Meeting Santa – Kodak Christmas Photo Craft Challenge

Posted on December 3, 2011 by gadgetmum

I had a lot of fun with Kodak and Britmum’s previous Big App challenge and I’m very excited and chuffed to say I won one of the Kodak printers.

So it was great to see that the collaboration have launched another challenge and  I thought I’d have a go at this one as well.

The challenge this time was:

to highlight how mums and dads can use their printer and Kodak’s cheaper-than-you’d-think printer ink to create gorgeous Christmas decorations, treasured keepsakes and memorable gifts

I’m fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years so again, I thought I’d use my travels for my inspiration. Whilst in the previous challenge I used the hot and summery Mexico, naturally, for this task, I decided to rummage through the wintery and more festive places – so I chose my fantastic road trip around Alaska to inspire me.

Just one note – if you ever get to travel to any US State in your life, try and make it Alaska. Its truly, truly stunning; the home to Denali National Park, Glaciers, Brown Bears, Moose, Northern Lights, the oil pipeline and the most amazingly beautiful scenery.

The other thing about Alaska is that its the home to Santa Claus. Yes, Santa does indeed live in Alaska, in the North Pole on St Nicholas Street, and I was fortunate enough to meet Mr and  Mrs Claus in their home.

You need to keep your camera open for 30 seconds to take this, but its worth it

The North Pole, Alaska is on the way to Fairbanks, where many people venture to see the Northern Lights.

Its an extremely small town that includes the ubiquitous RV park (caravan park), which is a constant sight across the US and some festive street names; Santa Claus Lane, St. Nicholas Drive, Snowman Lane, and Kris Kringle Drive

 

Of course, Santa Claus’s House is the main attraction in the North Pole, complete with Santa’s reindeer. Its essentially a shop which sells all kinds of Christmas memorabilia and a bit more that you would never dream existed, but ultimately you really just want to meet Santa and of course, he obliges.

So, to get to the challenge, I thought I’d use my photo of Santa and his wife, Mrs Claus and get slightly crafty – just slightly of course, since  I don’t really have a crafty bone in my body. I thought this photo was traditional and fun and extremely Christmassy. I opened up Microsoft Word, used some Christmas font (Bonnet Font with Santa hats) and created a small note card that I could print off for my presents.

It was really simple, just adding a small green border and some holly clipart and probably proves that anyone can do it! Enjoy – here’s my challenge entry

Meet Mr and Mrs Claus

I'm Taking Part in the Kodak Christmas Photo Craft Challenge

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Gift Guide – Review of Photobox Personalised iPhone 4/4s Cover and Fridge Magnets

Posted on December 1, 2011 by gadgetmum

Whilst I’ve already written a review of an online photo services site its always good to give another one a try and in amongst the usual photobooks etc are some unique gift ideas that not all photo services offer.

There's some great gifts here

Photobox asked me to take a look at some of their more unique personalised products, which included a fluffy teddy, snow globe, iPhone case and Penguin mug. It was actually a really difficult decision – there was the saccharin sweetness of the teddy and penguin pulling at the heartstrings! But in the end, the harsher gadget-side of me took over and I chose the iphone 4 case – no surprises there I guess.

Picture Goes Pop

The iPhone 4/s personalised cover allows you to choose whatever photo you like and stretches it to fit the phone. Its a really good quality hard scratch-resistant case that fits like a glove with all the relevant cut-outs to be able to get to the camera etc. I chose a stark white background to allow the photo to pop out and it really did. The colours were great and its a really nice option if you have the phone. Its available as matt black or gloss white so you do get a choice of side colours. The only issue I had with it were that the edges of the case were slightly ragged. I’m not sure if it was the case or the photo. However, you do have to be a bit of a pixel peeper, like me, to really notice it (by pixel peep, I mean almost needing a magnifying glass!).

The iPhone 4/4s cover is £21.99 which competes with many other good quality cases but of course has the added bonus of choosing your own photo .

Slightly nicer than your average fridge magnet

I then decided to look for something a lot cheaper that would be a good stocking filler or small keepsake. I chose a fridge magnet – these come in 2 options, a single 6*4″ or a set of 2 3*2″. I chose the latter – 2 gifts for the price of one! These magnets were fantastic – great quality and great value. The photo was protected in a plastic cover with the magnet on the back.  You can obviously use it on any magnetic area – my fridge isn’t magnetic, but my microwave is and its a lovely gift for grandparents or uncles/aunts.

I was impressed with the Photobox service and gift ideas – I love giving personalised gifts to the grandparents and they have some really good options here at all price levels. They also do a lot of offers and free delivery codes, so keep your eye on those too.

Quick disclaimer – Photobox gave me the option to choose whatever I wanted on their site for the purposes of this review.

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When is a Screwdriver not a Screwdriver?

Posted on November 29, 2011 by gadgetmum

When it becomes a corkscrew

DIY giants, Bosch, have always been the people to let us know that you should always have the right tools for the job – but this time they’re not talking house renovation.

They’ve taken the world’s bestselling powertool, the IXO cordless screwdriver, and added a slightly more palatable adaptor – a corkscrew.

Yes, you heard that right – the Bosch IXO Vino is the original IXO complete with corkscrew. Bosch knows its good to be prepared for the unexpected – and they’ve certainly done the unexpected here. They really want to impress with this wine gadget.

Bosch want to make bottle uncorking as exciting as skydiving so to prove it they’ve created a couple of fun and clever interactive YouTube videos that allows you to control the outcome – will you go out of your way to impress…..or not?

Enjoy:

Skydiving with the Bosch IXO Vino

 

Or to go Wakeboarding with the Bosch IXO Vino, click here

For further information visit http://www.bosch-ixo.com

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Gift Guide – Review of the Brio Little Forest Train Starter Set From Hello Baby

Posted on November 29, 2011 by gadgetmum

I’ve mentioned a few times before that my little monster loves wooden toys – and so do I. They’re such a welcome change to the lights and sounds of a lot of the plastic toys out there and gives us a bit of quiet time.

So I was really pleased when the online nursery shop, Hello Baby, asked us to review the Brio Little Forest Train Starter Set. I absolutely love Brio products. I actually still have a Brio toy from when I was a kid – its lasted that long. We have quite a few here including a clown stacker and Brio dog and the quality is outstanding.

Quality that you would expect from Brio

 

Despite being as girlie as they come and requiring her nails to be painted on a daily basis at the ripe old age of 2 1/2, the Little Monster still loves her trains and planes and buses and cars. When I showed her the box, she couldn’t wait for me to open it. Actually, she wanted to open it herself.

 

This train set is a starter set so the track is a simple oval circuit and there is only one train. But the good thing about this is that LM could learn to build it herself – she loves jigsaws and the track uses jigsaw edges to lock into each other, so it was a perfect puzzle for her.

Just one more piece – oh no, busted!

Whilst the set is recommended for 3yr+ my LM was fine playing with it. I think the only reason its labelled for 3+ is because there are ‘logs’ on the wagon that can be easily loosened and a younger child could swallow them. But as long as you keep an eye on them, a 2 year could play with this.

The Train Starter Set is a lovely throwback to quality wooden toys that will last for years. The track construction and clever engine and wagon combination will keep your little one interested for a good amount of time however, it might be a bit simplistic for slightly more developed 3 1/2 year olds so it may depend on the ability of your child. At only £9.99 its also great value for the quality of Brio

The Brio Little Forest Train Starter Set is available directly from the online nursery shop Hello Baby. Hello Baby also sells a wide range of other baby and nursery products including baby toys, nursery furniture, travel and safety products

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Gift Guide – Sweet Treats Cake Pops Maker

Posted on November 29, 2011 by gadgetmum

Whilst 2011 was the year for cupcakes with macaroons creeping up on the inside, 2012 is most definitely going to be the year for Cake Pops. Everywhere I look at the moment, people are making cake pops – cute novelty cakes on a stick.

And I have no clue where to start.

oh to be so arty! But I reckon I could make the snowman

So it was great to see that I’m not the only one to notice the rise of the Cake Pop, as Sweet Treats, the makers of all types of makers, have released a Cake Pops Maker, just in time for the festive season.

The Sweet Treats Cake Pops Maker allows you to make 6 bite-sized cakes in minutes simply by following the recipe. It works as easily as a sandwich maker. Once baked, you add sticks and get decorating! OK, thats probably the hard bit, but some icing and sprinkles (are they still called hundreds and thousands?) would do the trick. If you colour the icing red and white, you’re halfway to Christmas anyway 🙂

The Cake Pops would make great gifts for your friends – or even colleagues at work. Make them look pretty in a bag with some ribbon and you’re sorted.

They’re also great fun to decorate with the kids. I can see my little monster having a whale of a time, albeit making the mother of all messes.

So I think The Sweet Treats maker is a great addition to the gift guide – not that I’m hinting or anything!

The Cake Pops Maker is available for £24.99 at Lakeland, Argos and all the usual kitchen stores.

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