Gift Basket for a Baby Shower

by Jan

The very next time I'm pressed for time and need a gift basket for a baby shower or for a friend with a new baby, rather than stress myself out and lose sleep brainstorming ideas, I’m going to simply visit GourmetGiftBaskets.com and have them deliver one of their specialty baskets filled with goodies right to my door. Since I guess you might say that new babies are my business, I pride myself on filling gift boxes and baskets for new moms and newborn baby boys and girls with cute stuff that they might not think of buying for themselves.

That’s just what I do and that’s not going to change. However, what I have learned from the GourmetGiftBaskets.com review is that this company will relieve me of the responsibility of searching for and gathering snacks for mom and dad. With this taken care of all that’s left for me to do is perhaps tuck a personalized bib, onesie and pacifier inside and I‘m good to go. Talk about a timesaver and yes, it’s very affordable.

More often than not, the birth of a new baby is my primary reason for putting together a gift basket but there are many, many occasions that call for such a nice surprise. Holidays, birthdays; you name it! Practically any celebration can be made brighter and more festive with a basket of food, flowers and gifts.

The basket that they sent me to review was filled with snacks that would go over in a big way while waiting on a mother-to-be to deliver. I know my husband has enjoyed munching on the goodies and he has a fully stocked kitchen at his disposal!

And just so the recipient of your gift basket for a baby shower or other occasion is as pleased as I was with the contents of my basket, Gourmet Gift Baskets has all sorts of themed baskets to choose from including baskets filled with plants, flowers and corporate gifts as well as fruit, candy, cookies and many other gourmet foods.




GIFT BASKETS FOR NEW DADS

They have many different themes in gift baskets for a baby shower or other special occasion. If you would like to give one to dad, there are BBQ and even beer themed baskets that guys will go crazy over!



ABOUT GOURMETGIFTBASKETS.COM

I am so embarrassed that I haven’t been savvy enough to let GourmetGiftBaskets.com help me out long before now! Noticing their features in some of my favorite magazines like Woman’s Day, The New York Times, Food & Wine and Bon Appetit should have tipped me off. And even if that didn’t trigger a light bulb moment, there is really no excuse for my procrastination after seeing them on The Today Show, The Early Show, and on Fox news. My only excuse is that I’m a stubborn, DIY kind of lady and I was just too hardheaded to admit that a company could possibly put together a gift basket for a baby shower as good as I could. I still maintain that I can gather the best baby shower gifts, but I am finally seeing the light that buying a basket already filled with personalized snacks and then adding my own unique touches is the smart thing to do.

ABOUT THE GIFT BASKET

The first test that the company passed was a very fast delivery time. The next test which it passed with flying colors had to do with appearance of the basket which it passed with flying colors; with a slight fluffing of the colorful raffia bow, it was ready to go right out of the box.

The next hurdle was whether or not there were lots and lots of goodies in the basket and not just a few crackers and lots of “filler”. I took a quick inventory and to put it simply, there were no disappointments in this department.

There were savory cheese biscuits, peanuts, trail mix, pretzels and raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip and in the sweet category there were deliciously addictive key lime white chocolate chip cookies, almond pecan crunch, buttered pecan crunch, peanut roll and an organic coconut bar! Everything was tasty and fresh which means a lot!

In fact, it was packed so tightly that it would be difficult to squeeze in a few small baby items if I were preparing the gift basket for a baby shower. With determination, it would be possible to squeeze in a silver charm for mom and some baby socks but it would be a very tight fit. The best idea would be to wrap the gifts separately and attach them to the basket with a pink or blue ribbon rather than to have to unwrap and rewrap the basket.

NOW..would you like to win your own gift basket for a baby shower or other special occasion?


The rules of the gourmetgiftbasket.com Giveaway

Gourmetgiftbasket.com is so sure that you are going to be as impressed as I am with their wonderful goodie baskets that they are going to give one lucky winner the very same basket filled with gourmet snacks as the one they sent me to review.

As your MANDATORY ENTRY you must “Like” (become a fan) of their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/gourmetgiftbaskets and
LIKE Unique Baby Nursery Decorating Ideas as well posting on both walls and leaving your username in your comment/entry or it WILL NOT COUNT.

To score extra entries:

1. Check out Baby Gear Reviews Youtube videos, subscribe, leave a comment on one and return to tell us for 10 bonus entries


2. Follow me on Twitter and tweet: Check out the FREE Gourmet Gift Basket giveaway hosted by @msbaby – Enter to win here: https://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/free-baby-stuff.html shorten url and leave a comment. Tweet the basket giveaway DAILY and leave a comment.


3. Enter other contests for a chance to win FREE Baby Stuff like free diapers, carriers, etc. or gifts for moms! (1 entry for each contest you enter)


4.5 ENTRIES – Blog about the FREE gourmet gift basket giveaway linking to this page and provide a link to your post. (Post FIVE separate comments for this!)


5. 10 ENTRIES
Visit our nursery pictures gallery featuring the most beautifully decorated nurseries EVER entered in our BABY NURSERY PICTURES CONTEST and and vote for your favorite in the comments section then tell me where I can find your vote for 10 entries and be sure to tell the moms which of their nursery decorating ideas is your favorite.


6. Add my colorful little button with the pretty, pregger chick on it to the sidebar of your blog or website (if it’s already there, let me know (it won't count if it's on a page where nobody will see it) and post the link to your blog in your comment (2 separate entries) using THIS CODE:

7. Link to our baby blog on your blogroll (using my URL), with a link back! (10 entries)

8. Add a link to my Baby Shower Decorations blog to your website or blog (using the provided URL), with a link back to me! (10 entries)

9. Follow Unique Baby Shower Ideas in GFC (5 bonus entries)

The Unique Baby Gear giveaway will end on September 14th and is open to residents of the United States only (void where prohibited by law).

The winner of the free gourmet gift basket will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to confirm before a new winner is chosen.

Thanks to Gourmet Gift Baskets.com for the sponsorship and the delicious goodies and basket they sent me to review!

There is No Purchase Necessary to enter the prize and I received no compensation for my review or opinions.

How to Make a Wall Mural

by Jan

Learning how to paint a wall mural can take years but learning how to make a wall mural using decals takes no time at all. Who needs the hassle of taping off and covering the floors and everything else in a room that you don’t want splattered with paint? Why would you blow your budget to buy an expensive assortment of paints and brushes just to paint the baby’s nursery wall?


I’m sure the answer most new parents would give to those questions would be that they want their baby’s nursery to be attractively decorated and personalized to complement the rest of the décor. That’s certainly understandable, but my advice is to forget spending time and money taking art classes and painting lessons (unless your goal in life is to become a professional mural artist) and let wall stencils or a collection of wall stickers for kids do the work!

After reading many positive My Wonderful Walls reviews, I decided that maybe, just maybe, their wall decal kits might be something that even a klutzy chick such as myself could manage. Since Cassidy’s room was long overdue for a makeover, I contacted the company to see if they would sponsor a review and giveaway and they did! So, here we go!

I requested the Splendid Garden wall sticker kit which includes an amazing 62 wall stickers including a large tree decal and lots of colorful birds, a birdhouse, flowers, bugs, butterflies PLUS a snail, a frog and a peacock! To personalize the mural, they sent a street sign decal with Cassidy’s name on it! SWEET!

The stickers came on one large sheet rolled up in a tube and when I saw how large the main pieces of the mural were, it kind of threw me. Cassidy’s room is small like most modern kids’ bedrooms. She has a double bed, a dresser and a single window that leaves no large, open wall spaces whatsoever. After pondering the issue for a minute I came to the conclusion that this was not going to be a problem. That’s the beauty of learning how to make a wall mural with decals; you can create mini-tableaus. I actually liked this idea better than if I had had one big, empty wall to cover. Having more than one focal point in the bedroom worked very well.

We decided that the best place for the large tree decals was on the wall with the window to the right of the bed. I was very afraid that the tree’s limbs would all be stuck together and tear before I could smooth it on the wall. Some of the small branches did stick together but they were easy to separate and the sticker went on easy as could be!



Next I added leaves, flowers and the birds and birdhouse on and underneath the tree.


Oddly enough, the street sign was more of a challenge than the tree. If I had used a level and straight edge from the beginning it would have gone faster. Being the DIY dummy that I am, I tried to eyeball the signpost and hanger and they kept coming up crooked!

THE BOTTOM LINE of my review is that these decals are:

FAST

I learned how to make a wall mural in one hour or less. It took more time to get her bedroom walls painted than it did to make them look totally fabulous using the decals from My Wonderful Walls.

EASY to USE

The decals are EASY to apply and if you don’t like how they look in the first spot you put them they are easy to remove and relocate; the term peel and stick is accurate but you can actually peel and stick and stick again and again!

Mother AND Child approved:

Cassidy liked the color of her walls and the look of her room to start with, but she is IN LOVE with her room now that the walls are decorated. We couldn’t wait to invite her friends (and their moms) over to show them our handiwork. It’s so cool to complete a project that looks like it was so much more complicated than it actually was!

NOW..would you like to learn how to make a wall mural the quick and easy way like I did? You are invited to enter to win your own nursery wall stickers in our My Wonderful Walls Review and Giveaway and if you don’t win just buy a set; they aren’t that expensive. In fact, for the decorative impact they provide; they are darn cheap!


The details of the My Wonderful Walls Giveaway

mywonderfulwalls.com is so sure that you are going to be as knocked out as we are with their decals, stencil kits and kids wall art that they are going to give one lucky winner a $100 gift certificate to their store!

As your MANDATORY ENTRY you must “Like” (become a fan) of their Facebook page, and
LIKE Unique Baby Nursery Decorating Ideas as well posting on both walls and leaving your username in your comment/entry or it WILL NOT COUNT.


To score extra entries:

1. Follow My Wonderful Walls on Twitter.

2. Check out the video that we made that shows how easy it was to use these wonderful decals on Baby Gear Reviews Youtube videos, subscribe, leave a comment on one and return to tell us for 10 bonus entries


3. Follow msbaby on Twitter and tweet: Check out the My Wonderful Walls giveaway hosted by @msbaby – Enter to win here: shorten url and leave a comment and you can tweet the $100 gift card giveaway DAILY and leave a comment.


3. Enter other contests in addition to the My Wonderful Walls gift card giveaway for a chance to win FREE Baby Stuff like free diapers, carriers, etc. or gifts for moms! (1 entry for each contest you enter)


4. 5 ENTRIES – Blog about the $100 Gift Card giveaway good for products at My Wonderful Walls, link to this page and provide a link to your post. (Post FIVE separate comments for this!)


5. 10 ENTRIES
Visit our nursery pictures gallery to get even more ideas for how decals are being used to decorate nurseries from pics entered in our BABY NURSERY PICTURES CONTEST and and vote for your favorite in the comments section then tell me where I can find your vote for 10 entries and be sure to tell the moms which Unique Baby Gear Ideas is your favorite.


6. Add my colorful little button with the sassy, pregnant chick on it to the sidebar of your blog or website (if it’s already there, let me know (it won't count if it's on a page where nobody will see it) and post the link to your blog in your comment (2 separate entries) using THIS CODE:

7. Link to our baby blog (using my URL), with a link back to pick up (10 bonus entries)

8. Post a link to Baby Shower Decorations blog to your own website or blog (using the provided URL), with a link back to me for (10 more entries)

9. Become a follower of Unique Baby Shower Ideas in GFC (5 bonus entries)

The Free Gift Card giveaway will end on September 14, 2011 and is open to residents of the United States only (void where prohibited by law).

The winner of the $100 gift card to My Wonderful Walls will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to confirm before a new winner is chosen.

Thanks to My Wonderful Walls for their sponsorship and for the really cute wall decals kits that they sent me to review!

There is No Purchase Necessary to enter to win the free gift card and I received no compensation for my review or opinions.

Is Baby Sleeping Through the Night

by Jan

The first thing we ask new moms and dads is usually, "Is baby sleeping through the night?" and if the answer to that question is NO we know that mommy and daddy aren’t getting a good night’s sleep either. As all new parents know, the amount of sleep we get is directly influenced by baby’s sleep patterns.

So, what do we do if baby is not sleeping through the night? Do we just brew another pot of coffee, work out a sleep schedule where everybody does a shift and just suffer until things sort themselves out? The truth is that every infant has a sleepless night at some time or another. That being said, there are some tips and tricks to help baby sleep better so that we can do the same.


BABY SLEEP PROBLEM SOLVING

One of the best places to start is to create the best atmosphere in the nursery to get baby sleeping through the night without waking. This has been a challenge for me since my house is anything but quiet what with the television, music and traffic noise that I can’t seem to eliminate no matter how hard I try. That's where the a white noise machine like the Sound+Sleep sound therapy system comes in very handy.

THE SOUND+SLEEP MACHINE

The machine arrived at a great time since our neighbors (whose driveway is right by the bedroom window) have started slamming car doors and coming and going at odd hours of the night waking the girls up making it necessary for me to get up and settle them back down again. Night after night of broken sleep had left us feeling exhausted and I needed some relief.

I didn’t waste any time unpacking the machine to take a look and a listen. The sleep machine is very compact and it’s black and silver so it doesn’t clash with the baby’s nursery decor. The controls are so easy to read and use that I didn’t have to refer to the instructions manual to turn it on unlike our new clock radio that was so complicated that I almost sent it back.




PICK a SOUND

Right off the bat, the husband and I listened to all of the sounds on the dial. He liked the ocean sound setting and I’m torn between the meadow sounds and the rain setting. The sounds of the crickets chirping are very relaxing, but if I have to choose the sound of the rain would probably be my favorite.

Since everyone has their own idea of what is or isn’t relaxing and restful, the SOUND+SLEEP machine also has sounds of a

• Crackling fire
• The rhythmic clacking of a train
• City Noises
• The sound of a waterfall
• New age meditation sounds
• White noise

SETTING the VOLUME

One of the questions that I had was how high should I set the volume to mask the noises. I shouldn’t have concerned myself with this because I quickly learned just how smart this little gadget is and that it eliminates loud noises by automatically raising the volume slightly until the noise has subsided. For example, when the noisy neighbors crank up the racket in the middle of the night, the SOUND+SLEEP will automatically turn up the volume just enough to mask the noise. Isn’t technology grand? It is grand indeed especially when it WORKS! And since the SOUND+SLEEP arrived, the entire house has been sleeping more!

In addition to the volume, you can set the sleep timer to turn it off in for 30, 60, 90, 120 minutes if you don’t want the machine to run all night long although I can’t imagine why you would want to turn it off! You can also turn the display lights on and off, control the sensitivity or how it adapts to noises.

You really should get one of these baby white noise machines so that the next time someone asks you, Is baby sleeping through the night, you can smile and say YES! When you are responsible for taking care of a newborn, sleeping pills may not be a very good idea so it’s good to know there are other ways to get a little rest that are completely drug free!

NOW..would you like to own a SOUND+SLEEP system to help both you and your baby sleep through the night?


You can buy a Sound+Sleep for $99.99 on their website and you can also enter for a chance to win a machine which would be a free baby product that any new mom or dad will appreciate. Don’t worry about ending up with more than one; just put one in your bedroom and the other in the nursery or one of the kids’ rooms.



Here are the rules of the SOUND+SLEEP Giveaway

soundofsleep.com is so sure that you are going to be as impressed as I am with the improvement in your sleeping schedule that they are going to give one lucky winner the very same sleep machine as the one they sent me to review.

As your MANDATORY ENTRY you must answer the question “Is baby sleeping through the night?” AND tell me which of the sounds that you think you will love the best and
LIKE Unique Baby Nursery Decorating Ideas as well posting on both walls and leaving your username in your comment/entry or it WILL NOT COUNT.


To score extra entries:

1. Watch one of Baby Gear Reviews Youtube videos, subscribe, leave a comment on one and return to tell us for 10 bonus entries


2. Follow and check out the Sound+Sleep Machine giveaway hosted by @msbaby – Enter to win here: https://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/free-baby-stuff.html shorten url and leave a comment. Tweet the white noise machine giveaway DAILY and leave a comment.


3. Enter one or more of Unique Baby Gear Ideas’ contests for a chance to win FREE Baby Stuff like free diapers, baby carriers, etc. or gifts for moms! (1 entry for each contest you enter)


4.5 ENTRIES – Blog about the white noise machine giveaway linking to this page and provide a link to your post. (Post FIVE separate comments for this!)


5. 10 ENTRIES
Visit our gallery of baby nursery pictures featuring the most beautifully decorated nurseries EVER entered in our BABY NURSERY PICTURES CONTEST and and vote for your favorite in the comments section then tell me where I can find your vote for 10 entries and be sure to tell the moms which of their baby nursery ideas is your favorite.


6. Add my site’s button with the pretty, pregnant mom on it to the sidebar of your blog or website (if it’s already there, let me know (it won't count if it's on a page where nobody will see it) and post the link to your blog in your comment (2 separate entries) using THIS CODE:

https://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/images/ubgibutton.jpg

7. Link to our baby blog (using my URL), with a link back! (10 entries)

8. Add a link to our Baby Nursery Room Ideas blog to your site or blog (using the provided URL), with a link back to me! (10 entries)

9. Follow Unique Baby Shower Ideas in GFC (5 bonus entries)

The Is Baby Sleeping Through the Night giveaway will end on September 14, 2011 and is open to residents of the United States only (void where prohibited by law).

The winner of the SOUND+SLEEP white noise machine will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to confirm before a new winner is chosen.

Thanks to Sound of Sleep for their sponsorship and the sleep machine they sent me to review!

There is No Purchase Necessary for entry into the “Is Baby Sleeping Through the Night” giveaway contest and I received no compensation for my review or opinions.