Matilda Jane Paint by Numbers Encore and $50 Gift Card Giveaway

Do you remember that adorable Matilda Jane outfit my sweet Julie got to model this past Fall?  Just in case you've forgotten, here she is again wearing the Limelight Peasant Top and  and Pointillism Big Ruffle Pants.

She is absolutely darling if I do say so myself!  If you're not familiar with Matilda Jane, be sure to check out our first review here to find out a little more about the founder and concept of this beautiful boutique clothing line.  

And for those of you who are already big fans, we're sure you'll agree with our little countdown as we share our top five reasons we love Matilda Jane!

1. The Gorgeous Colors and Funky Style: When my daughter puts on her Matilda Jane outfits, her personality just bursts out through her outfit.  The colors are bright, the patterns are beautiful, the quality is superb.  The prints have just a touch of quirkiness of which I just can't get enough   Bright, beautiful and superbly quirky - sounds a lot like Julie too!

2. The Mix and Match Concept: No matter what pieces you choose from the collection, they all go together and compliment each other flawlessly.  It makes shopping simple, and adds great value to the wardrobe collection!

3. Attention to Detail: From the flared cut on pants to the buttons and ribbons, Matilda Jane focuses on the little things - the true mark of exceptional children's clothing.

4. Customer Focus: Providing a great customer experience is a high priority for Matilda Jane!  They come to you, so that you can touch and feel the pieces with their unique Trunk Keeper consultants and Trunk Shows.

5. Absolute Comfort: I've shared before that Julie has some "sensory issues" where she's often uncomfortable with itchy tags or scratchy fabrics.  In her Matilda Jane clothes she's just as comfortable as in her PJs, and doesn't want to take them off!

We were absolutely thrilled to have another opportunity to model another outfit from Matilda Jane and love the three new pieces we're adding to our Paint by Numbers collection!

The colors of this collection are so warm and bright, yet neutral enough that they transcend seasons!  I could easily see Julie wearing her new duds any time of the year.  

It's impossible not to notice the gorgeous Turtledove Knot Top with it's perfect combination of prints.  With beautiful details of shoulder strap knotted ties and a sash that ties in the back, it makes comfort and fit a literal "cinch." With the detailed bird and floral print, it reminds me of warmer days spent outside.

Underneath, the Stippling Tee adds comfort and compliment with it's matching print.  It has just the slightest bit of stretch, making it great for a girl always on the go.  The little dots remind me of paint droplets, perfect for the Paint by Numbers line.

Finally, the Gallery Leggings add a burst of color and has a fun, flirty, curved cuff on the ankle. Cut as a cropped, flared legging, we paired them with our favorite winter boots to make this outfit snow worthy for our chilly Pittsburgh weather.  I just can't get enough of these little stretchy leggings and bet they'll look just as good with summer's flip flops.

Thank you again Matilda Jane for letting us review these beautiful pieces!  And whether you're just meeting Matilda Jane or have been long time pals, we bet all of our readers would love to win a $50 Matilda Jane gift card to choose your own favorites from the Paint by Numbers collection.  Just fill out the rafflecopter form below to enter!

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Matilda Jane Paint by Numbers Review and $50 Gift Card Giveaway

The fall is my absolute favorite time of year - the leaves are changing, the candles are burning, and wardrobes shift to all things soft and cozy and warm.  I love nothing more than cuddling up in some lovely fall clothes to get that feeling of warmth and comfort.

So it was with absolute pleasure that we accepted when Matilda Jane recently offered us the opportunity to review outfits from their newest line - Paint by Numbers.  

Have you heard of Matilda Jane?  If not, I'm thrilled to make the introduction.  This beautiful clothing line was created by Denise DeMarchis, a mom and successful decorative artist, who wanted to create "an unpredictable clothing company."  The result was a collection of whimsical prints, colors and textures perfect for lovely girls, tweens and adults.  Denise says "It's all about keeping a little girl...a little girl. Keeping her youthful. Keeping her spinning and twirling and carefree. And most importantly, bringing her happiness." Truly, this sense of happiness defines the brand, who even have Mom in mind with their unique approach to kids clothing.

Matilda Jane Clothing is made to mix and match within the line.  Moms will love the convenience of no longer hunting through laundry for that perfect match - everything is interchangeable.  "You are not wearing that out of this house!" may disappear from a Matilda Jane mom's vocabulary.  Paired with a reputation for the highest quality, Matilda Jane clothing truly makes it easy to build the perfect wardrobe.

Even the unique shopping experience with Matilda Jane is convenient.  Trunk Keepers, experts in the Matilda Jane Clothing line, work with a hostess (known as a Jane) to offer a Trunk Show to guests who get to see the product first hand.  Nothing is more important than touching and feeling the fabrics, seeing the colors and prints first hand, and getting advice for the perfect fit - and Matilda Jane has found a great solution to give you all of these things in a fun environment with friends.

When our box arrived from Matilda Jane I could barely contain the excitement.  Opening the package like it was Christmas morning, I was delighted to find our outfits beautifully packaged in tissue and mesh bags - keeping every little ruffle in perfect place.  

Julie's outfit is simply adorable.  The Limelight Peasant Top in a sunny cream color, subtly printed with butterflies and hot air balloons (which we love by the way).  Julie loved the adorable wrist ruffles, touching them with her fingertips and showing us proudly. 

 Paired with the plum, polka-dot Pointillism Big Ruffle Pants, this outfit takes "cute" to a whole new level.  I loved the personality and sass that just poured out of this outfit.  The fabrics were so soft and perfect for an active kid as our Julie just doesn't sit still for long.

      

I love the opportunity for a "mom and me" connection with Matilda Jane!  My outfit was made with the same rich tones and complimentary colors to the children's wear.  Consistent with the ruffles and whimsy Matilda Jane is known for, my outfit was fun and flirty.  I loved the deep purple of the Grape Leaf Cardigan with it's beautifully patterned weave and detailed buttons.  The Fragrant Lilac Tee covers with great stretch and pretty lace edging.  My Midnight Big Ruffles pants were  super soft and comfortable, and I even I was tempted to twirl in all the flouncy fabric!  I will say that personally, my body type may not have been the perfect one for these pants as my midsection (still a bit ample from twins) felt a little bare.  The great thing about Matilda Jane though, is that I could easily pair the pieces with others from the collection - like the Liberty Button Up top or the Hazel Circle Skirt for additional coverage.  I love this convenience and versatility!   

I even had the pleasure of trying the Nancy in Chocolate Headband since Julie still has little patience wearing hair accessories - even fabulous ones!  I loved that this headband could fit both mom and daughter with it's hand tied closure.  The print is so reminiscent of fall and matches everything beautifully.

We are so thankful for the opportunity to connect with Matilda Jane and try out these beautiful outfits.  We're looking forward to wearing them together again very soon - perhaps on a special Mom and Me outing to the museum or fall festival!  

Matilda Jane has generously offered our readers the chance to win a $50 Matilda Jane Gift Card so you can shop for all of your favorite pieces for your special girl - or even a little something for yourself!  

Enter to win using the rafflecopter below, and be sure to stay connected with Matilda Jane via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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Disclosure:  I was provided complimentary product in exchange for my review and giveaway.  I was not paid for this promotion.  All opinions remain my own.


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Closet Sharing: Organizing Kids Clothing with Two!

After writing about how we handle clothes our babies have outgrown, it's time to cover how we handle how we manage the babies current wardrobe.  Here's our guide to managing a closet built for two!


1 - Before we even open the closet doors, we try to keep track of all of the clothing the babies have in current sizes and for the future using our Baby Clothes Inventory.  It's great having it all down on paper to see what is hiding in our closet!


2 - Second, we try to stay organized.  With two babies, spanning three sizes and two or more seasons at a time, we need awesome closet organizers to manage our closet chaos!  For us, it works best to separate from right (Julie) to left (Brayden) and then by size vertically on top with the smaller sizes, and then below with larger sizes.  I work from the top down, trying to put the smaller items on the babies first as we can extend their "fitting" life just a little longer.  Find a strategy and closet design that works for you!

3 - Prioritize closet space and put the rest elsewhere.  While full outfits and coordinates as well as all tops get hung and placed in the closet, onesies, socks, pajamas, and all "non-dedicated" pants and shorts go into the babies' dresser.  The top two drawers are shared for socks/onesies/swimwear but each gets a drawer for jammies and one for pants.

4 - Get Creative!  We re purposed a second bookshelf for baby linens like towels, blankets and wash cloths.  To fit as many clothes in as we need to, closet organizers and storage boxes are an absolute must.  We have a second hanging rod in our closet to expand our hanging space.  We keep accessories in baskets on the top shelf and always keep an eye out for potential storage solutions to help us manage the babies wardrobe better.

5 - Pack away anything that is not currently in use.  We already covered how I manage previous seasons clothing, but our future seasons are packed into stack-able bins with lids with clear labels.  When the time comes, we'll be ready to unpack and get dressed, but having clothes for future seasons on the racks is just too much to handle!

Our "dream" twin closet by California Closets

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Clothing Organization for Two: Twin Tips

The organization challenges began even before my babes came home from the hospital.  I remember the first clothing item I bought for the babies - a Winnie the Pooh three piece outfit, neutral in color since I wasn't sure of the baby's (singular at the time) gender.  It was all downhill from there as I learned to enjoy shopping in "both sides of the store" and my Mom and Mother in Law also rekindled their passion for baby clothes shopping.

The best description I can give is that I am a "baby clothes trafficker" with new clothes coming in (fresh from the clearance racks) for future seasons, clothes too small into the keep pile, clothes heading for kids consignment sales, and of course - piles and piles of laundry.  Sometimes I feel like I can barely keep up with it all!

Despite the struggle, I've found a few solutions and strategies that have been helpful for managing their wardrobes - past, present and future.

Just as how their clothing is just too much to tackle in one day, our system is too much for even one post to handle so we're going to break it up a bit.  First, we'll cover the "retired" baby clothes.

Clothes that have been retired from our closet have three categories - each with a designated place in the babies' bedroom.

"Clothes to Keep" go into a giant Space Bag  which holds an amazing amount of clothing.  While I use the smaller sizes for other things (like maternity clothes) the XL Cubes are perfect for baby clothes because when filled they are self-standing and can sit upright. In a year and a half, we've filled three, and they are happily being stored in our garage.  While we've considered pre-sorting this by size and gender for our future "hope baby," it's just too much in an already overwhelming task so we let it be.

Here is our before and after!  It's amazing how these guys shrink down after you vacuum the air out!

"Clothes to Sell" for kids consignment sales remain on the hangers (or stack folded if coming from a drawer) and are placed into a waiting laundry basket exclusively for this purpose.

When the basket is filled, the contents are moved to the basement, where our old luggage will store the garments to be sold.  They'll be tagged, sorted into sizes and repacked.  Out suitcases are perfect for hauling the clothes to our Mothers of Multiples sale where last time I made over $300 in sales!

Clothes with Stains have a box all their own, and get a few last attempts at salvation before heading to the rag bag.  I've learned quite a bit about stain removal, but absolutely hate to give up on something I want to keep or could get a few dollars for at a sale!


Keep an eye out for our next post in the baby clothes management series on how we handle current and future clothes!

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