Oliver's Labels Reviews

My kids were thrilled that they were able to get new labels once I was given the opportunity to review Oliver's Labels.  I allowed my 7 year old to look on their website with me and pick a graphic.  He loved the sports one and I think these will be good as he ages as well.  These are not just for kids either, check out the London Primose design

In the mail I received several different sizes and they were brilliantly colored.
I especially like the thin ones as they are good for toothbrushes, sports equipment like golf clubs and lacrosse sticks.  My boys are always forgetting which toothbrush is theirs.

I also used the fabric ones-no sew- on his coats, Reusies snack bag and lunch box.  Both items went into the washing machine and were firmly attached when they came out.

The shoe ones are cute in that they are shaped like feet.  They also have ones that are specific to Food allegies.

Overall Oliver's Labels are well made and appear to be sturdy as well.  They have a nice selection of  graphics and sizes as well. You can also mix and match your labels to make your own package.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Bleached Shirts--A fun family project

I was trying to think of what I could do with a red t-shirt I bought over the holidays and never got to.  I thought I could Glitter it with a heart, but my daughter already has 2 of these designs.  Then talking with my friend, Melanie, who gave me the walking tacos idea suggested using bleach.

I had purchased some laminating paper for a valentine's project my daughter and I are working on and thought that would be a great stencil medium, instead of just a piece of cardboard that can move around.

I thought I would keep this one simple.  I cut out a heart and stuck it to the t-shirt.  Make sure to rub down for a secure fit.

We purchased a spray bottle for the Dollar Store, and filled with bleach and a little water. (not sure if there is a special ratio but this worked out for us)

Place something in the middle of the shirt, like a piece of cardboard or plastic grocery bags.

Don't saturate the shirt just light watering.

Sprayed a few times until the color started to fade.  Unfortunately the color became more of an orange color: as I thought it would have turned more of a pink.

Let it dry completely.

Here is the result.

Wanted to try a stenciled version as well.  So I decided to decorate the back of her t-shirt.

Cut the inside of the heart out and just spayed inside of that.

A little spillage but I will know better next time!!

My son then said he wanted a Captain Rex shirt.

Well this was a little more tricky.  I found a free printable mask online here,  Shrunk it to fit appropriately for his size, 75%.  I then used an exacto knife to cut out the parts I wanted bleached out.

Don't know if I could have done this one as well without a sticky base.  Will make the Glittered t-shirts with this for now on too!

I made the stencil larger this time to avoid any spillage and immediately wiped off any wet spray.  When that dried, I cut the paper around and left about 1/2 inch and sprayed entire shirt for a galazy affect.

Here is the result.

He was thrilled and so excited that I could make a "boyish" craft for him finally.

This is really inexpensive if you find the t-shirts on sale and we all have bleach at home.    Just wash it in cold water alone or with white clothes just incase some bleach comes out.

What is your favorite?

Happy shirt making

1 Pot but 2 Different Meals---Taco Soup

This is a recipe that you want to do close to your recycling day.  I was a little skeptical about it as it used so many cans but soups are what I really enjoy making in a crock pot, especially in the winter.  You literally brown some meat if you don't want it vegetarian, and dump the rest of the ingredients in to the pot and leave.  Hardest part is opening up the 8 cans!!  If you are too rushed in the am to make the meat, brown it the night before and just dump it in the next morning!

It makes a lot.

The first night we had the original recipe, Taco Soup which says serves 12.  I fixed it up for the family by adding guacamole, sour cream, cheese and taco sauce if they wanted more spice.  Served it with a side of tortilla chips.  The kids used the Scoops as spoons.  What ever got them to eat it.

There was so much left over, I ate it another day for lunch but here is the next meal.
Add some of the reheated mixture, which gets thicker once refridgerated, to the middle of tortillas.  Add some cheese and sour cream.  Roll them up and place seam side down into a greased casserole dish.  I did not spray it and they stuck:)  Add some additional cheese on top of the burritos, cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through.

You can then top it with other toppings.  The kids were a little turned off by all the beans but I enjoyed it.  My husband has been turning his nose up at my crock pot recently said it was good for the effort put toward it!!!  He ate it that night and then made quesadilla another day with it.  You could probably make half of the recipe if you are weary of the beans or freeze the leftovers for another day.

Here is the recipe from Make it Fast Make it Slow.  Her book is gluten free which explains her comments.  She also has many recipes that are dairy free!!

2 cans of kindey beans

--2 cans of pinto beans

--2 cans of corn

--1 large can of diced tomatoes 

--1 can tomatoes and chiles

--1 packet taco seasoning 

--1 packet ranch dressing mix

--1 lb browned ground turkey or hamburger (optional.)

--shredded cheese and sour cream for embellishment 

  
View the rest of the recipe here

I was also given a chance to test iMoo from Pandacub productions.
Do you remember the old can that you would turn over and make a mooing sound?  Well this is the app for it with a few twists.  You can make an angry cow, duck cow and make your own noise.  When I asked the kids ages 4 to 9 to try it out their first impression was, what game!!  Their interest did not last long and my daughters Itouch does not record. (at least I don't think so).  I think my little guy thought it was cute and I am sure if you child is older they will think it is funny to do in a crowd for people to look around?  Also think a young child can be entertained as they are interested in animal sounds.

Here is their description:

Description:

iMoo is a simple and fun application that lets the user enjoy the classic "Moo-in-a-can" toy. Just turn the iPod/iPhone upside down and then right-side up to hear one of the nine distinct moo sounds from which you can choose from. 

For those who have an iPhone or an iPod Touch (second generation), you can even record your own moo sounds with our built in record feature and then play them back as your very own custom moo sounds. 

Our new interface for custom recorded sounds is easier and more flexible than ever! Type the "speaker" button to preview a sound and tap the name to select it. For custom sounds you can tap the ">" button to rename them. Want to delete a custom sound? Swipe it and the delete button will appear, just like in Mail. 

So get some iMoo in you and enjoy the pastures.

Features:

-Nine different and distinct Moo sounds 

-Record/Playback your own custom Moo sounds

-Play random Moo sounds

Gameplay:

Simply turn the iPhone/iPod upside and then right-side up to have a Moo of a time!

Dollar Store Valentines Day Mosaic

My kids and I were in the Dollar Store looking for an Valentine Card idea for my son.  He was thinking golf but we actually settled on something else that we will be working on soon and sharing.  However, while we were there I picked up a few items that I thought I would experiment with and make a Valentine's Day decoration.

For $3 I bought a bag of small conversation hearts, 1 bag of the large conversation hearts and 2 styrofoam discs.

My son needed to be diverted from his siblings that afternoon so I called him into the kitchen to help.  We started hot glueing the candy on in a circle and then I thought why not make a heart in the middle.

I drew a heart in the middle and he filled them in with pink candies.  (next time I will turn them over so it is one solid looking heart instead of the distraction of the words.

                                  Then filled around them and on the sides.

                                   Stuck a bamboo skewer into it.

I  started to make another one and at the end thought I would make a solid picture.
Here is what I came up with, much cuter with the solid color amongst the worded ones.




Put the large smarties and some more styrofoam if you have some at the bottom of a glass vase, and you have yourself an adorable and cheap centerpiece.

These are pretty heavy so the strofoam helped them for turning.  Since my are going to be facing a wall we did not cover both sides, I just added some felt to the back help it appear darker.

You will need 2 bags of the small hearts if you want to cover both sides of two discs.

Review of BudgetGadget.com Products

I was contacted by Budget Gadgets to do a review for them.  I agreed as I had never heard of their site and curious about the quality and types of products they had.

In my package, which my kids were amazed by because it had a Stamp from Japan on it, was a Frother and Pear Memo Pad.

I had never had a frother before but my days of working at Williams Sonoma I was intrigued.  My first experiment with it was mixing hot chocolate.  How many times do you put the mix in and then there is the sentiment on top.  With the frother it takes no time for smooth drink.

Cheaper than Starbucks...

Next it was time for my drink, frothed milk in my coffee.  Did the trick.

The kids enjoyed playing with it and it is a priced $5.50 for the the quality of the gadget.

The only concern is the spring comes off slightly but you can wiggle it back into place.

The second item I was given from them was a pear post it notes

 Well post it notes it is not but just tiny little pear shaped slices.    It would definitely be more useful as a post it note.  You can use them as space holders in a book or I write down quick addresses or phone numbers while I am sitting at the computer.

The idea is cute and put together it does make a cute accent to a desk.  thinking about doing the apples for a teachers gift at only around $2.50!!  

If you get a chance to check out their website  http://www.budgetgadgets.com/ see what else they carry you can use this code for a 5% discount site-wide. stayingclosetohome5OFF  

Not to mention all orders are free shipping regardless of amount.

My children's favortie way to froth milk

Snowman Thank You Note Printable

If you are like me and just getting out of the clutter and organized for the new year, your kids have not written their thank you notes from the holidays yet. If the kids are still too young to write out an entire note, I made these Snowman thank you notes that the kids just fill in the blanks.

We finished them up much quicker than I thought. If you want it even more personalized you can have them draw a picture on the back. They are postcard size too if you don't want to put them in an envelope!!

Now I need to address and stamp them....which puts me into another pile of things to do:)

Here is my first attempt at sharing a printable with my readers!!

Would love to know if this works, I used docstoc.com. There must be another way

snowman Thank You notes -

Applied Label Review

I was just sent a pack of Applied Labels to review.  I ordered them in my daughters name as she did not have any before.

I was thrilled when about the possibilities after watching the how-to video on their website. http://appliedlabels.com/  ,

 Here is the description from their website:

The sleek, clean, sharp, classic alternative to labels that shout.   Our extraordinarily tough labels are dishwasher & laundry safe.  
Award Winning Products.  Lead, BPA & DEHP Free.  Made in the USA!

I thought I would give them a try as it is a product created by a mom to be used by mom's or dad's.

In my package I was sent 60 personalized classic stickies, 30 backs and 15 shoe covers.  They easily come off the sheets like any mailing labels would.

The plain backs are for attaching these to clothes labels.  You put them on the clothing label and when you are done you just cut them and pass on the clothes.  Useful idea!!

They were a little small for some of my daughters jacket labels, especially the LLBean coats.  

We added them to her ice skates to try the shoe covers.  They were not bothersome to her and due to the timeliness of this review I am not sure how long they will stay in place.

We placed them on her thermos and lacrosse stick.  They seem to stay on great.

We did try them on her IPOD Touch silicone case and it did not stay on.

I have not tried them in the dishwasher as she is not of the age to have sippy cups or bottles:)  VIew HERE

I really like the idea of the bottle labels with dates.  I am sure these would be great help especially if you had a child in daycare.  I also thought these would be great for preschool where you have to date and label all of your snacks!!  They would be great on the ReUsies Snack Bags for this purpose.

The come simply in black and white and have about 19 different icons to choose from.  I think I would buy them for a babygift in the future, and try out the dated labels this time.

Go to  Applied Labels to order your set, they are offering free shipping on certain packages.  Also check out their Facebook Page.

Another great Kids Deal Site.

Zulily is fabulous! It's a new online store offering daily sales events on top-quality apparel, gear and other goodies for moms, babies and kids. They carry the best brands at the lowest prices. 


Members enjoy savings of up to 70% off retail prices. Zulily loves to find deals on favorite styles, and they love introducing our members to exciting new brands, too.
Zulily is not a traditional online store. Instead, they feature new items every day. 


They find great buys from lots of brands and work with them to ship you the goods. Zulily events last 72 hours . . . then they're gone! New brands move in and get their three days on the site.
Each weekday, they offer at least five limited-time shopping events. Membership is free.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.