As you can see, we Mabel gals take our blogging conferences VERY seriously!

Just back from BlogHer ’10 in New York City and quite frankly am feeling like I need a bit of a holiday. So much squealing and excitement on the first night left me with a nasty case of laryngitis. I spent the rest of the conference struggling to speak. But, you can imagine the energy of a conference with 2400 women bloggers all in one place. Having the opportunity to spend time with so many online friends and supporters of Mabel’s Labels was just awesome.

As a blogger, I’ve had several non-bloggers ask me many questions – from how to get started to why I like to blog. The answers are long and wordy, but a few quick points include:

1) If you’re going to blog, blog about something you love. If you are not passionate about what you do, it’s going to, well…suck.
2) Don’t go into it for the money. While bloggers often receive products to review, free diapers and diaper cream won’t pay the mortgage. The money *may* follow if you have enough readers that advertisers will pay to be on your site – but counting on that happening is probably not the best plan.
3) Know your limits. If you’re going to talk about your kids, have a big think about privacy before you get started. It’s one thing to talk about toilet training but if your tween catches wind that you’ve been blogging about her training bra, you’ll be in the doghouse faster than you can say “Justin Bieber”.
4) Blogging creates one heck of an awesome journal. I feel like my kids will have great fun in a few years looking back at their childhood through my eyes.
5) Blogging gives you a spectacular feeling of being heard. It is powerful.

So if you’ve been thinking about starting a blog, what is stopping you? I’m hoping to see you at BlogHer in San Diego next year, because there are many lessons to be learned at BlogHer. The biggest for me this time around was that even with a shocking case of laryngitis, I still have a voice.

Do you have clothes folded in a corner waiting to be mended but you never get around to it? Perhaps you don’t have time or maybe you just haven’t made it easy enough to get the sewing done. Get those clothes mended now by creating an easy sewing kit!

First you will need a decorative box… something that can sit out and not scream sewing supplies! Then, gather the basic necessities like scissors, needles, common colors of thread and a few patches. Keep a small plastic bag to hold extra buttons and a mint tin is great for storing loose needles.

The one thing that hinders us most when making repairs is not having all the supplies readily available. Keep your “sew easy” box out so the next time you need to mend a hole you can get it done right away. Better yet, make an extra kit for the laundry room so you can make a quick repair as you find it coming out of the laundry!

The back-to-school season is one of the most exciting times of the year, but it can also be quite stressful. VolunteerSpot teamed up with Mabel’s Labels to create a downloadable “Getting Organized Checklist” to help you remember the season’s to-dos!

Just download, print and place on the refrigerator to feel more organized today.

What’s Volunteer Spot? It’s an online community that enables ANYONE to quickly mobilize and coordinate volunteers in their community through FREE online sign-up forms and volunteer scheduling. Feel free to explore their site while you’re there!

Melissa Blais outside of the conference hotel; The Hilton

@EverythingMom, @Mumby @littlemissmocha

The 3 Julie's! Cole, Kenney & Ellis

Scott Stratten a.k.a @unmarketing

Community Keynote: BlogHer Voices of the Year

This past weekend Julie Cole, Tricia Mumby, Julie Ellis, Melissa Blais and Caitlin Madden from Mabel’s Labels traveled from Hamilton, Ontario to New York City for the BlogHer’10 Conference. Our fabulous BlogHer’10 Contest judges Kathy Buckworth, Erica Ehm and Scott Stratten joined us and our Contest winners Stacey, Kim & Laura for the event.

We loved meeting old friends that have known Mabel for years and reminiscing. We loved creating relationships with new friends while making plans for the future. Hugs were given out liberally and the overwhelming feeling of love for Mabel’s Labels was incredible.

Thank you all for welcoming Mabel’s Labels with open arms, open hearts and open minds at BlogHer’10. We are lucky to be apart of such an incredible community.

We have some BlogHer’10 swag leftover and would love to send it out to you to enjoy. Drop Caitlin a line at Caitlin (at) mabel (dot) ca and we will hook you up with some Mabel goodies!

I’m wondering what kinds of things I can do with my 4-month-old?  Now that we’re moving past the stage where she’s sleeping all the time, I’m looking for some suggestions for how to entertain her.

The early days with an infant can be so hectic, when a quiet moment rolls around, it can be tough to know how to use it!  When they’re too young to build block towers and have tea parties you still want to engage them—yet it feels like you’ve played “peek-a-boo” a hundred times this week already!

Keep talking:  If you need to get things done around the house, talk to your baby about what you’re doing.  Whether you’re folding laundry or making dinner, (“blue socks,” “two onions”) the beauty of their fresh little minds is that everything is a learning experience.

Little routines: Every day doesn’t have to include an elaborate circle time and music lesson.  Make a habit of singing nursery rhymes during diaper changes and reading books before bed.  For moms and dads who work outside the home, tell baby about your day at the office.  Years from now, when the teen years hit, you’ll look back with nostalgia on your little pyjama-clad captive audience!

Nanny Carrie’s Tip: Pack away the board books and kiddie series for later and opt for a few pages of your favourite books each day instead.  Your little one will just enjoy listening to you, and you get to take a stroll down memory lane with your own childhood classics (or work your way through the bestseller list!).