The Mayberry Shop

We recently came across The Mayberry Sparrow, a delightful Etsy shop. Canadian artist Corrabelle creates custom name stamps or bookplates with whimsical designs. For just $20.00, we can think of several uses for these fun stamps - stamp them on brown paper bags and your lunch will be sure to stand out. Gift tags and personalized stationary will have a funky fresh vibe when use your Mayberry Sparrow stamp. These stamps make fun baby shower gifts and birthday presents too.

The Pagoda design would make an adorable name stamp.

If you are looking for a wonderful gift for a wise teacher, what could be cuter than this sweet owl?


Check out The Mayberry Sparrow and be sure to read about Corrabelle and the inspiration behind the name of her shop.

Girl Scout Cookie Curse

Just the sight of a Girl Scout has me reaching instinctively into my purse to find a pen to fill out the cookie form. Living in suburbia, we have several Scouts come to our door hoping to make top cookie seller. Combine that with troops selling cookies outside the grocery store and we now have a pantry full of boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

This year I decided to employ my Halloween strategy with my Girl Scout purchases - buy what you don't like and you won't eat it. Funny how that works with Nerds and Crybaby gum, but not with Girl Scout Cookies. I didn't even buy Thin Mints this time around for fear of eating them all myself - like last year.

So, today for lunch I had more than a few Samoas. Does that come under fruits and dairy in the Weight Watcher's Food Guide?

Year of the Hamster?

Here at Itty Bitty Ladybug we've been stumped - it's the Year of the Rat and we've had a tough time finding cute and fun items to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We feel bad. After all, the rat was certainly clever enough to finish first in the Amazing Race. Hard working, thrifty and healthy the Rat has many wonderful qualities. But let's face it, the Rat is far from cute.

So, we were delighted to find a little blurb in today's paper about how prices are rising in China for HAMSTERS as people look to honor the Year of the Rat. That's right - hamsters. Hamsters are considered lucky in China and they are definitely more cuddly than a pet rat. Also, the Cantonese and Mandarin word for "rat" translates in such a way that could include hamsters and moles. Who knew? Anyone up for a hamster tee?

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year! Today is the beginning of the Year of the Rat.

Stamps celebrating the Year of the Rat are available at your local post office or at http://www.usps.com/.

According to the Chinese Zodiac, a Rat Year is a time of hard work, activity and renewal. The Year of the Rat is also a good time to begin a new job, get married, launch a product, or make a fresh start. For many of our friends waiting for an adoption referral, we hope it also means getting good news soon.

People born in The Year of the Rat (1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008) are believed to be devoted to their families, quick - witted and passionate. The Rat is energetic and has endurance to fight off most illnesses. Full of nervous energy,a Rat benefits from the practice of Yoga and meditation.

Some famous celebrity Rats include: Alyssa Milano, Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow and Lauren Bacall. Charlotte Bronte and Margaret Mitchell are famous Rat authors.

Be sure to check out some of our favorite blogs for more information about the Year of the Rat and fun products celebrating the Chinese New Year. Now make like a Rat and get busy!

Katiedid at http://katie-d-i-d.blogspot.com/2008/02/happy-chinese-new-year.html

Cool Mom Picks at http://coolmompicks.com/

Tonic Home at http://tonichome.blogspot.com/

Baby Magnolia - a blog about a couple waiting to adopt their baby girl from China - at http://babymagnolia.com/

Valentines For A 9 Year Old Boy

As my children get older I'm finding that my concerns surrounding Valentine's Day have gone from trying to get reservations at a romantic restaurant to finding the right Valentine's Day card for my 9 year old son to distribute to his class. He's still young enough to want to celebrate, but too grown up (he thinks) for many of the Valentine's Day cards available at our local Target.

Super heroes? Mom - that's for babies! SpongeBob? Lame. Harry Potter? You can't be serious!

So, instead of spending a couple of hours in the Valentine's Day aisle, we turned to our friends at Cocoblu Studio. Owner Sarah Lemoine created the perfect custom Valentine's Day card for us.

Manly? Yes. Cool? You bet! Add some Cry Baby Bubble Gum and you've got the perfect Valentine's Day card for a 9 year old boy!

Enter discount code ITTYBITTY for 15% off your purchase of Valentine's Day cards or custom stationery at Cocoblu Studio.

The cutest Valentine's Day Cards EVER at Cocoblu Studio!

Valentine's Day will be here before you know it. Say it isn't so - didn't we just put away our holiday decorations?

Thanks to Cool Mom Picks, one of our all time favorite sites, its easy to get excited about sending out Valentines. Check out CocoBlu Studios for what we think are the cutest Valentine's Day cards EVER!

This year make it easy on yourself with the great selection of business card sized Valentines to distribute to the class or
choose from the fabulous full sized cards. Either way, you'll have the hippest Valentines in town. We love not having to bribe our children to write their names on Valentines for each of their classmates and you can be sure the grandparents will be updating their brag books with these super cute cards!

CocoBlu Studios will customize stationary, Mommy Cards and Birth Announcements. They even have stickers you can use on birthday treat bags or as return address labels.

Check out CocoBlu Studios and get 15% off your Valentine and stationary order with code ITTYBITTY.

Dwell Studio coming to Target!

Mark your calendars for February! Target is teaming up with Dwell Studio to bring you a line of modern home and nursery decor. Dwell is one of our favorite sources for high quality, fresh, funky and sophisticated crib bedding.



Dwell Studio crib bedding shown to the left. The patterns created for Target have yet to be unveiled.


Dwell Studio's nursery collection for Target will feature rugs. lamps, and window treatments in 12 exciting new patterns. Also, for the first time, Dwell Studios has designed furniture -including changing tables and cribs. We can't wait to check it out!


High design at affordable prices. Is it any wonder that my toddler who doesn't know how to read knows the symbol for Target?

To the right, a pillow from the line created by Dwell Studios for Target. 18" $19.99

A special thank you to Domino Magazine for the great news!