UGLee Pen Review and Giveaway

UGLee Pen.  A pen by any other name would write just as well...or would it?  Actually I didn't find the UGLee Pen so much "ugly" looking, I thought it was more "futuristic" looking.  

Interestingly enough, there is a proper way to hold a writing instrument when you put it to paper (or napkins or walls, depending on where you are, or what you are doing...).   This is especially true for children, as it takes years for the muscles that are used to write to do so efficiently.  It is also important to use a pen or pencil that is ergonomically made if one has medical issues that cause the hands pain or to swell. I have Raynaud's which is an ailment that cause circulation to be diminished in my hands, if I write too much in one sitting my hands can become numb or painful.  Using a poorly designed writing instrument can exacerbate that immensely. 

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Mayfair Lane Product Review and Giveaway

I love to keep my papers and notes organized and in a place easily accessible. That can be a lot tougher than it sounds though. In our office we have a 9 foot by 9 foot (true!) L shaped desk, that is home to four computers, a printer, phone, modem and a ton of other things. So you can imagine that it gets cluttered more often than not. Because our desk space is already used real estate, I have to think of another way to keep my papers organized but still in reach. Mayfair Lane is helping me out there!

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Overnight Prints Self Inking Stamp Giveaway

Living away from both of our families, I tend to send a lot of Christmas cards out.  Addressing the envelopes is not my favorite part ☺.  

I have fairly large handwriting and trying to get the return address to look nice in the left hand corner is a chore.  I know, I know I could use the abundance of free labels I get from all of the charities that solicit donations from me, but generally I don't like the pictures on those.  I could make my own I suppose, but I'm too lazy.

I have always wanted a self inking stamp for my return address, and recently got one from Overnight Prints.  This has to be the handiest way to get your return address on multiple pieces of mail quickly.
 This is what it looks like (I took out our address from the image).   The green border is from their design system so you can be sure that what you want on your stamp is shown.

It stamps up great, each time I use it.

I will note that the label was put on it the wrong way (I have to have the label facing away from me in order to have the stamp come out right, which may be the way they are made, but that seems counter intuitive to me), and the hyphen between my zip code and the 4 number extension didn't get placed on the stamp.  So it looks like this 12345 6789 instead of like this 12345-6789.  

Overnight Prints sells all kinds of products for your business and home.  Business Cards, Postcard Printing, Magnets, Self Inking Stamps, and so much more.  The prices are very reasonable too.

Overnight Prints is giving a self inking stamp to one Three Different Directions reader.  (Shipping is not included in this giveaway, you will have to cover the shipping expenses yourself)

To enter visit Overnight Prints and click on the Advanced Designer and leave a comment telling me which icon you would use on your stamp.

For extra entries (the above must be done first to be eligible for extra entries)

1. Tell me another product you'd be interested in at Overnight Prints.

2. Follow Overnight Prints on Twitter and tweet this giveaway .(this can be done daily)

The cost of shipping the self inking stamp to you is not included in this giveaway, you will have to pay for the shipping expenses on your own.  Open to US residents, ages 18+, ends December 11, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Email must be in comment or available in profile. By entering this giveaway you are stating that you have read my **About Reviews and my Privacy/Rules statements and agree to them.

I received a complimentary self inking stamp for the purpose of this post.

Tunza Cards Review & Giveaway!

Use Tunza Cards Tunza ways for Tunza things Tunza Times.

When preparing homeschool lessons, I often use index cards. We use them for study helps, research, recipes, how-to's, just to name a few ways.

So when I was approached to review Tunza Cards re-usable index cards, I was curious to learn about them.

I received some Tunza Cards to sample. They come 25 cards to a pack and are white with a glossy finish.

Oh yes I said they're re-usable. With permanent markers. Like Sharpies.

Let me tell you. They are fantastic!

I tried them out using 2 different colored Sharpies. A navy blue one and a silver one . I made a simple math flash card out of it. After writing my "5 x 5 = ?" on the card (which was smooth and perfect to write on), I waited the 20 seconds suggested and rubbed it with my fingers. It didn't smudge, not a bit. No smears at all!

And as I love all things re-usable (because I'm thrifty like that) I proceeded to get my rubbing alcohol to wipe it off. DOH! Wouldn't you know I have no rubbing alcohol in my home. Since I am as impatient as I am thrifty, I could not wait to go out to get some to finish this review, I needed to see if these cards really came clean. NOW. I figured if I experimented with one card and failed I could at least tell you what NOT to use on them.

I proceeded to search on the internet on how to get Sharpie stains removed and besides rubbing alcohol, acetone was mentioned. Oh yeah. I had some nail polish remover in my bathroom (which in itself is quite funny because I don't wear nail polish!). In any case a quick pump on a couple of sheets of toilet paper, a swipe across my Tunza Card and voila, as good as new, clean to write something else on it. Tunza Cards instructions do suggest rubbing alcohol but in a pinch...

Tunza Cards were created by a mother of three, is family owned and operated and they are made in the USA. They are very durable and you will be able to get lots of uses from them and for $5.99 for a package of 25, they're a deal too.

I highly recommend these index cards to anyone who uses them on a regular basis, as well as for families that need to make flash cards or how to's for their kids.

For more information about Tunza Cards check InventHelpStore.com out.

You have a chance to win a pack of 25 Tunza Cards. How neat is that?

To enter visit InventHelpStore and comment with how you would use your Tunza Cards if you won.

For extra entries you can: (the item above must be done first before extra entries can be submitted, please leave a separate comment for each you are eligible for)

1. Follow me on twitter and tweet this giveway (this can be once per day, please leave the direct link to your tweet in the comments).
2. Follow my blog publicly.
3. Subscribe to my feed via e-mail or reader.
4. Blog about this giveaway linking back to my blog.
5. Add my button to your blog.

This giveaway will end on September 13, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst and open to U.S. & Canadian Residents ages 18+. The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be e-mailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail or an alternate winner will be chosen. By entering this giveaway you are stating that you have read my **About Reviews statement at the bottom of this page and my Privacy/Rules declaration and agree to them.

Back To School with Office Max and Peter Walsh

We all like to try and save money where we can and back to school shopping can get dreadfully expensive if we let it. Running around from one store to another to get the best deals can be exhausting.

There's one place that you can go though, to get all you need, at reasonable prices and in the styles your kids want. Office Max.

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Office Max Back To School Webcast yesterday, starring Peter Walsh, blogging mom Anna, teacher Heather along with a couple of students, live from a school in Chicago. I'm sure if you were on Twitter yesterday afternoon, you were made aware of it!

I know a lot of you wouldn't go to an office supply store for school supplies because of a number of perceptions:

1. I can't find everything at an office supply store that is on the back to school list.

* Well, I honestly can't tell you that you'll find the athletic shoes there, but I'm pretty sure that the other 99% of the items you can. From pencils to backpacks, Office Max is sure to have what you need.

2. Office supply stores don't have reasonable prices.

* I so want you to check out the weekly circulars in your paper this weekend. Have you seen the fabulous 1¢ sales Office Max has? You can literally get supplies you need for pennies!

3. Office supply stores only carry boring, bland, basic supplies. My kids want the latest styles.

* Office Max's Schoolio Von Hoolio line has some of the hippest, trendiest supplies out there this year. Hibiscus flowers in pink, yellow and orange tones. Cupcakes and owls on composition books and memo pads. According to my 13 year old, cupcakes are awesome sauce. You heard it here folks! Check out this poly expanding file folder and clipboard from the line.

Your kids may have trouble picking out what they want, and you may want to grab a file folder or two for yourself! (That owl is just too cute isn't he?)

One of the most important things to do when planning for Back to School though is starting routines right away. Whether your children are in Kindergarten or are Seniors, homeschooled or attend public/private school, make sure they have designated spots for where school work and supplies belong at home. And that they are organized. Peter Walsh, who has so had to literally dig through people's clutter, shared in the webcast that when clutter becomes overwhelming then it's hard to get out from under it. This brings about stress and of course then your children's education starts to suffer too.

If you are a homeschool parent or teacher make sure you stop in at Office Max on August 9th, as they are offering educators a 15% discount that day.

If you would like to view a recorded version of the webcast with Peter Walsh and get ideas to get organized for Back to School, visit http://www.officemaxsolutions.com/btsblogcast/. (You will need to have or download Silverlight to view it.) I'm almost certain you will come out at least with one idea to get your Back to School plans rolling ☺.

I received samples of the Schoolio Von Hoolio line courtesy of Office Max, prior to writing this blog post.

Sage and Savvy with Stubby Pencil

It is always great to support a shop that believes in eco-friendly products that are made in fair environments.

Stubby Pencil Studio is one of those shops. I can't help but talk about this shop frequently on my blog.

A number of months ago I entered a contest on a blog, (and like now) shared the link in order to get myself a few extra entries. The owner of Stubby Pencil Studios in return sent me a great package of pencils to try out and a few cards.

We loved them. Genius has already gone through a Monkey Pencil and has made a stubby pencil out of a Watermelon Smencil. (I loved sharpening it for her, when I was done I smell my fingers...so good!) She is currently trying to decide which pencil/smencil she would like to use next.

Sage & Savvy stumbled upon The Stubby Pencil Studio as well, and Kate the owner graciously offered to provide goodies for yet another giveaway. It is a great shop to go and visit, so check out the blog to try and win some goodies, and visit Stubby Pencil Studio, I guarantee you will find something you like there!

It is always great to support a shop that believes in eco-friendly products that are made in fair environments.

Stubby Pencil Studio is one of those shops. I can't help but talk about this shop frequently on my blog.

A number of months ago I entered a contest on a blog, (and like now) shared the link in order to get myself a few extra entries. The owner of Stubby Pencil Studios in return sent me a great package of pencils to try out and a few cards.

We loved them. Genius has already gone through a Monkey Pencil and is working her way through a Watermelon Smencil right now. (I love sharpening it for her, when I'm done I smell my fingers...so good!)

The Write Gal stumbled upon The Stubby Pencil Studio as well, and Kate the owner graciously offered to provide goodies for yet another giveaway. It is a great shop to go and visit, so check out the blog to try and win some goodies, and visit Stubby Pencil Studio, I guarantee you will find something you like there!

Reviews of The Old Schoolhouse Merchandise

I have a review up for The Old Schoolhouse Planner at The Homeschool Classroom. This is the blog where I contribute weekly to. My posts usually go up on Tuesdays - however I wrote a special post, to review this product -- there will be another one going up this week where I am reviewing The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Digital Edition.

Art is Charming

We've just finished up Medieval times in our social studies curriculum, and have proceeded on to the Renaissance. Genius loves art. Anything to do with it in fact. Drawing is her favorite. She likes to write also. In order to make her writing and drawing more fun, I am always looking to find unique stationary products to encourage her imagination. Enter in Stubby Pencil Studio. Kate has great products that are eco-friendly and lots of fun. If you check out my posts here, here and here, (I've blogged about her a lot!) -- you can see how happy we are with the things she sent us. I actually can't wait until we need more so supplies so we can order our favorite things. Livin' With Me blog is teaming up with Kate for a fun giveaway. Head on over to her blog, maybe you will be the winner!

Funky Pencils

The homeschooling is going pretty well so far (we're just three days in mind you!). We had a little hiccup today, but considering we're new to all this, that's to be expected. I think I have higher expectations of Genius than what was expected of her in public school, so there is a learning curve for her there, in the quality of work that Mom the Teacher will accept!

However the first thing I asked Genius the other day when we started was "What kind of pencil do you want to use?" Her reply? "A funky one". Everything needs to be "funky" these days. (We went to the eye doctor on Wednesday and she got new glasses. "Funky" ones of course). Well a funky pencil she received. I gave her one of the pencils that Kate from the Stubby Pencil Studio sent to me, a couple of months ago, for blogging about her shop. Genius is now using a Monkey Pencil that Kate sent to us, along with a bunch of other goodies! She has already used the cute elephant cards shown here, to send a thank you to friends for a birthday gift, and plans to use another for a birthday present that will be given out this weekend.

I encourage you to check out the Stubby Pencil Studio, who is sponsoring a giveaway at Green & Clean Mom. Both sites are worth visiting and supporting for the future of our children both their imaginations and for their eco-system.

I Love the Stubby Pencil Studio

Generally I tell Genius to be unique. But on this one I'm telling all of you to join the crowd. Get over to the Stubby Pencil Studio, I guarantee it will make you smile. As you look around, you will find so many things that you will want to buy for your children. The variety is wonderful. While we are past the stage of birthday parties in this house, I can't help but think so many things on this site, would be great for party favors to round out those loot bags. Stubby Pencil Studio is so pleasing to the eye -- that it has become bookmarked in my browser -- just so I can live out my inner child and decide in advance what to order when I need something. The owner Kate will go up and beyond as you can read here...where I have previously blogged about Stubby Pencil. After you check out her shop, head over to Props and Pans to enter a giveaway that is sponsored by them, trust me you won't be disappointed if you happen to win.