Raisels Review & Giveaway

I am quite the snacker and always up for trying something new. When we got the opportunity to taste Raisels, a new treat from the National Raisin Company, I couldn't wait to try them. My kiddo has quite the sweet tooth and Raisels are presented as a healthier alternative to cookies, candies, and other sweets that my daughter craves. They are golden raisins, so 100% real fruit, and taste like candy. Raisels are also:

• #1 Ingredient is REAL FRUIT
• 100% US RDA for Vitamin C
• Rich in Antioxidants
• Fat Free
• Cholesterol Free
• No High Fructose Corn Syrup or Artificial Sweeteners
• No Sodium
• Kosher Certified by the Orthodox Union
• Come in FOUR great favors: Sour Apple, Sour Orange, Sour Lemon, Sour Peach, and coming soon...watermelon!

I know all that sounds really good, but that some of you may still be wondering about the amount of sugar in these treats. As a diabetic, whose beeen to a fair share of meetings with dieticians, I was already aware that raisins are are naturally high in sugar, as are all dried fruit. 90% of the sugar in Raisels are naturally occuring, and the light dusting of sugar, that makes them so appealing, is only 10% of the total weight.

Many candies and soft drinks contain far more added sugar than Raisels. Too put things in perspective, Raisels contain 23 grams of sugar the same amount as a 3.25" diameter apple and less than a name brand original strawberry yogurt that has 26 grams. A 1.5 ounce bar of Hershey's milk chocolate has 24 grams.
My kiddo is not usually a fan or raisins, odd for a kid, I know! I wasn't sure how Raisels would go over. She took them immediately, and ate an entire box the first time, which kinda shocked me. Her favorite are the sour peach and mine are the sour apple but all of the flavors are really good. She really likes how they come in a little box, isn't built in portion control nice; I like the portability. I've been taking a box of Raisels along with us when we run errands as an incentive. Lately she's been kind wiggly and touchy at stores, so if she's good through a few stops, I let her have a box of Raisels as a treat at the last store or on the way home. For our family, Raisels are a great treat alternative. They really taste great, I find myself munching on them too!

Giveaway:

One reader will win a Raisels prize package including a variety of flavors!

To Enter:

Leave me a comment, like what your biggest challenge to eating healthy is.

Extra Entries:

• Visit the Raisel's website and tell me something you learned or like about Raisels.
• Follow Raisels on Twitter
• Like Raisels on Facebook

I'd also love for you to publically follow my blog, subcribe to it by email, and follow me on Facebook and Twitter for more extra entries. Spreading the word about this giveaway is also appreciated! If you post about it on your blog, Facebook page, or send a tweet you'll get an extra entry for each! If you tweet, please include @KTnestingspot in your tweet so it's easier for me to see for verification. You must leave a seperate comment for each additional method for them to be counted.

Giveaway open to US residents, now through March 14 at Midnight EST. Winner will be chosen via random.org, notified by email, and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner will be picked.



Disclosure: I received a complimentary sample package of Raisels to review. Information contained within this post and the giveaway were provided to me via Team Mom. Personal experiences related within, are unbiased and not influenced by this relationship in any manner.

Mars Needs Moms Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed, thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to Katrina, comment #6, who said, "I would want an adult large for myself and an xs for my daughter! MARS NEEDS MOMS blasts into theaters on March 11 in 3D!

Take out the trash, eat your broccoli—who needs moms, anyway? Nine-year-old Milo (Seth Green) finds out just how much he needs his mom (Joan Cusack) when she’s nabbed by Martians who plan to steal her mom-ness for their own young. Produced by the team behind “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” and “The Polar Express,” “Mars Needs Moms” showcases Milo’s quest to save his mom—a wild adventure in Disney Digital 3D™ and IMAX® 3D that involves stowing away on a spaceship, navigating an elaborate, multi-level planet and taking on the alien nation and their leader (Mindy Sterling). With the help of a tech-savvy, underground earthman named Gribble (Dan Fogler) and a rebel Martian girl called Ki (Elisabeth Harnois), Milo just might find his way back to his mom—in more ways than one.

Giveaway!

I've got a cool giveaway MARS NEEDS MOMS giveaway that includes a youth sized shirt, adult sized shirt and a 3-pack of temporary tattoos!
To Enter:

Leave me a comment, I'd love for you to tell me which size youth and adult size shirt you'd want as winner and who you'd give them too.

Extra Entries:

I'd love for you "Like" Mars Needs Moms on Facebook. You can also publically follow my blog, subcribe to it by email, and follow me on Facebook and Twitter for a total of four extra entries. Spreading the word about this giveaway is also appreciated! If you post about it on your blog, post on Facebook, or send a tweet you'll get an extra entry for each! Make sure you leave an additional comment for each extra entry!

Giveaway open now through opening day, 8 AM on March 11th to US residents.

Before you go, I wanted to tell you to check out Disney.com for your chance to win an all-new Nissan Quest in celebration of MARS NEEDS MOMS! (Get it? Quest? Because it’s a journey to Mars? Ahhhhh!!!)



Disclaimer: Information, images, and the giveaway have been provided by a public relations representative.

A Crafty Soiree #26

I'm expecting our second child and I think the pregnancy cravings got the best of me last week. It seemed like every link I was drawn to involved food in some way!The Ivy Cottage made a great sounding Lemon Pepper Chicken, I like how she used reduced fat and sodium ingredients and best of all...that it's made in a crock pot. I love it when the whole house smells yummy all day long!Now that we've all eaten a nice balance meal, it's time to splurge on these cute Chocolate Dipped Cakeberries from Cute As A Fox.Aren't they just adorable?! And if you're watching your waistline, here's some no calerie treats from She Wears Flowers. Aren't these sock cupcakes adorable? I love how they are presented, something to keep your feet cozy AND something to keep your drink warm too!

<a href="http://www.katiesnestingspot.com/" target="_blank"><img width="150" border="0" alt="A Crafty Soiree" src="http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv157/KTnestingspot/Blog%20Buttons/FeaturedOnBlueButtoncopy.jpg" /></a>Ladies, for being our features this week, we're happy to offer you our special Crafty Soiree Ribbon! It's yours to proudly display! Don't forget to check out today's Crafty Soiree post at Yesterday on Tuesday, we both pick three participants to feature each week so you might have been featured by Malia. But you'll have to visit her to find out!
<a href="http://www.katiesnestingspot.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img width="150" border="0" alt="Katie's Nesting Spot" src="http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv157/KTnestingspot/Blog%20Buttons/KatiesNestingSpotButtoncopy.jpg" /></a>Now it's your turn to link up! The linky will be open for a week, so you have plenty of time to join us! Here are some guidelines for our guests:

• Link up your creative projects! Crafts, Kid Crafts, Decor, Recipes, Sewing and Organizing tips are are welcome.
• Add up to FOUR links to share, you can link up projects from your archives, but please make sure it's not something you've previously linked up to A Crafty Soiree AND you add a link back to the party!
• Add your links to the specific posts and not your blog's homepage.
• Add my Crafty Soiree button above or link back to me in your posts, so others can find us and join in!
• Please comment on the post linked up in front of you. All partygoers love meeting new friends... don't just stop there...if you see something that catches your fancy-- stop by and say hi!
• Please consider following the hostesses, me and Malia, we want to get to know our guests.
• Most importantly... enjoy yourself and have fun!

Don't forget, A Crafty Soiree is hosted on two blogs, so when you link up on one your link will automatically show up on the other one too! Please note, by linking up to A Crafty Soiree, you're giving permission to feature your project and photos in the future, with proper credit of course☺

Pregnancy Journal

Did you keep a pregnancy journal for each child? When I was pregnant the first time, I ran out and bought tons of books, planners, and journals. Second time around, it's been a lot less. In fact, this is the first thing I bought, after pulling out my keepsake box from ER and seeing all the journaling I did for her. It made me feel kinda bad, that I wasn't charting each little thing again, in something nicer than scribbles in my planner.

My husband Brad was the second child, and we've noticed that when you look at family photo albums, there's a real lack of pictures by himself. So I'm very conscious of the need to make sure we record this baby's childhood in a special way. Since I'm a scrapbooker, I'm not too worried about that, since if anything my tendancy is to over document. I'm wondering, how did you record your children's childhood and what attempts did you make to ensure each is represented equally and as an individual?

First Hair Cut Layout

Here's my interpretation of a November Page Map, third one down, completed during last weekend's Online Crop. I used all stuff from my stash, the paper is an older paper pad, Nana's Nursery. It's baby themed but the soft pastels also match my daughter's sweater dress perfectly.

The paper flowers & metal words, both probably from Making Memories, I've had since California...meaning I've held onto those for six years or longer! A little green paint helped the words stand out. Title letters are chipboard from a kit bought on QVC. For the date tag, I used a Tag Maker and a green cardstock scrap leftover from mounting two of the pictures.

At this point I was almost done, but it was was missing something. All the different paper patterns were blending in too much. So I yanked everything up and inked the edges. What a difference that made!

Colours of Spring Release: Photo Bookmark & Brag Book Freebies

Everytime I get a new kit from Louise at Adopri Graphics, I fall in love again! This time I'm digging the doodles that look like they are kid drawn and colored in with crayon. They are so whimsical and cute, just perfect for many layouts about my own little artist! Plus the pink rain boots seem tailored made for us!
To show off the pretty colors of this kit, which really helped chase away my winter blues, I designed three photo bookmarks. Each one is 3.5"x8", which is a little wider than I'd do in the future, but at least their larger size means you're unlikely to lose them. I think the size also means they'd make cute photo cards...just sayin' ☺
After printing three to a page, I cut out and mounted each on cardstock before laminating them individually. You can skip that step but laminating makes them extra sturdy for embellishing. Links to download the png file freebies for each bookmark, so you can add your own text and pictures to each, are below in the descriptions. Enjoy, but please use of Personal Use Only!
The first design has been left unadorned. Here is a link to the freebie. This design has three circular frames created using one of the papers in the kit. I also recolored the string elements to make them pink. In my example is a circular journaling spot, not on the freebie.
The quickest and easiest way to add a little extra oomph to the bookmarks, is by adding a little ribbon. Mine is a sheer pink so the flowers still show through. For this freebie design I created my own flower "paper" by adding several flower elements over and over in a random pattern. Then I used my favorite element of the kit, an ornate aqua frame. A quote by e.e. cummings "The earth laughs in flowers," finishes it off.
For the last hybrid bookmark freebie, a zig zag stitch to adds some interesting texture without a lot of bulk. (Don't look too closely at the stitching, I'm a novice with my machine.) The three part frame is part of the kit, and I chose to use one big picture, but you can also choose to feature three. The journaling tag is from another of Louise's kits, used as a clipping mask with paper from this kit to make it match. For an extra special bookmark you could combine stitching with ribbon!

Design Team Blog Train!

Once again, the Adori Graphics Design Team has put together an awesome Blog Train for you! Visit each of the members to snag a super cute 4"X6" Brag Book Page! The preview for mine is above. Click here for the png freebie version, it's minus the picture and journaling text and is for Personal Use Only.

Don't forget to visit each member for the complete book as well as other freebies, like quick pages using Louise's newest kit The Colours of Spring. We even have two more stops now! Welcome Ashley & Christin to the team! Once you see all the goodies we've made, I know you're going to want to pick up the kit for yourself:) Here's a full list:

• Adori Graphics
• Amanda & Millie Designs
• Katies Nesting Spot <---you are here:)
• Pavei Photos
• ATALW
• This is My Story
• Mommy & Wife

For tips on printing for hybrid projects, see my guest post at Adori Graphics.
For help on assembling a Brag Book, check out my previous post for the Jungle Jane Kit.

Shared At: Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sew Can Do, Skip to My Lou, Embellishing Life, CraftOManic, and Today's Creative Blog.



Disclosure: I'm a member of the Adori Graphics Design Team and receive access to kit for designing promotional items.

Yoplait Kids Pack Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed, thank you to everyone who entered and to the sponsor! Congratulations Katie, comment #8 who said...Yogurt is a go to snack for my daughter, she LOVES it. So this would be perfect for us.Yoplait Kids has an excellent source of both calcium and vitamin D, a good source of protein and the delicious taste kids demand. It also contains 25% less sugar than the leading kids´ yogurt, and has no high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. Yoplait Kids yogurt is a snack you can feel confident about serving to your kids!

With tasty flavor options, as well as calcium, vitamin D and protein to help build strong bones, Yoplait Kids yogurt is sure to be popular with parents and kids alike. A great value at just $2.00 for a pack of four, this yogurt comes in three delicious flavors, including Strawberry, Strawberry Banana and Vanilla. Kids will love finding their favorite friends, like Dora the Explorer, Lightning McQueen from the hit movie "Cars" and the Disney Princesses, on every cup.Yoplait Kids has also partnered with well-known mom-blogger, Christine Coppa, Mama's Boy blogger at parenting.com and author of Rattled! (Broadway Books, 2009), who has developed helpful snacking tips for moms with young children including:

• Tips about healthy snack ideas
• Tips about portable snacks
• Tips about making snack time fun

My daughter really enjoys Yoplait Kids Yogurt and often eats it along with a piece of fruit for breakfast. She also likes to have it after school and for snacks. Sometimes she'll eat up to three a day! Strawberry is her favorite flavor. Giveaway!

Win a Yoplait Kids Pack, it includes: a coupon** for Yoplait Kids yogurt, a foldable travel cooler (to take your yogurt on-the-go), a cool four-piece spoon set, a power magnet picture frame, trendy alphabet-shaped "Kiddie Bands", a great big bounce ball and a "My First Scavenger Hunt" card game for some after-snack fun.

**Please Note: This coupon offer for a free four pack of Yoplait Kids yogurt is not valid in some states, including California, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota and Tennessee.

To Enter:

Tell me how you incorporate wholesome snacks into your chid's diet or how you plan to incorporate more healthy snacks. I'd love to know how Yoplait Kids yogurt can help!

Extra Entries: Leave a comment for EACH additional method of entry.

I'd love for you to publically follow my blog, subcribe to it by email, and follow me on Facebook and Twitter for a total of four extra entries. Spreading the word about this giveaway is also appreciated! If you post about it on your blog, post on Facebook, or send a tweet you'll get an extra entry for each! If you tweet, please include the hashtag #myblogspark, @YoplaitYogurt, and @KTnestingspot.

Giveaway open to US residents, now through March 6th at midnight EST. Winner will be chosen by random.org, notified by email, and have 48 hrs. to respond before a new one will be chosen.



Disclosure: Yoplait provided me with the free product, information, and giveaway through MyBlogSpark. This post relates my unbiased and personal experience with this product.

YCMT & DIY Dish: Bloom Giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed, thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to...Jen, comment #9, who said,"From YMCT I would love the Triptych Ring ebook! The jewelry is so pretty!" You Can Make This and The DIY Dish are giving away 2 volumes of their "Bloom" books!
In Volume 1: Start (or add to!) your collection of unique and gorgeous fabric flowers! Kim and Kris from" The DIY Dish Show" will demonstrate how to make these beautiful flowers with some fabric and a glue gun! That's right - no machine sewing or hand-sewing involved!

These flowers are perfect additions to handbags, shoes, tops, jackets, headbands, hair accessories, necklaces, and more.

They cost pennies to make and are so easy to put together. These make beautiful gifts to give or to even make and sell!

30 step-by step photos
10 pages
Link to bead necklace "how-to" video (as you see in the photographs)
In Volume 3: Add to your "bouquet" of gorgeous fabric flowers! Kim and Kris from" The DIY Dish Show" will demonstrate how to make these beautiful flowers with fabric, needle, and thread.

These flowers are perfect additions to handbags, shoes, tops, jackets, headbands, hair accessories, necklaces, and more.

They cost pennies to make and are so easy to put together. These make beautiful gifts to give or to even make and sell!

17 step-by-step photos for "flower #5"
14 step-by-step photos for "flower #6"
10 pages
Don't forget to also enter the awesome Craft Night Giveaway on The DIY Dish! You get to invite 10 of your friends and EACH ONE OF YOU will win the Epic 6 Cutting & Embossing Tool and Letterpress Combo (each is a $169 value!) as well as accessories, di-cuts, papers, paints, etc. all thanks to Lifestyle Crafts. Catered food and a whole lot of FUN will all be a part of that craft night AND Kris and Kim will be there too! All the details on how to enter are found on this 2 minute video as well as at http://www.thediydish.com/. Entries will be accepted until February 27, 2011.

Giveaway:

Win copies of both Bloom ebooks, Volume 1 and Volume 3, from YCMT and The DIY Dish!

To Enter:

Visit YCMT and tell me another ebook you're interested in. If you'd like to purchase it, be sure to use the code "YouCanMakeThis" and receive 15% off your order through 2/28/11!

and/or

Visit The DIY Dish and tell me your favorite episode from either Season 1 or Season 2, scroll to the bottom of the home page to see both seasons.

You get ONE entry for each answer, leave them in separate comments for them to both count!

Extra Entries:

You can also earn more entries to this giveaway by following me via Google Friends Connect, email, Facebook, or Twitter so you'll be the first to know about giveaway opportunities in the future! You can also choose to follow YCMT and The DIY Dish on Facebook, Twitter, or RSS Feed. Spreading the word is also appreciated.

Just let me know what you do in a separate comment for each extra method you do.

Giveaway open now through February 26 at midnight EST. Winner will be picked by random.org, notified by email, and have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.



Disclosure: I will receive complimentary copies of both giveaway ebooks for hosting this giveaway.

Happiness Grows Layout

Maryanne's challenge for the "Be My Valentine Blog Hop" was to create your own L.O.V.E. Layout. I thought it was a pretty neat concept and really wanted to play along, but I don't normally use shaped paper. I had to get to the scrapbook store...something I never need too much prompting to do!

L = Large Shape (heart, circle, diamond, etc.): A "square" still counts as a shape, right? Anyway, mine at least has a cool die cut edge! The paper is so pretty, it's kinda a shame I ended up covering so much up. As soon as I saw it, I knew exactly which pictures I'd use it with.
O = One style of pattern (so you can use all striped pieces for example, but no other patterned pieces): The blue paper shape has subtle flower pattern.
V = Vellum: The journaling was printed out on vellum, always a cool technique when you want your journaling to blend in a bit and so the paper can still show through.
E = Embellishments (at least 3 different ones): You can't tell in the pictures but the word border sticker is glittery...so cute with it swirls! I also used flower and word stickers, a metal tag, and two green eyelets to attach my journaling.

I think if I'd been able to use two patterns, I might have replaced the solid cardstock with a pattern, but do like how the solid really lets the blue stand out. These pictures, taken in our back yard, are some of my favorites from last year. I've been wanting to figure out something special to do with them, and I love how this looks different and unique from my usual style. It was so nice to break out the rut and use the cool paper and different photo placements than normal.

BTW: February's Online Crop has begun and I'm sponsoring one of the prizes, please join us!

Shared at: Scrappy Gifts.

A Crafty Soiree #25

Hello crafy friends, last week was our biggest A Crafty Soiree yet and I'm happy you all choose to come party with us! It's always so fun to see all the things you are up to! Last week, I was really drawn to the creative ways you had to express your love for others in celebration of Valentine's Day. I found three cute, easy, and inexpensive ways I'd like to feature before we get to the linky.
Rachel at Bubbly Nature Creations, made sweet photo magnets that are practically free and a great way to show off your little one. A sweet cupid tag and a cute saying are all that's needed to turn strawberry crush into the perfect Valentine, as seen at Beautiful Mess.
Colette at My Computer is My Canvas has an adorable freebie, that's a fun way to turn ordinary lip balm into something fabulous!

<a href="http://www.katiesnestingspot.com/" target="_blank"><img width="150" border="0" alt="A Crafty Soiree" src="http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv157/KTnestingspot/Blog%20Buttons/FeaturedOnBlueButtoncopy.jpg" /></a>Ladies, for being our features this week, we're happy to offer you our special Crafty Soiree Ribbon! It's yours to proudly display! Don't forget to check out today's Crafty Soiree post at Yesterday on Tuesday, we both pick three participants to feature each week so you might have been featured by Malia. But you'll have to visit her to find out!
While I've got all my creative friends over, I wanted to tell you about a really cool opportunity to win an amazing craft night for you and 10 of your friends from Kim & Kris from "The DIY Dish"!

You get to invite 10 of your friends and EACH ONE OF YOU will win the Epic 6 Cutting & Embossing Tool and Letterpress Combo (each is a $169 value!) as well as accessories, di-cuts, papers, paints, etc. all thanks to Lifestyle Crafts.

Catered food and a whole lot of FUN will all be a part of that craft night! All the details on how to enter are found on this 2 minute video as well as at http://www.thediydish.com/. Entries will be accepted until February 27, 2011.
Watch this video for a little bit more about the giveaway, prizes, and how to enter! Plus if you're in the mood for some DIY now, and I know you are, here's a "You Can Make This" promo. Readers of this blog can use the coupon code "YouCanMakeThis" and receive 15% off their order from 2/10/11 - 2/28/11 at http://www.youcanmakethis.com/!
<a href="http://www.katiesnestingspot.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img width="150" border="0" alt="Katie's Nesting Spot" src="http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv157/KTnestingspot/Blog%20Buttons/KatiesNestingSpotButtoncopy.jpg" /></a>Now it's your turn to link up! The linky will be open for a week, so you have plenty of time to join us! Here are some guidelines for our guests:

• Link up your creative projects! Crafts, Kid Crafts, Decor, Recipes, Sewing and Organizing tips are are welcome.
• Add up to FOUR links to share, you can link up projects from your archives, but please make sure it's not something you've previously linked up to A Crafty Soiree AND you add a link back to the party!
• Add your links to the specific posts and not your blog's homepage.
• Add my Crafty Soiree button above or link back to me in your posts, so others can find us and join in!
• Please comment on the post linked up in front of you. All partygoers love meeting new friends... don't just stop there...if you see something that catches your fancy-- stop by and say hi!
• Please consider following the hostesses, me and Malia, we want to get to know our guests.
• Most importantly... enjoy yourself and have fun!

Don't forget, A Crafty Soiree is hosted on two blogs, so when you link up on one your link will automatically show up on the other one too! Please note, by linking up to A Crafty Soiree, you're giving permission to feature your project and photos in the future, with proper credit of course☺