All posts by Alicia

Kiwi Crate (Monthly Project Kits) Flash Sale Wednesday 6/17 – Save 50% On Your First Month

June 17, 2015Arts and Crafts, Sales & Eventscraft, Kiwi Crate, saleAlicia

Summer is here! Celebrate the new season and beat summer boredom with projects designed to spark creativity and curiosity for kids. Each Kiwi Crate comes with 2-3 hands-on projects – including all the materials, inspiration and instruction – around a different theme every month.

But HURRY, Kiwi Crate is offering a ONE DAY flash sale (6/17).

Save 50% on your 1st month subscription plus free shipping with code MAKE50.

The 50% off applies to any of the Kiwi Crate Family Brands:

Koala Crate

Ages: 3-4
imagine! magazine
Multiple play and learn activities
Instructions and guide for parents

Kiwi Crate

Ages 4 to 8
2-3 creative and educational projects
explore! magazine
Step-by-step instructions and inspiration

Tinker Crate

Ages 9 to 14+
A hands-on activity and experiment
Tinker ‘Zine
Instructional blueprint

Doodle Crate

Ages 9 to 16+
A fresh new DIY project
Fun bonus craft material
Step-by-step instructions

Kiwi Crate was founded on the vision of inspiring kids’ creativity and its mission is to help equip the next generation of innovators with the tools for creative problem solving and exploration. Kiwi Crate offers high quality award-winning products across four brands for young makers ranging in age from 3 to 16+.

Fun & Engaging Projects for Kids

Hands-on fun for makers of all ages, delivered monthly.
Projects can include arts & crafts, science activities, imaginative play and more. Everything for 2-3 projects is included.

Six New Kids Shows Amazon Video

June 16, 2015EntertainmentAmazon Prime, Amazon Studios, Kids TVAlicia

If you need another reason to join Amazon Prime, you’ll love this!

Six new kids pilots will be available on Amazon Prime June 26, including preschool project The Adventures of Knickerbock Teetertop, and animated shows for ages six to 11 Lost In Oz, Lily the Unicorn, and Bear in Underwear, as well as live-action shows A History of Radness and The Kicks.

Amazon today announced it will debut its next kids pilot season of 2015 on Friday, June 26 on Amazon Instant Video in the US, UK and Germany. Four animated kids pilots—The Adventures of Knickerbock Teetertop, Lost In Oz, Lily the Unicorn, and Bear in Underwear—will premiere along with two live-action kids pilots—A History of Radness and The Kicks. Customers will once again be invited to watch and provide feedback on the shows they want to see turned into full series for Prime members. All pilots will be available via the Amazon Instant Video app for TVs, connected devices and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/AIV.

“Each of these new pilots bring a quality level of character and storytelling that naturally connect with kids and families,” said Tara Sorensen, Head of Kids Programming at Amazon Studios. “We are excited to bring the combination of great talent, hard work and remarkable vision to our customers.”

About Amazon’s New Kids Pilots

The Adventures of Knickerbock Teetertop
Age: preschool-aged children; animated
Knickerbock Teetertop, the smallest kid on the enchanted Wonderpine Mountain, wants to be a big adventurer just like his grandpa. Joined by friends on his magical Wonderboggan, Knickerbock, Holly, and Otto have wondrous, challenging adventures discovering new places and creatures—and it’s not easy. Knickerbock bounces along rugged terrain, pushes against the elements, and challenges himself to overcome obstacles. As he encounters problems Knickerbock uses perseverance, grit, and some encouragement from Grandpa to “adventure on, adventure through.”

Lost in Oz
Age: 6-11; animated
Lost in Oz is an animated, action-adventure comedy set in a modern, metropolitan Emerald City. Stranded in this spectacular world, 12-year-old Dorothy Gale befriends West, a young, street-smart witch grappling with dark temptations, and Ojo, a giant munchkin. With Dorothy’s dog Toto, this unlikely crew embarks on an epic journey, seeking out the magic Dorothy needs to get back to Kansas. The challenge for Dorothy, and everyone else in this world, is that Oz is facing the greatest magic crisis in eons.

Lily the Unicorn
Age: 6-11; animated
Lily is not only a remarkable, colorful, and comical gal—she is truly one-in-a-million. Her unique perspective and independent spirit can brighten up any situation and often leads her and her loyal friends into unexpected shenanigans. In Lily’s world, anything is possible: a simple song she hums can go viral and top the charts. A quiet surprise picnic for her best buddy Roger can lead to a city-wide adventure featuring falafel waffles (yum) and a wise guru (of course). Lily the Unicorn puts a hilarious spin on everyday situations as Lily transforms even the most typical day into something extraordinary.

Bear in Underwear
Age: 6-11; animated
If there’s one thing any forest creature needs before stepping out to greet the day it’s…underwear? At least that is the way the lovable cast of Bear in Underwear sees things! Welcome to Shady Glade Woods where Eddie Behr, an eternally optimistic, high energy bear, and his quirky group of animal friends and family reside. Eddie aspires to be a forest legend just like his dad, who discovered “pants” at an abandoned campsite (well, actually, what he really discovered were tighty whiteys…but no one knows the difference!). Although Eddie is eager to make just as positive an impact on his community as his father did, he soon realizes that success may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. Delightful hijinks ensue in a world full of forest animals who look at everything from a slightly skewed point of view.

A History of Radness
Age: 6-11; live-action
Written and Executive Produced by Andrew Green (Hannah Montana), A History of Radness captures the authentic experience of aspiring musicians forming their band. The story follows siblings Jack and Tessie from their less-than-cool middle school beginnings at Pleasant Meadows Middle School to the start of their music careers as they put together a band of like-minded musicians, considered outsiders by fellow classmates.

The Kicks
Age: 6-11; live-action
Devin Burke was the star player on her soccer team back home until her family moved to California midway through the school year. Now, Devin has to rise to the challenge after discovering that her new school team has been on a losing streak over the last few months and is badly in need of a leader to rally the team together.

How to watch these new shows

Amazon Prime members have exclusive access to popular TV series at no additional cost to their membership. Prime members also have access to a collection of kids shows now airing including Amazon Original Series’ Annedroids, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street and the Annecy, Annie and multi-Emmy Award-winning Tumble Leaf from Bix Pix Entertainment, as well as popular shows from Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, Blue’s Clues and The Bubble Guppies.

In addition to tens of thousands of titles to instantly stream, the Amazon Prime membership (www.amazon.com/primevideo) includes one million songs and hundreds of playlists with Prime Music, unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items, early access to select Lightning Deals, unlimited photo storage, and access to more than 800,000 books all for $99 a year.

GoPro HERO+ LCD Launch at Best Buy = Amazing Father’s Day Gift!

June 16, 2015TechnologyBest Buy, GoProAlicia

Note to readers: I have been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

Father’s Day is just around the corner and Best Buy is the destination for the gadgets and gear Dad loves like the latest cameras and camcorders, and the new GoPro HERO+LCD. The new camera arrives in stores just in time for Father’s Day.

My husband and I love to capture great action shots and videos of the kids enjoying their favorite activity and the new GoPro HERO+LCD makes it easier and more fun than ever to do just that! Moments just captured can be relived on-the-spot with the LCD display. The GoPro HERO+LCD takes 8MP photos, 1080p60 video, and has built in Wi-Fi making it easy to preview content and share favorite videos to Instagram, Facebook and more platforms. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth® connection to the GoPro App allow for total camera control. The curved and flat mount allow the GoPro HERO+LCD to be easily mounted to helmets, skateboards, bicycles, and more!

How excited would the Father in your life be if he received a GoPro HERO+LCD for Father’s Day? This is a gift that the kids will enjoy as much as Dad. That can’t be said for all Father’s Day gifts!

Make it an all-in-one awesome Father’s Day. Help Dad capture his adventures and relive them on the spot with the new GoPro HERO+ LCD! Imagine the fun videos and photos you would capture with the GoPro HERO+LCD this summer! Surfing, kayaking, screaming on rides at amusements parks, and riding a bike for the first time are all great moments to capture.

GoPro HERO+LCD Offers at Best Buy Now!

HERO+LCD (Sku 6954009) with free 32GB Extreme Plus memory card (Sku 9387066). Valid 6/14-6/20

Free $50 Best Buy Gift Card with purchase of the GoPro HERO4 Silver (Sku 8374096) or GoPro HERO4 Black (Sku 8374078). Valid 6/7-6/20

Best Buy: LG G4 – An Exceptional Visual Experience in the Palm of your Hand

June 9, 2015Smartphones, Sponsored, TechnologyBest Buy, LG G4Alicia

The LG G4 has landed at Best Buy and it’s causing quite the excitement. LG’s latest phone boasts an impressive camera, improved display and expandable memory making the LG G4 a great option if you’re in the market for a new smartphone. The latest cell phone from LG features a superior camera experience, a cutting-edge 5.5″ display and an elegant and comfortable design and you can check it out now at your local Best Buy.

Camera & Display

The G4’s camera app has a manual mode with 15 settings and over 135 options as well as improved Laser Auto Focus so you’re always ready to capture the moment your daughter nails the pirouette she’s been practicing for months. 11% more light is brought into low-light photographs, thanks to the lens with an aperture of f/1.8, resulting in great photos of the kids playing sports in the evening. 538ppi give the screen incredible detail and sharpness and with such an impressive pixel-dense display you, and your kids, are sure to enjoy multimedia for hours. Just what you need right? The 25% brighter display and 50% improvement in contrast (from LG G3) makes for colors that are vibrant and eye-catching which you’ll definitely notice when you take a look at the LG G4 at your local Best Buy. Capture a photo with the 16MP rear facing camera while you’re at the store and you’ll be captured.. by the LG G4! Your teen will appreciate the 8MP front facing camera making selfies better than ever and photo enthusiasts (aka parents of newborns) will appreciate the G4s RAW image file capture allowing for the highest possible image quality so photos can be blown up to poster size and framed for the grandparents. Just kidding.. I would *never* do that. Wink. You know those times when you’ve tried to capture a photograph of your dog catching a frisbee or your baby taking his first steps? The G4s Optical Image Stabilization steadies the shot for a sharp, focused image while the color-spectrum sensor, a feature that adjusts the white balance according to the lighting situation, further makes the LG G4 a captivating phone.

Look & Feel

I like the LG G4’s slightly curved back. It helps the phone feel secure in my hand. The G4 has a 5.5″ screen and because the edges are narrower than many phones with the same screen size, the phone feels more compact. Available back cover styles include black or brown genuine leather and metallic and ceramic style for a premium look and feel.

Android 5.1 Lollipop with LG’s new UX 4 provides familiar usability features to Android users, like Dual Window, Smart Notices, multi-tasking, Knock On/Code, which allows you to unlock the screen by tapping on it, multi-user support, and more.

Storage & Memory

LG’s G4 has 3GB of RAM providing users with quick processing and a plethora of multi-tasking opportunities.. something parents love! 😉 The LGG4 comes with 32GB native storage and a microSD card slot. You read that right. Not only do you get 32GB of internal storage, you can expand the storage capability of your G4 with a microSD card. Imagine not worrying about running out of space for photos and videos at your kids next game or recital. Speaking of never running out.. the G4 has a replaceable high capacity 3,000mAH battery so you won’t ever run out of battery during a big game again!

Get a $100 Best Buy® Gift Card!

Best Buy customers are guaranteed a $100 Best Buy® Gift Card when they purchase the LG G4. Offer valid LG G4 Release Date-6/13/15

We have been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

Get Ready For Summer Camp With Mabel’s Labels Camp Label Pack

June 3, 2015Fashion & StyleCamp, mabel's labels, SponsoredAlicia

This post was originally published June 2015 but all information is still relevant.

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Mabel’s Labels. I received a voucher to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Madelyn has had label stickers with her name on them for as long as I can remember. They were on her sippy cups she took to preschool, her lunchbox she took to pre-K, the jacket she wore to kindergarten, and the water bottle she took to summer camp. I remember my mom or dad wrote my name on my clothes tags and other valuable items I might have been prone to lose at school or camp. Now parents don’t have to dig through their junk drawer to find a sharpie and hope the sharpie ink lasts through more than a few washes.

Mabel’s Labels solved that issue with their award-winning, customizable label products that are laundry, dishwasher, UV resistant, waterproof, and microwave safe! Their Limited Edition Camp Label Pack includes every type of label your child’s valuables need to help avoid mix-ups and lost items at summer camp. We put Madelyn’s customized camp labels on her water bottle, lunch box, sun hat, flashlight, and backpack.. so far. I’m sure we’ll find a dozen more things to put labels on like shoes, shirts, swimsuit, towel, goggles, and knowing her she’ll probably want a label on her favorite pencil. 🙂

The first year Madelyn went to summer camp she was a bit hesitant. To get her excited about camp we let her decorate her camp bag with stickers, colorful Sharpie markers, and put name labels on.. well, everything! The name labels were mostly for my sake at the time. I figured she’d lose her water bottle or lunch box and I wanted to make life easier on myself by having her name plastered on her belongings. Now, years later, this has become a tradition. To get her ready for camp, we spread her camp gear out on the living room floor, get stickers, Sharpies, and name labels, turn on KidzBop and have a blast customizing her camp gear!

Creating and ordering Madelyn’s camp labels was fun and easy. Shoppers can customize their labels with their child’s name, choice of dozens of designs, colors, and fonts. Madelyn loves hearts so we went with those for her labels. She flip-flopped between the peace sign, hearts, and canoe – so many choices! She also couldn’t decide which font she liked best so we did a coin toss between our top two favorites and wahlah.. we had a font!