I recently had the opportunity to review The Birthday Chronicle from Because I Tried It.
The Birthday Chronicle is a personalized (8 1/2 x 11) mini-newspaper front page, going back as far as January 1, 1900 up to December 31, 2011. Your Birthday Chronicle includes a greeting, by name, from the then -President of the united states, plus newspaper headlines and stories from the year of your birth.
Our Review
I decided to do the chronicle for Keyanna. I submitted her name and birth date around 5pm and I received her Birthday Chronicle within 1-2hrs (they work fast over there!) The Chronicle is sent through email in PDF format, After I received it I printed it out to use as a keepsake in Keyanna's baby book. It came out great! It was fun reading through all the headlines from that time, there was a lot I remembered, and they also through in some fun facts like the exact number of days she has been alive and celebrities that share the same birthday. Overall I think this would make a great gift and keepsake. It's unique and doesn't cost a lot. You can get one on their website for just $2.00!
And the best part? ANY of the items sold on their website that are emailed ($2.00) 100% of the proceeds go to helping children in need!
Here's a sample of how it looks
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Sendaball, Inc. is a family run business headquartered in Chicago. It is owned by a couple of BALLSY sisters who live across the street from each other in the same northwestside Chicago neighborhood they grew up in. They have been sending balls since the 90s, but one day in 2003 it seemed this CRAZY idea was meant to be a BUSINESS.
Michele tells it like this: How did it start? I come from the direct mail world, so I knew the mailing rules. I made a practice of sending silly things in the mail over the years. One day I was in Osco, saw a BIN of bouncy balls, grabbed one and thought. "I can mail this.” I took a sharpie, addressed it to my BFF Sharon, wrote "Have BALL with your new baby,” went to the post office and mailed it. Sharon loved it so much, my sister and I sent them again and again to other friends. A few years later while standing in line at the post office, a guy behind me asked about the balls and asked if I could send one for him. Initially I instructed him in the steps to do it himself, but by the time we got to the front of the line, he had given me the info and $5. Laughing, I called my sister and told her how funny that just was. She said, "MICH, I THINK WE ARE ONTO SOMETHING.”
Melisa tells it like this: When I got that call, I told Michele I had seen an OPRAH the night before about women who took a chance & started a business with their unique ideas; I told her to “LISTEN TO ME”, these are all ‘signs’ and WE should start a business, NOW.
Number one rule - if someone offers to pay you to do something you are already doing, you may have a business!!! (Donny Deutsch said this all the time on his show THE BIG IDEA). Sendaball has been very fortunate to have been growing since 2003 by taking baby steps in the business world. Our customers are the absolute best, and most order over and over. Many of the people who get a SENDaBALL in the mail, order a ball for someone else. We enjoy hearing the stories from the customers about how a simple ball coming in the mail can bring so much laughter. Oh the stories we could tell. Maybe we should write a book!
Michele is married and has four children. Melisa is married and has 3 children . Before starting SENDaBALL, the sisters spent many hours trying to come up with a way to run a business so at least ONE of them could stay home with their children. Who would have thought the idea was there all along. One of their brothers, Marc (we call him Sparky), lives next door. His wife, Deanna works for SENDaBALL, too. It is truely a family affair. The sisters have two other brothers who don't live on the same block, but are certainly ON CALL if they are needed. If you ever have a story to share, just drop us an email.
OUR REVIEW
Okay, so I jumped at the opportunity to do a review for this company because I knew my daughter would love it! She loves to wait outside and get the mail from our mailman when he comes, so when I saw him walking up the street with a big red ball under his arm I sent her out to get it. There is no packaging when it comes to SENDaBALL, The address is written directly on the ball, along with a personalized message, then they stick a stamp on it and send it out. My daughter was totally shocked when he handed it to her, and had the biggest smile on her face! Our mailman thought it was pretty cool too! SENDaBALL definitely makes an awesome and unique gift idea. Don't forget to check them out on their website, Facebook, and Twitter! Want to send one? Use promo code "Blog" at checkout to receive 20% off
Here's a short video of Keyanna loving her new ball!
Recently I was approached by Hair Flairs and asked to review a new product they had come out with.
Hair Flairs Color Rub is a temporary color that literally rubs directly on to hair and creates a fun look until it washes out with the next shampoo.
Of course Keyanna and I jumped at the opportunity to do this review, She was thrilled with the idea of having colorful hair.. So we took a look at the site and she chose the Fuchsia Flare color.
When we first received the Color Rub in the mail Keyanna couldn't wait to try it out, I was a little skeptical of how well it would really work since it is in a powder form and I had never seen anything like it.
We immediately took down her ponytail she had been wearing that day and I applied the color rub to a strip of her hair. I was surprised how bright it was since Keyanna's hair is a darker blonde/brown, it really stood out. I didn't apply much because I wasn't sure how temporary it really was, but after her bath that night there was no evidence that she had ever had pink hair.
The next day I braided her hair and decided to add some pink to the tips of her hair for a rockstar look, and she definitely felt like one!
Before applying it to Keyanna's hair I watched their "How-To" video, The color rub was very easy to apply. I opted against using gloves and the color did stain my hands so I would recommend everyone take their suggestion and use them. They also mention that the color rub can transfer onto clothing and suggest wearing darker colors.
Overall Keyanna and I are very pleased with this product. She received a ton of compliments over the weekend, and is asking for more colors now! I love that the color was so bright, but is very temporary and washed out easily.
You can purchase Hair Flairs Color Rub on their website for $13.00, and they have 9 colors to choose from. We used about half of our color rub to create this style.
I first heard about Curly Zebra hats on another hair blog and thought they sounded awesome! We have only owned fleece lined winter hats in the past and although they do a great job keeping Keyanna’s head warm, they do an even better job destroying her braids! With Keyanna, the hat is off and on 10x a day while we are in and out of the house. And by the end of the day her fresh braids are a frizzy mess.
Well, we definitely didn’t have that problem with this hat! When we received it in the mail Keyanna couldn’t wait to try it out. She had chosen the Pansy Passion design and it was gorgeous, not to mention VERY well made, these hats are all handmade. I could tell the fabric was good quality and the stitching was flawless. Since we had just done a new style it was perfect timing to put this hat to the test. We had planned a trip to the Park, Mall, and went out to dinner that night so we were in and out of the cold most of the day. The hat did a wonderful job keeping Keyanna’s head and ears warm, and even with the hat on and off her head all day the silk lining had protected her hair and didn’t cause any frizz. We absolutely LOVE this hat, it definitely did it’s job and we would recommend this hat to everybody having problems with winter hats causing frizz.
So.. You’re probably wanting one for yourself now, right? Well here’s your chance to win one! Vicki, The creator of Curly Zebra has generously offered one lucky fan their choice of a satin lined hat.
Just complete the tasks on the Rafflecoptor form to enter. Do one or all to increase your chances of winning.
Our Review: We have used Bruce’s Babes Hair & Body Butter for quite a few styles and I always love the results we get, especially for braid outs. This butter has a firm consistency but softens up with heat, I usually just take a little and rub it between my palms and it’s easy to distribute throughout the hair. It has great hold, it definitely does its job keeping Keyanna’s fly aways down and her braids seem to last longer. Her hair is always soft and moisturized when we take down a style after using the butter and the braid out’s we have attempted have always been a success. Always very defined. I think this is because of it’s firmer texture, but at the same time it is very light so it doesn’t weigh her hair down or leave it greasy, while other butters we have tried seem to be heavier and have the opposite effect on her hair. We have also used BBB as a body butter on Keyanna’s knees and legs where her skin tends to be dryer and it has worked great, my hands are always very soft after using this product on Keyanna’s hair as well. This is one of our favorite butters and we plan on using it a lot more in the future.
Here is one of the first braid outs we did using BBB Hair and Body Butter.
Shake n’ Shampoo
Price: $8.00/4oz
$27.00/16oz
Our Review: Along with the BBB Hair & Body Butter we also received the Shake n’ Shampoo to try. We really haven’t tried many natural shampoo’s like this, we have been using Herbal Essences Hello Hydration shampoo for the past year or so. I have to admit, after our experience with this shampoo I don’t think we will be going back to the HHHE. I love this stuff! It is extremely moisturizing and doesn’t leave her hair feeling stripped at all like we get with other shampoos. I also use this shampoo on myself and love it just as much as I do for Keyanna. This shampoo is made with oils and tends to separate which is why you need to shake well before applying, and a little goes a long way. I was worried it may leave her hair feeling greasy but it didn’t at all.. Her hair was very soft after drying. Honestly the only thing I don’t like about this shampoo is that we are almost out! Lol. I definitely plan on getting more in the near future, and making it a staple in out hair routine.
You can order your own Bruce's Babes Butter Products HERE
Product Description: Sharmooz satin bonnets will sooth your hairs transition from night to morning. Wake up feeling confident your hair is protected with the sensually soft charmeuse satin. Our contemporary style, satin bonnets are perfect for natural, straight, synthetic (hair extensions), and "curly" hairstyles. Hairstyles Will maintain curls, moisture, and style.
NEW "Stay On" Satin Bonnet For Girls
Double Sided Charmeuse satin for durability.
Fits from Ages 3-10
Adjustable easy-to-tie method.
Protects Hairstyles while they sleep.
Our Review: So a few weeks ago I reviewed the Sharmooz Satin Bonnet for you guys. Just to recap, I LOVED this sleep cap.. but we did have 1 problem, the velcro used to secure the bonnet had gotten caught in Keyannas hair, which was definitely a pain to get out. Well guess what??.. they now make an easy to tie version of this bonnet! I was so excited when I received ours in the mail and couldn't wait to try it out. We had no problem with the bonnet slipping off at night (which has always been our biggest problem with other sleep caps) in fact with the new tie method we can get the bonnet a little tighter and it actually fit better than the velcro version. This bonnet is also reversible and made with the softest Charmeuse satin. We have been searching for the perfect sleep cap since we began doing hair in 2009 and have finally found it!
By the way, we are big on animal prints so we are loving the pink cheetah design on this bonnet! We loved the zebra one as well. Sharmooz has 10 colors/designs to choose from in all.
I have been seeing Sidewinder Hair Holders everywhere lately, and have been wanting to get my hands on some for a while now.. so I of course jumped at the opportunity to do a review for you all!
Sidewinders Hair Holders are a fun alternative to beads, they definitely spice up even the simplest style and give it a unique look, I love it! When we first received ours in the mail I couldn’t wait to try them.. putting them on was a piece of cake! You can see how its done here. For Keyanna’s hair (which is on the thin side) we did have to use a band, or a bead at the end of the Hair Holder on some styles to secure it and keep it from slipping off. If your hair is thicker or you are using larger sections of hair then I wouldn’t see a need to do that at all.
The Hair Holders come in 3 different sizes (1”, 2”, and 3”) and 26 colors, each 1 is 2 pieces so they are interchangeable with each other. I love the fact that there are so many colors/combinations to match any outfit, and unlike beads they are honestly so quick and easy to put in you could switch out the colors daily if you like. I definitely plan on getting a few more sets for our collection in the near future.
Here are some more styles we came up with using our Sidewinder Hair Holders
