Peace Love and Kids

Welcome Spring Giveaway!

2012-02-17T05:19:00.000-08:00

Win one of these new designs from Peace Love and Kids' spring collection!!

Spring is right around the corner and we want your cutie to be ready! Enter to win one of these five new spring designs pictured above!

~Ahoy Crab Anchor Toddler Boy's Shirt Or Baby Bodysuit(size 0-6yrs)

~Ahoy Lemon Twirl Dress(size 2-6yrs)

~Ahoy Tie Dye Frill Dress(size 2-6yrs)

~Sammy Sea Turtle Baby Bodysuit (size 0-18 mos)

~Susie Seahorse Baby Bodysuit ( size 0-18 mos)

Giveaway begins 2/17 and ends 3/5.

Mandatory Entry:

*Become a public follower of this blog, then comment below with your name and email address.

Extra Entries:

*Become a follower on Twitter

and leave a comment below that you did/already are.

*Become a fan on Facebook and leave a comment below that you did/already are.

*Tweet a link to this giveaway, be sure to tag me @peaceluvandkids and comment below that you did(only once per day).

*Update your Facebook status with a link to this giveaway, be sure to tag me @peaceloveandkids.

Comment below that you did(only once per day).

Winners will be chosen via Random.org so be sure to comment below for each separate entry.

Good Luck!

Girl Scout Cookies!!

2012-02-15T05:16:00.000-08:00

This was the girls first time selling Girl Scout cookies. Trinity is in a Junior troop and Jade is in a Daisy troop. They were both looking forward to selling the cookies, and really I couldn't wait either! We picked up the cases of cookies, 157 boxes total between the two of them, and were nervous about how much we had to sell! I didn't realize how many cookies there would be! It was definitely overwhelming because if we didn't sell them we would have to buy them ourselves! My husband sold a lot of them at work(thank goodness)and thinks he deserves the patch for selling so many boxes! Lol. In the end the girls did a great job and sold every box(well besides most of the samoas that we ate)! We raised enough money for both their troops to go on a trip at the end of the year! Yay! 

Welcome Spring 2012

2012-02-07T06:28:00.000-08:00

With her warmer days and colors of fun...

...her rain brings blooms as she welcomes the sun...

..the green grass, the song birds, the grace she will bring...

...with open arms, we welcome Spring!

Valentine Hands!

2012-01-25T05:21:00.000-08:00

It's almost Valentine's Day and all the kids are picking out their special Valentine cards to give out to their friends. My daughter Jade and I wanted to do something different this Valentine's Day for her Kindergarten class so we thought of Valentine hands! The materials needed are so simple and they look so adorable you'll want to make some with your own hand print!

Supplies:

Construction paper or card stock(red, pink, white)
Valentine stickers
Pen/marker/crayon(any color)
A cute lil hand

Trace your little one's hand onto your paper, we used red card stock so it wouldn't rip easily when the kids exchange them for Valentine's Day.

After you trace one or two, you can use the cut out hands as a stencil to trace the rest. Jade got tired of me tracing her hand after two so I traced the other 21 with the cut out paper hand.

Have your child decorate the hands with stickers and write their name at the bottom. You can even add clever sayings to the top of the hand, some we thought of are: "You're the best, Hands down!" or "You're hand-some" or " My heart is in your hand".

Here are some of Jade's finished Valentine hands, she's still working on the other 18! :)

Have Fun!!

Valentine's Love Photo Contest

2012-01-12T06:10:00.000-08:00

*Enter our Valentine’s Love Photo Contest!
~Photos should include one of the following: Your child in Valentine's clothing including red, pink, hearts etc. OR your child with sibling/family/pet showing love.
~Submit photos to peacelovekids@yahoo.com
~Contest ends Feb. 1, 2012
~Prizes: Boy: A tie applique on a white shirt or onesie in winner's choice of fabric(sizes 0-6).
Girl: A single color fluffy little tutu in winner's choice of color(sizes 0-6).
Winners will be announced on our Facebook page and here!

Prizes:

Keep Smiling

2012-01-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

   Your face is very important. It tells your emotion, your story. What would happen if you were to lose that? For me it has been a journey. For the past two and a half years I have had Bell’s Palsy. It started about a week after giving birth to my third daughter. Sitting in my kitchen with my then 9 year old daughter and my grandma they noticed my eye looked strange. I felt weird all day but I didn’t think anything of it. I figured it had something to do with the sleep deprivation I’d had due to caring for a newborn. My daughter and grandma looked worried. Looking in a mirror I noticed that the left side of my face looked and felt different. My left eye would not blink no matter how hard I tried. I laid down for a moment hoping it would go away, whatever it was. It Didn’t. It got worse and the left side of my face and head hurt worse then ever before. My husband rushed home and took me to the Emergency room. They admitted me overnight, which was one of the hardest things to happen at that point with my newborn at home that I had been breastfeeding.
    After numerous tests, the neurologist diagnosed me with Bell’s Palsy, something I had never heard of until then. I went home in 24 hours with antibiotics, a pounding migraine and a paralyzed face. The next few weeks were full of visits to the neurologist, electrical face stimulation, and learning how to function with my new not so pretty face, all while caring for a newborn and my two older daughters. Daily functions like brushing your teeth, eating, drinking, even sleeping(the eye would not close!) became very difficult. The worst for me was smiling and laughing. I could somewhat have my normal face back if I stayed serious. Smiling showed the paralyzed side completely, laughing showed it even more! I tried my hardest not to smile or laugh during the first few months which was very depressing and hard to do with silly, funny little kids in the house trying to make me laugh.
    After many nights spent crying from the physical pain in my head and the mental pain of my appearance I started to learn to be ok with it. Certainly not happy with it, just ok. I thought of my late father who had lived almost his entire life in a wheelchair from an accident in his twenties and how you would never know it from how happy and full of life he was. I thought about how he must have felt to go from a normal functioning man to a man confound to a chair the rest of his life. He knew he had to be strong for his daughters and wife. I thought of him when paying at a cashier or walking through the mall and getting judgmental looks like: “What’s wrong with her face?!”, he must have gotten looks everywhere he went in his chair but it did not stop him from taking us kids everywhere! So I continued to zap my face with the electric therapy and I laughed with my kids despite my twisted smile. After about a year I was still dealing with the horrible face and head pains but I noticed my smile started to improve a little, not much, but enough for me to notice and feel encouraged that it could in fact improve even more! It has been two and a half years now and I am ok with the fact that it will probably never be completely healed. I would say I am about 80% back to normal and I won’t lie I do sometimes wish I would wake up one day with my old face back. My headaches on the left side still come and go but much less then before, and my left eye still has a mind of it’s own! Lol! I am thankful that I have improved to the point I am at now and I know that it could have been much worse. :)

Here I am with Jade, my 6 year old, a few months ago. I really don't like this picture of me but I am thankful it has gotten so much better then it was a year ago. If you cover the side closest to Jade you can see the droopiness. I don't have very many pictures of me when it first happened or for the first year after it happened because I wouldn't let anyone with a camera near me! ;)

This picture with Trinity, my oldest daughter, was taken last week. As you can see I have learned how to smile in pictures so it is not as noticeable. Hopefully soon I can smile and not even think about it! :)

What is Bell's Palsy? -Bell's palsy is a disorder of the nerve that controls movement of the muscles in the face causing facial paralysis.

Who can get Bell's Palsy? -Men, women and children can get Bell's Palsy.

What causes Bell's Palsy? -The cause is not yet determined. In most cases the 7th cranial nerve was damaged.

Some celebrities with Bell's Palsy: Pierce Brosnan, George Clooney, Katie Holmes, Ralph Nader, Sylvester Stallone

Some helpful links:
http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/brain/bells_palsy.html
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/bells/detail_bells.htm

~It is almost impossible to smile on the outside without feeling better on the inside~

A New Year

2012-01-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

After all the holiday festivities and fun (aka madness) we can finally relax and slow down for a moment. Really just a moment though, especially being a parent! Back to school, back to extracurricular activities, back to our regular schedule of lots more fun! 2012 brings a fresh start for hope and happiness. It marks a point to help us put the past year behind us and gives us a new start to make our dreams come true for ourselves and for our children.

I am so grateful for all my customers and supporters that I have come to know in the past year, and I look forward to meeting more amazing people this year! I am very excited to share with you all the new designs I have been working on for the up coming season, and of course all the giveaways that I have planned! ;) Here is a peak at some items going in the shop this week! Wishing you all peace, good health, and happiness!!!

~Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.~
~ Maya Angelou

Reindeer Holiday Card Craft

2011-12-05T06:14:00.000-08:00

This is a cute, easy craft that can also be used as a handmade Christmas card! The kids will love using their finger prints to make their little reindeer!

Supplies:

Construction paper or Card stock(any color)
Brown paint
Small googly eyes
Small red pom poms
Glue
Brown marker/crayon

Fold your paper in half so that the opening is at the bottom. Have your child make a few thumb prints lined up on the front of your card.

Using a brown marker or crayon draw antlers on all your reindeer.

Next, glue your reindeer's googly eyes on.

Then glue the red pom poms on for their red noses!

Now you have the perfect handmade Christmas card to send to your family and friends! Have fun!!!

Oh What FUN!!

2011-12-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

I am sooo excited that December is here! Yay! It makes me feel like a kid again! The fabulous four(my kids, lol) are so excited they’ve been asking almost every night since Thanksgiving “Is it Christmas yet?”
Then we look at a calendar and count how many days are left. My two year old, Gia is just now getting over the fact that Halloween is over(she’s been running around saying Trick or treat all day!) and she is sooo excited for Santa to come and eat cookies and milk and leave her some presents!

I mean really, isn’t it so much fun to dress your little ones up for the holidays!? It’s so fun to find all sorts of holiday activities for them, to eat all the yummy goodies, to decorate the house and wrap all the presents!

One of the things I really look forward to is a tradition we started three years ago, “Handmade Secret Santa“, where we put all six of our names in a hat, choose a name and make something by hand for the person we chose. It’s so exciting to see who everyone got and what we all made for each other! (I’ll post pics of what we all made after Christmas!) This year I have managed to find an activity for every weekend in December! Let the fun begin!!
I’d LOVE to hear some of your holiday traditions and what FUN you have planned for the holidays this year!!

Holiday Cheer!

2011-11-26T07:57:00.000-08:00

May your holidays be happy days

Filled with love and laughter

And may each day bring joy your way

In the year that follows after!

I am thankful for...

2011-11-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

In celebration of Thanksgiving my 11 year old, Trinity made a collage of what she is thankful for and my 6 year old, Jade wrote a short rhyming poem(she is learning about rhyming words at school).

I am thankful for..

Love, the earth, my sisters, my whole family, my friends, animals, water, trees and my clothes!

By: Trinity

I am thankful for...

I'm thankful for my family, love and the trees.

I'm thankful for baby Gia, my parents and the bees.

I'm thankful for Trinity, my clothes and the sun.

I'm thankful for flowers and having fun!

By: Jade

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Red Nosed Reindeer Giveaway!!

2011-11-04T05:40:00.000-07:00

Red Nosed Reindeer Shirt/Bodysuit Giveaway!!

Enter to win a red nosed reindeer shirt or baby bodysuit for a boy or girl(size 0 mos-6 yrs) from me, Peace Love and Kids!
Choose a red, long sleeve shirt or baby bodysuit for a boy or girl(girl reindeer has a cute red bow)!

Giveaway begins 11/4 and ends 11/21.

Mandatory Entry:

*Become a public follower of this blog. Comment below with your name and email address.

Extra Entries:

*Become a follower on Twitter

and leave a comment below that you did/already are.

*Become a fan on Facebook and leave a comment below that you did/already are.

*Tweet a link to this giveaway, be sure to tag me @peaceluvandkids.

comment below that you did(only once per day).

*Update your Facebook status with a link to this giveaway, be sure to tag me @peaceloveandkids.

Comment below that you did(only once per day).

Winners will be chosen via Random.org so be sure to comment below for each separate entry.

Good Luck!

I LOVE handmade!

2011-10-26T05:57:00.000-07:00

Being a shop owner on Etsy, I am constantly "window shopping" online. I have discovered some amazing shops! I put together some of my favorite handmade items I've purchased throughout the year! I LOVE buying handmade!!!

1. These are the cutest monkey booties I've ever seen!Bula Jean's Boutique has so many cute designs to choose from. The booties fit perfectly and are so soft!

2. Jade is so in love with her waldorf doll from Peachy Keen Dolls. She hand makes the cutest custom Dolls!

3. The girls take these awesome snack bags from Ever Sew Clever to school every day. There are so many cute fabric choices you'll want to buy them all! 

4. I love cloth diapers! They look so cute on little bottoms! One of my favorite handmade cloth diapers comes from Better Bottoms. Her fabric choices are so unique! Love em!!

5. Bows, bows bows! Gotta love bows! It's hard for me to let my daughters out the door without a bow in their hair! My favorite bows are from Charlies Halo. She has the cutest bows!!

6. Yes, I shop mostly for my kids, but sometimes I treat myself  :) heehee. I love the designs at Ellembee! Her shirts are cute, comfy and fit great!

7. The art work by Katie M. Berggren is stunning! I love my motherhood print and can't wait to get another one!

8. We LOVE animal hats! Hello Kitty, Bears, Ladybugs... So when I saw this CUTE Owl hat from Ami Amigos I knew the girls would love it! It is so soft and adorable! She makes so many cute designs I can't decide which to buy next!

9.My daughters and I love these little dollies from Sunflower Radiant Love! In her shop you'll find custom dolls and natural wood puzzles made by her talented son! We have 2 mama and baby pocket dolls that my 2 year old adores!!

~Buying handmade is like getting a present in the mail. Something someone made with their hands just for you!~ :)

Please share with me your favorite handmade finds!!

Halloween: Paper bag pumpkins

2011-10-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

A few years ago we made these adorable paper bag pumpkins that we still use as Halloween decorations. We loved them so much we decided to make them again this year and share them with you!

Supplies:

Brown paper bags
Orange paint
Green marker/paint
Pipe cleaners(any color)
Green & Brown Construction paper
newspaper/magazine/paper towels(stuffing)...
Glue or tape
Scissors

Paint the brown paper bag with the orange paint(don't forget to paint the sides). Color or paint the inside of the bag with your green marker/paint about 2" into the bag on all four sides(shown in the third photo below).

While your paint dries, cut long skinny strips of green construction paper, and smaller thicker strips of brown construction paper as shown below.

Fold your small brown pieces into a small tube and glue or tape together(this will be your pumpkin's stem!).

Once your paper bag has dried, put your stuffing(newspaper, paper towels, magazine pages...) in your bag(about half way full) to make a sturdy pumpkin.

Next take your pipe cleaner and tie it around the top of the pumpkin leaving about 3-4" of the bag on top.

Now tie your strips of green construction paper around your pipe cleaner being extra careful not to pull too hard or you might rip the paper. You can curl the green pieces with a scissor or twist then with your fingers.

Now cut the top of your bag into strips, and fold them down like shown in the photo below. The green you colored/painted from earlier will now be your pumpkin's tendril!

Take your little brown stem and glue/tape it to the very top of your pumpkin. Now your pumpkin is complete! You can add a face and make him a Jack-O-Lantern or keep him a cute little pumpkin! These can be kept as decorations for many Halloweens to come!

Happy Halloween!!

Hand Print Trees

2011-09-19T06:31:00.000-07:00

We love using hand prints in our crafts, so we decided to make these adorable hand print trees! You can make them in many different colors, add apples, flowers, birds and more!

Supplies:

Brown paper for tree trunk.

Paper for background(any color)

Glue

Paint

Scissors

Pom poms or anything you'd like on your tree.

Using the brown paper, cut out a tree trunk. Glue the trunk to your paper.

Using your little ones hands, make hand prints around the trunk like leaves on your tree!

After the paint has dried you can add apples, oranges, flowers or anything you can imagine! Here are our trees, an apple tree and a fall tree. Enjoy!

Fall 2011 - A Season of Joy

2011-09-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

Pure Joy... 

...is in...

...the eyes...

...of a child.

Peace Love and Kids

Flower Fairies

2011-09-08T06:48:00.000-07:00

This is a cute craft that you can make with just a few items around the house, and flowers of course!

Supplies:

Crayons/colored pencils/markers

Paper

Glue

Flowers/leaves

We found our flowers and leaves right in our backyard. The girls chose the prettiest ones they could find to make the perfect flower fairy!

Then we drew our fairy heads and faces, glued on our fairy flower skirts, dresses and our leaf shoes. Jade gave her fairy pretty red rose boots, and Trinity's fairies all have magic wands!

The girls and I would love to see your flower fairy creations!

One of a kind Sneak Peek!

2011-08-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

In between changing diapers, making lunches, post office runs, folding laundry, sewing new orders, being mom taxi, and everything in between, I have somehow found the time to make special one of a kind items to soon be listed in my shop. My new one of a kind section will be just that, One of it's kind! I will list them as I make them starting in mid September, and once they're gone, well they're pretty much gone. I have so much beautiful knit fabric sitting here waiting to be sewn into something comfy and stylish! Knit is my favorite fabric to work with and it's so cute on little ones! Here's a sneak peek of a couple items coming soon!

Knit pink and gray striped Ruffle Bottom Pants!

Hello Kitty Knit Tank Dress!

Gia turns two!!

2011-08-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

We had a blast for Gia's 2nd Birthday party!! It was Strawberry Shortcake themed for the strawberry loving princess!!

Tutu dress by Peace Love and Kids

We all matched her theme!!

Strawberry shirts by Peace Love and Kids

Yummy Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes!!!

What would a party be without a face painter and a Strawberry Shortcake pinata!!

I still can't believe my baby is already 2!!!!

It seems like only yesterday she was just born...

Happy Birthday Gianna!!

It's still summer but we are ready for Halloween!!!

2011-08-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

Halloween is one of our FAVORITE holidays!!
The kids get a kick out of dressing up as someone or something else!

And Jade is such a natural in front of the camera! That girl can frown and her pic will come out great!!

The only way Gia would let me take these pictures was if I sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" the whole time! It's definitely a challenge getting pics of an almost 2 year old!

Find these and more Halloween styles at

www.peaceloveandkids.etsy.com

Winter 2011 Cute Kids Photo Contest!!

2011-01-21T11:21:00.000-08:00

Enter your little ones photo at www.facebook.com/peaceloveandkids to win one of three $20 gift certificates to my shop(www.peaceloveandkids.etsy.com)!! I have a unique selection of boys and girls clothes to choose from. The contest ends March 1, 2011. Winners will be announced here and on my facebook page.

So far we've gotten so many adorable photos I know it is going to be hard to choose a winner! Thankfully though everyone will win a coupon code just for entering!! Yay!

2011-01-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

Watermelons are so cute! So Spring!! I designed this ruffle bottom for my spring line because I just love the combo of pink and green, and watermelons(like strawberries and cherries) are so pretty! :) Such unlikely colors that look so darn cute together! I will definitely be making more with these two colors!