Linden & Lilah: feature, review + GIVEAWAY!

Hi friends...I'm so excited to introduce you to our latest featured handmade shop. Linden & Lilah is run by Amanda, a former college classmate of mine who I have reconnected with through social media over the last few years. Her son and Desmond are nearly the exact same age and have a lot in common.

Now for my favorite part of featuring artists and crafters, getting to know more about them and their creative process!

Where are you located + are you from there originally? 

I am currently located in Everett, WA. I am originally from California but I've also lived in Minnesota and Oregon. Washington has been my home for the past 9 years and once you've lived in Seattle, it's hard to imagine living anywhere else! 

How did you come up with your shop name? 

Linden & Lilah are the names of my children. 


How long have you had your shop?  

I started working on L&L a year ago. My Etsy shop has only been open since October 2014. 

What inspires you?
Imperfection! I struggle with perfectionism and often have let my fear of failing hold me back. What I love about L&L is that the beauty of hand carving and individually stamping each item, I can't have perfection. It forces me to embrace imperfection and makes me love each variation. 

What is your favorite item in your shop? 

Currently my favorite item is the organic dijon feather dress. It is a special item because it's the only dress I've made and it is just so pretty!  

Do you have any other jobs or hobbies? 

My main job is being a wife and mother, that takes up most of my time! I dabble in blogging, I love cooking and since having children, I have loved throwing fun parties.
Share an interesting fact about yourself. 

I am fascinated with child birth and someday when I am finished having babies of my own I would love to be certified as a doula and childbirth educator. 

What do you hope your future holds?
My hopes for L&L- We are in the process of listing our first home for sale and I dream of a space in our next home where I can have a dedicated studio to work in. Currently I draw and carve my stamps on my dining table after the kids have gone to bed. 

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Shandell's Review

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Amanda sent us an arrows onesie in pomegranate. This onesie is perfection for my little Aurelia. The color is a coral variation, which is one of my favorites for baby girl right now. If you recall from our nursery and baby shower for her, we had chosen an arrow theme inspired by Psalm 127: 3, 4 so this onesie was the perfect choice for our little girl. 

The fabric is soft and comfortable, the print is sturdy but not rough, and the design is really professional. Every time Aurelia wears this onesie we get a lot of compliments and inquires as to where it came from (I should start carrying business cards for Linden & Lilah!).

I would definitely recommend snagging any of these precious clothes from Linden & Lilah for your favorite little ones or parents-to-be! 

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GIVEAWAY!

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Amanda has generously offered one reader of Breaking New Ground one already made onesie of their choice from Linden & Lilah. Just follow the directions in the Rafflecopter entry form below and be sure to verify your entries!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This contest begins Monday April 6th and is open until midnight Sunday April 12th. A winner will be chosen at random by Rafflecopter. The winner will be announced here and notified by email at the address associated with their Rafflecopter entries. The winner will have 48 hours to reply to the email to claim their prize or an alternate will be chose.

Interested in seeing your product featured here, see the PR + Disclosures tab and contact Breaking New Ground by email to be considered. Disclosure: I received no compensation for this review. All opinions are my own.This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with, Facebook.  Click for additional disclosures and PR policies.

Questions, concerns, comments unrelated to the nature of this giveaway can be left on other generic posts or emailed to Breaking New Ground. 

Crowned with Beauty Winner + Special Offer

What a great giveaway to kick off my entry back into shop features, and the holiday season! Thanks to everyone who participated, especially those who have already made purchases from Aimee at Crowned with Beauty.

The winner of the lid + straw set for use with mason jar is…

Jenny!

The winner was chosen via Rafflecopter. Jenny has been emailed and has 48 hours to reply and claim the prize. Unclaimed prizes will be rewarded to an alternate, which will not be announced via blog post.

BUT WAIT, there's more!

Any purchases made from Crowned with Beauty between now and December 1st, 2013 is eligible to receive a free hand made ornament. All you have to do is mention Breaking New Ground and the ornament will be added to your order! Be sure to check back in to Aimee's shop to see all the lovely things she's added just in time for the holiday season!

Check back in here for more updates from us as well as additional features and giveaway in the coming weeks. If you peruse the internet via a reader, consider following Breaking New Ground's feed by clicking HERE or this handy dandy button to follow with feedly

Converting to Cloth

In our continued efforts to cut our spending in order to focus on saving money we've decided to try out cloth diapering. It only took us about 2 years to come to this decision. We considered it briefly before Kai was born, but Ben vetoed the idea. His biggest problem was the poo going in the washing machine. 4 years later, we both laugh at that being worrisome.

When Kai was about a year old we considered it again. I really looked into the savings, but again Ben wasn't too keen on the idea. I also, wasn't completely sold. I was worried that the amount of laundry I'd be doing would negate any savings. I was also used to the convenience of disposable diapers. The real clincher was that I ended up babysitting a child who was cloth diapered and I was completely turned off to the idea. The smell of the diapers and the rash that the child had were repulsive.

A couple weeks ago Ben and I were crunching numbers and moaning at how much we were still spending on disposable diapers. Even now that Malakai is (FINALLY) potty-trained we still spend about $75 every 4-6 weeks on Desmond's diapers and overnight pull-ups for Malakai. I'm currently looking into cloth overnight undies for Malakai. At $30 a pair, I'd like to figure out how to sew my own (or recruit my Mother-in-law!) before going in that direction.

I emailed a friend from college who has a little guy the same age as Desmond (check out her blog here). I knew that she'd been cloth diapering and was knowledgeable on the subject. I trust her opinion and was hoping to get better information from a friend than what I was finding scouring the internet. INFORMATION OVERLOAD! Amanda was a great help. Additionally I asked friends through facebook to share their favorite kinds. Then I crunched the numbers of half a dozen different trial programs.

I decided to go with Just Simply Baby. They had a great deal on a starter package of 10 pocket diapers, 20 inserts, 10 cloth wipes, a detergent sample, and cloth safe diaper cream for under $90. I got free shipping by adding 2 wet bags to my order and meeting the $100 minimum. They have a 30 day money back guarantee so I knew that I could send it all back if we weren't satisfied or if we decide cloth diapering doesn't work for us. Currently they are running a $10 diaper deal!

My second choice would be the trial through Jillian's Drawers. They send several types for you to try out at a fairly low cost. You can then send back any or all of them after 21 days. Your next order then ships free!

I just got our package today and have it all prepping as I type. I'm pretty excited to start something new and I'm really hopeful it'll work out and we can start saving!

 I received a trial amount of EcoSprout detergent to use, but need to figure out an affordable option for use after it runs out.  Any tips, tricks, or products you'd recommend or NOT recommend? Leave a comment!

The Holidays are upon us

It's that time of year again. I love it. It's easy to get cynical about the commercialism of the season and how stores are putting out their Christmas decor earlier and earlier each year. This year, I choose to soak it up and enjoy it.

Part of how I do this is I don't go shopping. I avoid going to the store in the months of November + December at all costs. Some of our Christmas shopping has been done for a few months, and the rest will be done online. I know there are a lot more shoppers like me out there, avoid the crowds and the stress and just shop from the comfort of your own home. So, when my mom told me about Ebates, I was pretty excited about the added benefits to doing something I do all the time anyway!

Many of you have probably heard of Ebates, but if not, it's too good a secret to keep. After signing up (and there are often great bonuses for doing so- I got a $10 Target card), you just click through Ebates to your favorite stores and when you make purchases you get a percentage in cash back. Simple, and not strings attached. You don't have to sign up for obnoxious email newsletters (but you can if you want the daily double notices), you don't have to pay any fees, you just shop through their site and the send you money back. The percentage varies from store to store and right now many of them are upping their cash back for the holiday season, so check it out!

What's more is that after you've made your 1st purchase you start getting incentives to share Ebates with friends. I shared on Facebook and because a friend bought through my link I'll get $25 cash. Super easy, what's not to love?

Let me know if you check it out and if you have any questions.
Happy shopping!

registry frustration

This post may be incredibly boring to some of you, but may serve as a warning or source of help for others...

When we registered for this baby it was our 3rd time registering for a big event. First was our wedding, second was when we were expecting Malakai. This has by far been the most frustrating of all 3 experiences. We decided to register at Target (also for a 3rd time) whether or not someone threw a baby shower or anyone got us gifts in order to take advantage of the completion discount after the due date passed. This also meant we registered for a lot more items than we would have otherwise.

The process started out normal, scanning items in excitement as we envisioned our new baby using them. It took us much longer than we anticipated, which has been the experience just about every time. I experience the usual frustration of things going out of stock or becoming out of season, but just added replacement items as necessary.

Then Target decided to "update" their website. Unfortunately this update made their website basically impossible to use. Every other link would result in an "oops" message and most items on my registry weren't showing up. They did send a discount code as an apology to all who had this issue. Unfortunately, the website wasn't fixed so using the code (online only) became a new challenge.

After over half a dozen phone calls to their customer service reps and being transferred all over the place for about a week I finally got some resolution. It involved placing my order, calling in with the number, and getting my discount applied over the phone. Just placing my order online took several days because of the items I wanted not always being visible.

Another week has passed, part of my order is here, but one of the items is wrong and I haven't heard back after contacting customer service about the mix-up 5 business days ago.

Then came the in-store discount. I only ordered items online that were eligible for free-shipping. So there were some things in-store that we used the 10% completion discount to purchase. The frustration only mounted here. Like I mentioned I added a lot of items to make sure that our shopping experience would go smoothly. I was quite familiar with what items were on my registry and what their prices should be after over a month of trying to sort things out.

When we went through check out several items did not get discounted because according to their system they weren't on the registry. We went over to customer service to figure out the issue. For some things I had scanned a pack of white baby hangers but purchased a set of blue ones which apparently doesn't work with their computers. You have to get the exact item you scanned or added online. When I asked the cashier about adding things to my registry that weren't showing up for some reason, she told me that's not really the purpose of the discount as it's meant to be used to "complete" what is already on the registry. I asked her what the difference between adding them now and having added items online from home or in store the day or even hours before. She didn't have a good answer but was determined to be as rude as possible to not only myself but her co-workers. I nearly requested a manager but Ben kept me patient and we worked through it.

The main issue wasn't even that we had purchased items that were slightly different than what we scanned but that they had recently "reset" the baby section so that numbers had changed. For example, I scanned a dresser-top diaper organizer and purchased the exact one I had scanned but the item numbers had changed in the past month so it wasn't "technically" on my registry any more. This is obviously a huge flaw in their system. So the customer service gal added this item to our registry, returned it and let us repurchase with the discount, but wouldn't do this for the other items so we returned them as they weren't absolutely necessary and we weren't willing to pay full price for them and I was tired of dealing with her attitude. Plus, Kai was getting quite antsy after what was already a long shopping trip.

Now, I have a set of blankets from Target.com that are a completely different print from what I ordered. I'm hoping that the store has the one I want so I can easily exchange them. As for the rest of our items we have over a dozen that were shipped 10 days ago but the tracking status hasn't been updated since they shipped out. I'm excited for them to arrive, but slightly dreading how many more mistakes I'll find.

I know I'm not the only one to have issues with registries and especially with Target's recent issues, but it's almost unbelievable how many separate issues we've had just trying to prepare for little brother's impending arrival. Should we decide to have more children and register again in the future we will NOT make Target our main source if we can help it.

Cutie Clips: Shop Feature, Review, + GIVEAWAY! {CLOSED}

It has been a while since I've done a shop feature. I love to introduce you to new shops, especially handmade goods which you can find all over Etsy. This feature is especially exciting because I know the owner and her family! I worked with Tricia, her sisters, and their mom at Northwest Christian University in years past.

Where are you located + are you from there originally? 
I was born and raised in Eugene, and I am still living in and loving the city of Eugene.

How did you come up with your shop name? 
My product name is based solely on the purpose of the product, what makes an outfit more cute…well a clip does, thus Cutie Clips.

How long have you had your shop? 
I started making clips when my niece was born with a full head of hair. I enjoyed making the clips so much that I recently started creating more product and decided to start selling to the public. 




What inspires you? 
I get inspired by seeing ribbon that I can’t pass up and need to use for something. Plus the clips look so cute in little girls’ hair and who can’t be inspired by that! 

What is your favorite item in your shop? 
I love all the items but I like the bows the best.




Do you have any other jobs or hobbies? 
I also love to scrapbook, play and spend time with my niece and nephew, and I am always looking for ways to get creative.

Share an interesting fact about yourself. 
I am the oldest of 4 girls in my family. 

What do you hope your future holds?
My hope for the future is that I will always show appreciation for what I have, find joy in all things big or small and create unforgettable memories every chance I get. 

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Shandell's Review

Tricia sent me a couple sets of her Cutie Clips and Cutie Clip Bows for me to review. I maybe might have tried one on Malakai at some point. there are no photos, so you don't have any proof (don't tell Ben). 

I think that she has a great eye for detail, coloring, and textures. All of the Cutie clips are absolutely precious and really well made. They have a textured lining on the inside so they grip on even the finest of hair. 

As you can see in the photos of her niece above, the bows and the clips are adorable and appropriate for babies and toddlers. I think even big girls and teenagers could appreciate some of the styles, especially the clips. 

Check out her shop, the prices are excellent and there are plenty of colors, patterns, + styles to suite your unique taste. 

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Giveaway!

Tricia is providing the same set I reviewed for one of you lucky readers to win!

For your chance to win, leave a comment on this post relevant to the following entry requirements. Be sure that your email address is easily accessible in your blogger profile or leave it at the end of each entry comment. example: shanleann1 at gmail dot com (to avoid spam + such). Be sure to leave one comment for each entry.

Mandatory Entry:

Visit Cutie Clips on Etsy. Then come back and leave a comment on this post with your favorite item. 

Extra Entries:
(mandatory entry must be completed before extras count)


~like Cutie Clips on Facebook, leave a note on her wall that Breaking New Ground sent you (1 entry)


~Favorite ("heart") Cutie Clips on Etsy. (1 entry)


~Share this giveaway on Facebook, be sure to link back to this specific post (1 entry)


~Share this giveaway on Twitter, be sure to mention Breaking New Ground and use @ShanLeAnn and the url to this post (1 entry) 


~Publicly follow Breaking New Ground through Google Friend Connect (2 entries)


~Post the Breaking New Ground badge on your site + let me know where I can find it. (2 entries)

~Purchase an item from Cutie Clips by April 26th (4 entries)


Giveaway ends at 11pm PDT on April 26th, 2011. Winner will be announced here on April 27th. 
Winner will be selected at random via random.org and will have 48 hours to respond in order to claim the prize or it will be awarded to an alternate. 

Open to U.S. residents only. All comments will be verified. Comments subject to removal without notification based on their relevance to contest. All comments will be verified. So, please be sure to follow instructions carefully. 

Questions? As always click on the "email me" button to send me a message. Please do not leave a comment here that isn't intended to be an entry into the giveaway. However, feel free to include additional comments within your entry if you want to leave some love for Cutie Clips.

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this review. All opinions are my own. Click for additional disclosures and PR policies.

LOTS of ways to enter! Best of luck!

petite

This past weekend I went on a mission for some new dress pants. All of my other pairs don't fit, which makes me sad because I have a couple of really great, like-new pairs that are now 5 sizes too big (to avoid any awkwardness, I am not going to talk about my specific size).

Being 5'2" makes finding a good pair of pants pretty hard to find. I usually just deal with the length issues or have my very talented mom hem them up for me.

I went to Target first since I had a few other things I needed there. I did not anticipate the issues I ran into. Their selection was very small and nothing fit correctly. They had a large selection of their clothing on clearance, but no dress pants.

Next I went to the mall. I'm not a fan of shopping in the first place, and I RARELY go to the mall. I can't even remember the last time I went by myself. I was hoping that JC Penney or Gap would have what I was looking for. Well fitting dress pants for under $30. Sadly I couldn't even find well fitting pants after looking above my price range. I was getting pretty frustrated.

I went to Macy's, Charlotte Russe, and Ann Taylor Loft. The Loft had a petite section with a ton of great choices. I fell in love with one too many pairs of their pants, because they were $80! However, everything was on sale for 40% off. I didn't want to spend that much, so I tried a few other places, including Forever 21. I can't wrap my mind around that place, it stresses me out (which makes me feel old).

After 3 hours of shopping, I felt defeated. I looked online, but didn't want to deal with the hassle of shipping things back + forth. I decided to go in to Old Navy while Kai was napping on Sunday afternoon. I found some really great sweaters for me + T-shirts for Kai on clearance with an additional 40% off. They had barely any dress pants in "short" length, and they happened to be in everything but my size.

I decided to go back to The Loft + use my birthday money to get the pants that I loved. I couldn't believe I was making my 2nd trip to the mall in two days. I barely go that many times in a whole year. There are a few styles that are really similar so I had a hard time remembering which ones were my favorites. I tried them on all over again and discovered that I am actually one size smaller than what I had tried on the day before.

There were 3 pairs that I really liked. So, I decided to get Ben's opinion. I bought all of them to take home, with the plan to return two pairs after he helped me narrow it down.

{Black Cotton Trousers, Grey Fluid Structure Pants, + Linen Denim Trousers}

Last night I put on a little fashion show. We still had a dilemma, Ben liked all three as well. However, he was able to rank them for me. He liked the Linen Denim Trousers best, followed by the grey pants and he wasn't the biggest fan of the black (he thought they were too plain). 

I still couldn't decide between them, so Ben smiled at me + said I could choose two. I asked him if he was sure a half dozen times. Then I still couldn't decide for myself, so I went with his choices and am taking back the black pair. Of course they are the least expensive. 

It's hard to believe that it was such a hassle to find a decent pair of (petite) dress pants. I was especially surprised by the lack of choices at big department stores. I've discovered that nothing in the juniors section looks even the least bit appealing to me anymore, but everything in the ladies or "misses" sections is usually too old for me. 

Petite or not, tell me, where do you shop for pants? How much are you willing to pay?

Featured Etsy Shop, Review, + Discount: Pure and Noble

I discovered Pure and Noble over at Today's Letters. Brooke is one of their sponsors and had a featured post about her there a while ago. I knew I wanted to feature her shop here as soon as I looked through her creative handmade goods.

When introducing you to shops, I love to introduce you not only to beautiful goods, but creative minds. I love connecting with people through these features and I hope you enjoy it too.

So here's a behind the scenes look at Pure and Noble with Brooke.

Where are you located + are you from there originally? Dallas, TX - from High Point, NC

How did you come up with your shop name? Philippians 4:8 - I want to honor God in all I do.

How long have you had your shop? 2-3 months

What inspires you? everything! Color, texture, prints, nature, fabric, others, my husband's photography... all of it.What is your favorite item in your shop? Oh gosh, that's a tough one (good question!). Hmmm... I guess it would have to be my Say Something line because it can be personalized and the new plaid bag I just added. It has just the right amount of color and femininity. 

Do you have any other jobs or hobbies? I'm a full time stay at home Mommy. It's the absolute hardest and most worthwhile job I've ever done. I also work with my husband doing books for his business and styling the occasional photo shoot. I also serve up at church at least once a week.

Share an interesting fact about yourself. Really? Interesting? I guess I don't think of myself as that interesting. I guess one cool thing is that I used to be a fit model for a big time New York fashion designer. It was really cool to see him work and help make some of his super cool creations as well. He definitely inspired my love of color and Charley Harper.

What do you hope your future holds? I hope to grow deeper in my relationship with the Lord, be a better parent to my boys, honor my creator and my husband every day. And, once both boys are in school I hope my business really grows so that I can design more and meet loads of interesting folks while showing them the love of Christ.

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Shandell's Review

Brooke sent me some lovely holiday cloth napkins for my review. I was so excited about them because they match my kitchen's decor perfectly. For those of you who know me in person, or maybe if you're read here for a while, you know that my kitchen colors are red, black, + silver. 

{perfection!}

These napkins are beautiful and so unique. My absolute favorite thing about them is that she repurposed a shower curtain! So other than those of you who head over right now to purchase the other 4 sets she has available, nobody else is going to have these beauties in their home. Don't you just love that?!

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Discount Code!

Brooke is offering an exclusive discount for Breaking New Ground's readers. Just enter the code BREAKING10 for 10% off your order at Pure and Noble. She has a ton of new + super fun items in her shop, including prints, bags, + home goods.


Enjoy!

online shopping

I can spend WAY too much time browsing the CSN website. They have great prices on all sorts of things including luggage, baby items, kitchen gear + more. I currently have my eye on an indoor drying rack so I can continue to air dry items when the rainy weather hits, or possibly a water table for Malakai. 


Once I decide I'll be posting my review of the product I choose here. 

Featured {ETSY!} retailer, review, + GIVEAWAY! {CLOSED}

This is my first review + giveaway featuring an Etsy shop and I'm so excited to introduce you Red Baby by Redrane. This lovely shop is run by Katrina, mama of Luca. 

While lining up Etsy sellers to introduce you to I came across Katrina's shop. First, because I was browsing baby wraps and slings but I also fell in love with her hand made shoes, blankets, burp cloths and more!


One of the great things about Etsy is that more often than not you can contact the person who is making the item you want, I just love the personal connection and I've really enjoyed meeting new people this way. Katrina is so sweet and I've loved working with her during this process. 

Well enough from me, here's a little bit more about Katrina of Red Baby in her own words...

Where are you located + are you from there originally?

We live in Longueuil ( pron: Long-gay ) which is more or less a suburb of Montreal in Quebec Canada. My husband is a Montreal native but I moved here 8 years ago from Ontario when I came to study Art and Psychology at Concordia University.

How did you come up with your shop name?

My middle name is Rane and red is my favourite colour! But really there is a bit more to it than that. For some years I've been a hobby photographer and after doing some self portraits with a friend using red lighting ages ago we came up with the name Redrane- it seemed like a good photographer / business name, and it has just kind of stuck since then.

How long have you had your shop?
I opened my shop just before my son was born in March 2009. 
A group of friends who had seen all the things I was making in preparation for my son's arrival suggested I start selling similar items and suggested Etsy as a great venue to do so. 
I dipped my toe into the water and listed a few items. I made a few sales in those first months but I certainly wasnt devoting much time to the shop after Luca arrived in the middle of April. I would say that things started to take off in September when I launched the "Moo Shoes", a limited edition fall "Luca Wrap" and then the fleece Owl hats.

What inspires you?
SO so many things inspire me! I would have to say that a lot of my inspiration
comes from need, practicality and functionality - thats why I like to make things that are reversible, or have pockets or duel purposes whenever possible. 
Of course the colours,textures and patterns of fabrics inspire me as well. I love to drift through fabric stores running my hands over the bolts of fabric imagining what they would be good for, or how they would look with something else I have hidden away in my collection!

What is your favorite item in your shop?
I have a special fondness for the Moo Shoes and Owl Hats, probably because I made each of them originally for my son. I love the swaddling blankets and Luca wraps for their practicality but I'm coming to love the ring slings more and more as Luca has reached a weight where my biceps just can't hold him for long!

Do you have any other jobs or hobbies?
I teach art and dance at a high school in another town just outside of Montreal and I love to dance, take photos, play games with my son and husband, and once upon a time I loved to run but its a passion I havent managed to rekindle since Luca was born.

Share an interesting fact about yourself.
Even though Im coordinated person who danced and figure skated for years without any major injuries I am ridiculously clumsy on a day to day basis - dancing in 3" heels- no problem! walking down the street in running shoes- forget it! I trip all over! My husband cant understand how I possibly made it through childhood without any broken bones =)


What do you hope your future holds?
My hopes for the future are simiple - I would love to keep teaching but on a part time basis so I could devote more time to my business while still having a minute to myself and time to spend with my family. 
I want to go on a belated honeymoon with my husband and build a "container cottage" together as a family project, and at some point finish all the little renovations around the house.

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Shandell's Review

Katrina is so awesome that when I contacted her about a review she sent me TWO of her gorgeous XL  cotton gauze swaddling blankets. These blankets are so beautiful and functional. 

Within days of receiving them we already put them to many uses. We went on a walk and used the seascape {blue + green} one to cover the stroller and it did a great job of keeping out the sun while letting the breeze through the lightweight fabric. It's the perfect size for our big stroller. 


Malakai loved playing with the blankets. We played peek-a-boo and even made a fort with them!

I really wish we would have had these extra-large blankets when Malakai was in the swaddling stage. I know that they'll surely get a lot of use with our future little ones.

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GIVEAWAY!

Want one yet? Of course you do! Well Katrina of Red Baby is offering one of my lucky readers not one, but TWO of these lovely cotton gauze blankets in the colors of their choice...and there are a lot to choose from!

Please leave ONE comment for each entry and be sure to link your email to your blogger/google profile or include it in the comment so I can contact you if you're the lucky winner.

Giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada. Contest ends on Tuesday July 6th 2010, 9pm PST. Winner will be announced on Wednesday July 7th, 2010 {my anniversary!}. 

Mandatory entry: 

~ Please become a public follower of Breaking New Ground {google friend connect on the upper left} then visit Red Baby by Redrane on Etsy and come back to tell me your favorite item. 

Additional entries:

~Become a fan of Red Baby by Redrane on Facebook. Leave a comment with your facebook name as we will verify each entry.  

~Follow me on twitter and tweet: "win 2 XL cotton gauze baby blankets from Redrane + @ShanLeAnn at http://bit.ly/cT9Tbc" Leave a comment with your twitter username. This can be done once per day.

~Purchase any item from Red Baby by Tuesday July 5th, 2010 9pm PST and leave a comment to tell me what you bought. 

All comments will be verified. Any comments that do not complete the requirements listed will be removed without notification, so please be sure to read the instructions carefully!

Disclosure: I was sent 2 XL cotton gauze swaddling blankets by Redrane for the purpose of the review. I received no other compensation. All opinions are my own. Click for additional disclosures and PR policies.