A YEAR OF JUBILEE REVIEWS: August 2012

Friday, August 31, 2012

Fall in Love with Handmade Giveaway Hop #LoveHandmade

Welcome to the Fall in Love with Handmade Giveaway Hop, hosted by Going Green with the Grizls ,

The Vagabond Studio, and Eight Days a Week!

As part of this great event, a group of bloggers are offering prizes valued at $15 or more and everything is handmade! You'll find the list of participating bloggers under the Rafflecopter form. Be sure to hop around and enter each of the giveaways. The more you enter, the more chances you’ll have to win the grand prize! The giveaway ends on September 15th, 2012 at 12:01 a.m.

Our hosts have also put together an awesome grand prize valued at more than $300! The grand prize includes:

AI2 Cloth diaper from Green Grizls

Boogie Bear Creations Nighttime Cloth Diaper

Lil Montner Mama Cloth Set

AI2 Cloth diaper from 4oh5 Fluff

Organic Bonnet from Bonnet Friend

Set of Cloth Wipes & Detergent from Tender Bottoms

Natural Deodorant from Live Beautifully

Hybrid Fitted Cloth diaper from Silly Bear Handmade

Bar of Soap from Bmbyx

Original Artwork from NJoyArt

GPS Bracelet from Motherhood Journey

Fabric Lowercase ABC's from The Crunchy Farm Baby Shop

$30 Credit to Babycake Boutique

You can gain extra entries into the grand prize by entering all of the giveaways on blogs participating in the Fall in Love with Handmade Event. Click here to access the grand prize entry form!

I am a craft loving gal and even had an etsy site for quite some time. Handmade is where I love!!
I am so excited to share 2 fantastic companies with you during this event!

Goat Haus Dairy is a family operated business making goat milk soaps, lotions and more!

They are offering my readers a gift box of

Soap, Lotion, Body Butter, Foot Cream, 2 Bath Melts and Lipbalm

$35 value

BarnYardBagLadies is a beautiful upcycling group of 2 ecofriendly, animal loving gals!

They are offering my readers their chose of Tote Bag from their store.

$30 Value

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Facebook is in no way affiliated with this contest. Please note that Going Green with the Grizls, The Vagabond Studio, Eight Days a Weeks and all other bloggers participating in the Fall in Love with Handmade Giveaway Hop are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. We will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. I will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor, please notify the blog you won a prize from within 4-6 weeks for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you.

BarnYardBagLadies Sponsor Review

From these discarded feedsacks to these beautiful upcycled bags!!

How do you like that name?? BarnyardBagLadies, I just love it!!

If it comes in a feed sack, they can make an upcycled tote bag out of it!! Dogs, Cats, Horses, Chickens, Goats, you name it!

Not only tote bags though, they can also make messenger bags, diaper bags, book bags.. the possibilities with these creative ladies is endless!

Believe me, we go through a lot of feed sacks on a farm. I have always hated throwing these away, but other than using them for trash bags I never dreamed of making something so creative out of them. The craftmanship is just outstanding on these bags, and they are extremely durable. They held 40-50 pounds of feed in them at one time so you know they are made tough.

Look at these beautiful Horse Bags.
I know my Kentucky horse loving friends will be all over these bags!!

Since I don't have a horse.. yet.. I decided a multi animal bag would be perfect for me! We currently have chickens, a calf and 2 goats on our mini KY farm! I love the little goat down on the bottom of the bag!

The quality of these bags is outstanding! They are washed thouroughly and easy for you to wash as well. The straps are 25 inches long, perfect size for an over the shoulder tote bag. The straps are made of jute and often times vintage or unique fabric to help add to the creativity.
Inside the bottom of the bag is a removable, fabric covered, recycled cardboard bottom panel. Most of them are covered with repurposed dinner napkin fabric which can be washed if needed.
Constructed in Atlanta Ga using heavy duty upholstery thread to hold tight the flexible plastic fabric.

Cindy Stack and Janice Knocke.. The BarnYardBagLadies have done an outstanding job at repurposing these feed sacks.
These work great for gift giving! I am putting this at the top of my suggested gift ideas for your country loving family and friends! My aunt was visiting when my bag arrived and she tried to convince me to give it to her!! No way! It is my new favorite bag.

You can visit the BYBL ladies online at
http://barnyardbagladies.com/index.html

Facebook at Barnyardbagladies

@barnyardbaglady

BackYardBagLadies Choice of Bag during the Fall into Handmade Blog hop!!

Starts Sept 1st!!

I received a tote bag to help facilitate my review. I have provided my readers with an honest review.

Just Eyewear Review & Giveaway

I have always been able to get my prescription and glasses right at Walmart without any trouble, but the expense always floored me! I wouldn't be able to get a full pair of glasses for under $150 typically and that was always a bit rough on my budget. I prefer to wear my contacts but there are times you just want to wear your glasses. My prescription was getting outdated so I applied to review glasses with Just Eyewear to see how easy/difficult it would be to order them online. Their prices were by far better, but I had never ordered glasses online before.

They have a fantastic selection of frames and you can narrow down the selection by price, size of the frame, style of the glasses, and size of the lenses, helping to make your selection more appealing to your own personal needs. You will need a prescription for glasses from your optometrist so be prepared to make a visit. It can run about $50 for an eye exam. Mine just handed me the prescription and I was good to go.
Next time however I will have them measure the line between my pupils as that was a bit difficult to do on my own:)

I searched just eyewear online and found the glasses I wanted for my review. I ran into a bit of difficulty checking out since I was receiving a free pair, it wouldn't run my credit card with a blank amount. I tried to contact Just Eyewear to no avail so decided to use their option of paypal and just put $1 on it so I could secure my glasses. I was told about a week later that they found the paypal order held up by the fraud prevention system. Well that troubled me for my readers sake if they want to pay via paypal. So my recommendation is if you order glasses just use your credit card so it isn't help up.

Once that was figured out I came to find out the original frames I chose were no longer available and they could not get more of that kind. So I looked back through again to find 3 choices this time just in case they were not available. My first in that selection was available and I received the Joseph Marc in Black

These glasses were very comfortable with metal frames and acetate arms. They were not heavy on my face which is super important to me! They sell many different styles and they all seem to be in current trend, you aren't just buying out of style glasses. The selection was very stylish.I had a hard time narrowing it down. Once selected it should only take a few days to receive your glasses so there is typically a quick turnaround.

Just Eyewear is offering my readers a Gift Code of $50 to purchase your next pair of glasses from them! This will not cover the $5.95 shipping. You can try out a fancy new pair of glasses and find out for yourself the ease of ordering online!!
Follow the Rafflecopter for Entries.
USA only
Ends Sept 13, 2012

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Zing Toys

As soon as kids unleash Zing’s new Air Storm line, they’ll have foam ammo flying in more ways than they can imagine! Hit top heights with Pop Rocketz or nail the bull’s-eye with the Z-X Crossbow. These Zing products pack a major punch in a stealth size. Take your pick--the Air Storm arsenal is loads of fun with several ways to play.

The Z-X CrossBow will stick it to ya’. The Power Swing technology enables the bow arms to pop open for action and send super-soft suction cup Zartz flying. Lock ‘n’ load the soft foam ammo for anytime-action. Pull the trigger to hit and stick targets from over 45 feet! Built-in ammo clips keep extra Zartz ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

Prepare for take-off with the Air Storm Pop Rocketz! This pocket-sized, take-anywhere, air-powered rocket launcher blasts foam rockets that soar more than 50 feet! Real rocket launch action that’s safe for indoors and out.

Easy enough for a toddler to use, cool enough for a teen! Designed for ages 5 and up but my 4 year old had no troubles at all with it. Made of soft foam so you can play with it outside or indoors. It comes with 3 small rockets to use.

The black stick where you attach the rocket wasn’t glued in well and came out after only 5 shots. It isn’t hard to reattach the base stick and you can still use it. If you don’t reglue it, the black stick will stay inside of the foam rocket while it travels. If yours falls apart have some super glue on hand to reattach it.

What is great about these toys is that you can use them indoors and out! I know my kids can not always easily play outside, either it is just too hot, or cold in the winter. This gets them some action without my fear of breaking everything in site!

Zing Toys on Facebook

@Zing_Toys

Disclosure: The reviews and or opinions on this blog are my own opinions. I received the above to review. No monitory compensation was received. I was not required to write a positive review. Your experience may differ. The opinions I have expressed are my own I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement and Testimonials in Advertising.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Folica It's All About the Hair!

Folica.com- It's All About the Hair!

Folica online has every product you need for your hair care!!
I was able to review the Conair Soft Bonnet Hair Dryer.

It is great for hot conditioning and setting rollers. I don't own another hair dryers so even with the wand it was helpful in drying and straightening my hair!

Features

Extra large bonnet fits over jumbo rollers
Concentrator nozzle for precision styling
Vent Brush hot air curling power
Extra long 4 ft. hose
Purse-shaped case saves space
4 Heat setting for Maximum Styling
Hose and bonnet come with Easy Lock System
2 Year limited warranty

The hose can extend up to 4 feet so you can place the dryer on the counter and still easily reach your head without having to sit or lean over. I put it on to do a simple light dry and was able to multi-task and put my make up on while my hair was drying. Felt like I was at a spa!
It works great with the hose as well and the brush attachment to finish up your hair to dry it and help to straighten.
My advice is to make sure your ears are on the outside of the bonnet when you dry your hair, they get mighty hot otherwise! I am excited to get some soft rollers to try this out with. I have very long hair and to curl it takes a mighty long time. If this works good with the rollers I can get the rollers in and just finish it off with the heat before I head out the door.
For $29.99 I found this to be a good product. Conair is well known for it's drying products so the name held up in this product.
Easy to use, easy to store and a very useful product to have around!

Visit Folica.com for all of their great products!
Twitter @folica
Folica on Facebook

NatureBox healthy snacking!

Naturebox

Healthy, hand picked snacks delivered to your door for just $19.95 a month.

Great tasting, unique, wonderful tasting snacks!!
This is what my snack box had in it!! (from their website)

Zesta Fiesta Mix

Our Zesta Fiesta Mix is kicked up with the zest of paprika, garlic, cilantro and chili powder but without the high sodium and carbohydrates of other packaged snack mixes. This mix also does a better job of filling you up thanks to the protein found naturally in the nuts. We recommend putting this out at a party, but we can’t guarantee it will last long!

Sunny Trails

This snack mix is packed with a medley of dried fruits that will keep your spirit and energy sky high. Raw almonds provide a nutty crunch to balance out the sweet, chewy fruits. This light and colorful snack is perfect on its own by the handful or sprinkled over plain yogurt.

Lemon Pucker Pistachios

The simple act of opening a pistachio will naturally slow down your speedy snacking habit. This makes pistachios perfect for those who find that they mindlessly graze from snack bags far too easily. The bright lemon flavor keeps your taste buds feeling fresh so just a serving will give you plenty of satiety.

Garden Tomato Crunchies

We love the nutritional punch that almonds bring but we know that it’s sometimes hard to stop at only one serving. That’s why we think these Crunchies are a great choices for all the almond fans out there- the bite-sized pieces allow you to enjoy more crunch with each bite and the tangy and summery tomato flavor satisfies a savory craving even when you can’t get your hands on a vine-ripened variety.

Southern BBQ Sunflower Kernels

You don’t have to be from the South (or even a meat-eater at all!) to appreciate the smoky flavors of good ole Southern BBQ. These crunchy kernels pack in all of the fun of a backyard barbecue with none of the finger-licking mess. Plus, the heart healthy fat in the kernels will easily keep you going from activity to activity.

Each one of them were a unique, flavorful snack that I hadn't tried before! I loved the lemon pistachios best, as they were just the right amount of sour to the wonderful tasting nut. My kids gobbled up the sunflower kernels, crunchy and full of BBQ flavor.
These are hearty servings of snacks, all healthy with a variety of nuts and seeds. Nothing artificial added.
No artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners. Healthy, great tasting snacks that you won't just happen to pick up in the check out line at the grocery. These are gourmet snacks, at a reasonable price. My kids love to snack and when I can get them to snack healthier we both come out winners!
Each month brings new delicious snacks. You can sign up to receive boxes each month or just do a one time gift for a friend or loved one. These snacks are tasty for all ages!

The best part!!

For every NatureBox sent out, together we’re helping to feed the hungry. NatureBox donates one meal for every box to feed the over 14 million children in America who go hungry. We believe in doing good and eating well.

Nature Box on Facebook
Twitter @naturebox

Princess Joy's Party I can Read book

The Princess Parables

Princess Joy's sisters are planning a surprise party for her birthday! Joy hears about their plans and is overjoyed. The sisters invite all of Joy's friends to the party, but none of them can come. Joy is going to be so disappointed! She didn't want to have a birthday after all.
Her Daddy and sisters playing outside slowly brought her out of her unhappiness and she realized she wanted others to feel as happy as her family made her feel. She decided to invite the boys and girls of the village to her birthday, and showered them with blessings.

Such a wonderful illustration of the parable found in Luke 14. Perfect for your little princess to have read to them and for beginning readers to read. The illustrations are just darling and I love how the parable can be applied to show princesses who love God and honor his Word.

You can purchase this book at Christian Book Distributors

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Nook Color Giveaway!!

Welcome to the Nook Color 8MB Giveaway!

BuyDig has teamed up with Kate n' Kaboodle and co-hosts News Wahl and Colleen's Book

Nook to bring you this wonderful Back to School giveaway!

This fabulous giveaway includes a 8GB Nook Color and a $25 Barnes & Noble Giftcard!

A Year of Jubilee Reviews is excited to share this fantastic giveaway with my readers!

The Barnes & Noble 8GB Nook Color features the 7 inch VividView Touchscreen that displays 16 million colors ultra-bright. This touchscreen is specially designed for remarkable clarity, minimal glare and is ultra responsive. The Nook Color is fully customizable so you can make the text bigger, choose your favorite font or read in portrait or landscape. Books, Magazines, Newspapers, Textbooks, Comics...if you want to read it, the Nook Color can deliver in seconds with it's built-in WiFi capabilities! With over 2.5 million titles available, there is something for everyone. There is an endless list of free books and you can even save up to 90% on textbooks! Concerned about storage? Worry no more! With 8GB (up to 5,000 books) of built-in memory and expandable storage up to 32GB with microSD memory card, there is plenty of room! Whether you want to watch movies with Netflix, read your favorite book, listen to music, check your Facebook, search the web or enjoy a wide variety of apps, the Nook Color is for you!