December 14, 2013
12/14/13
By Subscription Box Mom
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| The Box |
The box for the Holiday Edition came in a black box. This is a nice reusable box that I will use to store my growing scarf collection.
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| First Look |
Popsugar used the same hot pink tissue paper but used a pretty enjoy sticker.
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| The Items |
Each item was individually wrapped. It was like Christmas!
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| Information Card |
Usually Popsugar has their cards fold out horizontally, but they changed it up for their holiday box.
These are pretzel sticks covered in dark chocolate and dusted with peppermint candy. I didn't think I would like these, but they are very tasty.
This came in different scents. It actually took my awhile to figure out that the top screws off. I received number 21 and I love it. The fragrance notes are Asuka Rose, Linden, Ginger Root, Aged Wood. This is a wonderful floral scent that I love.
This is a really unique piece, but I wouldn't normally wear it. It is really nice, but I may give this to my mom for Christmas. She will love it.
I won't use these, so I will trade for something that I will use. They are very beautiful, but I won't put glue near my eye
This is made from Peruvian alpaca fleece. I love black and this scarf is the warmest and softest thing ever.
I didn't own a cheese platter until now. This can be used for cheese, fruit or appetizers.
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| The Whole Box |
Final Thought: This box had a total value of $350.95. I really loved this box. The scarf, lotion, and cheese platter were my favorite items in the box. Those items alone were well worth this box. The only item I won't use is the false eye lashes. With a value of $350.95, I am okay with that! If you are interested in signing up for a Popsugar subscription, click
HERE and use the code REFER5.
Check out my current giveaways
HEREDisclosure: This post contains referral codes.
December 13, 2013
12/13/13
By Subscription Box Mom
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Cultured Owl Review
Cultured Owl is a new subscription box that exposes children to the world. Cultured Owl sent me the Spain box to review. Spain is the first box in the country series. Cultured Owl is for children 5-10 and each month, Cultured Owl sends a country kit filled with information, toys, and crafts. These kids are designed to bring the whole family together. Cultured Owl was developed by Sara Randrianasolo. She is an advocate for international education. While working in higher education, Sara developed programs to bridge the gap between American and international students. Being a bicultural and multilingual family gave Sara and her families opportunities to celebrate differences between people. Sara wanted to teach her children more about this, and developed Cultured Owl.
I really was excited to see this box, because I think it is very important that children understand the world they live in and have an appreciation for other cultures. I love exposing my children to new places, but international travel is not feasible at this time. I like that there is a monthly kit that can bring different cultures to their home.
Cultured Owl's Vision
“Cultured Owl desires to see children develop global citizenship skills. Our monthly Country Kits teach children to value diversity and to celebrate other people and their way of life. Designed with products that promote creativity and critical thinking. Country Kits also help children develop their own sense of identity.”
Here is what is in the Country Kit
1. Arts and Crafts: Materials to make 2-3 hands on activities. Finished products will represent aspects of the host country culture.
2. Toys: Included toys are played with by the children in the host country
3. Country Booklet: Country booklets are filled with cultural information. Topics include popular names, traditional games, children's songs, language lessons, dramatic acts holidays and festivals and overall way of life. Each booklet also contains conversation starters, which are a great way to dive deeper into culture. These are good to discuss over dinner
4. Collectible Trading Card: Use the demographic and national traits data to teach children factual information about the country. Geographic coordinates are provided so children can locate the country on their included globe.
5. Country Flag: The flag includes a three hole stand to display the flag
6. Recipe Card: Gather the family and get a taste of the local cuisine. Families are encouraged to involve children in shipping for ingredients and preparing the dish. Cooking is an excellent way to practice math skills
The Details:
Cost: 3 months $87.00 ($29.00 a month)
3 month sibling add on $29.85 ($9.95 a month)
6 months $162.00 ($27.00 a month)
6 month sibling add on $59.70 ($9.95 a month)
12 months $300.00 ($25.00 a month)
12 month sibling add on $119.40 ($9.95 a month)
Plans: a. 3 Month Tour (The Tourist) Receive Country Kits For: Spain, China and Australia!
b. 6 Month Tour (The Explorer) Receive Country Kits For: Spain, China, Australia,
Madagascar, Italy
c. 12 Month Tour (The Jetsetter) Receive Country Kits For: Spain, China, Australia, Madagascar, Italy, Brazil, Japan, India, Israel, France, Egypt, and Russia!
What's in the box? Country Kits include the following: Country Booklet, Collectible Trading Card, Country Flag, Recipe Card, Toys, and 2-3 Tech-Free, Hands On Activities (crafting supplies included). Your first Country Kit will also include our Welcome Kit, including a passport and globe to chart your child's travels
When am I billed? You are billed when you order. You subscription ends at the end of which ever subscription you sign up for.
When do I get my box? Allow up to 4 weeks for your first Country Kit to arrive. After that, our country kits ship mid-month and arrive 5-10 days later.
Contact Info: Email: [email protected]
Phone: (330-961-1296) , Monday through Friday, from 10:00am to 4:00pm EDT.
Spain
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| The Box |
Cultured Owl ships in a silver box with a Cultured Owl sticker sealing the box.
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| First Look |
There is sticker on the inside lid that contains all the supplies in the box. Everything was wrapped neatly in green tissue paper and sealed with a Cultured Owl sticker
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| First Look |
The box was full of goodies and I couldn't wait to see what was inside.
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| Getting Started |
There was a card introducing Sara Randrianasolo and a card introducing
Cultured Owl. There was also a passport and an inflatable globe. The globe has latitude and longitude lines, so children can pinpoint different places on the globe uses coordinates.
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| Castanets |
Everything was included for the child to make their own castanets. L had a great time completing this craft. He loves crafts and music
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| Painting the castanets |
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| Almost Done |
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| Mosaic Tile Coaster |
Everything was included for your child to make their own mosaic tile coaster. This was a really unique craft and very different than previous crafts.
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| Planning Out the Pattern |
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| All Glued Together |
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| Completed Projects |
These turned out great!
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| Spain: Toys, Education, Cooking and more |
Cultured Owl included a flag of Spain, a trading card, a recipe card, booklet about Spain and a Peonza. L really liked the flag and has it in his room. The trading card is in a hard protective sleeve and demographics about Spain. The recipe is a card to make Chicken Paella. I have never tried chicken paella, but it looks tasty. The booklet about Spain includes information about Flamenco, an art form of dance and music. They also talked about La Tomatina, which is the largest food fight in the world and Corrida de Toros (Bullfighting). The Peonza is a toy top you can spin.
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| Inside the booklet |
Final Thought: This was a really great box and L loved learning about Spain. I liked that there were many different aspects to this box, from the crafts to the toys, recipe and literature. It gave my family and son a great overview of Spain. L really loved making the crafts in the box. Both the mosaic tile and the castanets were very unique and fun to complete. L is working on spinning the Peonza by himself. If you are interested in learning more about
Cultured Owl, or want to sign up for a subscription, click
HERE.
December 11, 2013
12/11/13
By Subscription Box Mom
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Appleseed Lane's boxes are filled with 3-5 Science and Math projects. The subscription is $23.00 a month and the box is packed with activities for children 4-10. If you want to try
Appleseed Lane, click
HERE and use the code FRIEND10 and put my name (Erin Hamm) in the order comments section (It will be the page you put your address in). L is 4 years old and was so excited for this box to come. He loves Science and completing projects. C helped L with this box has he loves electricity and circuits.
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| The Box |
Appleseed Lane has the cutest boxes. They are very kid friendly and L knew it was his box right away.
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| Information Card |
The card this month was a bit wrinkled from all the materials in the box. It wasn't a big deal at all. This month's theme was Electricity and Circuits. The projects were Power it Up, Let It Flow, Static Magic and a bonus project Starry Night. There was also information about a contest to win $50.00, by making a circuit with Play Dough. C and L will work on the contest later this week.
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| Directions |
All the directions to each project are on the back of the information card. I like how they make good use of the materials without adding clutter to the box.
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| Playdough, Seedlings Magazine, and Conductor/Insulator test |
Appleseed Lane included Play Dough for the contest. Seedlngs is a magazine/book that is included in each
Appleseed Lane box. This Seedlings is a book that discusses electricity, circuits, and electrochemical cells. This is a very informative book. L is very fascinated about electricity and how it works. L really enjoyed reading this book with C. The conductor/insulator test will be used in one of the projects.
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| Reading Seedlings |
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| Power It Up Project |
This project involves making a circuit with water, to make a light turn out.
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| Power It Up Project |
L and C worked hard on this project, but couldn't get the light to turn on. We are not sure what went wrong, but they had fun putting it together.Update: Appleseed Lane emailed all subscribers and gave updated instructions for this project. We will try the updated instructions soon.
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| Let It Flow |
This project was all about testing different materials to see if they were conductors or insulators.
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| Paper Clip |
This was L's favorite project. L and C made a circuit and tested each item to see how it test. There was a rubber band, paper clip, plastic chip, penny, and golf tee. L had so much fun with this, we tested a pair of scissors too.
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| The Test |
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| Static Magic |
As you could guess, this project was all about static electricity
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| The project |
This one was really fun. The project involved putting a nickel on it's side and balancing a stick on top. That was pretty tricky! L helped generated the static electricity and he watched the stick move.
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| Static Electricity and Water |
L and I used static electricity to move water!
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| Starry Night |
In this project, L made a lantern, they he made a circuit to light it up
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| Working on the lantern |
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| The lantern |
L loved seeing this lantern lit up!
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| The Whole Box |
Final Thought: This was a fantastic box. I am glad Appleseed Lane followed up with subscribers about the Power It Up project. L and I are going to try it again soon. L loved learning about electricity and circuits. L is fascinated with Science and this box was age appropriate and on his level. It is very hard to find age appropriate Science experiments for kids. Appleseed Lane is $23.00 and you can save $10.00 on your first box by using the code FRIEND10 and put my name (Erin Hamm) in the order comments section (It will be the page you put your address in). You can click HERE to order.
Check out my current giveaways
HEREDisclosure: I received the box free for review. I was not compensated for my review and my opinions are completely my own. This post contains affiliate codes.
December 10, 2013
12/10/13
By Subscription Box Mom
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RocksBox sent me their box to review this month, and I like it better than last month
Every month has gotten better than the one before it. If you are learning about
RocksBox for the first time,
RocksBox send 3 pieces of jewelry for $19.00 a month. You wear the pieces and then send them back for new pieces. You fill out a style survey, so
RocksBox knows more about you. Each time you get a box, you get a return shipping pouch (Free shipping all the time), 3 pieces of jewelry and a paper listing you pieces, plus a place to give your feedback about your items. If you happen to loose your survey, no worries. You can give you feedback online. If you decide you love one of the pieces in your box, and you want to buy it, you can purchase it for 20% off retail. When you send back your pieces you don't want,
RocksBox will simple charge you for the piece you kept. You can send items back as fast as you want. You could get 3 pieces on Monday and have them back in the mail Tuesday! If you want to try it out, you can sign up
HERE and save $10.00 on your first box!
Continue Reading …
November 23, 2013
11/23/13
By Subscription Box Mom
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0
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate/referral links
Blueberry Cove Beads $22.00 Blueberry Cove Beads is the subscription box for bead lovers. Every month we send out a surprise themed package of beads and findings of all shapes and sizes. We also have a monthly challenge to inspire your creativity!
Craft What?!? $8.00 Craft What?!? sends a box of craft materials and challenges you to make something using only those items. Read my reviews HERE.
Darby Smart is a monthly DIY box for adults. Every month, you will get a box with a craft or project and everything you need to compete it. Read my reviews HERE. Save $10.00 on your purchase by clicking HERE and using the code HOWDYDARBY
Embellished Boxes $12.95/month Every monthly box is filled with two D.I.Y crafts Coupon: Use the code SPOFFER15 to save 15% off your purchase. Read my reviews HERE.
November 20, 2013
11/20/13
By Subscription Box Mom
19 Comments
19
Austin Lloyd sent me this box to review. I am very excited to share this box with my readers. Austin Lloyd is a new subscription box for children newborn to age 3. Each month, you child gets 4-5 educational toys and at least 1 book. The toys are bpa and
phthalate free and they are unique, high end toys, that you will not find at Toys R Us or Target. You will never get toys with batteries. The toys are also chosen to improve fine motor and cognitive skills. Each box is designed for the play level of the child. Austin Lloyd has a breakdown of child development on their website. You choose the play level that fits best for you child.
The box is $49.99 a month, but you can choose to go every other month too.
Austin Lloyd also has a donation feature. Once you are done with the toys, and are ready to get rid of them,
Austin Lloyd will send you a prepaid shipping label. You mail the toys back, and they will donate them to their partnering charities. How awesome is that!
My Story: I have two boys L age 4 and T age 20 months. My husband and I spoiled our oldest and he had most of the Fisher Price toy line as a baby/toddler. Once T was born, I really wanted to buy more wooden, unique toys instead of the mainstream toys. I found it difficult to find many different kinds of unique toys, so I was really excited to find
Austin Lloyd.
The Details:
Cost: 1 Month $49.99
3 Months $ 49.99 per month
6 Months: $44.99 per month
Coupon: Use the code subboxmom2013 to save 10% on your subscription. Exp Dec 31st
Play Levels: 0-5 Months
6-12 Months
12-18 Months
19-24 Months
2-3 Years
What's in the box? Each month, or every other month, your child get 4-5 educational toys and at least 1 book. You will get unique, high end toys that are not typically sold in retail chains. All the toys are designed to improve fine and cognitive motor silks. The toys will ever have batteries. The overall value of the box will also be greater than what you pay.
When will I get my box? Subscribe by the 26th of the month, to get the next month's box. Boxes ship the 3rd week of the month.
I reviewed the 19-24 month box.
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| The Box |
Okay, how adorable is this box? I love the stork!
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| Side of the Box |
I love their quote and the pretty blue writing on the white box.
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| Sticker |
The box was sealed with a stork sticker
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| First Look |
The presentation is impeccable. I love the bow and the name tag. Note: I edited out the rest of T's name for privacy reasons. There was an envelope with all the information cards. The cardboard piece lifts off to reveal all the box contents.
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| Donate |
When you are done with the toys and books, you can email
[email protected] and they will send you a prepaid shipping label.
Austin Lloyd will then donate your toys to one of their partner charities.
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| First Look |
I couldn't wait to dig in!
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| Information Cards |
Each card has information and details about each toy/book
There is also a Play Level card, that tells you about that month.
Play Level: 19-24 Months
“At this age, your toddler is very much the director; he or she lets you know what role they want you to play in their activities. Sometimes they'll bring you a toy so you can help them make it work; other times, they'll pull it away from you to try it by themselves. Often, when your child knows he or she has done something special, they'll pause and wait for your applause. By responding to these cues, you'll provide the support and encouragement they need to keep learning”
The theme for this month is Thanksgiving: a time for great food, family and travel.
Introduces children from free play to first games with rules: the instructions include 3 basic game ideas for 1-3 players. Also assigning of colors and sizes. I think this looks awesome and I am excited for T to have his first game.
Young chefs can chop and prepare 5 colorful fruits and vegetables. A wooden knife is included.
T loves to play kitchen and he loves wooden food. This is a great set and T will love it.
This is a child's first introduction to Thanksgiving. The book has colorful pictures and flaps that open to teach your child about the First Thanksgiving. It is a board book, which means it is perfect for small hands.
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| A Peek Inside |
I love the colorful pictures and the interactive element of the book.
Duck and Goose are looking for the perfect pumpkin. Is it in the log? Is it under the leaves? Is it in the apple tree? Young children will surely enjoy going on a pumpkin hunt with Duck and Goose . . . especially when they find the perfect pumpkin at the end!
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| A Peek Inside |
Look at these pictures, aren't they adorable?
Watch the ship rock and roll as you tell a story about its voyage.
Use words such as “fast” and “slow” when you're describing its motion.
Talk about the effect a gentle push or harder one has on the motion of the ship.
I love this boat. T will love this. I love the smooth lines of the boat.
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| The Whole Box |
Final Thought: Wow, I really don't know how to express how much I love this box. The total value for this box is $71.96! All the toys and books are excellent quality and really unique. I haven't seen any of these toys or book before.
Austin Lloyd has the cutest packaging for their boxes. If you are thinking of a gift for a child, this would be a great pick. I love how
Austin Lloyd goes by Play Level, so you know how the company picks their toys and that your child will have toys for their developmental level. If you want to sign up for
Austin Lloyd, click
HERE and use the code
subboxmom2013 to save 10% on your subscription. Coupon expires Dec 31st.
One more thing: Austin Lloyd has been generous enough to give a box to one of my readers. Just enter the giveaway below!
Do you love giveaways? Click
HERE and see all my current giveaways.
Disclosure: I received the box free for review. My opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way. Austin Lloyd is responsible for prize distribution. This post contains affiliate links
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