Holiday Card order deadlines for AddieKate.com

Just a quick post about our holiday photo card ordering schedule. The deadline for 2008 holiday card orders is Monday, December 15th. We will however continue to accept print at home orders throughout the remainder of the year. We will be closed for shipping from December 19th-January 1st. All proofs must be approved by December 18th. We will respond to all orders and inquiries when we reopen on January 2nd.

Holiday Card pre-order special ends tomorrow!

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow, October 31st, is the last day to take advantage of our holiday card pre-order discount at http://www.AddieKate.com Use code Preorder10 to receive the discount. If you aren't ready to send you photos yet that is no problem. We will pre-ship your envelopes to you early so that you can get a jump start on addressing them.

Be sure to check out the new 2008 designs in our holiday photo card gallery!

Great toddler Christmas Gift Idea

Holiday shopping is in full swing at my house and of course my daughter is my favorite person to shop for. I found this great arts and crafts table from eBeanStalk.com that I love.

It has a spot to roll butcher paper out as well as several cups to hold crayons, markers and more. The surface of the table is also a chalk board.

I think this is a gift that will last for years to come.

eBeanStalk.com is a great spot for many unique toys. They are also offering free shipping on orders of 65 dollars or more with code FreeShip$65. Check them out!

Our family Halloween Card

I am so excited to report that my 2 year old daughter was actually cooperative for our mini photo shoot the other day. Hopefully this is a sign that we have moved past the months of only getting pictures of the back of her head as she runs away from us.

I usually design a new card for our family holiday cards but this year I was so busy with Halloween photo card orders that I just choose my favorite from my gallery, the Boo design.

I modified it a bit to say buzz instead of boo but that was the only change I made.


Stay tuned for our family Christmas photo card in a few weeks!

Holiday Photo Card Tips

Halloween is just around the corner and before you can blink an eye the rest of the holidays will be upon us too. This is the perfect time of year to start thinking of taking family photos for holiday cards. Over the last few years I have picked up a few tips from photographer friends about how you can achieve great pictures on your own. I thought I would share a few here.

Take photos outdoors when possible
There is nothing like natural light to create beautiful photos. Make sure to test a few areas before starting you shoot to make sure there are no shadows or glare when taking your pictures.

Bring an assistant
This tip is especially important if you are photographing young children. An extra set of hands to adjust stray hairs and fix buttons can really be helpful. If an extra person is on hand to be silly behind the photographer this can help to get great smiles out of the kids too.

Take lots of shots
We are so lucky to live in the age of digital cameras. Take lots of pictures so you have many to choose from when selecting pictures for your holiday card.

Don't get too close up
If you are taking pictures for a holiday photo card make sure to leave plenty of room for cropping. This will ensure you have more options when selecting a design. Be careful about being too zoomed out though as if too much of the photo needs to be cropped you may lose quality.

Have fun and be creative!
If you go into a shoot with a positive attitude and an open mind you are sure to come up with some great shots!

Great Accesories from Multi Chic

I am starting my Christmas shopping early this year as I will be busy with holiday card orders later on. In my search for unique items I came across MultiChic.com They have great home, office and wardrobe accessories. I especially loved the Red Flora Reusable Shopping Bag by Envirosax. I have been trying to use reusable bags for shopping trips as well as at the grocery store. This bag would be so much more fashionable for trips to the mall than a canvas bag.
They have lots of other great prints as well as other fun accessories. Check out MultiChic.com soon!

September Halloween Card special

At AddieKate.com we are currently offering our customers 10% off on Halloween photo card orders. This special is good throughout the month of September.

This year we are featuring Halloween cards that are modern and fun. We have designs that are photo collages as well as designs that feature one large photo.

For the 10% September discount enter code PUMPKIN at checkout!

Have a spooky Halloween!

2008 Holiday Photo Card Designs are here!

Our 2008 Holiday photo collection has arrived at addiekate.com. I am really excited about the modern, unique designs we are featuring this year. Here are two of my favorites.



All of our holiday photo cards are fully customizable. The card greeting and colors can be adjusted to suit your taste. This ensures your holiday photo card is as unique as you and your family are!

This year we are offering a pre-order holiday card special to all of our customers. If you order your holiday photo cards before October 31st you will receive 10% off and we will pre-ship your envelopes. The discount code to take advantage of this special is preorder10.

Visit our Christmas photo card gallery soon and let me know what you think!

Great childcare reosurce for moms that need a break

I was chatting with a friend recently who is going back to work part time after having a baby. Her job won't have set hours and entails weekend work so she is having a difficult time finding childcare. A traditional daycare center won't work and most in home day cares require a somewhat set schedule and can't accommodate weekends. She is in a bit of a bind! After we had talked I remembered another chat I had with a different friend about Sittercity, an online database of local babysitters and nannies. They used the service to find sitters for an occasional date night.

I decided to check out the site to see what they had to offer. Basically you can plug in your zip code and read profiles of local sitters. They provide information about their experience, a photo, and their pay requirements. The best part is sittercity has a four part screening process and provides access to background checks. Those two factors are crucial for feeling comfortable with a new sitter. Definitely safer than Craigslist! This service is great if you need to find a sitter for occasional breaks or if you are looking for full time help. Sittercity works very similar to online dating sites. You can browse profiles for free but must join before you can contact anyone. It is like match.com for babysitting! Sittercity Also offers resources for pet-sitters and elder-care.

If you are a busy mom that just needs a break or are looking for a full-time nanny Sittercity may be right for you!

Halloween Costume of the week-Don't forget Fido!

This week I decided to stray a little from my search for kids Halloween costumes. I have done many holiday photo cards featuring a family pet instead of children, so I thought I would check out what was available for pet costumes. I happened upon Costume Craze and immediately saw the link to Dog Costumes. This site is chock full of fun costumes for your pet. My favorite is the Elvis dog costume, although I am sure their aren't too many dogs that would actually put up with wearing sunglasses.


Costume Craze has a wide selection of costumes if your pooch is your baby. They also have great costumes for the rest of your family, many of which are on sale currently. Make sure to check them out soon!

Creative photo party favors

Since I am in the business of creating custom photo cards it should come as no surprise that I love finding fun ways to incorporate photos in unexpected places. It never occurred to me, however, to use photos on party favors

I recently happened upon a great party favor site,Beau-Coup, that has done just that. My favorite is their Baby Photo Rice Krispy Treats. They just look so bright and cheery!



This edible party favor is perfect for the mom that just can't get enough of showing their little one off.

Beau-Coup also has a wide variety of non-photo favors. They are currently having a store wide sale until August 22nd, so make sure to stop by soon!

Halloween Costume of the week!

This week I thought I would go back in time and reminisce about my daughter's first Halloween. I was checking out Moon Costumes and saw that they had the costume Addie wore for her very first Halloween. I loved her little cozy caterpillar bunting. It was so plush and snugly and was just adorable on her. Here she is modeling it for our first family Halloween card.


If you are looking for an adorable baby Halloween costume make sure to check out Moon Costumes. They have a large selection and great prices!

New Halloween T-shirt designs!

As I was working on my Halloween photo card gallery I was inspired to create some fun new shirts for my cafe press store, Trendy Tots. I created a cute little pumpkin graphic and from that came op with the idea of "my little pumpkin" shirt designs. I added a version for mom, dad, grandma and grandpa. I can also take requests for different names at no additional charge.

Below are a few of the new designs. There will be more to come soon!

Throw a fun Mod Monkey party!

The two monkey invitations I offer at Addie Kate creations have been so popular I decided to explore this fun theme a little more. I was curious what type of party supplies were available for a monkey theme that were modern and fun instead of cartoon like.

Well Birthday Express came through again with their mod monkey decorations.


I love how simple and modern these monkey decorations are. The blue and yellow color scheme is fresh and fun. It would be fairly easy to put together a great party using the mod monkey tableware as inspiration. A few balloons and bright colored table clothes would pull together the mod monkey theme nicely. They even offer a kit to include all your supplies to get you started. Check out the
Mod Monkey 1st Deluxe Pack for 8 or purchase just what you need individually.

I was so inspired by the fun yellow and blue polka dots that I decided to create a new modern monkey photo invitation for my gallery at Addie Kate Creations.

If you are in the process of planning a birthday party for your little monkey make sure to consider this fun theme and check out Birthday Express
.

This weeks featured Halloween Costume

They aren't just for Easter anymore! That's right, you can now include Peeps in your Halloween festivities with this Peeps® Costume from Celebrate Express.


This costume just looks so soft, squeezable and fun. I bet any baby or toddler would be delighted to trick or treat dressed as a peep. Once again this costume is currently on sale. Like I said last week all the great costume deals are available in August or September.

If peeps aren't your thing check out celebrate express for more fun Baby Costumes.

Holiday Photo Card Preview!

It may still be over a hundred degrees where I live but I have already begun working on our holiday photo card gallery. This year my designs have a modern and fun feel to them. My goal is to combine traditional holiday elements with bold shapes and colors to create a design that is current but doesn't lose the Christmas spirit.

Here are a few samples of designs that will be added to our holiday card gallery at the end of the month.


Check out our photo Christmas card gallery to see our current designs and watch for updates regarding holiday card promotions.

Great site for travel products

We are planning a trip in October that involves a long plane ride with at least one layover. Now that my daughter is an active toddler traveling with her is a whole different ball game than when she was a baby. I have decided to start my research (and shopping!) a little early so that we can plan a smooth trip.

I found this great site My Traveling Buddy that specializes in products designed to make traveling with children easier.

My plan is to purchase the Gogo Kidz Travelmate which allows you to use your car seat as a stroller.

I also plan on purchasing some of the great toys on their site that are designed to keep toddlers occupied at the airport. I really like the Doodle Board and the Melissa & Doug Magnetic Pattern Block Set
.

From past trips I have learned that a few new age appropriate toys can go a long way when trying to make a trip with a toddler easier.

Whether you are traveling with an infant or a toddler My Traveling Buddy is a great resource for all your traveling necessities.

Halloween Costume of the week!

I know it is just barely August and Halloween is nearly 3 months away but I am already excited about finding a costume for my daughter. I have noticed the last couple of years that popular costumes sell out quickly so I always tend to order early. I haven't decided on what Addie will be this year so I thought I would post about a cute find every week as I try to make up my mind.

This week's featured costume is the lil' disco toddler costume from Costume Craze .

If they had this in pink and I thought there was any way my little girl would keep the wig on, I would be ordering it for Halloween. I think it is such a fun and unique costume for a toddler. Another plus of this costume is that it is on sale currently at Costume Craze for 19.96. One of the benefits of ordering Halloween costumes early is that you can find great deals. Last year I saved 20 dollars on Addie's costume by ordering in August. You can also get 5% off at Costume Craze with coupon code GET5 .

Be sure to check back next Friday to find out what fun costume we've found!

Another great site for unique baby and toddler clothes!

I happened upon a great little site this week Coco Bonbons. I am in love with they way they combine bright colors and cute patterns with simple styles. I love this lady bug romper that is currently on sale for 18.50. What a steal!

They also have the cutest little dress that I wish I would have found in time for Adeline's butterfly themed birthday party.

For boys I love these octopus overalls
They have a ton of summer items on sale so be sure to check out Coco Bonbons soon!

Hand Picked Pumpkin - Adorable Custom Baby Clothing

I love anything that can be customized so I was thrilled to find Hand Picked Pumpkin . This great site features baby clothing in soft knit fabric that is easy for babies and toddlers to move around in. All their items are high quality and made in the USA. The best part is that everything is customizable. You select the colors and trim for your outfit. The fabric patterns they have are colorful and modern.



I love that you can create that perfect one of a kind outfit for your little one. Visit Hand Picked Pumpkin to view all their complete line of custom baby clothing!

New Halloween photo card designs!

I know it is only July but before you know it summer will be over and it will be time to start thinking of Halloween. To prepare I added four new designs to our Halloween photo card collection at AddieKate.com.

The new designs for this year are bright and modern. I aimed to capture the fun spirit of Halloween. Most of the new Halloween card designs feature multiple photos. It is just two hard to pick just one photo sometimes! Especially when your little one is just cute as can be in their Costume. Below are two of our new cards in the Halloween gallery.


Visit Addie Kate Creations to view the entire collection!

Speaking of Halloween make sure to check back in early August for our featured Costume of the week.

Maddie's beach themed first birthday party

Addie's little friend Maddie turned one last month and her creative mom threw her the cutest beach themed birthday party. She chose bright colors for the palate which turned out so festive and fun.

Her cakes were absolutely adorable. For the main cake she had a flip flop cake that fit the beach theme perfectly. The smash cake was a little beach ball. Both were just fabulous.



For favors she filled up beach pails with various goodies. What a great do it yourself favor idea!


If Maddie's party has you inspired to plan a beach themed party of your own here are a few resources to get you started.

For tableware Celebrate express has a couple of options. I love their Flip-Flop Fun pattern. The polka dots make this theme even more festive. They also offer Beach Ball tableware.

Sophie's Favors has fun Flip Flop Coasters that are great for decor or as a favor. They also offer these flip flop floating candles.

Lastly don't forget to visit Addie Kate Creation's Invitation gallery to find the perfect invitation to compliment your beach theme.

Great site for potty training supplies!

My daughter started to show interest in potty training about 3 months ago so we have been gradually working with her. She does great at home as long as she is "diaper free". If she is wearing a pull-up there is probably about a 50% success rate. I think our main issue is she uses the pull-up for when she dosen't want to stop what she is doing. I have heard from many parents it is best to go cold turkey right into big girl panties but I am a bit hesitant.

While scouring the internet for tips I found this great site Potty Training Concepts . It is really helpful to have a complete resource for potty training needs. The site allows for customer reviews which I have found very helpful.

My current plan of attack is to order these 2 in 1 Waterproof Potty Training Pants . Hopefully they will help with the pull-up issue but still provide me a little peace of mind about accidents.

If these don't help my next plan will be to order the Potty Train in One Day System. I have heard great things about the potty train in one day method but thought Addie was a bit to young to start with that. If she isn't trained soon though I will be checking it out.

Wish Addie luck with completeing this milestone. Please feel free to share your own potty trainig tips in the comment section!

A few new Big Sister and Big Brother T-shirt designs

Maybe it is because of all the recent pregnancy news in my circle of friends but for some reason I just can't stop designing big sister and big brother shirts.

I added a few designs that are customized for 2009 and some girly flowered matching big sis and lil sis designs. I also have added an option to customize your child's shirt with their name. Check out all the new additions here.

It's Addie's birthday!!

Well my baby is officially two today! The old cliche that time goes by too fast is so true! When she wakes up for the day I plan on dressing her up in her birthday girl T-shirt and heading out for some fun activities.

Happy birthday Addie!!!

Adeline's butterfly themed 2nd birthday party

Yesterday we celebrated Adeline's 2nd birthday with a butterfly themed bash. Addie is just getting over strep throat and was a tad bit cranky but after the festivities got started we had a great time.

For invitations I used a double sided invitation very similar to the garden party invitation on my site.
For decorations I purchased inexpensive paper lanterns and butterfly and dragonfly decorations from a local craft store. I also hung ribbon and some smaller lanterns from the curtain rods.


For food I ordered finger sandwhiches from a local tea room and served potato salad, fruit and spinich salad as sides. I served them on the Mod Butterfly tableware from celebrate express. For desert we had bright colored cupcakes and ice cream. Typically Addie is a big fan of sweets but she wasn't too into it yesterday.


Finally, the favors for the little girls were little butterfly wings and for the boys I had stuffed aligator toys. Here is Addie's friend Maddie modeling her wings.


We had a great time celbrating yesterday with family and friends. We feel very blessed that Addie has such wonderful people in her life.

Personalized Party Favors and Gifts

I am sucker for all things personalized. Growing up with a name that is a little bit uncommon I could never find anything with my name on it. I am so glad that my daughter is growing up in the age of the Internet and won't have that same problem.

I stumbled upon mybambino and was impressed by their wide selection of personalized items. I really loved their personalized party favor section. They have a variety of favors for every price range and also offer volume discounts. My favorite idea for a first or second party is the personalized sippy cup.
It isn't always easy to find a favor when most of the children at your party will be under three and this fits the bill perfectly.

In addition to favors mybambino offers gifts for children, adults and even pets. They are a great one stop shop for all things personalized!

Modern mommy jewelry

I thought the day would never come where I would find mommy jewelry that I would actually want to wear. I love the idea of having a piece of jewelry to remind me of my little one all the time, but the style of these types of pieces usually makes me run in the other direction.

Well that has changed now that I have found BlissLiving . They have a huge selection of mommy jewelry that is simple and modern. My favorite is this two toned necklace

They really do have something for everyone in their wide selection. Now I just need to think of an occasion for my husband to purchase one for me. Mother's day is too far away!

BlissLiving also offers great diaper bags, room decor and unique toys. Currently they offer free shipping on orders of 99 dollars or more with code FreeShip. Make sure to visit BlissLiving soon!

Give a unique birthday gift with a personalized story book

I have many friends that have yet to enter into the crazy world of parenting and they often ask me for gift ideas when attending children's birthday parties.

I usually recommend a personalized story book. Adeline received one from a friend for her first birthday and it is beautiful. Now that she is older she loves having a book with her name in it.

ABC Personalized Storybooks offers two different options for personalized books. Their "my birthday surprise" book comes in a version for older kids (3-7) or for toddlers 1-3.


They also offer an array of other personalized products such as Cd's, place mats and sippy cups.

Another great company that offers personalized books is Mama Bebe & Co.. The book Addie recieved for her birthday is feautured on this site.

If you are looking for a unique gift make sure to stop by ABC Personalized Storybooks or Mama Bebe & Co..

Great new boutique for hand made baby items

A good friend of mine just recently opened a new online store, little love boutique. She has been sewing for years and I am so happy that she has decided to turn her hobby into a business.

I personally cannot get enough of her bows. They are so adorbale and have held up so much better than the other bows I have purchased elsewhere. I love that you can pick corresponding fabrics for the bows.

I also can't wait to purchase one of her adorable tutus for my little girl.
They are just perfect for dress up, birthdays or photo shoots.


In addition to her tutus, and bows she also offers nursing covers and diaper and wipes cases. Everything is hand made and she offers great modern fabric choices.

Make sure to visit little love boutique soon!

New Invitation designs added to AddieKate.com

Recently I have done several custom photo card designs for a few new birthday party themes.

I designed a fun cupcake themed invitation that featured four photographs. I love the way my client incorporated the cupcake theme in the photo.




I liked the modern layout so much that I used it as inspiration when another client requested a pirate themed photo invitation. Again I love how the theme is incorporated in the photo.



Lastly I designed a custom bumblebee photo invitation. The idea of having your child holding numbers to spell out their age is just precious!


All of these invitations have been added to my invitation gallery that you can view here.

New Big Sister and Big Brother T-shirt design

I recently created a custom invitation in a bumblebee theme. The bee graphic I designed for the invite was so fun that I decided to use it in a big brother and big sister t-shirt design for my cafe press shop. Feel free to check it out!

Adorable Butterfly themed favors

My daughter's second birthday is in less than two weeks and I am putting the final touches on her butterfly themed party. I had not originally planned on giving out favors but now that I have found Designed 2B Sweet I may have to change my mind.

I am in love with these mini-butterfly planters


I am crossing my fingers that I can get them here in time for her party.

Whatever your party theme Designed 2B Sweet has great favors and supplies to match. I wish I had found them sooner!

Another Deal!

Cafe press just posted that they are offering free shipping on orders of 65 dollars or more with code FREESUMMER. You can redeem it through my shop, trendy tots, through the cafe press main site, or a combination of the two. Happy shopping!

Deal Alert!

I love a good sale so you can imagine how giddy I was when I saw that one of my favorite boutiques, The Land of Nod, is having a summer sale. I think I will be purchasing the animal noises puzzle as part of Addie's birthday gift.

They have some great bedding on sale as well if you are expecting a new addition.

The Land of Nod Sale is running through 7.16.08.

Don't miss your chance to pick up some great deals on their unique merchandise!

Lily's Minnie Mouse Party

Adorable little Lily's mommy sent me the cutest photos from her minnie mouse themed first birthday party. Everything was perfectly coordinated and so well done.

Here are some of my favorite ideas from her party.

To commerate Lily's first year she put together this great collage of snapshots of Lily from each month. What a great way to show how much your little one has grown over their first year! It is a great keepsake as well.

Another fun touch was the cooler of beer appropriately labeled "Cheers to Alli and Mike for surviving their first year of parenting"!

I love the notion of celebrateing mom and dad on the first birthday. Making it through the first year is quite the accomplishment!

The final touches that really brought the party together were the cakes. They were both so well done. I especially love Lily's little smash cake.

If you are inspired by these great party ideas start with celebrate express for great Minnie Mouse themed supplies.

Also don't forget to visit Addie Kate Creations for your perfect custom invitation!

Adorable room decor at the frog and the princess baby boutique.

I have been meaning to update my daughter's room for ages but just haven't had the time to get to it. Well I just might be motivated to get back on track now that I have found The Frog and The Princess baby boutique.

This online store is filled with so many adorable products I don't know where to start. Addie's nursery is mostly frogs, butterflies, dragonflies and other little critters. I found these and fell in love



I think I will start with these and later check out some of their adorable bedding when Addie is ready for her big girl bed.

I have a feeling this site may be dangerous!