WIN a Holiday For a Family of 4 To Orlando, Florida With Wild Science Kits- We Tried The Lava Lamp Factory!

A bit of a fun on a rainy afternoon with the Wild Science Lava Lamp Kit.  Technically marketed to girls I suppose, due to the leading packaging, but Smix and I have never let a bit of pink get in the way of being creative. 

A lot of the creative aisle in toy shops is aimed at girls. Sticker makers, friendship bracelet kits, fancy 3D pens- but we've always just bought toys like these for the fun of it, rather than say oh no, just because the box has girls only on it. So we were very happy to pick the Lava Lamp Kit out of a selection of Science themed toys to review. 

The kit has two different, but similar projects in it. The smaller glitter tube literally takes five minutes, the Lava Lamp takes maybe ten to fifteen minutes. The latter involves some mixing of powders, so you will need to supervise. However the entire project could be completed by someone Smix's age, nine, by themselves.

The kit itself is enjoyable, but a downside is the Lava Lamp is only temporary. You make little bath bomb type disks to drop into the oil/water/glitter tube which makes it move, but there is no lid to secure the tub properly, and once the bomb has stopped fizzing, that's it. It tells you to discard the mixture and do it over again if you want to have the Lava Lamp effect once more. I think this is a little misleading as you would think you would have a Lava Lamp to display in your room after completing the kit. 

The smaller glitter tube however is a permanent make, and you get a little flashing LED to put in the base of either tube to turn it into a pretty cool disco light.

There are dozens of different Wild Science experiment kits to choose from and they are running a very exciting competition throughout 2017 to win a holiday for a family of four to Orlando Florida. 

Simply buy a Wild Science product, keep receipt, then visit them online and invent the next kit for them to produce. What equipment and instructions will you need? Put together a product presentation and you & your family could be jetting off to Florida for a week. Prize even includes entrance to Disney World and the Kennedy Space Centre. As an extra special Science prize, you'll get to have lunch with an astronaut.

The competition is open until 31st December 2017, so get your thinking caps on! 

WIN Unicorn Headphones from Cozy Phones on The World of Kitsch!

Okay folks, here it is, quite possibly the coolest giveaway I've hosted yet, as not only do I have a really great set of headphones as a prize, said headphones are in the realm of being unicorn themed. 

Cozy Phones are an American based brand, who make clever headband shaped headphones. There are three main categories of Cozy Phones, kids,  sleep and active, and I will go into all three telling you the benefits of their headphones over regular in-ear, or over-ear designs.

Then you can enter to win a pair of unicorn kids' Cozy Phones, which if you are a unicorn loving adult like me, you may want to squeeze your head into anyway (I will give you size stats in this blog too). But first let's see what Cozy Phones are all about, shall we? 

KIDS COZYPHONES:  The benefits of a headband style of headphone for a child are easy to imagine. Regular in-ear 'bud' style headphones are too big for kids' ears, which will make using them uncomfortable from the get go. There's also a risk of your child playing their music or device output at too high a volume, directly into their eardrums, not good.

With kids Cozy Phones, which you can buy for around £15.99 directly from them on Amazon, you have a soft fleece headband, which won't fall off, be too big or small, like their over-ear counterparts can be. The little speakers inside can be adjusted by poking your finger inside the band from the rear. You line them up with where your child's ears sit, and you have a tailor made set of headphones that your child will love because of the variety of colourful designs. 

Long road trips will become a peaceful nirvana, with Cozy Phones on and noisy Youtubers muffled! Your child can also rest their head back, or even stand on their head if they want to, and the headphones will stay on. 

The manufactuing is sturdy, with a 36" braided cord cable, and regular 35mm stereo plug.

Cozy Phones were kind enough to send a set for Smix & he has been using them religiously since they arrived. He says the sound quality is excellent, and the headband is more comfortable than the Dan TDM over-ear headphones he had been using. 

SLEEP CONTOUR COZYPHONES: Moving onto the adult size Cozy Phones, looking first at the sleep Contour and Original sets. Both are similar in that they have soft fleece, but the contour design has a cool mesh lining which helps the speaker stay in space should you toss and turn.

I tried the original fleece only set and found no problem with movement anyway. The specs are similar to the kids' Cozy Phones, the difference being you have a 1.5m corded cable with the adult ones, which is tangle-free and sturdy. 

I always listen to YouTube videos at night to fall asleep to, so I gave them a go to see if I liked them. Firstly they were super comfortable and non-intrusive. Cleverly they can double as an eye mask by just pulling the band down over your eyes. I fell asleep easily wearing it.

They come with their own lovely little bag, so they'd be perfect for travelling and an essential for long plane journeys. They can also be used for sports, such as yoga, and because you can adjust the speakers' positions, you can also remove them completely to wash your headband if it gets a little dusty from continued use.  

Again they seem to be priced around the £15 mark directly from CozyPhones on Amazon, 

SPORTS COZYPHONES: Lastly the sports Cozy Phones for adults. Similar to the sleep set, but the band is lycra, and shaped slightly differently. I've tried regular headphones for running before and they can be a bit of a pain, but with a band you can listen to your music or sprint timing easily, not worrying about an ear bud flying out as your jog along. 

They come in a variety of colours, and again are around £15 on Amazon.  

So, fancy winning a set of kids' unicorn Cozy Phones? It's hard to give these away quite frankly, if I didn't have such a giant head myself, I might just keep them!  

They are kids' size, but check out the sizing if you are an adult who wants to try their luck winning this beautiful pastel unicorn with a golden horn, for themselves! 

Good luck everyone! 

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Win a Ravensburger Scotland Yard Board Game to Mark National Unplugging Day #GoGadgetFree

I can see the irony in posting a blog about National Unplugging Day, ON National Unplugging Day, but if you are online today and feel inspired to get prepared for some gadget free days over the school summer break, I have a  Ravensburger Scotland Yard game to give away you might like to play.

The game has one player be Mister X who is on the run through the streets of London. The other players play detective, with the only clues being Mister X's transport tickets. He can travel by bus, London Black Cab, or the Underground. If Mister X eludes capture then that player is the winner! 

The game is suitable for age 8 and up, with two different styles of play described in the instructions. You can play a slightly easier version of the game to start, or if you have young players joining in. So the game can adapt to your skill level. 

You can find the game at Smyth's Toys, or a variety of online stores. 

So would you like to win the game to play over the summer holidays? Simply take part using the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck! 

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WIN! 4 Sets of Kikkerland Iron On Patches- Cacti, Flamingoes, Girl Power & Under the Sea Designs

Stroll into any high street fashion store this early summer & you'll see the biggest denim trend, taken straight from the catwalk collections, is embroidered patterns and patches galore.  

Jean jackets not just with one little patch to brighten things up, but it's as if the denim has been shot with some sort of decorative patch cannon. Rather than just having one feature patch, the trend is to have a collection of smaller patches in a cluster. It makes the jackets especially much more individual. 

To be even more individual, a cool idea is to buy a plain denim jacket, or jeans, then choose the patches yourself, and get handy sewing them on. But what if like me you are totally inept when it comes to sewing? Well! Kikkerland can save the day with their totally sewing-free iron on patches!

They come in a variety of modern designs, with summer 2017 trends like flamingoes & cacti, as well as classic cats, dogs, fish and even a retro Girl Power set. Prices range from €4 to €12.50 and the    best thing is the whole Kikkerland site has free shipping to the UK!

Kikkerland isn't just a site with accessories for clothing, they have toys, bathroom & kitchen gadgets, solar powered products, just a whole world of quirky design and clever gizmos.

So how would you like to win a bundle of large Kikkerland iron on patches to get crafty with yourself? 

You can decorate a plain denim jacket, or a pair of jeans in a way no-one else will be wearing. 

I'm giving away some of the sets shown here. You can win the Girl Power, Cactus, Tropical and Sea Creature. They are the large versions of the designs and have shimmery, fluffy and glittery accents.

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck! 

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WIN: A Creative Kids' Stocking Filler, Nutty Putty Clay

If you have a creative kid like my Smix, then crafting kits make great smaller presents or surprise gifts at Christmas. 

The Nutty Putty set we received included 5 colours of clay, 4 shape cutters, 2 tools, a rolling pin, a baking sheet and instructions. The instructions are quite clever in that they double as a laminated mat to do your building & sculpting on. As it is the clay is non-staining, so you aren't going to end up googling how to remove clay from your sofa. 

Check out the sets available and read the blog on  http://www.nuttyputty.co.uk/

We have a kit to giveaway to one of my readers. Competition closes this time next week, so I can hopefully get it to you before Christmas. Good luck! 

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WIN a 3 Day Trial of The New You Plan. Will It Be Your Weight Loss Wonder?

If you read my blog regularly you'll have seen my trial week of the total food replacement diet,  The New You Plan. It's the brain child of a local Northern Irish woman, Julie-Ann, who has built up the brand from scratch. There are other total food replacement diets out there, but the key to New You is the Secret Slimmers Facebook Page, made up of hundreds of customers sharing their highs & lows, successes & slip ups. The support you get from it is priceless, and talking to women who have lost 3 or 4 stone on th plan motivates you to stick with it.

I've put together a prize pack from products I've bought from them myself, but I really want to give someone else a chance to try the diet plan themselves, so I've boxed a three day supply of products. New You Plan have supplied a tshirt and mixer bottle for the shakes for the winner also. They also will give you access to the private Secret Slimmers group.

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My own weight loss is going well, I was 9st 12 about six weeks ago, and I'm 9st 3 now. This was partially done with New You. It was the kick start I needed. 

Should you want to go ahead and place an order yourself in the meantime, there are some excellent bundle discounts at the moment. 

Good luck, and if you've any questions then you can tweet me @rudedoodle. Please also note the advice below before starting any kind of low calorie diet.