Emma is totally horse-crazy.  I’m not sure where it originated, though I suppose I may have encouraged it… a bit.  ;-)  I had a horse as a teen so I think they’re the coolest animals on earth.  But Emma developed a natural love of them, and has been collecting everything horse-related for about a year now.  She even has posters on the wall!

Since her recent move to a “big girl bed”, we’ve been on the lookout for a cute bedding set that she would like.  Enter Beyond Bedding, where you’ll find high-quality bedding sets at affordable prices.   I let Emma look through their children’s bedding sets and she immediately honed in on the Pretty Pony Horse Bedding Set.  And how could she resist?

This was an early birthday present for Emma, and her reaction didn’t disappoint – she loved the ponies immediately and wanted me to wash everything and put it on her bed right away.  I was impressed by how soft the comforter and sham are, and I couldn’t be happier with the way it washed up.  The materials are nice quality, too.  I was happy with it, and think it’s well worth the price tag!

The embroidered ponies are microsuede, giving Emma the enjoyment of petting her soft “horsies”.   We received the twin set and it comes with a comforter, standard sham, the bedskirt, and 1 window valance.  Everything is really cute and it makes me want to get more pieces so Emma’s entire room can coordinate.  Currently you can get the window panel curtains in a set of two, the wall border, wall decal stickers and wall hangings, and even a shower curtain and bath towels for your child’s bathroom to coordinate!   The twin-sized Pretty Pony Bedding set is $99.99, and you can also buy this theme in crib and toddler bed sizes.

I have to mention that Beyond Bedding has a “make your own custom bedding” option, and it is SO cool!  You can completely design your own bedding set from crib to queen sizes, and there are a lot of attractive colors and patterns to choose from.  You’ve got to try it, just for fun.  Here’s one I designed:

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I received a Pretty Pony bedding set free of charge so that I could share my thoughts on it with you.  I always give my honest opinion uninfluenced by the company or free product provided.  If my opinion changes over time (as does sometimes happen), I will edit this post with an update. 

I really love hammock swings.  They are different (and in my opinion, much more superior) than regular hammocks because:

1.  You can completely relax in one without worrying about flipping out.
2. You can spin around in circles on a hammock swing, making it more fun for kids.  Do I recommend this, though?  No.  ;-)  Especially not in mine.
3.  In a gentle breeze, you rock back and forth and it is such a peaceful feeling!
4.  In a cotton swing like the one I have below you are kept warmer than you would be in a mesh swing.

5.  If you can escape from the children, you can lay back with a book and it’s total heaven.  Or if a little someone will sit still and cuddle with you, that’s nice, too.  :)  That’s not something you could do too securely in a regular hammock.

My hammock swing, called the “Cocacabana Hammock Swing“, is handcrafted, and holds up to 160 pounds.  I love that the part you sit in is woven cotton fabric (it’s like a tough canvas cotton, not soft, but it is smooth) and not mesh – it’s so much more comfortable that way!  It came in a long tubular box and didn’t take long to get to me after ordering it all!  Not bad considering it came from Brazil.  :)

I found this hammock swing, a beautiful royal blue length of cotton hanging on a eucalyptus rod, online at NOVICA.  Have you ever shopped there?   There is an overwhelming selection of things for the home, women’s accessories, wool scarves, jewelry, furniture, and clothing – and many of the pieces are handcrafted and come from all around the world!   It’s really an awesome place to buy gifts (and gift certificates) from because your recipient is sure to find something cool and unique that he or she loves.

 Some awesomeness from Novica that I love:

What do YOU love from NOVICA?

I received a hammock swing free of charge thanks to the awesome people at NOVICA so that I could share my thoughts on it with you.  I always give my honest opinion uninfluenced by the company or free product provided.  If my opinion changes over time (as does sometimes happen), I will edit this post with the update.  This post is 100% my own words. :)

I’m one of those moms who can’t bear to see certain things go after my kids grow out of them.  Isaac’s first tiny booties.  Emma’s sweet classic Pooh bib with the ruffle.  Some of our favorite onesies and baby blankets.  There are some things that are irreplaceable, you know?  You have pictures, but being able to touch them really brings the memories flooding back.

For a long time, I’ve been planning on making Emma a quilt with her old baby clothes… but I’ve never made a quilt before and didn’t want to practice on those items.  So I turned to a company that makes professional quilts, Campus Quilt Company.  And I am SO glad I did!  But before we get to the great reveal (I’m so excited to show you!), I want to show you the process, and how easy it was to have done.

This is the kit they sent me:

The kit includes:

• A bag to mail all your quilt pieces (t-shirts, baby clothes, whatever you wish) to them in
• A prepaid label
• Detailed instructions with diagrams and pictures
• A form to fill out describing how you want your quilt to look
• Samples of the fabrics you have to choose from for the backing and binding

You have the option of designing your quilt completely yourself, down to where you want each piece you send in to be placed on the quilt (that’s what the sticker numbers are for), OR you can have their amazing designers do it for you.  That’s what I chose to do – have them design it for me – since I had already cut my onesies down to squares and rectangles.  I had no idea how I wanted it to look or what would be the best way to do it, I just knew I wanted them in a quilt.  I did throw an idea out, though, and suggested they put the squares in groups of four with white binding around each square.  Then I carefully put my precious onesies, a bib, and some super soft minky fabric I wanted in the quilt as well into the bag and dropped it off at a FedEx dropbox.  So. Easy!

Over the next month, I received updates via email letting me know that the quilt was being made and where it was in the process.  A designer emailed me at one point, too, telling me that they had some extra space to fill and I could choose the color and material to be used.  They were awesome!  Finally, I received the email letting me know that my quilt was on the way.  *Note that it normally takes about two weeks, but because I ordered mine over the Christmas holidays, it took longer.* 

One day, I received THIS in the mail:

Eeeee, so gorgeous – I couldn’t be more pleased with the result!  This quilt is so beautiful, and so special – I love it!  The flannel backing is really soft and pretty, and everything looks so pretty.  It is a true quilt, with batting inside and everything.  I can feel that the materials used are high quality, and the quilt is made so well!  It’s not going to fall apart for a LONG time, let me tell you that.

I love the way they incorporated the bib and Pooh mittens that went over her tiny hands!

Emma really loves her new special quilt, too.  She likes to go over each piece and really look at the details, then look through her baby album and find the onesies she wore.  She won’t go to sleep at night without it now!

I really could not be more thrilled with this quilt.  And now I know for sure I want to save up and do the same thing with Isaac’s baby clothes in the future!  And yes, I am saving them all.  It is going to be one spectacular quilt.  ;-)

Want to have a quilt made at Campus Quilt Company?

Campus Quilt Company makes T-Shirt Quilts, Baby Clothes Quilts, Photo Quilts, and even T-Shirt pillows!  They make them in all sizes, and what you receive is truly quilted!  Apparently not everyone who promises a t-shirt quilt actually quilts it.  Campus Quilt Company DOES.  Check out their FAQs for more information!

Here’s another cool variation of their baby quilts:

Yep, that’s right, they can stitch anything to the quilt that they can get a needle through! :)

See more examples of their quilts here. (I personally think mine is the prettiest!)

I would like to thank Campus Quilt Company for making me a quilt with my daughter’s baby clothes that I will treasure ALWAYS!  I was not charged for this – I was only expected to share my experience with you.  :)