art Archives - Rave & Review

Mindful crafting with Sequin Pets to snuggle

Last week on a school field trip, I had a very earnest conversation with a little girl about all of the many things she loves about sequins. Specifically, reverse sequins {AKA mermaid sequins}, the kind that you can use to “draw” shapes with. It turns out she has been wanting products with these special reverse … Read more

Embracing the Back to School season and bonding through art

Ready or not, it’s back to school time again! I admit that I have mixed feelings about school starting every year and this year is no exception. On one hand, I love the structure school provides for our schedule, but on the other hand I always feel like another month or two of summer would … Read more

Looking for unique gifts? NOVICA has you covered!

Have you heard of NOVICA before? It's basically an online artisan market where you can get the most unique gifts and jewelry anywhere, and it's one of my very favorite places to shop. NOVICA works in association with National Geographic to offer an extensive collection of over 2,000 master artisans around the world and give you one easy place to buy – no traveling required.

They have a great selection of pieces that you just can’t find anywhere else and I love that each of their pieces comes with their own story and information about its country of origin. Looking for a hard-to-find item? Want truly unique gifts? NOVICA really has it all and is now my go-to site for those that are impossible to shop for.

Make your Oribel PortaPlay even more amazing with two awesome new accessories

I’ve said before how much I love our PortaPlay Convertible Activity Center from Oribel. We’ve had it for a year now and it’s still one of my favorite items we got for our little one. This is because the PortaPlay bouncer/activity table isn’t just for babies. The PortaPlay converts as baby’s needs change, so what started out as a bouncer/exersaucer for baby becomes a toy-covered or flat-topped activity table that can be used for years. After almost a year of use as a bouncer, we recently converted the PortaPlay to an activity table and my new little walker was super excited to walk around the table and play with the toys from a new angle. And then when the newest Oribel accessories arrived and we converted the PortaPlay to a flat-top art table, she was super excited to use the PortaPlay with her favorite dolls and toys.

Upgrade your walls with photo art from AdoramaPix

Oh, AdoramaPix, where have you been my whole life? My walls have never been happier. Ever since I was little, I have loved photography and have taken way too many pictures. But the problem has always been getting those pictures printed. Back when film was my medium, I would save up money to get rolls of film developed at the drug store and whatever teenager that was on duty would process them, which was mostly awful. Then, once everything went digital, I would order prints either from kiosks or online, but either way, the quality was always subpar.

Other labs, pay attention. This is how you do it.

A sensory adventure with SentoSphere art and learning kits

This is going to come as a shock to anyone who knows how close my daughter and I are, but a few months ago I found it hard to bond with my sweet little girl. We spent most of the day together but sometimes it felt like we were so similar that we were constantly at odds. With the start of school and the addition of ballet and playdates there was a lot of hurry up and clean up and eat up and we’ve got to go, but not a whole lot of time to just sit and talk and enjoy each other. I realized I had to do something fast or this school year was going to be pretty awful for both of us, but I wasn’t sure what. It was then that I tried crafts and I realized that was going to be our saving grace. Crafting gave us a time to slow down, to relax, and for some reason, it made my girl open up. Crafting time told her she had my undivided attention – and she was going to make the most of it.

For that reason I am constantly on the lookout for crafts that we can do together, and I’ve found the perfect company to help me keep us both happy and connected. SentoSphere started in France creating high quality artistic and educational games, kits and toys but are now selling most of their lines in the States. Sure, we still do coloring books and doodling on some days, but other days we want something with a real wow factor, and that’s when we turn to SentoSphere.

Galt Toys offers educational and developmental toys and gifts for kids of all ages

I’m guessing most of you out there are very familiar with Galt Toys, even if you wouldn’t recognize the name. With a history spanning over 175 years and with toys for ages 0-12, Galt Toys has been celebrating the importance of childhood play in Europe and is now moving into North America just in time for the holidays.

From their iconic Ambi Toys collection that I remember vividly from my own childhood to the Galt learning books that are used in schools and homes alike, Galt Toys have been a staple in many homes for generations. Do these look familiar to you?

How to host your own upcycling party {Singer VIVO Repair & Create machine}

You know those times when everything in your closet just seems so boring? Whether you haven’t been shopping since you were in high school or your body has changed and you’re still wearing your old clothing, chances are you have a stack of clothes in your closet taking up space that you really don’t want to be wearing anymore.

I know I did, as did my friends, so we decided to get together to make a negative into a very big positive. Instead of going shopping together and blowing a few hundred dollars between us while we updated our wardrobes, we did something a whole lot more fun and cost effective – we upcycled our clothing.

For those not familiar with the term “upcycle”, the basic idea is that you use what you already have and are not using to create something new and fabulous that you would have otherwise had to buy. Think of it as the greener way to recycle.

So, to start my party off, I had all of the guests create two bags full of stuff beforehand – stuff they like but want to make amazing in one bag and stuff they really don’t want any more but can still be used for parts in the second.

Immediately upon walking into the party, they were greeted with two felt bins – one to dump their discards into for everyone to use as material, and one for the clothing they would like to upcycle. Once everyone had arrived, we went through the contents of the first bin together so everyone could see what materials they had to work with.

The saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” comes to mind as digging through the discard bin quickly turned into a clothing swap where everyone grabbed a few new-to-them items. Hey, it's green and resourceful.

But, our purpose wasn't just to swap clothing, we were here to make our clothing awesome, which is why we had this little baby by our side:

Name Art makes personalized art as unique as your little one

With four siblings growing up, you would have thought we’d have a lot of personalized items to help keep everything straight. But, instead of items with our names or monograms, we each had a specific color we always used to help us find our stuff. While the color-coded system was practical, it wasn’t always fun.

After over a decade eating off the blue placemat, out of the blue cup, and hanging my stuff on the blue hook, I really longed for something that was a little more… personal. Because of this, I have made a point to get my kids special items that have their names and truly reflect who they are as often as I can.

Name Art is a New York based company that was started for this very reason. They specialize in truly one-of-a-kind items that help you celebrate each child with unique and personalized gifts. From placemats to fine art prints, Name Art has a great selection of gifts and art that would be perfect presents for your little one.

We love the Wummelbox craft and learning kits {Review}

Time travel is something that holds a special place in my heart. Technically, time travel is responsible for hubby’s and my first date ever. Okay, not actual time travel, but a theoretical discussion on the merits and limits of time travel that led to an impasse that led to a bet: declared loser buys dinner … Read more