Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Have fun!

The Woogie!!

Serenity's Woogie arrived Friday!


It's so cute and Serenity loves it!


It's very cuddly and fun to play with too!


I think it's a good product overall. It would nice if the Woogie came in different colors (like pink!), but the green is pretty and just right for girls and boys.

Serenity's iTouch fit in the Woogie's protective pocket without taking off her Trident Aegis case. That's a bonus! The Velcro keeping the pocket closed is very secure so no worries about the iTouch falling out.

The built-in speaker is on the bottom of the Woogie and you plug a short jack into the iTouch. The jack is attached to a small box that holds the batteries and is easily accessible in one of the legs (arms?). The speaker itself is not accessible at all. The sound quality on the speaker is pretty good - no distortions that I can detect and not overly loud.

It's a snap to use headphones instead of the speaker while the iTouch is secure in the Woogie.

I love how posable the Woogie's legs (petals?) are! It's very comfortable for kids to use.

Another bonus: it's a lot easier to find the Woogie compared to a smaller case - and harder to misplace!

On the downside, you can't wash the Woogie like you would a stuffed animal - you'd ruin the speaker. You can spot clean it, and a friend who is worried about dust mites said that vacuuming it might be a good alternative to putting in the washing machine.

The only real gripe I have about the Woogie is the thick plastic that covers the protective pocket. It sticks (and I mean sticks) to the iTouch so it's sorta a challenge to get it in and out of the pocket. The thick plastic also makes it a little difficult to play the iTouch.

Since Serenity's Aegis case fits perfectly inside the Woogie's protective pocket, and the iTouch already has a screen protector on it, I took the advice of a friend and cut off that thick plastic. You can't even tell I did it! Now it's no problem to slide it in and out of the pocket and easier to access the iTouch screen.

Even though Serenity had a little bit of a problem using her iTouch with that thick plastic over the protective pocket, I highly recommend the Woggie.
Serenity has become attached to it very quickly - it really is a huggable new friend!

Serenity's festive dress is from courtneycourtney and her funky fringe pants are from Tag You "R" It!


Have fun!!

GIVEAWAY: Shabby Apple Little Girl's Dress!

You can win this beautiful little girl's dress for your baby girl from The Shabby Apple!

It's called Not-Your-Mama's Mumu! It's a loose-fitting comfortable but still very girly dress with a whimsical paisley pattern and pretty fuchsia pink border around the neckline and bottom. I love the little puffy sleeves! It's made using a soft and silky light-weight charmeuse. Perfect for Spring and Summer!

To Enter:

Just head over to Shabby Apple on Facebook and "Like" their page. Then come back here and leave a comment telling me you did!

Extra Entries:
*Leave a Separate Comment for each!*

1. Tell me your favorite women's dress or little girl's dress from Shabby Apple.
Example: My favorite women's dress is Cider!

2. Follow Treasures for Tots and leave a comment telling me you're now a follower!
If you're already a follower, don't forget to leave a comment too!
Example: I'm a stalker now!
or
I've been stalking you forever!

3. Become a Treasures for Tots Facebook fan and leave a comment telling me you're a FB fan!
Example: I'm a T4T's Facebook Fan!

4. Follow Treasures for Tots on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you're a Twitter follower!
If you're already a follower, don't forget to leave a comment too!
Example: I follow T4T on Twitter!
or
I've been a follower of T4T on Twitter!

5. Follow Shabby Apple on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you're a Twitter follower!
Example: I follow Shabby Apple on Twitter!

6. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment (and a link) telling me you did!
Example: Check out Treasures for Tots @http://tinyurl.com/4l7aryz for a chance to WIN a Shabby Apple dress!
www.twitter/myprofile

7. Share this Giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment (and a link) telling me you did!
Example: Check out Treasures for Tots @http://tinyurl.com/4l7aryz for a chance to WIN a Shabby Apple Dress!
www.facebook/myprofile

8. Blog about this Giveaway and leave a comment (and a link) telling me you did!
Example: I blogged about the Shabby Apple Giveaway! Here's the link: www.iluvshabbyapple.com

9. Purchase any of the lovely women's or little girl's dresses from Shabby Apple (you can use the code treasuresfortots10off for 10% off your purchase) and you're eligible for 6 extra entries! Just make sure to leave your transaction # in your comments.
Example: I made a purchase from Shabby Apple! Trans. #1234 (Comment #1)


That's a grand total of 15 chances to WIN!

Rules:

1. Sorry, only US residents please!
2. Giveaway ends on Saturday February 19th at 12AM (Central time).
3. Make sure to leave your email address in your comment if it isn't available through your blog or profile! I need to be able to contact you if you win!

Good luck and Have fun!

NEW Banner!

Steven Novak updated my banner again for me - for the third time! I love it!

Back in 2009 I contacted Steven for the first time, and told him my idea for a banner. He was so gracious to agree to work with me!

As usual I'm very pleased with his beautiful results!

Steven specializes in children illustrations - I love his amazing artwork! He has also written a fantasy adventure novel called Forts (it has a 5-star rating on Amazon). You can find the Forts Facebook fan page here. Forts is the first book in a series, and Steven is currently working on the other two novels now. He does all his own illustrations for the novel too - of course!

He even has a webcomic called the Bad Guys. How cool is that?!

He's so talented! It's been wonderful working with him, and being there (so to speak) while he creates something so personal for my blog.

As Serenity has gotten older, my banner has evolved. Steven has always been wonderful about adding those little extra details that makes it so special. All the fun things that Serenity is interested in doing at her age are there! It's been interesting to watch little things added - and some things taken away.

So if you're looking around for something very unique and fun for your banner and buttons - go check out Steven Novak's awesome illustrations!! You'll be very happy you did!

Don't forget to grab one of my buttons before you leave!

Have fun!

And the WINNER is...

Meredith!

Congratulations!

I just sent you an email!

Please make sure to contact me with your mailing address so I can send your delicious raspberry (or chocolate) filled King Cake right away!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who participated!


Have fun!

iPod Touch 4 Review, Apps and Cases

REVIEW:

First of all, everyone who reads my blog knows by now I love the iTouch and how much I believe it has helped to improve Serenity's reading, math and verbal skills. I should be an Apple rep because I tell everybody how awesome the iTouch is - but especially how great it is for kids! I think it's better than the Leapfrog and DS - which are totally outdated in my opinion. The future is data that be easily downloaded. It makes no sense to buy an educational $20 game cartridge when you can download an educational game for less than $5 in most cases.

My niece gave Serenity an old DS and some game cartridges a few months ago, and the first thing she did was touch the screen to play and when nothing happened declared "Mommy it's not working"!! Too funny!

The newest iTouch will definitely blow you away. It's slimmer, holds more data, has two cameras, a microphone, better speakers, records video, allows you to FaceTime with friends, and can playback just about any type of media you can think of. If you can, I would suggest the 64GB model. You'll need that extra space if you intend to put movies and TV shows on it. You will use it!
A few of the things on the newest iTouch your 4-year old might not use. Like email, web browser, and the game center. But a there is much more on the newest iTouch they will use - FaceTime, music, photos, video, camera, etc. And once they get the hang of their iTouch (it won't take long believe me), you'll be amazed at what they will learn!
Serenity and her friend Hannah FaceTime all the time. I showed Serenity how to do it and she might not be able to read yet, but she knows that Hannah starts with a "H" and can find it in her contacts. I guess "Hannah" is one of Serenity's sight words! She can also pick out "Paige", "Lizzy", "Mommy", and "Daddy" with no problem. Paige is my sister and Serenity will FaceTime with her too, "Paige starts with a 'P' Mommy - I know that!". I'm constantly amazed how much she's learned how to do.

The camera is something else she picked up with no problem - of course. She's been practicing on my phone for months. She's always been a bit peeved that her iTouch didn't have a camera but my iPhone did! Brat!

Here's a few pictures I took with Serenity's iTouch (I haven't retouched these pictures at all, they are SOOTC):

This is Serenity and her friend Hannah with their Bamboletta dolls. I made the outfits the dolls are wearing!

And here's Serenity posing so pretty for me in her OOAK courtneycourtney halter dress and new Day Bloomers from Little Mave.




I really have nothing bad to say about the new iTouch. Battery life is great - better than the old one for sure. The LCD screen is beautiful - everything looks so crisp, clear and bright! The camera could be better - but I'm really not complaining - I'm very glad there is one (well, two actually)! So no complaints from me - grab one for your child and you too while you're at it!

Oh and I highly suggest getting the Apple AV cable for your car and home. It works with all the i-Devices. Cuts down on the amount of DVDs you'll haul around your car and I even use it to connect Serenity's iTouch to her TV so she can watch TV episodes and movies I bought through iTunes.


CASES:

The iTouch 4 is slimmer. That's a plus and a minus. Of course it looks great and it's lighter, but I've noticed cases that offer the best protection don't seem to fit it as well anymore. And like I've said before, you don't hand over a device this expensive to a child unless it's well protected - period.

For example, the Otterbox for the older iTouch is excellent - no complaints whatsoever. It's proven it's worth to me over and over. Serenity has dropped that thing so many times and never broke it! The Otterbox for the iTouch 4 ($39.95) however seems more flimsy. I'm afraid if Serenity dropped it her iPod would break. The silicone case is not form-fitting and it's thinner. I'm very disappointed in the newest Otterbox case. The side-by-side silicone plugs (there are two) over the charger and headphone ports are difficult to keep in place. They come undone all the time so they really aren't doing their job - which is to keep dust out of the ports. The thin film screen protector is fine, although Serenity has problems when she plays iWriteWords and Intro into Letters. Sometimes it's hard for her to trace the letters. The cases come in pretty colors though - the older case was only available in black, the new one is available in 6 different colors.

Before the Otterbox for the iTouch 4 was available, I tried two other cases. One was the Trident Aegis ($24.95). It's a silicone case covered with a hard polycarbonate shell. It fits pretty snug - including the port covers, and offers good protection. It has a very solid feel to it compared to the Otterbox case. It comes with a screen protector that I had no problem installing (but I rather the Zagg or Splash Masque). A thin film covers the camera and speaker openings. Because it may be a little difficult to insert some headphone jacks, the Aegis comes with an audio jack extender. Nice. I really don't have any complaints about this case, except for maybe the color. I bought pink for Serenity and it's sorta a dull and boring pink. Really just a cosmetic complaint rather than a functional one. I do believe this case will protect the iTouch from a serious fall - exactly as advertised.

The case I bought the same time I bought Serenity's iPod was the Griffin Flexgrip Action case (15.99). This silicone case is only available black. It offers a nice molded grip and a strap. It's a good case and sits comfortably in your hands, but I wouldn't trust it to protect your iTouch from serious falls. For that reason, I think it's okay for older children (8 & up), but not the younger ones. It doesn't offer a screen protector either. For that, I would recommend the Splash Masque (inexpensive and fairly easy to install) or a Zagg.

Okay if you don't know this already, the Zagg is extremely hard to install if you've never done it before. And really, where are you going to get practice for something like that? I've read the reviews - which are mostly bad because of the difficulties installing it and few of the reviews have anything to do with how well the screen performs.

This past weekend I bought a Zagg for my iPad and I didn't even bother installing it myself. Taking the advice of a friend, I brought it to Best Buy and let them install the Zagg. It cost me $14.99 - but so what? It went on perfect and it feels great. MUCH better than the screen protector that came with the iPad Otterbox (I'm not even going to go there right now) - and no more unresponsive issues. I'm not positive, but I bet it's less for Best Buy to install a Zagg for your iTouch.

Okay, so to sum it all up: I love the bright pretty colors of the Otterbox cases but don't completely trust them to protect the iTouch from a serious fall. I really like the solid feel of the Trident Aegis case but can't stand their dull colors!

One more case I'd like to talk about is the Woogie from Griffin Tech ($19.99). I definitely want to try this case - which isn't simply a case, more like a huggable friend! You put the iTouch (or iPhone) in the protective case on the Woogie, and then plug in the audio jack for the built-in speakers. You can mold Woogie into all kinds of comfortable positions for viewing and playing media on the iTouch. One thing you can't do is use the back camera while it's in the Woogie.

I would still like to try it. It's finally available again, so I'll probably order it. I'll post my review on the Woogie after Serenity tries it out.



It's been so hard to find a truly kid-friendly case for the iTouch 4 - I wonder why? My child isn't the only one that has one - more and more parents are seeing the benefits of buying them for their children too. Hopefully we'll see more case like the Woogie soon.

I would recommend a full coverage Zagg if you decide to purchase the Woogie, it'd be nice to have that extra protection against scratches.

Oh and Serenity has a bad habit of chewing on her headphones when she watches a movie on her iTouch. I've bought so many darn cute pairs and they are all in the trash now. No more! So I found these light headphones on Amazon and grabbed two pairs. They have a high rating, super cheap pricetag and FREE shipping w/Prime. Until my Darling Stinker stops her chewing, I'm sticking with the cheaps ones!



APPS (iTouch 4, iPhone or iPad only):

Adobe Photoshop Express - Serenity doesn't use this App, but I do! I've been using her iTouch to take pictures because it's better than my iPhone 3G. I have it on my iPhone and love using it - very quick and simple and produces pretty good results.
Smack Talk - Now that the iTouch has a microphone, Serenity can play with one of her favorite silly apps! And I can take this annoying app off my iPhone!!
Pandora - Who doesn't love Pandora? I've programmed it with all kiddie stations for Serenity!
Whistle Phone - Turn your child's iTouch into a phone using WiFi. Any WiFi - Serenity used it at Starbucks the other day. And yes it really works - for free. I've set it up for Serenity and she calls her friend Hannah and her Daddy when he's at work. You can call landlines and cell phones - all free but you'll have to listen to a 30 second advertisement first. If the person you're calling also has a Whistle number, then you don't hear the advertisement. This app along with Textie (or any free texting app) makes it pointless to buy kids cell phones and pay a big monthly bill!


MORE APPS (all iDevices):

Build a Word - This app is teaching Serenity sight words. It's based on the PBS show, WordWorld, and it's a highly educational, fun, kid-approved game.
BugMath - An educational game that will hold your child's attention while doing an excellent job of teaching them Math.
Monster Falls - Keep the monster from touching the sides as he falls to the bottom of the cave. Easy and fun for little kids to play!
Tumble Drop - A sweet challenging puzzle game for kids. Basically you try to keep your star from falling into the water - but not as easy as you'd think.
Strawberry Shortcake - Make fruit smoothie drinks in Strawberry Shortcake's cafe. Other characters like Orange Blossom, Blueberry Muffin, and Lemon Meringue pop in from time to time too! Fun game that becomes more and more of a challenge. Great for little kids.
Zoo Lasso - Catch the animals! Simple and fun - your kids might find it addicting!
Kosmo Spin - Save your breakfast from an alien in a flying saucer! Serenity laughed at me cause the alien captured me so quickly when I played. Very cute game and totally kid-approved.
Zoo Resuce - Simple and fun! Great game for little kids.
Tutti Fruity - A matching game. Get 3 or more fruits in a row until you clear the level.
Disney Princess Dress Up - Doesn't really matter what this game does - it's got Disney Princesses in it and that makes Serenity happy.
Corporal Cup's Food Camp - Highly addicting cooking game - one of Serenity's favorites. But she's come across a glitch and the game refuses to go to the next level. I can't figure it out and for her sake I hope they fix the problem soon.
My Very First App - Beautiful artwork and wonderful for kids. It's an educational matching game with illustrations from the author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Dino Train - This app is based on the PBS show Dino Train. Find and match dino eggs. Cute game, but sometimes it's hard to find the eggs. Serenity still likes it so I guess it's okay!
Jungle Time - Learn how to tell time. Very easy and it's teaching her how to tell time - for only 99 cents. Right now Serenity is learning how to tell just the hour - not the minutes - but that probably won't be much longer! I like how well this app teaches your child to tell the time.
Monkeyin' Around - Fun game. Keep the clowns from falling on the ground!
Park Math - Duck Duck Moose makes some of the best kid apps so anytime there is a new one I buy it - Serenity enjoys playing all of them.
Baa Baa Black Sheep - Another one from Duck Duck Moose. Cute songs, shapes, and numbers - and kid-approved.
Intro to Letters - Educational and it works. Serenity is learning how to write her letters. The only thing is if you have a screen protector make sure it's a good one - sometimes the screen isn't as responsive as I'd like - it gets a bit frustrating when she tries three or four times in a row to draw a letter and it doesn't work!
Intro to Math - Same as above - it's educational, it works, and Serenity likes it.
Zoo Spelling - Cute, but I find it kinda of boring. Serenity does seem to enjoy playing it though.
Preschool 123 - Nicely done little app. It's helping Serenity learn her numbers in a new way.


Here's one more picture taken with Serenity's iTouch:



Have fun!

King Cake GIVEAWAY!!

Happy Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras season is here again!

I'd like to share the celebration of our Carnival Season, so I'm having another Giveaway for a delicious filled King Cake!

The King Cake will be baked fresh from Houma's last true hometown bakery, Bertinot's Best Bakery, and shipped by USPS 2nd day mail.

It's simple to enter!

Just leave a comment telling me you'd like either a traditional cinnamon King Cake, or a yummy (you pick!) filled King Cake!

*Fillings are: apple, blueberry, chocolate, lemon, pineapple, raspberry, Bavarian cream, cherry, cream cheese,pecan praline or strawberry.*

If you win, I'll ship the King Cake you picked!

A few people have asked me what my favorite filling is, well that would be the cream cheese filling!! YUMMY!! But I really like the pecan praline too. I think a combo of the two would send me into a permanent coma! But oh my!! I'd drift off totally happy!!

Extra Entries:
*Leave a Separate Comment for each!*

1. Follow Treasures for Tots and leave a comment telling me you're now a follower!
If you're already a follower, don't forget to leave a comment too!
Example: I'm a stalker now!
or
I've been stalking you forever!

2. Become a Treasures for Tots Facebook fan and leave a comment telling me you're a FB fan!
Example: I'm a T4T's Facebook Fan!

3. Follow Treasures for Tots on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you're a Twitter follower!
If you're already a follower, don't forget to leave a comment too!
Example: I follow T4T on Twitter!
or
I've been a follower of T4T on Twitter!

4. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment (and a link) telling me you did!
Example: Check out Treasures for Tots http://tinyurl.com/4mp2rbd for a chance to WIN a KING CAKE!

5. Share this Giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment (and a link) telling me you did!
Example: Check out Treasures for Tots http://tinyurl.com/4mp2rbd for a chance to WIN a KING CAKE!

www.facebook/myprofile

6. Blog about this Giveaway and leave a comment (and a link) telling me you did!
Example: I blogged about the Giveaway! Here's the link: www.feltfortunecookiegiveaway.com

7. Like my T4T Big Cartel store and leave a comment telling me you did!
Example: I like your T4T Big Cartel store!

Rules:

1. Only US please!
2. Giveaway ends on Wednesday, February 9th at 12AM (Central time).
3. Make sure to leave your email address in your comment! I need to be able to contact you if you win!


Have Fun and Good Luck!

Treasures for Tots GIVEAWAY!!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I released ( in my Treasures for Tots Big Cartel store) my first pair of original Mary Janes I designed for Serenity's Bamboletta doll


Since then I've released my cute little T-Mary Janes:

And Ballerina shoes too:

Zozobugbaby is hosting a GIVEAWAY for my sweet doll sweater pattern:

And TWO pairs of my original Mary Janes!
I made the little sweet hearts from polymer clay - so cute!



Two lucky people will win!
So head over to ZozoBugBaby to find out how to enter!
The GIVEAWAY ends Friday!

Have fun!!

Crochet Mary Jane Doll Shoes

I feel very lucky that I was able to get a lovely Bamboletta doll named Haven for Serenity last year for her 4th Birthday in October. They are in high demand and extremely hard to get. My husband and I even built a fun poster bed for little Haven. I did take some pictures to share how we put it together, and haven't gotten around to posting them on my blog yet. I will try to get that up soon!

In the teaser picture below, you can see my husband carrying the bed (we hid it and waited to surprise Serenity instead of wrapping it), but it's not completely finished. Since I shot this picture, I've made the pillow look more like a mattress and sewed a bigger quilt. I still want to create a few more things for the bed (like make a matching sheet), but I've been so busy with other projects!



I've had plans to make all kinds of new clothes and accessories for Serenity's sweet little doll. I even handmade a few crochet sweaters. You can find the crochet pattern I designed in my Treasures for Tots Big Cartel store.

Recently I also designed some little crochet Mary Jane shoes for Haven. I created the shoes to fit snug around the little round Bambo foot without falling off, but easy enough for kids to slip on fairly easy. I also added a sweet tiny heart button I handmade! I'd never worked with polymer clay before, so I followed a wonderful how-to video on youtube to learn the basic skills I needed to make my own buttons.

The first upload of shoes went up in my Big Cartel store a couple of weeks ago at a special introductory price and to my surprise all nine pairs sold in a matter of minutes! Another upload went up this past Friday and again every pair sold - this time eighteen pairs!! I'm planning to make Fridays my regular upload day. Don't forget to check out the new colors that will be available for the next upload!



One of my all-time favorite designers, courtneycourtney, got a big shipment of Mary Janes and took some beautiful pictures of her doll wearing them. Her sweet Bambo looks so adorable, and I love how she mismatched the shoes!

Make sure you "like" courtneycourtney's Facebook Fan page for a chance to snag your own pretty doll dresses and rompers!




While designing these, I tried to keep in mind children would be playing with them so they had to be durable and easy to get on but something that wouldn't fall off the foot. They had to fit snug, but not too tight. And of course, they had to be cute! In the end (after trying other options), I settled on this design.

I do have plans on the drawing board for new designs that will be released hopefully soon!
Stay tuned to my Treasures for Tots Facebook Fan page for all the latest updates!

Have fun!!

Crochet Waldorf Doll Sweater Pattern

I love the sweet little knitted sweaters for Waldorf dolls, but I haven't knitted in years and I remember it took me forever to make anything!

I really wanted to make one for Serenity's doll, so I decided to create a my own little sweater but crocheting it instead - since I'm much better at that and could probaby make a Waldorf doll sweater pretty quick.

After some practice sweaters and a bit of tweaking, I came up fun and easy pattern. It's very simple (no sewing pieces together), and could probably be completed by most in a couple of hours or less.

One day though, I still want to try actually knitting a doll sweater - even if it takes me three times longer than crocheting!

You can find my pattern for sell at my Treasures for Tots Big Cartel store:

http://treasuresfortots.bigcartel.com/

Have fun!

First DIY Doll for Kids!

Courtney from courtneycourtney, posted a picture of the cutest little dolls made with the coloring sheets she shared last year on her blog.

What a cool project to do with your kids!
I immediately wanted to make one with Serenity.

So I gathered a few supplies:

Cotton fabric
Vintage Nursery Rhymes fabric
Fabric markers
Polyfil
Water soluble pen (or a pencil - write very lightly)
Iron
Wax paper
courtneycourtney coloring sheet
My temperamental printer


I enlarged one of the coloring sheets using PowerPoint.
I wanted to print the image on a 8.5" x 14" piece of fabric.

Then I watched a video how-to and read through and excellent tutorial (with plenty of pictures) how to print whatever you want on fabric using wax paper, an iron and your printer.
They have the SAME printer I do - so I knew it could be done on mine, even though I've tried several times before and never succeeded.
This time I was very determined!!

After a hour of patience (yeah, right), I finally got my printer to work!

Serenity colored the picture using Crayola Fabric Markers.

Next I followed the directions on box of markers and ironed the design on the wrong side for 4 minutes.
You can also throw it in the dryer for 30 minutes on high heat.

I cut out 8.5" x 14" piece of vintage nursery rhyme fabric, place the fabrics right sides together, then using a water soluble pen I traced an outline around the design.
If you make any mistakes while drawing the outline, you can use a damp cloth to erase them.

I sewed right over the line I drew around the design, then cut it out with a 1/4" seam.
Leave the bottom open for stuffing.

Cut around all curves so the doll will lay flat when you turn it inside out.

Give the doll to your child and let them stuff it.
Serenity calls the polyfil "fluff"!

Make sure the opening at the bottom is large enough for your child to fill the doll with fluff.

Just right!

Then I sewed up the bottom, and wrote (using the fabric markers) how old Serenity was when she completed her first DIY doll!
To set the ink, I threw her in the dryer for a bit.

All done!
Great job!
Serenity is very proud of her work!


Have fun!