App review- Princess Fairytale Maker

Have some little ones that love to play on your iPhone or iPad? I sure do! I was getting bored of hearing the same old games going on when my iPhone was borrowed so I went in search of some new apps for the girls to play and discovered the most amazing and fun app called Princess Fairytale Maker.

Seriously folks, you are going to want to play with it just as much as your kids! And although the title is “Princess” there is stuff here for boys as well. Basically your kids use stickers, colored pencils, crayons, and more to create a scene. Then they hit the voice record button and can tell a story about their picture, while moving the stickers around to help tell the story! There are so many elements from fairies and mermaids to food and animals. All of it is adorably structured and I love hearing the girls tell their very own story.

What’s even more impressive is that you can group scenes together to make a bigger story. Love, love, love! Here are some more screen shots from the game, which you can buy here. =)

If you are going to buy an app for your kids then I highly recommend apps by Duck Duck Moose… there are lots more to choose from so check them out!

You Can Put Down Your Phone Now

I have a confession to make. I adore my iPhone and am on it way too much. I have it sitting next to me pretty much 24/7, at the dinner table, outside, and yes, even in the car. I have different ringtones for my favorite people, alerts for everything from emails to Etsy orders. When I hear a buzz or song coming from my beloved Rabito my first instinct is to pick up the phone to see what is going on or who is calling. But what I didn’t realize is that this little addiction is causing me to not fully be present with my children, and they are noticing.

Today I was outside playing with the girls when Gabby heard my phone ringing. Without missing a beat she jumped up and ran to bring me the phone, looking very proud for her quick response. It made me wonder if I put so much importance on this device that Gabby felt the need to drop everything and run for it. Do I do that often? I am thinking yes.

I will be the first one to admit that I talk and drive at the same time because for me it is one of the only times when I will not have Moira climbing all over me, grabbing the phone out of my hand. I do have a Bluetooth and it is not all the time, but if I need to call someone I usually do it while driving.  And I realized today that some of our most important conversations happen in the car and when I am talking to someone else, I cannot be fully present with the girls. They notice so much, especially now that Gabby is reading, and they have tons of questions. Questions that are quickly forgotten if they are not asked right away.

I didn’t realize that I was missing so much by putting so much stock in this silly little device, playing Tiny Tower instead of paying attention to swim lessons, checking my email at the park, texting during dinner time. Paying attention, but not really fully engaged because my thoughts are elsewhere.

But let’s be real. This is a technology era where our phones are quickly becoming a vital part of our lives, they allow us to run businesses, keep a family on schedule, organize playdates, find new recipes and crafts… the list goes on and on. So can there be a happy medium? I believe so.

Until Moira gets the concept of not using me like a jungle gym as soon I go to dial someone I have to either resort to calling people after 11:30pm or using nap time to catch up. Of course there will be times when the car is my only option, but I am going to drastically cut down on that. And I am imposing a “no cell phone” rule at the table, no matter what time of day it is. But most importantly, when I am not tending to my Etsy shop or organizing family items, I am going to make it my priority to be fully engaged in my family, not on my phone…

(…unless I am using it to capture awesome moments like this… then it is allowed!)

Hey Rabito!

I am a sucker for cute accessories, especially furry ones. I can’t help myself when it comes to adding cuteness to my phone, car, jacket… anything really. So when I saw the Rabito phone case on a favorite blog I follow, Pugly Pixel, I had to know more.

{photo from Pugly Pixel}

This case is adorable to say the least and is catching to the eye, while I was out today at least 2 people asked me about it! Although it retails for around $30 in the actual Rabito store I bought mine from eBay, winning the auction at $0.25!! All said and done I paid under $5 for this awesome little case, a steal and a price that I was really happy with since I have never seen the case in person.(If you want to get a case from eBay be aware that there are counterfeits out there, look for the Rabito name logo on the side of the case as well as authentic packaging.) I purchased my case from here and am bidding on a pink one from this store… gotta love eBay!

Here are my thoughts about this case:

It is a very cool looking case that is sturdy, fun, and protects the phone. The ears not definitely not flimsy pieces of silicone, they are tough and I don’t see them breaking or bending easily at all, plus I love that you can wrap your earphones around them. The fluffy tail is awesome, allows your phone to stand up or be on the side easily, and can pop off if you need it to. I am in love with the color, a very cheerful tropical blue that suits me perfectly. But of course this case does have a few drawbacks.

If the tail is on and you have small hands then it is hard to hold the phone to your ear. My hands just aren’t big enough to go around both tail and the phone, so when I get a call that I might be chatting for awhile I pop it off. I use my headphone jack quite a bit at the dance studio and the hole that was cut out isn’t quite big enough to hold the cord in well, although I will say that the cord is very large and heavy duty. I had no problems with normal headphone jacks. For some reason my charging cord that came with my phone isn’t fitting in right with the case on but when I tried a different charging cord ($5 one form Five Below it fit perfectly), so you may have to try different cords to see which ones fit the best.

All in all I am in love with the case and smile whenever I look at it. It would make a great basket filler for a teen or bunny loving women, Easter is right around the corner! There are a couple great colors and new silver or gold editions at the Rabito store are really posh looking. Highly recommend this case if you are looking to add some kawaii to your phone!

Finding Inspiration

There are so many things that inspire me, a joke Gabby tells, a color I spot in the sky, a song lyric that catches my throat. Sometimes it is something silly like the Rabito iPhone case (I just scored one for $0.25 here!) that gets me on a bunny themed spree of crafts for Easter and other times it is a beautiful quote. And thanks to crack-addicting awesome sites like Pinterest all my inspirations are gathered and categorized allowing me to find projects, recipes, and such really easily.

Lately I have been inspired by Spring projects like this wreath, jellyfish (who doesn’t want a tank of lil jellyfish?!), colors like coral, lime green, and melon, tea cups, and wooden palettes. I think that part of being happy is finding inspiration for your happiness wherever you can and realizing that even when things aren’t going all that great, take a look around and be open to beauty.

What inspires you?

iPhoto Photo Love

Since having the iPhone I have discovered a whole slew of things that I adore about it. But I must admit that the photo feature is my favorite. The photos are great quality and the apps that are available to compliment it are a lot of fun. My favorite app is called Vintage Camera. It is a really easy app to use and has two versions- Free and Pro which is $0.99, can’t beat that right?! I love the variety of photo effects and how easy it is to share the photos on Facebook or through email. Plus, the kids love taking photos with it as well! If you are an iPhone owner, this is definitely one to check out!

A nice feature with the Vintage Camera app is that there aren’t a lot of bells and whistles. You opt for flash, no flash or automatic (take my advice and NEVER turn the flash on!), snap the photo, and then choose your effect. Simple and easy. If you want more options and such for photo taking then I highly suggest Camera +. It is rated as one of the best by professional photographers and is also only $0.99. You get a zoom, can control the exposure, and even add a fill light.

So there is my apps of choice for my iPhone’s photo feature! What are your favorite apps on your phone?