Interview at the WAHM Spot

Stop on over to The WAHM Spot for inspiration and resources for work at home moms. My favorite feature is the WAHM mom interviews!

We were delighted to be featured in their interview column last week.

Get to know the Queen Bee behind Polka Dot Bumblebee by clicking HERE!

Check out our review on This Full House

During the Ultimate Blog Party I met so many wonderful WAHMs and Liz from This Full House is one of them. I love, love, love her tagline, "Don't make me have to use UPPERCASE". How cute is that?

You'll love this busy mom's take on life and we are happy to call her one of our new blogging friends. Check in for recipes, photos, reviews and funny blog posts that will have you coming back for more!

One of her "freshed brewed reviews" was us! See what Liz had to say about Polka Dot Bumblebee

And leave a comment and tell her we sent ya!

Product Review: Fanci Free Diaper Bags

I consider myself to be somewhat of a diaper bag afficianado. I have small ones, big ones and in-between ones. I have a striped Mothership bag, a camo inspired Wendy Bellisimo one, an asian brocade one, one for short trips (handmade by a WAHM) an industrial-not-too-cutesy-one for daddy to carry and finally a Fanci Free All In Motion bag in the Circles In Motion pattern.

It is my new favorite and here is why:

2 side pockets for sippie cups or bottled water

one large pocket in center and two on either side

made of durable light weight water resistant nylon

included bag for wet/dirty items

protective metal feet

and my two favorite details:

secure cell phone holder that is attached to the top of the bag *brilliant*

long strap stay put strap and they include a stroller strap attachment too.

This gets my Polka Dot Bumblebee
stamp of approval!

Get yours here!

Could this be any cuter?

We had to share this adorable custom first birthday design that couldn't be any cuter! We love the color combo and fresh look! Tooooo adorable!

Beautiful Birth Announcement

This custom birth announcement design is becoming very popular!

We love the classic simplicity of it!

Font Options

Did we mention that we have hundreds of fonts? No Kidding! And you are welcome to change them and/or the patterns to create your perfect announcement! Check out our favorite fonts and patterns!

This family happened to substitute with one of my favorite fonts! It's the one that I used on my precious nephews announcements and has a special place in my heart.

A new friend

I wanted to share with you the adorable custom birth announcement that we did for a wonderful family! Welcome precious little one to the world! That is one adorable baby girl!

We love that the proud parents chose to go with a fresh spring green in place of the usual pink.

Another Leap Year Baby

I wanted to share this other adorable leap year baby custom photo card! We have had a tremendous response to our promotion of 500 free custom photo birth announcements. We've reached our fill of 10 families, but we have a great deal for other famillies interested. Simply email us for the details.

Congratulations ERICA! our UBP winner

A big ol' congrats to Erica of Butterfly Kisses winner of 50 custom photo cards from Polka Dot Bumblebee! We see that Erica welcomed a little one on Easter morning. Congratulations Erica!

We look forward to working with you to create a boy photo birth announcement sometime soon!

Stay tuned...we'll be choosing a winner from our comments by the end of this week that will 50 more custom photo cards!

Good luck!

Who is Expecting?

Of course you know about the big name celebs who are expecting - but did you know that Marissa Jaret Winkur (actress and current DWTS contestant) and Judah Miller (television writer) are expecting their first bundle of joy? Marissa is a seven year cervical cancer survivor and had her uterus removed as part of treatment. The couple is using a surrogate mommy (with their biological child) who is five months along.


And Matt Hoover and Suzy Preston of Biggest Loser 2 fame will be adding to their bunch! They are busy with 9 month old Rex and will be even busier with 2 under 2 in a matter of months!

Congratulations from Polka Dot Bumblebee to both couples!

Happy Spring! Toddler Activity #3 Coffee Filter Flowers

This is a super simple activity. You need 3 things in the way of supplies!

Coffee filters
markers
spray bottle full of water

You'll want to lay a box or a plastic sheet under the project area. Simply color in the center of the coffee filter with one color. Then let toddlers go to town coloring the outside with different vibrant colors. Spray with a water bottle and watch the magic! It's like instant tie dye!

You then let them dry. Once they are dry stack a few, gather them in the center and use a green pipe cleaner as a stem... or simply twist tightly as we did! These look darling gathered in a vase or pitcher and will last forever! Perfect for a Mother's Day or May Day gift.

A big thanks to Auntie L who gave us this idea!

Halle Berry Releases Baby Daughter's Name

Photo: Flynet

Welcome to the world... Nahla Ariela Aubry!

The name is pronounced ["GNAW-lah ARE-ee-EL-uh"]

"We didn't have a name picked out until just before we left the hospital. For us it was hard to name the most important person in our life until we met her."
Halle told Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell.

Halle's rep confirmed that she is "doing great" and a source close to the Halle camp said that she had a long and natural birth.

Congratulations to Halle and Gabriel (a first baby for both) from Polka Dot Bumblebee!

Welcome to the Ultimate Blog Party!

*this is a sticky post - see below for new blog posts!*
Party Hats? CHECK! Dance shoes? CHECK! Music? CHECK! Guests? CHECK!
Welcome to my little corner of the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5 minutes for Mom!
Take a look around and be sure to drop me a line! One lucky party guest will be winning 50 custom photo cards from Polka Dot Bumblebee Take the time to email me about your favorite design and you'll be entered in a second drawing for 50 4 x 6 custom photo cards!

My name is Veronica and I am the owner of Polka Dot Bumblebee custom photo cards & stationery. You can find out a little bit more about me here!

Check out our hundreds (over 500) of original designs here!

If you are looking to create a BUZZ with your next event - our custom photo card designs are perfect for you. With other 500 designs we are sure to have something to suit your style whether it's fresh&funky, cute&classic or sweet&simple!

Be sure to get a FREE sample as well!

Now on to the party!

No party in my house is complete without my famous salsa and guacamole.
Here's the recipe (that I rarely share with anyone):

4-5 roma tomatos
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 jalapeno peppers
½-3/4 white or red onion
Juice of 1 lime
(as you can see I just sort of wing it until it looks good!)
2 avacados

I use the Rick Bayless Salsa Chopper which saves me lots of time in chopping. You simply chop everything but the avacados in 1 inch pieces and throw it in! A few spins of the handle and you are done!

Now here's my dirty little guacamole secret.. I simply scoop half of the salsa out and then add the 2 avacados to the remaining salsa and VOILA (!) instant guacamole. Add the juice of a half a lime to both the salsa and guac and salt and pepper to taste. I prefer to serve my salsa and guac with blue corn chips because of their nuttiness!

Be prepared because your family will want this on a weekly basis! It's super simple and you'll feel like a domestic goddess whipping it up in a matter of minutes! If you really want to knock their socks off, serve it in a hulled out red or orange pepper. If you'll be serving it in warm weather, be sure to pop them in the freezer beforehand!

Thanks for stopping by, be sure to look around my blog and my site Polka Dot Bumblebee Be sure to leave a comment so that I can return the favor!

Please be sure to check out my slideshow in the post below - and scratch off the ticket to get a special offer for UBP guests!

BEE HAPPY!

Minnie Driver Confirms She Is Expecting

Photo: Getty Images

Rumors have been swirling for weeks and tonight Minnie Driver revealed to Jay Leno that she is indeed expecting her first child. Jay joked with her about taking one too many trips to the buffet table and Minnie playfully responded asking of Jay had noticed her tummy.

According to Page Six she was seen shoopping for baby girl duds in Los Angeles. They then reported that she was seen outside of a doctor's office sharing sonogram pictures with a friend and talking to the baby's daddy - a mysterious English man named 'Matthew'.

She is keeping mum about the identity of said Matthew.

Congratulations Minnie from Polka Dot Bumblebee!

Easter Ecard Designs Coming Soon

We will soon be adding custom photo ecards to our line and we are starting off with a few Easter Designs!

Show off your little ones in their Easter best by delivering an ecard to the inbox of all your friends and family! We will be offering several more designs so check back soon to Polka Dot Bumblebee!

Ecard designs are not suitable for printing because of resolution and size constraints and are intended to be delivered electronically as a jpeg file.

Get your own custom easter photo card design for just $5. This is a special introductory price for the Easter season and a portion of our proceeds will be going to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Happy Easter!

Introducing one of my leap year babies

Polka Dot Bumblebee was delighted to extend an offer especially for babies born on February 29, 2008 of 50 free custom photo cards! We've had many families take us up on the offer and there are a few more spots left if you know of any leap year babies!

This custom design was so adorable that I had to share! The proud parents wanted to add a frog to their design so I added this little critter to the Polka Dot Bumblebee Family and dressed her up with a pink bow to match the darling scheme of the design!
The creative mommy came up with the line "leaped into our world".

Could this be any cuter?

P.S. I will be sharing many custom photo card designs in the future. I will always have parental permission before doing so and will never include personal info.

Toddler Activity #2 - Rice Sand Box

Check in to Polka Dot Bumblebee Buzz for weekly baby/toddler activities!

It's easy to create an indoor sandbox for hours of fun! Simply take a large container (with a lid is best - like an under the bed storage container) and fill it with a few large bags or boxes of rice! Add some scoops, plastic cookie cutters and funnels for instant fun!

For easy clean up place a plastic table cover or better yet a Splat Mat from our friends at Just Buzzin By!

Baby Bee loves her rice sandbox and especially loves to fill a plastic muffin tray with rice and build lanscapes for her royal Weeble court!

Have fun and don't be surprised if - like sand - you find rice everywhere - like between your toes! The best part, of this activity... easy clean up and if you get a storage box with a lid you can easily put it away for another day!

Play Date Cards

I am having a blast with the Ultimate Blog Party. It is so fun to blog-party hop and learn about so many other SAHMs who have turned a hobby or passion in to a business.

I love getting a peek into their lives and have met some incredible new friends! I'll be hosting a "virtual playdate" in a few weeks to get to know these gals and their kiddos better. There will be prizes and giveaways galore!

Here's another sneak peek at my stationery line...of course, it's a personalized play date card! You asked for it - and you got it!

Welcome

Scratch the ticket above like a lotto ticket to see a special offer for all of my guests!

South 'n France Bon Bon Mom of the Year Contest!

South 'n France is THE destination for the most decadent and delicious bon bons! Stop by in a few days for my in depth review of their treats!

This husband and wife team are so adorable and a match made in heaven. She: a product from the South and He: raised in the French countryside. A chance encounter and a long distance relationship ensued. Followed by a whirlwind engagement and the ultimate marriage and blending of two cultures.

South 'n France grew from their desire to create a company that offered the best of both Southern and French lifestyles. Read more about their union here.

Their signature product: hand dipped bon bons that feature southern ingredients with an old French family recipe. The result: heaven!

Check out the South n' France website to see adorable pictures of bon bons enjoying a bubble bath or a day at the beach. The pictures look so yummy - you could eat them!

South n' France is celebrating Mother's Day with a Bon Bon Mother Of The Year Contest. Enter yours today - or get your delightful family to nominate YOU! The prize package includes a bon bon studded tiara, feather boa, a gift basket and one year's worth of yummy bon bons! Good LUCK!

Sneak Peek Polka Dot Bumblebee's Stationery Line

I am getting so excited! I am busy designing a stationery line that will have many adorable original designs. You'll be able to select your bakground pattern, style (monogrammed, initial, full name) and font. They will be custom JUST for you and your little one!

You'll also find mommy calling cards, playdate cards and kid contact cards in our new line!

And to whet your appetite - we're sharing one of our favorite designs... and of course we picked the one with polka dots!

We would love to see a revival in letter writing, especially with our young children! With our new Polka Dot Bumblebee stationery line you're sure to want to put pen to paper!

What's in a name? Polka Dot Bumblebee

For 7 + years we were known as Secret Stork Surprise. We started out focused solely on baby gifts for expectant parents. We loved being part of welcoming a new baby and when our own baby bee came into the world, we searched for a perfect birth announcement to show our precious new little one off to the world. We also wanted something that wouldn't break the bank. We ended up creating something from scratch and a new business was born!


For a while now, we felt like Secret Stork Surprise didn't suit us. We worried about changing our name though because we had worked long and hard to build a solid reputation as the destination for adorable and affordable custom photo cards. Our turn around time and customer service became legendary and we found our business booming mostly from word of mouth and happy customer referrals. See our KUDOS page to see why! We haven't even added all of our testimonials from our hundreds of holiday orders!

So, with the new year came a new name! Polka Dot Bumblebee has many meanings for us.
Imagine a little bumblebee who isn't afraid to do his own thing... instead of stripes he wears his polka dots proudly and doesn't sting - but instead gives kisses (notice the heart shaped trail that he leaves?) and spreads a little love everywhere that he goes! A little cheesy, yeah - but we love him and we know that you will too!

Our new tagline: Create a BUZZ with your custom photo cards!
Our new motto: BEE original never cookie cutter.
Major Players in this Blog: Queen Bee, Veronica - Baby Bee (my child) and Hubbee (my hubbby)!

This post comes with a blanket apology for the corny puns that I will be using from here on in! :)

It's easy "beeing" green

We are proud to be a member of the Co2Stats Project that makes our website environmentally friendly. CO2Stats monitors how much electricity is being used to power this site and you as you browse it, and then it "offsets" the emissions by investing in renewable energy projects that help to counteract global warming.

What are you waiting for, go get your button and do the same! GO GREEN!

Going Green: Our Business

Polka Dot Bumblebee is proud to announce that in '08 we'll be making even MORE strides to become a greener biz! For starters, we are buying more recycled office products and we use a recycled envelope manufacturer.

We've also partnered with a new printing company that is powered with wind generated electricity. And we're happy to announce a new monthly tree planting initiative that we'll be kicking off later this month.

With every decision for this business, I'm reminded of the Native American proverb: "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."

Quite simply, It's easy being green!

Going Green - Customer's Favorite Photo Card Designs

I don't know if it's that Spring is right around the corner or the influence of St. Patty's Day. We all have a little irish in us, I suppose, when March rolls around! I've been seeing a BIG increase in our custom photo cards that highlight one of my favorite colors - spring green!

Above you will find 3 of our most popular designs. The third one is an oldie but goodie that is one of the first that I designed but continues to be a popular choice!

If you are getting in on the green action - don't be limited by our gallery choices - we can change the patterns on all of our designs. Click here to see your countless choices! We can also work with you to create a custom photo card design from scratch to announce your little leprechaun!

J LO releases baby names

Photo by: INF

Be sure to stop by to Polka Dot Bumblebee Buzz Blog for the latest in celebrity baby buzz!

You have probably heard that JLO has finally released the names of her twin babies, and it's being widely reported that they are Max & Emme. But did you know, according to an insider, Jennifer and Marc have been overheard calling them Maximiano and Emelina? We'll have to wait for more details and the highly anticipated (and big ticket) photos of the little ones in People!

Here at Polka Dot Bumblebee Buzz, we're happy that someboy bucked the celebrity trend of weird & wacky names and went with something sweet&simple (Max & Emme). Even the longer versions get our approval.

Hmmm, with both versions rattling around the internet, maybe you should hold off on getting those baby gifts embroidered just yet!

Join me at The Ultimate Blog Party

You're invited to the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by the gals at 5 Minutes for Mom! Stop by and leave a few comments, blog hop and enjoy the festivities. Not to mention you have a chance to win from a list of fantastic prizes! One lucky winner will win 50 custom photo cards from Polka Dot Bumblebee - custom photo cards.

I'll be joing in the fun in cyberspace and sharing with you my famous homemade salsa and guac recipes along with other fun goodies! Be sure to stop in and say 'HI'!

Click on the pink link to the left to learn more!