Category Archives: Arts and Crafts

Crayola “Inside the Crayon Box” Prize Pack Giveaway {Contest Closed}

March 20, 2012Arts and Crafts, Contests, Giveaways, New postscrayola, giveawayAlicia

Crayola has been in my life for years and years. I remember melting Crayola crayons on our driveway in Florida. I would set my Crayola crayons that were too small to color with on the driveway or sidewalk and leave them there for the day then check on them later to find them melted. “Yes! What a pretty blob” is probably what I was thinking at 7 years old. Things like melting crayons are what make life fascinating for a child don’t you think? Something as simple as crayons can create memories that last a lifetime.

I’m thrilled that my 5 year old daughter is finally getting into coloring. For the longest time she wouldn’t color because she wanted to stay inside the lines but didn’t have the fine motor skills do make that happen and she would get frustrated. Please note.. I didn’t request that she stay in the lines! That’s not the way I color! Now she will color for a couple of hours straight. I love it.

We recently received a pack of products from Crayola and MyBlogSpark to try out and it couldn’t have been better timing. We have been on the road a lot lately and all of the products except for the Kaleidoscope Chalk are great for car rides.

Crayola Mess Free Color Wonder Tiny Tube
With over 10 ft of coloring, perforated activity pages, a carry-along handle and the ability to store markers inside, kids can color at home or on the road; markers magically appear only on the special Color Wonder paper, not on skin.
I LOVE this! The pictures are perforated and each picture has slightly sticky strips on the back allowing it to stick to a table or travel desk so it doesn’t slide. Great for car rides!

Crayola Crystal Effect Window Markers
Turn an ordinary window or mirror into a colorful crystal canvas and create amazing effects on an unexpected surface that can be wiped clean with a damp cloth.
We spent hours Saturday playing with Crayola Crystal Effect Window Markers. My daughter loved the way her drawings would crystalize and “turn into ice pictures”.
Watch a video of my daughter discussing her favorite things about Crayola Crystal Effect Window Markers

Crayola Washable Kaleidoscope Chalk
Experience sidewalk art in amazing new ways, by drawing designs, putting on the 3D Kaleidoscope glasses and watching as creations pop up off the ground.
My daughter had a friend over to play with Crayola Washable Kaleidoscope Chalk. The outlined each other and then colored themselves in. The loved the way their hair and ‘clothes’ would pop out at them when they put the 3D Kaleidoscope glasses on.

Crayola Dry-Erase Bright Crayons
A dry-erase drawing and writing tool for kids that’s washable, smudge-proof, odorless, and will never dry out.
These crayons are easy to clean. That was my biggest concern with these but I was surprised to find that they really do wipe right off the dry erase board with a paper towel.

Crayola Dual-Sided Dry Erase Board
This two-sided board is white on one side and black on the other switching the typical whiteboard up. This combined with the Caryola Dry-Erase Bright Crayons make for eye-popping pictures or messages!

My First Crayola Washable Crayons, Markers & Stampers
Just the right size and shape for little hands, toddlers can create bright and colorful designs with no caps to lose or no messy ink pads.
My daughter just had to try the stampers out and sure enough she had a great time with them. I thought she would be too old for them but she made beautiful pictures out of the stamps.

To learn more about the tools from Crayola that make it easy for parents to help children develop their creativity www.Crayola.com and like Crayola on Facebook!

My daughter’s demonstration and favorite things about Crayola Crystal Effect Window Markers

Watch Crayola’s “Creativity Matters” and “Inspire” videos on YouTube for inspiration and entertainment!

Who wants to win a Crayola “Inside the Crayon Box” prize pack?
This contest has ended. Congratulations Kelly T!

The prize pack contains:

My First Crayola Washable Crayons, Markers & Stampers
Crayola Mess Free Color Wonder Tiny Tube
Crayola Crystal Effect Window Markers
Crayola Washable Kaleidoscope Chalk
Crayola Dry-Erase Bright Crayons
Crayola Dual-Sided Dry Erase Board

To enter leave a comment below telling us what your favorite Crayola memory or experience is OR who you would give the prize pack to.

Earn extra entries:

2 entries – Like The Mommy Insider on Facebook
2 entries – Follow Mommy Insider on Twitter
2 entries – Subscribe to our RSS newsletter
3 entries each time – Tweet about this giveaway: “I entered to win a Crayola prize pack on TheMommyInsider.com. You can enter this #giveaway here: http://wp.me/plszx-2TY @mommyinsider”
3 entries each – Enter any of our other contests and let us know which contests you entered in the comments below
5 entries – Blog about this giveaway on your own blog and leave the URL in the comments below. Do not copy and paste this post into your blog.
Be sure to tell us what you’ve done in the comments below.

Contest Rules:

Entries accepted through 11:59PM EST March 29th, 2012.
U.S. Residents only.
Ages 21+.
No P.O. Boxes
Winner must respond to our email within 24 hours to claim their prize.
Read The Mommy Insider’s Contest Rules here. By entering this contest you are agreeing to the rules.

Disclosure: The Crayola “Inside the Crayon Box” prize pack, product information and prize pack for giveaway have been provided by Crayola through MyBlogSpark.

Lisa Loeb Interview: Lisa on Motherhood, Kids, and Creativity

March 19, 2012Arts and Crafts, Celebrity Momscrayola, Lisa LoebAlicia

I had such a great time during the Crayola “Inside the Crayon Box” live chat with Lisa Loeb a couple of weeks ago and was thrilled when I was given the opportunity through MyBlogSpark and Crayola to ask Lisa a few more questions after the live chat. Lisa Loeb has been in my live since I was in college.. 1995-ish. Remember her hit song Stay (I Missed You)? I listened to that song thousands of times. Lisa stands out as a creative artist to me because her songs are honest and emotional. There’s depth to Lisa’s music and during my recent chat with her and the interview answers, I learned that Lisa really is very creative, honest and passionate about life, being a mother, her music and her new book Lisa Loeb’s Silly Sing-Along: The Disappointing Pancake and Other Zany Songs.

So, on with the interview.

Me: If you were stuck in a room with colored paper clips what would you do with them?

Lisa: I’d probably put one on each fingertip and pretend they’re long colorful fingernails. That was a dream of my sister and I when we were young, to have long nails, and I think we used to do this trick with the paperclips.

Me: What is the biggest challenge you have faced being a relatively new parent?

Lisa: The biggest challenge is making sure I get enough sleep. Sleep fuels me for the day, emotionally, physically, creatively, and I’m a better wife, mother, and creative person when I get enough. I have to remind myself that my two-year-old daughter has her own inner alarm clock, which is pretty regular, so I need to respect that and plan my sleep accordingly. When sleep is properly planned, everything’s more fun. There are a number of interesting parenting things I’m learning about as well, like discipline, and learning to tell my daughter “no,” which I guess is part of discipline. But, that being said, sleep really makes everything easier for everyone.

Me: What websites do you turn to for parenting tips and advice?

Lisa: I look at all kinds of sites, from healthychild.org, to Parenting.com, to thebump.com. Often I look up a subject and then troll around the Internet looking for information that helps.

Me: What’s your take on elementary and middle schools cutting funding for art classes/programs?

Lisa: I think art classes and programs as well as physical education classes and programs are a major part of our responsibility to our kids. The creative and physical element of a child’s life really enhances the rest of their ability to learn and experience life. Cutting the budget for these things really deprives a child of what they need to become a well-rounded human.

Me: What is one thing that you wish someone had told you about being a new mom, before your daughter was born? (I wish someone told me….)

Lisa: I have so many books and advice that people gave me about being a new mom… I’m trying to think about what they didn’t say. I guess that the first few months are really exciting and beautiful with a new child, but it’s also like a hazing period. I didn’t realize that something as basic as learning how to put a child to sleep could seem so complicated. I had heard that the love you feel for your child is so unbelievable, and they were right.

For more Lisa Loeb interview questions watch Crayola’s “Inside the Crayon Box” Chat with Lisa Loeb video below. It’s 45 minutes long and it really is worth it to watch the entire video so get comfy and enjoy!

Be sure to check out Lisa’s book Lisa Loeb’s Silly Sing-Along: The Disappointing Pancake and Other Zany Songs (Sterling Children’s Books, 2011) available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. Sing, laugh, and play with pop Lisa in this fabulous collection of ten of the silliest songs ever. Fun activities, games, and recipes accompany whimsical songs. Take Lisa’s Silly Sing-Along with you wherever you go and get the high-spirited good times started. Includes a 10-song CD recorded by Lisa!

Connect with Lisa Loeb

Connect with Crayola

Crayola Innovations, Just in Time for the Holidays – A Crayola Giveaway Too! #MyBlogSpark #Giveaway

December 11, 2011Arts and Crafts, Contests, Crafts, Giveaways, New postscrayola, giveaway, Mom SparkAlicia

When I was a kid Crayola was simply crayons. Crayola has taken crayons and creativity to a whole new level in recent years. Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Crayola, we received Crayola’s 150 count Crayola Crayon Tower, Crayola Glow Book, Crayola Ultimate Art Supplies, and the Crayola Jewelry making Boutique. Coloring is so much more now than it was when we were growing up, and both of my kids have had a blast with these Crayola products.

Inspire hours of wonder, adventure and dreams by giving a child more than presents for the holidays. Crayola brings colorful ideas to life and allows kids to express everything imaginable by making it super easy for parents to find something that will unleash all kids original ideas with their Holiday Gift Guide at www.crayola.com/gifts.

Crayola Telescoping Crayon Tower

The Crayola CrayonTower puts an astounding 150 Crayola crayons at your child’s disposal. The Crayon Tower, has a telescoping design, which enables your child to see their color choices more easily than when they are in a box. No more having to pour a bunch of crayons onto the table or floor, which we all know turns into a huge mess! The crayons in the Crayon Tower are much easier for a little hand to grasp than when they are in a box. The Crayola Tower comes with a crayon sharpener.

Recommended for children 4+, the Ultimate Art Supply Kit contains 24 crayons, 8 washable broad line markers, 12 colored pencils, 8 washable watercolors, 1 paint brush, school glue, scissors, and colored paper and retails for $16.99.

Crayola Ultimate Art Supply Case

The Crayola Ultimate Art Supply case makes coloring on the road or at Grandmother’s house so much easier. I no longer have bags of Crayons in my purse. When the case is open, your child is presented with a neatly organized portable art center including crayons, markers, colored pencils, scissors, glue, and there is even a little space for paper.

The Crayon Tower retails for $17.99.

Crayola Glow Book

Really bringing coloring to another level is the amazing Crayola Glow Book. Not only can your child use their imagination but they can also make the pictures move and honestly, what’s better than that when it comes to coloring? I think the Glow Book builds confidence too. When my 5 year old first played with the Glow Book, she left the room with it and a little bit later she came back with the adorable animation of a seed sprouting into a flower that she had created all by herself. The look of accomplishment on her face, was priceless.

Using special glowing-ink markers to draw on each of the four clear pages, kids can choose one of the four tracing guides to create original scenes, signs and messages, and arrange them in their desired order. Then, just hit the lights and allow your kids to wow you with wildly colorful, glowing animated scenes. Variable light settings create colorful, multi-layered effects. The Crayola Glow Book wipes off easily so kids can use their imaginations to create endless glowing artwork! A simple wet cloth will do.

Recommended for children ages 6+, the kit includes one Glow Book with 4 clear pages, 4 animation tracing guides and 6 glow markers and retails for $24.99.

Crayola Jewelry Boutique

My daughter had such a great time creating beads and jewelry with the Crayola Jewelry Boutique. She was so proud to be designing her own jewelry and even created some beads and pieces for other people! Crayola put a unique “spin” on jewelry making with a special “jewelry spinner” that creates multi-colored beads using Crayola Model Magic. As kids spin their beads into shapes, they can string them together to create original bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and pendants that reflect their own personal style. Let the designing begin!

Recommended for children ages 6+, each Jewelry Boutique kit includes 8 packs of Crayola Model Magic to mold 160 beads, 5 bracelet charms, 3 pendant charms, 2 shape cutters, a bead dryer rack, 5 toggle sets, 4 earring posts and ear wires, a bead punch, 18 gems, 2 necklace cords, 1 elastic cord, bead glaze, and the Jewelry Boutique Spinner with storage areas and retails for $24.99.

Connect with Crayola

GIVEAWAY!

We are giving a lucky reader a Crayola Innovative Holiday prize pack containing:

(1) Jewelry Boutique
(1) Glow Book
(1) 150-ct Crayon Tower
(1) Ultimate Art Supplies case

Entries accepted through 11:59pm EST December 19th
Open to U.S. Residents. No P.O. Boxes

To enter, leave a comment below telling us why you want to win this great Crayola prize pack!

2 extra entries:

Like The Mommy Insider on Facebook
Follow @mommyinsider on Twitter
Subscribe to my email newsletter or RSS feed
3 extra entries – Tweet about this contest (up to 4 times per day). Your Tweet MUST include the name of the item being given away, my Twitter handle (@mommyinsider), the hashtag #giveaway, and a link to this post.
Example tweet:
“I entered to win a Crayola prize pack from @mommyinsider! Enter here: http://wp.me/plszx-2CL #Giveaway”
5 extra entries per giveaway you enter – Enter any of our other giveaways and/or The Divine Miss Mommy’s giveaways and leave a comment below telling us which giveaways you entered.

3 extra entries:

Blog about this giveaway as a separate blog post on your own blog then leave the URL to your blog post in the comments below. Do not copy and paste this post onto your blog though! 🙂

Disclosure: The Crayola Innovative Holiday prize pack, product information and prize pack for giveaway have been provided by Crayola through MyBlogSpark.

5 Things You Can Do With Post-It® Craft Paper

November 9, 2011Arts and Crafts, New postsactivity, arts, craft, Post-ItAlicia

Post-It® Craft Paper holds many possibilities for all children! The paper is thick and has a peel-off backing. I love how mess-free Post-It® Craft Paper is for children. My five-year-old can create beautiful pictures and ‘art’ without using glue or tape. She seemed to have an easy time getting the backing off of the paper which was my primary concern. She was able to cut the paper just fine and loved the different colors in the pack I gave her. She created a scene with grass, trees, a sunshine (see photo below), and clouds, all by herself. She was so proud and she had a great time creating piece after piece of art while I worked next to her!

Here are 5 crafts your child can create with Post-It® Craft Paper:

1. Create a holiday scene
Your child can easily cut out decorations for a background for any holiday including Thanksgiving or Christmas and simply peel and stick to create a one-of-a-kind piece of art. By cutting out the basic triangle for a Christmas tree, your child can then cut out ornaments, decorations, and gifts out of the paper and attach it to the page, mess-free.

2. Make a card
It’s peel and stick ability make it easy for a child to create a card for a birthday gift or holiday party for that special friend. My 5-year-old made her friend a birthday ‘card’ out of Post-It® Craft Paper a few days ago! It was adorable!

3. Create a scrapbook picture frame
Cut shapes out of the paper in a variety of colors and use the shapes to decorate a picture frame for a loved one with a photo of your child inside. This is perfect for the grandparent who has everything!

4. Paint a picture that can hang itself
The genius of Post-It® Craft Paper is that your child can create their artwork on the paper and it can be stuck directly to the wall without damaging paint or wallpaper. This makes the perfect gift for Dad to take to work to put on his office wall.

5. Custom make stickers
Allow your child to draw favorite pictures and characters on the paper then cut them out. Reward jobs well done with custom stickers or use the cuts-outs to decorate notebooks, folders, and papers!

Learn more about Post-It® Craft Paper here on the Post-It website.

Do you have ideas on how to use Post-It® Craft Paper? Share your ideas with us in the comments below.

Disclosure: I was given a Post-It® Craft Paper to use for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own.

Musicolor – kids color, play, and listen to their own music art!

October 27, 2009Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Arts and Crafts, Featured Articles, New postsart, Crafts, delta creative, musicolor, PreschoolAlicia

Musicolor is such a cool concept. Both of my kids (10 and 3) love Musicolor and as you know if you have two kids of very different ages, they don’t often like the same toy or game. Madelyn enjoys the blank ‘Create-a-song’ music cards while Sebastian enjoys coloring, playing, and listening to the detailed cards (pre-printed song discs) that are color-by-number.

So what exactly is Musicolor and what does it do?
Musicolor is a display of innovative technology mixed with a classic coloring activity. The music player unit is modeled after the classic record player (which my kids have never seen!), the technology, however, is anything but classic.
The Musicolor music player consists of a rotating base and an arm for reading the music discs, much the same as a DVD player reads a DVD. The arm scans over the colored areas of the music disc rotating on the music player, reads the color and translates it to sound. Kids can choose to play their music to the sound of a piano, violin or trumpet.
Using the pre-printed coloring discs, simply color in the spaces according to the letter printed in the area, when you are done, the disc will play the song for the scene you have just colored! If you really want to be creative, use the blank song discs and create your own songs from scratch!

Kids receive the fun and reward of coloring a picture, which is magically transformed into music! A combination of art and music that any child can proudly share with their parents, family and friends! Three Blind Mice, Hickory Dickory Dock, and London Bridge are just a few songs included in the Musicolor set.

Delta Creative offers kids other great products to bring out their creative side including their rainbow paint set (Madelyn’s playing with hers in the photo to the right) which includes 12 washable tempura paints, 3 paint brushes and a paint tray. Delta Creative has a selection of Nickelodeon products including the Dora and Sponge Bob stamp sets great for kids 4 and older.

Delta Creative products can be purchased at Michael’s, JoAnn, Hobby Lobby, and other art and craft stores.

Learn more about these and other Delta Creative products here at Delta Creative’s website.

Musicolor commercial: