Sugar, Spice & Glitter

Jennifer Tammy, Founder

London, Ontario, Canada
Jennifer Tammy, founder of Sugar, Spice & Glitter, built a parenting blog to help moms on a budget. Affordable parenting ideas, craft projects, and recipes from the Sugar, Spice & Glitter blog, founded by Jennifer Tammy
Bringing some sparkle to the everyday

As a single mom still in college, it was only natural that Jennifer Tammy would look to other moms’ blogs for inspiration and advice. But as she perused the internet’s many “mommy blogs,” she noticed a pattern.

“There were always these socioeconomic signifiers that made it very clear that these women lived lives that were very different from mine,” she says. “I’ll always remember reading one post where the writer made fun of someone for still baking with a hand mixer.”

While many parents might be able to whip up recipes with pricey stand mixers and expensive blenders, that wasn’t Jennifer’s reality. As a single mom with plenty of student debt, she didn’t see herself reflected in a lot of these blogs — and she wanted to change that.

“I didn’t think hands-on, at-home learning and delicious recipes should only be the purview of people with excess income or another partner bringing in a salary,” says Jennifer.

Jennifer started to think about adding her voice to the mix. After talking to friends about all the fun crafts and at-home learning she was doing with her daughter, she decided to put all of these ideas online. This decision in 2013 marked the beginning of her blog. Sugar, Spice & Glitter was founded on a simple premise: no matter their personal or financial limitations, all moms deserve resources that help them to be their very best.

From delicious recipes to fun at-home crafts, Sugar, Spice & Glitter helps moms to show up for their families in the ways that matter to them. Naturally, this message resonated with readers.

“It just kind of grew and grew and grew and grew,” says Jennifer. “And at a certain point, I realized this could actually be something.”

Kids recipes and activities from parenting blog Sugar, Spice & Glitter
A site for all moms

In her first year as a blogger, Jennifer steadily built up her audience — but in 2014, her readership spiked after the publication of her first viral post. Now she qualified for Google AdSense, which would allow her to monetize her site without putting it behind a paywall.

“After all, I want my content to be available to everyone,” says Jennifer.

The growth continued. Then in 2017, she hit the traffic threshold for Mediavine, a Google Certified Publishing Partner. This helped her ad revenue make another jump. Plus, Mediavine was now a partner who could help Jennifer manage her ad strategy.

“I love that Mediavine is very transparent,” says Jennifer. “They give us a lot of tools to try to help us understand our revenue patterns and how we can improve, which I appreciate.”

For instance, when Jennifer’s site had a page speed issue, a senior level executive from Mediavine got on the phone with her and walked through some solutions.

“She took time out of her day to actually go into my site and work with me,” says Jennifer. “They were probably making pennies off of me and they took the time to help me fix an issue that allowed me to do better.”

“Overall, I'm proud of the life I've been able to give to my daughter. I’ve paid off my mortgage, I've paid off all my student loans, and I’ve funded my daughter’s future post-secondary education. I’ve even been able to help my parents retire early. With the blog, we get to dream and can fit the business around what it is that we're dreaming.”
Sugar, Spice & Glitter offers fun kids activities and ideas for family time on any budget
Dreaming big

Thanks to steady income from her blog, Jennifer gets to be creative while still providing financially for her daughter. And most importantly, she gets to actually be there physically for her daughter.

“I could have worked a 9-to-5 job and maybe been more financially successful,” says Jennifer. “But I wouldn't be able to take time off, like I can now. Even today, I dropped her off at 9, got in a work-out, started working from 10:30 and left early at 2:45 to pick her up from school and bring her to practice. That's not something I could do if I was in a more traditional job.”

Aside from the personal benefits, Jennifer is always moved by the positive comments she gets on her blog. She’s seen some of her recipes become family staples for readers halfway across the country. And she loves when her educational content resonates, like when a tutor told her she uses Jennifer’s CVC worksheets to teach adult students how to read.

These reader interactions don’t just happen through a screen, either. Once, Jennifer’s daughter was recognized at Disney World by a loyal Sugar Spice & Glitter reader — who even asked for her daughter’s autograph!

“Overall, I'm proud of the life I've been able to give to my daughter,” says Jennifer. “I’ve paid off my mortgage, I've paid off all my student loans, and I’ve funded my daughter’s future post-secondary education. I’ve even been able to help my parents retire early. With the blog, we get to dream and can fit the business around what it is that we're dreaming. So if we want to go to Florida for the summer, we can go and take work with us. We’re really lucky that way.”

About the Publisher

Jennifer Tammy is a veteran blogger with over 14 years under her belt. She started blogging while pursuing her post-graduate studies as a single mom, and just wanted to share her adventures with her friends and family. Within a year, she had a global audience of dedicated readers. Today, she is renowned for sharing her family’s favourite recipes, crafts, and travel tips, and for being featured in celebrity cookbooks, educational guides, and a few of her own publications. She is often featured on the front page of Google for her delicious recipes and family-friendly crafts.

Jennifer Tammy, founder of Sugar, Spice & Glitter, built a parenting blog to help moms on a budget.