Random Delightful Gift: the Toddy Wedge

December 17, 2014 by 16 Comments

Here’s a random product that I tried out this fall that I have been meaning to share with you: the Toddy Wedge.

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It’s just a little bean-bag filled triangle thingy that you can use to prop up your phone. There’s no charger or anything like that, and it’s soft and squishy. You can use it as a hacky sack, which my kids have done.

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All it does is prop up your phone. While that might seem simple, it is, but it makes a huge difference when I am using the phone to display a recipe as I cook, or to play music or podcasts while I am sitting at my desk.

The Toddy Wedge has these advertised features:

Support for your iPhone, E-Reader, GPS or gaming devices without removing the case
100% microfiber for wiping screens clear of smudges and fingerprints
Dual-sided: Plush side to clean and silky side to polish screens

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No need for messy liquids or sprays that can harm your screen
Antimicrobial coating, preventing the build up of mold and mildew
Washable, air dry
Proudly Made in the USA

It’s only $14.99 plus about $4 shipping (for First Class mail) and the website takes PayPal. I unexpectedly love mine – anyone who receives a Wedge as a gift will likely do the same.

I received a free Wedge to facilitate this feature.

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The Outtakes Are Better Than the Final Shot: Humorous Christmas Card From Minted

December 10, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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I love Christmas cards so much. I save the ones I receive and bundle them up with a ribbon when I pack up all of our Christmas decorations. At the beginning of December, when it’s time to decorate for the holidays again, I pull them out and leaf through them. Sometimes I go back several years to when everyone’s kids were babies, comparing their little faces to what they look like now.

I love the gesture, the idea that someone was thinking about our family when they address the envelope to us. I hope they feel the love when they receive a card from us. And I hope it makes them smile.

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I quite enjoy going through the photos we take in preparation for our Christmas card. This year the experience was a little bit less hectic because my family knows the drill. As soon as the kids see me setting up the tripod and pulling out different shirts for them to wear, they’re on to me.

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Since the photos we don’t use are often more entertaining than the final one we pick, I decided to go with an outtakes theme. I didn’t force it – I set up the shot, gathered my kids and husband, and let my mom and dad stand behind the camera to press the button. Since I’ve been fussing with camera settings, of course I left it all on the completely wrong settings for the kind of light that was hitting us at Leo Carillo that day, so even after it seemed like we got a nice shot, I made everybody do it all over again.

Then I got all fancy and took more shots of the kids as the sun sank lower in the sky and the light became more golden. And then I got artsy. Well, as artsy as I can get. I’m not very artsy. I’m not even a good photographer. But I always like the photos we get during these shoots. They’re real, and they capture a moment in time, the best way you can pretend to freeze your family in this happy moment.

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Once we get home and I look through the shots, then it’s time to pick a card layout. With so many choices on minted, this year I wanted to use a design with a lot of photos on the front, and one on the back. These are the ones I played around with (also with the help of my friend Desiree who has an eye for this sort of thing): holiday collage our favorite moment

I especially love minted’s option for different backs of cards. The full card printed background is classy, but then you can add a photo and even text. This was one of my favorites:

Front

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Back

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I don’t like to share photos of our Christmas card until after they have been mailed out, so stay tuned for a later post when I add all the photos and a shot of the final card.

Minted is running a special right now – they will address your envelopes for FREE. You just have to upload your address book and make sure all the addresses are correct, and you can pick artsy fonts and logos and such for the front. Also today they have a deal – 15% off and free shipping on all holiday cards!

I received credit at minted to facilitate this 2-part series of posts.

 

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Kids Can Give Back With Charity Checks

November 26, 2014 by 15 Comments

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I want to model giving back for my children. I have done this with my work for Help a Mother Out, a group that gets diapers to needy families. I do it with my volunteering at their school, and we do it together when we prepare donations of our gently used goods to local charities, and non-perishable food for the food bank.

But giving the children the power to choose what charity they want to help? I’ve never come across an opportunity as easy as Charity Checks.

With Charity Checks, you donate money, and you get blank checks that total the amount of your donation. Then you give the blank checks to people as gifts. In turn, they fill out the recipient – any registered 503(c) charitible organization in the US – and send it in.

That means if you donate $50 and ask for two $25 checks, you can give one to each child (if you have two children, like I do) and they can choose what charity gets the money. So if you have a child who loves to conserve and recycle, he can choose a environmental charity. If you have one who cares deeply about animals, he can choose a shelter. If one of your children cares about babies, she can pick Help a Mother Out!

People purchase Charity Checks as business gifts for employees or clients. Instead of the “A Donation to ____ Has Been Made in Your Name” message, why not send a Charity Check and have the recipient pick the group of their choice?

You can order Charity Checks online, and they take PayPal! If you buy Charity Checks on Giving Tuesday (December 2), you aren’t just getting your holiday shopping done- you’re part of a movement to give back.

 

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