Fashionable Fridays #17- Guest Blogger

Let me introduce you to Tricia from Tricia's Take, my first guest blogger for Fashionable Fridays. She'll be guest posting the 3rd week of every month for a couple months.
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Hi my name is Tricia I am a 30 something mother of 3 by day and online shopper extradoinair' by night! I started writing a blog (http://tricias-take.blogspot.com/) to prove the old adage modest is hottest and to share my love of fashion. Most people when they hear the phrase 'mom clothes think of high waisted jeans and a frumpy tee-shirt. I am here to prove 'mom clothes' can be chic and casual. Here are a few tips to dress stylish and still be able to chase around the young ones (without that free tee-shirt you got at the blood drive!)



Tip #1- Have fun with color

One of the easiest ways to dress up a tee is with a pop of color. I love using belts, shoes, jewelry and hair accessories to add color to a boring outfit. Some of my favorite color combo's are: grey and yellow, red and blue, green and navy, pink and grey and brown and blush.


Tip #2- Pants are not required

I often wear a skirt because surprisingly they are just as comfortable as shorts. They will also keep you cooler! You can find a cute basic knee length skirt (at Gap or Old Navy) and it instantly dresses up a basic top.



Tip #3- Invest in the basics

There is nothing like a flattering pair of pants to brighten your day, I honestly believe that spending a little more on that pair of pants will be worth while in the long run. I purchased my first pair of designer jeans in 2003 and still wear them, they are timeless and hold up through many washes and wears.



Tip #4- It's all in the details

Look for tops that have cute prints or are embellished, you don't need much to dress them up! Pair it with some shorts and flats and your good to go!!!


I look forward to posting again next month, until then you can see me everyday on my blog, Tricia's Take!


Tricia


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Thanks so much Tricia! Can't wait for your future posts. Love outfit 3 especially that green color! Your color combos with tip #1 sound amazing...I'll have to try some of those! Maybe someday I'll invest in some designer jeans...scary for me to think though. I have trouble enough finding jeans.

Fancy Mommies Giveaway

Fancy Mommies is having an awesome giveaway for a $15 Target gift card, $10 Gap gift card and choice of 3 headbands apparently in addition to these other great prizes: Febreze, adorable handmade cards, and fabulous handmade magnets! Low entries!

Erika from The Dating Divas

Have you heard of The Dating Divas? They offer fabulous date ideas and great ways to show more love to your spouse, some crafts and recipes too.



Erika, 1 of the 12 Divas, has graciously accepted to do a guest post here for Crafty Mommy Diva so give a warm welcome to my first Guest Blogger!
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Hello Crafty Mommy Diva readers! I’m so excited to be guest blogging here today. I am a Diva myself – a Dating Diva. My name is Erika and I’m one of the 12 member team of gals over at The Dating Divas that love to date our husbands. We have a lot of fun creating original, inexpensive, and fun dating ideas.

 I am sure I’m like a lot of you. Married a few years to a handsome guy, have a child – who is cute as can be, busy with life (you know how it is!), and because of all that dating my husband dropped to the very bottom of the list. Our dates lacked originality – if we even went on one! So when my good friend, Tara, started up this amazing date blog – I was all in! I knew this would be a great motivator for me to get out of my dating rut.
  We Diva’s love what we do! We have fun creating new and exciting dates, giving marriage tips, holiday ideas, gift suggestions, family activities, quick and easy examples, crafts, and much more! We Diva’s want to share our ideas with YOU and let you join in on the fun. My husband and I are all about fun and games. I love him and always want to think of ways to show him the love. I wanted to use my creativity and crafty skills to make something we could enjoy and play together – a prescription for fun! I have a prescription for you on how to have more fun. Here's how to fill the order... 

First, grab an unused small pill bottle.

If you have an old empty one from a previous prescription you can use that. Or you can go to your local pharmacy and ask to buy a new one. If you are lucky like me, they'll give you a whole bag full for free!

Next, go to your stash of scrapbook paper and find a cute one to trace the lid. You want to cover up the logo on top. (If you don't care about this, you can skip this step.) Then cut out your circle and mod-podge it on the lid.

Then you'll need to adhere the prescription label to the bottle. I made a mock label in photoshop with fake info.

You can download yours here - without our names!

I used clear packing tape and put it around the whole thing.

Now you need to fill the bottle with the "pills" and instructions.

The pills are those dissolve-able capsules that turn into foam shapes. I picked mine up at the Dollar Store. Eighteen for a dollar! But I just put 3 in the bottle. (Give the rest to your kids, they'll love them!)

To play you will dissolve one capsule in warm water.

(Sometimes waiting for it is the best part! Ooooo....the anticipation of what the shape will be!)

Now on to hiding it.
Take turns putting the little foam shape somewhere your spouse can find it. Once they've found it, they hide it for you. Kind of funny and childish, but it is fun to suddenly see this foam dinosaur in the book I'm reading, under the toothpaste cap, in a pocket, beneath a deodorant cap. The possibilities are endless! Just reuse until it takes a casualty - like ours did. Poor T-Rex lost an arm. Oh well, time to dissolve a new "pill."
Download the game instructions here. Print it out, fold it up, and stick it in the bottle with the 3 "pills" and give to your spouse.
Thanks for letting me be a Crafty Mommy Diva today! Feel free to stop by the Dating Divas anytime.

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Check out Erika's awesome group date idea too, Couples Minute to Win it. I so want to do this!!!! Thanks so much Erika! I can't wait to fill this prescription!
Hopefully my husband and I can get out of the dating rut too now that our son is finally getting used to other people.

10th Mommy Mondays - CSN Review

Have you heard about CSN stores!? If you haven't, then where have you been....j/k. They're a fabulous online store - I should say mall because they're so huge!

I had the wonderful opportunity to review their online store. I used my certificate towards a Little Tikes Fold and Store Picnic Table with Umbrella.

When looking for a toddler table and chairs, I searched those exact words and  came up with hundreds of options. On their left sidebar, they have easy way to narrow your results. I clicked kids' table and chair sets and limited my price range to under $200. Here's where I found my table: http://www.toysandgamesonline.com/asp/keyword.asp?sortby=&keyword=toddler table and chairs&matchtype=3&keywordvalue=toddlertableandchairs&minprice=&maxprice=&catcount=&shipsin=&stype=2&command=dosearch&mclass=Kids%27+Table+%26+Chair+Sets&price=3%7E172%7E&itemsperpage=96&curpage=2&rowcount=137&ListFormat=1&LayoutFormat=1


I debated over several options, but finally chose the Little Tikes Fold and Store Picnic Table with Umbrella because it can seat 8 kids, ages 2-8. I love that it can seat so many because I do lots of play groups at my home. Then I love that it can fit up to an 8 year old so that it can grow with my son and future kids.

Here are some of the hours of enjoyment we've had with it so far!

The box itself is super fun!
Jumping on, sitting and sliding on

Perfect for play: Coloring, Puzzles, and Play Kitchen Food

and pushing your car around the seats

Perfect for snack time

Now I need to find some cute plastic dinnerware that he can have with his table. I love this set: Puzzle Dinner Set. How fun would that be for my toddler!

IN REVIEW
What I love about CSN:

• so easy to search!
• you can earn 3% back on every order, receive exclusive rewards member promos plus more!
• they have 200+ specific stores
• kind and understanding representatives
• lots of items have free shipping

What I dislike about CSN:

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  no adult or children clothing: they have some infant apparel

What I love about  the Little Tikes Fold and Store Picnic Table with Umbrella

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  it can seat 8 kids, ages 2-8
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  it can grow with my children
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  hours of enjoyment with the box and different activities on the table: snack/eating, puzzles, coloring, playing with play food, teaching children, etc.
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  my son loves having a special spot for him and his friends
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  storing capabilities

What I dislike about  the Little Tikes Fold and Store Picnic Table with Umbrella

• even though you can store it; it's not easy to store, you have to things apart, fold it up, and then put the parts back together.
• not easy to assemble by yourself plus I'm not tool literate - had to learn to use a socket wrench

Want something from CSN? Enter the $60 Certificate to CSNstores GIVEAWAY over at Scrappy Gifts starting TOMORROW!

*I was given a $60 certificate code to CSN stores. My opinions are my own.

Fashionable Fridays #16

I wore this outfit to a Concert Family Home Evening that my neighbors put on. Technically this shirt is like a navy blue, but it doesn't look like it in the picture. I'm wearing grey shorts. I add the red belt for some "pop." I think I looked better than I do in the picture.

I wore this outfit to a meeting I had with my neighbor's friend who I will be helping out. What do you think of the green with black and white? I love these shoes nevertheless. I got them for free as part of a drawing at Brittany Rae's Boutique when she was having her Susan G. Komen fundraiser.