Designer Gingerbread Girl Dress Heirloom Quality Sweet for Holidays from Born Chic Boutique

Fashion

This is a sponsored post

A special thank you to my Great Niece Madison and her mom for all the lovely images

Little girls are so much fun to dress up for the winter holidays. If you are a mom, aunt, grandma or other doting relative or friend, you know what I'm talking about, right? Born Chic Boutique just launched their online store during 2013, yet already they're on the style radar of those of us who seek especially beautiful heirloom quality clothing with a modern touch.

Madison models Born Chic's Christmas girls set, MommyBlogExpert.com

Earlier this fall, MommyBlogExpert featured this extraordinary children's boutique's Halloween Spiderella party dress for babies and little girls. 

Now, I'm pleased to showcase the beautiful Gingerbread Girl Outfit and optional accessories in this post -- just one of the pretty styles that have been selling well for the holiday season. The 2-piece Christmas set retails for $65 and is available in sizes ranging from 1 year old to 7 years old, while the leggings are $17.50 and the bow hairband is $12.50.

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The attention to details is whimsical in this festive outfit. The Gingerbread top is trimmed at the neckline with a red and white satin ribbon ruffle collar and a green chiffon rosette picking up the colors in the skirt. Also, notice the blanket stitch embroidery around the gingerbread man motif on the front which adds an old-fashioned touch but with modern flair. Even the bow the gingerbread girl applique is wearing matches!

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The flouncy brightly colored chiffon tutu style green and red ruffle skirt is trimmed with a polka dot satin ribbon bow to match the neckline of the long-sleeved top.

Nicely finished edges on skirt ruffles, MommyBlogExpert.com

Additional coordinated optional accessories include a puffy red and green holiday hairband and the sweetest Merry Christmas leggings with ribbon trim that I've ever seen.

Coordinated leggings & bow, MommyBlogExpert.com

So adorable, you hardly notice my

Great Niece Madison isn't wearing shoes!

I can't wait to see what this stylish boutique comes out with for Valentine's Day and Easter next year! Also, I'm looking forward to watching Born Chic Boutique's gorgeous year-round collection continue to grow.

Check out Born Chic Boutique's Online Catalog, where you'll see all the lovely apparel they offer for babies and toddlers. There's dapper ties, hats, shoes and other accessories for fashion forward little men that you won't see elsewhere. You'll also discover dainty and elegant styles to dress up young ladies for photos, parties, weddings, Bar & Bat Mitzvahs and other special occasions all the way up to girls size 12 like this dreamy vintage feather couture dress which is offered in a wide range of color options.

Image from Born Chic Boutique

BornChicBoutique.com, founded by a fashion savvy mom of three, offers lots of beautiful baby, boys and girls clothes, accessories, and shoes for special occasions, every day throughout the year and holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The shop even has diaper bags, super soft baby blankets and some extraordinary whimsical and elegant kids room and nursery decor products you have got to see, too.

FTC Disclosure: This is a compensated post. Born Chic Boutique has provided me with the Gingerbread Girl Dress and coordinating accessories for this review post as well. The brand also supplied a $75 giftcard prize for the associated giveaway. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Holiday Chalkboard Wood Tray DIY Craft

Crafts

Guest Post by

Chris Long, The Home Depot

Editor's Note: There's no better way to spend quality time with children than to craft together. Making something special like this chalkboard wood tray project for the holidays not only stores away fond memories that will be recalled in the future, it also creates an heirloom seasonal decorative item for your home that is also quite practical. Come to think of it, this would be wonderful to make and use any time between now and New Year's.

A Fun, Easy Craft Project to Make With Chalkboard Paint

For Christmas décor projects that you will enjoy as much as your kids, think about the myriad uses you can come up with for chalkboard paint! Whether you want to make DIY decorations or functional pieces that also enhance the festive feelings in the home, a coat or two of chalkboard paint is all you need.

One such project is a painted serving tray that can be displayed all season long and then put to use in your entertaining (label your treats as you serve them) or on Christmas Eve for Santa's treat. 

Steps to Make Your Own DIY Wood Tray

Customized Chalkboard Paint

First, you can always mix up your own chalkboard paint using flat paint and unsanded tile grout (that you can purchase at your local home improvement store).

Alternatively, the popularity of chalkboard paint has prompted paint manufacturers to start pre-mixing their own using their custom colors and today, the chalkboard paint serving tray is painted with Martha Stewart Chalkboard Paint.

Chalk Conditioning

But first, no matter which paint path you select, once the item has been painted and dried at least 24 hours, you'll need to condition the surface before you can begin writing on it.

To do this, take a piece of plain chalk (white works best for creating a "non-colored" chalkboard foundation) and rub the surface with the long side of the chalk. Once the entire surface is covered, simply erase!

Chalkboard Paint Project: Christmas Tray

Materials Needed

• Wood Tray (new or recycled)
• Chalkboard Paint (Martha Stewart's blue and gray used here)
• Foam Roller for the Base Coat
• Brushes for Sides and Details
• Multi-Colored Chalk

If the weather is nice, take this painting project outside and make winter use out of your patio furniture – just be sure to protect it with a plastic or canvas drop cloth or an old sheet.

Begin by painting the sides of the tray with one of the larger brushes and the blue chalkboard paint. Don't worry if the paint isn't perfect because you'll touch up the edges later.

Wait for the sides to dry and use the foam roller to apply the gray paint to the base of the tray.

Use the smaller brush to touch up the corners.

Allow the paint to cure for 24 hours and then get ready for the fun chalk phase

Condition the surface with the white chalk and wipe the tray off with a paper towel

From here, you're ready to go wherever the merry-making takes you!

A really original way to preserve your child's artwork. In addition to a seasonal serving tray, what other uses can you and your kids come up with for using this chalkboard painted project?

About the Guest Post Author
Chris Long has worked as a Chicago area The Home Depot associate for over 12 years. Chris has lots of experience with DIY projects which he often shares on the company blog. Chris provides tips on everything from type of craft paint to use on your furniture or project, to the correct techniques and paint to use to create a faux finish.

About The Home Depot
The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer with stores in all 50 U.S. states as well as in D.C., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada. Various locations of this DIY retail mecca offer free workshops and seminars to consumers throughout the year ranging from how-to crafts and woodworking to preparing for hurricanes and other practical topics of interest to home owners and renters. Stay up to date on everything Home Depot is doing on HomeDepot.com and by following them on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

For more Holiday Arts and Crafts inspiration, visit these MBE posts

• White House Gingerbread House
• DIY Personalized Photo Christmas Ornament
• 12 Hanukkah Menorah Crafts
• Paper Hanukkah Menorah Centerpiece Craft

FTC Disclosure: Home Depot and Chris Long provided all the content and images for this post. However, no payment or other compensation  was exchanged in connection with this post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's home page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Walking With Dinosaurs Movie Review & Red Carpet Event at Natural History Museum of L.A.

Movies

Walking With Dinosaurs 3D, from 20th Century Fox, stomped loudly into theaters and across the big screen this weekend nationwide just ahead of the Christmas holiday. This family-friendly movie is the story of another underdog animated creature -- in this case a dino named Patch -- morphing into a hero and saving the day.

Dinosaur Ornaments, Natural History Museum L.A., MommyBlogExpert.com

What fun it was to attend the film's Walking with Dinosaurs Red Carpet event at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles just over a week ago, ahead of the theatrical release on December 20th. On hand for interviews and photos were voice actors John Leguizamo (Alex), Tiya Sircar (Juniper) and Skyler Stone (Scowler).

Event Venue, Natural History Museum L.A.,  MommyBlogExpert.com

Skyler Stone, MommyBlogExpert.com

Tiya Sircar, MommyBlogExpert.com

John Leguizamo, MommyBlogExpert.com

The morning's activities not only included a self-tour of this world class museum's dinosaur collection, but also a demonstration of AppShaker Augmented Reality where kids had the chance to watch themselves interact with the dinosaurs from the movie on a large screen.

Watch Walking With Dinosaurs Augmented Reality in Action




Upstairs, youngsters had the opportunity to be role play as paleontologists by digging in sand boxes for treasures. They also got to view actual dinosaur scientists at work with real specimens in the Museum's glassed-in lab. Rounding out the dinosaur activites was a green screen photo op with dinos from the movie as a backdrop for a group of 200 school children invited to participate along with us grown up press members.

Selfie of me touring the Museum, MommyBlogExpert.com

According to the movie's official site, "Walking with Dinosaurs is the first time in movie history audiences will truly see and feel what it was like when dinosaurs ruled the Earth."

A Museum Docent talks dinos, MommyBlogExpert.com

The animated action film, made with an $80,000,000 budget, has a runtime of 87 minutes and is rated PG for some scary scenes. As a parent myself, I'd suggest you use your own judgement as to whether or not this is going to be too realistic and terrifying for your child.

Official Movie Trailer




You can learn more about this film now in theaters on the official website WalkingWithDinosaurs.com. There you'll also discover engaging activities for kids to get to know the movie's main characters and more free and educational activities for children and teachers.

Green Screen Photo of Me, Courtesy of Walking With Dinosaurs

FTC Disclosure: I attended the Walking With Dinosaurs Red Carpet and Natural History Museum of Los Angeles as a guest of 20th Century Fox. However, opinions and thoughts are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.