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This weekend I went to the Maker Faire in San Mateo, California and it was awesome!  As a maker myself, I was totally inspired. It's a combination of DIY, technology, and crafting.

There are Maker Faires all over the US and all over the world. Since many of you are makers yourselves, I recommend one.

My highlights...

Here's an Ultimaker 3D printer printing a plastic bowl. When the prices drop, I am definitely getting one.

Instead of origami, this display was made of tape, hence the name "tapigami."

A car with animatronic fish and lobsters that dance when the car stereo blasts.

An aircraft carrier built completely out of Legos.

An entire floor full of Legos for kids to build.

A Kickstarter funded company called Roominate, started by two women engineers at Stanford, to inspire girls to build their own dollhouses. My daughter has one and loves it!

Another Kickstarter funded company called Goldie Blox, also started by a female Stanford engineer, to teach girls about engineering. We bought the game at Maker Faire for my daughter, but they will be in Toys R Us soon.

Foam interlocking shapes to build stuff with from a company called Itsphun. We bought the starter pack and now they are all over our living room in lots of crazy shapes and combinations.

I heard Brit Morin from Brit+Co speak about what inspired her to start her company. An artist was right by the stage, drawing an image of her speech.

And here she is... I wish I had a photo of her shoes because they were fantastic.

And here's my little maker (who believes she can make anything) building a structure with wood.

Last week I went to a conference called MamaBear, which was a family tech conference. I saw so many great family-oriented companies, I had to share my favorites...

Toca Boca makes digital games for kids and my daughter can't get enough! We have every single one of their games. They are interactive, fun, and very open-ended, which I think leads to more creative play. Her favorite game is definitely Hair Salon 2 (see above). You can see the crazy hairstyles she comes up with. Possible career choice?

I just started using UrbanSitter about a month ago to find babysitters, and what I love about the site is it enables me to find babysitters recommended by my friends and people in my community. It makes me feel much more comfortable leaving my daughter with some one new. With UrbanSitter, there's no more freaking out on a Saturday night with no one to watch my kid!

I was so inspired listening to the CEO of Citrus Lane, Mauria Finley. She is a woman who loves what she does and loves providing value to moms. If you have a baby or young child, you should check them out. They will provide you with the latest and greatest in baby and kid products, and the best part... it's like getting a present in the mail each month.

I had never heard of Life360, but once I did, I downloaded their app immediately. It's a simple way to keep track of your family, see where they all are, and stay in touch quickly and easily. Brilliant, right? This is the perfect site for today's mobile family.

ArtKive is an app I also downloaded right away. It's a way to store all your kids' artwork without having to buy a new filing cabinet. I just take a picture of my daughter's latest creation, tag it, and it gets stored by ArtKive. I can then share it with friends and family or even create beautiful books of her art.  I know what the grandparents will be getting for Christmas this year...

Kiwi Crate delivers a box filled with fun projects to your kids (ages 3-7) each month. Each box has a theme, so your kids get to create, explore, and discover all on their own (or with a little help from you). Perfect for a rainy day activity when you kids tell you they're bored!

I'm always on the hunt for sites that make our families' lives better. If you have any recommendations, please add them in a comment or on Facebook. I'd love to discover them.

 

Laura from Live Smile Celebrate has come up with a blog series called "25 Things You Don't Know About Me" based on the celebrity series in US Magazine.

She tagged me and four other party gals to write the same post and after doing so, tag some other party friends. What a cool idea! So here are 25 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About Me...

1. I was born in Connecticut and grew up in New Jersey (I had bad hair for a lot of those years and didn't know it).
2. My favorite party style is shabby chic with lots of personal details.
3. I am a chocoholic. My current chocolate bar obsession right now is Chocolove's Almonds & Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate.
4. I'm 5'2 1/2" tall.
5. I have one daughter, Lainey, who calls herself the official "model" and "taster" of Catch My Party. She takes her jobs very seriously. (You've probably seen her on the blog.)
6. I've been with my husband for twelve years (married for eight) and still find him to be the most interesting person I know.
7. I am an amateur photographer and have been taking photos since I was a teenager.
8. In five weeks we are moving from Santa Monica, CA to Palo Alto, CA. I have not packed one box yet.
9. I have sleepless nights before throwing a party because I worry about every detail.
10. My favorite TV show is Top Chef.
11. My desk is covered in Post-It notes.
12. My favorite food is sushi and my favorite sushi restaurant in LA is Sasabune.
13. I love smaller, more intimate parties because I find it easier to talk to people.
14. My favorite color is green.
15. I believe in dreaming big.
16. I love to cook.
17. We have a dog named Gertie who is an eight-year-old Tibetan Terrier and we take her on vacation with us.
18. I'm shy but like to speak in public.
19. Before starting Catch My Party, I was a screenwriter in Hollywood and once wrote a movie for Salma Hayek. The movie never got made, but I got to work with her. She's funny, smart, and even more beautiful in person (if you can believe it).
20. I can spend hours on the Internet looking at shoes and handbags.
21. My favorite party trends right now: food and drink bars, funny photo booth props, tassel garlands, chalkboard anything, and ombre cakes.
22. I'm really into gel nail polish.
23. I love orangutans.
24. The most satisfying part of my job is getting to showcase creative people from all over the world. I find it humbling.
25. I never want anyone to throw me a surprise party because I think I would freak out!

Hope you thought this was as fun to read as I did putting it together…

I'm tagging:

Lynlee -- Lynlee's Petit Cakes

Rebekah -- A Blissful Nest

Kristy -- The Purple Pug

Brittany -- GreyGrey Designs

Do -- Piggy Bank Parties

 

I've been asked to write a post by Quaker Oatmeal about how I reward myself everyday and maintain a healthy, happy lifestyle. As a mom, staring my own company, my days are pretty hectic.  I feel like I'm always switching gears and changing hats.

But the one thing I do every morning, is take ten minutes and visualize. I visualize my day ahead, what I hope to accomplish, and how I'd like the outcomes to be. I also visualize my longer term goals for myself and my family. And if I'm worried about something, I try to reframe it so that I'm not in fear. I picture myself moving through whatever the situation is with grace and confidence and coming out the other side happy.

My daughter loves to dance, and I'm always inspired by how confident and graceful she is when she moves through life. I think about her some times when I'm faced with a difficult challenge.

I look forward to my ten minutes everyday when my family is still asleep, to get myself mentally and emotionally ready for the day. This is definitely my "me" time, and it makes my soul happy because it fills me with calm, anticipation, and power.

I recommend you try it. If you don't know where to start, here's an easy thing say to yourself...

"Every day in every way, I'm getting better and better..."

Please join me at 4PM PST on Thursday, February 9^th for a Glam Discussion Event, where the topic will be: “Starting the day off right: What small wins can you accomplish as part of your morning routine to help start your day right?”

• At the end each discussion, one participant will be chosen at random to receive a $50 Amazon Gift Card
• In addition, participants of ANY of the 3 discussions (the other two are on 2/23 and 3/8) will also be entered to win the Grand Prize: a $1000 Amazon Gift Card!

The benefits of a warm, filling bowl of oatmeal can keep you going all morning long.

Energy. Fiber. Heart Health.

Quaker Oatmeal. A super grain breakfast.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Quaker via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Quaker.

We currently have over a hundred wonderful entries in our Snowflake Design Challenge. Take a look at the entries so far.

If you are not an Etsy vendor, you can still enter. Just email me photos of your snowflake themed products (at jillian(at)catchmyparty(dot)com) and I'll add them to the group! This challenge is open to anyone who designs party-related products. If you are an Etsy vendor, make sure to tag your items “CMPsnowflake.”

The challenge ends at midnight (PST) November 30th.  And please remember, by entering and designing items that incorporate the theme, not only will you get a chance to show off your handmade “snowflake” holiday goods on our site, but you could also win an HP Officejet 7500A Printer.

Good luck!! I can't wait to see what you come up with. Your time starts now!!! I've just always wanted to say that. :)

We just created a new "fall leaves" party page layout for all your autumn celebrations. Hope you like it!

I'm getting excited for Thanksgiving!

Come get your party on with me tomorrow at Gevalia Coffee's Bean Chat from 10-11am EST. That's right, I'm going to be hosting!!

I'll be talking about everything from July 4th BBQ ideas... to popular party trends... to how to save money on your kid's next birthday... to how to get noticed on the Internet for throwing beautiful parties. Phhheww, that's a lot and there will be more!

Also, Gevalia will be giving away coffee during the chat, so if you like a great cup of jo, you have no excuse. :)

How do you join me? Just go to the Gevalia Facebook page and  "like" them. This will either send you directly to the chat or if not, press on the "bean chat" tab in the lefthand column of their Facebook page and you'll find me there. Can't wait to meet you and answer all your questions tomorrow!

And please share this with anyone whom you think is chatty...

 

 

Just thought I'd let you know that we have a new party page layout we've added to our site. It's our spring and Easter layout.  Hope you like it... let me know what you think.

 

Take a look at our new Valentine's Day party page layout for all your upcoming Valentine's Day parties. Hope you like it!

A few months back we created a party inspirations and themes page, a list of all the party themes we have on our main site.  Now we've made it even easier to find that page by adding a "browse themes" button in our nav bar that leads you right to it. Take a look...

To see all the inspirations and themes on our main site (not just in those five categories), scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page.

We will also be making tweaks to this page to make it easier to use, so if you have any ideas on how to improve it, please let me know at jillian@catchmyparty.com.

xxx