The Traveling Sisterhood: 2017

Bring History Alive this Christmas with History Unboxed! #Discount




I was so excited when I opened our first History Unboxed... box!  You see, I minored in Anthropology and the civilization that fascinated me the most was the Indus Valley Civilization and this was the theme of the box we received, centered around toys and games! The Indus Valley Civilization sprang up about 5000 years ago and archaeologists have uncovered so much in the area!  Everything from toys to board and dice games.  I'm especially impressed with History Unboxed because the creator of it has done everything I would do had I the time.  She makes it easy for me, right down to the pen pal-like letter from Ava, who travels through time and the world to bring us exciting history.

The box was filled with a terracotta bird whistle, Henna dye, wooden dice set, unicorn sticker/seal, instructions, pen pal letter, and detailed info on the culture. Comprehensive and perfect!
The object of the game: roll better than your opponent! We also played and learned about other ancient games and toys people enjoyed as long ago as 3000 BC. I love sharing and learning along with my kids, actually living history with them!

Our favorite thing in the box truly amazed us.  We filled the terracotta bird with water, blew into it, and the song was as lovely as any songbird's!  We experimented with different water levels and breaths to get just the right sound. Check out our video clip below to see our progress as we learned to use it beautifully. These clay bird whistles are known to have been around as early as 1000 AD. How incredible is that?!

Let's be real, my friends. Growing up, you probably hated history. But history is amazing! I never realized just how incredible it was until I accidentally signed up for an archaeology class in college and dove right into it, immersing myself in incredible cultures and discovering amazing people who lived thousands of years ago. This is the most perfect way to bring History alive for the special kid in your life, a gift that will bless them in a lasting way. Since this box, we've done two more and each was incredible so I recommend a History Unboxed Gift Subscription with all my heart.
You can choose your History Unboxed in a theme: Pharaohs or Alexander the Great, or a Welcome Box (which includes a time capsule and all kinds of cool stuff to go along with it) and a 1 or 3 month Subscription. Save 25% on your entire and receive free shipping plus 5% back in store credit with the code BLISS through Tuesday November 29th!

Huge Modarri Deluxe Race Cars Toy Giveaway!


 Modarri's customizeable cars are so amazing--my son was thrilled to find out he had 3 new cars to build in the mail! After three years of collecting them, he still gets excited about them.

During the long race, these Modarris are taking a break in the Pit Stop waiting to get their wheels replaced so they can hit the track again!

Each Modarri car comes with a chassis, hood/windshield, seat pan, seat, fenders and frame, four wheels, front and rear suspensions and a hex tool for taking them all apart and putting them back together or mixing them up. Some of them also come with extra frames. My kids love to build, break, and put together new creations with their toys which is why these cars are so perfect for them!
This is one of the first cars we got. Two years later, these ones are still holding up. Their pieces are high-quality metal and durable plastic. They're impressive! They've been taken apart tons of times and not a one of the screws is stripped.

One of you will win a set of Modarri customizeable race cars! You'll win this 3-pack set, a $60 value! Enter below by 11/22.






Special thanks to the wonderful people at Modarri and Kidstuff PR for providing us with these items to review and giveaway! All opinions are honest and our own.

My First Lab Microscope Giveaway, the Perfect Gift to Magnify their Love of Science!

My son loves his new Duo-Scope! And, I have to admit, so do I. We spent hours today putting together slides, discovering the different ways to view them with the top and bottom lights on the microscope, changing the light's colors, and experimenting with putting different things under the magnifier. I was super impressed because the microscope is inexpensive enough for a child, but the  image quality is good enough for an adult.

We reviewed the Duo-Scope Starter Kit which is for kids 8+ and only costs $29.99.  It comes with a 40-piece accessory kit including Brine Shrimp Eggs Specimen Vial, Hatchery, 3 Empty Specimen Vials, 1 Yeast Specimen Vial and many more! The starter kit is battery operated and comes with the batteries already inside. Nice!
The blank slides are easy to put together. Here, my son is using tweezers to add chalk to a slide. It looked really cool under the microscope!

 The Duo-Scope Starter Kit is designed for elementary through middle school aged students. It has a dual focus knob and 4X, 10X and 40X magnifiers.
The microscope has 2 light sources to allow it to magnify both slides and solid objects. We dove in without reading the directions so when we realized there was also a bottom light, we were blown away by the new images that appeared! It’s lightweight so you can take it to any room or outside. After raking, let them examine those falling leaves in the yard... or maybe find some dead bugs to look at. What a great way to magnify their love of science!


  One of you will win your choice of microscope!  Ends 11/9/17 at the stroke of midnight. Check out our homepage for more great toy giveaways this week!

 Check out each one and let me know in the comments which you like best:
My First Lab WOW Scope

Special thanks to the wonderful people at KidStuffPR and My First Lab for providing us with these goodies to review and give away!

The American Girl-like Laura Ingalls Doll is on Sale for $65!


My daughters absolutely love Little House on the Prairie. Two years ago for their birthday, they received the boxed set of DVDs. It took us a year and half to watch all 9 seasons and now that we're done, we watch our favorites. Laura, of course, is everyone's favorite! Read on for the gonga discount...

After I realized how much my girls loved Little House, I began my hunt for dolls. It turns out The Queen's Treasures has a Laura doll and so much furniture and other items to go with her! I saved up for the covered wagon first and recently added Laura herself along with her old-fashioned school desk. Everything is the highest quality. The desk, books, and blackboard even have magnets built inside so that they don't slide away. The desk opens like a real old-fashioned school desk so that everything can be stored inside. My girls were so excited for this because they love playing school with their dolls!
We actually purchased the wagon almost 2 years ago and played with it with all of our dolls. After all that time of being pulled around and played with inside and out, it's held up incredibly well! It's such an amazing toy. My only hope is that The Queen's Treasures will make Laura's sisters and Almonzo, maybe even Nelly! In the meantime, our other 18 inch dolls join in the fun.
You can see the attention to detail and fine craftsmanship on the hope chest that comes with the covered wagon. Every single one of the items we have from the Queen's Treasures is just like this. So finely made, not like so many toys these days that don't last.
The covered wagon in its entirety. We don't have the horses yet but they're on my daughters' Christmas wish list. You can find an incredible variety of Queen's Treasures items at my favorite store, Educents.com, and you can get a discount! Read on to find out how...

Before I get on to the discount, I want to show you one more thing. I didn't realize when we first purchased it, but you can even turn the covered wagon into a sleigh! How neat is that?! We'll definitely be doing that come winter! Our dolls would love to have a sleigh ride as they sing Jingle Bells. You can find the covered wagon and the other Little House themed toys here.
  All of the Little House items are 25% off through Nov. 9 exclusively at Educents (discounts show up after clicking on any of the individual items). Plus, if you're a new customer, you can get a stackable $10 coupon here. This will sign you up for their e-mail newsletter, but don't worry, they only send e-mails about once a week. This is the way I keep in the know with all of their sales. ;)
And I have wonderful news for my more frugal readers who would love to have Laura but can't afford to purchase her. You can also buy her outfits separately so that one of the dark-haired dolls you already have can become her... or a blond can become Mary. You could buy one outfit or all of them. I love the calico! That one's on my wishlist. What's on yours?

Starpath Dolls, So Much More Affordable than American Girls but just as Beautiful! On Sale for $69 with Free Shipping!


My beautiful little girl loves her new Starpath doll so much! At $69 on sale, she's an amazing price. *Coupon at the bottom of this post. As you can see, my daughter wanted to braid her hair to match her doll. An American Girl had been on her wishlist for a long time... until she saw Morning Star. More beautiful than any other 18 inch dolls we've come across, her hair is very soft, and her arms and legs are poseable so that she can even stand up on her own.

Starpath Dolls were recently launched by a mom inspired by her daughter's love of reading. Each of the four dolls comes with a book you can personalize for your daughter. First you choose a chapter book -- currently A Fairy Tale Gone Wrong or Tiger Magic -- then fill in a few questions to create the story’s characters. Customized details are woven throughout every page of the book, making it truly her story. Paperback versions of the chapter book are sold separately ($20) and arrive by postal mail in approximately one week. Or choose an instant e-book, free with each doll purchase.

These dolls are the best Christmas gift for anyone with a little girl from 5 - 12. At $69 with free shipping, they’re more affordable than other 18” dolls and every bit as high quality, and I love that each one is so unique, very different from a lot of the other doll companies out there. My girls bring their Starpath Dolls everywhere, and they receive so many compliments on their beauty.

We love how Starpath Dolls combine play, reading and imagination. It's no wonder that they've already won an award!

Books and dolls are always a sure bet when shopping for a special girl on the Holiday list. But a perfect present would be one where your girl and her doll are written into the storybook! Imagine her surprise on Christmas morning when she reads about herself in a make-believe adventure with her new dolly!

So far, Morning Star and Wishing Star are a part of our family. My oldest daughter recently ordered Shining Star who should be arriving by mail any day. We can't wait!
  If you've never purchased anything from Educents before, you can get a $10 coupon here. This will sign you up for their e-mail newsletter, but don't worry, they only send e-mails about once a week. This is the way I keep in the know with all of their sales. ;)

The Stylish Play & Go Bags is the Answer Every Kid's Mess... Especially Legos!


Sometimes seeing is believing…because one European toy accessory can get your kids to play and then clean up without being asked! Play & Go is actually two nifty products in one – an appealing storage bag with drawstrings and a vibrant play mat. Before this came along, we used a blanket to dump the toys on (especially Legos). Of course that was still messy, especially the cleaning-up part where stray pieces would always be left behind and the kids couldn't clean it up and dump it back in the bins themselves. Play & Go is a godsend!
The outside artwork ranges from solid colors and zigzag prints to sports or pretty patterns to a funny moustache. This is the Mini Play & Go. We have both this one and the regular sized one above. The regular size is hugemongous and it would be perfect for Santa to carry his presents in! ;) Even the Mini is a nice size and can fit a gonga amount of Legos! The fabric is heavy duty. I can't imagine it tearing.
Here's how it works: play, pull the strings together, go! The play area is big enough for my 4 kids to play around, while still keeping their toys within reach. When play is done, pull the drawstrings tight and depart. Not a peep from the grownups to remind kids to tidy up. It’s amazing!

You can get Play & Go on Amazon with free Prime shipping!

Follow Play & Go On:

Special thanks to the people at KidStuffPR and Play & Go for providing us with these items to review. All opinions are honest and our own.

Stand Out on Social Media with Animoto's Easy Video Editing! Free 2 Week Trial & No Credit Card Required


This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.


Did you know Animoto offers a Professional plan for businesses? They make it easy for anyone to create professional videos.

 With Animoto, you can make great videos easily. Millions of businesses, photographers, and families use the power of video to share what matters most to them. With the Professional Subscription, business owners gain all the tools to help them stand out by turning photos and video clips into shareworthy marketing videos and slideshow videos. It's perfect for sharing on social media and they make it easy to create professional videos on your computer or mobile device.
The free trial lasts 2 weeks and there's no credit card required. Now that's what I call free! If you do decide to stick with it after the free trial, it starts out at only $8 a month. A gonga deal! Just click the pic above to get started.
Also, Animoto is excited to announce they have extended the 15% off Annual plans offer through the end of the year! Use the code YEAR15 at checkout. I would love if you'll come back and share any videos you create with me!

The Magic School Bus Science Subscription Box is 50% Off! $10 a month, shipped!


SPECIAL OFFER: Save 50% on a year’s subscription through Educents... and FREE shipping in the Continental United States! Ships to Canada for $2/month. This deal is amazing... just $10 per month, DELIVERED!
 
If you have children (ages 5-12) who enjoy the Magic School Bus books or videos–and if you like doing science experiments with them–then you'll LOVE The Magic School Bus Science Club! Each kit includes a colorful manual based on The Magic School Bus characters, as well as everything you need to complete at least seven experiments related to that month’s theme and my kids have loved each and every one! 

What's included? 
 The 1 year subscription includes 12 Magic School Bus kits + FREE SHIPPING in the Continental USA (Ships to Canada for $2/month).  

Each kit includes:
  • Detailed, large 12-page colorful manual that is full of experiments and topic information
  • Each manual is based on the popular Magic School Bus books and TV series
  • Includes an adult section so that adults with no science background will find the kits easy to use
  • Materials and information necessary for a range of interactive experiments
  • Online Clubhouse for further exploration on each kit topic
  • Certificate of Completion
Kit Topics:
Would your family have fun with this? If so, now’s a great time to sign up: Through the end of the month you can receive 50% OFF a year’s subscription through Educents... and FREE shipping in the Continental United States! Ships to Canada for $2/month. This is an incredible deal! It's just $10 per month, DELIVERED! You can even create and print off your own gift cards to let your children know about the surprise. Enjoy your exploration alongside Ms. Frizzle!

Stella & Dot's Gorgeous New Collection! Plus, Free Advertising if You Decide to Become a Stylist!


**I was compensated for this post which contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

In collaboration with Rebecca Minkoff, Stella & Dot just launched a brand new collection today! I am so excited to fill you in on the big news because I just love these new pieces, which were designed and handcrafted in New York City. My birthday is coming soon! It will be the perfect excuse to buy some of these beauties. Wouldn't this set look gorgeous for a Christmas party?

Every piece in the new collection has been designed by Rebecca Minkoff, who made her mark in the fashion industry with feminine, yet subtly edgy designs. In an exciting new collaboration, these special pieces are both delicate and powerful, bold and approachable.

If you love these pieces by Stella & Dot, you might want to consider hosting your own  in-home or online trunk show or becoming a Stylist. For having a trunk show, you get $250 in free jewelry and accessories! And for becoming an independent stylist, you get to choose $450 worth of Stella & Dot accessories!
Never heard of Stella & Dot?
Their aim is to give every woman the means to style her own life. They get joy out of designing irresistible accessories. And yet, accessories are just the tangible expression of something much greater that they are creating. They have a vision of the world where strong women live bold and joyful lives. As strong women, we know what we want and we work for it. We inspire each other. Passion and joy are our best accessories.

So shop the jewelry, host a trunk show, or join the revolution! The holiday season is coming and they're ready to double their Stylists to serve market demand. Curious about how you can partner with them? Find out all about it here! Let me know if you decide to become a stylist. I would be happy to add a banner to my sidebar for my readers to shop your site, and I'd welcome any guest blogging posts with your link. I would love to see one of my readers succeed in this!