Trendy TreeHouse: Boys

Showing posts with label Boys. Show all posts

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Hand Vibes Review

HandVibes are the newest products on the market for kids! Everyone loves wearing the bracelets, well now you can get your favorite emoticons on a ring too!! There are so cool your kids will be begging for more. I really think these are going to be the next big thing!

My kids were so excited to get to review 6 of them! So cool! Each time you order you will get 2 rings with cool sayings. Plus a mystery ring with each package. That's 3 rings in all!

Just look at how fun these are!

Here are a few examples of what you might find on your rings...

Fresh, Word, Rad, Bro, LOL, Wicked, Swag, Peace, ROFL, Trudat, Coolio and more!

Make sure you check them out today and look for them in stores! Your kids are going to love these! They will be wearing multiple emoticon rings on their fingers and yes, their toes too!

Hint... Christmas is coming soon! Pick up some for Santa to stuff in Stockings!!!

Don't forget to stop by and LIKE HandVibes on Facebook too!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Gifts for the boys in your life

Micah loves his fishing games. He has two of them. One has batteries that always die, the other has a suction cup that doesn't work very well. So I decided to make him a new fishing game that will be easy and fun to play with. And if something gets broken I'll know exactly how to fix it.

(excuse the poorly-lit-needed-to-use-my-flash photography...gotta craft at night so the youngins don't know what they're getting for Christmas!)

What you need:

Felt
Scissors
Thread
Magnets
Fiber fill
Dowl/Rod

Start by making a fish pattern on a piece of cardboard. I like to make the pattern on a folded edge so that I only have to draw one side of the fish but get a symetrical fish! Make sure that the fish pattern is big enough for your magnet to fit through the tail section and into the body.

Then trace your fish pattern onto the felt and cut out the fish. Make sure you have two pieces of the same fish...so stack your felt or just fold a piece in half when you're cutting it to make sure you have to exact pieces.

Sew around your fish but leave the bottom open so you can put the magnet and stuffing in.

Stuff the magnet in and then add some fiber fill to make the rest of the body puffed up. Then sew the end shut making it sorta look like scales.

My suggestion is to sew all the fish together before sitting down to stuff them in front of the tv. Then go back to your machine and sew them all shut. Of course you could sew them all by hand, if you have the time and patience to do so!

Then make a fishing pole. I just folded a black piece of felt in half and made a large J for the hook, making sure that my magnet would fit in the end. I then used a blanket stitch and stiched around the whole hook leaving a LONG piece at the top to be the fishing line. Then I stitched the fishing line to the yellow felt and hot glued that onto the dowl. I also added a little bit of felt by the handle.

And if you don't want to make your own I will have
ONE set in my etsy store in a couple of weeks!

Here are some other BOY gift ideas:

Art Kits

Tie Shirts:

Car Play/Storage mat

Personalized t-shirts

Reverse Applique T-shirt

Happy Crafting! can't wait to see what you're making for all the little boys in your life! Feel free to leave a link, I LOVE looking at boy projects! I've got lots of little boys in my life that I need to make gifts for!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Build a Dream Playhouse Review and Giveaway

Build a Dream Playhouses are awesome! Do you remember as a kid being so excited to see mom and dad get a new fridge or washer and dryer? Only because you got to dive into the box and make it your secret fort!!! I do! That is exactly what I thought about when I saw these very cool playhouses. I sure wish I had these when I was a kid!

Build a Dream Playhouses™ was founded by a Cleveland father dedicated to the futures of the City of Cleveland, the State of Ohio, and the imaginations of children. To achieve that, and reflecting on his city’s hard times, he collaborated with the world famous Nottingham-Spirk Design Associates, a group of 3 to 9 year old children, and the Smurfit Stone Container Corporation, Build a Dream Playhouses™ is now proud to introduce to you what we believe to be the most innovative, fresh, and fun playhouses on the market. We hope you enjoy our products and we look forward to introducing many more in the near future. Info taken from site.

We were so lucky to get the chance to review the Snack Shack Playhouse. It is so cute. We love that you have the options of making it wither a lemonade stand or a snack shack!

Features

– Two serving windows

– Double layered counter-tops for increased weight bearing

– Under-the-counter storage space

– Interchangeable signs and menus

– Includes luggage rack, ice cream signs and light bar

So when life gives you lemons, squeeze ‘em, sell ‘em, and keep ‘em comin’ back with Build a Dream Playhouse’s™ Snack Shack.™ Whether you’re selling grandma’s chocolate chip cookies, fresh veggies from your garden or a refreshing glass of lemonade, the Snack Shack™ will be the talk of your neighborhood.

How cool is it that you have a menu board and Display name! My kids were so excited. It made them feel so important. I used to love setting up a little store at my parents yard sales and now my kids can too! Want to know what they sold? ;o) I'll tell ya, but first I have to say how easy this was to put together. We had ours put together in no time and then let the kids go to town on painting it! That is the other amazing thing about these playhouses, they get to decorate their own playhouse. Colors, stick figures, drawings of their available snacks!!! The imagination this brings to kids is priceless! And we love seeing our kids imagine!!!

Check out this video on how easy and quick these are to put together!

Snack Shack assembly! from Build a Dream Playhouses on Vimeo.

Build a Dream Playhouses are the gift to give this season. Christmas, birthdays or anytime. I can't wait to get another one for my kids.

Check out some more of their playhouses.

Below is just a couple...their will be a favorite for everyone!

...The Imagine Wagon...

...The Pop N Play Castle...

Would you like a chance to win Build a Dream Playhouse for your family?

Well, they are generously offering a playhouse of your choice to 1 winner!

... How to enter ...

GIVEAWAY CLOSED - WINNER JENNY

You will have until Oct 25 @ 9:00 p.m. Pacific Standard time to enter this giveaway. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here. If the winner has provided an email address I will contact you. If you don't provide your email, you will want to check back here and see if you are the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to those living in the US. You must be 18 years or older to enter. Thanks for entering at Trendy Treehouse. Good Luck and Have Fun!

The featured product {s} in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. By entering this giveaway you agree to Trendy Treehouse Disclaimer/Terms of use.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Shadow Box Memories | Boys Gift

It's the second week of our 12 Weeks of Christmas Gifts! Last week was fun. We loved all your feedback and can't wait to share more.

Before I get started on todays post, don't forget to grab a button and share this fun Christmas Event!

To see last weeks gifts, visit HERE!
This week I am sharing a boy gift!
| Shadow Box Memories |
My son loves trains. When he was younger he fell in love with Thomas the Tank Engine. He knew every color, number and name to every train. He amazed us with his memory skills!!! As he grew, we gathered well over 100 trains. Some duplicates, some wooden but mostly all die cast trains. He had all the tracks and buildings too! Now that he is older, we decided to donate the tracks and buildings but keep all the trains. He asked if I could save them so one day he could give them to his son. AWE! Of course I agreed. He and the girls still play with the trains but recently I stole a few. LOL I found an old picture of my son getting his first train gift and got an idea for a shadow box! I had seen one done with cars on pinterest. What a great idea!
...What you will need...A shadow box ( ours is a 16x20 )A 5 x7 framePicture of your childTrains, cars, monster trucks, trinkets, ect.

First, start by adding your photo to the 5x7 frame. Ours had a matte and it was the perfect opening for our picture. This Pic was from Christmas morning, when my little guy got his first Thomas the Tank Engine present!!

Next, place the smaller frame into the shadow box. I placed mine in the center of the frame. Then start adding the trains. It will be a little tricky because of their sizes, but I know you will prevail! ;o) Keep going until your shadow box is full.

This is how it will look when your done.

While I loved how the trains looked, when I stood up the box, the trains settled and shifted the frame. Not at all what I wanted. So the photo was crooked. I decided to move it. I may try to fix it in place so it doesn't move someday, but for now this is what I did....and I love it.

The trains look great. It was tricky getting everything to fit but all in all, it looks fantastic. Hubby loved it too! I can't wait to give it to my son. His room is decorated in transportation signs including a huge railroad crossing sign. This will be perfectly placed near it.

I think this is a perfect gift for a boy, older or younger. It makes a great addition to their room and if they want, they can always take them out to play again. ;o)
Have you made a shadow box? What did you put in yours? Share a link below if you want to share it with us!

Come by on Thursday to see Jamie's boy gift!!!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Money Savvy Pig Review & Giveaway

Money Savvy Pig piggy bank - the piggy bank for the 21st century! This unique four-chambered bank helps kids (ages 4-11) & their parents or grandparents to begin a conversation about money. It helps teach basic money skills by introducing four choices: SAVE, SPEND, DONATE, and INVEST. Each bank includes goal-setting stickers, eye stickers and a parent guide. Available in 6 vibrant colors - Blue, green, pink ,red purple and opaque platinum. It makes a perfect child's gift!

Our family saves change! Every time our jar of change fills up, we let the kids dump it out on the living room floor and separate it out. They make piles of quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. Then they separate each of those piles into 4 different piles. We have 4 kids! We spend time together counting the money and teaching our youngest the difference in amounts and looks. Usually, when done, we have them put them into their piggy banks. NOW! We have the Money Savvy Pig to use. The kids were so excited to see how it worked and loved that it came with their very own stickers to put on the piggy!

The kids already kinda had an idea of how it worked because when we were told about the review, they also told us about their new app! Yes, they have a Money Savvy App called Savings Spree! So immediately we downloaded it on my iPhone. It is so cool. It takes you through a series of games. Each one teaching you how to make the right choices throughout your day about spending money. The first round is about Savings Choices. 4 Things you can do with money and how to set a goal for each. It gives you examples, with pictures, on what you should do with your money.

Round 2 is about earning. This round teaches you about the importance of earning your own money. It is so cute! You get to make cupcakes in this fun round. Round 3, the rainy day fund. This is an important round too! It shows kids that they need to save their money for a rainy day. Like an unexpected bill, a flat tire on their bike or an overdue library book. In this round you play with fortune cookies. You have to determine from three choices, what is the best. For example a good choice, you got money for your birthday. A bad choice, you forgot your lunch and have to pay $3 to the school. Next you follow the good fortune cookie as they move around. Next, you pick the good fortune. You bank the money if you choose correctly. Round 4 is spend avoidance. It's cute, you float around a mall maze and have to avoid hitting things. If you do, it subtracts money.

Round 5 Wealthy habits. I like this round a lot. It shows you how you can save if you avoid spending while out. For example... instead of getting a soda at lunch you would get a free water. It then shows you how much you could save in a week, month or year. Amazing how much one little soda costs by the end of a year. LOL You could save over $500 a year by drinking water instead of soda!!! In this round you choose between 2 choices and tilt the phone back and forth. It is a fun balancing act. ;-) Round 6 Kids earn! Kids can earn money by walking dogs, having a lemonade stand or doing yard work. This round is played by matching money and lemons. Very cute! At the end of the game it shows you your total game earnings in a nest egg.. I love that the kids want to keep playing and make the right choices to increase their nest egg. This is an amazing app and every family should have it!!! Don't forget to check out the Parents and Educators section. Very informative. Awesome!

Now back to the sorting of money. I kinda went crazy on the app. But its so fun and worth it! Now that we have the Money Savvy Pig, and they know what to do with it, its fun for the kids to discuss where they should place the money. So far we have the most money in the savings and donating slots. The kids are very good about saving and they love donating when ever they see a box at the store. I love that those are filling up first. My hubby and I also love that they can save their own money to spend. It is a nice feeling for them to walk into a store and buy something with their own money. Makes them feel proud. The investing is amazing too. Our son is already talking about saving for his first car. He is 11. Oh My! LOL

These little piggy banks are a must for your kids. I recommend that you get one for each of your kids, gifts for friends and family and you have to get that app. It makes learning about money fun and exciting!

Thank you Money Savvy Piggy for coming into our life!!!

You can get a Money Savvy Pig too!

Enter the giveaway below.

One winner will get to choose a color of their choice.

... How to enter ...

Giveaway Closed
Winner...danicasweeps

You will have until Oct 1 @ 9:00 p.m. Pacific Standard time to enter this giveaway. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here. If the winner has provided an email address I will contact you. If you don't provide your email, you will want to check back here and see if you are the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to those living in the US. You must be 18 years or older to enter. Thanks for entering at Trendy Treehouse. Good Luck and Have Fun!