DeterminedMomma.com Birthday Bash Giveaway!!!

Welcome to Determined Momma's Birthday Bash, hosted by DeterminedMomma.com!

May 11th, 2012 is the day that Brooke of Diary of a Determined Momma turns 24 and to celebrate, we're working together to throw a party for all of our readers with amazing prizes!

A Note from Brooke-
Hello Everyone! This is my first birthday since I've been blogging, so I wanted to find a way to give back to the readers who keep my blog turning and give me a reason to put those dishes off just a little longer! The prizes are sponsored by some businesses that I love, including my closest friend. I hope you enjoy the giveaway and help me get this birthday bash rolling with some love for all of the work-at-home mommas, momma made businesses, and bloggers that I love. Thanks so much and I hope to give you many more of these in the months to come. I appreciate every one of you!
-Brooke

Brooke supports work-at-home-moms and small businesses, so you'll be winning prizes from some of those wonderful ladies.

Grand Prize: Mary Kay Microdermabrasion Kit ($55 value)- Sponsored by Tiffini Mills, Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant.

Other Prizes:

• $24 Cash, Provided by DeterminedMomma.com
• One Set of Nail Shields from Jamberry Nail Shields by Yessy Garcia
• Two Packs of Eco-Orbies (See the review on these HERE)
• One Pure Romance Hot Heart Massager, sponsored by Life In Texas

In total, there will be 5 winners and you can't be one of them if you don't enter! Entry is easy, just use the rafflecopter form below!
Giveaway is open to US only and will run from May 11, 2012 to May 21, 2012 at 11:59PM EST. Winners will be contacted via email and will have 48 to respond and claim prize. Bloggers involved in giveaway are not responsible for prize delivery. Questions on prizes or giveaway may be directed to determinedmommadiary@gmail.com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Travalo Americas Review & Giveaway

     I love it when my blog gives me the opportunity to try new, interesting products. Travalo Americas Refillable Perfume Spray Bottle is one of those products. You're probably sitting there wondering what I'm talking about, so let me tell you.

     Travalo makes it easy to take your perfume on the go. My favorite perfume is in an 8.4 oz bottle. Also, many perfumes come in glass bottles. Large or glass bottles make traveling with perfume a hassle. You're worried about it spilling or breaking or there simply isn't room. I'm not one to carry a huge purse, so there's no way to fit my large perfume bottle in my purse.

     Now that I have a Travalo, I don't have to worry about it. I can fill my Travalo with just 3 easy steps and be on my way. First, you simply remove the plastic spray top from your chosen perfume bottle. Second, insert the perfume pump stick into the filling station on the bottom of the spray bottle. Last, press down firmly and repeatedly to fill the spray bottle. That's it! No spilling and no mess.

     Some other great things about Travalo is that their refillable perfume spray bottles are aircraft approved and safe for carry-on luggage. They're made from the same aluminum material as high tech aircraft, which means that it's extremely light and strong. There are no glass parts, so you don't have to worry about it breaking. And, 98% of Travalo's components are recyclable!

     From today until May 13th, Travalo Americas is offering 20% off to Life in Texas readers. Use the coupon code ROCKINMOM to get your discount. This code is valid only at Travalo Americas. Also, Travalo Americas is going to give one Life in Texas reader their very own Travalo Refillable Perfume Spray Bottle.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

***Disclaimer: I may have received products at no or reduced cost to help facilitate my review. No money exchanged hands and the opinions expressed above are 100% my own.***

Preschool Flower Pots

   
     The reaction to the flower pots in my Eco Orbies Review post was both large and positive. So, I thought I'd show you how we made them. I got the idea from Preschool Crafts for Kids. They used old milk jugs, to make "green" flower pots.We tried that, and they're cute. However, I didn't like how flimsy the flower pot was. Also, if you let the kid carry it, there's a chance that they'll push the edges in (because it's flimsy) and then the fabric scraps come off.

     Here's what we did. First, we went to Dollar Tree and bought some eccentric ceramic flower pots. They're small (each holding about 2 cups of dirt/Orbies), but they were only a dollar!

     When we got home, I went through my craft bin to find fabric. I let the girls choose 2 fabrics (one mostly solid color and one print). They wanted to use the same two, which was fine with me. If you're going to buy fabric for this craft, check the remnants bins. Both of the fabrics that we used came from the remnants bun. Then I cut 1x1 squares out of their chosen fabrics. If you have a rotary cutter, use it! I don't know exactly how many pieces each pot took, but remember that the pieces will overlap, so you really need more fabric than will wrap around the pot one time.

Next, we used mod podge to stick the farbic to the pot. They put some mod podge on a section of the pot, then they stuck fabric to the glue. After each section was complete, I added a layer of mod podge over the fabric. This needs to be done by an adult because if you push too hard, the fabric is going to move.

     Once the entire pot was covered (no spaces between any of the pieces), we let them sit until they were completely dry. Then, the girls added another layer of mod podge and let it dry again.

     Lastly, I used some purple felt quilt edging to finish the top edge of the pot. Thing 1 tried to do hers, but it takes nimble fingers and more patience than she has.

     For additional decoration on their recycled pots, I pulled out some butterfly fabric that I had (no idea why). Each girl picked out 2 butterflies and we glued them on.

Eco Orbies Review

     Recently, I had the opportunity to try Eco Orbies. To say that I liked them would be an understatement. I have already ordered several more packs and I am checking the mailbox like an obsessed person, waiting for them to arrive.

Magenta and Turquoise Eco Orbies

     Now, for those of you that don't know what Eco Orbies are, let me enlighten you. They are small, non-toxic, biodegradable balls that when you add water, grow. More than that, Eco Orbies can be used to keep plants alive without using soil. They come in 10 beautiful colors, including magenta and turquoise (the colors featured in this blog). They can also be used to keep cut flowers looking beautiful, in a candle holder or in a vase with fake flowers. The best part is when they lose their water, you can rehydrate them and use them again! Eco Orbies arrive to you unscented. But, you can a few drops of your favorite scent to fully hydrated Orbies. The Eco Orbies will then release the scent back into the room as they shrink. The possibilities are really endless.

     I put my Eco Orbies in pots that my kids made. We then added a few bamboo plants. Now, we have beautiful, colorful plants that they're going to give loved ones for Mother's Day. Each pack of Eco Orbies makes about 2 cups of full sized Orbies. This was perfect for these little pots. The colors also look good mixed together. The colors won't bleed, so you don't have to worry about your Orbies turning funny colors.

     My kids were very interested in the Eco Orbies. Because they can be use for occupational therapy, I decided to let them play with a few for a while. Thing 1 did great. She bounced them and ran her hands through them. She even gently squeezed them to see what would happen. When she did this, Thing 2 also decided to squeeze an Eco Orbie, not quite as gently. Squeezing as hard as she could, she was able to break the Orbie (don't worry, they're non-toxic). I was impressed with what we discovered next. Even broken in half, the Eco Orbies still retain their moisture. And while the broken pieces started to look a little smaller after a few days (not completely dehydrated, just slightly smaller), they grew back to their original size with just a little water.

     If you want your own Eco Orbies, visit their website. If you order in May, you get free shipping! You can also find Eco Orbies on facebook.

I received products for review purposes for free or at a reduced cost. However, the opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine. There was no additional compensation for this post.