Still Life Painting

One of our favourite hobbies is to paint and draw. I really enjoyed checking out the Still life Painting Studio kit with my children. This kit comes with five tubes of Gouache Paints and a book that explains a few techniques to capture the beauty of everyday objects. It is a wonderful way to introduce Still life painting to children. 

Make Informative Decisions with the Help of the Geek Squad at Best Buy

As parents, we all do some degree of "helicopter parenting" and hover over our children either because we fear they might get hurt or we can't let go of the idea that they are our babies. While conversing with Rebecca, a parent representative at the Best Buy #PermissionToHover back to school event, we agreed that the degree of how much each parent "hovers" over their children depends on the individual child, the situation, and the parent.

Be #BacktoSchool Ready

Some products and companies to keep in mind during Back to School Season.

Keep yourself and family organized with the 2015/2016 Day Ja View Calendar. I enjoyed using this calendar last year. Day Ja View, August to July wall calendars starts on Monday and ends on Sunday. I like this unique calendar because it comes with stickers that we can place on the removable plastic protective sheet, and avoid re-writing recurring activities.

Get Ready for School by winning this Giant Tiger Gift Card

Giant Tiger, a Canadian family owned discount store that has over 200 stores in 8 provinces across Canada. I like that they carry affordable, everyday necessities at low prices. It is a one-stop shop with wonderful deals on products for the home and for everyone in the family. I found it neat that each of their stores have unique deals to meet the needs of customers who come to the specific stores. While shopping at a Giant Tiger location close to our home, I found some useful items that were reasonably priced.

Vote for Our #LoveYourWood Convertible Gaming Storage Cart and Win

We are very excited to be part of the Rust-Oleum and Varathane #LoveYourWood Challenge. For this challenge, we were provided with a gift card to purchase our choice of wood and any other material we needed for the project. Our surprise package included a Varathane Top Coat, a Varathane Wood Stain, glass pebbles, cabinet door handle, hook, wire, and rope.

Disney Descendants DVD and Hasbro Descendants Collection

We enjoyed watching Descendants, which is now available on Disney DVD. My children and I saw the Descendants dolls when we went to the Hasbro Holiday Preview event, and were excited to watch this original reinvented contemporary story of classic Disney characters. It was fun to watch because the tween characters are relatable, as they go through their journey of self-discovery. This Disney DVD has bonus features as well as a cute bracelet that comes with the DVD.

What's New on Netflix: DinoTrux & S.T.E.A.M inspired Project Mc2

We watched the first episode Netflix original series DinoTrux from DreamWorks, which will be launching on August 14th. My son being a big dinosaur fan loves the show that is based on the award-winning children’s book series by Chris Gall. DinoTrux features hybrid dinosaur/construction vehicle characters, and follows the larger-than-life adventures of two unlikely best friends, Ty Trux, a massive Tyrannosaurus Trux, and his tiny friend Revvit, a razor-smart Reptool. 

PC® Back-to-school and Fall Collections

I enjoyed checking out the colourful PC® Back-to-school and Fall Collections. The colour choices in their Life at Home and Everyday Essentials collection are really attractive. Adding these colourful pieces will quickly and pleasantly change the decor of any room suitable for upcoming entertainments and celebrations.

Denim Basket: Sewn and Fabric Painted

When school's out, it's perfect time for craft camp! Children and parents will enjoy the creative 40 projects in the Craft Camp book published by Lark. The projects include simple beading, sewing, felting, bookmaking and so much more. The book has ideas on how we can create colourful piñatas, eco-friendly mobiles, upcycled necklaces, hats, T-shirts, and many more projects. Children from 6 to 12 will find inspiring ideas in this book. We like the inspiring photographs that were useful when we were trying the projects. I would have preferred if there were more illustrations to accompany the written steps to make it clearer.

Papaya Juice & Colourful Entertaining Products from Trudeau

I love the new wave of bright colours and cool shapes of kitchen items for the table from Trudeau. These products with the beautiful timeless appeal and functionality truly celebrates colour. My family and I love using these products everyday, and I am glad they have used organically coloured glass and sustainable wood, which is also good for the environment. I love how we can match our decor with these vibrant hues and bring excitement to our summer entertainment.