Chocolate Emoji Maker and Zimpli Kids Products

We received a Chocolate Emoji Maker to review along with some other really cool Zimpli Kids Products. The girls love Zimpli Kids products and couldn’t wait to get started!

Chocolate Emoji Maker

This fab little kit comes with everything you need to make 2 Chocolate Emoji Bars. The instructions are nice and easy to follow and both Izzy (5) and Eva (9) really enjoyed making their chocolate emojis.

Chocolate Emoji Maker

Once the chocolate had melted in the warm water, it was time to get to work! Following the instructions the girls found they were able to follow the outlines pretty well.

Using White, Milk and Dark chocolate girls managed to create their chocolate emojis in just a few minutes. The hard part was waiting for them to set! Thankfully that didn’t take too long.

This kit was really fun, I can see us buying more chocolate and doing it again too as it was such a quick, simple and enjoyable activity and of course, ends in chocolate!

Snoballs

Snoballs

We also received some Snoball Sachets, simply mix with water create your own Snoballs! Perfect for indoor sensory play or outdoors. The Snoballs break down naturally or can be washed away leaving no mess behind. The girls love playing with Snoballs and seeing who can create the biggest one!

Blue Gelli Baff

Blue Gelli Baff is amazing! Simply add to your bath water and watch it turn into blue Gelli! This fun stuff doesn’t stain the skin and comes with a handy sachet that dissolves it all at the end making it safe to drain your bath.

Gelli Baff

We love using Gelli Bath to play with too, Izzy set up a bowl of Gelli Bath to give her toy dolphins a bath. As you can see they had plenty of fun too!

Dolphins having a Gelli Baff

Gelli Baff comes in several colours and is great fun at bathtime or in a tub for sensory play. Both my girls have sensitive skin and have had no issues using Gelli Baff either which is always a plus.

Crackle Baff Colours

Crackle Baff Colours

Add Crackle Baff to your bath water and hear it crackle as it changes colour! This makes another great sensory play activity as well as a fun bath product. The crystals crackle and pop so loudly whilst they turn your bath a mystery colour which Izzy thought was amazing.

Crackle Baff Colours

Mess-Free Fun – Playfoam Pluffle Review

We’re enjoying mess-free fun with Playfoam Pluffle which we were kindly sent to review by Learning Resources UK in September. Pluffle is the mesmerising feel-good fluffy stuff which is mess-free meaning both children and parents will love it!

Playfoam Pluffle

Play Foam Pluffle

Playfoam Pluffle comes in packs of 2, 4 and 9 and suitable for children 5 years and up. We were kindly sent three 2-packs to review including Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Pink and Purple. Unlike similar products, this can’t dry out, can be mixed and is completely amazing to touch and watch. Several packs and colours are available to buy making Pluffle a flexible and fun product.

Playing with Playfoam Pluffle

Pluffle is a fantastic learning resource, squishing, squeezing a pinching develops hand strength and watching the lava-lamp like flow encourages concentration. This truly is mesmerising and we all found ourselves flipping over handfuls to watch it fall and flow.

Under the sea Playfoam Pluffle sensory play scene

Imaginative Sensory Play

Izzy was fascinated and couldn’t wait to let her imagination loose finding an assortment of toys to create play scenes. She loves the feeling and says it tickles her fingers! It really is super soft to the touch.

Izzy loves to mix things so she had most of the colours a little mixed in rather quickly too otherwise I could have added more photos’s.

Beach Playfoam Pluffle Scene

I love this beach scene Izzy created using the Blue and Yellow Pluffle though. She sat playing with this scene for quite some time, burying characters in ‘sand’, letting them swim in the ‘sea’ along with the sea creatures.

Our Thoughts

Overall we think Playfoam Pluffle is brilliant and a great SEN resource for children aged 5-10 years. Izzy really enjoys pulling out her tubs to play with. Even Eva had fun getting involved feeling Pluffle and setting up scenes.

Have you seen or heard of Playfoam Pluffle before?

New Angry Birds Toys Review

We were sent new Angry Birds toys from Jazwares to play with this week after the release of the Angry Birds 2 movie!

New Angry Birds Toys from Jazwares

New Angry Birds Toys

The new Angry Birds toy line includes Splat Balls, Catablind collectable figures, plushes, a figure pack, a game pack, and a Pic City build N’ Launch playset.

Angry Birds Feature Plush

Angry Birds Feature Plush - Red

We received a lovely Angry Birds Feature Plush (Red) which is made with soft Velboa fabric and polyester fill. Press Red’s wing to hear five different angry grunting sounds! Each plush is made with authentic details, Red’s include his bushy eyebrows and fun hair. This 9inch plush toy is a great gift for fans of all ages.

Angry Birds Splat Balls

Angry Birds Splat Ball - Red

Angry Birds Splat Balls are available in Red, the angriest bird; Bomg, the most explosive bird; Chuck, the speediest bird, and Piggy, the most mischievous of them all! These fun, interactive birds are made with colourful, game-authentic details. Suitable for ages 6 and up, these come with a card to scan for an exclusive game on the Angry Birds App. We recommend trimming your nails when using these as we accidentally split ours!

Angry Birds Mission Pack

Angry Birds Mission Pack

With Red, Bomb, Chuck, Blue Bird, and King Leonard you can relive your favourite Angry Birds triumphs. Pressing their buttons will get them all riled up. These fun and interactive birds are made with colourful, game-authentic details and high-quality material. These 3inch figures are a great gift for fans aged 6 and up. These also come with a card to scan for an exclusive game on the Angry Birds app.

We think these toys are really cool and Eva loves angry birds! You can find this range of toys at Smyths, Argos, Entertainer, Amazon, Gamestop, Tesco and all good retailers.

Do you love Angry Birds too? Which of these new toys do you like best?

Zuru Smashers Epic Dino Egg

We received the Zuru Smashers Epic Dino Egg to review last week along with a Collectors Tin and a pack of 6 Dino Smashers. These fantastic new toys are so much, simply smash them and see what’s inside!

Zuru Smashers Epic Dino Egg

Zuru Smashers Epic Dino Egg

The Zuru Smashers Epic Dino Egg is a giant egg full of Dino fun. Crack open the giant egg to discover a giant Dino Egg Yolk bag packed full of goodies.

Zuru Smashers Epic Dino Egg

Eva had great fun smashing open the Epic Dino Egg as you may have seen over on Instagram on Friday.

Once we cracked the egg open we discovered a Dino Egg Yolk bag full of Dino goodies. We were so excited to get it open and find out what was inside.

Dino Egg Yolk Pack

The Epic Dino Egg comes with a Scratch N’ find map, a digging tool, Dino glowing slime, Ice age putty, fossil rock, fizzy lava volcano, 6 mini smash eggs containing surprise characters, instructions for rebuilding the egg and a smash-o-saur!

Egg Yolk Contents

We loved the Epic Dino Egg, each item contains bones to discover and build your smash-o-saur! Because the egg can be rebuilt we can keep having smashing fun too. Here’s a sneak peek below but we won’t spoil all the surpises.

Glowing Slime

This Epic Dino Egg really is epic with so many activities inside and collectibles this will make any childs day. We’ve had loads of fun rebuilding and smashing the eggs all over the place!

Collectors Tin

Smashers collectors tin

The Collectors Tin comes with one surprise character and one mini smash egg. This cool tin is fantastic for storing all your surprise characters in.

Dino Smashers

Mini Smashers

There are also 6 packs of mini Dino smashers available, you can buy any of the Zuru Smashers Dino range at Smyths, Argos, Tesco, Asda, B&M, Sainsbury’s and all major retailers.

Do you know someone who would love Zuru Smashers too?

New Summer Clothes

I was sent new summer clothes from JD Williams to review a few weeks ago. They have a fantastic clothing range to suit everyone! I’m not very girly and tend to opt more for hoodies and jeans but I wanted something a little nicer for this summer. You can probably see I felt a little awkward as I rarely take photo’s of me due to my acne and eczema but I love the clothes!

New Summer Clothes

New Summer Clothes

I received this gorgeous striped Monsoon linen Top, perfect for wearing with a white vest top underneath. The linen will keep you nice and cool in the hot weather and goes well with most trousers.

Linen cover-up

This Monsoon navy linen cover-up is absolutely perfect. I love how lightweight, soft and cosy this cover-up is. The top and cover-up go together nicely too!

JD Williams

JD Williams have a wide range of summer clothes available right now, I would definitely recommend checking them out. I’m looking forward to wearing this top and cover-up over the summer knowing I can pair them easily. Order before 11pm for Next day delivery and if you are unhappy with your items you can return them within 28 days.

Have you bought any new summer clothes?

Distilling Water With The Megahome Water Distiller

Distilling water offers many health benefits as it removes any contaminants within the water. We were kindly sent the Megahome Water Distiller to review this month and we love it!

Distilling Water With The Megahome Water Distiller

Distilling Water – Health Benefits

Drinking distilled water not only protects you from harmful contaminants it also helps prevent kidney stones, improves bodily functions and protects teeth from discolouration caused by too much fluoride in your water. Humans are made up of around 70% water, drinking distilled water is the best way to ensure you are drinking purer water than bottled or tap water with additional benefits.

Glass of Water

Tap water can contain potentially harmful chemicals such as pesticides, nitrates, fertiliser and contamination from lead or copper pipes. By distilling water with the Megahome Water Distiller, you can prevent long term exposure to these chemicals which could harm your body. You can read about more health benefits of distilling water here.

Megahome Water Distiller

The Megahome Water Distiller is really quick and easy to set up. Simply attach the handle to the glass jug first. Next, fill with 4L water ensuring you do not pass the FULL line. Then add a charcoal filter, folded in half into the nozzle. The nozzle easily clips in place on the lid. Ensure the nozzle and spout of the water jug are properly aligned to avoid any spills. Insert the power cord and plug it in the socket and switch to ‘I’ to start your first distillation.

Megahome Water Distiller

Cleaning Your Distiller

Cleaning your Megahome water distiller before use is really easy, simply wash with warm soapy water. Using a sponge or cloth, wipe the inside of the distiller, ensuring the body and outlet stays clean and dry throughout.

After distillation, you can use the cleaner provided with your distiller. Remove the lid and pour in hot water surpassed the residue build-up. Next, add 8-10g or 1 tablespoon of the cleaner into the tank. Turn the power button to ‘I’ position, the press ‘RESET’ and allow to boil over for 20 minutes. Allow the distiller to fully cool down, approximately 20 minutes before wiping out the residue with a nonabrasive cloth or sponge.

The Megahome Water Distiller is a quick and easy way to distil water for you and your family to ensure they are getting as many health benefits as possible from the water they drinking day to day. The distiller is easy to set up, use and clean and offers many benefits. You can really taste the difference when drinking distilled water compared to tap or bottled water too!

Have you tried distilling water before? Would you use a water distiller if you haven’t before?

Conversation Cards For Kids From Together Equal

We received a set of conversation cards from Together Equal. Together Equal targets families, with profits from every pack going directly to small, independent charities working towards equality.

Conversation cards for kids from together equal

As a family we often discuss equality and we were excited to use Together Equal’s conversation cards. Together Equal is a not for profit organisation which works with a number of charities supporting victims of abuse. Having had the support of Women’s Aid in the past, I personally love the whole idea and product.

Together Equal

Research has proven the power of conversations with an OECD study identifying the positive impacts of conversations between children and their parent or guardians. Using this knowledge, Together equal have created an enjoyable, engaging game that can be played at home or on the go. Then conversation cards have been developed for families with children aged 7-11 year although Izzy (4) has been joining in with us too! There is a variety of topics, some fun, some are thought-provoking and some touch on societal gender stereotypes.

Family Discussions

Equality - Is it ok for boys to cry?

We have used the conversation cards quite a bit to be honest, the girls love a good discussion! One of the first cards we discussed asked ‘Is it ok for boys to cry?’. Both girls instantly answered yes! It’s a topic we have discussed before so I wasn’t surprised by their answers. Eva happily explained to us why it’s ok for boys to cry too which was lovely to hear.

Together Equal - Conversation cards for kids

Another favourite card asked ‘If you could make a law that everyone had to follow what would it be?’. Eva answered that she would make it a law for everyone to be kind all the time. Izzy’s answer was funny, she said she would make it a law for everyone to drink one beer a day!

Tell the person next to you what you think makes them awesome

We have kept the conversation cards on my desk and quite often one of the girls will open them up and ask if we can pick one to discuss. I love this, it’s a really fun way to start a conversation. I love the card above, it’s a lovely way of making your friends and family feel good about themselves. Hearing the girls tell each other why they think the other is awesome was adorable!

Honestly, I think these cards are fantastic, you can take them anywhere to get a conversation going. Knowing profits after production costs all go to fantastic charities that help victims of abuse get their life back is reassuring. I know too well just how much donations can change peoples lives and Together Equal are doing amazing work to spread equality and help others.

Have you heard of Together Equal’s Conversation Cards before?

Stationery Giveaway – National Stationery Week

Twitter decided a stationery giveaway for a national stationery week in a poll I ran last week! This is not a sponsored giveaway I’m just a big stationery lover. I got a little excited about the national stationery week coming up and wanted to share the excitement.

You can get so creative with a pen and some paper. From writing stories, poems and doodling, it’s a great way to express yourself. I love to make sure we have plenty available and the girls love it.

If you saw my stationery collection you would probably be shocked. I have a pen pot with 3 sections absolutely full, my colourful storage drawers have all my ‘special’ pens in. Then we have a pop-up IKEA storage box full of pens and pencils. Of course, the girls also have pencil cases and 2 drawers full in their bedroom. There are countless notebooks, sketchbooks, packs of card and paper dotted around our flat! They’re in random drawers, on my desk and in my room and the girls have just as many! I’d say possibly 60% of our flat is stationery haha.

Stationery Giveaway

We always seem to be writing, drawing and getting creative here. As we love sharing with our readers, we have this lovely pen bundle for one lucky winner! This bundle is in no way sponsored by Bic or Uni-ball. Honestly, I just have an obsession with stationery. I currently have a box full of stationery like this ready to use or gift in some way.

Stationery Giveaway Bundle

This bundle includes:

  • 8 pack – Bic Crystal Up 8 pack
  • 3 pack – Uni-ball Eye Needle Rollerballs
  • 2 pack – Bic Marking Textile 2 pack
  • 3 pack – Bic Gel-ocity Quick Dry
  • 3 pack – Gel-ocity Illusion
  • 5 pack – Bic Highlighter Grip
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms & Conditions

UK Entrants Only.
Winner notified within 24 hours.
If the winner does not respond within 72 hours a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck!

What is your favourite stationery? Do you have any favourites from the giveaway bundle?

Exfoliating With Procoal Face Scrub

I’ve been exfoliating with Procoal activated charcoal face scrub over the last few weeks. I received a full sample to review. Procoal have created an ethical-made range of skin care products. Procoal is against animal testing and most ingredients used are naturally derived such as charcoal and essential oils.

Exfoliating With Procoal

Exfoliating 

Exfoliating removes dead skin cells from the top later of your skin. We naturally shed dead skin cells every 30 days so new skin cells can take their place. Whilst the majority of dead skin cells will fall off naturally, some don’t shed perfectly from the skin. This can leave dry, flaky patches on your skin which can clog your pores too. Exfoliating helps prevent this and should be an important part of your skincare routine.

Procoal Activated Charcoal Face Scrub

The Procoal activated charcoal face scrub is expertly developed in the UK. This exfoliating face scrub uses specially selected active constituents to remove impurities, oxidised sebum and contaminants. This gives a purified, cleansed and invigorated complexion. This face scrub uses Allantoin which encourages natural skin exfoliation. Calendula oil, recognised for restoring the skin’s natural water balance is also used. The activated Charcoal helps to clear deep-seated pores, removing pollutants to purify your complexion.

My Thoughts

Anyone that knows me will know my skin is awful! I’ve tried loads of different face scrubs, washes, creams and masks over the years to try and tame my face. Unfortunately, due to having eczema, a lot of products really irritate my skin. I am pleasantly surprised that the Procoal face scrub doesn’t irritate my skin at all!

Applying Procoal Face Scrub

As you apply the face scrub, you can see the charcoal breaking down as you can see above. (Apologies for the quality, it was late at night!) After rinsing it off you can genuinely feel a difference. Unlike other scrubs I’ve used, my face felt really clean and soft, no tightness afterwards which I usually have.

Results

After a few weeks of trying out Procoal 1 to 3 times per week, my skin is slowly looking much healthier! Procoal’s site does state it can take 6-8 weeks to see a real difference though. By now I have usually given up due to poor results but I can see me finishing this tube. It is on the pricier side for me but the results are undeniable so I probably would buy this again. I’m quite lazy with my skincare routine, however, I’ve managed to remember every few days to use the face scrub. I have been doing this as part of my self-care routine. Overall I am pleased with the Procoal exfoliating face scrub and definitely recommend giving it a go.

Do you use exfoliating face scrubs?

Uncle Bubble Mega Loop Review And Giveaway

We were gifted Uncle Bubble Mega Loop to review this week and we also have one to giveaway. Uncle Bubble are bubble experts and this fun kit contains all you need to create bubbles bigger than you!

Uncle Bubble Mega Loop Kit

Uncle Bubble Mega Loop

The portable Mega Loop kit can be used anywhere, indoors and outdoors, at home, school, the park, absolutely anywhere. The kit comes with a Mega Loop wand, inflatable bubble pool and a big bottle of bubble solution. The unique secret professional formula has been used by bubbleologists to build bubbles that have broken Guinness world records! Become a bubble pro in no time with this fab kit.

bubble

Bubble Fun

We have been playing around with the Uncle Bubble Mega Loop kit over the last few days and have had loads of fun. The instructions make setting up the bubble pool and Mega Loop wand simple. Following the instructions to mix the bubble solution just right makes the best bubbles.

Izzy in a bubble

The girls had a lot of fun with the Mega Loop Kit and spent ages trying to make the biggest bubbles. We are waiting for the sun to come out so we can take the kit to the park too! I’m sure the girls will have plenty of fun as will any other children there.

Blowing big bubbles

You can create all kinds of bubble magic with this special solution and there is more than enough for a few sessions of bubble making. If you do run out, you can buy more on Amazon easily! It isn’t recommended to use this kit on a slippery surface however we couldn’t help but try out on our landing as there was more space. Hopefully the weather improves soon and we can set up at the park for hours of bubble fun!

Mega Bubbles with Uncle Bubble Mega Loop Kit

I got carried away myself joining in making big bubbles along with the girls and know everyone will enjoy this kit. The only issue we found was that we enjoyed ourselves so much I almost forgot to take ANY photos! Check out the Uncle Bubble Video below though.

Giveaway

As promised we have an Uncle Bubble Mega Loop Kit for one lucky winner. Simply enter below for your chance to win and check out our other live giveaways here.

Win The Uncle Bubble Mega Loop Tool #6