The Haunted Knoll Review

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by The Haunted Knoll for the review free of charge.****

     

My fiance & I are huge fans of the video game Borderlands, We have been playing it for almost two years now and still find entertainment in it which is easy to do when they are still releasing new content for it. We also enjoy Comicon so it isn't a surprise that I am always on the look out for makers of Cosplay materials that are both high quality, easy on the wallet and look good. If you have been a reader of my blog for at least the last two to three months you will have seen past reviews from a company called The Haunted Knoll. I am happy to announce that the owner Will has come out with a new Borderlands mask for your cosplaying needs.



I would like to introduce you to the new Borderlands Psycho Bandit Mask that comes with real leather stitching. The first thing I always notice about the masks Will makes is how clean they are, I have never had an issue with there being extra plaster material, sharp or rough edges everything has always been perfect. He really goes the extra mile to keep his customers happy, my favorite thing aside from the great designs is that he puts a liner on the inside of the mask which is smooth and already finished for you. The mask kit comes with 1 Unpainted mask,9 lengths of 1mm Leather Cord lacing,1 mouth fan accessory piece (optional install),Black Tulle for covering the eyes sockets and
Foam padding for inside the mask all for just $55 plus shipping that is a steal.



You can purchase the mask in either white or black depending on your painting needs. Will suggests painting the mask before adding the stitching which I agree with you don't want to end up ruining the leather by painting it a color you didn't want on it. Keep in mind this mask is stylized as a more "real-life" version of the mask, and not intended as an exact replication of the game artwork I add this because I know some cosplyers like things 100% like the actual character but to me these makes are cutting it really close to the real thing which is wonderful. Want to see more Borderlands cosplay items? Head over and check out The Haunted Knoll they have a great selection and professional grade products this is in my opinion the best shop to get your Borderlands needs from.

Fresh Frog Tees Giveaway & Review

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Fresh Frog Tees for the review & giveaway free of charge.****

  

My little guy isn't quite so 'little' he may only be a year old but he wears a 2T-3T in clothing and he is still growing at a fast pace. Thankfully he has begun to slow down a little so I have been keeping my eyes open for cute shirts to put him in, during my search I found a etsy store called Fresh Frog Tees who sells an assortment of children's T-shirts. All of the designs are Hip, Unique and Attractive this is another one of those stores that you will spend quite a bit of time in trying to figure out exactly which shirt you would like to buy. As a bonus not only are the designs wonderful but you have the option of getting the shirt customized with your child's name or a date.



Having owned a Etsy shop of my own in the past I am never surprised to receive a product from a purchase or a review that is just placed into the package without wrapping, so when I come across a store that goes the extra mile [Note some shops can't afford this starting out so it isn't a big deal to me] I want people to know about it. The shirt came in its very own plastic bag which is perfect for keeping the material safe both during shipping or during gifting. The shirt is made from high quality 100% cotton fabric which is both soft and comfortable. I have run into T-shirt designs that become hard or stiff either from washing or from the material being too thick I didn't experience that with this shirt the logo is flexible yet sturdy.



Along with fast shipping, great products and packaging but they also offer wonderful customer service, if you have any questions or need a custom order they are there for you and respond in a very timely manner. Their sites suggest purchasing a shirt that is one size larger than you are intending to buy because the shirts run a little small, I agree with the statement and wanted to include it here as well for anyone wanting to place an order. Like a design and want it in an adult size? They have a number of Adult sized shirts or you can request a custom shirt.



PRIZE ALERT:
One lucky winner will be receiving a $25 Gift card to the store to use on any shirt(s) you would like, it can be used to purchase a single shirt or put towards the purchase of more than one shirt. Open WorldWide

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Space Sheep Giveaway & Review

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Space Sheep for the review & giveaway free of charge.****

   

I am always on the look out for fun and cute items that match my personality, We recently purchased a new car so I have been on the hunt for a new key chain to go with it. During my search I stumbled upon a shop on Etsy called Space Sheep who sells laser created items. Looking through his shop I found some of the cutest Key chains ever, I am very excited to be able to have the chance to host not only a review for Space Sheep but a giveaway as well.



Looking through Space Sheep it was hard to decide which key chain I wanted but I ended up choosing the Wonder Woman laser cut key chain and I was also sent a Pikachu phone charm. The package was shipped to Arizona from Argentina and arrived in a timely manner, was well wrapped and in perfect condition. The Pickachu phone charm measures 42 mm wide by 52 mm tall & is made of acrylic on the bottom with EVA Rubber on top it is soft,small and sturdy. The key chain measures 40 mm wide by 23 mm tall (5 mm thick) and is made from Acrylic only, it is professionally cut and very sturdy.



 Space Sheep has wonderful customer service which is both speedy and friendly. They offer dozens of designs and welcome custom orders want another type of pokemon or another video game character? Contact the shop own and I am sure they will be able to help. I have seen quite a few items in the Space Sheep shop I know some of my friends and family members would love so I will be visiting this shop again soon.

PRIZE ALERT:
One lucky reader is going to win a Pikachu Phone Charm of their very own! Open Worldwide.

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So Sweet Pops Review

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by So Sweet Pops for the review free of charge.****

  

When I host parties I like the desserts to be easy to serve, mess free and easy to make or purchase. I enjoy cake but I am horrible at baking it, I dislike cutting it and spending a good enough of time serving it to everyone on plates so when I hosted my #DisneySide party I wanted something the guests could help themselves to that both the children and adults would love so when So Sweet Pops agreed to send me two dozen Disney themed cake pops for my party I couldn't have been more excited.



I received two dozen cake pops in the design of four different characters: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy & Donald. Right away after opening the box I couldn't believe how cute these were, they were almost too cute to eat. Each design had something unique to help you distinguish which cake pop was each character, Donald had his hat and a little red bow, Goofy had ears and his hat, Minnie had her bow and Mickey had his famous trousers. Everything on the cake pop aside from the stick is edible, each one is a good size for a dessert just one will keep you happy they were about the size of my palm and were individually wrapped with a matching ribbon to keep everything sanitary and easy for the guests. Were received our cake pops in Chocolate and Vanilla, they were a huge hit with both the children including the picky eaters and the parents. They were delicious
& vanished from the table fast and I heard wonderful comments on the cake pops such as their looks, the taste and more.



So Sweet Pops offers a number of fun designs for any occasion such as a Baby Shower, Bridal party, Birthday party or event a sports related event. Depending on the design the cake pops run from $23-$30 per Dozen and the oreo pops run from $18-$25 for a dozen which is affordable and convenient for your party. I would suggest ordering at least two weeks ahead of your party date to allow the owner time to make and ship your cake pops. Worried about shipping? Don't be they are packaged to prevent breaking or smashing of the product all of the cake pops I received arrived in perfect ready to eat condition.

Butterfly Wonderland Scottsdale,AZ Review

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. I received a ticket to the Butterfly Wonderland free of charge in exchange for the review***



This year has been quite busy for my family & I, it seems like we are our running errands, house hunting, looking for a new car, you name it were doing it. Although we have been keeping busy we like to put time aside to do things as a family such as game nights, going out to eat or going to a local event. I was recently allowed a ticket to visit the Butterfly Wonderland center which recently opened here in Scottsdale,Arizona I decided to make a small family day out of it so my mother, her boyfriend, my two children and myself went out for lunch then went to the Butterfly Wonderland.



The first thing I notice when we pulled up was that I thought the parking lot would be bigger, We went on a Sunday and it was quite busy I noticed a few cars parking along the dirt areas looking for a spot. Once we got up to the window everything moved along at a pretty fast past, I received my ticket at Will Call and we purchased tickets for the rest of the family as well. After entering the building you are lead to an area for a 3D movie featuring the migration of butterflies, Depending on when you get there you will have to wait 5-15 minutes to get into the viewing we had about a five minute wait. The 3D movie was great and educational, next you were brought into the Butterfly Emergence gallery where they have dozens of cocoons on display waiting to be hatched, if your lucky enough you will get to see a butterfly emerge from its cocoon or you will get to see them drying their wings. I found this room fascinating there were some vibrant gold and metallic silver cocoons I never knew existed I thought all butterfly cocoons looked the same.



Next was onto the Butterfly Atrium, A group of 10-20 people are brought into a small room which has two doors dividing the emergence gallery from the Atrium this is to prevent the butterflies from getting out many are not from this area or even from the US and a employee goes over the rules such as Do not touch the butterflies. As soon as you step food into the atrium you will see butterflies flying right past you at eye level, butterflies on plants and lots of fun plant life, though the wonderland was quite busy there was plenty of room to walk around to enjoy the atrium. My mother was a little disappointed it wasn't bigger but I beleive if there were slightly less visitors it would have seemed much bigger. The butterflies are fearless and used to visitors, I had my camera just an inch away from a few butterflies and they simply sat where they were unafraid of harm, this made for some wonderful photo opportunies. While exiting from the Atrium an employee has you check in a large mirror for any hitchhikers that may be attached to your clothing,hair or bags we were good to go and shown into the next area after spending about an hour or so in the Atrium. The area directly after the Atrium is a small cafe, it smelled wonderful but since we had just been to Olive Garden before arriving we were quite full so we didn't buy anything this trip.



Passing through the cafe you wander into a small room which contains some containers with scorpions, ants and Bees. We loved the Bee hive, you were able to look for and point out the Queen bee as well as watch them come in from outside via a plastic tube leading out side. It was fun to watch the ants come back with little sacks of different colored pollen on their back legs ready to deposit it at the hive. Think the tour is over now? You would be mistaken there are still two more areas to visit and enjoy the first being a few large Aquariums hosting a number of exotic fish, and a string ray petting bay where you are able to not only see but touch some small spotted string rays which are quite friendly and fun to watch my kids loved this area. Finally you walk through the gift shop on your way out where they offer clothing,toys,snacks and more all at affordable prices. We enjoyed our experience and agreed we would all visit again, The tickets are Adults: $18.95 + tax, Children (ages 3 to 11): $9.95 + tax, military (with ID) and seniors (62+): $16.95 + tax and Children 2 and under are FREE seem a bit pricey but for everything you get to see the tickets are 100% worth the price. They also offer Birthday Party packages!

Craft'ed Giveaway & Review!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Craft'ed for the review & giveaway free of charge.****

    

When I was a kid I would often be found curled up on the sofa or on my bed reading a book, I love reading but as I grew older I found I didn't have enough time to read as much as I used to. I've recently rekindled my love for reading and have been setting out an hour before bed every night to read a book, while reading I often have to put my book down to fix my son or do something I forgot to do earlier in the day and I don't want to lose the page I was on. While on a search for a good book mark I ran across a etsy shop called Craft'ed who sells magnetic book marks in a variety of cute and fun designs such as Despicable Me minions, Harry Potter and more. Look at how cute they all are:



I have received the wonderful chance to work with Craft'ed on a review and a giveaway here on my blog, It was a hard choice deciding on which single book mark I wanted to we went with a pick your own set which contains five book marks. I received a Harry Potter, Tardis, Pikachu, One eyed Minion and Mike from Monsters Inc. as the book marks I picked out. My packaged arrived pretty fast considering it was sent from Canada, they also sent along a bonus Harry Potter book mark. I have to say I Love these book marks, since they are magnetic they stay on the page they are placed on, no more worrying about your book mark falling out or not being able to find a book mark. From time to time I will start reading a book in a place where I can't access a book mark such as in the car or at the doctors office and folding the pages into 'dog ears' drives me nuts I have put one of these book marks in my purse to always keep it with me.

The book marks look wonderful they are well made to be sturdy yet thin to prevent having a bulge in your book, they have cute back sides as well. I've open and closed my Mike book mark at least three dozen times and it hasn't phased the book mark at all I can see these lasting a very long time. As you can see slightly in the photos above the shop owner has beautiful hand writing, I plan on buying more book marks for friends and family who have a love for reading as well. I give this shop an A++ I simply love it and think you should check it out as well.



PRIZE ALERT:

One lucky winner will receive a 5 pack of book marks of their choice. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian Residents.

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Portal & Portkey Giveaway and Review!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Portal And Portkey for the review & giveaway free of charge.****

Lately though the movie series is now over and the book series has long been done I've seen Harry Potter popping up again all over, I have a few friends who love Harry Potter and recently I participated in a Harry Potter exchange so I went on a hunt for unique Harry Potter products. I found a wonderful shop called Portal and Portkey who sells quills, necklaces and more all at affordable prices. I have received the chance to work with the store owner on a giveaway and review, Kyra is very pleasant to speak with and she has speedy communication.



For review purposes I was sent a Essence of Dittany necklace, the package arrived in a speedy manner and was well packaged to protect the necklace. The pendant itself is quite lovely, the label has a real other wordly feel to it and is well attached to the little glass vial you won't see it peeling off any time soon. The liquid inside of the bottle is a rose colored liquid with what looks like seeds from a tree floating in it, the bottle is tightly sealed and comes on a 18" inch silver-colored ball chain. All of the pendants and products in the shop are made to look as authentic as possible which I think she acheived perfectly. The necklace is well made and I feel as if this is how it would really look in the world of Witches and Wizards. Each pendant is $13 each or you can try your luck with her 2 for $15 grab bag which includes two random potion bottles and two chains. Portal And Portkey ships world wide and has reasonable shipping prices for US customers shipping is only $1.85.



Along with her pendants I also love the quills that are sold in her shop, If I could use them properly to write prettier than I do now I would want to buy all of them. Aside from Harry Potter products she also sells Skyrim,  Dragon and other inspired products that are well worth checking out. These products would make a great purchase for yourself or a good gift for a friend or loved one. Head over to Portal And Portkey to check out everything they have to offer, her fast friendly and speedy customer service will leave you one happy customer.

PRIZE ALERT:
One lucky reader will win a Harry Potter Essence of Dittany necklace. This giveaway is open World Wide!

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