Playtime! A WAHM event at EG Baby Design Review and Giveaway!

Do your kids like to play kitchen? I know mine do. Tabitha loves to go into her little kitchen and pretend to make us cakes and cookies and drinks. I remember playing chef when I was little, its an important time n a child's life. EG Baby Design has teamed up with some other awesome WAHM buisnesses and created the event Playtime: In the Kitchen, which will run April 28-May 26th. They have a ton of amazing finds for your little ones.

 Here are some of my favorite items for sale:

The Wooden Cookie Baking set by Kat and Company

The Tiny Breakfast Chef set by EG Baby Design

The Deluxe Sandwich set by Little Picklepottomus. 

The Little Sweet Orange Set by EG Baby Design. 

There are tons of other cute things in this special sale for kids of all ages. And the best part is that the prices aren't out of this world. I've seen adorable kitchen stuff like this before and they were all over priced but these are great quality and an affordable price. 

How would you like to win something from this awesome event? EG Baby Design is giveing one lucky Crafting in My Closet Reader a Sweet Oranges Tiny Chef set of a diaper and a chef hat! 

How cute is this?!

Ready to enter?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was not compensated for this post. All views are my own.

Review: John Deere by Uncle Milton

Do you have a little one who likes to get dirty, collects bugs and rocks, loves animals? Well Uncle Milton has you covered. Uncle Milton has a great new line of John Deere toysfor the little farmer in all our kids. Uncle Milton sent me 4 products to try out from the new John Deere toy line.

First they sent me the John Deere BugJug. This is a cute little jug that you can use to catch bugs and look at them with a magnifying glass. Tabitha not being a huge fan of bugs was excited to use it to look at ladybugs. Tabitha and her friends had fun collecting all the bugs and watching them walk around the bug jug. The bug jug was easy to put together and would be a lot of fun for a child who likes nature and bugs and wants to get a closer look. After trying it out with Tabitha I gave it to my 5 year old niece who is really into nature and I hope she gets more use out of it in LA than we would in Idaho (where it snows 6 months out of the year). (unfortunately I took a bunch of pictures of Tabitha playing with this then my computer crashed and now its too cold for bug catching)

Next we got to try out the John DeereFarm Dough. This was Tabitha's favorite toy that we got from Uncle Milton. It comes in a yellow container that is covered with a rubber tire tread. It comes with some brown Farm dough, a chicken and pig toy and some vegetable toys. This thing is great. It keeps Tabitha entertained for hours on end and she is always asking to play with it. It is recommended for children 4+ (Tabitha is 3 ½ ). Keep an eye on those little tiny vegetables that come with it, they are small and can cause a choking hazard. I make Tabitha play with it at the table with some paper or the cheap table cloth under it. The smell of the dough is a little off putting. But it doesn't seem to bother Tabitha at all.

Next we tried the John Deere Mini FarmProjector. Tabitha my little flashlight obsessed kid who is also a huge fan of animals thought this was an amazing little toy. She enjoys switching the lenses so that she can see all the different animals. She is having a lot of fun playing with it, but because there are so many different pieces I have taken to making her put them all in a plastic bag when she is done so that she doesn't lose any pieces and her little sister doesn't put them in her mouth. The Farm Projector comes with 6 different farm animal images, and needs 3 button batteries that come with it. It says it is best for 4+ but Tabitha has no problem working it.

The last item we were sent is the JohnDeere Chick hatchers. Now these I was not a fan of. They say you put the egg in a cup of room temperature water. The egg is supposed to crack and let out the chick fairly quickly. I put the egg is slightly warmer than room temperature water. It sat there for over 18 hours, before I got annoyed and put it in hot water because the egg hadn't even cracked. After putting it in very hot water the egg started to crack after an hour. The chick began to expand, but it really smelled awful and was slimy. When the chick looked to be done expanding, I took it out of the water but the smell of formaldehyde was so strong that I couldn't give it to Tabitha. We tried washing it to get the nasty smell off but it wouldn't come off and Morgen and I weren't comfortable giving that to Tabitha.

The John Deere line also has an ant farm for kids 6 and up.

I Love Uncle Milton products and with the exception of the egg hatcher I would buy all of these products again.

Disclaimer: I was provided these toys for the purpose of this post. I was not compensated in any other way. All views are my own. 

Rice Krispie Treat Pumpkins with a surprise!

Are you looking for something fun to do with your family for Halloween? Or maybe your stuck inside with all the crazy weather and you want to do something that will make your kids stop asking when they can go out and play or if they can watch another movie? Well Have I got a fun one for you. f you have older kids they can help, and younger kids like Tabitha love to watch and say "when can I eat that!" haha. I recently got a great package from Kellogs, with Rice Krispies, marshmallows, a bag of mini 3 musketeers bars and a trick or treating pumpkin! Score! Now to make a yummy concoction for the family to munch on for Family home evening.

Here's the recipe for the Pumpkin Shaped Halloween Rice Krispies Treats with candy inside.

Ingredients

                        3 tablespoons butter or margarine

                        1 package (10 oz., about 40) Marshmallows

                        - OR -

                        4 cups Miniature Marshmallows

                        Orange food coloring

                        6 cups Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® cereal

                        12 MILKY WAY® Brand Minis or 3 MUSKETEERS® Brand Minis

                        OR

                        6 FUN SIZE® Bars*

                        Canned frosting (green)

                        12 small green gum drops

Directions

1. In a large Saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Tint with orange food coloring.

2. Add Kellog's Rice Krispies Cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using a 1/2 Cup measuring cup coated with cooking spray, divide warm cereal mixture into 12 portions. Using buttered hands shape each portion into pumpkins, shape around one candy piece. Pipe frosting onto each for vines and attach gumdrop for stem. Best if served the same day.

Some tips from making them, I used a cast iron pot to heat its great for distributing the heat so the marshmallows didn't burn. I moved the cereal mixture onto a cookie sheet to cool a little before making the pumpkins. The first one was a little too warm and it ended up melting the chocolate a little. The first one also stuck to my hands like no other even though I had greased them up pretty well. If the mixture is too warm it will stick to your hands no matter how much you grease up your hands so make sure they are cooled enough to not stick to you but warm enough to be malleable. Its a fine line.

Tabitha LOVED helping, even if it was only to put the candy on top. We took some to our neighbors and they loved them too. These are a great treat and lots of fun to do as a family night activity.

I was sent a Kellog's Rice Krispies Surprise Pumpkin Treats ™ kit to create these wonderful treats from Kellog Company® to facilitate this review and giveaway. My opinions are my own and I would never recommend a product that I would not use myself. I have not been paid to write a positive review of Kellog Company or its products.

 

Out and About Giveaway Hop sign ups.

I'm super excited to announce a new giveaway event, focusing on getting Out and About with our little ones, hosted by Crunchy Farm Baby and Crafting in My Closet.

The Out and About Giveaway Hop will run from November 10-20, 2012, with a Twitter Party being held on November 21.  Participation is FREE for bloggers!  We have two great grand prize giveaway packages planned (some of the amazing sponsors already lined up include GlowBug Diapers, Greenie Beanie Bottoms, Ergobaby, Thanks Mama, EcoVessel, Teething Tots, and more!).  We're allowing a limited number of bloggers to add 1-3 of their social media links to the grand prize forms.  Prices are $3 for the first link and $1 for subsequent links.  These spots will fill up quickly, so don't delay!  We hope you'll join us in this great event!

Event Details

Begins at 12:01AM EST November 10, 2012

Ends at 11:59PM EST November 20, 2012

Price to participate: FREE!

Price for links in grand prize form: FREE for the first 25 bloggers only!!

Minimum Prize Value: $15

Twitter Hashtag: #OutandAbout

*Update*
We are now offering two blogger referral prizes!  The top two blogs will get to host a link page for the grand prize raffles - generating LOTS of traffic to your site.  Share with your blogger friends for your chance to win!

What You Need to Do NOW

- Fill out the Google Doc

- Add your blog info to the linky below

- Join the Out and About Facebook group (this is mandatory - lots of information will be shared here!)

- Secure sponsors for the event!  Anything that is useful when you're out and about with your little one is perfect!

- Grab the event button and place it on your blog's sidebar, then share this event with other bloggers!  (We're not requiring you to do this, but obviously the more we share, the more traffic we all get!)

- Keep an eye out for important emails from your hosts!

What You Need to Do LATER

- Run a giveaway on your blog with a prize package totaling at least $15 for the duration of this event.

- Include the event button, a short blurb about the event, and links to your host's pages in your main giveaway post (more info will come later).  You will also need to include the giveaway linky in your post to encourage participation amongst all of our bloggers.

- Abide by all Facebook and Google rules when running your giveaway.

- Include a daily Tweet option in your giveaway form using the event hashtag #OutandAbout.

- Promote your giveaway!  We will publicize the Out and About Giveaway Hop as an event, but you will want to promote your individual giveaway as well.

- Choose a winner within 48 hours of the event's end and announce the winner on your blog.

What Your Hosts Will Do

- Communicate with you in a timely manner and answer any questions you may have along the way (there are NO dumb questions!).

- Publicize the Out and About Giveaway Hop across our social media platforms leading up to and during the event.

- Run two awesome grand prize giveaways including your paid links!

We're super stoked about this event and are so excited that you're joining us!  Please make sure to fill out the Google Doc AND add your name to the linky to make things easier in the future!  As mentioned previously, it is not required, but much appreciated if you share this event with other bloggers!  The code for the button can be found at the bottom of this post (below the linky) and links back to this page can be used to spread the word!

<a href="http://tapeschkecrafts.blogspot.com/2012/09/out-and-about-giveaway-hop-sign-ups.html" target="_blank"> <img border="0" alt="Crafting In My Closet" src="http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac76/TAPeschke/outandaboutbuttonupdate2_zps918090d8.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width="200" height="200""/> </a>

Uncle Milton Rainbow in My Room Review

Have you heard of Uncle Milton? They are a great toy company who make a lot of fun toys that I really wish I had as a kid! Uncle Milton was kind enough to send me the Rainbow in My Room for Tabitha to try out as part of the keeping kids creative giveaway hop.

Read more »

The Penny Jumper

I know a lot of kids have already started school, but Tabitha doesn't start school till September 24th. So back to school sewing is just starting.  She has become really into wearing dresses lately, so I'm making her a bunch of school and church dresses right now. I will do as many tutorials as I can so you can enjoy the dresses I'm making Tabitha as well. The first dress I did, was inspired by an ad I saw for Sears from 1960, it was a cute little button front jumper. I thought that would be perfect for Tabitha, since the weather will start warm and get progressively colder, I wanted something I could add layers to. So here you have the Penny Jumper. I was trying to think of a name and when looking at Tabitha in the dress all I could think was "Penny Pingleton is Permanently, Positively, Punished!" So because my brain is so full of useless movie quotes and trivia, it became the Penny Jumper.

I did Tabitha's in a size 4t, she's kind of in-between a 3t and 4t right now, and I wanted to be able to put sweaters under it to keep her warm if I need to. I also made the hem 1 inch folded twice, so that I could let it down if I need to. She is growing up not out, so having a hem I could let down is really helpful. 

Supplies:

Enough Fabric for the dress and lining. I used 1 yard of outer fabric and 1/2 yard red fabric for the lining. 

buttons

the basic top pattern

Ruler

scissors

cutting mat and rotary cutter if you have them. 

make sure you have your Basic top pattern ready and cut out. 

Don't mind the extra markings on mine, thats from a different dress. 

1. Line up the pattern 1 inch from the edge of the fabric. 

2. Cut 2 of the front leaving 1 inch extra out front. This will be for the button holes. 

3. Cut the back on the fold. Do not add and extra fabric for the back (sorry no picture of just the back)

4. Lining. lay the pattern on the folded in half lining material. Pin leaving 1 inch (sorry bad angle of picture)

5. Cut back lining same as back fabric. On fold no extra material. 

6. Pin and sew front to back at shoulders and side seams for both main and lining fabric. 

7. Place lining fabric on main fabric top side together. 

8. Pin main fabric to lining fabric at neck, armhole and front where buttons will be. 

9. Sew main fabric to lining,

10. Turn right side out and press seams. 

 11. Fold one side of the front over 1 inch. Pin down

 12. Sew down fold to keep it in place. 

13. Decide where you want your buttons and using your machine's buttonholer add your button holes along the front. 

14. Line up the two sides and sew the bottom of the front closed. 

15. For the skirt, I cut a rectangle, the entire width of the fabric by 15 inches long. You will need to decide how long you want the dress. If you want to be able to let it down as your child grows, add 2 inches to the final length you want. I not add 1 inch and you will do a half inch seam. 

16. Sew the rectangle into a tube at the selvage. 

18. Line up the skirt seam with the middle of the back of the dress. 

19. Then distribute the skirt evenly to the front and sides and pin. 

20. Add pleats by folding over and pining. It depends on how much fabric you have and how close you want your pleates. I did four pleats in each section. 

21. Sew your pleats.

(after this I don't have step by step pictures, sorry.)

22.  Sew on the buttons to the front of the dress. 

23. Hem your dress. For a dress you want to let it out later, fold up the hem 1 inch press, then fold it up another inch, press and sew it down. For a hem that you will leave, fold up the hem 1/2 inch, press, fold another 1/2 inch, press and sew. 

Thats it. The dress took me about 2 hours to make not including the buttons because I did those in the morning. 

I hope you enjoy the Penny Jumper, and if you have any questions feel free to ask, I'll answer as quick as I can. 

Teresa

Kelly Kits Review and giveaway

Have you heard of Kelly Kits? Kelly Kits is a self contained art kit subscription that is delivered to your house once a month. Kelly Kits offers 4 different types of membership: (From Kelly Kits Facebook Page)

1. Monthly Subscription- With a Kelly Kits subscription, you’ll have an all-access pass to fun, educational, and instructional support videos as well as monthly contests and drawings to win cool art stuff! For only $9.99 a month (shipping included) you will receive one Kelly Kit art play activity in one of five art disciplines: painting, sculpting, drawing, printmaking, or collage. The kit contains materials for the activity to be done by 2 children or one child can do the project twice! 2. Gift Packs- Each Kelly Kit Gift Pack contains 5 projects, you’ll get painting, sculpting, drawing, printmaking, and collage activities for TWO CHILDREN all in one gift-pack! Your choice of two super cool Kelly Kit collections the Original Kelly Kit Gift Pack or The Kelly Kit Picasso Gift Pack for only $24.95 each. Kelly Kits are allergen-free, and are for children ages 18 months to 10 years! Check out our website for more information! 3. Sensory Gift Pack- Our Kelly Kits Sensory Edition Gift Packs are specially designed for children with sensory integration issues. This collection of art play activities focuses on sensory stimulation in art featuring special textures and scents, and it’s GLUTEN FREE! Includes enrichment ideas as well as special text dialogue geared toward preparing a sensitive child for a new sensory experience in art for $24.95! 4. Birthday Party Packs- What could be easier and more entertaining than a Kelly Kits birthday party!!! These Birthday Party Packs are sold in sets for 8 guests with additional add on options for more party goers! Make birthdays easy and fun without costing a fortune! Birthday Party Pack are $49.95 for 8 guests! (add on packs for 4 guests for only $19.95). Each kit contains party favor and a special gift for the birthday boy or girl!

We recieved the print making set, and had a ton of fun doing it with Tabitha's friend Afton. Our kit came with everything we needed for two kids to do a fun art project. It came with a bag of tempura paint, a cup to mix it in, sponge paper (Tabitha thought that was the coolest thing watching the sponges grow in the water), little scissors, a pencil and paper. Tabitha is 3 and Afton is 2, so we used the kit to work on shapes. I drew a bunch of easy shapes, star, heart, circle, square, triangle, rectangle and cut them out for each of them. Then we put them in water and watched them grow. The girls loved that. Then we let the girls go to town making pictures. They had so much fun stamping away with their 

little sponges. 

                                   

                                      

The girls had so much fun doing their print making, and keep asking to do more crafts. These kits really are wonderful. For only $9.99 a month ($19.99 to Canada) you get everything you need in one easy package, you also get access to online extras like instructional videos. 

Morgen watched Tabitha while she was stamping for a bit and said we should sign up when he's done with school and we have more of a budget for this kind of stuff, I whole heartedly agree. These kits are great. Would you like to win one? How about a WHOLE YEAR of Kelly Kits? Thats right, one lucky Crafting in My Closet reader will get a year subscription to Kelly Kits, and everyone who enters will get a free kit (you pay shipping). How awesome is that? If that weren't enough, you will have two chances to win, because I will be giving away a year subscription to kelly kits to one lucky winner in the keeping kids creative giveaway in September! 

You can enter using this special link for 48 hours. Please note that this will take you to the Kelly Kits facebook page. I am not responsible for any information you use to fill out the giveaway on the KElly Kits facebook page. 

Discalimer: I received the above product free for the purpose of writing this review. All views are my own. I would never recommend a product that I would not personally use. 

Organa Kids: Animated Kids stories from around the world review

We don't have cable. I find a lot of what is put out for children to either be incredibly annoying or majorly inappropriate. We do have netflix and have found some shows we think are ok for Tabitha who is 3, to watch, but there are a lot of shows that we have "sent on vacation" IE we blocked them from netflix because they are annoying or inapropriate. A few weeks ago we received two DVDs in the mail from Organa kids. Organa Kids specializes in kids stories from around the world. They sent us Castle Farm and Happy Valley.
Organa LLC was started in 1995 as a way of introducing American families to stories, characters and cultures from around the world. Organa Kids is a subsidiary of Organa LLC and is aimed at promoting multiculturalism, original storytelling and interactivity. They have a variety of kids DVDs from Castle Farm (UK) to Dougie in Disguise (spain).

When the DVDs arrived I was able to sit down with Tabitha and watch some of Castle Farm. I thought it was a fun and entertaining video, but it was slightly over Tabitha's head. She liked the bright colors and the talking Animals, but she got board after a bit. There is no singing like in a lot of children's shows, and I think that may be why she wasn't that into it. There is a lot of asking questions and problem solving which I think is wonderful, but Tabitha just wasn't that into it. I think in a year or so she will like it more and be more into it. Each episode starts with Farm girl and Piggy having some sort of quest, but they get off track, and seem to day dream a lot. When they have a question they can't answer they ask Unicorn for help. Farm Girl is feisty and not afraid to get dirty, the kid of girl you want your girls to see, she's not weak or dumb like so many cartoon girls are these days. Piggy is sensitive and gets embarrassed easily. Then there is Leonard, the chief Cow Hand. His main goal is to get his hands on Unicorns Gold but he never seems to get it. He's a little too money hungry for my likes, but makes a good dumb "bad" guy for Farm girl to accidentally foil at every turn.
The second DVD we got was Happy Valley also from the UK. Tabitha LOVES this one. I didn't get to watch it with her at first because I was dealing with a sick Eva, but my husband has watched it with her many, many times. She usually asks to watch Happy Valley when they have their TV time together. She loves it so much she renamed one of her dolls Win after Gwen in the Happy Valley DVD.

Our whole family has been sick on and off for a few weeks now, and since we've been inside a lot, we've ended up watching way more TV than we normally would. Tabitha asks to watch Happy Valley any time we sit down to watch the TV. She LOVES it. Happy Valley has a lot of catchy songs, and easy to follow story lines. There are questions and problem solving elements, and lots of singing. Tabitha loves the singing. Happy Valley is set in the country side by the sea. In each episode the children go about their day weather it be going to school, on a field trip or to the dr. Happy Valley uses nursery rhymes and songs to tell stories, which makes it very effective for young children. We received Volume 2 of Happy Valley and will definitely be buying Volume 1 for Tabitha. The narration is done by one soothing voice and the colors are vibrant and happy. Even though we don't really let Evangeline (6 months) watch TV, she gets a little here and there and she really likes Happy Valley, she smiles and claps her hands to the music. The DVD is 60 minutes which is perfect, because after that Tabitha is ready to go play or do a craft. Its a great DVD to put on for quiet time or when I'm making dinner and Morgen isn't home yet. It keeps her occupied when I need to cook, but its not junk tv so I feel ok with letting her watch it.

Check out Organa Kids Here
Check out their Facebook Page here

Happy Times Review and Giveaway: Wish You Were Here Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the Wish you were here BloggerPR Giveaway hop! This week a bunch of bloggers are heading off to NYC for a really cool blogger conference (That I so wish I was going to but oh well.) and the brains behind BloggerPR thought it would be great to have a giveaway while all of them were gone. This even is hosted by BloggerPR (I bet you already guessed that!) and will run from 12:01 AM EST July 30-August 6th at 11:59PM EST. The minimum prize value on each blog is $25. You are sure to find lots of great prizes at each of these fantastic blogs who are participating.

My giveaway is a 5 pack of HappyFamily Happy times kids snacks. The winner will receive 5 coupons for a free product. There are 5 varieties of Happy Times kids snacks. This prize is valued at $25. 


Happy Times is a brand new line of delicious, organic kids lunchbox snacks. Each snack is as healthy as it is tasty and comes in a convenient snack sized package complete with a spot for Mom to write a Happy note. All made with organic fruits, veggies and grains!

When I got my coupons I looked on HappyFamily's website to see where Happy Times snakes were carried. Our local Target in Idaho Falls carried them, but only 2 flavors. I have however asked both of the local grocery stores to carry them since they already carry HappyFamily products.

 So Tabitha got to try the Veggie Pals Carrot, Orange and Apple chews. She LOVED these snacks! They are a little more chewy than regular fruit snacks but you can really taste the fruit and veggies in these. So Whats so Great about Happy Times Veggie Pals? Well besides being the perfect size for a backpack or lunchbox, the have a whole serving of fruit per pouch, they are gluten free, are USDA certified Organic, have no artificial flavoring or coloring, and have BPA free packaging. They also taste great! Happy Family puts all their ingredients right there on their website for all to see, and have allergen info too. Veggie Pals have no wheat, no soy, no dairy, no added sugar, and no egg. Veggie Pals are a Non-toxic & Safe Product winner from MACTawards.com.

We also got to try Sunny Buddies, which are sunflower butter and berry jam bites. Tabitha Loved these as well. She calls them jellies and must immediately open the bag, and pour them in a cup to carry around with her. At first they were a little dry tasting but I like them too. With a lot of schools banning peanut butter because of allergies, these make a great alternative snack to send to school with your kids. They have 115 mg of Omega 3's per serving which is awesome! They are nut free, made with organic sunflower butter, USDA certified Organic, 100% natural, no pesticides, no chemical fertilizers, no genetically modified organisms (GMOs), no artificial flavoring or coloring, they contain no wheat, no soy, no dairy and no eggs, and the packaging is BPA free. Happy times Sunny Buddies are made in the U.S.  and are a Non-toxic & Safe product winner from the MACTawards.com.  I love that the back of the packs have a little place to write a note to your kids, its just another way that HappyFamilies shows they really care about your family. 

The other three flavors that we didn't get to try yet are Yummy Yogis carmel yogurt and apple bits. the contain Pre and Probiotics for digestive health, are gluten free, USDA certified Organic, 100% natural, no pesticides, no chemical fertalizers, no genetically modified Organisms (GMOs), no artificiall flavoring, or coloring and the packaging in BPA free. Yummi Yogis contain no wheat, no soy and no egg. They are made in the US and a Non-toxic & Safe product winner from MACTawards.com. 

Mixed Fruit Yogis, Freeze Dried yogurt bites, have Pre and Probiotics for digestive health, are gluten free, USDA Certified ORganic, have no pesticides, no chemical fertilizers, no GMOs, no artificial flavoring or coloring and the packaging is BPA free. They have no wheat, no soy, no added sugar and no egg. They are made in the US and are a non-toxic & Safe product winner. 

Finally we have Crazy Crunchies, Freeze-dried carrot apple bites. They are gluten free, USDA certified Organic, 100% natural, no artificial flavoring or coloring, have BPA free packaging, no wheat, no soy, no dairy and no added sugar. They are made in the US and are a non-toxic and safe product winner from MACTawards.com.

We are definitely adding Happy Times snacks to our monthly shopping list. I love that Tabitha can have fast easy snacks that are good for her and good for the planet, and also taste good. 

So how would you like to win 5 product coupons for Happy Times snacks? Enter using the Rafflecopter below. 

Open to US residents 18 and over

I received these products free for the purpose of this review. Regardless I would never recommend a product I would not personally use. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway