Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop #57

Happy Sunday, my dear friends! Hope that this week will be full of God's choicest blessings in your life.

I bet that most of you mothers out there had to contend at some point in time about picky eaters in the family. This is a normal thing in our home and I consider Princess Two a very normal kid in this aspect. As soon as she sees meat on the table, she will say, "I don't like that" and no amount of persuasion will make her change her mind...until I found an effective technique. Last night, our dinner was mashed potatoes, gravy, and pork chop so I shaped the gravy like a volcano, put gravy in the middle as the lava, and when the volcano exploded, the lava flowed, and there were rocks (pork chop slices) along the way. For a change, Princess Two just kept on swallowing the mashed potato with the pork chop without a fuss as we kept on pretending that she was eating an exploding volcano. I tell ya, motherhood really brings out an excessive amount of imaginative creativity in you.

Blog Tip
Our blog tip today is this article on 8 Tips for Taking Interior Shots Like a Pro. These tips are helpful when we want to take great photos inside our home.

Favorite Blog
You clicked, inlinkz tallied. The readers' favorite blog post this past week, being the most viewed post, is Fab Rehab Creations' Trio of Tables: Unify with Paint. It's amazing to know that the secret to unifying pieces of furniture is through painting them all with the same color.

Our Party
To the main course of this post.
For those of you joining us for the first time, we only have 2 easy, simple rules:

1) Link up your creative post - can be a DIY project, decor, photography, crafts, recipes, poem, thrift finds, link party, or that informative syndicated post that can make us laugh, or cry - in short, whatever you're proud of! And if you like to link more creative posts, go for it! We'd love to see them :) (No links to businesses or giveaways. We have another party for these exclusively every Tuesday called Market Your Biz & Giveaways at 5 pm, PST.)

2) Follow as many blogs as you desire, either via Google Friend Connect or Linky Followers, preferably starting first with the one who linked before you and after you, before branching out, and let them know by leaving a comment. (Following me will be very much appreciated, and I definitely follow back. Just let me know you're following.)

Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated :) It will help you remember to come back and link up to the the happiest blog party on the block (ahem!). It will also help others find their way to the party which we all love because the more the merrier :)

Link opens up every Sunday at 5:00 pm, PST and ends Friday at 11:59 pm.


<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/creativeblogbuttonjpg.jpg" /></a></center>
Friends, go ahead and get to know each :) One followed blogger is one gained friend. And please, don't forget to join my Market Your Biz and Giveaways blog party every Tuesday at 5 pm, PST. It's your chance for free promotion of your family-friendly business and giveaways.

Now, let's party like no other!

Burning question: How do you trick encourage your children to eat right? If Princess Two could have her way, she will be contented eating hotdog or Campbell's chicken noodle soup with rice. But of course, that's not the kind of sustenance that's approved by her pediatrician so I had to resort to some stories and other tactics. On some weekends, we may make Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Goofy pancakes so she will eat (nothing fancy, we just name the pancake as such). This morning, we ended up making Peppa Pig and Little George pancakes with little doggies as noses and chocolate syrup for eyes and mouth. How about you? What are your proven and tested methods to make your kids eat healthy?

Get more Traffic

CBPH #56 Features

It's another great weekend to celebrate, my dear friends! I am about to share you another set of ideas and crafts from this week's Creative Bloggers' Party Hop.

Kathryn of The Dedicated House takes you into her colorful garden with many beautiful pictures of her flowering plants.

Sarah of Alderberry Hill shares her ideas on other purposes of seven household products such as using vanilla extract to deodorize refrigerators.

 Lisa of Condo Blues gives nine interesting tips to help save money at home.

Ann of Once Upon a Firefly shares her 5 easy tips to make your vintage objects sparkle and shine. 

Katie of The Inspired Life gives her tip of watering plants inside the house by just placing an ice. Ice melts slowly so your plants won't be drowned and that you won't need to put plates underneath the holes of your pots.

Brighten your morning with this suncatcher vase by D of The Shady Porch.

Hope you enjoyed and learned many ideas from my latest features. Thank you very much for sharing and linking up.

Get more Traffic

Market Your Biz and Giveaways #46

Happy Tuesday, my dear friends! Come on in and link up your family-friendly online businesses and giveaways. It has been long said that businesses are the lifeblood of the economy. Not only that, businesses really fuel the economy. This blog party, solely dedicated to promoting businesses and giveaways, is my way of giving back to the community so welcome to Market Your Biz & Giveaways!

Gina (who, by the way, already guest posted in my Blogging for Dollars Series) from the Shabby Creek Cottage said it best, "You may not get a sale directly from that site every single day – but you are building brand recognition. Pepsi does not advertise so that you stop what you’re doing and go directly to buy a drink – but when you do need to quench your thirst and you are shopping for a drink, Pepsi is going to be recognizable to you. Bottom line, you need to build your brand!" This blog party helps you accomplish build your brand.

Business owners, we wanna see your products. Giveaways are good because they create a buzz about your business. Giveaway hosts, we wanna join! Readers, here's your chance to win fabulous freebies. So come on in and participate in this virtual marketplace.

Our Party

NO RULES! Just link up your etsy and/or family-friendly business, browse other businesses before you and after you. It's a great way to network with other business owners. For the giveaways, same thing. Just link up your giveaways and join the other giveaways that catch your eye. If you have a creative post and you want to increase your followers, the appropriate blog party for that is called Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop.

Link opens every Tuesday, 5:00 pm, PST and ends Saturday, 11:59 pm.

Here's the party button. Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated! For one, it will help you to remember to come back here next week. Secondly, we want to spread the word about businesses and giveaways so many can join in. Mentioning it on Twitter and Facebook will also make you totally awesome :)


<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/MYBG1-3-2-1.jpg" /></a></center>

MYBG Inspiring Comments

"Thanks for hosting. Linkys for biz and giveaways are far and few; your linky has helped me reach to people saying that Adithis Amma Sews has launched Custom Made Kids Clothing and 2 Skirts are already on sale!"
Creative Mama

"Thank you so much for hosting. I've made a recent sale and believe it is from your blog party! Thanks again!"
Elisabeth Davis

"Thank you for hosting this every week. I have noticed that I do generate a lot of hits from your site and I really appreciate a place that I can find other etsy shops that I might not have seen otherwise. So thank you again."
Kate

"I cannot tell you how much I agree with everything Gina said!! So true to the word! Also, a huge thank you to you for hosting. Ever since I started marketing my shop here I have had several sales and I believe that they came redirected from your blog! Thank you again and God bless!!"
Maya

"Thanks for hosting! Decent linky parties for giveaways and businesses don't seem to exist! So I appreciate this."
Kahli

Friends, network, buy if you must, join the giveaways, and have fun!

PS: I'm not a blog police but in the name of order and organization, you'll be my bloggy BFF if you link up in the appropriate links :D Please note that there are two links. Here's the link for your businesses. There's a second link below specifically for giveaways so how about linking up your giveaways in there? Besides, it's easier to find and join your giveaways if they're in the appropriate link. If you accidentally linked up in the wrong spot, don't fret. Just click the red x before your link to delete it, then link up in the correct spot.

Link Up Your Family-friendly Businesses Here

Link Up Your Giveaways Here
To bring maximum exposure for your giveaways, I'm collaborating with Brynn from MommyDigger so please feel free to link up your giveaways, too, in her party every Wednesday.

Get more Traffic

Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop #56

Welcome to our Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop, my dear friends! I hope that you all are having a fabulous week.

Princess Two is about to enter Kindergarten this fall and I still don't feel she's equipped to get there. It's amazing how two kids coming from the same pool of genes could be so totally opposite of each other. At 3, Princess One was already doing chicken scratches of her name and was already a master in writing both her first and last name when she entered Kinder. With Princess Two, I tried all tricks - bribery (I'll buy you your own DSI if you write your name), threat (You can't have ice cream if you don't write your name), pleas (Can you please write your name?) - all to no avail. In Princess Two's defense, instead of writing, she prefers to type her name and spell complicated words in the computer. Typing words like strawberry, astronaut, dolphin, quarter, etc, is her cup of tea. If I want her to keep quiet at Church, I'll just give her my iPhone and let her type to her heart's content. However, in her pre-school class, the standards as outlined by her teacher included developing fine-motor skills which should be evidenced by being able to write her name and draw straight lines. Princess Two is totally resisting doing those. I guess this summer when school is over, she will have a lot of catching up with writing. What have you done to encourage your preschooler to write?

Favorite Blog
You clicked, inlinkz tallied. The readers' favorite blog post this past week, being the most viewed post, is Ditching Your Shampoo and Conditioner by A Blossoming Life. If you're into going all natural, this is a must-read post.

Our Party
To the main course of this post.
For those of you joining us for the first time, we only have 2 easy, simple rules:

1) Link up your creative post - can be a DIY project, decor, photography, crafts, recipes, poem, thrift finds, link party, or that informative syndicated post that can make us laugh, or cry - in short, whatever you're proud of! And if you like to link more creative posts, go for it! We'd love to see them :) (No links to businesses or giveaways. We have another party for these exclusively every Tuesday called Market Your Biz & Giveaways at 5 pm, PST.)

2) Follow as many blogs as you desire, either via Google Friend Connect or Linky Followers, preferably starting first with the one who linked before you and after you, before branching out, and let them know by leaving a comment. (Following me will be very much appreciated, and I definitely follow back. Just let me know you're following.)

Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated :) It will help you remember to come back and link up to the the happiest blog party on the block (ahem!). It will also help others find their way to the party which we all love because the more the merrier :)

Link opens up every Sunday at 5:00 pm, PST and ends Friday at 11:59 pm.


<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/creativeblogbuttonjpg.jpg" /></a></center>
Friends, go ahead and get to know each :) One followed blogger is one gained friend. And please, don't forget to join my Market Your Biz and Giveaways blog party every Tuesday at 5 pm, PST. It's your chance for free promotion of your family-friendly business and giveaways.

Now, let's party like no other!

Burning question: Any suggestion so I can encourage Princess Two to write?

Get more Traffic

CBPH #55 Features

Happy weekend, dear bloggers! I am showing you another set of the most adorable crafts from this week's Creative Bloggers' Party Hop.

Host an ice cream party to your lovely birthday kid. Visit Holly's blog, Life as a Thrifter, and see how she presented a colorful and yummy ice cream party ambiance.


Here's a bizarre medical party idea of setting up a dessert table. Sahm of Vixen Made prepared this candy table for a 50th birthday party.


Margo of Joyful Homemaking shares her helpful kitchen organizing tips, from arranging refrigerated products, to key holders and message boards.


In addition to organizing tips, Jessica of The Thriftiness Miss shares 7 of her interesting housekeeping ideas.


Sarah of Alderberry Hill shares her charming pillow made from pieces of fabric squares.


Heather of Setting for Four gives us a quick peek of her chirping birdcage art.


Mooloolaba is a breath-taking seaside destination that truly captures my heart. Natasha in Oz takes you to the romantic place through a lot of beach photos.


Thank you very much for linking up and keep those good stuffs coming!

Get more Traffic

Market Your Biz & Giveaways #45

Happy Tuesday, my dear friends! Come on in and link up your family-friendly online businesses and giveaways. It has been long said that businesses are the lifeblood of the economy. Not only that, businesses really fuel the economy. This blog party, solely dedicated to promoting businesses and giveaways, is my way of giving back to the community so welcome to Market Your Biz & Giveaways!

Gina (who, by the way, already guest posted in my Blogging for Dollars Series) from the Shabby Creek Cottage said it best, "You may not get a sale directly from that site every single day – but you are building brand recognition. Pepsi does not advertise so that you stop what you’re doing and go directly to buy a drink – but when you do need to quench your thirst and you are shopping for a drink, Pepsi is going to be recognizable to you. Bottom line, you need to build your brand!" This blog party helps you accomplish build your brand.

Business owners, we wanna see your products. Giveaways are good because they create a buzz about your business. Giveaway hosts, we wanna join! Readers, here's your chance to win fabulous freebies. So come on in and participate in this virtual marketplace.

Featured Biz

Our featured biz today is Linens, Lace, and Lattes. Selling vintage linens, fancywork, lace and vintage sewing notions is her passion!. She loves buying these beautiful items and passing on to those who love them as much as she does! She is lucky enough to live in an area where there are many estate auctions so she can come home with boxes of 'rescued' linens and sewing notions most weekends. She saves those which she just can't part with and enjoy finding new homes for the rest. She would love to send some to your house!

I'm totally smitten with this Tablecover with Pink and White Crochet Inserts and Pink Black Embroidery.

This pair of Embroidered Southern Belle Hand Towels Pinks and Blues is a favorite of mine because both reminded me of my embroidery and cross-stitching days.

Our Party

NO RULES! Just link up your etsy and/or family-friendly business, browse other businesses before you and after you. It's a great way to network with other business owners. For the giveaways, same thing. Just link up your giveaways and join the other giveaways that catch your eye. If you have a creative post and you want to increase your followers, the appropriate blog party for that is called Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop.

Link opens every Tuesday, 5:00 pm, PST and ends Saturday, 11:59 pm.

Here's the party button. Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated! For one, it will help you to remember to come back here next week. Secondly, we want to spread the word about businesses and giveaways so many can join in. Mentioning it on Twitter and Facebook will also make you totally awesome :)


<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/MYBG1-3-2-1.jpg" /></a></center>

MYBG Inspiring Comments

"Thanks for hosting. Linkys for biz and giveaways are far and few; your linky has helped me reach to people saying that Adithis Amma Sews has launched Custom Made Kids Clothing and 2 Skirts are already on sale!"
Creative Mama

"Thank you so much for hosting. I've made a recent sale and believe it is from your blog party! Thanks again!"
Elisabeth Davis

"Thank you for hosting this every week. I have noticed that I do generate a lot of hits from your site and I really appreciate a place that I can find other etsy shops that I might not have seen otherwise. So thank you again."
Kate

"I cannot tell you how much I agree with everything Gina said!! So true to the word! Also, a huge thank you to you for hosting. Ever since I started marketing my shop here I have had several sales and I believe that they came redirected from your blog! Thank you again and God bless!!"
Maya

"Thanks for hosting! Decent linky parties for giveaways and businesses don't seem to exist! So I appreciate this."
Kahli

Friends, network, buy if you must, join the giveaways, and have fun!

PS: I'm not a blog police but in the name of order and organization, you'll be my bloggy BFF if you link up in the appropriate links :D Please note that there are two links. Here's the link for your businesses. There's a second link below specifically for giveaways so how about linking up your giveaways in there? Besides, it's easier to find and join your giveaways if they're in the appropriate link. If you accidentally linked up in the wrong spot, don't fret. Just click the red x before your link to delete it, then link up in the correct spot.

Link Up Your Family-friendly Businesses Here

Link Up Your Giveaways Here
To bring maximum exposure for your giveaways, I'm collaborating with Brynn from MommyDigger so please feel free to link up your giveaways, too, in her party every Wednesday.

Get more Traffic

Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop #55

Happy Sunday, my dear friends! How are you all doing? I hope that this week brings you great opportunities for creativity.

It was my birthday yesterday and the whole clan celebrated it with me. Thank God I have a great family to celebrate it with. It was a laidback celebration, which is a nice break from my weekday fast-paced schedule. A few of you sent birthday greetings so THANK YOU! for doing so. Each of your greeting brought smile and sunshine on my special day.

Blog Tip
Kim shows a tutorial so people can respond to your comment via email. If you're a new blogger, you might not be aware that this can be done so I highly recommend it.

Favorite Blog
You clicked, inlinkz tallied. The readers' favorite blog post this past week, being the most viewed post, is Laurie's Have You Noticed My Kids Are Black? . Her cool blog is called Adoption Creates Families and she discussed head on the tricky topic of racism. It's a very touching topic and so worth reading.

Our Party
To the main course of this post.
For those of you joining us for the first time, we only have 2 easy, simple rules:

1) Link up your creative post - can be a DIY project, decor, photography, crafts, recipes, poem, thrift finds, link party, or that informative syndicated post that can make us laugh, or cry - in short, whatever you're proud of! And if you like to link more creative posts, go for it! We'd love to see them :) (No links to businesses or giveaways. We have another party for these exclusively every Tuesday called Market Your Biz & Giveaways at 5 pm, PST.)

2) Follow as many blogs as you desire, either via Google Friend Connect or Linky Followers, preferably starting first with the one who linked before you and after you, before branching out, and let them know by leaving a comment. (Following me will be very much appreciated, and I definitely follow back. Just let me know you're following.)

Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated :) It will help you remember to come back and link up to the the happiest blog party on the block (ahem!). It will also help others find their way to the party which we all love because the more the merrier :)

Link opens up every Sunday at 5:00 pm, PST and ends Friday at 11:59 pm.


<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/creativeblogbuttonjpg.jpg" /></a></center>
Friends, go ahead and get to know each :) One followed blogger is one gained friend. And please, don't forget to join my Market Your Biz and Giveaways blog party every Tuesday at 5 pm, PST. It's your chance for free promotion of your family-friendly business and giveaways.

Now, let's party like no other!

Burning question: How do you celebrate your birthday? With family and friends? Just by yourself? Or no celebration at all?
Answer: I never had a birthday cake nor birthday balloon when I was growing up, partly because I lived in a different culture and partly because we were so poor then. I started having celebration with friends when I was already in my 20s and working at a company. When I married my husband, I discovered how BIG he is on birthdays so it took me some getting used to having birthday parties. Now, we make it a point to celebrate everybody's birthdays with the whole clan. How about you? Please do share.

Get more Traffic

CBPH #54 Features

Hi again bloggers! I thank God for this very special day. Today marks the beginning of another wonderful year in my life. I would like to express how grateful I am for all of your greetings. As for the best blogs this week, here is another list of my picks for this week's Creative Bloggers' Party Hop. Enjoy!

Find out five fabulous shell decorating ideas which are shared by Betsy of Coastal Colors. 

Refresh your eyes with these pictures of colorful roses by Donata in her blog, DK's Craft Cafe.

Discover Melbourne as Carolyn takes you into a tour of many pictures in her blog, Desire Empire.

Here is an affordable and natural way to have a fragrant fabric softener by Amy of A Blossoming Life.

Love flip flops? Jessica of The Thriftiness Miss shares her handmade flip flops with straps made from some cut pieces of a dress.

Let's eat Nemo! Treat your kids with these yummy clown fish cookies by Julie of White Lights on Wednesday.

Thank you very much for linking up and showing off your creative ideas.


  

Get more Traffic

Market Your Biz & Giveaways #44

Happy Tuesday, my dear friends! Come on in and link up your family-friendly online businesses and giveaways. It has been long said that businesses are the lifeblood of the economy. Not only that, businesses really fuel the economy. This blog party, solely dedicated to promoting businesses and giveaways, is my way of giving back to the community so welcome to Market Your Biz & Giveaways!

Gina (who, by the way, already guest posted in my Blogging for Dollars Series) from the Shabby Creek Cottage said it best, "You may not get a sale directly from that site every single day – but you are building brand recognition. Pepsi does not advertise so that you stop what you’re doing and go directly to buy a drink – but when you do need to quench your thirst and you are shopping for a drink, Pepsi is going to be recognizable to you. Bottom line, you need to build your brand!" This blog party helps you accomplish build your brand.

Business owners, we wanna see your products. Giveaways are good because they create a buzz about your business. Giveaway hosts, we wanna join! Readers, here's your chance to win fabulous freebies. So come on in and participate in this virtual marketplace.

Featured Biz

Our featured biz today is Saltbox House, a business specializing in collonial signs and woodwork.

Seeing this sign made me smile because it brought back memories when this would have been so helpful to me.

(Please Do Not Ring Doorbell, Baby Sleeping Wood Primitive Door Sign)

How about this inspiring thought? These are just two of my favorites in her shop.

(God Helps Us Handle What We Are Given Wood Primitive Sign Christian Wall Hanging)

Our Party

NO RULES! Just link up your etsy and/or family-friendly business, browse other businesses before you and after you. It's a great way to network with other business owners. For the giveaways, same thing. Just link up your giveaways and join the other giveaways that catch your eye. If you have a creative post and you want to increase your followers, the appropriate blog party for that is called Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop.

Link opens every Tuesday, 5:00 pm, PST and ends Saturday, 11:59 pm.

Here's the party button. Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated! For one, it will help you to remember to come back here next week. Secondly, we want to spread the word about businesses and giveaways so many can join in. Mentioning it on Twitter and Facebook will also make you totally awesome :)


<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/MYBG1-3-2-1.jpg" /></a></center>

MYBG Inspiring Comments

"Thanks for hosting. Linkys for biz and giveaways are far and few; your linky has helped me reach to people saying that Adithis Amma Sews has launched Custom Made Kids Clothing and 2 Skirts are already on sale!"
Creative Mama

"Thank you so much for hosting. I've made a recent sale and believe it is from your blog party! Thanks again!"
Elisabeth Davis

"Thank you for hosting this every week. I have noticed that I do generate a lot of hits from your site and I really appreciate a place that I can find other etsy shops that I might not have seen otherwise. So thank you again."
Kate

"I cannot tell you how much I agree with everything Gina said!! So true to the word! Also, a huge thank you to you for hosting. Ever since I started marketing my shop here I have had several sales and I believe that they came redirected from your blog! Thank you again and God bless!!"
Maya

"Thanks for hosting! Decent linky parties for giveaways and businesses don't seem to exist! So I appreciate this."
Kahli

Friends, network, buy if you must, join the giveaways, and have fun!

PS: I'm not a blog police but in the name of order and organization, you'll be my bloggy BFF if you link up in the appropriate links :D Please note that there are two links. Here's the link for your businesses. There's a second link below specifically for giveaways so how about linking up your giveaways in there? Besides, it's easier to find and join your giveaways if they're in the appropriate link. If you accidentally linked up in the wrong spot, don't fret. Just click the red x before your link to delete it, then link up in the correct spot.

Link Up Your Family-friendly Businesses Here

Link Up Your Giveaways Here
To bring maximum exposure for your giveaways, I'm collaborating with Brynn from MommyDigger so please feel free to link up your giveaways, too, in her party every Wednesday.

Get more Traffic