Photo Ready Giveaway | Win a Canon EOS Rebel T4i!

Heads up, photographers, photo hobbyists, and photographer wannabes!
This awesome event is made just for you!

Welcome to the Photo Ready Giveaway Event

Organized by: Mom Powered Media

Please take a moment to say hello to our sponsor: 

Giveaway Booster

Have a giveaway? Great! Now, how do you get the word out about your giveaway? Of course you want to reach more than just your audience right?!

Giveaway Booster was created to help you reach a larger audience to promote your giveaways. Give your giveaway a BOOST through email, blogs, and all forms of social media!

Giveaway Booster offers several services:

Promote Your Giveaway - Submit your giveaway, sweepstakes or contests and they will promote them! You can even have your giveaway promoted on several sites! 

List Your Giveaway Event - Bloggers do you need more bloggers to help you promote an event you are planning? List your giveaway for other bloggers to sign up. 

Join Giveaway Events - Are you a blogger looking to join all these great events? Sign-up to offer your readers these great giveaways and grow your social media in the process. 

Fans Enter Giveaways - Do you love to enter giveaways? Enter to win!!

Now let's talk about the fabulous prize package which includes:

Canon EOS REBEL T4i 18.0 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 3-inch Touchscreen and Full HD Movie Mode (Body) - Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II SLR Zoom Lens - Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens - Telephoto & Wide Angle Lens Set - 3 pc Filter Kit: UV/ Polarizing filter/Fluorescent correction & Case - 32 Gigabyte SDHC Secure Digital Memory Card - Secure Digital USB Card Reader - Universal Memory Card Wallet - Pack of LCD Screen Protectors - Additional LP-E8 Rechargeable Lithium-ion Replacement Battery Pack - Well Protective SLR Camera Gadget Bag w/Pockets & Strap - Full Size 59" Tripod W/Case - Focus DVD Guide to Digital SLR Cameras - Focus Digital Grey Card Set for color correction - Focus 5pc Deluxe Lens Care & Cleaning Kit - HDMI cable

Special thank you to our lovely co-hosts {make sure to stop by and say hello}: 

Thinking Outside The Sandbox, Tiny Tidbits of an NC Diva, What's Up Reviews and Giveaways, 

3 Boys and a Dog, Panlasang Pinoy Filipino Recipes, 

Mom to Bed by 8, Baby Costcutters and Powered By Mom.

One lucky winner will receive the Canon EOS REBEL T4i Prize Package {detailed above}!

Giveaway ends May 14th at 11:59pm, open worldwide residents, ages 18+. 

Residents outside of the US will receive a $750 Amazon GC instead. 

To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. The Rebel Sweetheart is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment. Please contact teri@mompoweredmedia.com with questions or to see your business or blog featured on the next big event!

Wordless Wednesday #35 | Building Blocks.

Turn your House into a Home | Getting Ready for a Baby in the House.

Bringing your new-born baby home can be an exciting and anxious time. Apart from making sure that your bundle of joy has the right food and clothing, you'll also want to ensure that your home is a safe environment for them. With so much to think about before your baby comes home, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But relax, help is at hand: below is a list of must-haves for your baby’s health and well-being.

De-clutter your home 
If you have any redundant household items that pose a potential hazard to your baby (especially any electrical appliances), why not sell them and use the money for more baby friendly products? Money saving websites such as MusicMagpie, allow you to sell items online pretty easily. Not only are you de-cluttering your home and making it a safer environment for your baby, you’re also earning some extra cash which will come in handy when shopping for your child.

Securing your windows and patio doors
Select cordless curtains and blinds. If your curtains already have cords, tie them high up, away from your baby’s reach.

Stick brightly coloured labels on any large glass areas, such as picture windows and conservatory or patio doors, to remind your baby that they are there.

Also secure your top windows with locks to stop your baby from opening them. For lower windows in your home, ensure that they cannot be opened by more than six inches. Lastly, make sure your furniture or any other household items that your baby is likely to climb on are nowhere near any windows in your home.

Photo credit: WallPink

Hazard-proof your home
Electrical appliances, such as wires and cords also need to be concealed behind heavy furniture. Tall lamps can be easily pulled over if your baby pulls at them, so make sure they are out of their reach at all times.

Lock any cupboards that contain medicine or household cleaning products so your baby cannot get to them. Poisonous substances such as bleach need to be in a location where they cannot be gotten at whatsoever by your child.

Many baby hazards are found in your bins and waste paper baskets. Items such as plastic bags, batteries and pens are all dangerous to your baby and you should place these far out of reach from your child. If you have access to the internet, a great place for advice and information on safety for newborns is the BBC health section, which raises awareness about the dangers of such hazards in your home.

Protect your baby’s fingers and mouth 
Purchase hinge protectors to stop your baby from pinching their fingers in ironing boards, door jams and other such things. Hinge protectors are relatively cheap and will bring you peace of mind when it comes to your baby’s safety.

Ensure that any pens, cutlery, pins or any other sharp items are secured firmly away in locked cupboards. Your baby will naturally put such items in their mouth and this can cause choking and other hazards.

Prevent scalds 
As a rule, make sure all hot drinks are kept away from any work surfaces or tables in your home, so your baby cannot reach them. If you are breastfeeding your baby, make sure you are safely away from any hot drinks as the tiniest of droplets can easily scald them. If you are making a hot drink, like a tea or coffee, make sure your baby is away from the area as hot liquid can still badly scald them fifteen minutes after being poured.

Fit smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
Before your baby comes home, it’s vital that you make sure the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home are working.  With this in mind, fit at least one smoke detector on every level of your home and in any hallways near to your bedrooms. It’s also really important to have a clear escape plan in case of a fire.

There are six simple ways you can safety proof your home before you return with your baby. Hopefully, this will help quieten your mind a little and allow you to enjoy what should be a blissful time.

5 Ways to Involve Your Kids in Planning Their Birthday

Having a birthday party is so exciting! There is so much to do and organising a party can be so much fun! This a great opportunity to get your kids involved in the planning stage. The anticipation of having a party can be just as exciting as the party itself. This is your child’s special day. Involving them as much as possible will make them feel extra special. There are so many things going on throughout the year and life is always so busy, so this is a great opportunity to let them do some planning for their special day.

Guest List
Ask your child who they would like to invite to the party. Depending on their age, it may also be necessary to invite some parents if the children are quite young. Decide how many guests you are able to host and stick to that number. With younger school age children, make sure they do interact with the names on the list as younger ones may want to invite the whole class! Also take into account any family members you may wish to invite.

Choose a Venue
Once you have decided on the number of guests, you can choose a venue. Ask your child whether they would prefer to have a party at home, have a party in the park or go to a venue that specifically caters for children’s parties.

Invitations
Invitations are a great way to get children involved in planning their birthday party. You can get free templates on the internet and then print out the invitations or let your child make their own invitations.

Games
Games can be difficult to decide upon. Write down a list of age appropriate games and explain what they are to your child. Depending on the length of time the party will go for, let your child choose as many games as practical.

Party food
Ask your child what food they would like to have at the party. Make sure you are aware if any of the guests have food allergies to nuts or eggs, for example. Decide upon a menu that is age appropriate. Also get your child involved in making up the party bags. Wherever your child decides to have their party, the preparation will be much the same. Some children opt for a few friends, whilst others will want to invite everyone they know. Some children may be happy with a family dinner with just one friend.

Whatever your child chooses, it is their birthday and it is their decision. Children also love to help with decorations. They can blow up balloons, put up streamers and decorate party bags or invitations with self inking rubber stamps. Rubber stamps have a multitude of uses and kids just love stamping away. You can get stamps saying ‘happy birthday’ or stamps with decorative images from online retailers such as Vistaprint. By getting your child involved in planning their party, it actually makes their birthday seem to go on for longer. Because this exciting event only happens once a year, your child will be absolutely thrilled to help with all the planning.

5 Tips to Start a Blog.

Blogs are great. You can write about any topic and publish your work online, where it can potentially be read by millions of people. However, starting a blog can be a daunting enterprise. There are a wide variety of platforms and strategies to consider. Use the following five tips to get you started.

State Your Goals
Is this going to be a personal blog? Are you running this blog for a business in order to sell products? Are you hoping to share your brilliant writing with the world so that you can build web traffic and sell ad space on your site? Whatever your objectives are, make sure they remain in the forefront of your mind. Maybe invest in a proper ips monitor as you’ll have to be staring at a screen for long hours. Determining what you want your blog to do for you will affect every decision you make regarding its future.

Determine Your Niche
It would be awesome if your blog eventually reaches a level of mass appeal, but when you're first starting out, it's important to know what your niche is. It'll help keep your writing focused. For example, if you want to start a comic book blog, you should stick to topics related to that niche. However, if you're writing a blog about Meditteraniean cuisine, you should keep your thoughts on the upcoming Superman movie to yourself.

Find the Right Platform
You’ll need a platform on which to host your blog, and if you’re new to blogs and web design in general, you’ll want something simple and straightforward. WordPress.com and Blogger.com are great options for the first-time blogger; they’re easy to use, and best of all, they’re free. However, if you’re running a business blog, you may want a more sophisticated platform.

Cultivate Your Audience
Knowing your niche is important, because it can help you build a strategy in terms of increasing readership. The first people who will learn about your blog will probably be your friends and family, but if you want to branch out, you’ll need to know where to find your audience. To use the comic book blog example, you should visit other comic book blogs and forums. Don't immediately post your blog link on these sites, or you may get booted off for spamming. Take the time to build relationships with other authors and readers, and share your link when you feel it's appropriate.

Be Consistent
The more regularly you post content, the higher your readership will be. There may be days when you don’t feel like writing, and you'll want to blow it off. Taking a break is fine. You don’t have to post something every day, but you should publish a new post at least once a week. Ultimately, you'll get out of your blog what you put into it.

Hopefully, you found these five tips helpful. Do you have any tips for first-time bloggers? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Tom is a tech head and is currently studying computer engineering. He loves everything to do with technology and writes these blogs hoping that it will help those who are not to savvy when it comes to basic tech knowledge.