2 MOMS TALK

Blog goodies for Valentines Day

2012-01-26T09:35:00.000-08:00

Valentines day is just around the corner! We wanted to share some free blog goodies with all of you! Take a peek at our newest Valentine's Day blog backgrounds and banners!

You probably noticed the lips kissing your screen when you pulled up our blog and the little owl on the left of the screen. HOW CUTE ARE THEY!?! All of our animations are FREE and you can check them out HERE! Now is the time to deck out your blog for Valentines day! Have a good week!

Up next are a couple of 'featured bloggers' that have rocked some of our new FREE Valentine's blog designs on their blogs:

This blogger is a Southern Gal from Tennessee with a love for photography! She put her blog title front and center, but then she took 'cute' to the next level by adding a photography quote and photo in the side boxes. AWESOMENESS!

Click here to view her BLOG.

This sweet blog is a photo journal about Brad and Brittianey's first years of marriage! She added this CUTE blue frame to the banner to freshen it up! PERFECT!

You can view her blog HERE!

We'd love for you to leave us a comment if your blog is decked out for V-day! We want to see how awesome it looks!

Love,
Ashley and Becky

A Good Deed

2012-01-12T09:12:00.000-08:00

The majestic desert of sunny Arizona was the backdrop for a recent unfortunate event that left a family without their home, and their possessions.

Bekki and her family were out of town and returned home to find their home in flames.

Many of their possessions were lost in the fire including photos and other precious keepsakes.

The silver lining in the whole misfortune was that despite all of the damage that had been inflicted by the flames, the family was safe, they had each other.

Family and friends from all over donated clothes, toiletries, and other items to the family so that they could get by while they tried to rebuild their lives.

As they assessed the damage, the only real regret was that they couldn't get back those photos/journals that were lost. As fate would have it, Bekki had been updating her blog with the important photos and events that had been happening for the last few years. A good friend of Bekki's contacted us and asked if it was possible to have Bekki's blog made into a book so that the family could have a tangible gift to look at and remember those good times!

We were delighted at the request!

We contacted Shared Book, our blog books providers and gave them the details of the situation and they felt so apologetic for Bekki and her family. They offered to let her create a FREE blog book and ship it to her! Now she has something material that contains photos and thoughts that she and her family can treasure.

Whenever I think about this incident, I am inspired by those people who thought of others before themselves.

Shakespeare said, "So shines a good deed in a weary world."

We want to thank Shared Book for opening their hearts and resources to this family. We also want to thank Bekki's friend Aimee, for reaching out to us for her friend in a time of need. We wish the best for Bekki and her family and hope that she can make lots more great memories!

Shabby Apple Winner!

2012-01-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Stacey (comment number 4 from the blog Our Life) is the winner of the Bon Voyage dress from Shabby Apple! It was fun seeing all of your comments about the different dresses and where you would wear them! Hopefully we can do another giveaway soon!! We want to thank Shabby Apple for hosting this giveaway on our blog:)!

We want to thank EVERYONE for entering!! You can still buy a dress with this fabulous sale Shabby Apple is having. It lasts through the entire month of January. Use code NEWYEAR at checkout for 20% off!

Shabby Apple Giveaway/Discount/Review

2011-12-22T09:52:00.000-08:00

We've all had it happen to us...when you show up to church, the store, or a party wearing the same outfit from the same store as one of your friends! Don't get us wrong, we love being 'twinners' with our dear friends! However when it comes to style, originality is the key! That's why when Shabby Apple contacted us to do a review of their fun, flirty,chic, and modest clothing line, we were thrilled!

Shabby Apple sells apparel for women, children, and maternity. Or you can specify your search by category like White, Sophisticated, or Oh La La.

I chose the Gondola dress because I LOVED the bold color scheme and the fit of it compliments me so well. I feel like I want to wear it while walking the tiny streets of Venice. Since I can't quite make it to Venice, I wore it to church. Next best thing right? Ladies, the compliments came pouring in! Not only is the dress cute, but it has breathable fabric and it's quite comfortable. I also paired it with a simple pearl necklace that added a chic flair.

The L'Artiste dress is one my favorites from Shabby Apple! I love how comfortable it is and stylish at the same time. This is a dress that is practical for a busy mom (it has pockets!). L'artiste will have you playing in the park or showing off your latest exhibition in style!

We want one of you, our fabulous readers, to win a FREE dress! Up for grabs is the Bon Voyage dress which is one of Shabby Apple's TOP SELLERS.

"Fun and flirty, the Bon Voyage dress is the perfect frock for an afternoon on the boardwalk or a night at the Ocean Club. Sleek tailoring keeps this v-neck silhouette classic, while the bow at the waist and flouncy pleated skirt lend a playful air and plenty of personality to this navy poplin beauty."

If you love this dress as much as we do, then here's what you get to do have a chance to win it:

1. You must "LIKE" Shabby Apple on Facebook. Click HERE to do so.

2. Leave us a comment telling us you liked Shabby Apple on Facebook. Also, let us know the name of another dress you love on the site, along with a place or event that you would wear the dress to.

We will randomly select one of you and contact you to get your shipping information for delivery!

This Giveaway starts NOW and ENDS in two weeks on 01/06/2012!

NOT ONLY are we giving away a free dress, but we're also offering a 10% OFF discount to all of you who want to do a little shopping for the Holidays! Just fill up your cart with lots of fun goodies, and then use this discount code cutestblogontheblock10off when checking out to have it calculated.

Happy Shabby Shopping everyone!!

Oreo Truffle Recipe

2011-12-19T08:38:00.001-08:00

Happy Monday everyone! I am finally starting to feel ready for Christmas....I just need to finish wrapping the presents:) I love this time of year because it gives me a good excuse to bake! I found a recipe on The TomKat Studio (LOVE her site!!) for Easy Oreo Truffles! She even made up cute printable recipe and label cards. Be sure to check out her site when you get a chance. I made some last night and we all LOVED them!! Maybe I am the last one to know about these easy truffles, but I had to share the recipe with you all:) Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!!
--Becky--

1 (16 ounce) package OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
1 (8 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 (8 ounce) packages BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted
Directions
Crush 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; reserve for later use. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter.
Dip balls in chocolate; place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.
Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator.

What Do We Love About Christmas?

2011-12-14T10:44:00.000-08:00

What Do We Love About Christmas?

What do we love about Christmas; Does our delight reside in things?
Or are the feelings in our hearts
The real gift that Christmas brings.

It's seeing those we love,
And sending Christmas cards, too,
Appreciating people who bring us joy
Special people just like you.

By Joanna Fuchs

Free Christmas Animations!

2011-12-08T10:59:00.000-08:00

We just uploaded our newest free Christmas animations! We think you will love them as much as we do!! Head on over to grab a few for your blog! We made a couple of fun changes to the animations so you can add them to your sidebar or your post area! Check out the ones we added to our sidebars and the top of our blog:) HAVE FUN!! --Becky--

Santa's Bag is FULL (of new Christmas designs!)

2011-12-05T09:41:00.001-08:00

"It's so much fun, when Christmas comes to town!"

Well Christmas has arrived at The Cutest Blog on the Block in a flurry! You've decked out your house, no doubt, with lights and wreath hung on the door. Don't leave your awesome blogs out in the cold!! Give them some sweet Christmas Gear to be proud of...and it's free!

Click HERE to see the Christmas on the Fringe collection.

Click HERE to see the Hint of Christmas collection.

Click HERE to see the 'Snow' EL collection.

Click HERE to see the Sugarplum Fairy collection.

True to TCBOTB fashion, that's not all folks!

CLICK HERE to see all of our new stuff!

We've already found cute Christmas blogs popping up ALL over the place using our new designs. Here's a few in our favorite blog tradition know as 'Featured Bloggers'

Up first is this cute blog:

She used the Blast You Frost collection to deck out her blog about her sweet little boy. :)

This is a blog about all things Anita, we love how she mixed and matched our designs using the Yuletide Whimsy background with the Dash Away all banner. :) How cool is her photo collage in her banner! Nice job Anita!

This is a blog about Desiree and what it's like to be a party of a family of TEN! She used the In a Twinkling collection to make her blog Twinkle so bright! Love it!

This fabulous blogger from Russia used the Yuletide Whimsy Collection and personalized it with some cute matching text. Great job Karen!

This is a blog written by a preachers wife, and a singer in the church choir! She has Christmas Cheer! Look how cute her Merry Mint banner is! She added her own photo and cute Ho Ho Ho's!

Keep them coming dear friends! Let us know if you've decked out your blogs!

Ashley - TCBOTB

Christmas Cards for Print! It's that time again!

2011-11-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

The hustle and bustle of shopping, parties, and cooking...the sounds of bells ringing and children laughing...and the sight of glowing twinkle lights and bright packages wrapped in ribbon can only mean one thing...Christmas is coming!

There's nothing more magical than the events that surround this time of year. With the excitement that comes with the Holiday, it's also a good time to send, through the mail, a little glimpse into what has been happening with your family this year!

We have been working, like little elves, to design some adorable card designs for your choosing pleasure. These cards are the perfect way to send a little piece of love to all of your family this season.

Take a gander at some of these goodies:

We always strive to give you the cutest blogs on the block, well these will surely be the cutest Christmas cards on block! They are next to free too! $15 for us to add your photo and mail you the jpeg so that you can have them printed at any photo kiosk you desire!

Here's the link that will take you to view all of the designs: CLICK HERE and choose CHRISTMAS.

We can't wait to see your design! Merry Christmas!

Featured Bloggers for Fall

2011-11-07T10:22:00.000-08:00

It's time again to feature some of our fans adorable blog layouts. Fall is in the air all around us, and these blogs are giving us that fall feelin' too!!

Lilith used the Be-leaf in Giving collection from our site to add a chic modern fall look to her blog. She personalized her banner with a cute font too! You can visit her blog HERE to see it in action.

Are you a couponer? This blogger used the Crunchy Sparkle Collection to to add some fall fabulousness to her layout. You can see it live HERE.

This lovely blogger mixed the Fall Owl banner with the Fall Owl Background to make this fun fall collaboration. You can check out her blog HERE.

Don't you just love the colors from this Fall Spice Collection? She also added a cute photo to her banner to personalize it. You can view her blog HERE.

We are just so proud of you guys when we see how you add your own 'spice' to our designs. This blogger tied in a pretty teal background behind her banner and added a family name and photo. CUTE! The collection from this design is called Harvest Sunset. You can have a look at her blog HERE.

Good job ladies! We so happy to know that blogging is alive and well!

Halloween Leftovers

2011-11-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

We hope you all had a spooky Halloween! I took down my Halloween decor as soon as I could! The morning after Halloween. I don't know about you all, but once a Holiday is over, I am SO ready to get my house back. :) My kids were so fun this year! I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old, so you can imagine all the excitement that envelopes our house on all hallows eve. I smile from ear to ear when I get to take them trick-or-treating because they love doing it!

We also go to a party just for adults every year at my neighbor's home. I always get revved up to find a creative costume for the event! This year we decided to be objects, rather than people. We used the classic movie 'The Christmas Story' as our theme and my husband dressed up as the FRAGILE box that comes in the mail. I dressed up as the Leg Lamp that was inside of the box. :)

Unfortunately, we didn't win a prize, but we had a blast!

Did you post photos on your blog of your Halloween Costume from this year? Leave us a comment if you did so we can have a peek at it!

Have a great day, and remember: don't eat too much of your kids candy!

Free Grunge Frames for your photos

2011-10-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

Are you a feverish facebooker? Or a tenacious twitterer? If you are, you know that uploading photos to show your friends and family is one of the most important aspects of social networking. I love to snap a photo if my kids are doing something cute or silly and share it with everyone!

Why not add a little pizzazz to your photos before you upload them? Below are some cute grunge frames that you can layer over your photos and voila, you have added a cute vintage look!

Use your favorite image editing program! Suggestion: PIXLR.com is fabulous!

So click on the images below, right-click them and save them to your computer, and happy editing!!

Thanks!

Ashley - TCBOTB

Flying Witch Animation

2011-10-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

Check out our newest free witch animation flying over the top of our blog! To view all our Halloween animations click HERE. I hope everyone is having a great week!!

Haute Halloween and Fall Bloggers

2011-10-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

We're beginning to fill the chill of the crisp cool air even here in Arizona, so we KNOW you're welcoming fall wherever you are too. I even wore a hoodie this weekend that had been collecting dust for months! I love this season! It puts me in the mood to spend money for some reason. And not just at boring grocery stores, but at boutiques and craft stores. :) Am I alone in this?

We wanted to feature a couple of 'decked out' blogs that we found out there in the blog-o-spere.

This mom of two boys customized one of our many fall banners with an adorable family photo. She also added come cute matching text to the banner that displays her family name proudly! Nice job!

You can view her blog live by clicking HERE.

I was blown away when I visited this blingy scrapbooker's blog!! She brought spooky to the next level by adding one of our scary Halloween Backgrounds to her blog, and she designed her own vintage couture banner to match! She has has used many of our Halloween blogamations to make her page move! To top off all the haunted fun, she has a music playlist on her blog with every spooky song you can think of! Last time I visited I got to hear Michael Jackson's Thriller! (One of my faves!)

If you dare, take a peek at her blog by clicking HERE.

This blog has taken witchy to the extreme by using our witch background and banner and customizing them to match. She also added a matching witch blogamation and some falling leaves! I can almost hear a witch cackling just looking at it.

You can view this blog by clicking HERE.

What a fun surprise for us to see so many of you putting one of our many digital Halloween costumes on your blog! I think our blogs secretly like dressing up! :) Do you have your blog decked out for fall or Halloween? Let us know in the comments and we'll feature you!

Happy Tricks and Treats!

Ashley TCBOTB

Spooky Chic Halloween Desktop Wallpaper

2011-10-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

Feeling a little "witchy" lately?

Us too!

Show off your Halloween spirit, and grab this adorable Free Halloween Desktop Wallpaper, designed by yours truly. :)

Just click on the image, then right-click the larger image and save it to your desktop. Then right-click it again and select "add as desktop background."

I've got it on my desktop and it brings a Halloween feel into my office. :)

If you love this design and want it on your blog too, check this out:

Click Here to deck out your blog in witchy style for free too!

Ashley and Becky

Free Halloween Animations!

2011-10-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday everyone!! We just added the cutest Halloween animations to our site! Can you tell we are excited for Halloween over here at TCBOTB?! We are trying a new code out where you can put the animation on your sidebar or post area. See the posts below to see how great they are! We also added a new falling leaves animation and don't forget the blowing leaves from last year! Let us know what you think and tell us what one is your favorite!! Have a good week!

---Becky---

To add the animations to your sidebar: Add it like you would any other gadget. Go to your 'Design' page. Click 'Add a Gadget'. Then click the plus sign next to 'Html/Java Script'. Paste the animation code in that box and save.
To add the animations to your blog posts be sure to click on 'Edit HTML'. Paste the code in the box. Once you click publish a red error box will pop up. Just click the box that says 'Stop showing HTML errors for the body of this post'.

Pumpkin Halloween Animation

2011-10-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

Click HERE for the Halloween Animations for your blog!

Witch Blog Animation

2011-10-03T11:06:00.001-07:00

Click HERE for the Halloween Animations for your blog!

Halloween Blog Backgrounds!

2011-09-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!! I had a fun weekend in St. George, Ut! My hubby and I did the Kokopelli Triathlon. It was my first open water swim and to be honest it was a little scary!! I panicked a little when I couldn't see the feet kicking me in the face. I guess I should have practiced swimming in a lake:) BUT I finished and got 5th in my age group so I was excited. Next time (if there is a next time haha) I will be more prepared. The weather was so nice and cool, it actually felt like Fall!! Hope you all have a great week! ---Becky

Ashley and I have been designing some fun Halloween blog backgrounds and cute banners!! Be sure to grab one for your blog!!

Click below to see all of our:
Free Halloween Backgrounds
Free Halloween Banners & Headers
Free Halloween Buttons

Graphic/Blog designers: Apply HERE!

2011-09-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

Hello blogger friends!

We hope all of you are doing fantastic today! As you know, we have launched our new custom design site recently, and we are receiving so many orders! AWESOME! You can take a peek at our fabulous (ever growing) portfolio HERE.

We are in need of some awesome designers to join our TEAM. Our team is just fabulous and we also do fun creative things like design challenges for different seasons to be displayed on The Cutest Blog on the Block.

Do you have design and coding talent?

Here are some skills that we would love for you to have:

-proficient skill in photoshop

-experience designing for blogs in the past

-blog coding knowledge

-willingness to learn new techniques

If you or someone you know fits these requirements, leave us a comment below with your email address and we will contact you with further information!

Thanks!

Ashley and Becky

Looky Looky!! We're ready for Autumn!

2011-09-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

Even though Becky and I live in a place similar to the underworld, that is still piping hot every day, we couldn't help but design some fun autumn collections for those of your who are already starting to feel that refreshing chill! Just looking at these makes me feel the Autumn tickle. :)

Here a few of the new designs you will find added to our site:

Click Here to see the BRISK ME AWAY collection

Click Here to see the CIDER FALLS collection

Click Here to see the AMBER ROAD collection

If you just want to see them all, click HERE.

Also, we have created a new AWARENESS design for a friend of ours who will be attending a Brain Cancer walk this month. With so many who are affected by brain cancer around the world, we though we would honor it with this background.

Click HERE to view it.

Thanks Everyone, and happy Autumn!!

Ashley

Tattered Trends: 6 NEW Designs

2011-08-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

Well friends, it looks like the tattered, worn out theme is here to stay! We buy NEW things, just to distress them to make them look old again.

Why do we do this? I would venture to guess that it's because old things have a history. A old tattered chest of drawers with crackled paint has secrets. Vintage things bring a feeling a earthiness into a space.

We happened upon a fabulous designer who has really captured this feel in so many of her designs. Her name is Laura Deacetis and you can check out her fun digitals HERE.

Without further ado, we wanted to show you a few of her designs we added to our site.

Cute right? (Go the website to grab the banners without the watermarks.)

We also have a fabulous blog template coming soon using this designer.

The cuteness doesn't stop there because we also added a few new designs for all of the Denim Lovers out there too!

So go freshen up your blog...with something old. :)

Ashley - TCBOTB

Becky Skydiving

2011-08-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

For my husbands birthday this last weekend I decided to surprise him and take him skydiving!! Every anniversary and birthday we always talk about how we should go. Then we think of something more important we could be spending our money on. Well, this birthday I decided to just book it! I had to hold this secret in for a WEEK!

I woke him up early on his birthday and said you have 15 min. to get ready!! He looked at the clock and said what are you doing? I just smiled and said we are taking a little road trip. I gave him directions of where to go and the whole time he wanted me to tell him what we were doing (he does not like surprises as much as I do LOL)! We finally pull up and he sees the big Skydive Phoenix sign. He was so excited!!
After watching the video that tells you everything that COULD go wrong with the plane and the parachute, I was thinking this is the stupidest think I have ever done! There was no turning back though! ---Becky---

My husband skydiving:)

This is me telling my buddy Marti (that is strapped to my back....at least I hope he is) that I changed my mind and I don't want to jump! It looks like I was even holding on to the pilots parachute (like he could save me)...oops! You can see the wind blowing my cheek across my face!

Here goes nothing!

Nothing like free falling from about 11,000 feet to 5,000 feet!! It was awesome, I loved it!! No fair the professional gets a helmet...what about me?:)

There I go falling to the ground!

I asked Marti if I could pull the parachute out, he said he would give me this hand signal when it was time to pull! I was so excited to pull it.....but my eyes were closed so I missed it!! The next thing I know he pulled it out....oh well next time right:)

This is right when we landed....the hair explains it all, LOL!! I seriously loved it and would do it again in a second!

Blog Buttons!

2011-08-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Check out these super cute blog buttons that Ashley designed! I love fun designs like these that can add a little character to your blog:) We just added them to our site, so head on over to add one to your blog!!

Have a good week!

---Becky---

See How Our Fans Customize Their Look!

2011-08-02T16:27:00.000-07:00

Peek-a-boo! We see YOU, and your CUTE designs too! It's like opening presents on Christmas morning when Becky and I happen upon one of your blogs! Reason being: We're so flattered that you think our designs are cute enough to adorn your awesome blogs! Who knew!?! And we're even more stoked when you decide to add your own flair to the designs to reflect your personality!

So We've compiled a cute composition of conversions for you to consider (I like the letter C)! Below, you'll find a list of some super creative bloggers who grabbed one of the blank designs from our free banner section, and used an image editing program to add text, photos, and other clip art to personalize the image. Don't you just love a great before and after story? (You can click on their banners to visit their blogs.)
Have a look below:

Paisley Summer Blog Banner

Before:

ABOUT THE BLOGGER: Stephanie is a wife and also a mother of a cute 3 year old boy!

WHY WE LOVE THE DESIGN: We thought she was so creative with this banner. Cute font, and we love the little faces next to their names:)

After:

Summer Sky Blog Banner
Before:

ABOUT THE BLOGGER: Ashley is a wife and also a mom to a handsome little boy!

WHY WE LOVE THE DESIGN: We love the cute handwriting font she used in the banner and the adorable elephant!

After:

Let’s Learn Blog Banner
Before:

ABOUT THE BLOGGER: Melissa met John in the UVU Institute choir class. They dated for two months, and got engaged Christmas day 2006. They married in August 2007. She blogs about her everyday life.

WHY WE LOVE THE DESIGN: We love how she customized the tag with a Title and Author. SO creative!

After:

Sharing Sunshine Blog Banner

Before:

ABOUT THE BLOGGER: Jodie is a wife and mother. She dedicated the blog to her cute son Cooper and all of the fun milestones in his growing up.

WHY WE LOVE THE DESIGN: She got creative and added an adorable photo and some text to her banner.

After:

Gams Blog Banner

Before:

ABOUT THE BLOGGER: Sara is married to her “dream man” and is a full time mom to 3 BOYS! She is also expecting a little girl THIS month!

WHY WE LOVE THE DESIGN: Sara used some cute vintage fonts and added a tiny crown the accentuate the "Queen" aspect. LOVE!

After:

Now that we know you're out there, we'll keep our eyes peeled for more of your CUTE conversions to showcase on our blog. If you'd like to be featured, give us a shout out!

Which cute conversion is YOUR favorite?

A Call for Wordpress Designers with Graphic Skills!

2011-07-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Our new custom design site has really taken off, and we are so busy with orders that we know it's time to call for a new graphic artist to join our team!

Keep in mind, this is Wordpress specific, so please only leave a comment if you have skill in designing a custom layout and then converting it into a Wordpress theme.

So what are you waiting for? If you think you could be our newest teammate, post your comment BELOW. Be sure to leave us your email address so that we can send you email detailing the next step!

(PS. Graphic Designers who design for blogger, DON'T FRET! We will be posting a call for your talents VERY soon. Keep watching!)

We can't wait!

Ashley and Becky

Back to School Blog Backgrounds

2011-07-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

I don't know about all of you, but things have been a little bit crazy getting ready for school to start up! My boys just started pre-k yesterday. They are on the same schedule (thank goodness!!) but with different teachers. It was weird dropping them of at the Elementary school, it made me feel like they are growing up way too fast! I did get a little emotional as they walked off with their class:(
In honor of back to school we decided to design some new cute school backgrounds!! Take a look at our newest back to school blog backgrounds. We've got a great variety, so head on over to our site to check them out!
Have a great day!
---Becky---

Gray or Grey? What's in a name?

2011-07-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

I've always been a stickler about spelling. This is mainly because I am terrible at math, so naturally any talent I do have in another area should be flaunted right? Ha ha, but really, I've always felt a twinge of regret thinking that I never tried for a spelling B in school for the reason that I will never know if I would have won. Don't you just love those 'Woulda Couldas' that creep into your mind on a random Thursday morning? What are yours?

But on to my REAL question...

How do YOU spell gray/grey?

Why do I ask? The color grey/gray is having a huge affect on the design market right now. From fashion to home decor to web, you'll find it used as a base color to neutralize bright vibrant tones and their collaboration is nothing short of FABULOUS! Take a look at a few samples:

Are you feeling that grey/gray vibe yet? To solve this debacle, I'd like to take the 'not so scientific' approach and do what politicians should be doing right now...ask the PEOPLE! That means YOU.

The voting for this post is CLOSED now.
HERE were the results:

So it looks like MORE people use the spelling GREY over GRAY.

Even though it seems to me mostly preference, I went ahead and checked out what the scholars are saying regarding the matter: This comes from http://www.greyorgray.com/

When all else fails..

grAy is how it's spelled in America
grEy is how it's spelled in England

So take that or leave it. I guess when it comes to gray/grey, it's whatever feels right to you!

In the meantime, we'll be here in the TCBOTB design lab cooking up all sorts of cute stuff for you!

Thanks for voting!

Ashley

Introducing: Templates!!

2011-07-14T12:01:00.001-07:00

What's the difference between a blog template and a blog background?
-A background is just the picture that shows up like wallpaper on the back of your blog.
-A template is a set of instructions that tells your blog what the layout should look like, i.e. how many columns, what font, etc. With the template you will get the background, banner, post divider image, and a post title image.

For a long time, we've offered only blog backgrounds on our site. BUT we are so happy to say that we are now offering some fabulous FREE templates!

Check out the fun:

There's going to be plenty more where these came from too! Our design wheels are always turning! We wanna see these in action so let us know if you use one in the comments below!

CLICK HERE TO GET ONE

Ashley and Becky

Warm Up Your Blog! New Summer Designs!

2011-07-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

We loved this contemporary chic kit from Jen Allyson so much that we just had to get our hands on it and design a few fresh summer backgrounds for all of you! You'll feel warm all over when you deck your blog out with these free summer goodies!

Click Here to find the Designs!

Also, what are you up to this summer? Lounging by the pool, trips, movies?

Let us know!

Ashley and Becky

New Custom Blog Design Site

2011-07-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

To CELEBRATE our new custom blog design site we are offering a 15% discount on all orders placed before July 31st, 2011!! I think you all are going to love our new site. There are three easy steps when placing your order. I know sometimes it is hard to decide what style you want, so first choose your style. Do you want a scrapbook look, modern, photo or graphic?

NEXT, choose a package. You can also order items individually!!

The last step is to place your order!! Our design team is amazing!! You will usually see you finished designed within 3-4 days!! If it is a larger order it may take a little longer. You can also check out our most recent designs in our portfolio. Order today to get your 15% off your entire order!

Announcing the Winner (Custom Blog Design Giveaway)

2011-06-30T11:15:00.001-07:00

We are happy to announce the winner of our one of a kind custom blog design giveaway:

Terri M of Two Pink Peas

She won this beautiful layout!

We got such a GREAT response on this giveaway that we will definitely be doing this again real soon!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Ashley and Becky

New Palm Tree Animation!

2011-06-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

I am loving our newest free animation for your blog!! This palm tree's leaves sway back and forth, the bird is flying, the coconut even drops to the ground!! Click on the tree below and it will take you to our Blogamation site, and you can see it in action. One of the nice things about our animations are that they are super easy to add to your blog. You just copy the code and paste it into your sidebar on your design page. Hope you all enjoy a splash of summer on your blog!

Click to view palm tree in action and to grab code!

Giveaway and Winner!

2011-06-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Hello to all of our fabulous followers!! I hope you are all having a great day so far! I just wanted to remind you that you have ONE more day (Ends 6/29/11 midnight mst) to enter the giveaway for this exclusive blog design! All of the text will be customized to what you want it to say! So leave a comment to win this custom blog banner, background, button and signature!!

If you want to take advantage of this opportunity:

1. Head on over to our Custom Design Site and become a follower.

2. Make sure you're a follower of this blog: 2 moms talk.

3. Leave a comment here letting us know what you'd like to use the design for.

Also, I apologize I never posted the winner for the burp clothes and matching wipe case!! Thao, comment #3 won!! Thanks Texas Belle Boutique for hosting this giveaway!!

Announcement and Custom Blog Design Giveaway

2011-06-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

We felt like it was about time that we revamped our custom design site to make it easier for those of you looking for a custom unique blog to make your orders! Don't you just love the color scheme and fresh design?!?

We asked our awesome lead designer Tenille to redesign it for us and she has done fabulous stuff. All of our custom designers are truly talented. You can check out their bios HERE. While you're over at our custom site/blog browsing around, be sure to become a follower over there. We'll keep you informed of all of the fun stuff we have going on including discounts and giveaways.

Speaking of giveaways, the other night I had the urge to make some cute blog art and this is what I came up with:

Rather than add it to the site as a freebie, we want to offer it as an exclusive design to one of you! This would be perfect for a business, craft or family blog. And no one else will ever have it except for the winner of this giveaway. All of the text can be customized to say whatever you'd like, and Becky will apply it to your blog for ya! Easy Peasy!

Featured in this giveaway is: a custom blog background, a matching banner, a matching customized button, and a matching signature.

If you want to take advantage of this opportunity:

1. Head on over to our Custom Design Site and become a follower.

2. Make sure you're a follower of this blog: 2 moms talk.

3. Leave a comment here letting us know what you'd like to use the design for.

This contest will end Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 at 12pm MST.

We will choose the winner at that point through a random number generator site.

Share the love if you know if someone in need of a blog facelift. :)

Ashley and Becky

Discount code for your Blog Book!!

2011-06-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

It's time to turn your blog into a book!! If you have been trying to decide if you want to make your blog into a book, now is the perfect time to do it!! I love having a blog book for my family blog. Each year I will print off a new book. This is our family scrapbook and journal!! My boys love to look through it and see the birthday parties, family vacations and activities we did that year.

You have until July 6th 11:59 (EDT) to receive a 15% discount on your blog book!! Enter code savetcbotb76 to get the 15% off. Turning you blog into a book is easier then you might think. There are just a few steps. I did an easy tutorial HERE if you want help going through the steps to turn your blog into a book!

Ready to get started on your book? CLICK HERE!!

Have a good day!!

--Becky--

PS: DON"T FORGET about the giveaway below. You have 2 more days to enter!

Texas Belle Boutique Giveaway

2011-06-17T11:24:00.000-07:00

Oh Baby! Everywhere we turn there's another little one entering the world! We're always on the lookout for adorable baby shower gifts! Checkout this adorable set below from Texas Belle Boutique! One of our favorite things about this set is that you could have a great gift for a girl shower or a boy shower! The colors are so neutral, and refreshing!

To enter this Giveaway:

1: Check out Texas Belle Boutique's Blog and leave a comment here about what you like about her products!

2: Be sure you are following this blog, 2 Moms Talk!

**If you Facebook or Twitter about this giveaway leave another comment to be entered in an extra time:)!!**

BONUS!! If you use one of our cute free blog backgrounds found HERE then leave a comment to be entered in an extra time!!

This giveaway is open to US entries only. It ends on June 24th at Midnight(mst).

Trying to Stay Calm Winner

2011-06-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

Sonya (comment #27) won this fabulous relaxation kit!!

We used random number generator to pick the winner. I am so glad I did the tutorial to add numbers to all the comments, it made it so much easier!! Thanks for all of you who entered and a BIG thanks to Shauna at Trying to Stay Calm for hosting this giveaway!! The next giveaway will be within the next couple of days, so keep checking back!!

Cute Wordpress Themes

2011-06-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

I had to share the cuteness of these new FREE Wordpress themes. If you have a Wordpress blog, you will defiantly want to check these out!! Our wonderful Wordpress pro, Nikki converted our modern backgrounds into these themes. Once you download the theme there will be a folder with instructions on how to apply the template to your blog! Click HERE to take a look!

Well-Wishing Wednesdays

2011-06-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

What is 'Well-Wishing Wednesday'?

It's the day we wish our bloggy friends well by linking to each others blogs!

A couple of rules:

1. You can link anything you created yourself: ie. giveaways, recipes, blog, web store, Etsy store, DIY projects, or crafts...

2. Please keep it G rated, in other words 'clean'.

3. Be sure to link one of our buttons to your side bar or blog post.

Let's get started! Have fun!

(scroll down under our buttons to find the 'Click Here to Enter' link)

How to number comments on blog

2011-06-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

When doing a giveaway on your blog it makes it so much easier if your comments on numbered. We usually use the random number generator to pick a winner. It takes too much time to count through the comments to find winner #30 or even #60!! I decided it was time to do a tutorial and add the numbers to the comments on our blog!! It also makes it look cute and professional! This easy tutorial will show you how to number comments on your blogger posts. Leave a comment if you used this tutorial to number your blogger comments:)!! ENJOY!! ---Becky---

Click HERE to see the tutorial!!

Don't forget:

2 MORE DAYS TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY BELOW!!

New Fourth of July Frills!!!

2011-06-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

Kids. Fireworks. Parades. Ice cream...

The Fourth of July is a day for family fun. Whether you're taking a trip or looking for fireworks close to home, you're bound to have a fabulous time!

I (Ashley) feel so LUCKY that I live on a golf course. Not because I like people peeking into my backyard every five minutes, but because I have an amazing view of the fireworks that the farm nearby shoots off every Fourth of July. We don't have to pack up a cooler and drive to see them anywhere, they are right in my backyard! Glow Sticks and Patriotic Treats are all we need to have a good time!

Here's a photo of some of my family last year as we waited for the fireworks to start:

One of my (Becky's) favorite things is fireworks...maybe a little weird, but I grew up going to the BYU stadium for the 4th of July. Watching the most spectacular firework show kind of spoiled me! Last year we celebrated the 4th of July in Gallup with all my husband's family. At the time we were not allowed to set off our own fireworks in AZ, so I was excited to buy fireworks. I was like a little kid in a candy shop:)! Let's just say between all the different families we had a TON of fireworks...the good stuff too!! That night the moms and kids set up their chairs while the guys went across the street to the empty field. We had our own fabulous firework show.....everything was great until a firework shot off at us....two different times!! Luckily no one was hurt, but my boys are still a little scared when they hear we are going to do fireworks!! Can't wait to see what this year brings! ---Becky---

In honor of this fabulous holiday, we added lots of new free patriotic blog background and banner designs for you to show your love for your country this year!
Here are some previews below (You can click the images to take you to the Fourth of July category. :)

Don't forget to grab the matching banner for the design to make it complete! Here's some samples below:

Have a BRIGHT holiday!

Ashley and Becky

Trying to Stay Calm Blog Giveaway

2011-06-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Milestone Alert: We've just surpassed 2,500 followers! This is so fun to watch the numbers go up and up and we are motivated more than ever to bring you fun stuff to make your lives and your blogs awesome! In lieu of reaching this goal, we present our first of many giveaways...

We think everyone could use a little pampering!! We're excited about this giveaway from Shauna over at Trying to Stay Calm. She has a very popular giveaway blog that you will for sure want to check out and follow!

Take a look at at this adorable theme kit you could win:

To enter this giveaway:

-Follow the Blog: Trying to Stay Calm

-Leave a comment letting us know you are a follower

{U.S. entries only}

ENDS: We will pick a winner through random number generator on Thursday, June 16th

The Trying To Stay Calm Pamper Set will include:
Foot Cooler
Foot Soak/Foot Lotion
4 different Face Masks
Pedicure Set with slippers,
toe separators, emery board
Bath Pillow
Photo Album
2 pocket tissues
Pink Butterfly Notepad
2 Bookmarks
3 packages of Softlips
$5.00 Stone Cold Gift Card

*She will also include a few surprises in this package!

Happy Entering!

Ashley and Becky

Looking to Adopt!

2011-06-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

We would like to introduce you to Merrill, Mary, and Maxwell. A wonderful family in Arizona that are excited to add to their family through adoption. We want to help them in their search and would invite you to do the same. Here's how we can help! First check out her super cute amazing blog that Mary asked us to design at (www.greenmandm.blogspot.com) and their super adorable adoption website (www.merrillandmary.com) to learn more about them. Second, add their button to your blog! Third, pass their information on to any one you know who may be considering adoption.... that's it - easy, right?

Let's help them find another to love!

To grab their button for your blog, copy the code in the box below and apply it to your sidebar.

We Can Do It!

2011-05-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

Just in TIME for Memorial Day 2011, we're releasing this fabulous matching banner and background with a patriotic theme. Freedom is NOT free, but these blog designs are...so go grab them!

Click on the designs to get the codes. :)

Ashley - TCBOTB

Blog Revival - Monthly Challenge: Who Inspires You?

2011-05-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

Life can be a tricky thing sometimes, as we all know. Our to do lists can seem to go for miles and miles...

-Pick up/Drop off kids and school

-Go to work

-Make meals

-Clean up after the Family

-Bills, bills, bills

-Exercise

-Church responsibilities

-Ect...

The balancing act can be overwhelming at times.

Who do we look to when we need a little inspiration to keep going? Whose impact on your life, made you the amazing woman you are today?

This months challenge is to do a post on your blog about who inspires YOU! Right click this cute image below to save to your desktop. Then upload it to show at the top of your blog post. Then write about who inspires you!!! Be sure to leave a comment here to the share with everyone who inspires you!

In asking ourselves the same question, we decided to share with you who inspires us.

Ashley's Inspired by her Mom

I could go on and on all day about this woman. If there are angels walking the earth, she is one of them. I had no idea growing up how lucky I was to have her. Now as I grow into the role as a mother myself, I see how incredibly patient, loving, and kind she is. She has a happiness inside of her that can never be crushed. She is always anxiously engaged in doing good. When she walks into a room, she lights it with her countenance. I would be proud to be like her someday. I feel so much joy to think that she could actually be my mommy. Yes, she still plays the mommy role in my life. Growing up, I needed a little more coddling than most kids. I was shy, and quiet. But when I think back to those days, there was always a beacon of love that was there to lift me. My mom. She gave me the tools I would need to become a confident young woman.

Becky is inspired by her Grandma

I have the fondest memories of my grandma. Ever since I was little I have looked up to her. I always told myself, when i grow up I want to be just like Grandma! She lived only a few minutes away from us while I was growing up. I was able to see the countless good deeds and services she provided for those families in our town. Sometimes it was small acts of service like dropping of a loaf of bread or a bag of oranges on their door step and running. Sometimes it was dropping of Christmas presents to a family we knew needed it. She is always thinking of others and it made us kids excited to serve with her. I don't think Grandma ever stops serving from sun up to sun down. She is always giving us grand kids 'lectures' about being nice to everyone at school and finding those kids that don't have friends and to reach out to them. Even today she will mail her grand kids little newsletters with quotes and inspiring stories! She is ALWAYS smiling and making someones day brighter. What an amazing women! I still strive to be just like her:)

St. Lucia

2011-05-17T10:25:00.000-07:00

I have to share a little bit of this beautiful Island. Rick took me to a gorgeous resort in St. Lucia for our 10 year anniversary! There are 3 different Sandal resorts on the island and we stayed at the Grande. It was by far the most relaxing vacation we have been on so far. With the white sand, turquoise warm water and all the amazing food..... I was in heaven! It was a much needed vacation. After the week though I missed my cute kiddos terribly and couldn't wait to see them! ---Becky---

I thought the beach would be packed, but we had the beach to ourselves first thing in the morning and late afternoon! Even during the day it was not too busy...probably helped that is is an adult only resort!

This is what we spent most of our day doing! Enjoying each others company and the beautiful view!

So relaxing!

This little sail boat thing was a blast! They gave us a little 3 minute class on how to sail and we were off! It would get going pretty fast and we loved it!

This was one of my favorite restaurants, The Pier. This was at one of the other Sandal resorts, Halcyon. It was one of my favorites not only because the food was great, but the view overlooking the ocean was amazing!

This is when we went snorkeling at Jade Mountain Resort. It was black sand beach so it was neat to see something different!

Free Retro Wood Grain Designs

2011-05-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

We like to think we're hip and chic around TCBOTB headquarters, but when it comes to design, RETRO is ALL THE RAGE!

This Wood grain pattern is so HOT right now! So we though we would imitate jewlery, furniture, and knick knacks everywhere, by adding a few wood grain backgrounds for you to use, free of course! My favorite part is that each background has its own unique matching banner!

So what inspired us to make these? Check out some of the adorable bits and pieces we found using the wood grain theme:

Just look at these little woodland creatures and patterns on these fabric covered buttons. So CUTE!

If I have another baby, I would adore these colors in the baby's room! Bright and friendly! There again you see the wood grain pattern!

Take the woods with you wherever you go with this adorable handbag

This laptop decal is to DIE for!

Okay, enough drooling! All of these items can be found on etsy.com. You can click the images to shop. So bring some woodland retro to your blog, and leave a comment if you do so we can see the CUTENESS!

click HERE to see the designs

We really do hope you make today a fabulous day in whatever you do, and then BLOG about it when your done!

hugs and kisses!

Ashley and Becky

Meet our fabulous team!

2011-05-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

We have the greatest team over here at The Cutest Blog on the Block! We love having them all on board with us and would not be where we are today without them. So we put together a Team Page so that you could get to know us a little bit better. As a Team, our main goal is to make every last one of your blogs as cute as they can be. Whether it be for Blogger, Myspace, Wordpress, or Twitter, we are working to continue to be your #1 Cute Headquarters on the web!

Click HERE to say hello!

Ready...Break!!!

Ashley and Becky

We Want YOU to host a Giveaway!

2011-04-26T11:56:00.001-07:00

It's time to celebrate! Not only because Prince William and Kate will be wedding soon, but also because we are nearing the 2,500 mark for followers to this blog! We honestly get butterflies every time we think of the support of each and every one of you who follow our blog, and support our designs! You all are the motivation to keep us going!!! With that in mind, we are reaching out to all of you to find those of you who are looking for exposure to your craft business and would like to host a giveaway through this blog! Leave us a comment here, and let us know a way we can get in touch with you and see what you do!

Waiting Anxiously,

Ashley and Becky xOxO

Easter Animations!

2011-04-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Did anyone notice the little Easter Bunny animation on our blog?! How cute is he?? We are excited about the new FREE (of course) Easter animations. Besides the bunny there is a little chickie and raining Easter eggs. Click on Easter Animations to check them out. If you have not used the animations yet, try them out!! It only takes a second to add it to your blog:)

New Free Modern Chic Vintage style designs!

2011-04-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a new HUGE trend creeping into design of every kind. It's fresh and it's bold and it's chic. It's a throwback to the sixties and seventies when vivid colors and strong patterns dominated the market. It's MOD! Everywhere I look a see new spunky patterns and color schemes. It seems a split right now between those people who like the shabby salvaged look, and those who like the mod chic. I think I'm somewhere in between. But here are some photos that I have taken a liking to that incorporate the mod trend.

Call me crazy, but I love the chevron pattern of these drapes paired with the red stripe on the walls.

This pretty quatrefoil pattern in a soft green give you a sense of warmth, while still keeping with the chic theme.

I love how this fabulous mod quatrefoil mirror was tied into a neutral color scheme to add some pop! I want that morror!

The color scheme in this room just makes me smile. I love the vertical stripe pattern on the bold black and white couch, It ties in perfectly with the color scheme.

We HAD to get on board with this style of design. So as you can see we designed a BUNCH of new backgrounds and banners that imitate some of the design from above!

So take a peek at our new selection of images and let us know if this is your style! We'd love to see your blogs 'MOD'ified with the newest look!

CLICK HERE to start browsing!

Thanks!

Ashley

Modern Blogger Backgrounds!

2011-04-06T14:32:00.000-07:00

The votes are in and Modern blog backgrounds won at 38%. Birthday and Music backgrounds were right behind it with 32 and 30%. Thanks for all the votes and be watching for a load of new free Modern blog backgrounds!

Free Wordpress Themes!

2011-03-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

We are so excited for our FREE collection of Wordpress themes that we just uploaded to our site! Our wonderful Nikki converted our backgrounds to Wordpress themes....she is great!! There is a cooking wordpress theme, and also a few new spring and Easter ones! I love that our Wordpress themes are cute and unique!! Leave a comment if you use Wordpress and would like to see more!

Don't forget to vote below....you have until APRIL 6th!

Vote for what background you want!

2011-03-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

After cooking blog backgrounds won in the poll last month we are excited to see what will win this month!! We got a comment from someone suggesting we add 'modern' blog backgrounds to the poll this month. LOVE IT when you guys give us your thoughts and ideas:) You have until April 6th to place your vote. We will announce what category won on that day, and throughout April we will design those type of backgrounds!! If you want to leave a comment and let us know if there is another category you would like to see, then we will add it to the poll next month!! You guys are GREAT....thanks for all your support!!

Hugs

---Becky and Ashley---

Unique Designer Jewelry

2011-03-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

I came across this amazing custom jewelry site called Gemvara that I had to share with you! Their prices are reasonable too....even better! I love that you can click customize your ring and it shows you right there what it will look like. Customers can customize each of the designs using one of 5 metals and 19 gemstones! They have black diamond engagement rings,
ruby engagement rings and emerald engagement rings
These are just a few of our favorites!

New Free Easter/Spring Blog Backgrounds

2011-03-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

Wow! I'm feeling Spring fever lately as you can see by the whole SLEW of new backgrounds we just added to the site! Can't you just feel the cold of winter melting inside of you?

Do you Spring clean this time of year? I got overly motivated and cleaned my office out which was a HUGE task! But I gotta tell ya, sitting in here talking to all of you, I feel so much joy now that I'm in a cleaner space! It's true that cleanliness brings peace!

Please oh please take a minute to change up your blog background to Spring! We want to spread Spring Fever to everyone! If you do, shoot us a comment so we can check out your new blog! We truly love looking at the blogs of our friends. It makes us feel giddy to see our new designs on your digital walls!

Click HERE for Spring Backgrounds

Click HERE for Easter Backgrounds

Click HERE for Cooking Backgrounds (NEW)

All our LOVE!

Ashley and Becky

Happy Birthday Ashley

2011-03-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give a shout out to Ashley today on her BIRTHDAY!! Ashley is one of my best friends and I LOVE working with her. There is never a dull moment when you are with her. She is so fun to be around and I love that she is so funny! Ashley is creative, an expert in designing, super smart with musical stuff and sings like a professional! These are a few of the things I think of when I think of Ashley:

AMERICAN IDOL....Yes, Ashley tried out for American Idol!!! She is awesome! Even if I could sing I don't think I would be brave enough to try out, but she did!! Ashley is a very talented singer and I would not be surprised if she hits it big in the music industry!

LAS VEGAS....The first time I met Ashley we were sitting next to each other in our boss's suburban on our way to Las Vegas. He hired her and the next day we went to an Optometrist training for the weekend. Even though she did not know any of us she fit right in and we never stopped laughing. My favorite moment that weekend was when a band made up of all older optometrists :-) were playing Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond (LOVE LOVE this song!). All of us girls started dancing & singing as loud as we could. Having Ashley there made it a million times more fun!

Girls Nights....Once a month Ashley and I go out for a girls night! Our great hubby's watch the kids and we take a time out from the world. We usually end up shopping and then sneaking our Dairy Queen blizzards into the movie theater! I love just being able to hang out with Ashley and talking about anything and everything (including work) :-)!

Love ya Ash! Thanks for being such a great friend! I hope you had an awesome birthday, you deserve the best!
----Becky----

Free blog cooking backgrounds!

2011-03-10T10:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all of your votes for the cooking blog backgrounds! We just finished uploading them to our site and all of you fabulous people are the first to know. Be the first to grab one! There are also a couple new recipe/cooking blinkies for your sidebar. Let us know if you have a recipe or cooking blog. I love trying new recipes and would love to take a peak at your cooking blog!

Have a great day!

---Becky & Ashley---

And the winner is...or...was....

2011-03-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

Cooking!!

So for those of you who voted in our contest last week, thank you! The votes were counted on Tuesday and cooking was the #1 choice!

The other categories were very popular as well, so we will add them to the group next month to be voted on along with a new category. We feel like it's so important to get your input since you are the ones who continue to make us the #1 blog backgrounds website on the internet!

Here's a little taste of what you can expect to see on the site within the next week or so:

This background is called:

Come to the Table

If you just can't wait to have it on your blog, check back within the next couple of days and we'll have it added, along with an array of many cute cooking themed blog goodies!

Ready, Steady......COOK!

Vote Today!

2011-02-25T09:36:00.000-08:00

We thought it would be fun to start doing a poll every month for what type of blog backgrounds you would like to see more of! On March 1st we will announce what category won and throughout March we will design those type of backgrounds!! If you want to leave a comment and let us know if there is another category you would like to see, then we will add it to the poll next month!! So scroll down and start voting:)!!---Becky---

How to add 'you might also like' to blog posts

2011-02-24T10:58:00.000-08:00

One of our fabulous users asked us to share this blog secret. She wanted to know how to add this to the bottom of every post: 'You might also like'. This is really easy to do!! Click on the image below if you would like to add this to your blog. We love to hear from ALL OF YOU! If you want any blog secrets shared then all you have to do is leave a comment:) Have a great day! ---Becky---

St. Patrick's day blog backgrounds

2011-02-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

I love to change up my blog background with the different seasons and holidays. I feel like it makes a blog more unique. Let us know if you like to change out your background! Check out our new free St. Patrick's day blog backgrounds!

10 year anniversary!

2011-02-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is mine and my husbands 10 year anniversary!! Can I just say I feel like the luckiest girl in the WORLD to be married to the man of my dreams. He is seriously an amazing husband and dad! He has been such a great support to me through all my random and crazy hours working on the computer. I look forward to the years to come!!

So.......has anyone heard of an island called St. Lucia? It is a little island north of South America. This is where we will be celebrating our anniversary. I am so excited I can hardly wait! I love the Caribbean water, it is so warm and clear. Oh, and the white sand....heavenly! If anyone has been to St. Lucia give me a shout out of some cool things to do over there.

Speaking of LOVE...we just added 2 new free animations for your blog. They are Valentines day animations. We have falling petals and falling hearts.....be the first to check them out!!

XoxOxoXo---Becky

New Free Blog Backgrounds and Banners

2011-02-08T20:52:00.001-08:00

I did it. Yuck. It was scary. I saw it scurrying across my tile floor trying to escape. It was a black, long legged, creepy spider. Did I mention it was itsy bitsy? I have to admit, I HATE bugs! BUT there's one caveat: I CAN'T kill them! I hate that sound of the crunch you hear when you stomp on them or smoosh them. Only one problem, when my husband isn't home, I have to be a 'big girl' and do it!!! Eeeeeew another one! I'm calling the bug man tomorrow morning...

Do you have the 'guts' to kill bugs?

On a prettier note, I just added a treasure trove of fancy images from our TCBOTB vault!!! They were starting to get dusty, so I shined them up, and made them available to all of you! These are some more beauties from our fabulous buddy Jacque from Creative Urges. Check out her blog. Remember all of the designs come from her collection of fabulous textures, and fabrics. A touch of vintage chic.

Here's a sweet sample:

Have a BUG-FREE day (hopefully)

Ashley

London's Run

2011-02-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

London's Run is a race held every year since 2006 in honor of London Solomon, a courageous seven year old in our community who lost the fight against Leukemia in 2005. Over its first five years, London’s Run has raised more than $250,000 for area families in crisis. This year over 1,000 people participated in the fundraiser run (1/2 marathon, 10K or 2 mile).

This is mine and my husband's 4th year participating in the run. It is one of my favorites. Along the trail they have posters of children that are fighting cancer with encouraging words to motivate you throughout the race. It was hard for me not to get too emotional when I saw these pictures and thinking about these precious children and the battle they fight every day.

I ran the 10K with one of my good friends Linae. Our goal was to run 8 1/2 minute miles and we beat our goal!! I was so excited and so glad Linae pushed me! I felt good about the run, but more importantly was glad to participate is such a good cause! My heart and prayers go out to those families with children fighting cancer. ---Becky---

Happy Birthday Becky!

2011-02-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

Can I just get all sentimental and mushy for minute?

I met Becky back in 2005 when we were both working at an Optometrist's office together as front desk girls. She was my manager at the time. I had no idea what I was doing there but she was so patient with me to help me try to fit in. We have lots of funny memories from those days! We got to do those funny air puff glaucoma tests on peoples eyes all the time, and one day she was training me on how to do them, and a little boy came in who was just scared to death! Becky shot one puff of air in his eye and he just got so freaked out and started crying. Rather than kindly calm the boy down, Becky and I just start laughing hysterically. We could not stop ourselves! Not very professional, I know! But I'm so grateful for a friend who I can laugh hysterically with! No holding back!

She takes care of all the 'smart people stuff'' that we do around here at TCBOTB ie. the math and finance side of things. I'd be nowhere without her work horse mentality! We've been through so much together these past few years! Who knew starting a website would be so emotional and crazy at times! But her friendship has been what has kept me going!

Not only is she so talented with business matters, but she's also good at everything else too. Let's make a list:

She Cooks and Bakes
She knows her way around the gym and stays very healthy
She sews fabulously
She does that crazy coupon thing
She keeps up to date on her family blog
She's a great mommy to her 3 children
A great wife to her hubby
She runs crazy marathons
ect ect ect...

I just love my dear friend Becky and I'm eternally grateful for her! I can't wait to see where the future of TCBOTB takes us!

Happy Birthday Becky! You're FABULOUS!

Love, Ashley

56 New Free Blogger Buttons/Blinkies

2011-02-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

So many of us blog now! One of my favorite things about blogging is using it as a platform to display tidbits about my personality! Blinkies and Buttons smartly placed can make a big impact on people who view your blog. They say a lot about you! With that in mind, I thought we needed to add a few more to our free selection of blog extras!

Let's just say I got a little blinkie/button happy! Here's a preview of a few:

Blinkies:

Buttons:

Click HERE to go grab some new bling for your BLOG!

Love from us!

Ashley

Pop up on blog....

2011-01-27T08:50:00.000-08:00

Do you have an annoying pop up on your blog that reads my Pc Techs Bandwith Exceeded!!? We had some issues with a few of the animations and had to remove them from our site. If you had one of the following animations on your blog: music notes, falling snow, falling leaves and the falling snowman you will see this pop up . We are EXTREMELY sorry for this inconvenience!! It will just take a second to remove the animation code so this pop up will be removed. Go to your 'Design' page and find the gadget that says 'HTML/JavaScript' and click edit. You will see a long code that you will need to click 'remove' and this will erase the animation code completely from your blog! Again, we apologize for this error and you can be assured we will NEVER use My PC Techs again. All of our free animations on our site are now update and NOT hosted with that company. Thanks, Becky & Ashley

Free Valentine's Day Animations!

2011-01-25T17:13:00.000-08:00

That's right....the free Valentine's Day animations are here, and you are the first to know (see it pays to follow us!). Take a look at the blinking owl on the left of our screen...how cute is he! You can add kisses to your blog too! We added the 'one time kiss' to our blog--it will pop up when people first log onto your blog. There is also an option to have the kisses going continuously! Click here to go to our Blogamation site. Once you find the one perfect for you give us a shout out and tell us what one you are using on your blog. We hope you love them as much as we do!
P.S. We will be adding two additional Valentines day animations so keep checking back!

---Becky & Ashley---

Sledding in Arizona!

2011-01-24T08:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday friends!! I hope your week is off to a good start!
So my husband and I were feeling kind of bad that our kids have NEVER played in the snow before!! That's right, we don't get snow where we live. The poor little guys were missing out. We decided it was time that they experience sledding. After borrowing snow clothes for the boys (who
has snow clothes while living in the middle of the desert??) we headed up to the mountains. We went to a spot called Old Sunrise just past Lakeside, AZ. I bundled them up in layers and layers of clothes, worrying they would freeze! I was laughing so hard watching them try to walk. It reminded me of the little boy on Christmas Story. It was hilarious!

We found some pretty steep hills that even I was scared to go down! The boys were so brave and loved it. They hated getting snow on them and getting cold....haha I guess they would rather melt in the 110 degree sun! We had a blast with the kids and will definitely be going up to the mountains next winter to keep them tuff:) In the mean time we will enjoy this fabulous warm weather. ---Becky

P.S. Our new free Valentine's Day animations for your blog are coming VERY soon!! You won't be disappointed.....I can hardly wait to share the love!! Our followers will be the first to know when they are up and ready to use on our blogamation.com site!

New Year = New LOOK

2011-01-21T13:22:00.000-08:00

Wow! My New Year has been an eventful one already! What about yours?

I'm now the choir director at my church! That was a surprise in itself! I have to say, I'm not an expert musician in ANY way. But I do LOVE music, and I'm happy to get to brush up my skills! Anyone have any suggestions?!? I'm open!

Also, my baby Ivy turned 1! Can you believe how fast time flies! She's doing a lot of walking (and a lot of falling). She's cute as a button and daddy calls her, 'baby lady'. So endearing! She's starting those FUN little tantrums where she flails her arms and cries for no reason! She definitely must be a GIRL!

This photo was taken in December. (Keep in mind I live in AZ where you can go out in practically nothing and not feel a chill!)

We're also getting ready to do some landscaping around our house. Those will be fun projects that we're very excited about, and I'll post photos of the journey very soon! Have you landscaped your own space, or did you have a professional come?

You may have noticed how ADORABLE our blog looks. Do you LOVE it? Becky and I were ready to do something a lot more professional and chic, and we think this is the PERFECT! The color scheme also has a bit of a retro feel. One of the designers from our AMAZING custom design team put this together. Her name is Tenille. If you want a fabulous new custom blog template CLICK HERE to get started. You can request Tenille and she'll be yours. :)

So, welcome! Be sure to grab a new blinky/button from our sidebar. Oh and if you're not already following us via Facebook or Twitter, your gonna want to start! Becky and I promise that it will be a year chalked full of surprises and updates that you simply won't want to miss!

::LOVES::

Ashley

Free Cute Blogger Backgrounds!

2011-01-15T22:18:00.000-08:00

Check out the latest and newest in the blogging world! These new free blogger backgrounds are supper chic and modern!! I love that they all have a custom matching banner to go with it.....all free!! So, whether you have a 2 column blog or a 3 column - wide blog, you will find the perfect background here. Leave a comment if you used one on your blog!

Free Valentines Day Blog Backgrounds!

2011-01-14T16:05:00.000-08:00

Come check out our newest Valentines Day blog backgrounds. We just uploaded a huge variety of valentine designs! We also added new Wordpress themes for Valentines day, all free of course!! If you wordpress or know someone who does spread the word:) Do you Twitter? Come grab a free twitter valentine layout or background for your page. If you would like to see more free wordpress themes and twitter backgrounds let us know!!

New FREE blog backgrounds

2011-01-04T10:13:00.000-08:00

If you have not been over to The Cutest Blog on the Block lately, you need to check out the newest backgrounds. We added 14 new designs!! We love to design unique backgrounds to make your blog stand out from other blogs and to fit your style! We are working on adding a load of buttons and blinkee's to our site too! We would love to hear your thoughts! Leave a comment and give us your idea for a short saying or quote you would like to see on a button! We will use a few of them on our newest designs!

New Blogamations (animations for your blog): Birdies!!

2010-12-28T10:23:00.000-08:00

Would you like to add a free animation to your blog? Well, we've just added these to blogamation.com! These animated birds are adorable and will make your blog stand out from other blogs. Tweet! You'll also find some New Years blogamations!

Have fun blogamating!

How to remove transparent background from new template

2010-12-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, all my blogging friends! I've seen far too many blogs that look like this!

(Before)

Do you want to remove that annoying transparent background behind the posts on your blog? While we are at it, lets remove the gray box at the bottom of your blog! Do your blog post hang off the center of your background? Lets fix that too!! Click here for an easy step by step tutorial on how to fix up your blog!

(After)

The Cutest Blog on the Block has the best how to blog tutorials! Let us know if this tutorial was helpful for you to be able to fix up your blog! Also, let us know if there are any other blog secrets you would like us to share with you!

Free blog buttons

2010-12-10T22:09:00.000-08:00

I think you all are going to fall in love with these fabulous new free blog buttons! These are fun to deck out your blog to make it cute and unique!! We have shabby, chic, modern and simple designs. Let us know if you picked some for your blog.

Free Christmas Card Template

2010-12-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

We wanted to share some Christmas JOY will all of you in the form of a Christmas Card design! How cute and shabby chic is this?!?

You can download this free Christmas card template in the form of a 'png' which means you can just add your family photo behind the image and save it as a jpeg image and voila, it's ready to print. You can also add text that you'd like to it as well!

In order to extract this file after you click 'download' you will need to:

1.click on 'download and install pando' (this is a trusted service)
2. click on green box that says 'get pando free'
3. click on orange box that says 'download pando now'
4. save file and go through upload process.

Merry Christmas!

Ashley and Becky

Magical Santa Letter Winners!!

2010-12-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

The LUCKY winners are Jaclyn comment #5 and Brandi comment #11! Thanks for all your entries and comments!

We hope you enjoy your custom magical Santa Letters!!

HELP! Blogamation.com TAKEOVER!!! :)

2010-12-04T11:21:00.000-08:00

Oh no! (Or should I say Oh YES!?!) Blogamation.com has spread it's movin' and groovin' fever, and we've caught a bad case of it! :)

We have officially launched blogamation.com, and we have to say, the response has been FABULOUS! So many of you have already found the site and added one of our adorable blogamations to your blog! I'm smiling so BIG right now!

If you haven't caught the fever yet, head on over to Blogamation.com and find the perfect accessory to match your blog.

Of course, we want to see your blogs in ACTION, so let us know about it!

Woo Hoo! Let's get movin'!

Magical Santa Letter Giveaway x 2!!!!

2010-11-30T09:31:00.000-08:00

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells! Can you hear Santa's Sleigh? Christmas is such a Magical time for all of us, especially children. My son Ethan has already started talking about Santa making all the toys for all of the children and how he can't wait to wake up Christmas morning and see what Santa brought!

What if we could take it one step further? Lora Jenson (creator of 3 day potty training) has come of with a way to add a little more Magic to the Christmas experience this year. (Don't we just love her?) You can now send a custom letter from Santa Clause himself to your child! Magical Santa Letters can make it all happen. 3 simple steps and the letter is in the mail!

Get this!! You can also send cute little Christmas accessories too:

-Custom Letter from Rudolph.

-Blitzen's official leather harness tag.

-Reindeer Food.

-Elf Friendship Bracelet.

-Santa's special Magical Key

-Good behavior recognition certificate.

How Fun huh!

Lora is generously giving away 2 custom letters to two of you!

You will recieve:

1. A letter from Santa Clause

2. A picture or snapshot from Santa

3. A follow-up post card from Santa

Leave us a comment with your favorite feature from the Magical Santa Letters site and you will be entered to win the contest! We will announce the winner on Tuesday the 7th.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Ashley - TCBOTB

A time of need:

2010-11-26T16:52:00.000-08:00

A special man with an amazing family has been hit with some really tough times and could really use all of our help:

Thank you!

Ashley

TCBOTB

BLOGAMATION now available for our followers!!

2010-11-23T15:10:00.000-08:00

Because we LOVE LOVE all of our followers we wanted you to be the first to use the blowing leaves animation (see our banner section)!! Blogamation.com will be launched this weekend with some fun blogamations for your blog. Until then, we wanted to share this with YOU! This code will be on our Mom Blog for 3 days, so spread the word to your friends and family! To apply the blogamation to your blog:

1. Log onto your blog.

2. Click on your 'Design' tab or 'Layout' tab.

3. Click 'Add a Gadget'.

4. Click on the (+) sign next to 'HTML/JavaScript'.

5. Paste the entire code in that space.

6. Click 'Save' and you now have a blogamatious new blog!

If you want the leaves falling down all over your blog:

- blogamation (blog-a-mation)

— n

Definition:an animated addition to your blog. A.K.A a blog animation

blogamate (blog-a-mate)

— v

Definition:the act of adding an animation to your blog

Yes, Ladies and gentlemen, take a look at the banner section of this blog and you'll see pretty little fall leaves dancing as if they are blowing in a cool breeze. So adorable and fitting for this season right?

These adorable little blogamations (I made that up), are the next BIG thing in blog design and you'll only find them here! We think outside the box when it comes to cute blogs.

Come join the fun with Follow Me Back Tuesday & Tuesday Train!

2010-11-09T08:45:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! It's that time for Follow Me Back Tuesday and Tuesday Train. This is a great way to visit other blogs and get some new blogging friends!

Be Grateful craft

2010-10-28T13:49:00.000-07:00

We wanted to share this cute craft from Therapeutic Crafting. She used one of our backgrounds(Tin Roof) for the paper! We wanted to recognize her for her creativity!! She has step by step directions on how to make this inexpensive craft. Do you have a creative idea from using one of images? If so share it with us:)!!!

New November Desktop

2010-10-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

Yay! It's officially Fall!

Becky and I are in Arizona so we don't feel the crisp cool air of fall until mid-October. To get you in the spirit, here is a cute November Desktop with Calendar for you. This adorable kit comes to us from Creations by Rachael. Go check out her blog!

You can just click on the image, and then after it pops up, right click the image and 'save as desktop background'.

We want to know, what's your favorite thing to do when the weather starts to cool down?

15% off blog books!! Spooky Discount!

2010-10-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

Click Here to get started making your blog book! Don't forget to use the code: cutestbook15 to get your discount at check out. Offer ends October 27th!!

Deck out your blog with Halloween!

2010-10-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

Ashley and I love Halloween! We had so much fun putting together these free blog backgrounds! It only takes a second to change out your background so come check them out! We also made some fun free Halloween buttons.

Thanks Summer at Summer Time Designs for your WONDERFUL kits!!

How to center your blog banner with the new design template?

2010-10-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

We know you all would love to have your blog banner or header centered. With the new design template a lot of the banners are off centered to the left. Does it look like this? Well you are at the right place! This is an easy step by step tutorial that will show you how to center your blog banner with the new design template.

You should already have your banner on your blog. If you do not click here to find out how to apply a banner to your blog.

For the complete tutorial on how to center your blog banner or header, click here.

-Becky and Ashley

New Here?

2010-09-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends!

Are you new to following our blog? We love checking out your little profile photos and what not, but we wanna know more! Leave us a comment with a little about yourself. We will take a closer look at your blog and follow you too!

Questions we wanna know?

Your name:

Favorite color:

Favorite type of blog design: (chic, shabby scrapbook?)

Favorite guilty pleasure snack: (i.e. chocolate)

Blog Book Giveaway

2010-09-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Rhonda and Gerry W!

You have won a $50 certificate for a blog book!! We wish we could have gave everyone a certificate!! Thanks everyone for your comments!

Every once in a while, something comes along that is HUGE! Well for those of you who are looking to turn your blog into a book, now is the time! We are giving away something you can't find anywhere else! A custom blog book!

Becky and I have been printing our blogs ever since we started offering the service and it has been such a fun event to look through the books as a family.

It’s so important that we preserve these memories in a tangible book so that our children can have them for a keepsake.

To take advantage of this giveaway, your instructions are:

1. Write a post on your blog announcing the giveaway.

2. Leave us a comment as to why you’d like to win the blog book.

We'll be choosing the winner randomly on Thursday, September 30th, so hurry up and enter! Good luck everyone!

Ashley and Becky - TCBOTB

Boutique Giveaway

2010-09-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

The LUCKY winner is Nicole from Idaho! Congratulations! She picked out this sassy shirt:

Do you want to add a new piece of clothing to your wardrobe for fall?! Be sure to enter this giveaway!! You can choose any shirt from our Boutique!

-You can enter this giveaway up to 3 times:-

1.)Leave a comment and let us know what shirt you would like to win.

2.)Follow us on facebook or twitter leave another comment.

3.) Follow us on this Blog (our Mom Blog) and leave a comment.

During the week of this giveaway you can also get 30% off your entire purchase on our Boutique!! Enter coupon code fallgiveaway when you checkout to receive 30% off. Giveaway and discount end one week from today-the 21st.

I Remember...

2010-09-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

My husband had the idea to visit a September 11th memorial this morning with our young children. As we walked up to the numerous flags, each tagged with a name, I couldn't help but feel the emotions well up inside me. I'm so grateful for this country we live in, and I want to wish all of you a happy and safe September 11th in the hopes that you'll have a chance to reflect on the events of this day as I have. :)

Petite Peanut Boutique Giveaway

2010-09-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

Ashley, Mama 2 Be!! Congratulations!! Thanks for everyone who entered and thanks Joy for hosting this giveaway!

Our month of giveaways is not over yet!! Joy, owner of Petite Peanut Boutique, would like to giveaway an item from her shop! Ashley and I have both own some of her fabulous designs and we LOVE them!
During this one week her giveaway is on our blog she is also going to offer a 10% discount for any purchases (including any custom orders) that note that they came from our mom blog. This 10% will be refunded via Paypal after your transaction clears.

You can enter a few times to increase your chance of winning.

1.) Browse Petite Peanut Boutique's etsy shop and leave a comment here

on our blog telling us what your favorite item in her shop is!
2.) Add Petite Peanut Boutique as a friend on Facebook, leave a comment letting us know. This will also give you a 5% discount through the month of September in her Etsy Shop!
3.) If you make any purchases during the week of this giveaway, leave a comment.

**This giveaway will end next Tuesday the 14th. We will then announce the winner and they can choose one of the following products!**

Girl's wrap headband hair scarf

in a color palette of your choosing

Diaper wipes case

Currently available in her store, or one to be custom made in a color palette of your choosing (this excludes the flower embellished style)!

Boy's necktie

(available sizes: newborn- 6 months, 6 months- 18 months, 12m-2T or 2T-4T)