Review Archives - Busy Moms Helper

Create Your Own Zootopia Adventures

June 11, 2016 by Kelly Dedeaux

I received these products free to facilitate this review. All opinions are mine alone.

If you didn’t get a chance to see Disney’s new hit Zootopia in theaters, you’re in luck because it’s now out on DVD! We were thrilled to get ours, so we could rewatch our favorite pals face quite the adventure together. Plus, now you can Create Your Own Zootopia Adventures with the movie AND some awesome Zootopia toys!

If you recall, we really loved Zootopia when we got to see it in theaters – in fact, it’s my new favorite animated film (see why here). I even got to sit down with the directors – such a fun time chatting about the film! My kids were hilarious after the movie, including their favorite moments in their play. I can’t recall how many times I’d hear them yell ‘blood, blood, guts’ and I’d peak in to see them acting out just like Judy. Quite theatrical, to say the least! Now they have some fun toys to assist with their adventures, and it’s a blast hearing them include lines and jokes from the movie.

Judy’s Police Cruiser is the perfect size for my rambunxious boys, and they love letting her drive around in it. As the wheels turn, the front lights flash – of course this is the kids’ favorite feature!

The back turns into a little jail cell to help her catch any bandits while out on patrol.

They’ve already talked about saving up to nab the other character figures that can go along with it. Personally, I’m a huge fan of Mr. Big!

I don’t think my Iron Man will let go of Nick Wilde for awhile – at least he’s playing with him as they use their imaginations and not JUST squeezing him for the sounds over and over again.

I love the phrases they included – ‘Officer Toot Toot’ got quite a laugh from the kids!

I’m curious what fun phrases Officer Judy Hopps has!

Don’t forget, you can now nab the DVD! Here’s the basic idea of the film, if you haven’t seen it yet: “From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes a comedy-adventure set in the modern mammal metropolis ofZootopia. Determined to prove herself, Officer Judy Hopps, the first bunny on Zootopia’s police force, jumps at the chance to crack her first case – even if it means partnering with scam-artist fox Nick Wilde to solve the mystery.”

I sincerely LOVE this fun, adventurous, sweet video full of humor, friendship and mysterious plots!

Teach Kids About Emotions and Moods

May 26, 2016 by Kelly Dedeaux

I received the Make a Mood magnutto junior to facilitate this review. All opinions are mine alone.

You know those times when your kid goes from happy-go-lucky and full of smiles, then suddenly their on the floor screaming and yelling because they’re so angry? I try to be patient when that happens, reminding myself that even as adults we sometimes struggle with our feelings – kids don’t even understand them completely, so of course they’ll get frustrated, too. There’s many fun ways to Teach Kids About Emotions and Moods, one being the magnutto junior ‘Make a Mood’ set!

We’ve used our ‘Today I’m Feeling…’ Inside Out themed printable before, and it was great – but it didn’t give them a chance to really INTERACT with their feelings. The Magnutto Make a Mood set helps them really think through the different emotions in a fun, playful way. Because who doesn’t love making faces with magnets? The box comes with two magnet sheets, and the majority of the pieces popped out SUPER easy. The few smaller ones (like the thin eyebrows) needed a little more patience, but even my kids could handle it just fine. There’s also an ‘inspiration sheet’ to give ideas on how you can use different pieces – but overall just let your kids use their own ideas!

The box itself is the magnet board, and you can flip the ‘canvas’ are then set it in the two notches on the side…

The dozens of magnetic pieces are easily stored underneath, which I find super convenient.

I did really like that the pieces weren’t all hard and stiff – but soft and ‘foamy’ almost. I think that’s better for the younger kids anyway. You can let your kiddo SHOW you how they’re feeling, then talk about it together. Sometimes visual works much easier with young kids. Heck, visual works a lot better with ME even!

You can use the included topics card for thought started while discussing emotions with your child…

Not only can this help your child learn more of their emotions and what can cause them, but also how to handle them. It’s also a great bonding time, especially if you share YOUR emotions with them – then they can feel it’s more okay to have those emotions.

Want more magnetic fun? Magnutto has THREE sets just released in April: Make a Mood, Make a Pet, and Make a Dino. The owner designed this with his two special needs children in mind, so you know special care and thought went into the development. You can check them all out on the Magnutto website – then get your magnet fun on!

The Keepsake Kitchen Diary

January 30, 2016 by Kelly Dedeaux

I received a free copy of this item to help facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% mine.

Who else believes food is such a family thing? I sure do! I remember helping my grandma in the kitchen when I was younger, loving her delicious home cooking. I still enjoy the times I get to help her make recipes we’ve had for years! The Keepsake Kitchen Diary from Lilly & Val is the PERFECT heirloom type item that makes passing down recipes from each generation not only easy, but beautiful and fun!

This idea is so neat – a beautifully designed, spiral-bound recipe book with everything you need to keep track of your family’s favorite recipes! The cover is sturdy, and even the pages are a durable, thick cardstock type so you can be sure it’ll last. There’s pockets inside the front and back covers for you to stick notes or special keepsakes, and the cute pink tabs make finding things super simple.

For each chapter, there’s a neatly organized table of contents – don’t you LOVE it when things are easy to find? They also included several useful pages such as a Quick Calorie Guide and Ingredient Substitutes. Yup, going to be using those plenty!

As you can tell, there’s hand-drawn illustrations (by Valerie McKeehan) all throughout this DIY cookbook, from the random sketches and accents, to the fabulous chapter pages like this Dessert one…

Inside each chapter are the pages for inputing the recipes – everything from instructions, notes, difficulty level and even plenty of space for memories involved with that recipe! Fudge would be a BIG one for me, since it’s something I truly enjoy making with my grandma and have since I was little. In the back they included 12 easy-tear-out recipe cards to make sharing easier! Of course each card has a cute illustration on the back 🙂

There’s room for approximately 200 recipes in the one-of-a-kind heirloom, making it beautiful and easy to bring joy to you and the people you love (and love cooking with) for generations!

Grab your copy HERE!

Grip Your Seat for The Finest Hours: Movie Review

January 29, 2016 by Kelly Dedeaux

I was able to attend an early screening to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’m sure by now you’ve heard of the new Disney movie that hit theaters last night – and you can probably guess it’s quite intense! Be ready to Grip Your Seat for The Finest Hours – because you’ll be taken for a ride in this amazing film based on an incredible true story!

First of all, let me say that this is one of those movies you do NOT want to leave for a bathroom break during pretty much any of it! After a short ‘introduce the story’ bit at the start, your taken through a terrifying adventure with these brave men. In 1952, an oil tanker split in half during a crazy storm – leaving 32 survivors on board miles from any land, in half a ship. They’ll have to work together to buy themselves some time, hoping someone will come to the rescue. Luckily, genius Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck) has some ideas to overcome the impossible.

With winds quickly approaching hurricane strength, and 70 ft. high waves getting more fierce by the minute, four members of the coast guard take on what would likely be a suicide mission in the hopes of reaching the ship in time. Led by Bernie Webber (Chris Pine), a by-the-book type of guy who had just gotten engaged to his sweetheart, Miriam (Holliday Grainger) they head out in a small lifeboat in the frigid temperatures.

Even though some of the team had their differences in the past, they have to overcome their issues if they stand a chance at survival, much less a rescue.

Miriam gets her first glimpse into what life as a coast-guard wife would be as she fears never seeing Bernie again. She was one of my favorite people, though, with her spit-fire personality and no fear of standing up to the men!

Guys, I’m afraid of water – so watching the insane storm at sea these men went through – when they had every excuse to turn back – really made me ache. I can’t even imagine! During the long drive home after the movie, Hubby and I talked tons about the different aspects, such as the in-half boat, the methods they used to survive, and how in the heck a small boat could even think of taking on these waves….

And when I say the lifeboat was small – it was made to fit TWELVE people, including the 4 coast guard members already on board. There’s 32 survivors on that half-a-ship. I don’t want to ruin the ending – but trust me you’ll be on the edge of your seat for almost the entire movie, and may even shed some tears like I did!

If you saw The Finest Hours – let me know what YOU thought!

Here’s more Disney films coming out in 2016…

My 5 Favorite Things about Star Wars: The Force Awakens

January 7, 2016 by Kelly Dedeaux

Guys, I love Star Wars. My hubby loves Star Wars and my kids are eagerly following suite. We’re fans at the core! As such, here are My 5 Favorite Things about Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

First of all, let me tell you WHY I have such a love for Star Wars. In a nutshell, it was my childhood! Growing up, Sunday afternoons, when my dad wasn’t at the station, were spent relaxing on our couch watching our favorite shows. Things like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Indiana Jones were frequent repeats, but none more so than Star Wars. So when I say my enjoyment of the whole Star Wars universe, products, shows and stories goes deep, it’s no exaggeration. Needless to say we’ve been counting down to Episode VII hitting theaters since it was announced!

Note: there may be spoilers in here, as I feel there’s been plenty of time for most people to either have seen it, or read about it anyway.

#1: BB-8

Guys, I LOVE this droid! I learned from this interview that the first idea of making BB-8 what he is came from JJ Abrams himself! The way he rolls around, the emotion shown from his half-sphere top, and just the spunky personality coming from the little guy really makes you fall in love with him. One of my twins, Iron Man, is head-over-heels with BB-8 and says he’s going to build himself one when he’s older because he’s ‘awesome and orange’!

#2: Strong Female Characters

First of all, you’ve got GENERAL Leia Organa (played by Carrie Fisher). I’ve ALWAYS loved her – the character AND the actor! In the originals, she wasn’t some damsel in distress – yes, they rescued her, but who was it that was shooting more of the storm troopers and fighting right along the ‘big boys’ to escape? She was my hero! Now she’s back, and even more graceful and admirable than ever. What a strong woman to go from a princess up to a General – that’s leadership! I also notice that in the control room, there’s not may women besides Leia taking the lead, working right along the guys to save the universe. What a great role model!

Now to the newcomer Rey, played by actor Daisy Ridley. If I thought Leia was a great woman for my daughter to look up to, then this feisty, independent girl from the desert MUST be included, as well! Being on her own for however long, surviving in such a harsh world, and braving amazing feats (Would YOU be hanging by a rope super high in the air to grab parts from a crashed Star Destroyer? Me either!) she sure has proven her determination. When Finn runs to rescue her from a fight, only to watch as she kicks butt all by herself, the look on his impressed face is priceless! And goodness, she doesn’t need him holding her hand! LOL

Another thing I absolutely LOVE about Rey is that, despite being independent and strong, plus an excellent fighter, she’s also soft and kind hearted. She rescues BB-8, won’t sell him despite the hunger she must suffer, and yearns for the family that’s still a mystery. I could go on and on about her, but just watch the movie and you’ll see 🙂

#3: The Affects

I’ve watched this in 3D and 2D, and I can tell you that the 3D is completely worth it! So natural-looking and beautiful, it really brings you into that world. They did amazing with the visuals – so many scenes that just capture your eyes and soul! I’ve always been a fan of the music, and Episode VII did NOT disappoint! One of my favorites is during the scene above when the weapon is revealed – talk about emotional!

The battle and action scenes were MUCH better done than in Episodes 1-3, in my opinion. I think in those it was a bit TOO much, too unreal. These were totally believable and got your heart racing as if you were right there with them.

Along with the visuals and music, I was so impressed with how they tied things together – to show you what I mean, let’s look at this example above of Kylo Ren. He’s a hot mess, powerful but not in control of his anger at all! He has a few hissy fits – such as the hilarious part where 2 storm troopers slowly back away as Ren trashes a room with his saber. His LIGHTSABER reflects his lack of control – it’s not completely contained, spatters a bit along the edges like it’s barely holding itself together. Such a perfect combination and reflection of Ren!

#4: The Mysteries

I’ve heard many people complaining that too much was left unanswered – well, there’s 2 more movies coming out, so of course they need to leave you wondering! As much as I’m dying to know about some things, I’m eager to see how it all gets shown in the coming movies. Is Rey the daughter of Luke, or perhaps she’s Kylo Ren’s sister? Who was the old man at the beginning of the movie giving Po the map, saying he needs to make up for the past? These and more have kept my Hubby and I up late discussing the possibilities, and curious for the answers. So to me, I love the mystery….even though I look forward to the answer, too!

#5: Harrison Ford AKA: Han Solo

Confession Time: I have a crush on Harrison Ford – always have, since his films were such a big part of my childhood! He’s such a gifted actor, as well as an all-around good human being. When he walked into the scene for the first time in this movie, I couldn’t help but squeal (yes, I’m sure I got many weird looks from other theater guests, but I really don’t care)! The humor Han Solo brings, without necessarily trying, just adds a whole other dimension to the films. This movie brought all sorts of new emotional turmoil into his life, trying to save his son, which was a new side to the Solo I remember – but I love him even more because of it!

If you haven’t seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens yet, you’ve GOT to go. Now – like RIGHT NOW! In 3D, because remember – it’s so worth it!

Enjoy, and May the Force Be With You!

Moff Band and Interactive App

September 2, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

I received a free Moff Band to facilitate this review. All opinions are mine alone. Contains affiliate links.

I’m definitely not the strictest mom when it comes to tablets, apps and my kids. I’m pretty cautious though – not only about how much time they spend on the devices, but also WHAT they’re doing on there. Whenever we think about adding another game or learning app, we read tons of reviews (if it doesn’t have many, we don’t download it), ask people if they know about it – and sometimes it STILL doesn’t pass. Our iPad only has about 5 games on it – and one is for this super fun Moff Band and Interactive App!

I learned about the Moff Band at Blogger Bash this summer, and knew my kiddos would love it! It works via bluetooth with the free iOS app, allowing you to access a bunch of sound effects to play around with. You can even set the controls how you want, which wrist you prefer to have it on, along with a specific user profile.

They then slap on the Moff Band, scroll through the dozens of sounds, pick one, then just move around and that sound plays!

I love the variety they have – from hot dogs grilling, to fishing pole lines, to fireworks, motorcycles and even animals. Plus, they’re adding more all of the time!

Once you’re in a specific sound – say, guitars – you can just hit the little button on the band to scroll through the varieties of that sound. Even my 4-year-old does this like a pro!

I love that it’s an app that brings out the creativity in my kids and sparks play – like selecting the motorcycle and running around the playroom while the motor goes, or strumming a guitar……

…or yanking down on a train whistle!

Another thing I love about this, other than it encourages MOVEMENT – not exactly common in apps – is that it brings my kids TOGETHER to play and use their imaginations as a group. This isn’t something that happens all that often with my kiddos – but I sure love seeing them gather around to help select new sounds, and decide how they’re going to play with that one.

You can nab the Moff Band for just $54.99 on Amazon – and YES, it’s available with Amazon Prime!
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Check out these other fun kid activities…

Cinderella: Have Courage and Be Kind

March 15, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

I was able to see this movie free of charge. All opinions and thoughts are 100% my own. This post may contain affiliate links.

All my fellow Disney-Movie-Lovers raise your hand! Yup, I knew there’d be a bunch of you 🙂 I was lucky enough to see Disney’s new movie in theaters, and let me tell you it will NOT disappoint! Not only is it amazing to watch the visuals, but there’s so much emotion AND laughs involved. Add to this a very important life lesson from Cinderella: Have Courage and Be Kind, and it’s an absolute must-see! Oh, and keep reading for FREE PRINTABLE activities!

Trust me, all the hype you’ve been seeing and hearing is totally justified….I cannot wait to see this again, and share it with my Wonder Woman! She’s such a little princess (not girly, but still loves beauty, dancing and such) so will really appreciate this movie.

As you know, Cinderella (Ella) is a beautiful girl who’s parents pass away, leaving her with a cruel stepmother and two stepsisters. Her mother leaves her with some very important advice to help her throughout her life: have courage and be kind. Ella follows her mother’s counsel as she handles life in a cold, dirty attic acting as a servant to her step-family.

After a chance encounter with the handsome prince, she wishes to attend his upcoming ball.

We all know the stepmother will have nothing to do with this, but luckily a spunky Godmother comes to the rescue! One of my favorite parts is when she’s creating her dress and shoes….

….it’s purely beautiful! Yes, I’m definitely wishing I had these in my closet! The prince and Ella fall in love at the ball…

…only to have her run out at midnight before the spell is broken. It’s an old story, but one we all know and love! I highly recommend putting this on your must-see list!

My baby sister had her 12th birthday recently, and wanted a Cinderella theme because she loved the movie so much! There’s plenty of fabulous items you can get…

The Cinderella Shop at Disney Store – Dash in for enchanting favorites inspired by the live-action film. Shop now!

Free Cinderella Printables

Easily Make a Brick Wall with Stencils

March 6, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

I received a free stencil for this post. All opinions and ideas are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more info.

Have you ever wanted to do a specific design on your walls, but the thought of doing each piece by hand made you want to cry? That’s how I felt when I decided to make my kids’ playroom wall look like bricks…old, sloppy bricks (that still looked fabulous)! Luckily, you can Easily Make a Brick Wall with Stencils from Royal Design Studio!

When we bought our house, the biggest reason we chose this specific floor plan was because of the HUGE loft upstairs, knowing this would be the playroom while the kiddos are younger. The last couple months I’ve been working on remodeling it to be more fun, organized and look AMAZING! After I painted the yucky, builder-grade wall a nice grey color to install our new shelving area, I got ready to create a ‘brick’ look on the rest.

Before the Brick Wall Look…

My go-to place for stencils is, of course, Royal Design Studio. They have an amazing selection, and I know my chances of finding exactly what I need for a project are high. Sure enough, I browsed through and found their Mosaic Stencil (in large) that would be PERFECT for a brick wall! I contacted their amazing staff (seriously, they’re all super friendly and helpful!) and got started right away…

Although in their project images they have the lines running up and down, for the brick look I did mine horizontal. I loved the variety of shapes and sizes, since I needed it to look NOT perfectly matched. I went one shade darker than my wall for the majority of the ‘bricks’, then two shades from that for some.

Originally, I considered just doing the one color….

Not quite the ‘POW’ amazing look I was going for…it needed that other coloring for some accents and variety! Much better, right?!

Since I didn’t decide this until later, I did things the REALLY hard way and went back over for the dark ‘bricks’ by hand….every single dark one you see wasn’t roller, it was a brush.

So the EASY way to do it, other than make up your mind before the ‘end’, is to follow one (or more) of these great stenciling tutorials from Royal Design Studio.

After the Brick Wall Look…

Check out my cute little photo-bomber in this picture….he LOVES the new look of their playroom!

I seriously can’t WAIT to finish the entire playroom remodel! Still a lot to do, but it’s going to knock your socks off, so be sure to check back! And the next time you have a fun project you want to make simpler and look FABULOUS, check out the selection at Royal Design Studio!

Other Royal Design Stencil Projects I’ve done

Be Inspired & Entertained with McFarland, USA

February 17, 2015 by Kelly Dedeaux

You know those movies that you leave thinking ‘I can’t wait until this comes to video’ because it exceeded all your expectations? Those were my exact thoughts after seeing McFarland, USA last week. There’s so many reasons why you’ll be inspired & entertained with McFarland, USA!

Based on a true story, we learn how Coach Jim White (played by the amazing Kevin Costner) organized a cross-country team in an economically challenged town in California. The high school in McFarland is predominantly Latino, as is the community that White and his family now belong to. The teens here work hard in the fields with their families, and when White realizes their amazing running skills, he starts changing things for everyone.

As they learn, grow and compete together, you see the strong family bond that isn’t just for immediate family members, but for the whole community. Just as the group learns so much from White and his faith in their potential, they teach him plenty about life and commitment.

Although odds are stacked up against them, they work as a team-turned-family to surprise everyone, especially themselves.

I went into the theater expecting to be inspired, and wasn’t disappointed one bit. What I WASN’T expecting, though, was how down-right funny and entertaining it would be!

I’ve come to expect stories like this to have certain ‘lulls’ in them, where you know it’s necessary but find yourself losing interest at that point. Not in McFarland! The entire audience was laughing the whole way through, with some tears here and there. It’s rare you find a movie that makes you feel so many emotions, while making your cheeks hurt.

Although I love many of the people, my favorite had to be this woman….

Mrs. Diaz, mother of 3 of the runners, was absolutely wonderful, being both a HUGE part of the humor, as well as a great role-model (in my opinion anyway!) who certainly teaches White a thing or two about family! In her words “Don’t say to me ‘no’!” Love her!

One thing that was a DEFINITE plus to the movie…I don’t think it had any swearing. Not 100% sure, but I couldn’t recall any, and neither could my friend that went with. It’s seriously made so any age can watch it…although my little boys may not be too interested just yet. It’s appropriate enough for them, though!

I don’t want to give away anything, of course, but just trust me that you’ll find plenty of laughable, yet emotionally wonderful moments during McFarland, USA. I definitely plan on grabbing this on DVD when it comes out, and may even take Hubby to see it in theaters…then when I make little comments from the movie and laugh, he’ll understand and can laugh right along with me!

McFarland, USA hits theaters this week: February 20th so hurry and schedule in a date night (or take the family!) and SEE IT!

Easy Entertaining with Sparkle and Dine

December 17, 2014 by Kelly Dedeaux

I was provided a free Table Styling Kit to use for this post. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

So our Thanksgiving was kind of a bust as far as entertaining. Having the majority of the family sick will do that! Although Wonder Woman now has strep this week (can we catch a break, please?!) I’m hopeful to have plenty of family and friends able to join us for Christmas next week! When they do come, I’ll be ready for them thanks to Easy Entertaining with Sparkle and Dine!

When I first learned about Sparkle and Dine, I was blown away by the beautiful and fun Table Styling Kits they have available! I instantly fell in love with this Snow Queen set, and it really made me think of Frozen! I’ve also always loved blue and silver color schemes, so this was just perfect for our holiday feast!

It comes with pretty much everything you need to make an absolutely amazing tablescape! This particular set included the table runner and snowflake ribbon, the 3 tree trees and large motive holders, the fancy napkins with silver lace trim, silver charger plates (not the white ones on top, those are just mine), name cards for you to fill in, and the silver snowflake ornament. Ya, it comes with ALL of that!

I was also pleasantly surprised at how quickly it shipped! I got the large box at my door and instantly tore into it (carefully, of course)! They take care to package everything safely, so it won’t get damaged en route to you.

I honestly thought that the snowflake ornaments would be a bit flimsy, but they’re SOLID! I mean, perfect enough that I’m not worried to hang them on my tree or have these on my kiddos’ plates.

Not much into the blue and silver? No problem, they have plenty more table styling kits to choose from! Another great one for this holiday season would be this O Christmas Tree kit!

Not entertaining for this holiday, but got some others you like to go all-out for? How about this classy Kate Spade Inspired Glam kit?

I couldn’t believe this fabulous Maleficent-inspired Fate is Cruel kit! I totally want to get this for a Halloween party one year!

I’m so excited to host our guests with this beautiful tablescape this season! The best part is it all just shipped to me, no going out and buying the different pieces, hours spent matching and thinking it all through. It showed up, and I can easily set it out in a jiffy!

So head over to check out everything Sparkle and Dine offers for you next party, reception, feast or even just to have some really amazing family meals together! You can also find them on any of their social media channels, such as Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest or Twitter!

Idina Menzel Holiday Wishes

December 3, 2014 by Kelly Dedeaux

I participated in the Idina Menzel Holiday Wishes album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided an album to review but all opinions are my own. #HolidayWishes #O2O

Who else gets super excited for the holidays, and it’s all you can do to resist blasting the Christmas music in September? That’s totally me…I seriously love beautiful and fun music this season, and it really helps put me in a magical mood! When I was given the opportunity to hear the new CD Idina Menzel Holiday Wishes, I was stoked!

When I started playing it while we decorated our Christmas tree, Wonder Woman was like ‘mom, that sounds like Elsa’! Yup, her same gorgeous, amazingly talented voice rings through on all 12 tracks of holiday hits. It was clear right away that our family’s favorite is Track #5: All I want For Christmas Is You. It started playing with fun trumpets, Idina’s voice rockin’ out, and all of us couldn’t help but dancing along!

I’d never heard the song December Prayer before (Track #7), and it’s now one of my favorites! It’s so beautiful, peaceful, and really gives you the spirit of Christmas. There’s also classics like Silent Night, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Holly Jolly Christmas and more!

If you’re also a fan of Michael Buble, you’ll love Track #3: Baby It’s Cold Outside! Idina and Michael sound fantastic together, and it’s such a fun song anyways!

You can purchase it on iTunes or Amazon. Head over and buy this fabulous album all for yourself, and begin singing along to beautiful and spunky songs with Idina Menzel!

If you want to stay up-to-date with Idina Menzel, you can follow her over on Twitter @idinamenzel or on Facebook!

Here’s the complete track list for Idina Menzel Holiday Wishes!

Do You Hear What I Hear
The Christmas Song
Baby It’s Cold Outside (Duet with Michael Buble)
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
All I Want For Christmas
What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
December Prayer
When You Wish Upon A Star
Silent Night
River
Holly Jolly Christmas
White Christmas

Get your Craft on with Epson Printable Ribbon

November 14, 2014 by Kelly Dedeaux

I was provided a free ribbon kit to review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

You know when you find a new craft tool and you just spend hours playing with it, going through a million different ideas you want to try? That’s how I was this week with this new gadget, and now YOU can Get your Craft on with Epson Printable Ribbon!

Especially with the holidays coming up, I’ve already started printing fun, customized ribbons from my Epson LabelWorks Printable Ribbon Kit. First, let me show you how ridiculously simple this is to use! Open up your machine (just snaps open, no frustrating screws to deal with) and put in your batteries. Then select which ribbon you’re going to use…..this is my ‘Black on Beige’ cartridge. Simply snap it into place, having the ribbon in the correct spot as shown below….

Snap you machine back together and turn it on. Then have fun customizing your ribbon! There’s frames to choose from ad little images such as this turkey…and you can choose between several fonts.

I love that it also cuts it smoothly off with the press of the green button on the side!

Once you’re done with your design (and if you mess up, yes you can delete and correct it before fixing…woot woot!), simply print it off!

Since I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year, I thought it would be fun to label everyone’s straw with customized name labels, plus just some fun accents around my tablescape saying Happy Thanksgiving.

I think these make a darling accent for drinks, decor and gifts, too!

I’ve been having a lot of fun creating new printable ribbon projects with this fun machine, and it doesn’t take much time at all! I can’t wait to grab more colors of ribbon/ink combinations so I can craft even more!

More great kid posts…