Have you entered this week’s contest yet? We’re giving away two maternity tees from Apple & Eve Maternity to one lucky reader! I had a chance to catch up with Lynnie, the creative mind behind the designs at Apple & Eve. Here’s what she had to say:

Where do you get your design inspirations?

I actually get most of my inspiration for designing my tees from my children! For example, my very first design came about with the help of my son Codi back in 1994 (when he was 3 1/2).  I was pregnant with baby #3 (Clay) and my son asked me, “Mommy, why do you have a ‘bump’ on your belly?” I told him, “The bump is there to protect the little baby inside.”  That innocent question from my child gave me the inspiration for “Baby Under Mommy’s Protection” (aka BUMP).  I now use that phrase on every mommy tee that I design as my signature logo! It is located at the lower corner of each of my mommy tees. To make the logo even more special, I had the footprints from my two youngest sons birth certificates replicated and incorporated into my logo, with the phrase “Baby Under Mommy’s Protection” arched above the newborn footprints.

I also try to keep things humorous (I’m well known for practical jokes around my house!), which you can probably tell from the “OMGIMPRGNT” tee. With baby #4 — better known as Colten – I was 37 years old and, bless his heart, he was an “OOPS!”  One of the first things I said was, “Oh my God, I’m pregnant!” My daughter Christina came up with the text version for the design of this tee! I guess you can truly say this is a “family” business!

How often do you release new designs?

I try to release a new design or two every six months. I will be releasing another Christmas design by mid-October.  I am also adding long sleeve and tanks to my collection! I love designing my maternity tees, it really is so much fun. And it certainly helps that the feedback from my customers is wonderful!  One of my customers even used the OMGIMPRGNT tee to announce that she was pregnant.  She had her husband and parents/family meet her at the local Olive Garden.  She wore the tee and as everyone figured out what the “text” message said, well, let’s just say, there were a lot of happy screams coming from a certain table in Olive Garden. Stories like that are what make this job so much fun!

Do you have a favorite tee and why?

I would have to say my favorite is the classic Baby Under Mommy’s Protection maternity tee, because it was my first design and is very sentimental to me.  I also am partial to my design “Watch Love Grow” – the detail in the artwork for this tee is just beautiful!

Ready to win TWO of your own Apple & Eve Maternity tees? Check out yesterday’s post, follow the rules and enter to win by midnight on Wednesday, September 23, 2009. We’ll randomly select a winner using Random.org. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for a whole other contest – a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card!

Virtual drumroll, please . . . the winner of the cute splat mat and matching bib is Nicole with comment # 10. I used Random.org to select the winner. Congrats, Nicole. I hope you love your set as much as I love mine!

We just announced this week’s contest: Win a mod mom maternity shirt from Apple and Eve. LOVE their shirts, Y’all. Please tell your friends!

I wish I’d seen the maternity t-shirts from Apple & Eve Maternity when I was pregnant. I found that most of the maternity tees out there were too cutesy, or in some cases, too in-your-face. The shirts at Apple & Eve are really clever and have a simple, understated modern design. I just LOVE the “OMGIMPRGNT” shirt and totally wish I’d had that one. I also like the “did a little dance, made a little love…” shirt — that shirt really hits the nail on the head!

And the best part about the shirts at Apple & Eve Maternity is that you have the chance to win one TWO shirts from her shop!

GIVEAWAY RULES

1. To enter, go check out Apple & Eve Maternity and report back here with a comment on your favorite screened maternity tee.

2. To gain one more entry, subscribe to my RSS feed and leave me a comment telling me that you’re a subscriber.

3. To gain yet another entry, follow me on Twitter, then leave another comment and tell me your Twitter name.

Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Entry deadline: midnight PST, Wednesday, September 23, 2009. The winner will receive a maternity t-shirt in your choice of size and style. The winner will be selected using Random.org and announced on Thursday, September 24.

And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for a whole other contest – a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card!

Check back here tomorrow to read my interview with Lynnie, the originator of the phrase “bump: baby under Mommy’s protection” and the woman behind Apple & Eve Maternity.

UPDATE: Lynnie just informed me that the winner will get her choice of TWO maternity shirts from her shop, not one. Wow! That’s an almost $50 value, Chicas. Not pregnant? Win some for a friend!

I can’t remember where I read this nifty trick, but I love it! Next time Junior makes a stinky-poo, stash a little something extra in his dirty diaper. Take your cut up credit cards, or credit card offers from the mail — anything that a thief might root around in your trash for in an attempt to steal your identity — and put the bits and pieces in with the diaper. I guarantee they aren’t going to OPEN UP your dirty diapers to look for sensitive information.

This is part of the Works for Me Wednesday series. More great tips at WeAreThatFamily.

Don’t forget to enter this week’s giveaway for a designer splat mat and matching bib. Great shower gift if your little ones are past the messy stage. Deadline is midnight tonight!

When one of my friends first saw this picture of my nephew, she asked, “How did your sister get false eyelashes on that boy?”

Looking for more great photos? Grab a cup of tea or coffee and check out these sites that host more Wordless Wednesday entries: SevenClownCircus, 5MinutesforMom, and WordlessWednesday.

Have you entered our Splat Mat and Matching Bib giveaway yet? This whole contest thing is new to me here on the blog and I’m having a blast reading all your comments. I had to share this photo from last night. This is why you need a splat mat. I bought mine months ago (from ColorMeCute, the shop providing the prize) and thank goodness I did. You could win this exact set, or another one of your choice from her shop.

You can also win a $50 Amazon gift card over on our Facebook page. We just need to get to 150 fans and then we’ll draw another winner. As of this morning, we were about 20 fans short of our goal. So tell a friend and come share random thoughts with us on Facebook, too!

When my niece came for a visit last year, I bought her one of these Kid’s Busy Boxes. I love it! It’s an all-in-one craft kit, complete with different projects, and the materials to complete them! How awesome is this? It’s great for when you have the grandkids or nieces or nephews over, but it’s also great for your own kids. I mean, let’s face it, we’re not all Martha Stewart; some of us need a little help!

Kid’s Busy Boxes come out several times a year with different seasonal themes. They just released their Autumn Box. At a mere $21.99, this is a great gift idea! They also have other great theme boxes, like the Princess Fairy crafts, which I wish they’d had last year when my niece came for a visit. But no worries; she’ll be visiting again soon and I know what Aunt Sherean will have ready and waiting for her!

Just a reminder: nobody sent me this product to review. I bought it last year and am sharing my experiences with you. If anyone ever sends me anything to review, I’ll let you know.

Got a friend that’s particularly creative? You know the one that makes all her own holiday decorations and hand stamps her own fabric. (Can you even do that or did I just make that up?) I have several artsy girlfriends (Kemba, I’m talking to you!) and think a little Tools of the Trade gift basket is in order.

Let’s start with some cool Pantone mugs in the color of your choice ($14.99/ea). I love the clean lines and simplicity of these mugs.

Staying in the kitchen, you could add some salt and pepper mills ($25.13/ea from Amazon). Vesatee, these would look great in your new red/black kitchen:

And because most of my creative friends are really into typography, how about some typography soap ($20) from the fabulous online store Charles and Marie?

There are also Pantone Messenger bags, luggage tags and more at PopDeluxe, another great online store.

Alistair:

Hoping to sow a little peace, love and understanding today. Then smack talk during the fantasy football draft. It’s all about the balance.

My friend, Adrienne:

According to German researchers, the risk of heart attack is higher on Monday than any other day of the week. — Aren’t you glad it’s Friday???

Here’s what caught my eye this week:

Scent of a Scandal has new fall scents out for their fabulous soy candles. Check out Suck It (blood orange) and Turning Tricks (candy corn), available through Halloween only.

I’m still trying to figure out what to do for my baby’s one year birthday celebration. He loves wheels and anything that spins. Maybe pinwheels? Do I have time to make these cute ones? Is that even considered a theme? Anybody have any ideas that don’t involve cars?

I need to exchange my Sigg water bottles. Have you heard the news? Turns out Sigg’s bottles had BPA in the liners (the newest bottles do not but older ones do). I was PISSED when I heard that. Not that I believe the amount was harmful (it wasn’t) but because the company lied about it. Dumb, dumb, dumb to break the public’s trust like that. I blogged about it over on my company blog if you want the background. In the meantime, check to see if you have one of the older Sigg bottles (the inside rim will be a gold color) and if you do, follow these instructions to exchange it. I am doubly bummed because I was a BIG fan (blogged about them as a great gift idea but won’t even link to the post for you cuz I take it all back!).

The winner of last week’s contest is Amy J., comment #78. We selected Amy this morning using Random.org’s random number generator. Not as fun as watching the lottery balls spin around on TV, but effective nonetheless. Congrats, Amy! We think one of Renee’s outfits will look DARLING on your little girl. Enjoy!

When we started feeding our son solid foods, it soon became apparent we would need something to protect our lovely bamboo floors. I needed a “splat mat” but wanted something with some style. I’m just not ready for cartoon characters. There will be plenty of time for that later when he’s older. Enter Etsy shop ColorMeCute. Not only did she have some stylish designs, she had a black and white damask that went perfectly with my black and white kitchen. See? Doesn’t it look great?

And lucky you, Random Neural Firings is giving away one splat mat and matching bib, courtesy of ColorMeCute!

GIVEAWAY RULES

1. To enter, go check out ColorMeCute and leave a comment telling me about your favorite things in her shop.

2. To gain one more entry, subscribe to my RSS feed and leave me a comment telling me that you’re a subscriber.

3. To gain yet another entry, follow me on Twitter, then leave another comment and tell me your Twitter name.

Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Entry deadline: midnight PST, Wednesday, September 16, 2009. The winner will receive a splat mat with matching bib in your choice of available sets. The winner will be selected using Random.org and announced on Thursday, September 17.

And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for a whole other contest – a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card!

About the Woman Behind ColorMeCute

Heidi is a stay-at-home mom of three kids. Where she finds the time to sew is beyond me, but thank goodness she does. Her aunt taught her but she really started sewing like crazy with her third child, who, like mine, was a spitter and a drooler. A woman after my own heart, she hated covering up the cute outfits with ugly bibs so she designed some cute bibs and the rest, as they say, is history.

Check out her shop, leave us a comment, and you could win a set for yourself. One final shot of my munchkin in his matching bib:

Summer’s almost over. . . one last time for the memory bank, my little guy enjoying his time in the splash pool. . .

Looking for more great photos? Grab a cup of tea or coffee and check out these sites that host more Wordless Wednesday entries: SevenClownCircus, 5MinutesforMom, and WordlessWednesday.

A friend just emailed and asked where we got the cute black and white artwork for the baby’s room. One of these days, I’m going to post a nursery tour with shopping info (it’s always “one of these days,” isn’t it?), but in the meantime, here’s the art and the generous artist (Kal Barteski) who posted this for FREE on her blog. All her stuff is FABULOUS so buy some. I stumbled upon her work when I was trying to come up with a cool black and white nursery. We blew these pictures up a bit and printed them out with a regular old printer, then got some cheap ($9/ea as I recall) album frames at Michael’s and voila! Instant wall art.

Here’s a pic of how we arranged them in our nursery. Many thanks to Kal for making such hip, wonderful pieces for Mommas like me!

Not to make this a longish post, but I was just checking out the stuff she has for sale and I love, love, love these 5×7 prints. We’re going to be moving soon and I’ll have a new nursery to decorate (yay!) so I might just have to buy and use these as inspiration.

And Oh. My. God. I want this baby book she designed. It’s pricey but way hipper than the babyish stuff I combed through trying to find a modern one. And yet, it’s still sweet and whimsical. Love it!

This is part of the Works for Me Wednesday series. More great tips at WeAreThatFamily.

Oh and don’t forget to register for our giveaway from CandyStick Lane and the JumpOff. Deadline is midnight tonight. And check back here tomorrow when we announce a NEW giveaway!