I Love Me Naturally ~ Fall 2012

I Love Me, Naturally is an empowerment event for girls presented by TruChatOnline.com.  Sanctioned as part of Fro Fashion Week Fall 2012 this event focused on our young divas.  I am a HUGE fan of natural hair related events that I can attend with my daughter.  "I Love Me..." does not disappoint.  As a matter of fact, I am not sure who had more fun, me or my child!!    It was set up as a really fun pajama party and we had a ball!

Julia of TruChatOnline.com telling us about all of the fun things she has planned for us!

Motivational speaker and encourager @GeechieGurltm had some great icebreaker activities for us to participate in.  She talked to the girls about birthing ideas and carrying them through to fruition in a fun way.

Fro Fashion Week creator, Tarin Boone spoke on the importance of celebrating our little divas as part of the excitement, glitz & glamour of Fro Fashion Week.

We did arts and crafts.  All was geared towards African American girls.  There was a diverse set of crafting materials available.

As one of the sponsors of this event, my LittleChick and I got to pick the winner of the RunwayWalk,  We chose this little cutie and presented her with a gift bag full of goodies on behalf of Our Natural Kids!

Jess McGuinty, CEO of JessiCurl, is always a hit with the kids.  Not only did her company sponsor giveaways for this event but she also spoke on the troubles that she had as a young girl because of her thick, curly red hair.

She made sure that everyone had temporary tattoos of the JessiCurl logo.  here they are showing them off!

Thank you to Julia of TruChatOnline.com, Tarin Boone of Fro FashionWeek, JessiCurl and GeechiGurlTM plus all of the attendees for showing us all such a wonderfully fun time!!

For more pics check out our FB Fan Page below

The SistahChick & Our Natural Kids

I Love Me & I Have the Right to Remain Curly!

I escorted my daughter to a wonderful event last week appropriately named "I Love Me and I Have the Right to Remain Curly!".  This was a fantastic celebration of natural hair and ALL things girly.  Held at Atlanta's own Dazzling Diva Day Spa and organized by Julia Davis of  TruChatOnline.com this gathering was the frilly, pink, sparkly, answer to most little girls dreams.  A Fro Fashion Week sanctioned event, "I Love Me..." made children it's main focus. Natural hair product maker JessiCurl not only sponsored the event, but the Owner/Ceo Jessica McGuinty was in the house to encourage the young ladies in attendance to love themselves just the way they are. The SistahChick and Our Natural Kids are proud to have sponsored one of the giveaways ($25 TJ Maxx Gift) Card.

Upon arrival each girl was escorted to a room with tables filled with cupcakes by Chanelle's Heavenly Treasures

Each cupcake was topped with original art from
Author/Illustrator Ayanna Davis

Julia Davis of TruChatOnline.com and Spa owner Angela Robins did a great job of making the girls feel comfortable and explaining to them what they could expect.  

Drawings for giveaways happened through out the evening.

My LittleChick and the winner of the prize that was donated by
The SistahChick and Our Natural Kids

The girls were really delighted to hear Jessica McGuinty speak.  She was able to relate to them on a personal level by sharing some stories from her youth where people teased her because of her thick curly hair.  She also talked about how her curly hair led her to start her company JessiCurl.

Salon Infinity owner, Trina Pierre showed them how their Barbies can have curly hair too!

Motivational speaker Daree Allen spoke to them about her new book, "Whats Wrong With Me" and taught them how to journal as a means of self expression.

Several girls volunteered to read from "12 Months With Ayanna's Kids" by Author Ayanna Davis

Each girl left with a gift bag full of goodies, but they also left feeling empowered and good about who they are.  Now that is priceless!!

Click here to see the rest of the pictures ~~~> "I Love Me..."

Thanks for reading,

Peace

DIY ~ Tween Bedroom Make Over

This is a a pic of my precious daughter when she was 3 years old in the personal space that I created for her in an effort to get her out of our bed.  As you can see, at that time she loved her dolly's and she loved her room.

Pink and green Disney colors along with the whimsical flowery border made her small room bright but cozy.
Defined areas were created so as not to waste any space.

My daughter, aka The LittleChick is now 9 years old.  Children in this age group are socially referred to as "Tweens"  A Tween as defined by www.thefreedictionary.com is "...a child between middle childhood and adolescence, usually between 8 and 12 years old..." She is definitely not into the same things that she used to be into, but she is still my little girl. We decided that it was time to update her space to something a bit more age and personality appropriate.

We started by letting The LittleChick pick her paint color. She chose a stunning shade of purple. We decided to accent that purple with hot pink and black.  3 bold colors for her vibrant and bold personality.  Perfect!

Because we are a DIY family, we called my brother in law to come over and paint the room, while hubby and I got busy clearing out the room and painting her bed and other accessories black.

I found this beautiful hot pink & white, reversible, zebra print comforter set.  It really pops against the purple backdrop and the now black bed.

My daughter loves to draw and paint, so we got her a sleek black writing table.

Since her room is small she needed a nice spacious dresser to store all of her things in.

We had some of her own art framed in black and hung them in her room.

  

 Doesn't everyone need a spare set of butterfly wings?

Overall, it took us 1 day, some elbow grease and about $250 to complete this makeover.  The LittleChick is pleased with the transformation and so were her friends.  If they could just stay little...

Thanks for reading :-)

Pretty Girl Rocks! Jewelry Making Parties

Pretty Girl Rocks Parties by Ayana Glaze, LLC are jewelry making parties for girls age 5 to 17. Girls get to design and make a custom bracelet with gemstones, glass, wood and other beads and embellishments.

I had the pleasure of hosting my very 1st Pretty Girl Rocks party for my daughter and I cannot begin to express the fun we had!  Ms. Ayana was punctual and very patient and engaging with the children. 

There were 6 girls gathered in my home for my daughters 9th Birthday Slumber Party. 

The jewelry making party lasted for approx 2 hours.  It was a fantastic way to break the ice for some of the girls that didnt know one another.  Ms. Ayana came in with all of her supplies and set up the table before we brought the girls in.

When they came in and saw all of the shiny baubles their faces lit up! 

I KNEW we were gonna have a good time!!!

Ms. Ayana started by introducing herself and followed by explaining what we would be doing. 

She then allowed each girl to choose between a pink or purple satin bag.  She explained to them the importance of storing jewelry to preserve it. 






The PGR jewelry making party was also very educational.  We learned about stones and minerals and how they are colored and formed.  It was very hands on.  The girls enjoyed being able to touch everything. 

We designed our own jewelry. 

At the end we got to keep our bracelets!

If you are looking for something fun and different to do, check out Pretty Girl Rocks ~ Jewelry Making Parties for Girls & Women.

Links:
PGR Website
PGR on FaceBook

Thanks for reading!

AfroPuffs and Ponytails - Inspiring African American Girls!

A week ago my daughter and I had the pleasure of seeing ourselves featured on this fantastic website regarding Our Natural Kids.  When I tell you that this website is your ONE STOP shop for all things black girl related, you need to believe me.  Afro Puffs and Ponytails, Inc. is a non-profit organization created primarily for supporting and uplifting African American/Black Girls! Their website provides encouraging articles, events, program listings, and resources for African American/Black teen girls, young girls, and their parents.

AfroPuffs & PonyTails
Inspiring African American Girls

If you know anything about the real me or even if you have just been following my online persona, then you know that I believe that our beautiful baby girls are our most important resources for the future.  I have dedicated a very BIG part of my life towards encouraging young girls by providing information and resources that promote self esteem.  We are so honored to be mentioned on this website, I just had to come and share.

Please go there and check out our feature in the Hair Care for African American Girls' section
Our Natural Kids - An Active Natural Hair Network for Parents

and please save the following link to your favorites so that you can return often.
AfroPuffs and PonyTails

Thanks for reading!

Peace