So, I’ve been asking young brides what they’ve used to stay organized, on budget, and inspired…

Best Online Wedding Planning Sites

Leigh and Lucrecer both said they used The Knot. It was years ago and the site wasn’t as fancy as it is now, but they liked it. I’ve had friends who’ve used it and I love the mini-sites you can create with all your details and links to your gift registries. Truely a one-stop-shop for all things wedding. You can even buy your invitations there!

Brenda says one of her favorite sites, that she wishes were available when she got married, is The Broke-Ass Bride. (Please excuse the A word. It really is an amazing budget friendly site for brides!) This site has ideas for saving on everything from your dream dress to the catering. I poked around on it a bit this afternoon and I love the Can’t Afford This/Get Over It feature where brides write in for help finding a budget friendly dress that’s similar to the dream gown they’ve found but can’t afford. If I were planning a wedding again, I’d be all over this site.

Pinterest is a no-brainer. If you’re planning a wedding, there is no better site to help you find and bookmark inspiration. One of my friends recently joked that his wife is still planning her wedding on Pinterest. They got married 5 years ago. We’re ladies, we can’t help it! Wedding stuff is pretty.

Other popular sites include MyWedding.com, WeddingChannel.com, and WeddingWire.com.

And, last, but not least… You’re gonna love this one!

The second most loved site for wedding planning? Google.
Use: Finding the local Justice of the Peace.
How could I not mention that?

What sites did you use to help plan your wedding?

Photo Credits: All from my wedding. Taken by MorganDenise.com. Used with Permission. 

Tech Products to Make Life Easier

 

John says he loves iHandy Level – a Free leveler app. He says it’s great for hanging picture frames on the wall. (My husband wishes I used this app to hang the pictures in our house.) John also likes:

• How Tie a Tie – You may think you know, but there are about 20 different ties to try out.
• MyGuitar – Lets you rock out with the little one (She plays another instrument on the ipad/momma’s phone.
• LOL Pics – Because sometimes I need a break
• Hulu/Netflix/PBS Kids – to watch videos on the go.
• Songify – Let’s you autotune your voice (or child’s voice) to music. very funny
• Whoopie – It’s a whoopie cushion. Because every dad needs a high tech “pull my finger”!

My husband, Ryan, enjoys all sorts of geeky apps like Evernote (notes with sync). Some of his other favorites include:

• Google Music
• Audible
• Pandora
• Kindle Reader (great on a tablet, ok on a phone)
• Endomondo (workout tracking)
• Bible.is
• Mint (personal finance)
• Flixter (movie times and reviews)
• IMDb (movie trivia)

Our friend, Travis enjoys Checkers, Pandora, and mobo player.

Jonathan says “ESPN Sportcenter is great, you can customize alerts for all your favorite teams.” Also on his wishlist? A $70 app called iGrill with bluetooth temp sensors that have a 200 foot range so you can wireless monitor your steaks on your iphone as well as look up grilling recipes. Seriously? What will they come out with next? I think I’d like a video camera in my oven so I can monitor my baked goods while I’m folding laundry…

Leigh’s husband, Steve, says he also enjoys ESPN as well as AP (Assoc Press), Motortrend, and Net Carshow.

Angela’s husband, Sydney, likes Cozi. It keeps the family schedule close at hand so he and Angela are in sync when it comes to schedules.

My dad spends some time each evening relaxing after work with his Suduku app.

What apps do the dad’s in your life enjoy?

Smartphones and tablets have changed our lives as moms. We’ve all but done away with calendars and day planners. The kitchen timer is usually in our pocket. When we take the munchkins to a doctor’s office we no longer pack a purse full of toys for them to play with. Everything is stored on a small device. We can even crawl under the covers and read a book before bed, all on a tiny hand held gadget. The apps we use to multitask varry, but it’s no secret, apps are a mother’s best friend.

Here are a few of my favorite apps for moms:

With so many available and for every kind of smartphone or tablet, there is really no excuse not to have a timer app. I use mine for cooking, laundry, time out, and remembering to turn off the lawn sprinkler. I love that I don’t have to be within ear-shot of my microwave to hear the timer beep! I also love that my Timer+ app (for iPhone) has several pre-set timers and allows me to add more for things like boiling eggs. So easy!

I know, it seems simple. But, I have boys and since the oldest was old enough to crawl, I haven’t had a decent flashlight of my own. They are always lost or have dead batteries. Now that I have a smartphone, I can use a Flashlight app to find my way when the lights are out. I had one on my Android phone and it even had different levels of light! Now that I have an iPhone the app is different, but still a wonderful tool for checking up on the kids at night, helping me find my keys, or entertaining the boys when the electricity is out.

Calendars. I have a few of these. Google Calendar helps me keep on top of recurring things. I have one set up just for bills so I don’t forget to pay something. I can pull my husband’s calendar in and make sure we don’t overlap on our schedules. I can even subscribe to calendars for events and view them all from my phone. I have another app called Reminders that I use for quick things I want to remember later that day or week, but don’t really need added to a schedule. MyDays is as app available for both iPhone and Android. I’ve used it for years to track my cycle. You know, so I can try and avoid becoming a mom again this week, or I can glance at it and figure out if my nasty mood is here to stay for a while.

The very fact that one can find mobile apps for crafters shows just how digital our generation has become! Our grandmothers never would have thought of things like stitch counters on a cell phone, or a Michael’s store app with inspirational videos on an iPad. And yet, here we are, talking about the best craft apps and online resources. Crazy, huh?

Free Apps for Crafters

MICHAELS -iPhone and Android
Michael’s fans will enjoy the project ideas and tips, shopping list creator, and the daily inspiration videos from Jo Pearson, a Michael’s consultant who talks about everything from paper craft to DIY Home Decor.

Craft Finder  – iPhone
This highly rated app (9 out of 10 stars) gives you step by step instructions with pictures and it allows you to organize your projects based on completion, currently working-on, or planning to make! With crafts for every age level and expertise, this app would be great for moms to find craft ideas for the kids!

StitchMinder – iPhone
Knitters and crocheters love StichMinder because it does all of the counting for them; track rows completed, pattern rows, increase and decreases. You can create a labels so that you can keep track of different parts of the pattern so you can see what you’ve completed. This app stores your counter information automatically so you never have to start over.

Projects Galore – Android
Offering the best of the best of DIY sites and ezine, this app rolls 13 blogs into one daily digest for your crafty pleasure! Sure to inspire, this app includes goodies from Shelterpop, Dollar Store Crafts, Make Magazine, DIY Life, Crafting a Green World, Geek Crafts and Hacked Gadgets.

Pinterest – iPhone
Let’s face it. We’re all addicted. But, crafters have their own special love for these online inspiration boards. If you read my Best Craft Blogger Boards on Pinterest you saw how crazy organized and downright gorgeous some of these boards can be! If you need inspiration, and you have an iPhone, get the Pinterest app.

SpinPicks – Android (iPhone coming soon!)
The best Android app for Pinterest fans is brand new and co-created by Blissfully Domestic’s own Heather Solos. You can spin, shake, click, swipe… all in the name of visual inspiration. Pinterest has never been so fun!

SpinPicks is also available online as a web app (in beta), so if you don’t have an Android phone, but you want to try it out, you can!

Arts and Crafts Coupons – Android
Get coupons for dozens of craft supply retail stores, all in one app!

Visit page 2 for even more Craft Apps to love!

Here are 7 tips for Pinterest best practice:

1. Follow Your Friends!
Pinterest is a very social community! Link up your Facebook account and find and follow your friends who use Pinterest. Invite friends you think may enjoy Pinterest. You don’t have to allow Pinterest to post to your Facebook timeline every single time you Pin something, but it is nice to see what your friends are pinning, and re-pin the things that interest you.

2. Pin from the Original Source
When you’re blog hopping and you find a cool recipe or tutorial, check to see if the blogger has credited someone else with the original recipe or idea. If so, go to that blog and pin from there. Giving credit where credit is due is just one more way to keep the internet a nice place to hang out.

3 Use Good Descriptions for Your Pins

A good Pinterest Description

Today I was searching for vintage clipart. I found a lot of it, but noticed that many of the pins were simply labeled ‘vintage clipart’ when they could have also said ‘ball canning jar’ or ‘mother and child’ in the description, helping even more people to find them. Descriptions like ‘cool idea’ might seem easy and relevant when you’re pinning, but they won’t help someone find the DIY Chalkboard Mug tutorial you just pinned.

4. Categorize Your Boards
Make sure your pins are found by categorizing your boards! Open a board, click on Edit, and select a category from the drop-down menu. This way when people use Pinterest’s categories, or the Explore tool on their mobile app, your pins will show in the correct categories. Just because you name your board For the Home, doesn’t mean it will show in Home Decor when people are browsing.

Visit page 2 for tips 5, 6, and 7!

I’ve been to BlissDom three times now. I love the warmth, the welcoming hugs, and the community I feel. The energy that flows when people are excited about learning, seeing each other, and having fun is so contagious. But this year was different for me. I went as a Community Leader, meaning my purpose was to connect, to mentor, and to make attendees feel welcome. Since I had my seven month old going with me I was a little worried about how all that would pan out, and how worn out he might get, so I scheduled light and tried not to make too many promises; to the staff, to my friends, but most of all, to myself. My son was a rockstar. And no, I’m not just talking about his awesome hair. I mean, he took the whole thing in stride and acted like he was having as much fun as anyone else. I was so relieved. But mostly, I was relaxed, because I wasn’t forcing myself to keep an insane schedule. This meant my networking, mentoring, and learning as a blogger and business woman were better this year than ever before. And speaking of learning…

The new session format was fabulous, and I mean GENIUS. (I can shout when it’s a good thing, right?) Panels are fun; you get 3-4 speakers in each session, they feed off each other, and you enjoy more points of view. But, you don’t get depth. Giving one speaker an uninterrupted 30 minutes to talk, then having Community Leaders tailor 30 minutes of learning and individual application for a specific niche, and then 30 minutes of Q&A with the speaker takes the experience to a whole new level. Suddenly a topic is presented, broken down, and finally, understood in a way that leaves the attendee feeling like they’ve actually grasped this concept and can take it home with them. It’s powerful.

L-R: Melanie, Linda, Heather, Lisa, and myself! - Photo Credit: Linda Sellers

My favorite BlissDom Recaps:

Inspired  by BlissDom speaker, Michael Hyatt, Bernice Wood (a fellow CL) recapped BissDom in her post, I can do anything I want, if only I knew what that was. I love her ‘grab life by the horns’ approach and her advice on figuring out which bull’s horns to grab!

Falling In Love Again by Prairie Mama was inspired by speaker, Jeff Goins’ session on falling in love with writing. Kim points out in her post that writing, like anything, takes practice. How can we expect to be good at (which adds up to us liking the results) something we don’t practice?

In her What I Learned from Jon Acuff – BlissDom Recap post, Krista touches on my favorite points that Jon made: Never compare your beginning with someone else’s middle, and Look for the Hinge Moments. But mostly, she shares how a story he told inspired her to live in the moment with her daughters.

Did you attend BlissDom this year? What was your number one take-away?

3 Steps to Safely Clean a Laptop Screen

1) Select a cleaning solution.
The best option is plain distilled water. If you need a little extra boost, mix water and plain white vinegar 50-50.
NOTE: Laptop manufacturers do not recommend any alcohol, ammonia, or other strong solvents.

2) Using the mist setting on a spray bottle, apply a small ammount of the solution to a very soft cloth. An old tshirt or a microfiber cloth like a Toddy Cloth work well and won’t scratch your screen.

3) Being careful not to press too hard, wipe the screen in a light circular motion until it’s clean. Applying too much force can permanently damage your screen.

There you go! All nice and clean!

And whoa. I can see what I just typed!

There are few people who use Pinterest as well as craft bloggers. Today, I’m going to feature some of the best craft blogger boards on Pinterest… by some amazing craft bloggers you probably already know and love!

When you’re done swooning, come back and let me know who your favorite craft blogger is, and if she uses Pinterest. (And yes, you can be your own favorite!)

Clothespin Crafts - MyBlessedLife.net

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An example of a very focused board, this clothepin crafts board is full of ideas that Myra loves! My Blessed Life | Myra on Pinterest

A huge thanks to my friend and Blissfully Domestic Home Improvement blogger, Leigh, for sharing some of her favorites with me!

So, you’re shopping for the best all-in-one printer for you home. You’ve seen the TV ads that claim “ours has the cheapest ink!” but what you don’t know… theirs also has very expensive paper, and if you want their cheap ink to look good, you’ll need their expensive paper. I worked in the office supply industry for a few years. Helping people choose printers, and set them up in their offices, was one of my jobs, so I happen to be very opinionated when it comes to printers. I’m going to try my best to feature a few different brands and show the good about each, without sounding like an Epson salesgirl.

Epson. First of all, let me say, Epson is my favorite brand when it comes to inkjet printers, especially for photo printing. Their printers are mid-range price wise and their ink and papers are not overly expensive. What really sells me though is the quality of the prints. I’ve never seen prettier photo prints than you’ll get with an Epson. Also? I love that most Epsons have individual ink cartridges, meaning you only replace the ink you’re out of. This can save you a lot of money in the long run! Here are my two picks for a home office:

Epson Stylus NX430 Small-in-One™ All-in-One Printer
Nicknamed the Small-In-One, this little printer is perfect for the young, on the go family. It features wireless options that not only allow you to print from your laptop in the other room, but also from your cell phone or other wireless device! This is a small machine and probably not a good idea for a heavy workload, but casual photo printing, scanning and copying for personal use? Perfect!

Here are a few online photo storage and services for organizing your digital media!

Picasa/Google+
Pros: Free accounts for anyone or upgrade to more storage space for a yearly fee. Ability to embed photos on external websites. Ability to set up albums to organize images and video.

Cons: No Facebook/Twitter sharing tool. No group photo pools.

Flickr
Pros: Free or Pro accounts available. Pro accounts have unlimited storage and keep a copy of full sized images. Also, HD video capable. Stats for your photos are provided. Not only can you organize into Sets (like albums) you can also group these Sets into Collections. So, if you have been participating in the 365 project every year, you could have a set for each year, then put them all in a collection, making them all easy to find! Another really cool feature for flickr users is it’s group photo pools where you can add users to a pool and you can all put photos into it. This is especially fun after a family reunion or blog conference!

Using instagram? You can have it upload right to flickr! The mobile apps for flickr are fabulous and you can name your photos, tag them, and even specify a ‘set’ to add them to before you upload!

Cons: I can’t really think of any!

500px
Pros: Pretty. Nice for photography portfolios. Free and paid accounts available. Paid accounts include Google Analytics, priority support, custom domain, and unlimited uploads and collections.

Cons: No private or protected galleries, no geo-tagging, no group photo pools, and (gasp!) no mobile apps!

SmugMug
Pros: Unlimited uploads and storage, no ads, customizable site, custom domains, and HD video capable.  Simply store and organize, or sell your photos for profit! Group photo pools, social sharing and commenting, and embed codes to share photos on other sites are all cool features you find on SmugMug.

Cons: No free accounts. There is a limited free trial, but once that’s up you have to pay for the service. Also, no ability to ‘follow’ other users you enjoy.

With the exception of 500px, all of these sites have fabulous mobile apps for sharing your iphonography!

Where do you store, sort, and share your digital media?

Some argue that social influence can’t really be measured. To a point I can agree. No algorithm is going to tell you exactly where I’m influential, because it doesn’t read my Skype chats and emails, listen in on my phone calls or hear me teach web development at conferences. Klout is peeking at my online social spaces and guess what? I get personal on those, a lot more personal that I do on my blog or in my client consultations. Is this to say I don’t use sites like Klout? No. In fact, I login once or twice a week and just peek at the numbers. When my score is low it reminds me that I haven’t been interacting much lately, and since that’s really what this whole ‘social’ thing is about, and the results of engagement are important for my business, I make it a point to be a little more active. I need this reminder. And, for the most part, these measurement sites get me, so I haven’t had bad experiences to make me cringe.

That said, I can see where some of the fuss about these ‘measures of influence’ is valid. Take Klout for instance… you have a score. What? You have never signed in or signed up? That’s right. Everyone is automatically measured. And guess what? Having a score and not keeping tabs on it, or participating in the process of voting-up other users, can actually hurt you. New clients, companies considering a partnership or ambassador program are looking at these scores before they ever talk to you. You may not have opted-in, but your measure of influence, as decided by Klout, Peer Index, and the like, are publicly available. Others like Twenty-feet require an opt-in.

I asked Facebook and Google+ how they feel about sites that measure social influence. Here are some of their answers…

Amanda (@highimpactmom) answered…

On Google+, my friend, Kevin, answered:

I read Kevin’s article and I really connected with some of the reasons he ‘clobbered klout,’ especially the whole vacation = less influence point. Still, I am interested in how it all works and I love being able to give my friends a boost on the topics they’re influential in, so I’ll keep my Klout and Peer Index accounts for now.

How about you? Do you use these sites to gauge your influence?

Photo by Flickr Jim Legans, Jr.

According to CNN, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended a nationwide ban on the use of cellphones and text messaging devices while driving.

The recommendation, announced Tuesday, proposes to make non-emergency phone calls and texting illegal for operators of every vehicle on the road. If adopted by states, the ban would apply to both hands-free and hand-held devices, although it would not apply to passengers or any devices installed by the manufacturer.

Members of the NTSB maintain the recommended ban is necessary to curb the growing epidemic of distracted driving accidents and fatalities.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were as many as 3,092 accidents that stemmed from distracted driving. The NTSB’s proposal is not a law–it is only a recommendation.

Read more information on the recommended ban.

If you’re an iPhone owner, here are a few tips for upgrading and backing up your iPhone.

• First order of business. Upgrade your iTunes to the latest version if you haven’t already.
• Clean up your device, getting rid of anything you no longer use, old files, etc. The easiest way to do this is plug your phone into your computer, open iTunes and manage your device from there.
• Use iTunes to backup your phone. Right-click your device name and Back  Up.
• Upgrade your OS. Go ahead. Download and install the latest version of Apple’s Operating System.

Your phone will reboot itself after the upgrade, so be patient and wait for it to finish!

If you’re concerned you may not like the newest OS and may want to revert, there’s an extra step you can take between the clean up and the backup. It’s called Extracting Your SHSH Blobs and you can find detailed information on this process on the Cult of Mac website! Note that this is the only way to ensure you can revert to a previous version of Apple’s OS.

Also note, if you have an unlocked device you may encounter problems when you try to upgrade. I highly recommend doing a Google search for instructions before attempting to upgrade an unlocked iPhone.

Photo by Flickr MoneyBlogNewz

According to Yahoo! News, Facebook will settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that it deceived consumers with its privacy settings which caused people to share more personal information than they originally agreed to.

Dating back as far as 2009, when the  popular social networking site changed its privacy setting, the FTC charged that Facebook allowed information that users believed to private to be viewed by everyone. In essence, led people to believe they could keep some information private but then made that information public.

“They didn’t warn users that this change was coming, or get their approval in advance,” the FTC explains.

As part of the settlement, Facebook is required to obtain approval from its users becore changing how it shares their data. Although, Facebook isn’t paying any money to the FTC to settle the charges, future violations could lead to fines.

Read more…

What is Animoto? I’m so glad you asked! Animoto is a super cool, very easy to use video slideshow service. Upload your pictures and videos, pick a style, add text and music – and that’s it…. Animoto does the rest. Everything’s online online so there’s nothing to download, and for short videos (up to 30 seconds) it’s FREE! I’ve used the free service for the past few years to make gorgeous videos using my own photos and music (though Animoto has a free library of over 1,000 tracks already). I did one after photographing a friend’s wedding, made one for my mom for mother’s day, and more!

To make a video on Animoto, simply register an account, login, and get started! You can add pictures from your computer, from Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, or Photo Bucket. You can even add video clips! Select which images and videos you want, drag and drop to sort, add text and then choose your music. You click “Publish” and wait a minute or two, and bam! The video is done! You can then email it, share it on Facebook or Twitter, upload it to YouTube, or embed it on your blog.

Right now, Animoto has some adorable Holiday themed templates you can use. Of course, you still have the everyday styles to choose from, but I personally love this snowflake theme! I also love how Animoto paces everything to whichever song I select so everything flows smoothly.

Check out my finished video! This took less than ten minutes to create and it’s stored in my Animoto account so I can edit or add to it, share it, or look back on it later and smile…

Get a month of Animoto Plus, FREE!

Animoto is offering Blissfully Domestic readers one month of Animoto Plus, FREE. Simply register a free account by clicking this link and you’ll automatically be credited one month of free access. You’ll be able to create, share, and download as many full-length videos as you want! Make sure to sign up before this deal expires on December 31st.

Here’s a great big pile of colorful (and free!) tools I’ve raked up just for you!

Happy Fall Blogging!

Screenr – Create Free Screencasts
Fabulous for making tutorials, these 5 minute screencasts can be instantly shared as they are or uploaded to YouTube. Check out 3 Tips for Creating a Successful Screencast for Your Blog.

Screenshots: ScreenHunter 5 OR Windows Snipping Tool
These two tools rock my world. They’re both created for taking pictures of your screen, but I use them differently. The Windows Snipping tool is great for snipping anything! Screenhunter is one I use to find the size of an area since it displays the height and width as you select… great for finding out how big your photo or video can be and still fit inside your post!

Picasa – Bulk Image Resizing
While Picasa is made to organize, edit and upload photos I generally skip all that and just use it to do bulk image resizing. Once I put my photos onto my computer I import them to Picasa, select the ones I want and hit export. I can then select the size and quality I want and even add a watermark before exporting them all to a new folder. Smaller images = faster uploads for web sharing!

Picnik – Photo Editing Software
By far the most popular free photo editing software on the web, Picnik is fabulous because you don’t have to download or install anything! If the free version doesn’t satisfy you, you can upgrade to premium for even more options!

Web Background Generators
Need a new background for your blog? Here’s a compilation of free background generators you’ll love!

Favicon Generator
That tiny square icon in your browser’s address bar is called a favicon. It’s easy to make and easy to change! Since it requires a special file extension you’ll need a favicon generator to make it!

Wordle – Create Unique Images for Your Posts
This fun little tool will let you make your own word cloud! You pick the colors, fonts and even the orientation of the layout. Put in a post or a bunch of random text and create a unique image for your post, just like I did for this one!

filezilla Desktop FTP Client
Most bloggers know how to login to their cpanel to mess with their files, but that’s not always an economical way to edit large amounts of files at once. Being able to FTP is a skill every blogger should learn. And, it’s easy to use filezilla to access your server via ftp.

Pixie Color Picker
My Favorite Color Picker for Graphic and Web Design and Photo Editing? Pixie from Nattyware. I’ve been told it doesn’t work for Mac users (sorry) but it really should… it’s AMAZING!

Proceed with a good recording program
My favorite screencasting software is Screenr. This free web based software doesn’t need to be downloaded, can be used on PC or Mac, and the results can be viewed on mobile devices. You’re limited to 5 minutes of recording time, so you may need to break a long tutorial into parts, but that’s ok… smaller video files load faster! Screenr is incredibly easy to use. Once you’re finished and the video is processed you can name, name and tweet to share, or upload to YouTube right from Screenr.

My favorite features:

• FREE!
• Recording area can be resized to record all or part of your screen
• Pause/Restart Recording
• Records your voice
• Upload to YouTube directly from Screenr

Be confident
No matter what, be confident in what you know! Your screencast will look and sound 100% better if you’re confident. Once you’ve created your tutorial, get it out there! Blog about it and embed the video, post it to YouTube and tag it appropriately so people can find it!

10 Motor Massage Chair Pad

Could possibly be the best invention since sliced bread. The 10 Motor Chair Pad lets you turn your ordinary  chair into a spa massage. Extra-large chair pad can help relieve stress, soothe aching muscles, and revive you in the middle of a busy day. It boasts 5 powerful massaging motors that will relax your whole body or let you focus on a specific area such as your neck, upper back, mid back, lumbar, or thighs. Ooo la la. Retail 149.99

iPhone Photo Cube Printer

Do you hear angels singing? Now this is what I like to call joy in a cube. If she has an iPhone and loves to snap pictures then is the must-have gift of the season. Simply dock your iPhone in the printer, and process your pictures – no computer needed! The little compact photo printer is measures  7”x 4”x 6”, and gives you 4”x 6” prints in under a minute. Also chargers the iPhone will its docked! Retail $159.99

Doctor Who Collectible Gifts

If she’s a fan of the hit BBC Sci-fi TV series Doctor Who,  then these are the gifts for her! A must-have for any Doctor Who enthusiast, these gifts bring a touch of the “blue police box”magic into any space. Whether she’s looking to charge a mobile device, stash a few cookies or show off the infamous sonic screwdriver to friends a family, these Doctor Who collectible items are sure to please! Retail $25.99 – $29.99

Nikon COOLPIX S1100pj 14MP Digital Camera w/ Projector

It’s a camera and projector in one! The Nikon Coolpix digital camera boasts a 14.1-megapixel CCD sensor, 5x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom-NIKKOR Glass Lens, and versatile 28-140mm lens ranges wide to capture landscapes. In short, you’re sure to get stunning quality images that can be shared anywhere at anytime with the touch of a button. How’s that for easy? Retail $246

Agloves Touch Screen Gloves (iPhone, iPad)

The gift that never stops giving! The Agloves Touch Screen gloves are the ideal gift for anyone! Agloves are lightweight, soft, warm, stretchy and slightly fuzzy knitted gloves. Plus, they are compatible with any and all of your touch screen phones, cameras, multimedia devices, game systems, and eReaders. She can text or operate her touch screen device with ease! Retail $17.99

Spypen Lighter Style Digital Camera

This lighter style digital camera is the perfect gift for any James Bond or secret spy enthusiast. Boasting a 1.3 mega pixel camera and 16 MB NAND of internal storage, the Spypen Lighter Style camera can be easily concealed just about anywhere. It’s sure to be out the secret agent in your special guy. Retail $29.99

Solar Gadget Charger

Does the special guy you know have a special place in his heart for the environment? If so then the Solar Charger is probably for him. This savvy solar device allows your guy to power up wherever he goes and has the capacity to charge or power just about any device with a USB port including the iPhone/iPod. Retail $99.95

Gorilla Torch Flexible Tripod Flashlights

Whether he’s under the hood of a car, reading in bed or camping under the stars, the gorillatorch flashlights are perfect for shedding a little light without using their hands. The gorillatorch’s flexible legs and magnetic feet allow them to attach it to just about anything, Additional features include pan and tilt head, USB cable charging, water and drop resistant and 130 lumens boost. Retail 34.95

Garmin GPSMAP 60CSX Outdoors and Marine GPS

Definitely a must-have for the outdoor-lover and avid hiker. The Garmin 60CSX boasts an electronic compass and a barometric altimeter, both crucial for enhanced bearing and elevation readings. 2 AA batteries gets you 18 hours of battery life and is lightweight, rugged, waterproof and features a 2.6-inch, 256-color TFT highly reflective display screen for easy viewing. Retail $304.99

Ravi Instant Wine Chiller

The perfect gift for the wine connoisseur in your life. The Ravi Instant Wine Chiller allows you to go from room temperature wine to wine cellar temperatures in a flash.  Simply store chiller in freezer, insert onto wine bottle, pour and enjoy. He never has to worry about altering the taste of his favorite wine. Retail $39.95

Thunderbird Desktop Email Client
There are a lot of desktop email clients out there, the most popular of which is Outlook (kinda pricey) or it’s free little sister, Outlook Express. No doubt these are good options, but personally, I find Outlook to be more than I need, therefore a clutter and more often than not, a royal pain. I prefer simplicity. For several years now I have been using Thunderbird to manage my email. I have over half a dozen email accounts ranging from Gmail and Yahoo to those hosted on my own domains and it’s nice to have a place where I can pull everything into one application. Thunderbird is free and is created by the same wonderful Mozilla team that brings us the Firefox web browser.

Google Docs
In the past I’ve been a huge fan of the open source office pack from OpenOffice. It has the equivalent of all the tools you’d find in Microsoft Office, but it’s free. Lately though I’m in love with Google Docs. Why? Because you can do just about anything from word processing to spreadsheets and presentations Google Docs is perfect for any home business. My favorite feature is that it’s available to anyone; no longer do you have to wonder if the person you need to share files with is a Mac or PC user, has Word or Works or OpenOffice.

Google Calendar
The reason I’m in love with this tool is I can access it from my smart phone. While this is far from the only cool feature it is my favorite! Using my phone’s calendar app I can check my schedule or add events and appointments from anywhere. No datebook to carry. I also like that I can sync my Google Calendar with other people’s calendars, my husband for instance, to make sure I’m not scheduling a family function on a night he has a meeting.

Freshbooks Billing Software
Goodbye expensive and complicated book keeping software! After 8+ years of constantly battling one of the most popular ones out there I’ve fallen in love with the simplicity of Freshbooks. I’ve mentioned before that it’s the best accounting software for bloggers, but I firmly believe any small business could use it! Freshbooks allows you to set up clients and projects, track expenses by project, track your time and create invoices based on time spent working, expenses entered, and/or items so you can use it for billing services or for items sold. One of my favorite features as a web developer is the recurring billing I can set up for my hosting clients. I no longer have to remember to bill monthly or yearly for services. Freshbooks is free for up to 3 clients. After that you can purchase packages based on your needs.

Avery Design Pro
This free software helps you create and print everything from business cards to labels, fliers and brochures, CD labels and greeting cards. Every business needs marketing materials and Avery produces some of the best print-yourself custom papers for small businesses. These items are readily available at any office supply store and with their free Avery Design Pro software you’ll be turning out masterpieces in no time!

What are your favorite tools for managing your business?

Carve It!  – Pumpkin Carving App for iPhone and iPad ($.99)
This fun app lets kids pick between 3 differently sized pumpkins, then use their fingers to carve shapes. There’s no mess for mom to clean up and the kids can carve as many pumpkins as they want! Available in the iTunes store.

Angry Birds Seasons (Free or Premium)
How about everyone’s favorite birds adapted for the seasons? Now you can Trick or Treat with Angry Birds! Available for Android and iPhone/iPad!

Halloween Coloring Book Apps
These are two different apps, Halloween Coloring Book for Android (free) and 123 Glow: Talking Coloring Book for iPhone/iPad ($2.99). Both are sure to keep you and the kids busy coloring spooky scenes.

Scary Sounds for iPhone (Free)
This app looks like way too much fun! There’s nothing better than spooking a friend on a chilly dark night, and these sounds are sure to send shivers up their spine… maybe yours too! Available in the iTunes store.

Most Complete Social Media Icon Set

You had a favorite social media icon, but now there have been additions to your social networks out there. What to do?

Maybe you need to update your social media icons for your blog – these are some of the best, free icons out there. Which ones are your favorites?

As technology advances and becomes cheaper many parents are handing down their electronics to, or even buying new models for, their young children. While there may be nothing wrong with giving Lucy your old phone to play with as a toy, I highly doubt you’re ready for her to have a calling and texting plan, let alone internet access.

The question then is, when? At what age is a child ready for electronic gadgets, and what kinds for what ages? This of course will be answered differently for each individual family, but here are a few things to think about…

When is a child ready for a cell phone? Or should we say, when does a child need a cell phone?
There is a huge difference between a want and need, and with cellphones, it’s not always a matter of one or the other. If your pre-teen is mature and off doing a lot of extra-curricular activities, baby sitting for neighbors, or being dropped off at the movie theatre to watch flicks with friends, perhaps it’s time to gift her with a phone for safety reasons. If he’s driving? Absolutely get him a phone to call home with. The 6 year old? She can probably make do for a few years with an old hand-me-down. Battery charging and functionality optional.

What about gaming? When should a child play video games, and which console for what age?
With brands like LeapFrog bringing us cool, educational electronics for toddlers, it’s easy to see why kids are ready to use electronics at younger ages. I have no issue with kids having these fun and educational toys with batteries. I don’t think there’s an age where you should say absolutely no electronics or gaming systems. Perhaps the issue is more, what is age appropriate?

Does a 4-year-old really need his own DSi? I know my 4-year-old’s motor skills are not developed enough to use all the functions on these advanced personal game systems, but I’ve seen some that are and when paired with the right age appropriate games they can be educational and fun!

How about the Wii? When are kids ready for that? I’d say when their motor skills are developed enough to use the controls and you’re certain they won’t be throwing the remote through the screen by accident. The xbox and Playstations on the other hand? Save those for the big kids… I’d say pre-teen and up.

The Wii is very simple and most of the games are family friendly and even geared towards kids. The xbox and Playstation are designed for serious gamers and the controllers are much more complicated and the games more mature. That’s not to say you can’t find kid games for them, or that your young children can’t learn to use them. If your family already has one console, by all means, make do! There’s no need to buy something special just so little Bobby can play video games.

What is your family’s ruling on electronics for the kids? Do you have certain ages for certain things, or specific time limits for electronic play?

But what happens when the grandparents don’t live close enough to visit on their special day? You could send a generic grocery store card, or, you could treat them to a little something extra special and personal! What grandparent doesn’t love photos?

Animoto

This video service lets you upload photos, or choose from your Facebook photos (or other places online), add text slides, and pick music to make your own, 30-second movies for free. These are so much more fun than an ecard! They take just minutes to create and if 30 seconds just isn’t enough you can pay to make full length videos! Around the holidays Animoto usually has special themes you can use for your videos… The Mother’s Day one last year was really cute! Check out this one I made with a nice cloud theme…

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Skype Video Chat

Do your kids go nuts about using the computer, or seeing themselves on video? How about seeing people they know in a video? If you and the person you want to talk to both have Skype accounts and a decent internet connection, you can use your computer’s webcam to have live video chats with the grandparents! My 4-year-old thinks this is amazing! Not only can he see and hear the person on the other end, he can see himself as well, and he loves clowning around for the camera! If the grandparents live far away (or even just around the corner!) this can be a really fun way for the kiddos to connect with them!

Kodak Pulse Digital Frame

I bought one of these frames for my mom’s birthday last year and she loves it! Because she lives 800 miles away, she doesn’t get to see the grandkids very often. I always tried to send or upload photos, but then she’d have to go view them and show the rest of the family… Now with this frame I can email the photos directly to the frame and anyone in the house can see them! Mom loves her frame, and so does everyone else.

When you set up the digital photo frame you register with Kodak for a unique email address which is attached to the frame. Anyone can email images to this address and they’ll be added to the picture frame. You can also connect it to Facebook and Kodak Gallery albums!

The Kodak Pulse Digital Frame is available in 10-inch and 7-inch sizes and would make a wonderful gift for Grandparent’s Day!