Carefree Crafts Subscription Review

 My first subscription box came! Actually, it was a bubble mailer, but still. Very exciting. And very quick!  I'm impressed by the turn around time, as the other boxes I subscribed to I had to wait for February. Carefree Crafts was able to get me on board right away!

The package included a color page showing all of the projects, the theme, and some trivia applying to the theme at the bottom. This month it's "Winter Wonderland," which works for me. There are 6 projects in this package with a variety of mediums - one is lacing, one is a little figure to assemble, one is painting, etc.

Inside the package are all of the supplies needed to make each of the projects, separated into packages, so you can just pull out the bag for what you are going to make and not have to sort it yourself  (all time saving is good when toddlers are involved!)

We decided to start with a "snowman coaster." Apparently to put beverages on. So...I'd never use this as a coaster, but The Cupcake is unconcerned with such concepts as "practicality," so "Frosty" was quite exciting for her. This seemed like the simplest project, and we've been doing a lot of foam sticker work lately, so I figured we could handle it. We did...but it wasn't quite as easy as I had hoped. It relied heavily on Glue Dots, which I have to believe are made of pure evil. I generally can't get them off their backing without significant trouble, and I have some crafting experience, so I don't know anyone who would think a toddler could do it. That meant I had to place all the glue dots and just let TC assemble, which was okay, but neither of us really had the patience for it. But you wouldn't know it by the end:

I asked her what we should name him, and she replied "FROSTY" in an exasperated tone, it definitely would have been followed by "Duh, mom!" If she knew the word "Duh!" :) 

Later that evening TC begged for another "cwaft!" so we tried the "stained glass" mitten. It was an acetate sheet that you covered with glue, then tissue paper squares, and a foam border. When finished it is a mitten shaped sun catcher. It was one of the messier projects, so I should have known not to try it at the END of the day when I was already tired, but the glue was the least of the problems. The tissue paper tiles had to be separated from a stack, and the instructions warned that there were just enough to cover the project, so after my hands were covered in glue I spent awkward and tense minutes trying to separate thin layers. It turned out that there were plenty of tissues so I didn't need to be so precise, but still...after the glue dots, this experience left me wondering if these boxes were for me.

But someone is a big fan so far. 

We still have 4 projects left, and so far some positives are that the kits are all inclusive, curated around a theme, and sized for just one kid. A lot of the projects seem to come from Oriental Trading Co, which always has dubious quality, but it is somewhat of a plus to be able to make just ONE of something, rather than ordering at least a dozen through OTC. There are a lot more glue dots included...but I'm wondering if I could just switch those out for double sided tape or something. I haven't yet decided if the projects are a great age fit - TC seems very interested, but she also want's to jump right in and these crafts so far have required patience and sequencing, which can add stress to a messy situation. The foam stickers are way easier. 

I got a great deal on the first box with a coupon code, but I can't decide yet if this is worth a monthly renewal. If I took the same amount of $$ to the craft store, I'm not sure I could get 6 different projects (since usually things come in packages or fancy kits), and I do appreciate not having to think about the projects and just having them on hand, having the experience and displaying things for a while but not feeling like we need to save them forever, and having TC get excited about it. Oh, and getting mail. I totally love getting mail. But man, I hate glue dots :) 

Stay tuned for more! 

Hearts for Lucy

We've been messy craft machines around our house lately, and yesterday we made some pretty special pieces - Hearts for Lucy:

The Cupcake with her creations

Lucy is the youngest of 4 children in the Marlett family. Lucy is dying. Soon. Her parents have realized this and made the difficult move to comfort care, and part of the comfort they want to provide to their daughter (and their 3 other young children) is to fill Lucy's hospital room with hearts and cards and love.

I found out about their request from a Facebook link to a blog link to a different blog link - I hadn't read the family's blog or heard of them before I saw it, and honestly I haven't read much beyond the most recent posts even now,  but I knew immediately we would be on board to send some love. I can't imagine these circumstances, and I hope I never have to, but I can do crafts and I too have a love of mail. I can only imagine that a Santa-sack full of sparkly envelopes just might perk up the family's feelings, if only for a brief time.

We had just picked up some foam hearts and princess stickers thinking they might be useful around Valentine's Day, so I rationed a few out to TC and just let her go to town. I did the letters in Lucy's name and centered one of the hearts, otherwise it's all 3 year old chaos and excess. I think that works. It's sparkly and happy, and that's what we'd like to send to Lucy and her family. A few moments of sparkles and happiness.

We're sending them per the instructions on the family blog:

Our hope and prayer for Lucy in these final days, weeks…is that we'll surround her with love, wrap her in it, bathe her in it, saturate her with it! 
So...I have an idea.  Not unlike any other admission in which our girl celebrated so many holidays in the hospital, we need to decorate her room.  It's time to take down the Christmas decorations, and bring on the LOVE!  For the love of Lucy send hearts, send cards, send love notes to Lucy, affirmations of love…help us surround her with love.

The hospital address is:

Nemours A. I. DuPont Hospital for Children

℅ Lucy Marlett Room 3708

1600 Rockland Road
Wilmington, DE 19803  

You can read more about Lucy and her family, or their request at AllTheMarletts

Subscriptions!

I did it! I took the plunge! I'm signed up for 3 subscription boxes and I can't wait to try them out!

http://yourbijouxbox.com/ - Jewelry! This was the first one I decided on, but I had browser problems signing up - I emailed the contact and received an immediate personal/human response that they were looking into it and apologized, and I got an update when they felt they had the problem fixed. When I still couldn't get my order to go through I asked if I could just do it over the phone, and promptly was allowed to, with excellent, friendly customer service (and anyone who knows me knows I NEVER get good customer service! So it was quite the pleasure!). I started with a 6 month subscription since this was my big splurgey birthday present. Should start in February, and I can't wait!

http://www.carefreecrafts.com/ - Kid friendly craft kits! I did this one on a month-by-month basis and used a coupon code for 40% off the first month so I can try it out with out too much commitment. TC actually loves to do messy crafts like painting and foam stickers (I call those messy because of the million tiny pieces of paper backing it leaves scattered across the house), it's me who runs out of patience (because guess who cleans it up?!?!?) but I resolved to work on my attitude towards such things this year, so we'll try it out. Tentatively :) I like that this is a kid thing, but not a "investment" kid thing like toys and clothes - we can have the experience, show it off for a while, and then get rid of the projects without adding too much long lasting chaos (or reselling, or donating, etc).  The subscription code I used was SAVE40, not sure how long it is valid. This subscription could start in just a week or two, which would be GREAT! UPDATE: FIRST SHIPMENT ALREADY ARRIVED!

http://www.ipsy.com/ - MAKEUP! I know, this is so not my usual style, but maybe I'm kind of tired of my (lack of) usual style? This is one of the lowest cost subscriptions at $10 a month, and you get a makeup bag (GLAM BAG) with around 5 products. The site was a little confusing - at first I just clicked directly on the glambag subscription and was put on a waiting list, but if you become a "member" of the site first, then agree to share on facebook, they'll expedite you off the waitlist immediately, so I'm signed up to get the February shipment. And then I just deleted the facebook share right after. Supposedly your selection of products is curated towards your answers to the style profile quiz, but since I have zero makeup skills or personal style, I just checked that I was interested in all the boxes. The only weird question was about hair where you only got to choose from a few weird options like frizzy, needs volume, curly, or a few others that didn't apply to me. So we'll see what I get!

Neverland Party - Setting Sail

Neverland is a dream party theme because there are so many elements to use - each part of Neverland is literally a childhood happy thought - pirates, mermaids, treasure, Indians, a treehouse, and unlimited freedom to roam and explore. Here's a little mock up of a Neverland map whipped up in 10 minutes on the kitchen floor, made out of crayons and Amazon's packing paper that was literally laying around:

I decided that since pirates were the most accessible genre, they would take over the kitchen and living room. One I took down our Christmas tree, I had a huge open 11' wall to work with that just screamed for a big decor element - enter the photo backdrop!

I used two rolls of background paper (like giant tubes of slightly thicker wrapping paper) from a teacher supply store. I believe they are intended for bulletin boards, and recently I've noticed some JoAnn stores carrying them too, so you could use a 40% off coupon.  One was sky and one was "under the sea." I used blue painters tape to paste them up, and they looked adorable! We got a pop up "Bucky the Pirate Ship" (from the new Disney Jr. cartoon "Jake and the Neverland Pirates," which TC also loves and takes place in Neverland). I thought it would be great to take gag photos of everyone "sailing away" on the pirate ship. Of course on the day of the party I was too busy doing everything else (especially eating cupcakes) to remember. Oops! 

But the area was still enjoyed, and the few photos we did get are adorable :)

3 happy thoughts on a random rushed afternoon

Happy moments of the day:

Impromptu dance party during breakfast.  TC can cut a rug! And I can flail wildly alongside her. Giggles ensued.  We were an hour later to daycare than our usual hour late.

Ran a bunch of overdue errands including returning helium tank to party store. Woman in front of me bought 4 gallons of confetti.  SO MANY TINY PIECES. My first thought was "I never want to clean that up." Second thought "...but I'd love to be invited to that party. "

Solo cheapskate lunch at Costco.  Mmmm, chicken bake. And in a life altering first, I returned a sweater AND BOUGHT NOTHING NEW. This might be a superpower. I'm tempted to go to Target just to test it.

Check (off the bucket list) - it's in the mail!

I'm excited to knock a bunch more fun things off my bucket list this year. There are a few that are potentially in the cards, though only one that is officially on the calendar. For Christmas we gifted my family with tickets to a charity ball (#21), so that will be exciting!

The next one I'm thinking of pursuing is #39 Join a  fun "of the month” club/subscription service. Yeah, you got me, it originally said "bouquet of the month club" but that's mostly because I didn't know these other subscription services existed, and anyways when I found out they did I immediately assumed it was on my bucket list, so close enough!

I've been reading reviews and lists of services, and I'm so excited! I'm completely jealous of the women who run the two sites below and apparently have hundreds of subscription boxes in their mail each month. I absolutely love to get mail. Love. The idea of getting surprises in the mail every month is extremely appealing - and remember, it's one of my resolutions to surround myself with happy things, so it's practically like homework, right?

Now I just have to decide what type/service to subscribe to. Jewelry, crafts, or kid stuff seem the most interesting so far. There used to be one that was about parties that would have been PERFECT, but appears to have gone away - anyone know anything about celebrate crates? Sadly I think they are no longer an option. For crafts I'm thinking maybe a cupcake baking one, or a kid friendly set of things I can do with TC that will give us a little structure and a nice  TV alternative. Beyond crafts I am wary of investing any more $$$ into much kid stuff - clearly this kid needs no more toys or clothes, so those kinds are out, but I do struggle for ways to fill our days beyond shopping and doing chores around the house, so one of the curriculum-esque boxes might not be bad. Or it might feel like another chore. I can't decide. Jewelry I would LOVE - especially statement necklaces, rings, and bracelets (even though I rarely dress up, I try to still wear a little sparkle every day.   Generally with my unbrushed hair). I'm hesitant because I don't have my ears pierced and don't want to "waste" money if I get a bunch of earrings, but it seems like some places I could specify. Similarly I don't wear much nail polish or makeup, but I'm not ruling it out. Might be time to give it a try. Bouquets are still an option as well, but with weather like we're having lately, I doubt even well wrapped flowers would be worthwhile...

Popsugar seems to have great reviews, but I'm not sure if I can dedicate $35 a month to such discretionary spending (I need to make sure the experience of getting surprises is exciting, but not feeling like a gamble). I'd love input from anybody who has done a subscription service before, there are SO MANY to choose from!

http://www.ramblingsofasuburbanmom.com/monthly-subscription-box-list/
http://www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com/

I'll tell you where you can spring to...

I stopped into Target yesterday (along with the rest of the metro population) for some last minute supplies before the world officially froze in place for a while,  and I was greeted (after a bleary eyed walk from the farthest parking spot during which I feared loss of my eyelids) with a huge sign proclaiming "SPRING FORWARD." Around the corner I found bikinis, and learned that all long sleeve shirts, adult and child size, had been banished for the year. Thank you, California purchasing agents. It makes sense that not only would it be impossible to find boots, coats, or replacement mittens this time of year, but anything even remotely weather appropriate is out. Hope your kids kept track of their mittens and nobody ripped their scarf or outgrew their boots, let alone needed an upgrade for the outrageous conditions. It's spring now,  Target says so.

It's -20 degrees today in Minnesota,  up to -60 wind chill in some areas. Luckily TC  and I plan to be hermits and wait it out today, though we might have to brave the awfulness tomorrow for a meeting (which I am crossing my fingers gets cancelled).

My plan is to munch on party leftovers and maybe do some dishes.  Pray nothing freezes, give thanks again for the freedom to hibernate on days like this.

Warmly,
H