review – Page 83 – Luv Saving Money

Educational Gift for Baby: Talking Farm From CPToys.com

**I received the below mentioned product for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are my own. No other compensation has been received**

There are so many toys available for babies of all ages. There are so many different ways to choose the right toys: from their educational value, motor skills level, age appropriateness, and sensory aspects. My daughter is currently 7 months old. She’ll be 9 months old the day after Christmas. She is not sitting up on her own but she’s army crawling. She loves things that light up and she seems to like the cause and effect of pushing a button and seeing/hearing something happen. I’m trying to work on her sitting skills as well.

At CPToys.com you can search through their selection in a number of different ways. You can search by keyword, age appropriate/grade appropriate, price, and category of toys. I found the chicco Talking Farm on their site which is listed for 12 months and over. I liked the idea of the Talking Farm though because it lights up, it has lots of buttons to push that create different sounds and are educational. It’s also a bilingual toy which has modes for both English and Spanish.

The one we got is set up a little bit different than the example picture on CPToys.com. There are 4 different game modes. One is where they can just press the button and it tells them what theyare pushing “orange cat” and makes the animal sound when pressing the animals, “1”, so on and so forth. Game mode 2 asks you to listen to the animal sound then find the animal that matches the sound. When they find the correct one it tells them they’re right and reinforces the color and animal. If wrong it says “uh oh this is the…” whatever animal they pushed then asked them again to find the correct animal. Game mode 3 asks questions without the animal sound for example “find the white sheep”, “find the red rooster”. Then there is a music button so they can listen to music and it changes every time they hit the note. I also mentioned that it is bilingual. You can switch it to Spanish and play the same games in Spanish.

There are plenty of aspects I like about this toy. I like that everything is connected and there are no small parts. It has a built in handle that makes it easy to carry. The buttons are big and easy for baby to push. As your child gets better with one game mode you can change it to another game mode to keep them learning and engaged. Even my 4 year old son enjoyed playing with this toy. We made a video to show all the features and modes of this toy. It’s a little longer than my normal review video but I wanted to make sure I demonstrated all the different aspects.

The chicco Talking Farm is available on CPToys.com for $45.99. For a toy that does so much I think the price is worth it. The fact that it will be relavent to them for a few years makes it have some staying power as well. Here’s a hint to save more. Sign up for CPToys.com newsletter and get 15% off your next purchase.

You can also find CP Toys on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CPToys

Affordable Gift for Teens: Infrared RC Quadcopter UFO from Tmart.com

**I received the below mentioned product in order to complete a review, I only write honest reviews. This post also contains an affiliate link. Any opinions expressed are my own. **

My oldest boys are 11 and 9. They’re starting to get a little more expensive to buy for Christmas. Teens can be notoriously hard to buy for or expensive to buy for. Finding a great gift they’ll enjoy while staying in budget can be hard. Most of my 9 years old’s list includes big LEGO sets and video games while my oldest son’s list includes video games, a BB gun, and a paracord bracelet (he loves the outdoors) Both have electronic items on their list. So what is something that is affordable yet a lot of fun? How about the Infrared Radio Controlled Quadcopter UFO from Tmart.com.

We got it in the mail to review and you can see my boys were chopping at the bit for me to open it and try it out. This toy is not real big so you don’t have to worry about it taking up too much room or needing a huge area to fly it. We have a decent size house but with 6 people in our house we sure have a lot of stuff. Unboxing this RC toy was fairly simple until we got to the zip ties that were on there for dear life. I used a dainty pair of scissors to clip those. I was terrified I was going to clip the cage around the copter. To tell you the truth, I actually did but, was relieved to say that it didn’t seem to effect it’s flying. The box says it’s recommended for 14 years of age and older but my boys, 11 & 9 enjoyed it as well.

The one we received from Tmart.com is the 2 channel. It is surprisingly affordable at only $21.72 USD and free shipping worldwide this toy is budget friendly. Another cool feature on Tmart.com, when you make a purchase on Tmart.com, you earn points. For every 100 points you accumulate it’s = to $1 on the site. According to the site if you buy this RC Quadcopter UFO I’m writing about here, you’d earn 21 Tmart points. Pretty cool huh?

Before you go buy it though let me tell you (and show you) how this Infrared RC Quadcopter mini UFO works. It has a controller that is battery powered. It does take 6 AA batteries which aren’t included. The Quadcopter UFO plugs into the controller to charge. It take 30-40 minutes to charge for 5 minutes of flying time. You can control the UFO up/down, left and right.

The cage around the UFO is fantastic. I’m saying this because in the past I’ve bought my boys helicopters that were very similar but didn’t have a cage. The first or second time they landed hard or smacked into something they broke. I remember my oldest son hit his off a wall and one of the propellers broke off. The Infrared RC Quadcopter UFO from Tmart.com however has a flexible cage that let’s your quadcopter UFO take a bit of a beating and keep going. Watch my YouTube video below for a demonstration.

The cool flashing blue light on the bottom makes it look more like a UFO and is pretty cool to see at night. There are many different styles of, ones with more channels, more with different looks and features. Check out all the Tmart.com RC Quadcopters for one that’s just right for your recipient (for for you!) Tmart.com has tons of affordable gift ideas: beauty products, kitchen gadgets, health and fitness products, electronic items, tools, and much more. You could really get all your holiday shopping done here for everyone from the new baby in the family to grandpa.

You can find Tmart.com on the follow social media channels too:

Twitter: @TmartShopping

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TmartShopping

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/tmartpin/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Tmartshopping

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+tmart/videos

Baby Safe Ink Print Kit Pros and Cons

**I received the below mentioned product at no cost in order to complete an honest review. Any opinions expressed are my own. This post also contains an amazon affiliate link**

As a mom of 4, I love to preserve things from my kids. I have seasonal artwork they do that I keep and use for decorations. I have pictures, crib cards, lots of stuff like that. I love having their little handprints and footprints to keep. They grow up so fast. It’s nice to look back and see how tiny they were and how much they grew.

I had the opportunity to try the Baby Safe Ink Print Kit that is sold exclusively on Amazon right now. At $12.50 this kit comes with some non-toxic , latex free ink sheets. The ink states it easily wipes off with provided baby wipes or any baby wipes. Here is everything that came with the kit I received:

It included instructions for use, 4 ink print sheets, 4 plain white pieces of card stock type paper, 2 baby wipes, and of course instructions for use. My first issues was the ink print sheets. they were a thin film, even with someone holding onto my daughter she kept curling her toes up. Trying to get the paper to cover all the areas of her toes and foot was difficult. I ended up pressing her foot on the paper then taking the paper and holding it on the few places that were missed. I’ve had better luck with a traditional ink pad as there’s usually a spongy surface and you can press down a little and get more it seems. The paper is acid free archival quality cardstock. The ink did transfer well onto the paper. I ended up using both the baby wipes that came with the kit to try to get the ink off my daughter’s feet. I still didn’t get it all off and ended up using some of our baby wipes as well.

This was her foot after stamping it with a fresh ink sheet and trying to work it into other areas. I had some trouble getting all her toes. Also the kit recommends having two people to do this. If it’s possible I definitely recommend two people. I tried it by myself the first time. I ended up with ink on my pants, ink in her pants, ink on my hands, and the ink got smeared on the paper. When I had my oldest son better the results were much better.

Blog 008 — 1st attempt at printing by myself

baby safe ink print kit — 2nd attempt with help

My other children wanted to get in on it too so I let them try. My 4 yr old did hand prints and my oldest wanted to do finger prints.

The ink dried quickly. I think these will be nice to keep in a picture frame or scrapbook for them.

So lets break it down, Pros and Cons:

Pro:

Everything you need in one kit for printing

Safe ink and paper for baby and for lasting results

Cleans off with baby wipes

Cons:

ink sheets were hard to use correctly especially with the baby curling her toes and wiggling. In my opinion a stamp pad would be better

Kit says you can get 6-10 prints out of it. I’m guessing they count one hand as one print and the 2nd hand as another and so on. Only 4 sheets included so if you wanted more you’d need to get more sheets.

Took more than just the 2 wipes in the kit to get one printing sessions worth of ink off my baby’s feet and ended up using my own anyway.

So this one is 50/50 I’m giving it a lukewarm review. If you want to give it a try for yourself, you can find the Baby Safe Ink Printing Kit on Amazon only:

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.

Wantable Boxes with 3 Choices

**I received the below mentioned service in order to complete a review. This post also contains my referral link**

Subscription box services can be hit or miss. I’ve gotten some really nice ones that were definitely worth the money and I’ve gotten some that really didn’t excite me much. I also don’t like when subscription services auto send when you sign up for one box.

Wantable, in my opinion, is different from other box services. You have the option of getting a monthly subscription or buying just one box. Also it’s not just one type of box. You can choose to receive a beauty box, accessories box, or intimates box. After you choose the box you want to receive you fill out a style quiz so they have an idea of your likes, dislikes, color and tone choice, etc. They customize the box for you. You get 4-5 full-size products in your box. Each box contains products from specialty stores, boutiques, and premium brands.

I had the opportunity to try out the beauty box. When I took my style quiz it was pretty detailed. It asked things like what color and tone groups I liked, did I like glitter or shimmer, do I wear eyeliner, do I prefer lipstick or lipgloss, lots of questions. You can choose like, dislike, or neutral for each one. I’m a fan of glitter and shimmer. I like neutral tones for every day but I love pops of color for nights out. I created a YouTube video so you can see what was in my box.

I also took some stills of me with some of the products on.

I loved the colors with my skin tone. The only product I was initially unsure about was the Girlactik eye glaze. It seemed really dark and had a want in it like a lip gloss. When I applied it though I used my Japonesque smudge brush I received to smooth it out.

Wantable boxes would make a really cool gift for the beauty junkie or fashionista on your list. You could send a gift subscription or single box then your recipient would get to customize a box they’ll actually want. No worrying about colors, like/dislikes, etc. Also note that they have a limited edition Holiday box. I’d love to see what’s in that one! Sign up today to order for yourself or as a gift.

You can find Wantable on these social media sites:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wantableco

Twitter: @Wantableco

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/wantable/

Instagram: @wantable

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Wantableco

Google+: https://plus.google.com/108044567380975181435/about

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.

Glasstic Water Bottle, Benefits of Glass AND Plastic

**I received the below mentioned product in order to complete an honest review. This post also contains amazon affiliate links**

Reading about glass versus plastic you’ll probably come across articles that talk about glass being easier to recycle and safer receptacle for food and drink because of the scare of BPAs. Let’s face it though, glass it not really durable. The idea of handing my 4 year old a drink in a glass cup scares me. The idea of a glass waterbottle just makes me picture too many “oops” scenarios.

Glasstic water bottles offer dual layers a glass insert where your drink actually goes and a 2nd outer layer of bpa free plastic to protect against shocks and drops. The insert is 16 oz pure glass for your drink. It has a locking spill proof cap and a convenient handle so you can carry your water bottle with you.

The bottle can be disassembled for cleaning. Can be cleaned by hand washing with a bottle brush or cup sponge or in the top rack of a dishwasher. It’s easy to see the two layer in the bottle just by looking at the clear part of the bottle. It’s insulated and sweatproof as well.

I thought the bottle was attractive and held a generous amount of drink. I love the feature of the lock to keep the lid from accidently popping open. They also have a lifetime glass replacement should the glass ever break. You just have to pay for shipping of the insert replacement. The only complaint I have is that the bottle plastic part is supposed to unscrew to get the glass insert out. I had a heck of a time trying to get the bottom part to unscrew. My husband eventually got it open for me.

You can find Glasstic Bottle on these social media networks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlassticBottle

Twitter: @Glassticbottle

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/glassticwaterbottle/

Glasstic has a special coupon code offer as well. Save 15% on Glasstic bottles on Amazon with coupon code: 9GE47TZC

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.