Art 101 Review

As a mother of a budding artist, it seems like I can never keep enough art supplies in our home.  It seems like he is always losing colored pencils or running them down to where they have to be sharpened daily.  He really enjoys art class at school where he has had the chance to try out other mediums of art.  I really love that he is an artist, because I am extremely unartistic. He did not get the art gene from me.  I am great at coloring but that is about it. I took ceramics in high school thinking I would be good at it, I was not.  I really want to foster and embrace his love of art and implement some of the techniques that he has been learning at school.  I think in order to be a great artist you have to have talent, and the proper tools to succeed. There are a lot of art sets out there. I know, I have been looking for a while to get one for Noah. Most of them are just crayons, colored pencils and markers.  We have so many crayons that they fill a medium sized plastic box. I wanted to find more than just the standard stuff he was already used to and possibly starting to grow bored with.  We had the opportunity to work with a company called Art 101.  Art 101 sells really cool quality art kits for children and adults.  They have artist sets, and even a kid’s line called Art 101 Kids.

I finally found the art set I had been looking for. It has some of the basics and some not so basic items in it.  We received The Art 101 179 pc Double Sided Trifold Easel Art Set to try out. The Art 101 179pc Double Sided Trifold Easel Art Set comes with 48 crayons, 48 oil pastels, 24 color pencils, 19 watercolors, 12 markers, 10 sheets of paper, 4 large clips, 3 paper clips, 1 Art 101 Painting and Drawing Guide, 1 sketch pencil, 1 paint brush, 1 ruler, 1 eraser, 1 color wheel, 1 palette, 1 pencil sharpener, and 1 sponge with a double sided easel in a trifold organizer case. This set is every artist’s dream. Noah really likes the easel because he can draw and paint at different angles.  He says you can never have too many colored pencils which have been his tool of choice lately.  I was never really big in to colored pencils. I liked crayons.  He is also a great painter so we will have fun painting on our balcony with the watercolors.  I don’t really know too much about pastels so we will learn together. I forgot to mention that I am taking Art Classes. Noah is teaching me at art class. We have so much fun together. I try really hard but even then he thinks some of my creations are silly looking. Hopefully through the extra art lessons and the new set we received from Art 101, there might be hope for me after all.

This is a great gift if you have an artist or artists in your family. It is a great set because like I said, it is more complex than a hand full of crayons, colored pencils and markers.

For more information please visit Art 101. You can find Art 101 products at Amazon, Toys R US and Target.

Thank you to Art 101 for providing the sample for our review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

KOOLIO Personal Beverage Cooler Review

Noah and I love to go to the beach and to the pool. Thankfully we live in a place where it is pretty warm most of the time. Even if we can’t get in the water at the beach we like to walk on the beach, collect shells and play in the sand. We also go for walks around town and go to the park to play. Like most people who do a lot of activity we always are thirsty.  There aren’t too many places to buy something to drink so we always bring our own, it is cheaper that way too.  However I either have to do three things because we do live in a warmer climate.  Number one: drink it really fast, which makes me thirsty later on.  Number two: drink a not so cold drink, which when you are hot and thirsty that doesn’t really help.  Number three: I have to carry a cooler.  Now, if I were going to a picnic, I wouldn’t mind bringing a cooler along. However when Noah and I go to the pool. We have so many other things to bring like noodles, towels, and his snorkel and mask. A cooler is just one more thing to carry and they are heavy. We are normally not at the pool for too long. A cooler would pretty much be pointless.   Another thing I have noticed when Noah and I are walking and we have beverages is that I end up carrying it, because it’s too cold for Noah to carry at first.  So, I am double fisted with drinks freezing my hands off until the sun inevitably warms it up. 

I received a really cool product to try out. It is called KOOLIO Personal Beverage Cooler. We all know about the standard drink holders, usually with some business’s name on it.  They are usually made out of foam or cheap fabric. While they do keep your hands from getting cold, they don’t really keep your drink cold. In theory you would think they would, but we all know they don’t.  KOOLIO came up with an awesome product that enhances the typical drink holder. Instead of just putting your drink in a foam thing, you open up the system and insert a freezer pack.  The freezer pack keeps it cold. It’s like you have ice in it, without the melting and watering down.  They give you two freezer packs with each KOOLIO Personal Beverage Cooler so when the first one is no longer cold you can use the other one. I tend to forget to put Noah’s lunch ice pack and his ouchie pack back in the freezer right away. So it is great to have a backup just in case. It also comes in ten colors.  My favorite color is the green one while Noah likes the red one. You no longer have to worry about drinking out of someone else’s drink. All you do is remember your color. This is great if you have parties or picnics with many people.  

Here is some information from KOOLIO:

• Holds most standard 12-ounce cans or bottles
• Colorful band for comfort and grip
• Non-slip ring on bottom so your KOOLIO  stays in place
• Hole in bottom of base unit for easy removal of empty cans or bottles
• Easy twist-off lid to keep your gel pack secure
• Non-toxic gel that does not freeze solid to provide a secure fit and maximum cooling effect
• Does not contain BPA, Lead or Phthalates

KOOLIO would be a great gift for anyone who does a lot of entertaining, lives in a warm climate or really anyone who likes to drink cold drinks. I use them around the house too.  I keep my soda cold with them, I usually don’t chug a soda, I tend to drink it over time and I don’t want to keep running to the refrigerator every time I need a sip. It also works for my beer drinking readers. It will fit glass bottles of beer or Twisted Tea, which is my best friend’s drink of choice. We are also in football season and it would be perfect to take tailgating or even to watch the game. It is also an affordable gift. It’s only $9.99 even though it is worth so much more than that. Think about how many warm bottles of beer you have ended up throwing away. KOOLIO will help you save money by not wasting expensive beverages.

For more information and to purchase KOOLIO, please visit the KOOLIO website.

Thank you to KOOLIO who provided me with samples to try out in order to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Christmas Web Spring Sale

Christmas is probably my favorite holiday. I love everything about it, especially decorating the tree and the house. I go all out when I decorate. I put out things I had when I was young.  The two white Bears always come out. I also put out different Santas and my Lambchop  Angel.  Christmas would not be Christmas without them.  I am always looking for new decorations and ornaments. This past Christmas Noah made me a hand print wreath that I told him would go up every year. He also made my mom a Happy Holidays rug that will be out too. I know that it is spring and Christmas is merely a memory now, but it is never too early to be thinking about next Christmas.  I pick up stuff for Christmas all year long. While I don’t have my tree up anymore or the wreath on my door, I still like to hunt for things to add to my collection. When we went on the Disney Cruise, I bought my mom an ornament made out of shells and that was in September. We went to the Shell Show again this year and almost bought some ornaments.  

 I really enjoy buying things from specialty stores for Christmas vs. big name stores. I feel like specialty stores really know what they are doing and you can find unique items that aren’t available at like Walmart.   I am looking for quality stuff because I know that I will be using for many years. I am also really big on traditions.  Every year we have always made certain goodies for Christmas.  I now make the same recipes with Noah. I have a recipe that was in a magazine in 1982.  We also always read The Night Before Christmas. I love our traditions but I am looking for new traditions to start too.  I learned about an awesome tradition called The Christmas Web- A Family Tradition.  They were only able to ship in Birmingham Alabama in 2012 but now are able to ship nationally.  The Christmas Web is having a Spring Sale in honor of this exciting news!   

The Magic Wand that is spun by the Elves at the North Pole to spin a web of Christmas Cheer. I can see Noah now, trying to fish for elves on Christmas morning.  It is a really cool concept. It has 70 yards of yarn to lead you to that special gift that you really want.  Like I said before Noah loves to fish so I can see him pretending to fish for his present or have me “fish” for mine.  You can buy The Magic Wand for $10.99

 The Christmas Web offers two different products that I have never heard of.  The Christmas Web also sells a gift set. This would be great for families with more than one child because it comes with three wands.  It also comes with a 52 page hardcover book that tells you and your children how the Christmas Web was created.  You can also access a special website where you can get updates from Santa and your elves all year long.  I think that Noah would like the gift set because he can know why he has The Magic Wand and what powers it has.  I am sure he would read the book over and over.   The gift set is $39.99.

 You can order both items from The Christmas Web. If you use the code SALE in the promo code box you can save 25% of your order.

Check them out and lets all make some new Christmas traditions that can be passed on for generations to come.

Saying Thank You with Flowers

Teacher appreciation week is coming up in April. As a daughter of a teacher I know firsthand how hard teachers work off the clock. I also know how much money they spend on supplies. Teachers get a small spending stipend to spend on materials. The other things they need come out of pocket. I love Noah's teachers. We were really lucky that his teachers are so awesome. I am definitely going to do something special for them.

I used to teach at different daycares. I was also a Montessori preschool teacher before I was a mom. I would occasionally receive gifts from my kids. One of my favorites was the year I received a bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day. The child's mother told me that I was one of his moms. Of course that sweet gesture made me cry. I will definitely get Noah's teachers some flowers from our local florist. I love to send people flowers especially if they are going through a rough time. It is a nice gesture to let someone know you care about them if you can't be there. 

My best friend Brandy's talented daughter was in a play. We were texting each other the night before her daughter made her debut. I mentioned getting her a flower or a bouquet of flowers to give her after her performance.  I used to get a flower after choir concerts and performances  from my mom. Brandy thought I was awesome for coming up with the idea.  I used to love it. I am pretty sure they sold them at the concert.  I was an orphan and a couple other roles in Annie and I even received flowers then. Flowers may not last for forever but the gesture lasts a life time.

When was the last time you received flowers and why?