Meow Wolf Santa Fe Review!

If you've ever seen an ad for one of the Meow Wolf locations & have thought about going, I 100% suggest jumping on that urge and visiting if you have the chance. Each location has a completely different theme & different mysteries to find. In 2024 we were able to visit the Las Vegas location & just recently we had the chance to visit the Santa Fe, New Mexico location. In total there are five locations so far & two new locations in the works! It would be awesome to eventually visit every location. 

The Santa Fe location is called the House of Eternal Return, and it is their original location which started it all. I had a lot of fun at their Las Vegas location, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this location and so far, it is my favorite location we've been. When you first enter this location you'll find the normal welcome area, the gift shop and a cute little cafe along with a long hallway that leads back to the bathrooms. After getting inside you will be directed to the entrance of your adventure! 

Immediately upon entering into the House of Eternal Return, you really will feel like you are transported to another realm. You will enter into the alleyway in front of a large Victorian looking home that you can explore. The level of participation Meow Wolf requires is completely up to you! There is a ton of hidden messages and a whole mystery you can do along with a phone app with games and more, or you can just explore, find some neat things and enjoy your time. You'll find actual computers and phones you can really use to not only help with your mystery solving, but some of the phones connect to their other locations where you can talk with actual guests visiting at the same time as you. When I first walked into the living room area of the Victorian home there was a small group sitting on the sofa using the laptop that is on the living room table, and I am not going to lie, it 100% felt like I walked into a random families house unannounced while they were spending time in the living room. 

Not only in the house, but also the world beyond the house, you will want to look at everything and anything you can! There are things to look at everywhere, you can enter the kitchen and find cool pieces of artwork in cabinets, you can enter into the closet in the bedroom and end up in a cave or crawl into the washing machine and end up in another room. This is a spot for everyone who loves adventures and interesting things. The crew who puts everything together at the Meow Wolf locations & everything who plans how it will be laid out, do such a fantastic job. It is truly remarkable just how much is packed into this building. I feel like this is a spot you would want to either spend a long period of time at or come back again a second time, because you are sure to miss something on your first time through. 

My kids love Meow Wolf as well, they have a blast exploring the rooms at their own pace. My son in particular loves Meow Wolf! I had seen an ad or two for the Las Vegas location before we had visited, but my son was really the one who had told us a lot about that location and asked if we could visit while we were in Vegas. Our group was semi-split on which location is our favorite, I would say it was 50/50. Their locations are family friendly, however if you are looking for a chance to check it out without a bunch of kids running around look into one of their 21+ events!

Know before you go; There are three different ticket options. Your fist option is the general admission which is $38 per adult & $31 per child, they are timed tickets so you will need to select what time you'd like to enter Meow Wolf at and be sure to arrive 10 minutes before hand. The second option is the Anytime admissions for $48 per adult & $38 per child, as the name suggest you won't need to be on a tight schedule and can arrive anytime. The third option is the "Totally Worth It" bundle which is perfect for big fans of Meow Wolf & anyone looking to add something extra to their experience. It is $58 per adult & $48 per child. What makes the bundle worth it? The entrance will be an anytime pass, plus you will also receive a collectible lanyard, a souvenir pin, chromadepth glasses & five meow wolf tokens. The glasses help make lights brighter and makes things really POP while wearing them and the tokens can be used on arcade games inside of Meow Wolf & for certain collectible machines you can use while exploring. If you do not want to get the big package but want to buy some tokens to use they are $1 each. 

We spent about two hours here, but as mentioned if you get more in depth with the story line you can be here for twice as long, if not longer. I like that you are free to exit & grab a drink or something to snack on at the cafe and head back in for more exploring. With the amount of people that visit, everything is actually quite clean! I also like that their gift shop not only has their own merch, but they had an area where you can buy things from local artists. I actually ended up grabbing two pretty cool prints from the local artist area & our kids of course picked out some fun souvenirs to take home. We can't wait to visit one of their other locations next! We've been discussing which one we think we might be able to visit next. There is honestly so many cool things at this location, that I can't fit everything into one blog post, so I highly highly recommend stopping by and having a fun adventure of your own! If you'd like a look at some of the awesome things you can see at the House of Eternal Return, but sure to stop by either my Instagram page or my Tiktok Page to check out my reel showing highlights of some of my favorite spots here. 

🚗Looking for more fun travel destinations? I have posted about some wonderful places to visit in Arizona, California, Nevada & New Mexico! In the search bar of my blog you can type in "Things to do in ___" (add the state) and it will bring up all the posts I've done in those states. 

Disclaimer-  Meow Wolf provided this experience to us for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Tianyu Lights Festival Phoenix Review!

 

The Tianyu lights festival has arrive in Phoenix & it is an event you do not want to miss! This event features gorgeous luminous art installations that are not only beautiful to walk through, but there are also several different areas that are interactive, fun for children and adults alike. We spent a little over an hour and a half exploring all of the wonderful worlds they created. Adult priced tickets are $18-$28 depending on the day & children's tickets are $18-$20 however they have a discount family pack of tickets available. They are closed on select Monday & Tuesdays otherwise they are open the rest of the week from now until January 5th! They are open from 5:30PM until 10PM. There is a bag policy so be sure to check their website before heading out & no outside food or drinks are allowed. 

They are located inside of the Camelback Ranch located at 10710 W Camelback Road Phoenix, AZ 85037. Depending on which direction you are heading from google maps may take you to the wrong entry point, the entrance for this is located next to Camelback Road & 107th Ave. You can buy a parking pass online for $10 or buy one when you arrive for $15. 

The trail is one mile long & around the halfway point you will find a small marketplace where you can pick up handmade goods along with find a small food court for drinks and snacks. The market has a lot of neat things for sale! We picked out a beautiful lantern and an awesome wire dragon to bring home. All of the prices were very reasonable. 

I have way too many photos & videos I took when we were walking the trail to fit them all onto this post, so I will narrow it down to some of my favorites and there will be a reel up on my IG for you to check out. We absolutely loved that they had not only photo opportunities set up along the trail, but many of the spots were interactive. They had two huge parakeets perched on a branch that had two small trees in front of the display, if you walked up to one of the trees and spoke into it the bird that was in front of that tree would mimic what you said. 

There were light swings, a dance floor that lit up when you stepped on each square, bubbles filled with fog that would pop & make little whisps of smoke in the air and more. I highly recommend taking your time walking the trail, if you rush you will miss handy of the hidden details in the displays. Many of the displays are on timers that will activate and do different effects, for example one of the giant dragons would breathe fire and roar. Kids are sure to love the 100-foot-long shark you can walk through! 

Some of the trail is along a dirt path & some of it is along concrete, the trail is both wheelchair & stroller accessible. It is so hard to say which of the themed lands was my favorite because there were so many spots that I loved & enjoyed. We are so happy they decided to come to Arizona, because this event was 100% worth the visit and I'd even go back to see it all again, especially now that the weather is finally starting to cool down a bit.

Does this look like an event you'd love to visit? 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).

Disclaimer-  Tianyu Lights Festival provided this experience to us for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Artkive - Save space while displaying your child's artwork!

 

It is no secret that kids love to create art whether it is drawing you a card or painting a picture & as a parent of two I've been given lots of artwork by my children. Between their personal art pieces, they've done at home & artwork they've brought home from school, there just isn't enough space to keep everything. I've kept quite a bit of it & have a box full of artwork in the closet, but I always feel bad there isn't a lot of room to display some of it. That is where Artkive comes in! 

One of the services they offer is that you can send in a stack of your children's artwork, which will then be professionally photographed and made into a hardcover book which can be pulled out & looked at any time you want. I recently received the opportunity to work with them to see how the process worked. I was offered a twenty-five-page book in exchange for my review & both of my kids along with my husband and myself were excited to have some of the kids artwork in a book. I sat down with both of my kids to go through some of the artwork we've saved so we could pick out what we wanted in the book together. The kids also decided to give thirteen of the pages to my oldest & twelve of the pages would display my youngest's work.  

So how does it work? The first step is to head to their website & start the book process which will include paying a first initial payment then waiting for a box to be sent to you. The box has a plastic bag to place your artwork so that if anything happens to the box the art is still safe, along with a prepaid label. Books start out at $75 for twenty-five-pages and additional pages cost extra. If you use code MOONLIT20 you will get $20 off your book order. After you send in your artwork, you will receive updates via email letting you know where your book is at in the process. Our book got stuck for a little while on one of the steps, but everything was sorted out. It takes about two months from the time you send in your artwork to the time you get your book back.

Before they send out your book, they will send you an email asking you to proof the book. This step allows you to adjust the lighting on any photos if you wish, add a description under the artwork, and select a cover photo. When you hit submit, your book will be printed & mailed back to you. I thought the process was very simple to understand & was easy to use. Our book turned out great, I love being able to grab our Artkive book off the bookshelf to flip through the artwork. When we've had family over, we've been able to put it out on the coffee table & they've enjoyed looking through it as well. 

The point of these books of course is to free up some space in your house, so unless you select to pay an extra return free the original artwork will be recycled. My kids are ages eleven & fifteen, so they didn't think it was that big of a deal not to get the original work back since we had a copy in the book. However, some people are more attached to things like this and may want the work back, so it is completely up to you. These books would make a great gift for a family member or as a gift to yourself. Along with kids art books they have an option where you can get it turned into a framed mosaic. There is also another option called cards by Artkive where they will do the same as they did with this book, but with old greeting cards instead.

Does this sound like a service you'd use? 

Disclaimer- Artkive provided me with an art book for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Manga Artist Kit - A complete kit for learning how to draw Anime.

It can be a lot of fun trying to learn a new skill or technique especially when you have the help of a tutorial or DIY kit. My kids recently received a "How to draw Anime - Manga Artist set" from Made By Me, which is one of the brands under the Horizon Group USA line of brands. It can be found on Amazon for $18. 

This kit comes with a plastic carrying case, Anime style stickers, two make your own comic books, colored pencils, markers, a sharpener, and a ruler along with a how to guide that shows you quite a few ways to draw different poses & styles of art. The only other thing I can think of that would be nice to have included in this set is a few graphite pencils & an eraser then you would really have a complete art kit. The markers are duel sized, one is thinner while the other is thicker allowing you to use them for both lining and shading. 

My kids think that the tutorials they show in the how to book are simple & easy to follow. The book helps break down some of the poses you would typically use with this style of art along with showing you how to do certain eyes, etc. It can be helpful for adults wanting to get into drawing as well. The colored pencils & markers are nice, they do not bleed through the page and the colors are bold. I have my daughter do a quick sketch of one of our favorite shows using the markers & colored pencils in this kit so that you can see how the colors turned out. This kit would make a great birthday or holiday gift & if you have a craft lover on your shopping list this holiday season Horizon Group USA has tons of other great craft kits for a wide range of ages & all of them are quite affordable. You can check out what they have to offer on Amazon or local stores such as Walmart, Target, Michaels & more.

Disclaimer- Horizon Group USA provided the product above for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Monster art by Johnathan Paine.

 

At the end of May I did a review on the brand Not Another Rubber Ducky, in the review I spoke about the creator Johnathan Paine. Johnathan Paine is a 3D character artist whose name you have seen in a number of movies & may not even have realized if you aren't someone who frequently pays attention to the credits. He has worked on films such as UP, Cars, and more! Now you can own a piece of his signed artwork through his Etsy shop called Me and My Monsters. He sells a number of greeting cards & art prints featuring his creature artwork. His studio is located in Canada, but my package arrived quickly and in excellent condition. 

I recently received one of his funny zombie greeting cards & an art print of Lonely Lionel who is a creature from the black lagoon. The greeting cards are 5 x 7 with a blank interior & comes with a white envelope. The cardstock used it thick, sturdy and the print looks fabulous on the front, full of color and fine details. It looks so nice, it is almost a shame to gift it or write in it because you'll want to keep it looking the same. The back of the card has a bit of info on the artist printed on them so whomever you gift it to can learn about the artist behind the print. The zombie is a little zany which adds a lot to his personality, he looks like a zombie that you might see as the role of a pet or friend zombie in a animated movie verses just being a crazed brain eater. Your card will arrive in a protective sleeve to keep your card looking crispy, clean & vibrant ready to be gifted.

I absolutely love lonely Lionel, the art print has a lot of fine details shown within the creature itself & in the background. This print also arrived in a protective sleeve and also had a protective sheet in front of the photo so nothing rubs off onto the plastic of the protective cover. The art print looks like a photography taken under water, I had bought a frame for it, however I had bought the wrong size. Once I get a proper frame, I can't wait to have this hanging up on my wall with my other slightly spooky home decor. Inside of your package, you'll also find special instructions on how to care for your print & frame it properly, so the ink doesn't get smudged or ruined. As a bonus the print has been signed & dated. So if you are a fan of his art, or are looking for a unique gift for a loved one stop by his Etsy shop to see what he has in store for you.

Disclaimer- Me and My Monsters provided the products mentioned above for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Crystal Growing Unicorn Kit Giveaway!

Crafts can be a lot of fun and also relaxing to do, they help bring out your creativity, will teach you new things and will help you create happy memories. I am always up for gifting my kids new craft kits which is why I love being a Giveaway Guru with Horizon Group USA because I get to review kits but also give kits away as well! This time around I am sharing the Crystal-growing unicorn with all of you. 

This fun kit includes everything you need to make a one of a kind unicorn covered in crystals. It has a unicorn figure, alum powder, coloring dye, paints, a paint tray, a brush, glitter and a wooden stick along with a container for when you are soaking your figure. 

The steps are easy to follow, you will need to help assist your child with the first part of this process as it requires boiling a pot of water in order to allow the alum powder to work so your crystals can grow. In total the process takes about a day because the unicorn will need to soak in the solution over night then will need some drying time before you are able to paint it and add glitter. 

The figure is a pretty decent size, and you never know how the crystals might grow so each unicorn will look unique from the others. I think this is a fun way to combine a fun interest in a love for unicorns with a fun little science experience. These kits can be purchased online from Amazon or you can buy them in store in shops like Walmart, Target and more along side their other crafting kits all at affordable prices. 

Prize Alert:  One winner is going to win their own Rainbow Loom kit.

This is open to U.S Residents ! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! 

This giveaway ends on 11/29/2021

Giveaway entry question: Leave me a blog comment letting me know another mystical creature that you love.

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Disclaimer-  Horizon Group USA provided me with the products mentioned above for the review + giveaway free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Paint Your Own Llama with Horizon Group USA - Giveaway!

Horizon Group USA is one of my favorite brands to find activity kits for my kids, and it isn't just because I am a giveaway guru with them as I bought their products even before working on collaborations with them. The reason I love their products so much is because they offer a wide range of crafts and fun gift ideas for all ages. Four times a year I receive a surprise box with one or two items to test out for a review and they also send a second set for giveaways. I recently shared a fun rock painting kit with you and now I am sharing their Creative Roots Paint Your Own Llama.

The Llama is made from ceramic and measures six inches high. It has little details like a blanket, and flowers which are fun to paint vs just a plain llama. It has a little weight to it which makes it stand up by itself without any worry of it falling off the shelf. The kit itself comes with a paint brush and a five paint colors, however Horizon Group also send me a set of Primary Acrylic paints that has twelve different colors and an extra paint brush that my daughter decided to use on it instead of the paint it comes with. 

           

The llama was easy to paint, my daughter didn't have any issues with the paint not taking or applying too thickly to the statue. She had a lot of fun trying to add a little more texture to the llamas fur which you can see in the finished product below. I think the llama turned out quite well and it looks great up  Funko pop figures. If you are looking for a fun paint project for your child that will keep them entertained for ten to fifteen minutes then this kit is perfect for you! If your child isn't a big fan of llamas they also have other shapes like a fox, a unicorn, a cactus and more so there is something for all interests. Horizon Group USA sells their products on Amazon and also in select stores such as Walmart, you can pick up this llama for $9.96 over on Amazon.

Prize Alert: One lucky winner is going to win their own Llama painting kit!

This is open to US Residents! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! 

This giveaway ends on 06/16/2021

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment telling another animal your child would enjoy painting. 

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Disclaimer-  Horizon Group USA provided me with the products mentioned above for the review + giveaway free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase. 

Little Marvel Designs 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 Little Marvel Designs for the review & giveaway free of charge.****

I've always loved having plants in my house, but sadly even trying my best to keep them alive there wasn't enough sunlight in the apartment to keep them alive. Now that I live in a house with a large glass sliding door and big kitchen windows my plants have plenty of room to live and thrive but I don't really have the space for all of the plants I want so I've had to start thinking about unique ways to display my plants. A great Etsy shop called Little Marvel Designs was the answer to my search, store owner Heather sells a wide assortment of macrame plant hangers and wall decor. I should note my plant holder may look a little silly in the photo below, this is due to my own fault because I was overly excited about the pot holder I found while at the store and I didn't realize it was too big for the size macrame I have. For my review I receive a small Macrame hanging planter with a turquoise daisy decoration. 





This is made from hand-knotted jute color poly cord and wood beads, the small is made to fit a 4.5" pot and saucer as you can see from the photo above I was silly and bought a pot way too big, granted it fits but it sits unevenly so I will need to buy the proper sized pot. It is completely hand made and is tied and knotted completely by hand, Heather did a beautiful job and I like the color combinations she selected for the wooden beads. The materials used to create this are sturdy, the rope is strong and can hold a decent amount of weight plus it was knitted onto a heavy duty metal ring so it will fit onto any size hook, once it is hung up it isn't going anywhere so you know your plant is safe. The small macrame is only $15 which is a complete steal for a handmade plant holder that doubles as a decor piece, I can't wait for my guests to see mine! I was also sent a Mermaid art print which features a Mermaid floating in a crescent moon surrounded by seashells.





The original art piece was made using only colored pencils,all the colors are soft almost pastel in color. I love how she was able to create the crescent shape of the moon because when you see the print in person it has a bit of a 3d effect to it which really makes the print pop. There are a lot of fine details in this print from her seashell hair comb to the star fish and plants on the moon. This is a great print for any Mermaid or mystical creature lover the piece is calming to look at and adds a bit of magic to the room. The print arrived in a plastic sleeve set on top of a thick piece of cardboard to help prevent it from bending during shipping, both items were wrapped in pretty green tissue paper. Heather has been quite friendly and is more than happy to answer any questions you may have about the products sold in her shop. Stop by her shop to see the other fantastic goodies her shop has in store for you!

Prize Alert:
Two lucky winners are going to receive a $25 Gift card to Little Marvel Designs. * Note gift card can only be used with a purchase of $28 or more so essentially it is a discount of $25.

This is open to US Residents only! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email!
 
Giveaway winners are announced on FACEBOOK, If you would like to see who won my latest giveaways please visit and like my facebook page.

 Giveaway entry question: Please leave me a blog comment letting me know what you would purchase with your Little Marvel Designs gift card.

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