using natural products we are sending a message to manufacturers of harmful chemicals that says we’ve had enough.10% off with discount code MAMA10.

Baby in Back - The signs are whimsical two-sided frames, which attach easily to a car’s dashboard with the included hardware. They eliminate the “out of sight, out of mind” phenomenon that oftentimes strikes adults in today’s hectic world. Parents and caregivers simply turn the sign to the reminder side when the child is in the back seat and flip to the photo frame after drop off. Even if a parent feels that he/she would never forget a child, the photo frame side is a cute way to keep your child’s photo in your car, similar to keeping a photo on a desk at work. At $4.95, the signs make great gifts for grandparents, shower presents, and new baby presents.

Libby Dibby - Handmade skirts, accessories, bags, baby slings and jewelry. Made in California with a love for vintage, recycled, eclectic and hip styling - our products bring sweetness to the everyday. Check out our hand-stamped sterling name charms, too! 10% off through Dec 31 with code LIKE10
I was so excited to receive my personalized, hand-stamped charms and necklace made just for me with my girls’ names. They are a beautiful addition to my everyday wardrobe. I’m also excited to wear my new skirt on my next night out! ~Angie

Just Because, LLC - After receiving a care package from us, your recipient will believe Santa has visited! Toys and candy fill our care packages – no fillers here! We also have many other care packages and gifts that will fulfill all of your year-round gift-giving needs as well. Make sure to use coupon code MAMASLIKE for 10% off your order!
I am still enjoying my care package! Care packages are a great gift idea for the people in your life who don’t have ready access to goodies such as a friend in the hospital, military, or at college. ~Angie

Ark Essentials Inc. - Confessions of a Butcher-Eat Steak on a Hamburger Budget and Save$$$ Book and/or e-book
If you want to save money on your meat purchases this is the book for you, Guaranteed! Get the total scoop on the best ways to select, purchase and prepare beef, pork, chicken, etc. Learn the insider money-saving secrets of alternative cuts that cost much less and eat better than their more expensive, highly promoted counterparts.
Imagine your child sitting quietly, constructing a variety of unique one of a kind felt dolls, for hours on end with no batteries or electronic gadgets. With over 50 charming patterns, My Quiet Dolls will provide positive entertainment for your child and their friends that will have them begging for more! Why spend lots of dough on a craft kit that’s all packaging and can be completed in a few minutes when you can get this kit and keep enjoying it for hours on end?! Buy two doll kits, get FREE SHIPPING! Save $17.90! Buy just the pattern-NEVER OFFERED ALONE BEFORE! Buy Confessions e-book and receive FREE Confessions PAPERBACK list price $11.95! Click here for special Mamas Like pricing.

We’d like to thank all of the people who have asked to be a part of our first Holiday Gift Guide EXTRAVAGANZA! If there is anyone we missed, please let us know. (I’m nursing tonsillitis, so I’m not all “there.” My apologies ~Angie)

Thanks!

Angie & Dawn

My kids and I like Olive Kids. And I’m SO mad at myself that I didn’t find them a year ago when I decorated their bedroom. Don’t even THINK about going to PB (you know who I’m talking about) to buy your kids’ room decor. Head over to Olive Kids and check out their HUGE selection of adorable, colorful, theme-based room decor, not to mention their fabulous website.

Olive Kids (named after one of the founders) was started a few years ago by parents finding it hard to find affordable co-ordinated kids’ decor for their kid’s room. So like any other entrepreneurial family, they started their own company selling beautiful children’s bedding, furniture, and more.

My daughter picked out the Fishy Woven Throw blanket to review for Mamas Like. Forget new toys; this throw is her new favorite thing to play with. It’s incredibly soft, and just her size. The throw is available in all of the themes Olive Kids has to offer.

Want another reason to visit Olive Kids? They’ve just been awarded the prestigious iParenting Media Award in the Gifts Category for their Personalized Floor Pillow! HUGE congrats!

Wanna win a Personalized Floor Pillow? Email Olive Kids with your information (and let them know just how awesome their products are), and a winner will be chosen and contacted on November 14th.

I love personalized anything. I love love anything personalized WITH pictures. I know, I’m a simple girl. Colour Me Family lets me put two of my loves together with the loves of my life all on an address label all with a scenic background. I was able to customize our hair style and color, our skin and shirt color, and even added our names.

At Colour Me Family, you have different options for customized products like address labels and postcards. To add to the fun, you have several options for a fun background. You can have up to 6 people on your label or postcard, so for bigger families, pick your favorite kids. (I kid, I kid…)

Personalized stationery is a great gift for newlyweds, a new home, or a new addition to the family. Not to mention, a great idea for Christmas - just add one of the Santa hats to everyone’s head!

Try out Colour Me Family to see what your family looks like on some personalized labels or postcards.

Win 60 labels for yourself! Email Colour Me Family with your contact information with the subject line “Mamas Like Review,” and they will pick a winner on November 10th. If you happen to be the big winner and you order your personalized labels or postcards this week, you’ll get your money back!

Moms are ingenious when it comes to making a supplemental income for their family. Mary Tobin of StorkLady.com is no exception. While having four kids in four years, she found that she needed to provide a little extra income, and all the while, help others do the same.

Every mom loves having a little (OK, a lot of) attention when she brings her newborn baby home from the hospital. Having a proud stork out in front of her house announcing the baby’s name and stats is one way the Stork Lady informs the whole neighborhood of the new arrival. Stork Lady doesn’t limit their yard signs to just storks. Depending on your local partner, you can select from a stork, sailboat, a moon, or a baby carriage. Check out some of the local Stork Lady partners whole will provide the special announcement for the newborn baby in your life and some funny birthday announcements.

As a business owner and entrepreneur, I have lots of other moms contact me asking how they, too, can add to their family income. Stork Lady is an excellent, inexpensive way to help out your family, and at the same time, making new moms happy. With a minimal (and I do mean minimal) start-up cost, you can have your new business up and running in a matter of weeks. Mary has over 400 women to back her up on her entrepreneurial opportunity, so if you’re looking for a great way to make moms happy and make money, check it out!

So you’ve been blogging for a couple months now.  You’ve gotten the hang of posting, adding pictures, and inserting links.  You’re becoming a pro at this and you can’t remember why starting a blog seemed scary a few short weeks ago. 

Now you’re looking at your blog and thinking, “My blog lacks pizazz.  In fact, it’s downright boring.”  Those very easy-to-use templates are great when you first start your blog, but let’s face it, they can be rather ordinary.   If you want to spice things up a bit, but the thought of messing with html makes you break out in a cold sweat, then check out The Blog Cafe for a more fun, more personal design.  Mia and Ro, both moms, have created this company to offer “personalized designs for the everyday blogger.” 

For only $35 you can choose a premade design from the dozens available and have it installed for you (no messing around with html!)  Or maybe treat yourself and your readers with a festive holiday design like this…

You don’t like any of their premade designs, you say?  No problem!  Mia and Ro will be happy to do a custom design for your blog.  You just tell them your grand vision and they’ll make it a reality.

Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, for every design purchased through October 31, The Blog Cafe will donate $5 to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

If you have any questions about getting a spiffy new design for your blog, you can contact Mia and Ro at The Blog Cafe.

I’d like to welcome Angie from Good for the Kids to my review blog. Angie will be giving away a product with a $20 value for every 100 comments received between now and Friday at midnight Eastern time, so check out her site and leave her a comment here (be sure to include your name and email address just so we can notify you if you win).

Angie, tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m an accidental entrepreneur, domestic manager, and Mama to two toddler girls and one husband. I taught elementary school for 4 years after returning to college where I earned my Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. It really doesn’t mean much except an extra $2500 in pay a year. It costs a lot more to earn the degree than it is to work with it.

When did you start your business?
I started my business out of necessity when I started staying at home with my girls. As a teacher, I was basically working to put my girls in daycare, but when reality hit, we didn’t have more money. So, I started selling maternity clothes and baby items on eBay and Craigslist. I found that I really liked the idea of working at home (it gave me an excuse to sit on the computer), so I started researching what items were selling well on eBay. I spent HOURS researching how to become an online business and what I needed to focus my attention towards. (That’s where the nerd in me comes in to play. See: Master’s Degree) At the same time I was researching online businesses, I needed some Nuby sippy cup spouts for my daughter’s sippy cups.

When I called Nuby, I asked how much the spouts cost, so I ordered 50. I put them up on eBay, and they sold immediately. I learned that there was no place online to find the Nuby replacements, so I hounded, I mean asked, the sales rep about selling their replacements from my developing site. Little by little, I started selling all of their replacements as well as their sippy cups. Once I got a taste of selling baby products online, I started asking more and more companies that I liked to sell their items. Most were very much open to the idea of having a stay-at-home mom selling their items online, but some were opposed. So, I really focused on the companies that were willing to help a Mama out! What turned out to be good timing, has now turned into a full-fledged online children’s and women’s store.

What are your most popular items?
By far, the most popular items are the Nuby replacements. But the second most popular items are the Melissa & Doug wooden toys and puzzles, Zoobie Pets (3-in-1 pillow blanket stuffed animal), and customized address and name stamps.

I’ve never seen Zoobie Pets before, but they look really neat! Can you tell us about them?
Zoobie Pets are a 3-in-1 stuffed animal, pillow, and blanket all in one. They are designed to be a companion for children at home or out of the house on trips. They are EXTREMELY soft and cuddly and their faces are squishy so children can self-soothe and relax themselves. The safari Zoobie Pets are each tagged and collared so they don’t escape and run back to Africa!

I see you’ve added many stampers to your website. Tell us what kinds you have.
Just in time for the holiday season, I’ve added personal address and name stampers to my web store! I represent two companies, Three Designing Women and PSA Essentials, who each have a wide variety of stampers and stationery. Included in the round and square stamper designs are monograms, names, addresses, holiday, and collegiate & sorority logos all meant to be customized for the recipient. The stampers make the perfect gift for the person who really does have everything. I know it’s only October, but it’s time to order them now to ensure arrival in time for the holiday season!

Tell us about your special for October.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of women with breast cancer, I am donating 10% of the gross sales of any order that includes the “Giving” Beanie Baby Bear to Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Just for Dawn, I am giving away products from my store for leaving great comments! Some of the products I’m giving to Dawn to give to Dawn Fans are a Zoobie Pet, 2 Personal Stampers, Backyardigans Ty Beanies, and mocobabies sign language cards.