AD: Rescued from Landfill: Basecamp 70 Bucket Bag

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When I asked to check out some recycled outdoor bags made by a local company, Rescued from Landfill, I immediately said yes! As regular readers know we spend a lot of time outdoors getting mucky and wet and this was a perfect item for us.

I was sent a Basecamp 70 Bucket Bag which arrived beautifully wrapped:

It was very impressive how big the bag actually was when I fully opened it out:

Features:

• Draw string top
• Key holder clip inside
• 70 litres capacity
• Strong hanging loop
• 450mm high (excluding handles) 450mm diameter

The bag is 98% recycled materials which includes seatbelts that are rescued from scrapyards like this:

#AD Ravensburger What If Puzzle: Lost in Translation

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I am always really pleased to be asked to review Ravensburger jigsaws as they are such great quality and a great challenge. The Lost in Translation puzzle certainly lived up to my expectations:

The thing about these What If puzzles is that the final picture does not match the picture on the box but you have to make educated guesses as to how it has changed. So of course I had to start with the traditional edge piece construction:

The soft click technology means that is really obvious when you have put the right pieces together although finishing it still requires pattern matching and some checking with the box:

Review Saal Digital Wall Decor

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I was sent a voucher by Saal Digital to test out their Wall Decors. Having previously checked out a photobook from the company I was hoping that the Wall Decors would prove to be as good. 

The software needed for me to create a Wall Decor was already installed on my laptop so all I had to do was choose the size of decor I wanted and which images to use. There were 7 kinds of wall decor to choose from and I opted for the photo canvas style. 

Then I had to work out which size to go for. The prices for each size were clearly set out so I knew what I was going to pay for. It was really easy to design and create the canvases using the software. There was a warning to remind me to allow for the bleed around the edges of the canvases. 

I managed to get three different small wall decors for under £50. Two were 20 cm by 20 cm and one was 20 cm by 30 cm. Once they were designed and saved I just had to process my shopping basket and pay the shipping (£5.95). 

It was amazing how quickly they arrived having been shipped from Germany. I liked the fact they arrived well packaged but without any excess surplus packaging:

This little video gives you an idea of what I thought of my wall decor (annoyingly my unboxing video vanished into cyberspace...):

Here is a close up detail of the back of the frame showing how solid they are once the supplied wedges have been inserted:

Review: Saal Photobook

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I was offered a voucher so that I could try out and review a Saal Photobook. Regular readers will know that I take loads of photographs but hardly ever get them off the digital version and into a hard copy... So this was a golden opportunity for me to rectify that.

To start with I had to download and install the software to my laptop. This was a trouble free process. Then I had to decide which of the many photobooks to choose from. In the end I chose the 15 x 21 glossy book with 26 pages for £24.95. 

The hard bit was choosing which photos to put in it! At least getting them in was pretty straightforward with a little bit of trying things out. I sometimes used the auto features and at others adjusted the photos to fit myself. I was able to save the progress and come back to it and didn't have to create it all in one go.

Once completed I processed the order which again was very simple. Then I just had to wait a few days for the photobook to arrive. I am certainly impressed with the quality and feel of the book (I should probably have come up with a better title!):

The pictures that have spanned over a double spread still look amazing:

Review: Ravensburger British Flags Sneaker 3D Puzzle

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After the success of the A puzzle we were keen to tackle a different challenge with the 3D British Flags Sneaker puzzle (Affiliate link):

The box contains 2 bags of pieces, 3 parts for the base of the sneaker and a slide in pot for the pencils:

It was simple enough to assemble the sneaker base:

Review: Ravensburger Jigsaw Awesome Alphabet "A"

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I was sent a new 1000 piece jigsaw by Colin Thompson called Awesome Alphabet "A". This was perfect for occupying me during a week of Dry January!

Job number one was to try and find all the edge pieces to get the basic jigsaw in place:

Then I could begin to try and spot obvious pieces that went together:

Review: Prestige Flowers Christmas Bouquet

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I arrived home on Saturday to find this beautiful box had been delivered from Prestige Flowers:

Inside it was this wonderful Noel bouquet from https://www.prestigeflowers.co.uk/christmas-flowers:

The bouquet was delivered with its own vase:

Review: Famous Five Adventure Game

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When an e-mail popped up in my inbox asking if I was interested in reviewing a new game about the Famous Five I jumped at the chance! These stories were some of my favourites when I was growing up and I have the entire series somewhere boxed away. As an 8 and 9 year old I was part of a group of 5 that used to act out the stories and have our own adventures. My character was always Dick as I was most definitely a tomboy! 

First of all we were sent modern versions of the first 3 stories to read and enjoy. It was wonderful to to be taken back to Kirrin Island with the exciting adventures. Modern children would never be allowed to go off in the way they did at 12 and under to camp on an island. Of course they are also a bit old fashioned with Anne playing house but they are still thrilling adventures:

The game was released on the App store today and we had fun trying it out. We only had time for the quick game so I am not sure what the full game is like. First of all we had to decide which of the children we were going to have as the lead, so of course I had to insist on it being Dick! Then we had to choose the 2 locations that the adventure was going to be in:

Then we went in to the adventure and discovered what mystery we had to solve. In this case it was missing juggling balls. The characters don't talk in English but the text below them is simple to read:

It was great to see Kirrin Island and the castle brought to life in the game including details like the Jackdaw Tower. We had to visit certain places and collect clues by directing a bicycle with finger swipes. Once we had collected enough then we could move on to talking to witnesses. The only way to get good answers was to speak to them nicely so we had to choose the right way of asking each time:

Review: The Rocket Wireless Singing Machine and competition

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We were sent a Rocket Wireless Singing Machine to review:

The company are running a competition to find a Rocket Star, so if your child has got what it takes click on the image to find out how to enter:

The Rocket can act as both a microphone and a speaker as well as to Ask Siri:

#Review Ravensburger What If? Puzzles No 8 The Racehorse

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I was sent a Ravensburger WHAT IF? No. 8 - The Racehorse 1000pc Jigsaw Puzzle (affiliate link) to review:

These puzzles are extra challenging as the picture on the box is not the jigsaw you have to make! Instead you have to use the clues from the picture to find out what happens next:

So the main characters are wearing the same outfits but doing something different but related to the box picture. It takes a lot longer to work it out without too much help:

The pieces have Softclick™ Technology so that the pieces go together really easily when you are putting the right ones together. Like all the Ravensburger cartoon style jigsaws it is full of fun little details like this:

The puzzle is lot more of a challenge than the last one we reviewed. It is something that is stretching my brain! I would recommend it to those who prefer not to have the picture as a guide.

Review: Original Spirograph

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When I was offered a chance to review am Original Spirograph set I jumped at the chance having loved our original one in the 1970s! Its a toy that has stood the test of time and I wanted my children to have a go like I did. The set we were sent was a deluxe set which looked a lot different from the old red box our old one came in:

What is great is that the set included everything you need to get designing:

The instruction book was very clear (my daughter eventually read it after a couple of fails!). The special putty helps to keep the wheels in place whilst you design to prevent slippage like we had on this page:

Review: Ravensburger My First Pets Jigsaw

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After I was sent an adult jigsaw to review last month I was pleased to be offered a chance for my children to review an age appropriate jigsaw. This time it was an adorable My First Pets puzzle:

The puzzle is part of the perfect age fit range so that the size and number of pieces are suitable for the age on the box. In this case it was an 8+ puzzle so there were 200 pieces and they were bigger than for an adult jigsaw but not too big:

The puzzle had dividing lines which helped to workout where the different pets went in the puzzle:

Ravensburger Best of British - Fit 4 Nothing Gym - Puzzle Review

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Regular readers will know that our family are big fans of Ravensburger puzzles so when we were offered the chance to review one of the latest additions to the Best of British range we weren't going to turn it down! The puzzle that we were sent is of the Fit 4 Nothing Gym (highly suited to a family into sport and getting fit):

The artist is Geoff Tristram who has created this quirky range of cartoons to give you a laugh as you piece the puzzle together. I decided that the best time to do the puzzle was in the lull after Christmas when we were cooped up indoors due to the weather. Once I had found myself a flat surface (not an easy feat in our house - I had to use a cardboard box!) I set to finding all the edge pieces:

Well most of the edge pieces on my first trawl through! The great thing about the softclick technology is that you know straight away if you are putting the right pieces together as they go in without a fuss. 

Once I had got the border in place it didn't take a huge amount of time to complete the puzzle. Apart from being distracted by reading the sections of the picture as they appear that is! There weren't too many tricky parts as each part of the cartoon was pretty distinctive:

We have all had a hoot reading the gym instructors names and finding all the funny bits that are all over the puzzle. All in all a fun puzzle to do and it provides lots of entertainment once it is complete too. Now please excuse me I'm off to my Topless Scything Class with Paul Darke and Dee Melza..

Supermarket Review: #MorrisonsMum Morrisons Price Cuts

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I was very lucky to be selected as one of BritMums Morrisons Mums and Dads. We were all sent £80 of vouchers to go and check out the new price cuts at Morrisons. I regularly shop at my local store as I happen to work almost next door but have to admit its been a while since I did a full weekly shop there. They are brilliant for their fresh meat, bakery and greengrocery so I set off with a plan for a weekend of BBQs and picnics and plenty of reusable bags to pack it in! 

The new prices are all signed with great big yellow signs so its easy to spot them on the shelves. There were also plenty of other tempting offers especially for fruit and veg:

I have to admit I got a wee bit carried away and bought far more than I would normally get but some of it is things that we will be using over the next week or so. Here are a few of the things we enjoyed over the bank holiday weekend:

Review: ChillFactor Squeeze Cup Slushy Maker

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We were sent a ChillFactor Squeeze Cup Slushy Maker to try out:

It's a simple idea:

1. freeze the cup
2. pour in a drink
3. squeeze

The cup needs to go into the freezer for 6 hours at least. So either over night for mornings or at breakfast time for a post school treat! It comes out all icy and ready to go:

Then pour in the drink up to the line marked inside:

Review: Cool Create Swap Watch

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We were sent a Cool Create Swap Watch set from Flair to review:

The set includes straps, bezels, jewels and cords to make lots of customisable watches - using the one a actual watch provided. My 10 year old had lots of fun trying different ones starting with a simple combo:

Then she decided to have a go at making a couple with plaited laces:

Next up was using the jewels. She found this quite fiddly so got me to start it off:

There is a lot of potential in this kit for making watches to match so many outfits and to cover most tastes. It's all part of Flair's Cool Create range which is designed to get children away from electronic entertainment and being creative. At £14.99 you will get your money's worth in entertainment value from the set and it can be continually reused and the watches changed.

Review: Ravensburger 3D Windmill Puzzle

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My children had bought their Gramps a 3D puzzle of the Eiffel Tower for a present last year so I looked forward to being sent the Windmill 3D puzzle to review. We took the puzzle around to my parents' house and the team of 3 set to work:

Helping Gramps sort pieces

The very clear instructions tell you how many pieces are in each part of the puzzle and they are all clearly marked. So you need to group them in numerical order to construct the puzzle:

Numbered puzzle pieces

Grouping the pieces

A Review and Give-away with Canvas Design

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I was offered a free canvas from Canvas Design in return for a review and a competition. I have also wanted one of my photos turned into a canvas so I jumped at the chance and sent off a photograph to them. They quickly told me that the one I had sent wasn't high enough resolution so sent them a further version that I was told was good enough for a 40" by 30" canvas - i.e. pretty big!

It didn't seem long before I got notification from the courier of the scheduled delivery date which I was able to adjust as I was going to be out. On the day I could track the delivery online (with an initial 1 hour estimated time slot) as it got closer and closer to my house:

Shortly after I took that screen shot the parcel arrived looking incredibly well wrapped up:

There were a couple of layers of corrugated paper and then bubble wrap:

By now we were getting pretty excited as we could see the photo coming through! I was very, very impressed with the print quality:

Can you see my daughter some where behind the jaguar? I just wish that I had noticed the woman walking behind it with the water bottle - I had cropped the photo to remove strangers faces! This size canvas costs less than £40 from the company which I think is excellent value for the quality of the canvas.

It comes with a wall hanging kit so I just have to decide where I want to put it up. We don't have too many large wall spaces so I think it's going to go opposite my bed so that I can see it when I wake up in the morning - hope it doesn't give me nightmares..

My children now want to have some of their own photographs turned into canvasses. With prices from £5.99 I will look at getting them one each. The company have given me a 15% discount code to share with my readers of BLOG15 which you can enter on their website. 

I am also able to give away one canvas to a UK based reader from a 6 x 6 to a massive 40 x 40! Just use the Rafflecopter widget to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Smiggle - where a smile meets a giggle

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The highly successful Australian stationery brand Smiggle are finally arriving in the UK at the Westfield shopping centre on Thursday 20th of March. To celebrate they sent my children a pack of their gorgeous goodies and asked them to be creative:

It's all such lovely stuff my children got stuck in straight away! These are some of my 10 year olds creations:

She used the supplied stencils to create this one

An early/late Halloween celebration?

Free drawing

Her little brother opted for the scratch book:

At 7 he isn't quite as creative as his big sister but he did manage this big rocket:

We are going on a long car journey tomorrow so I will be making sure they take plenty of Smiggle stuff to keep them amused! Probably just as well for my bank balance that none of the new UK stores are opening anywhere near us as its all lovely stuff. Wonder if they will head north once the stores in Westfield, Reading, Brighton and Kingston are open?