All Things Christmas And More Snowflake Icicle Lights and Assorted Candy Ornaments Review

I received these products free to facilitate this review.

All Things Christmas And More has been a family business for over 5 years now. They pride themselves on offering the best Christmas products around at an affordable price. They stock over 2,500 items year round and are expanding their catalog every year. This year they have added Halloween items and next year they are looking to expand and a carry a Spring and Summer Catalog.

I love snowflakes! Each one is so unique and beautiful. We don't get a lot of snow for Christmas in Rainier Oregon, where I live...just rain and lots of it! So, to deck the halls in and around my home I add the snow myself, so to speak. This year I ran across a very pretty Snowflake Icicle Light Set with Warm White Lights at All Things Christmas And More. I ordered these and they came in a box that said they were "Soft White" instead of "Warm White" lights. I really didn't mind except that these were not exactly what I ordered and All Things Christmas And More didn't seem to have any mention of the soft white ones on their website. Both of these have 70 M5 lights on the strand. They are also permanent L.E.D lamps so they: are cool to the touch, are long lasting (1 year limited warranty to the same store purchased from, 3 year guarantee from the creators: Holiday Creations, Inc.), and use up to 98% less electricity than incandescent lights. Each of these lights has a durable looking plastic snowflake shaped-cap that shouldn't fade, chip, or peel. The lights are waterproof, weather resistant and non-removable. If one bulb burns out the rest will remain lit because they are straight-line construction. They hang on a 22 gauge white wire strand that is approximately 7.5 feet long with vertical drops that alternate between 3, 5, and 6 bulbs per drop. Average power consumption is 0.071 watts/LED. It also has a fuse-protected stackable end-to-end connector that can be connected up to 210 watts per plug. UL approved. I can put these both indoors or outdoors and these are very pretty all lit up.

I had a little gift card money left over so I also got the Assorted Candy Ornaments. These come in a package of 6 ornaments. There are 2 round ones, 2 rectangular ones 2 oval ones. These are made of shatterproof plastic and are so adorable hanging with their silver string just about anywhere to make it more festive. They have sparkly glitter accents that make it look like they have been frosted with snow. I trimmed my little tree with these bright red beauties and they look so cheery. These are such a great price too at only $1.24 per pack.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received these products for free to review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Merry Christmas, Splat ...and More Winter Stories: Scholastic Storybook Treasures DVD Review

I received this DVD for free to facilitate this review.

I love Scholastic Storybook Treasures! They take story books and bring them to life through animation. You can collect them all and even read along with the story on screen if you choose to.

Merry Christmas, Splat ...and More Winter Stories is a wonderful collection of 4 snowy stories that will be sure to warm your heart.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, SPLAT (Written and illustrated by Rob Scotton, narrated by John Keating) This is an adorable story of a cat named Splat who tries a little too hard to be good before Santa’s arrival so he can get what he wishes for most on Christmas day. Anyone who has ever been a child waiting for Christmas morning knows how much the excitement and anticipation sometimes get the best of us. This is a great story that is purrfect for all ages.

FLETCHER AND THE SNOWFLAKE CHRISTMAS (By Julia Rawlinson, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke, narrated by Katherine Kellgren) It’s Christmas Eve and Fletcher the fox wonders how Santa will find the rabbits' new burrow because they have moved. His big heart will touch yours. I love the beautiful illustrations and gorgeous layout of words that this has.

SNOWFLAKE BENTLEY (By Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian, narrated by Sean Astin) This is the story of Willie Bentley, who was a pioneering scientist who loved and learned all about snowflakes. I loved learning about this inquisitive boy who loved everything about the snow and wanted the world to see how beautiful snowflakes were. He was the first to capture snowflakes as photographs. This story makes you realize how big the world is in retrospect and how you need to slow down and take a closer look at it.

OWL MOON (Written and narrated by Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenherr) This story is a wonderful story about a girl and her father as they search the moonlit woods for a Great Horned Owl. This being the girls first trip she is excited to say the least, but she remembers her fathers words that she should not make a sound while owling. This is a sweet bond of father and daughter relationships and a nature walk in the snowy night that will not soon be forgotten.

Bonus Features Behind-the-Scenes Look at Creating the Animation for Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas; Read-Along. This DVD is Approx. 36 minutes + extras. Recommended for ages 3-7.

Download some fun free printables on PDF to go along with this DVD!

BUY IT
You can purchase the Scholastic Storybook Treasures Merry Christmas, Splat DVD on New Kideo for $14.95 as of this posting.

For more information on this title or any other Scholastic Storybook Treasures release, visit www.newkideo.com. Also, visit New Kideo, the online home for the DVD line, at their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NewKideo

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received product for free to facilitate my review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. 

Guess How Much I Love You Hidden Treasure DVD Review and Giveaway

We received product free from eone (Entertainment One) to facilitate this review and the opportunity below to giveaway 3. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Inspired by the best-selling books written by Sam McBratney and Illustrated by Anita Jeram,  Guess How Much I Love You: Hidden Treasure follows the adventures of Little Nutbrown Hare and his father, Big Nutbrown Hare, reminding us that there is no greater love or bond between a parent and child. These 7 episodes were part of the Disney Junior series which aired on TV. In these stories, Little Nutbrown Hare goes about exploring the meadow and playing with his friends, all the while learning valuable life lessons such as the importance of friendship, learning from mistakes, embracing differences in one another, and much more.

Little Nutbrown Hare Iceskating

I loved reading the books of this series when I was little and love to see them come to life in animation on DVD. These are so adorable and charming. My kids and I enjoyed them very much and each episode has a sweet message. The animation is really well done and I love all the forest characters. They remind me of the TV series: Little Bear, Franklin & Friends, or Winnie the Pooh.

Still from Slip, Slop, Slide

Episodes

• Hidden Treasure - Little Nutbrown Hare and his friends go looking for sparkly treasure and learn the valuable lessons: everything's special in its own way, nothing is ordinary, something that looks ordinary could be extraordinary, friends are treasure, there is treasure all around us, something that looks ordinary on the outside could be beautiful on the inside, sometimes things are much more than what they seem.
• Finder's Keepers - Little Redwood Fox finds a pile of spotted acorns unattended and takes them as his own, he soon finds out that they belong to Little Gray Squirrel and has to choose whether to keep and eat them or give them back. This episode teaches about doing the right thing and that sharing is better.
• It's Okay - Little Nutbrown Hare learns to forgive and that accidents sometimes happen.
• Slip, Slop, Slide - Little Nutbrown Hare learns that everyone is different and learns at different speeds. He also learns that practice makes perfect.
• Inside Day - Little Nutbrown Hare learns that some animals aren't meant to hibernate and that all winter is far too long to stay inside.
• Where's Little Redwood Fox? - Little Nutbrown Hare and his friends make up a new game and have a fun game of wits.
• Snowflake - Little Nutbrown Hare learns about reasons to love snow as he and his friends try to bring a snowflake to his father. He also learns that snowflakes are beautiful and everyone of them is unique.

Follow Entertainment One on Twitter: http://twitter.com/eOneHomeVideo for the most up-to-date information on this and other releases.

BUY IT
You can purchase Guess How Much I Love You Hidden Treasure DVD on Amazon.com for $10.73 at the time of this posting.

WIN IT
Prize: Guess How Much I Love You Hidden Treasure DVD. 3 Winners!! US Only!

I am trying out Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received product for free to facilitate my review and the opportunity to give another 3 away to my readers. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

20 Mule Team Borax Review and Giveaway

Borax is the common name for sodium tetraborate: a naturally occurring substance produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes. 20 Mule Team Borax comes from California where one of the world’s largest deposits was discovered in 1913. Absolutely nothing is added. No phosphates, per-oxside, chlorine, or other additive chemicals.

20 Mule Team Borax is a laundry booster and multi-purpose household cleaner. It removes stains and neutralizes odors. Borax naturally softens hard water and improves your detergent’s cleaning power. It also helps keep stains from being re-deposited back onto clothes. It is also a wonderful all natural alternative to color safe bleach. To boost your detergent, simply add 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax to every load, along with your regular detergent. You can also use 20 Mule Team Borax to pre-soak tough stains.

Over 85% of homes have what most people call “hard water.” Hard water is defined as water that contains calcium and magnesium (ions). Since I live in Oregon I am one of the lucky ones that has soft to only slightly hard water. Even though I do not have that hard of water here, I have found many other ways of using Borax besides keeping my laundry smelling fresh and looking clean too.

Handy Uses for 20 Mule Team Borax:

Cleaning

• Laundry: Add 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax to every full load, along with your regular detergent.
• Dishes: Dishwasher detergent - put 1 cup washing soda or 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax (additionally you could add these optional ingredients: 1/2 cup of table salt and 1/2 cup of citric acid) in a glass jar. Secure tightly with lid. Shake to combine. Add 1 tbsp. of dishwasher detergent to each load. Add distilled white vinegar to the rinsing compartment to give the dishes a sparkling shine (plastic dishes will need sprayed with additional vinegar and rinsed by hand to get the sediment off). Handwashing Dish detergent - fill kitchen sink halfway with hot water and add a quarter of a cup of Borax, and a quarter of a cup of washing soda or baking soda. Mix well until dissolved, then add dishes. Clean dishes normally and rinse thoroughly. You can also use a little Borax on a dish cloth or scouring pad on dishes, pots, and pans that need extra scrubbing power.
• Deodorizer: Add 1/2 cup of Borax to a 12 ounce spray bottle of water and shake until dissolved. Spray on area needing deodorized. Example: Mattresses, Upholstery, clothing.
• Carpet and Upholstery Stains and Deodorizer: Stains - Pre-treat tough stains in carpet and upholstery. Make a paste of Borax and water and rub into stain. Let dry and vacuum. You can also place 1/2 cup of Borax per gallon of water in carpet steam cleaning machines (Warning: You are doing this at your own risk...the risk of possibly breaking your cleaner. The manufacture guidelines and specifics in the manual are usually put there for good reason.). Deodorizer - Sprinkle Borax on carpet, let stand overnight and vacuum.
• Tile and Grout Cleaner: make a paste and use a toothbrush for cleaning.
• Garbage Disposal and Unclog a Drain: Disposal - dump 1/4 cup into disposal and splash in a bit of water. Wait an hour and rinse with hot water. Clogged Drain - dump 1/2 cup into clogged drain and wait 15 minutes. Rinse with hot water.
• Surface Cleaner: Borax is safe to use on most surfaces including tile, ceramic, porcelain, slate, marble, granite and stainless steel. Great for toilets: put 1/4th cup into bowl, wait a bit then swish with toilet brush. It is great for removing soap scum, hard water deposits, and dirt!

Insecticide

• Ants: Mix equal amounts of Borax and powdered sugar, place near ant problem area (especially around anthills) - keep away from pets and small children. Others have said this also works for other bugs too including: silverfish, bedbugs, water bugs and roaches.
• Fleas: Sprinkle Borax on carpet and upholstery, let stand overnight and vacuum. 

Gardening

• Weed Control: Dissolve 10 ounces of Borax in 1/2 cup warm water and place it in a 5 gallon bucket. Dilute with 2 1/2 gallons of water. Fill empty spray bottles or a garden sprayer with solution and spray over problem area evenly and quickly. The borax solution will treat 1,000 square feet. You can cut the recipe in half if you need to cover as smaller area. Don't spray it on other plants you do not wish to kill. Remove weeds by hand around plants that you are planning on eating.
• Boron Supplement/Soil Fertilizer: Depending upon the amount of boron in your soil your garden crops and flowers might be suffering from boron deficiency. Hollow stalks in broccoli or celery, black spots on leaves, rot and fruit-pitting might be indicators of this. Test your soil to make sure and if it is lacking, make a borax solution. Add 2.5 oz. of borax into 5 gallons of water. Spray the solution evenly on plant foliage. Do not concentrate the solution in one area.

Crafts

• Crystal Snowflakes: Twist three 5-inch pieces (one pipe cleaner cut into 3 equal sections will do nicely) of white pipe cleaner together in the middle to form a 6 sided snowflake, then add a 1 1/2-inch piece to each point. Tie the flake with 4" string to a pencil on the opposite side. Find a big enough jar so the suspended flake won't touch the sides or bottom. Fill with 3 tablespoons borax and 1 drop food coloring of choice per 1 cup of boiling water. Hang the snowflake in the jar and make sure snowflake is completely submerged in the solution. Let sit overnight without interruption; remove and hang where you want to display. Science behind it: as the water cools, borax forms crystals that cling to the pipe cleaners.
• Goop: Goop has many names including: flubber, glurch, glorax and GAK. Pour 1 1/2 cups of warm water into a container and then add in 2 cups of white glue. In another container, mix 1 1/3 cups warm water and 3 tsp. of borax. Mix both containers well. Then empty the second container into the first and mix again. You can put in a few drops of food coloring at this point if you like. Stir or knead the mixture by hand until all the liquid has been soaked up and the material looks thick. Some people find that borax irritates their skin, so you should wash your hands after working with it and, of course, never eat it. Be careful as it might stain if you put in the food coloring.
• Dried Flowers: Mix 1 part borax and 2 parts of cornmeal with one tablespoon of uniodized salt. The Uniodized salt helps retain the color of the flower while drying. Spread half of the dry mix across the bottom of an airtight container. Prune back stems and leaves of picked flowers and place the blooms into the container. Carefully sprinkle the rest of the borax mix over the flowers (avoid crushing them). Cover and dry for a week to 10 days.

WIN IT
Prize: Win 1 coupon for a FREE box of 20 Mule Team Borax (3 Winners!)

I am trying out Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to 20 Mule Team Borax for sending me product for free and promotion information to facilitate my review and free coupons for this giveaway. This opportunity was provided to me because I am a Purex Insider. By posting I will be entered to win rewards. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for posting this promo.

Our Shutterfly Christmas Cards 2012

Framed In Snowflakes Christmas Card

Send Christmas cards personalized with your family photos.

View the entire collection of cards.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: For sharing my card that I created and ordered through Shutterfly, I get $10 toward my next order.

You can get $10 too if you order your Holiday cards or other project through Shutterfly. The order summary page will give you an option to share your creation. After you've shared the project like I have then email Shutterfly.com at shareproject@shutterfly.com your active link (no screenshots, please) to the Web page containing your embedded project.

Teela's first snow!

Today it snowed and snowed. It usually just rains during the winter months here in Rainier (thus the name). But I guess somebody was praying for snow this Christmas because we received a very nice blanket of it. Here are some very cute pictures of my littlest and her very first snow that fell today... She was actually trying to catch some on her tongue! How cute is that?!