Product Reviews Archives - Page 2 of 6

Comfortable Bean Bag Chair Options

August 7, 2012 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

How many of you had a bean bag chair as a kid? Definitely a blast from the past, right? Well, I never actually had one but I had friends and cousins who did. They were super fun and comfortable to sit on. I recall my friend (back in the 80’s) having a bright pink one that we wore out so much that the seams came loose and little white things were everywhere. I think that is probably the reason my mom never let me have one. LOL

Well, the bean bag industry has definitely come a long way since those days. They are not only made more durable, but they have lots of fun new design options. I love the different colors, shapes, and fabrics.

What sports loving boy would not want a beanbag chair that looks like a soccer ball? I know my daughter would love the Hello Kitty version. And how about using leather or suede bean bag cubes for extra seating in a man cave? Very cool!

And this is a new idea that I have never seen before… the bean bag COUCH!

But this is definitely my favorite. It looks like the most comfortable bean bag chair in the world.

So, if you are looking for a fun new seating idea for your home, be sure to check out the link above. Whether it is in a child’s bedroom, in a family room or den, in a man cave or even just kept as extra seating when company visits, bean bag chairs are affordable and super comfortable.

New Toddler Toys from Playskool

October 10, 2011 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

I have always been a huge fan of Playskool toys. I have 4 small children who love all kinds of toys, but Playskool is definitely a brand that we have LOTS of. They are always coming up with fun new ideas and the best test is whether or not they can hold the attention of my kids for longer than 5 minutes.

The latest review opportunity was for 3 different brand new infant and toddler toys: Elefun Busy Ball Popper, World of Wheel Pals Play ‘N Go Barn, and the Tonka Chuck & Friends.

I will start with the Elefun Popper. This was the kid’s favorite. There are five colorful balls that you drop into the elephant’s ears and they then pop out of the trunk or roll into the belly. The elephant’s trunk rotates 360 degrees and the toy plays ten different songs. This kept the kids busy for about 30 minutes – enough time for me to get some work done – yay! The only downside to this toy is that it takes 4 D Batteries, which many people don’t have just lying around. Thank God I had some otherwise I wouldv’e had some cranky kids bothering me all day to go buy batteries. But other than that. The toy was a hit.

The second toy was the World of Wheel Pals Barn. My6 1 1/2 yr old was a big fan of the little animals on wheels. What was really neat about the toy was that the barn folds up with the animals inside. Would be a great toy to take with you somewhere. And what a cute idea to have animals on wheels. As you know boys love ANYTHING that have wheels.

The last toy was the Tonka Chuck and friends. Each set comes with 4 characters and a little book to go along with them. It is neat to be able to read the story and have the character toys to play and pretend with.

So, if you are looking for some fun gifts for your infant or toddler, I definitely recommend these. And if you want to learn more about these toys or other Playskool products, check out the Playskool Facebook Fanpage!

Here are the kids having a blast playing with their new toys:

www.CanvasTouch.com Review

August 6, 2011 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

There is just something about a beautiful photo that has been printed on stretched canvas. I have always loved the way that looks – brings a photo to life for sure.

CanvasTouch is an online canvas printing company out of Brooklyn, NY who offers high-quality products made in the United States.

All of their canvas prints are handmade and printed onto a high quality water-resistant archival canvas using vibrant, fade resistant inks. They are then coated with a gloss finish and stretched on sturdy stretcher bars.

Their guarantee says it all… “We will not let you down. Our goal is to bring value to our customer. We confidently guarantee the quality of our work and back each canvas with a money-back-guarantee.”

I can definitely vouch for that! If there is ever a problem or concern – they respond right away and make sure it is taken care of. Customer service definitely gets an A+ in my book!

I ordered an 8×10 canvas with a white edge using a photo of my family and it came out really nice. Don’t mind my horrible photo, I can guarantee it looks much better in person. The colors really pop and make the photo come to life. This would make a fabulous gift, right?

Their site was super easy to use. All you have to do is pick the size, border option, color effect, and then upload your photo. Their directions are very clear as you can see in the sample image below from their site.

They offer sizes as small as a 5×7 all the way to 36×48 and their prices are very reasonable. They also ship pretty quickly as well and you can track your order right from their site.

If you are interested in purchasing your own canvas photo from CanvasTouch, then use promo code NEWCUSTOMER for a 20% off discount! Be sure to tell them that PainterMommy sent ya!

Play-do Playset Review

April 4, 2011 by Painter Mommy 3 Comments

As we all know, Play-doh is a classic with kids. It has not changed much since I was a kid – still smells the same, which I love. But they are always doing new things by creating fun play-doh activity playsets for kids. I can remember one that I had as a kid with these little people that would grow hair – I loved it.

It is such a joy now seeing my children enjoy playing with play-doh just like I did. And I can play right along with them. I think it is a great tool to help grow a child’s creativity and imagination.

Today, I am reviewing the following Play-doh playsets:

PLAY-DOH FLIP ‘N SERVE BREAKFAST Playset

(for Ages 3 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $14.99/Available: Spring 11)

This playset includes everything kids need to make their favorite breakfast foods. Mold pretend waffles, pancakes, and eggs on the center griddle and watch as the “food” automatically flips over as it “cooks.” Swirl out “smoothies,” make “whipped cream” topping, and create pretend extras like bacon and strawberries! Set includes four 2-ounce cans of PLAY-DOH compound. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com.

PLAY-DOH COOKIE MONSTER’S LETTER LUNCH Playset

(for Ages 3 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $16.99/Available: Spring 11)

Kids can help Cookie Monster make a delightful PLAY-DOH alphabet soup complete with pretend noodles, veggies, and letters; then they can “feed” him a spoonful and press down his mouth to see him gobble it all up! After the “meal,” they can easily store the letter molds inside the bowl until next time. Set includes four 2-ounce cans of PLAY-DOH compound. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com.

As soon as I opened the box containing the playsets, my kids went wild. My children are ages 6, 5, 2, and 1. They could hardly sit long enough for me to take a picture.

Let me start by saying that opening the boxes and getting the playsets set up was really simple. I like the fact that you can set them up and take them apart so that they can be stored right in the box (which has a handle by the way).

This is exactly what comes in the playsets:

My kids had a blast. My 2 older ones started out by playing with the breakfast set. They were making waffles and eggs and icecream shakes (which I am not sure how that fits in to breakfast) LOL, but it was their favorite part about the whole set (go figure). In honor of that, I made them strawberry banana shakes for breakfast.

My 2 yr old absolutely LOVED the Cookie Monster playset. He was making cookies and letters and once he figured out that you could actually FEED Cookie Monster – he was addicted. My older ones wound up leaving their set and started fighting with their little brother to play with the one he was playing with. So, it was a hit all around.

They were entertained for a good hour (yes, happy mommy here) :). The neat thing is that they did not get sick of it fast because there was so much to do. They would find something new like make spaghetti or make a little miniature banana. I have to admit, I made a couple waffles myself from the breakfast set. And I did feed Cookie Monster on a couple occasions.

I did have to teach my 2 yr old HOW to feed the Cookie Monster though, because he kept pushing the playdo into his mouth and it was getting stuck. But once I showed him that you have to set it in his mouth and then close the head down – it wasn’t getting stuck as much.

The clean up factor was pretty much the same as with any other Play-doh activity. It does get everywhere, so I would suggest doing it at the kitchen table and not in a place that has carpet.

So, we give these products a definite A+. We recommend them to anyone that has small children and anyone who loves play-doh!

Here are some pictures of my children enjoying themselves with their new toys:

If you are interested in purchasing one of these new playsets from Play-doh, Click Here.

You can also Follow Play-doh on Facebook!

Little Scholastic Book Review

November 19, 2010 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

For nearly 90 years, teachers and parents have recognized Scholastic as a trusted name in learning. Scholastic continues this successful history by remaining focused on encouraging children to learn to read and love to learn, helping teachers carry out their important jobs and supporting parents in their role as their child’s first teacher.

Scholastic was founded in 1920 by M.R. “Robbie” Robinson, the father of the current Chairman and CEO, Richard Robinson. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children’s books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, feature film, videos and toys. Scholastic distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and Scholastic.com.

I was recently asked to do a review on a couple books by Litte Scholastic, a developmental publishing program that introduces reading to babies and toddlers ages birth to three years. Each book features rhyming, repetitive, or predictable text, interactive components, and familiar subjects—all formatted to delight babies, toddlers, and parents. Visit www.littlescholastic.com for expert advice and articles, parenting tips, book information, and more.

Here are the books exact books I was sent to review:

“Colors” – This board book features favorite animals in bright and bold colors for children to name and touch. Review basic colors with this hands-on format!

“Welcome Winter” – This bright, tactile board book celebrates a first encounter with the coldest season: winter. Bold, simple illustrations and textures show what a child first sees, hears, touches, and feels. And no matter how blowy or snowy it may be outside, this child ends up safe and warm in Mommy’s arms.

As you all know, I have 4 small children (ages 6, 4, 2, and almost1). These books are definitely geared towards babies and toddlers, but my older children enjoyed them as well. My 6 yr old was actually reading the books to my younger ones and having a great time being the older brother.

This is what I loved about the books:

Thick pages – they were easy for my toddler to turn and they seem like they will hold up well with a lot of use and maybe some chewing from the baby. LOL
Bright colors – children love color and as a mom, I can easily point out the basic colors while reading.
Simple cartoon images – Though I am an artist and I do love the artistic style of many of the children’s books today, I really think simple books are much better for babies and toddlers.

My children’s favorite thing about the books:

Interactive – my children LOVED the touch and feel pages. That is always a big hit as well as the flip pages where you can flip a panel and reveal something underneath.