I was recently sent a pair of Leg Huggers by the very cool kid’s clothes company Agoo Apparel. I got the Raining Tulips pattern and they are awesome! Not only do they look adorable, but they feel so soft and silky. They are made from 100% bamboo fibers, which is not only good for the environment, but for sensitive skin as well. Bamboo is a highly sustainable natural resource, and as I am becoming increasingly more ‘crunchy’, this scored some points with me.

Here is some info about bamboo from the Leg Huggers website:

Bamboo is arguably one of the world’s best sustainable resources. With a growth rate of up to a meter or more per day, bamboo holds the world record as the fastest growing plant.

It is said to be the new cotton, since it shares many of the same properties and offers a few advantages. It is more anti-bacterial than other fabrics, which are very absorbent, causing them to hold dampness in. Because bamboo wicks moisture away, it’s great for your circulation and skin, preventing over-heating or chills from trapped-in moisture.

Bamboo is composed of a matrix with various microscopic gaps, which allows the fiber to be more breathable, comfortable and have better thermal regulation than cotton, wool, or synthetic fibers, keeping you cooler, drier and more comfortable. The unique structure also allows bamboo apparel to absorb and evaporate perspiration faster than any other fabric.

It is also hypoallergenic, and its organic, natural fiber properties make it non-irritating to even the most sensitive skin. Bamboo apparel also protects you from UV rays, naturally.

If all that weren’t enough, bamboo apparel is good for our ecosystems because it does not require pesticides, insecticides, or fertilizers, and does not involve the use of genetically modified organisms. Most importantly, bamboo fibers are biodegradable. Clothing that looks good, feels good, and is good for the environment.

And, Leg Huggers are longer than other brands. My 5 year old pointed this out to me when she grabbed the package out of my hands and put them on her legs. I love the fact that my 8 month old and 5 year old can share clothes already!

(Thank you to Agoo for sending me Leg Huggers for this review.)

Agoo has graciously agreed to give away one pair of Leg Huggers (in your choice of print) to a Metro Baby Blog reader.

How to enter:

Visit the Leg Huggers website, come back here and tell us your favorite print in the comment section of this post. (this entry is mandatory).

Additional entries:

1) Become a fan of Agoo Apparel on Facebook. Come back to this page and leave a comment that you are a fan of Agoo Apparel.
2) Become a fan of Metro Baby Cards on Facebook. Come back to this page and leave a comment that you are a fan of Metro Baby Cards.
3) Follow Leg Huggers on Twitter. Come back to this page and leave a comment that you are following @Babyleggings.
4) Follow Metro Baby Cards on Twitter. Come back to this page and leave a comment that you are following @metrobabycards.

This contest will end on Friday, January 15th at 7:00 pm EST. The winner will be chosen with www.random.org and will be contacted via e-mail. If I get no response after 3 days, a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck!

The winner is #32 – Teresa. Congratulations Teresa!

Most bark recipes are similar. Here is what I do:

Peppermint Bark
1 lb semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 1/2 bags of Ghirardelli chocolate)
1 lb white chocolate chips (1 1/2 bags of Ghirardelli chocolate)
Peppermint oil (NOT peppermint extract. Find it at health food stores)
12-ish candy canes (crushed)

Line 11×17 baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Melt semi-sweet chocolate in a double boiler, stirring constantly. Be careful not to let any water get into the chocolate. [I use a metal bowl on top of a pot of water on LOW heat. Chocolate likes to be warm, not hot. If it gets too hot you will get a thick doughy lump of chocolate that will not melt. Trust me.]

Mix in a few drop of peppermint oil once chocolate is fully melted.

Spread in a thin layer on the baking sheet. Wipe off any water on the bottom of the metal bowl before pouring the chocolate.

Chill in refrigerator for a couple minutes. [If you let the layer get too cold and harden completely, the 2 chocolate layers will separate and will not 'melt' together when you are done.]

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler, stirring constantly. Be careful not to let any water get into the chocolate.

Mix in peppermint oil. [I add about 8 drops. I like it pepperminty.]

Quickly spread it on your chocolate layer.

Sprinkle with crushed candy canes, gently pressing them into the chocolate.

Chill in refrigerator for about an hour.

Break bark apart into chunks and store in the refrigerator. It keeps for about 3 weeks.

Put the peppermint bark shards in a pretty tin with a label. Voila!

Invitations
[all info has been changed]

I now have this ‘Wild Things’ invitation for sale on the website. You can order it here.

Magnets/Table Decorations
These were very easy to make. I bought glass beads sold for flower arrangements. They are flat on one side, rounded on the other. Then I printed out many tiny pictures of both my daughter in her crown, and Wild Things characters from the book. I traced around each glass bead, cut out the shape, and glued the paper to the bead. Some also had magnets attached to the back. Those went home with the kids in their favor bags.

Download the .pdf of the marble pictures here. The picture size is approximately .77 inches square.

Max and Monster centerpieces/Crafts
I saw these great painted cardboard Max and Monster figures on this blog. These served as both decorations and crafts for the kids. I painted most of each figure, and the kids used markers and colored pencils to draw Max’s face and the Monster’s shirt.

Cupcakes
I made 3 different kinds of cupcakes, all decorated with fondant. This was my first time using fondant, and I used a Marshmallow fondant recipe found online. The grass and fur were done with a grass frosting tip. My husband was ready to make an emergency run to the grocery store to buy cupcakes if things went awry, but to my surprise everything worked out! I am glad we did a trial run of the cupcakes a couple weeks before the party, because if we had not, he would have made that run to the store.

Cupcake display
I planned on making a cupcake stand as well, but ran out of time. I ended up using a hat box and a gift-wrapped formula can. Worked just fine.

The Birthday Girl with her cupcakes.

The photo was taken by CJ Isaac Photography in Atlanta.

When you work with MetroBabyCards you are working with a real human, an actual graphic designer, nothing is automated and everything is customizable.

Photo Editing: Your children looking their best!
I inspect each photo that comes through and make edits as needed so it looks its absolute best on the design. I adjust color and contrast; convert to sepia or black and white; remove blemishes, flakey baby skin, errant objects, etc; and I crop to get the best fit for the design. I’ve even combined photos taking the best elements from two pictures to get the desired look. If your photo is too grainy, or low resolution or I am not able to make it work, I’ll let you know.

Using my newest baby girl, I’ll show you the difference proper photo editing makes.

Hover to see the design after I edited the photo.

Hover to see the design after I edited the photo.

The best part? All editing and customization is completely FREE!

The big automated mass producing competition do none of this. They let you pick a design, upload your photo and add a limited amount of text. That’s it! No one checks your photo to see if it will print well. No one edits your photo to bring out the color. There’s no one to talk to about changing colors or fonts or phrases. And don’t even think about adding a leaping tiger!

Ugly Dolls

Wild Things Design:
This design was created for my soon-to-be five year old daughter’s upcoming Where The Wild Things Are birthday party. That’s her wearing the crown!

Surprise Design:

Superhero:
This was created for a little boy’s super cool superhero birthday party.

Click here to see all the birthday invitation designs.