Product Review: VTech Switch & Go Dinos Turbo Bronco the RC Triceratops

Disclosure: I was given VTech Switch & Go Dinos for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

We're back again reviewing the newest dino from the VTech Switch & Go Dinos!
When I told JT that VTech was sending the latest dinosaur for him to review
he was so excited. Both he and Isabella loved Jagger the T-rex and so they were
more than willing to test out Turbo Bronco the RC Triceratops.

Bronco the RC Triceratops is the first remote control dino from Switch & Go Dinos.
The remote is large and easy for little hands to handle and control.
It has large buttons that allow the kids to move Bronco forward, backward, left, right,
turn on the headlights, make sound effects, and hear cool dino facts.
It even has a turbo boost lever to give Bronco a burst of speed.



Perhaps the coolest feature that Bronco possesses is the ability to transform
from a fierce triceratops to a sleek race car at the push of a button!
It had Isabella squealing with delight and Gracie was clapping her hands as they watched
JT change Bronco back and forth with no effort on his part.
I loved that all the movement options functioned in both dino and vehicle mode.


Bronco not only has a cool remote control, but he has an LCD screen
that displays customizable dinosaur eyes and driver animations - with four
different styles for the kids to choose from.
He has been a big hit at our house, with JT and Isabella clamoring for the chance
to race him around the house. JT can't wait to take him to his grandparents' house for
Thanksgiving to show him off to his cousins and race him on Grandma's big kitchen floor.

Bronco is for ages 3-8 and has an MSRP of $44.99.
He would be the perfect Christmas present for that Little in your life that
is ready for the action of his first remote control car.
And bonus, this remote control car turns into a dinosaur!

I'm so excited to giveaway a Bronco the RC Triceratops to one of you!
This is the perfect time of year to win this baby and stash it away
for a Christmas present of  your favorite dino lover.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Product Review: Smile Brilliant Teeth Whitening System

Disclosure: I was given Smile Brilliant for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

I was intrigued when Smile Brilliant contacted me about doing a review for them.

Their website said that their trays were custom-fitted and lab created and I wanted to 

see how they would accomplish such a feat.

I had custom bleaching trays made by a dentist before I got married

and I remember the dental assistant mixing stuff, and putting it into trays and having

me bite down and the nerves that came from being in a dentist's chair.

So, if I could get custom whitening trays without a trip to the dentist, I was in!

Before using Smile Brilliant

My tray creation kit arrived and I was pleasantly surprised to find two sets of paste

in the Tray Creation Kit that arrived in the mail.

I read the directions, prepped my teeth, watched the YouTube video and 

mixed and made my own impressions. 

My kids were totally intrigued by the blue paste and what I was doing.

I'm glad they sent extra impression material, because my first attempt didn't go very well.

But, after doing it wrong once, I had no other problems.

The turn around time for the arrival of my custom whitening trays was QUICK!

Smile Brilliant also sent me my plaster molds so I could see how the

trays were created from the impressions that I sent them.

I thought it was super cool to see that they are created in a lab

just as if I had gone to the dentist and had them made.

It was easy, convenient and painless.

All things I appreciate when it comes to my teeth!

I've done a couple of treatments and I'm pleased with the results.

I used the desensitizing gel during the treatments, because the sensitivity during

whitening treatments has been my biggest complaint in the past.

The next time I do a whitening treatment I would like to try it without the

desensitizing gel to see if can see a difference.

Here is a picture of my teeth after two treatments.

They are coming a long nicely. I don't drink coffee or smoke, but I do

love me some Diet Coke, so I know that they can use some brightening and whitening.

You can get Smile Brilliant for $119.95 right now - saving $60 from the original

price of $179.95 and save yourself a trip to the dentist and dentist prices!

TOO Cute Tuesday: Linky Par-Tay! #213

Happy Turkey Week!!!

Are your pies made? Is your turkey defrosted?

If you're looking for fun turkey shirt ideas, then you're in luck,

because I have a handful of cute turkey shirts to inspire you!

Now onto TOO Cute Tuesday!

What did you make this week that is TOO Cute??

Come link up!

Rules:

• Must be made by you.
• Link up to the specific post - not your main blog.
• No Etsy shops or giveaways please :)
• Please post the button or link back here so more people can join in the fun.
• Visit some of the other participants and leave them some LOVE!

TOO Cute Tuesday will be open Tuesday-Saturday.
On Saturday or Monday I'll highlight some of my favorites
and then we'll start over on Tuesday!


<a border="0" href="http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com/search/label/Too%20Cute%20Tuesday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/mormishgirl/Blog/TooCuteTuesdayNEW.jpg" /></a>

This post brought to you by:


 
I changed the linky party so that the most recently uploaded project will show up as number one. This way everyone gets a chance on top. So, look in the first spot for your project, not at the end. Thanks!!!

Thanksgiving Turkey Shirt Ideas

It's a week before Thanksgiving and I am itching to make cute and festive

shirts for my kids to wear to Thanksgiving dinner with the family.
I've made a couple of different turkey shirts over the years
and they have been some of my favorite DIY holiday shirts I've made.
And since I make everything at least one size too big, I can usually get
2 years worth of wear out of them.
But alas, we've added a new baby this year and last year's shirts are too small,
so it's time to round up some ideas for new turkey shirts for Thanksgiving 2014!



Our first turkey shirts were made using the kids' hand prints and googly eyes!
They were so fun, and even my oldest nephew wished I had made him one.

Then we had the giant cute eyed turkey face shirts.
I even made Isabella a matching skirt to go with her turkey shirt.
I loved the giant faces and was so glad that the next year I could just shorten
the sleeves on JT's shirt and add leggings to Isabella's skirt
and we were golden with turkey shirts for another year.

I haven't fully committed to turkey shirts this year,
but I was perusing the work of some of my favorite crafty ladies
and I've got a few ideas to work with.
If you need inspiration for your 2015 Thanksgiving turkey shirts,
then you should check out these great ideas!

{Ribbon Turkey Shirt at Rae Gun Ramblings}

{Handprint Turkey Shirt by Polka Dots on Parade}

{Pilgrim and Indian Initial Shirts by Random Thoughts of a Supermom}

TOO Cute Tuesday: Linky Par-Tay! #212

Isabella decided to wear her red riding hood cape and go 

incognito at Walmart this week :)

Now onto TOO Cute Tuesday!

What did you make this week that is TOO Cute??

Come link up!

Rules:

• Must be made by you.
• Link up to the specific post - not your main blog.
• No Etsy shops or giveaways please :)
• Please post the button or link back here so more people can join in the fun.
• Visit some of the other participants and leave them some LOVE!

TOO Cute Tuesday will be open Tuesday-Saturday.
On Saturday or Monday I'll highlight some of my favorites
and then we'll start over on Tuesday!


<a border="0" href="http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com/search/label/Too%20Cute%20Tuesday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/mormishgirl/Blog/TooCuteTuesdayNEW.jpg" /></a>

This post brought to you by:


 
I changed the linky party so that the most recently uploaded project will show up as number one. This way everyone gets a chance on top. So, look in the first spot for your project, not at the end. Thanks!!!

Welcome Great Pumpkin: Linus and Sally T-shirt Costumes

At the beginning of October, we attended an event at Knott's Berry Farm

to highlight Camp Spooky. The kids were so excited to go and they 

were supposed to dress up for the costume parade and contest.

However, since it was supposed to be almost 100 degrees that day,

we decided that Hogwarts robes and uniforms just wouldn't be a great idea.

So, my brain started thinking of all the great faux costumes I could put together

so that the kids could participate in the costume parade, but not melt in the heat.

Lifeguards, surfers, and water polo players were just a few of my ideas,

but none of them seemed just right.

Then, it hit me!

Peanuts characters!!!

After that it just seemed natural that JT should be Linus, Isabella should be Sally,

and little Gracie Loo should The Great Pumpkin!

And what I love most about Isabella and JT's costumes are that they are made from t-shirts!

LINUS COSTUME TUTORIAL

The Linus costume was the easiest.

All you need is a red t-shirt, masking tape and a black fabric marker.

Tape off the shirt by starting at the top and putting two lengths of tape and a space.

Repeat this pattern all the way down the front of t-shirt.

Follow the directions on your fabric marker, and then color in all the little gaps

you left in between the masking tape lines.

Let it dry - per product instructions, and then slowly remove the tape.

Do the same thing with the sleeves.

I did not do the back of the shirt, since Linus is a two dimensional character :)

SALLY COSTUME TUTORIAL

Isabella's Sally costume was a little more involved.

First, I used fabric paint and a round sponge tip applicator to paint on the polka dots.

Usually Sally wears a pink dress, 

but in the movie version of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,  

she wears a blue dress.

Then I cut off the sleeves and opened up the side of shirt by cutting up the side seams.

I put the dress on Isabella, inside out, and pinned it to her to get her shape.

I sewed new side seams and then turned the long sleeves into short puff sleeves

with some elastic and re-attached them to the dress.

Finally, I made a faux peter pan collar out of the scraps and attached it to the dress.

There you have it, how to make Peanuts costumes out of t-shirts!

If I didn't already have the pumpkin costume from when JT was little,

I probably would have made a pumpkin costume out of a t-shirt too.

Hunger Games Embroidery Hoop Art

I'm joining the amazing Marissa at Rae Gun Ramblings for her Happy Hunger Games

Blog Party! A couple of years ago I shared some fun Hunger Game party ideas

and so I was excited when Marissa invited me to create something new for

one of my favorite young adult book series.

Embroidery hoop art is all the rage right now, so I decided to do some hoop art

with one of my favorite quotes from Mockingjay.

It's when Katniss makes her choice between Gale and Peeta.

When she chooses peace instead of war.

She says,

". . . what I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. 

 I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. 

The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. 

The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. 

That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that."

So let's go!

HUNGER GAMES EMBROIDERY HOOP ART

Supplies for Hunger Games Embroidery Hoop Art

• embroidery hoop (mine is 9" in diameter)
• yellow yarn
• a fork or pom pom maker
• brown and green embroidery floss
• embroidery needle
• cotton fabric to embroider

How to make Hunger Games Embroidery Hoop Art

1. Make three pom poms with the yellow yarn. I made one big pom pom by wrapping

the yarn around my fingers instead of the fork, but you can use any variation of

sizes that you would like. Make sure you use a piece that is about 9" long to tie up your

pom pom and leave the tails, you'll need them later to attach your pom pom to the hoop.

2. Trace your wording onto your fabric. I made a make-shift light box by using a flashlight

and a clear plastic box. But you can also tape it to a window and achieve the same effect.

I created the word shape in Photoshop to get the right shape and spacing.

If you're using a 9" hoop, you can download my Hunger Games quote template.

3. Using a backstitch, embroider your wording using the brown embroidery floss.

I used three strands of the six strands to embroider my words.

4. Figure out where you'd like your pom pom dandelions to be and mark with a pin.

5. Using a split stitch, embroider the three stems of your pom pom dandelions.

6. Attach your pom pom dandelion by threading both yarn tails through the fabric

and secure with a knot on the back side.

(Tip: Here's an easy way to thread yarn through a needle!)

7. Admire your awesome pom pom dandelion!

8. Finish the split stitch stems for your dandelions, and attach the remaining two

pom pom dandelions using the same steps above. Again, admire your work.

9. To finish off my hoops, I like to use the method of leaving a little extra

fabric so that the embroidery can be washed or tightened if it becomes saggy down the road.

To to do this, trim down your fabric, leaving at least a 2.5" border.

Then, do a running stitch all the way around your hoop.

Next, pull both the tails to gather up the fabric.

Finally, tie a little bow to secure the thread.

Yay! Now you have an awesome 3D embroidery hoop art to honor the Hunger Games

and brighten up your living space.

I hope you'll go visit Marissa at Rae Gun Ramblings to you can see all

other awesome tutorials and ideas that are being shared!

Plus, be sure to enter the giveaway to win some fun Hunger Game items!

The prize pack includes:

• 25$ Amazon Gift Card
• I Shop the Hob Tote
• Mellark Bakery Apron
• Mockingjay Christmas Ornament from Pieces by Polly
• Winner's Choice of any pattern from Paisely Roots Designs
• Hunger Games Shirt
• And some more goodies to be revealed shortly!

a Rafflecopter giveaway