Featured Reader: Let me introduce you to....

Happy Monday friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend, we had a busy weekend running errands and did squeeze in some shopping and park time! Poor Will took a nasty fall at the park and ended up with a big lump on his forehead and nose!

I always look forward to Monday's since I have the opportunity to introduce you to one of my fabulous readers. I am pleased to introduce you to Jenn Of My Life With The Crazies, Jenn is a very busy Mama who has 3 kiddos, a full time Job, and runs two blogs! Please grab a cup of Joe and get to know my friend Jenn!

Name:

Jenn of My Life With The Crazies and My Crazy Life In Photos, a blog dedicated to photos.


Family:

Hubby Steve, Teen Kylie, Jocelyn and Trevor + our 2 dogs Brady and Clancy

How did you start blogging?

I had always read some great blogs ( friends of min e) and I have been writing journals and short stories for so long that I figured it was the next big thing.


If you are a parent do you have a parenting philosophy?

I try to be a pretty relaxed mom. I am busy with mom duties and working out of the home BUT I try to make as much time for my kids as I possibly can. My kids also know there is not anything they can not talk to me about. I try to be a good mom and a great friend to them but know the line has to be drawn… I still have to be the Mom.

You will never find me without.....

Oh, God…. My blackberry, and my laptop. Oh… and a great handbag.

Day job:

I am a medical office manager. I handle all the billing and insurance for 2 offices and manage the front desk.

Favorite Stuff:

Music: country, 80’s hair band rock and some of dance music out today
Food:Chinese and Japanese
Tv/ Movies: CSI ( all except NY) … any 80’s movies ( Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club) Twilight and all other vampire movies .. Oh and I love Zombie films too!!
Reading: Twilight series, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Nora Roberts … and any other vampire related books…

If you had to wear a T-shirt with your favorite saying on it what would it be?

“ Edward Cullen IS real!!”

Favorite stores to shop at :

Kohl’s, Macy’s, H&M, Target and Old Navy

Other good stuff from Jenn:

I enjoy blogging so much and have met so many amazing people!! I hope to do more reviews and giveaways soon… I have done a few and had great success!!

If you would like to be a featured reader please send me a link of your blog to klacustomcreations@comcast.net. My featured readers have the opportunity to win one of my custom hand stamped pieces from my shop!

Feel Good Sunday: Go Fetch... Please!

I love when I see Will playing with Kane, the poor kid tries to get Kane to play with his toys but Kane never has any interest, not even a little. The other day I walked into the room and this is what I saw.

I hope Will and Kane are friends Fur-ever (sorry had to do it!)

Product Junkie Approved: Jam N Jelly

When it comes to my go to color for my toes jam n' jelly by Essie is one of my all time favorites. It is a very sweet deep pink, and is just about as fun as it's name. Essie nail polishes are Formaldehyde, DBP and Toluene free. You can find jam n' jelly at stores like Ulta and Trade Secret or on line at Essie HERE.

Do you have a favorite go to shade for you toes?

Happy Painting!

Fashion Friday: A Bumper Crop Of Crops

A Bumper Crop by klacustomcreations featuring GAP Jeans

Cropped pants have got to be one of my favorite wardrobe staples. What I love about them is that you can find cropped pants from very casual to dressy and they can take you from running errands to a night out. This season they are available in a variety of fits, colors and lengths and surely you can find a pair that suits your style.

Do you love cropped pants as much as I do? Which of the above do you like best?

If you would like to read my entire article please visit TwitterMoms HERE. where I am a weekly featured fashion contributor.

Thousand Words Thursday: Mother's Day Pics...

To me the perfect Mother's Day is just being able to spend it with Will. I am especially pleased to also get a picture with him, he doesn't like his picture taken these days! Will did want his new Ugly Doll AKA Big Toe to be in the picture. A very special thank you to Dawn of Bee and Rose, Dawn so kindly sent the little cutie for Will. Will adores his Ugly Doll, he is pretty darn cute!

What did you do for Mother's Day?

To view more Thousand Words Thursday please visit Cheaper Than Therapy.

Wordless Wednesday: Deep thoughts...

I wonder what Will is thinking about? Maybe chocolate, superheroes, matchbox cars??

Visit I Heart Cuppycakes for an exclusive giveaway for a custom necklace from my shop, you won't find it in my shop! Click HERE.

Look What I Got... Now what should I load in to it?

I know I am probably the last person on the planet to get a iPod, and now need to figure out how to use it. While I am doing that tell me what some of your favorite tunes are.

What should I load into my new toy???


Be sure to visit A Psych Mommy for a giveaway that includes my "I Heart Cupcakes" necklace and a few other fab cupcake items!

Click on the picture to enter.

Good Luck!

Featured Reader: Let me introduce you to....

Happy Monday friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend and if you are a Mom a fab Mother's Day. It was a double treat for me as my B-Day was on Mother's Day this year. I received a IPod, now I need to figure out how to use it. Am I the last person on the planet to get a Ipod? I spent part of Mother's Day planting flowers in my planters, it was very therapeutic and much needed.

I love Monday's since I have the pleasure of introducing you to a fab reader. Chelsi of Chelsi and Spencer: Adventures As Newlyweds is so beautiful, sweet and truly is multifaceted! Take a peek at her slideshow of her pics of her and hubby(bottom of her blog), you can tell they truly are soul mates, by the love that is captured in their photos. Please grab a cup of joe and get to know my friend Chelisi.

Name:

Chelsi Johnston of Chelsi and Spencer: Adventures As Newlyweds

Family:

My immediate family consists of me, my husband, and our furbaby, Bella

How did you start blogging?

I started a blog after we got married. My friends and family were pre

ssuring me and I totally got sucked into the trend. Now I'm an addict.

If you are a parent do you have a parenting philosophy? If not a parent what is your blogging philosophy?

I'm a dogmom. Our philosophy is that rules and structure are necessary. We read a lot of books about raising a dog before we got Belle. We worked hard to train her and continue to work hard to be consistent. Having said that, she is THE most spoiled dog ever. I wish I had enough money to buy her diamonds.

You will never find me without......

Belle, my husband, great shoes, a Kathy handbag, and my hot pink Macbook

Day job:

I'm a writer by trade as well as hobby. I'm also a web designer. I work as a media specialist for the College of Agriculture at Utah State University and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station. I design and manage their websites, write stories once in a while, and handle random projects they throw my direction. I also freelance on the side. You can view my portfolio here:

http://www.scrapblog.com/viewer/viewer.aspx?sbid=22540

In addition to these, I have a small cake business, just for fun! You can view my cakes here:

http://www.scrapblog.com/viewer/viewer.aspx?sbid=25981

Favorite Stuff:

Music: I listen to all kinds of music from folk to rap to classical! My fave all-time bands are New Found Glory, Dashboard Confessional, and Something Corporate

Food: Onion rings, ice cream and mexican food. I also love to cook!

Tv/ Movies: The Office, ridiculous reality shows like Rock of Love, stupid humor movies like Airplane, others like The Notebook, Ever After, Romeo and Juliet, and Disney movies, especially Sleeping Beauty

Reading: Is my vice. I'm such an English nerd! My favorite author is Anita Stansfield. I also love Stephenie Meyer. I'm a sucker for LDS romance novels, but I also love the classics, like a good Jane Austen and I heart Shakespeare

If you had to wear a T-shirt with your favorite saying on it what would it be?

It would say, “My soul has secrets that you have to squint to see.” with my poetry faded in the background behind it.

Favorite stores to shop at:

Ones I can't afford!

Other good stuff from Chelsi:

I'm a woman of many facets. I'm a bookworm, a poet, a writer, an artist, a chef, a cake decorator, a ballerina, a fashionista, a fashion designer, a web designer, a scrapbooker and a kickboxer. I also have cerebral palsy and epilepsy. The past few years have limited my ability to be all of the things listed above, but not for long because I'm also a very determined fighter.

If you vote for me, you'll be entered into a giveaway for 25% off a cake of your choice!

If you would like to be a featured reader please send me a link to your blog to klacustomcreations@comcast.net My featured readers have a chance to win one of my custom necklaces by participating.

Happy, Happy Mother's Day!!!

BEFORE I WAS A MOM
Author Anonymous

Before I was a Mom;
I made and ate hot meals,
I had unstained clothing,
I brushed my hair every day,
I had quiet conversations on the phone,
I slept as late as I wanted and I slept all night long.

Before I was a Mom;
I cleaned my house each day,
I never tripped over toys or forgot lullabies,
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous,
I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, peed on, or
pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom;
I never thought about immunizations,
I never held a screaming child so the doctors could give shots,
I never looked into teary eyes and cried,
I never felt my heart break into pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt,
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

Before I was a Mom;
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down,
I never sat up late hours of the night watching a baby sleep,
I never got up in the middle of the night to make sure everything was okay,
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

Before I was a Mom;
I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts and my body,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside of my body,
I didn't know that having something so small could make me feel so
important,
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment, or the satisfaction of being a mom.

Before I was a Mom;
I never knew that something so small could effect my life so much,
I never knew that I could love someone so much,
I never knew I would love being a Mom,
I didn't know the bond between a Mother and her child,
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Mother's Day!

Product Junkie Approved: They say it's your Birthday

Well actually it is my birthday tomorrow so I thought it was only fitting to share one of my favorite shower gels. Normally I am not a big fan of Vanilla but I love the Vanilla Birthday Cake 3 in 1 Shampoo/Shower Gel/Bubble bath by Philosophy. What I love about it is that the Vanilla isn't overpowering , it is mild and smells just like a birthday cake. The Vanilla Birthday Cake is available HERE for $16. The bottle is 16 ounces and will last you a while! This is the best kind of cake, guilt free without the calories!

La Dolce Vita Featured Reader Winner

Wow I have been so busy this almost slipped by me! I also can't believe it has been 4 weeks since I announced our last winner. Just as a reminder my featured readers have a chance to win one of my custom necklaces and for this round the winner is Jo of A-Priori Mommy. Congratulations Jo! Jo said she wanted to win the "Love, Faith, Hope" necklace!




If you would like to be a featured reader please send me a link of your blog to klacustomcreations@comcast.net

Fashion Friday: Last minute gifts for Mom!

Fab Finds For Moms by klacustomcreations on Polyvore.com

Mother's Day is in just a few days and there is still time to get some last minute gifts perfectly suited for Mom. These select items are just perfect for that hard to find Mom! You can read the entire article at TwitterMoms HERE.

What is on your wish list?

Thousand Words Thursday: For Maddie

As a Mother myself, my heart aches for the Spohr family for their loss of sweet Maddie. I can only imagine how they must feel and wanted to do something very special in honor of Maddie. Every single picture of Maddie you see the joy that she spread and I know Heather and Mike loved her more than anything in the world, hence the "For Maddie: A Love Like No Other" was created. Heather and I collaborated to create this very special necklace to honor Maddie.

The "For Maddie: A Love Like No Other" is available in my SHOP and 10% of proceeds will be donated to the March of Dimes in honor of sweet Maddie. The necklace can be customized with a name of up to 7 letters or you can select the fancy heart stamping.

Please visit the Spohr's site to learn more about Maddie HERE and send some love their way.

If you would like to directly donate to the March of Dimes in Maddie's honor please click HERE.


For more Thousand Words Thursday please visit Cheaper Than Therapy Jen.

Wordless Wednesday: Make yourself at home

This is one of the Squirrels that frequents at my parent's house, he comes right up to their sliding glass door looking for food. I think they are cute but don't like them this close!

He is pretty cute though, what do you think?

Teach, Influence, Inspire.....

The "Teach, Influence, Inspire" necklace is new in my shop and makes the perfect gift for a very special teacher. The "Inspire" necklace is one of my best sellers and can also be for a teacher or a recent grad. Both hand stamped necklaces are available in my SHOP.

I can hardly believe the end of the school year is approaching us, but that means summer is around the corner!

What are you looking forward to this summer?

La Dolce Vita Happenings....

Every time a batch of packages go out, it is such a great feeling! And through the Mother's Day madness (which I totally LOVE) it makes my day when a customer takes the time to send a message about their order. This is the feedback I received from a customer that had a custom charm created for her daughters upcoming wedding:

Kristen, Got the necklace today. Thank you, Thank you!! It is beautiful! Your stuff looks great on the computer, but to see it in person, wow!! So very happy with how it turned out. You did an awesome job. Again thank you so much, she will love this. I will be getting back with you in the near future for some more items (I'll wait till after mothers day) :0) Much Appreciation, Gina

For some odd reason the busier I am the more productive I am. I even managed to create a new bracelet for myself. I will say I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend, not only because it is Mother's Day but because this Sunday is my birthday and I love getting presents (who doesn't)

Happy Tuesday friends!

Featured Reader: Let me introduce you to....

Happy Monday friends! Where did the weekend go? I spent the weekend making jewelry and have the blisters to prove it! I miss visiting my blog friends and am sorry I haven't visited much, but I will be back soon. I love Monday's since I have the pleasure of introducing you to one of my fabulous friends. Jo of Life's Perfect Pictures is a fabulous Mama of two, is a SAHM who also has a photography business on the side and she takes the most gorgeous pictures you have to see this POST. Please grab a cup of joe and get to know my friend Jo!



Name: - Jo Brazzell of Life’s Perfect Pictures and Picture Perfect by Jo.

Family:

I have been married to the love of my life for 17 years and we

have a son, age 16 and a daughter who just turned 2. No this is not a typo, there are 14 years between the two kids!

How did you start blogging?

I originally started blogging to keep in touch with family scattered all other the world! It gave them the opportunity to see photos of the kids and keep track of what we were all up to!

If you are a parent do you have a parenting philosophy?

If not a parent what is your blogging philosophy? My parenting style is pretty laid back, although it didn't use to be that way! When my son was little I wanted to get it all right and now I roll with the flow. It is kind of funny because he is laid back and she is a little demanding diva! I also worked when he was younger but now I believe that it is more important for ME to be the one raising my child.

You will never find me without......My camera or my cell phone! The camera because taking photos is a passion and my cell because I am always on it!

Day job:

I am a SAHM who has transformed her passion for photography into a great side business! Under the name Picture Perfect by Jo, I do family photography including weddings and large group events! I can work my schedule so that one of us is always home with the baby and she never needs to go to a sitter. There is nothing better than capturing the perfect moment in someone’s life! I never get tired of talking to people and immortalizing their memories.

Favorite Stuff:

Music: All! I was a County Music DJ for years but I can handle just about anything!

Food: Italian! I would love to go to Italy and taste some true old world Italian!

Tv/ Movies: Reality TV just because it makes me laugh!

Reading: The Mother Daughter Project, 5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter and anything else that I can get my hands on!

If you had to wear a T-shirt with your favorite saying on it what would it be?

Live Beautiful from my friend Jessica’s site To Live Beautiful! I think it says it all!

Favorite stores to shop: Favorite stores are are on line! I love Etsy and, of course, Target!

Misc stuff: I sing with a praise band and have a great time doing it! Music is just such a huge part of me!

If you would like to be a Featured Reader here at La Dolce Vita please send a link of your blog to klacustomcreations.etsy.com my readers have a chance to win a custom necklace from my shop.