ClickySticky iPad App is a Fun for Kids This Easter
Happy Easter! This is one of my favorite holidays for many reasons.
I just came across this neat iPad app for kids by ClickySticky. The brand is known for its fun Christmas and Halloween apps for children. It allows your child to decorate stickers, build Easter bunnies, fill the Easter basket with cookies and candy, and hide eggs all over the yard. It's also a fun app for them to play with during downtime. I love ways to incorporate tech into my favorite holidays!
To play with the app, tap and hold a sticker, and then drag it to the scene.
To remove a sticker, drag it to the stop of the screen and release.
To change the direction of the sticker, double tap it and tap the arrow icon.
To remove all stickers from the scene, shake your iPad.
ClickySticky Easter is available free for iOS. Let me know what you think!
I just received an e-mail from 23snaps that there are some new updates to the site. If you aren't familiar with the app, it's a private photo sharing network that allows you to share family photos with your inner circle.
Some of the new features of the site include Family Pages, bulk photo import and customized notifications. I love the Family Pages feature, as it gives you a larger view of your family photos, similar to the app. It almost has a Facebook feel, and allows you to filter your photos by child, browse your collections or switch to timeline view.
If you haven't already, download 23snaps for both Android and iOS to start sharing your favorite photos with close friends and family.
Dubbler, a Socially Integrated Audio Messaging App
Wouldn't you rather send your family and friends audio messages every now and then? At times I don't have time to send a text, and audio messaging can save some time. Besides, texts can sometimes be miscommunicated.
That's why Dubbler is here to save the day. It's a neat new audio messaging app, that allows you to communicate with your friends via voice messages (also called dubs). You can share up to 60 seconds of audio, and share it on Facebook and Twitter or directly in the app.
What's also neat about this app is it allows you to add funny filters to your audio messages. For example, you can add a cat filter to a heartfelt message to your kids.
You can download Dubbler for both Android and iOS.
This post has been featured on BlogHer! Thank you to Virginia DeBolt over at BlogHer Tech for featuring Tech Chic Mom : )
I'm always on the lookout for geeky home decor to add my love of tech to my home space. Wall decor is a great way to incorporate geeky things you find on the Internet to make your home unique. It can punch up even the most bland room.
Check out these five geek chic wall art pieces for your nerdy home.
I came across this super cute Lego picture and frame on Fancy. I would love to see this atop shelving.
This is the perfect wall calendar for your home office. I love that you can buy it from Etsy in over 40 different colors. This is the perfect combination of geek and productivity for your chic home decor.
Add a touch of feminine geek chic to your bedroom with this metal scripted wall art from Fab.com.
For all the DIYers, this is a simple, fun and geeky way to incorporate the periodic table into your home decor. I could definitely see this in my son's bedroom.
If you love embroidery as much as I, you'll fall in love with this "Nerds have more fun" wall art for your home. I would love to hang this above my desk or in the hallway of my apartment.
In the fashion space, geek seems to be the new chic, and home decor seems to be following suit. We can decorate with our favorite geeky accents and themes.
My favorite themes are for nurseries and little boy rooms. I remember as a child, wanting my entire room decorated with my favorite cartoon character or movie. Decorate your baby boy's room with modern geeky themes like Star Wars or Buzz Light Year. Check out these 4 geek chic rooms for your little tike.
Althought I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, this chic nursery for a little boy makes me want to be. I love the plush monster rug and minimalist color accents. The lazer sticks above the nursery give the simply structured crib a touch of geeky flare.
[via Apartment Therapy]
This super cute bedroom is the home of a celebrity baby. I love the contrasting colors and geeky details. It's the perfect mix of a grown-up jungle theme and smart accents.
[via Lil Sugar]
What little boy doesn't love Buzz Lightyear? This outer space room is the perfect haven for your geeky toddler or pre-schooler. I love the modern nighstand--such a neat idea!
[via Made in Crafts]
This room is a little boy's dream. Construction details, cartoon stuffed animals and a handmade painting blend well for this geek chic bedroom. I love the lettered bedding as well.
[via ModDesignGuru]
What are some of your favorite geek chic details for your son's bedroom?
Facebook is tapping into the visual content trend with a roll out of a the newly redesigned News Feed. Photos on your homepage will be larger, with more vibrant color. The update will allow you to customize what you see on your feed with new filters: All Friends, Photos, Music and Following. The mobile and tablet versions will soon mirror the Web version for continuity.
The redesign is designed to "reduce clutter and focus more on stories from the people you care about," said the Facebook team in a blog post.
As a huge Tumblr fan, I'm especially looking forward to the update. Visual content is a rising trend, and is obviously gaining a lot of traction with social media platforms. Hence the Twitter photo/video update and the growing popularity of Instagram and Pinterest.
The updated version will be released first to iPhone users, then iPad and Android users soon after. Sign-up for the waiting list to be one of the first to see and use the updated News Feed.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8'' Tablet is Perfect for Busy Moms
images courtesy of Samsung
The iPad mini gained a lot of attention over the last few months, rivaling the Kindle Fire and other 7'' tablets. Other tablets, specifically for children, have launched, making them more kid-friendly. Samsung never ceases to amaze me with innovation.
It's quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with, and just released an 8'' tablet, the Galaxy Note 8.0. What I love about this tablet other than the fact that I love pretty much every Galaxy product, is that it's perfect for the busy mom. It's also a great product for the busy blogger. I was torn between the note and the S3, and this mini tablet gives me the option to have both.
It has some great features including multi-window options that allows you to operate more than one app at a time. It comes with the S pen, offering advanced use of the touch screen, and comes pre-loaded with the Flipboard and Awesome Note apps.
It's most talked-about feature is Chat-On, the instant messaging and group chatting program that allows you to share media with your friends and family in a new and improved way.
It's already running on the latest 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS and a 5 megapixel camera for amazing photos of your little one. Like most of the other Galaxy products, you can get the Note 8.0 with 16GB or 32GB of memory.
I'm super excited about this new product, and am definitely adding it to my birthday wishlist! The Galaxy 8.0 will be available Q2 of this year.
Are you getting the new 8'' tablet? What are your favorite features?
Samsung is releasing an Apple TV rival--the HomeSync. It's 1 terabyte drive allows you to sync media from your Android to your TV. It's player is compatible with the latest OS, Jelly Bean, and supports up to 8 accounts. So you and your entire family can upload and share photos and videos across several devices, including your TV, allowing you to view media right from your living room.
HomeSync will launch in April of this year. Rumor has it, the media player will retail at $200. Check out more details including specs on the Samsung website.
Although it may be freezing in some states (it definitely isn't here in Florida) we're slowly moving into spring. And what's my favorite part of spring? Florals! I've even started a florals board on Pinterest to share my love. What's more fun and pretty than floral tech accessories!
What I love about these 4 designer accessories is most of them are under $40. My favorite is the Marc by Marc Jacobs floral iPhone 5 case. It's the perfect blend of pretty and durability with a rubber exterior, so your phone won't get easily damaged if you drop it. Besides-- it's only $38.
Check out the rest of the pretty cases for your favorite gadgets below.
1. Nine West Strawberry Fields Laptop Sleeve, $36
2. Marc by Marc Jacobs Drew Blossom iPhone 5 Case, $38
Who doesn't love Girl Scout Cookie season? The organization knows this, and has appealed to our love of tech with an app. It's a neat way for us to find out where in our area we can find our favorite cookies. The app is available for both Android and iOS.
With each cookie flavor, the app also gives us a bit of a backstory of the meaning behind selling Girl Scout Cookies. For example, Thin Mint tells the story of how selling Girl Scout Cookies teaches girls the fundamentals of running a successful business.
The social aspect of the app allows us to vote on our favorite cookie (mine just happens to be Thin Mints), and view the results of other voters. It seems Thin Mints and Samoas are the most favorited.
The cookie finder is what makes this app special. You can search up to a 100 mile radius--far and wide--to find your favorite cookie. You can set it to your current location, and the app will tell you in miles how far you'll have to travel. It will also give you the name of the location and address.
Download the Girl Scout Cookies app for Android in the Play Store.
If you check the weather every morning like I do, you'll be very excited about this weather app. Especially during the cooler months, I've made it a habit to check the weather in the morning to make sure my son is properly dressed for the day. The Weather Channel optimized its app for the Android platform, and it's amazing. It has a clean look, and very simple functionality.
You can set your location so you can easily view the weather in real time in your notifications. I love this because I don't always have to go into the app to see what the weather is going to be for the rest of the day.
What I love most about the app is the real-time updates of the weather throughout the day. On the Now tab, you can view a snapshot of the current weather, and if you click on the small green plus sign on the bottom right of the bubble, you can see an extended view of the wind, humidity and more.
On the Forecast tab, you can view up to 10 days of weather. This is perfect if you're planning a family vacation, or to just have an idea of how the week is going to be.
Download and install The Weather Channel app for Android in the Play Store.
Have you ever wished you could convert your paper documents into digital lists? Especially for moms on the go, having some of your child's contact lists for sports, school projects and other documents sent home from their teachers can get lost.
Well this cool app Ringya is perfect for us moms who don't want to carry around a bunch of papers. The app allows you to take a picture of the contact list and convert them into a digital list. You can also create groups and share them with other moms who can edit the lists.
Such a neat way to stay organized!
Download Ringya for iOS for free in the App Store. The Android version is coming soon.
UPDATE: Ringya is now available for Android users!
Changing Your Cover Photo with Facebook Android App Update
The most recent Facebook for Android app update now allows users to update their cover photo directly from their phone. This update is currently only available to Android users, so if you have an iOS it will probably come shortly. To use this feature, make sure you have the latest version of the Facebook app.
To change your cover photo, go to your profile and tap your cover photo. A window will pop up to either view your current cover photo or change it. You can select from photos currently saved in your Gallery.
Have you tried the new Facebook update for Android?
Tech Chic Pick of the Week: Pebble Smart Watch for Android and iOS
The Pebble Smart Watch has been a hot topic this week, so I wanted to highlight it for this week's Tech Chic Pick of the Week.
It's a customizable watch that allows you to connect to your Android or iPhone via Bluetooth, and is customizable with apps and watchfaces. It's the perfect accessory for the busy parent, allowing you to set up notifications, and even integrates with IFTTT for multi-tasking.
It's super easy to use, all you have to do is download the Pebble app on your smartphone. It's compatible with iPhone 3S and up, as well as any Android running on the 2.3 OS and up.
One of my favorite features is that you can charge the watch with a USB. So you can plug it into your laptop or desktop, or any wall charger with a USB port (usually your cell phone wall charger).
Purchase Pebble on its Kickstarter site for $150. It comes in Jet Black, Artctic White and Cherry Red.
Alexander Wang Partnering with Samsung on Galaxy Note II Bag
image credit: Style.com
I've been a huge fan of Alexander Wang since his first fall line debut in 2007. I love his edgy, cutting edge style. He reinvented the relaxed, boyfriend look effortlessly.
Since I'm an Android fangirl--particularly a Samsung Galaxy fangirl, I was super excited to learn that Alex Wang and Samsung are collaborating on a limited edition, Galaxy Note II handbag. Yes, this actually happening. The concept of the bag will be crowdsourced from his inner circle using Galaxy Notes, and will launch this summer.
Check out this video of Wang talking about how he stays organized with the Note.
And if you have no idea who Alexander Wang is, you can take a look at all of his amazing designs on his website. I can't tell you how ecstatic I am about this collaboration!
The day before my son turned 14 months, he said the word diaper. He said it perfectly, and I didn't know whether to be excited or a little nervous. I was more the latter, because it hit me that he's growing up (too fast might I add.) This also made it painfully aware that potty training is near. My mother-in-law bought him a potty on his first birthday (pictured above)--just for this fateful event.
So it got me thinking about how I'm going to start this process with my son. This will be my first real experience with teaching him something really important.
I took this fun and helpful quiz on Parents.com to get an idea of whether my son is ready to start potty training. Turns out he needs a little more time, which is a huge relief. I'm also not in a rush, since children are generally ready to start training after their 2nd birthday. Still, I think it's a good idea to start mentally preparing for this.
Since I'm a lover of all things tech, I just knew there'd be some cool apps out there to help us moms on our journey, and help keep track of our child's progress. I've downloaded these, and tried them out for ease of use. Here are a few apps to help jumpstart potty training with your little one.
Pull-Ups Big Kid
The Pull-Ups Big Kid app has some really cool features. The timer is fun and colorful, and you can choose between Mini Mouse and Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars. There are fun games with Disney characters. You can also take pictures of your child with fun photo frames. Connect with other moms on Facebook with the social feature, and read helpful tips and tricks along the way. There are fun videos and songs for your child to enjoy while they're potty training.
Potty Time
I really liked this app's features. You can create a success chart by placing a sticker in each square for each time your child successfully uses the potty. It's also integrated with social media, so you can share your child's progress with your friends. You can also print out the chart and other fun items to put on your bathroom wall.
The Potty Time app comes with a cute little book, games and videos for your child to interact with to keep them occupied.
Potty Baby
The Potty Baby app has a clean, simple interface and is pretty easy to navigate. You can set reminders to keep your potty trainee on a regular schedule. You can track what they did at each potty visit, as well as if they had an accident. This can be helpful when talking to your pediatrician about their progress. There's an option to keep track of whether they go to the bathroom during a nap.
iPotty
If you want to take it a step further than just an app, there's a new, high-tech potty for the tech savvy child. It's a mini toilet complete with an iPad stand, to preoccupy your child while they're going to the bathroom.You can purchase the iPotty for $40, and it'll be available in March.
Which app(s) will you use during your child's potty training journey?
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