Thursday, October 28, 2010

Shutterfly's 2010 Holiday Cards

Have you seen Shutterfly's new line of 2010 Holiday Cards? I am so excited about them. I have a lot of greeting to do this holiday season. With the birth of our second daughter, we will be sending out birth announcement photo cards and also our usual photo Christmas cards. Shutterfly at http://www.shutterfly.com is super easy to work with. I have used this site many times in the past to order prints and photo gifts and they always have some great deal going on. I recently used up my saved Pampers Gift to Grow rewards points to cash in for 25 4 x6 prints, 2 5 x7's and 1 8 x10 for free-I just paid shipping.

Naturally, I would turn to Shutterfly when I'm seeking out upcoming photo card needs. Check this page out if you're looking for general cards like birth announcements and thank you cards, or cards for other holidays http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery. Since my daughter's room is decorated in full pink and brown, I am debating between the Truly Gifted Pink and Welcome Sweet Girl designs.

For the holidays, we send out tons of cards to friends, family, and my husbands work clients and co-workers. We like to pick something classic and simple that would be enjoyed by any receiver. We always include a picture of our whole family. This year, I'm thinking of doing a multiple picture card to include a closeup or two of the girls. I checked out this site: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards to see my options. We like the Big Blocks Black and Snowflake Flurries designs. Now we just need to have our baby so we can have some pictures taken!

I recommend you check out Shutterfly and their great selection of photo cards!

-Julie

Friday, May 14, 2010

E-Beanstalk Review

I am reviewing the site E Beanstalk today. They are a site that offers baby and learning toys. I have participated in several of their pacifier testings and have tried out some unique pacifiers. Through these surveys, I have also gotten to test out their toys which Nora has loved.

Anyway, back to the site review. One thing I love about this site is that you can look for toys by age and then by gender within that. How perfect when you're shopping for your or another child for holidays and birthdays. I will be looking for ideas for Nora's 2nd birthday. To take it to another level, you can search for toys for a 2 1/4 year old or a 2 3/4 year old. How cool is that? I know how fast kids grow up and there is a big different in interest levels and capabilities within one year.

Another feature the website has is that you can buy or gift someone a year's worth of developmental toys. So every 3 months the child would get a new toy that fits their new developmental skills and interests for the year they are in. What a good idea. I know I personally appreciate toys that meet Nora's developmental level. If a toy is below her level, she gets bored after a few minutes. If it's above her level, she gets frustrated easily and gets mad.

Another thing, I loved is that they carry lots of wood and classic toys. Those are my favorite. I am also attracted by brands they carry like Green Toys and Plan Toys who are environmentally conscious while offering quality toys that use childrens imaginations and pretend play to entertain them for hours.

Some things to be improved on the site. I'm always trying to save a buck, so the clearance section particularly caught my eye. Some prices seemed good and some still seemed a bit high for being in the clearance section. Especially in this economy, I think moms are looking for really good deals. Another thing I would improve is a section where customers can read about each toy brand. As a parent, I am very interested where and how my toys are made. With so many recalls and cases of lead based paint found in toys, I am looking for high quality, classic toys that will last through all my kids. I think you can find out a lot about they quality of the toys by knowledge about the toy maker, so this is something I would add or make more easy to find.