Connor is on my wall!

Nothing and I do mean nothing is better than looking up while I'm working on reviews and see my absolutely adorable little man above my computer desk. Though I absolutely love pictures of Connor for the most part I am not normally one of those people who enjoys picture frames on the wall, its just that we do not have a ton of wall space so hanging a bunch of frames looks too cluttered in a small space. What I do love is unframed artwork on pulled canvas as it really gives my space a more clean modern look. Up till now however I never knew that this was even an option with photos.

Canvas On Demand is a fabulous service that allows you to basically design your own art. Upload your favorite pictures and you can make any picture a gorgeous piece of art that will really turn heads when people walk into your house. Ordinary photos can be converted into paintings, beautiful black and white or tinted photos on canvas, really hip looking pop art, or you can really get creative and play with the options to make something really unique just for you!

What was really surprising is just how fast you get your new creation. Once I put my order in my piece arrived in about 8 days. How on earth that's possible still baffles me and the result is really beautiful. I ended up using the picture I took of Connor for a review I did awhile back. That picture is very special to me as it's a really great representation of just who Connor is and though you can't tell in the picture it makes me laugh as I know that he is standing there with his super hero cape on and just a diaper. Hence the nickname Super Captain Diapy Pants that he earned just from that photo session.

Canvas On Demand is a great option for a gift or just for something special for your own wall! Visit the Canvas On Demand website to see all the options!

From custom cards to fabulous photo books and more.

I have to admit I've never finished Connor's baby book and I feel overwhelmingly guilty about that but I have made it a point that it is important to save memories and one of the ways I do that is to make Connor personalized photo books at least once a year though my goal is every six months. Regardless if its photo books, personalized cards, or even having your photos put on DVDs I know it can be confusing in choosing or even starting a personalized photo project.

HP Creative Studio helps take a little bit of that guess work out of making just the right personalized gift. It works sort of like a launching pad to finding just the right project and even shows you some examples of what you could create. Thus far I have made Connor four photo books and each time I find myself browsing through different options as there are several companies that you can use and what seems like endless options. I can honestly say that his books are never the same and some of them I like more than others. I wish I had known about HP Creative Studio before now as it would have made my search for the perfect photo book so much easier.

For Connor's book this time we browsed all the options at HP Creative Studio and ended up going with a Snapfish 8x11 Custom Cover Photo book. I love the fact that we could customize the cover with our own title and even the spine of the book. I write Connor's photo books as if they were a children's book and we keep them with his normal books so he can read about himself any time he wishes. Having the title on the spine makes them easier to find on the bookshelf and its a cute option. With finals at school and all the other obligations I have had lately I feel guilty saying that I only spent about thirty minutes making his book this time verses the normal 3-4 hours I have spent in the past. However, I could not be more thrilled with the results and you certainly could not tell that I didn't have the time to spend a whole day on it. Snapfish's online photo book creating tool was so easy to use and it allows you to customize everything from the layout of the pictures to your own captions, and even the background to the photos. You really can't go wrong.

Connor absolutely loves his new book. He will sit in my recliner and "read" me the book pointing at the pictures of himself and even the pictures of his daddy and saying "Daddy". Sadly as much as I ask him to he never points at pictures and says "Mommy" go figure. If he is anything like his Mommy he is just holding it over my head until I buy him a pony. Don't worry Dad, If your reading I know, oh I know, that all those years and money you spent on me and my horses will come back to bite me one day be it ponies or motorcycles or whatever Connor is into I can smell it coming already.

Go check out the HP Creative Studio and make something special for someone on your list. There is a project and idea for every price range and every gift idea. I highly recommend photo books for loved ones that live far away as well its really a special treat and its a much nicer way to give photos. Connor's great grandparents get one every Christmas as they live too far away to visit often and I hear that those books are the talk of the church Connor's great grandmother goes to.

Birthday Monsters & Sushi Shirts!!

You know Connor up till now has pretty much had the exact opposite taste as I do when it comes to food. If I hate it.. he loves it... I really hope this is not a sign of things to come, especially in those teenage years.

Speckled Sunshine offers the CUTEST hand painted tshirts for babies and toddlers. I have to admit this Sushi shirt is by far my favorite, and you know I really don't enjoy Sushi when it comes to eating it, so I am positive Connor will love it. I really love the shirt though!

Sadly the cute kid and neato sushi pants are not included. The Sushi tshirt is available in a lap tee as well as a onesie.

If you'd like a good laugh check out the stud muffin tshirt, while your over there as well.

Have a birthday coming up? These birthday monsters are really friendly, and its a great way to show off that new number. Connor can't quite tell people how old he is yet.. but his monster can!

Got something custom you want? Speckled Sunshine would love to make you the custom shirt of your dreams. A custom design would be a great idea for a birthday party or special event!

Speckled Sunshine is offering a a hand painted t-shirt to one lucky reader!

To enter :

• Leave a comment on this post. Check out Speckled Sunshine and let us know which design is your favorite, If you'd love to have a custom t-shirt tell us what that might be!
  
• No "i want to win" stuff without a little effort (and I do mean little!)
• Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com) We have had to disqualify a lot of potential winners as of late as many people do not have emails available in their profiles or leave anonymous posts without any way to contact you.
• Please US entries only.
• To get extra credit :
• For an extra entry :
• Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
• Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry!
• One extra credit per person. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
• This contest will end May 12th at midnight!

Book Review : Flatten Me Custom Storybooks

For those of you that know me personally you should know by now how crazy I am about customized books for kids and I found another one to share with you guys!

FlattenMe offers the cutest customized storybooks, and for those of you that are about to venture into Potty Training I HIGHLY recommend you check out their Potty Dance book! Who wouldn't get excited about potty time if they had their own storybook with their picture just for that occasion?

Though honestly I think Margo, the creator of FlattenMe must have been listening to me when she created her story books. Not only do they have the Potty Dance Book, but as if she actually knew what I would want she also offers a Pirate Book (Here There Be Pirates), a fairy book (Tuesday Mushroom King), and to top that off there is one suitable for pets (My Little Monster)!! Up to date Melos has been left out of the customizing book craze so I decided to go with My Little Monster so he wouldn't feel left out. Plus what little boy wouldn't want a book about their best friend, especially one as cute as Melos?

Want your own FlattenMe Book? Visit their webpage!

Book Review : The First Adventures of Incredible You

The First Adventures of the Incredible You
by Custom Made for Kids

I think I have a new addiction to personalized children's items especially books. What is more special than sitting down to read about... well yourself!?! I know as a kid I would have been so excited to have a book about me, it would have made me feel like a celebrity.

The First Adventures of Incredible You is a great customizable storybook. The story itself starts with your babies birth and then talks about all the wonderful "adventures" he/she will get to explore. Every page has customizable aspects to make each book uniquely your own. The most unique part I have seen vrs some of the other customizable books is this book would work perfectly for a non traditional household. Every aspect of the names of the characters in a babies life can be changed to whoever is most important in your life (not just the traditional mommy/daddy aspect), I even included Melos (Connor's chihuahua!) in ours as he is a HUGE part of our life.

I can honestly tell you the illustrations in the book are sooo beautiful. Every page has brightly colored hand done drawings that are a lot of fun to look at. Connor is at that age right now that the pictures are more important than the words and he loves to touch the bright colors on each page. The one above is his favorite and I think we have actually touched each of those polka dots at least a hundred times.

Honestly the only real drawback that I found with this book is I wish the "dedication" at the front of the book had more room to write a note in. You can choose who the book is from and a small dedication title but there is no space to write a special paragraph or two.

Want one?
Hop on over to Custom Made For Kids and start customizing one for yourself! The cost is $32.95 and I assure you its worth it!

Book Review : Aardvark Books

The Voyage of the Sea Noodle
by Aardvark Stories

Ok this is not the typical book review.. this book falls somewhere between a gift and a book.. but for all intensive purposes I'm classifying this as a book review.

Of all the gifts Connor received for Christmas... this one blows the water off every gift that fell under our tree this year. We ordered it a bit late for Christmas and still the ladies over at Aardvark worked their hineys off and got it to us just in time (Thanks!! You have no idea what a big deal this was for us for Christmas!) Though Connor is still a bit too young to truely appreciate this gift it certainly will be one of those gifts that he himself will most likely reading to his own children and grandchildren and possibly even his great great grandchildren as baring something traumatic happening to this book I personally will protect it and make sure it at least makes it through his own childhood loved but not "over loved".

I came across Aardvark books in one of my early attempts to find really unique items to share with my readers and put them on the back burner for a bit as honestly I thought the book prices were high... if I had know what I didn't know then, I would have thought it was a steal. For $49.95 you receive a book that is personalized in every aspect for your child. (Belive me.. you could not take this book away from me for even triple that!) He or She is truly the main character and all you have to do is send in a few photos with different expressions. Each book has a unique set of pictures you need to send in and each book's page shows examples of the pictures you should send. Mind you Connor is not good at doing all of the expressions that they wanted nor would he do them on command so I had to take about 50 pictures to get just the right set. The best part is, they take those pictures and carefully edit them so that your child then becomes the main character of each book!



I have always dreamed of being a pirate, long before pirates were popular in movies. I remember making elabrite treasure maps and spending long afternoons in Florida with my grandfather burying "treasure" and playing pirate ship along the Gulf of Mexico. The moment I saw this book I just knew Connor had to be a pirate.. if even in a story.


Not only is the book colorful and fun to read but the story is adorable. Your little person finds a treasure map in their room and sets off on an adventure to find the rest of the map and the treasure. For parents that are worried about a message of greed or material things don't even fret as the treasure turns out to be something far better than gold or candy. Just wait.. you will see. Though I would really like to know where this island of lost socks is ... as I'm fairly sure a few of my favorite socks are hiding there!

Now I just have to start saving some money.. as I think Connor would really love to go on a Jungle Adventure next!