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Glaze 3-D Ink Pen

I hesitate to call these ink pens, but I don't have a better word for them. They're art pens, stained glass pens, neat writing pens, something more than just an ink pen.

I got a set of  Glaze Ink pens at Blissdom'08 (PSA: you should be signing up for Blissdom'09). When I dumped out my swag bag, I was immediately drawn to them. I am not artsy at all, but I am definitely crafty, and these were right up my alley. I couldn't wait to get home and glaze pen something.  

The recommended surfaces for the pens is plastic, glass, and metal. I knew my cell phone could certainly use some adornment, so I went to work. This was the result.

Tonight, I thought my new purchase from One Goodie could use a little sprucing up. When I'm at the grocery store and Maddie is no longer satisfied with the Cheerios contained in the One Tray, I'm hoping she'll start looking at the cute images instead.

This is what I started with:

 

I put the stickers on. They make gold and silver stickers, I got gold ones with my set. There was a sheet of "girl" stickers with hearts and flowers and kitty's and the boy set had sumo wrestlers and sushi.

 

Yes, I am a stereotype waiting to happen. I'm sorry. I waited a long time to buy a bunch of pink stuff and cover it with kittens and hearts.

Then you just take the pens and fill in the pictures. It takes A LOT of ink to fill them in, sometimes you have to go back and fill in as the paint shifts. It took me about 30 minutes to color in all of these designs. The pens are easy to use, I did mine in a tapping and regular writing method and it seemed to fill in nicely. I have the transparent set of pens, but they also make a souffle set that is more opaque.

I know my artistic abilities are staggering, but the flash makes these look darker than they really are. It makes a nice stained glass window effect.

The instructions say that you can gently peel off the stickers and stick them to something else. I haven't tried that yet.

These would be a perfect gift for a teenager. You could include a set of stickers and pens and a mirror, metal tin or some other teenager-ish item to decorate. They can do their cell phone or Trapper Keeper (wait, do they still sell those?) Just don't blame me when you refrigerator gets stickered.

You can use the markers freehand if you write slowly and steadily. The white pen can even be used on white paper and then markers or a color wash put over it to make the secret message appear.

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This is almost paint by numbers easy, but it's fun and unique. I personally tried to find things to use them on around the house, but I don't think my husband would appreciate me decorating his bathroom mirror with sumo wrestlers. They work better on lighter plastic with the stained glass pens. The souffle ones should stand out easily on any color background. Definetly worth $10-15. A great kids Santa exchange present, stocking stuffer or birthday party present.

In the Shadow of the Sun King

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By Golden Keyes Parsons

The author found a dusty and dilapidated volume of family history that after a great aunt passed away.  The history shared in the volume was fascinating to the author and told the story of her Huguenot ancestors and their struggles in France during the reign of King Louis XIV. The Edit of Nantes was issued in 1598 by King Henri IV, but persecution of the Huguenots was renewed with increased vigor by the Louis and the Catholic church. In their efforts to "unify" the kingdom under one religion, the assembly of the clergy first closed all the Protestant colleges and hospitals, declared that no Protestants could hold public office, and required that all children be taken from their parents and "reeducated" in Catholic monasteries. As a final injustice, all mixed marriages we declared null and the children of those marriages made illegitimate.

Officers of the king's army took to the countryside demanding that the subjects feed and house them while the occupants were being persecuted for their faith. These soldiers were particularly ruthless in their enforcement of the king's orders and it was not uncommon to find houses ransacked, burned to the ground, servants and livestock murdered.

In the Shadow of the Sun King revolves around a family of Huguenot nobility living in the countryside. The Clavells have three children, two of which they hide away in a cave when the soldiers arrive at their estate. As the soldiers move in, Mrs. Clavell realizes that the situation is becoming more and more desperate after she realizes that the problem is not going away. The family is banking on the age of their young daughter to insure her safety and keep her from being taken to the convent for "reeducation."

Mrs. Clavell's only hope is to visit the king and beg for mercy. Her family was once held in high esteem in the court of the the king. She was his "serious girlfriend," for lack of a better term. The relationship became complicated when he was required to marry for political reasons. Her family left court and her husband does not go to court on a regular basis as expected of a man in his position because of this prior relationship.

Madeline Clavell decides to travel to Versailles to request leniency for her family. Instead, she enrages the king because she refuses to become his mistress.  She rushes home to try and stop the inevitable, but when she arrives, her house has been burned to the ground, her daughter taken away, her servants missing or dead and her husband gone.

The remaining family is forced to flee to Switzerland and is thrown upon the mercies of the church. Madeline never stops looking for her family.

I really enjoyed the story. The author fleshes out the characters and provides adequate back story to draw the reader in. The descriptions of Versailles are excellent. The author also provides a french to English dictionary in the beginning of the book which allows her to inject some realistic dialogue into the story.

I very much enjoyed the story. The characters are believable and the glimpse into Louis XIV's court was fascinating. I was not aware the upheaval during this time period concerning the church, and it was a very personal way to delve into the subject. This is a meaty book, full of historical facts but with a great story wrapped in the vivid descriptions and heartfelt emotions of a mother trying to recover the family that was torn apart because of their religious beliefs. 

Baby Einstein

Maddie has just started noticing the television. She seems to be drawn to what is inevitably football on our TV, all the vibrant colors of the payers and that bright green field engage her. I figured it would be a little better for her to watch something age appropriate, rather than grown men beating each other up for millions of dollars.

That means it's time to break out the Baby Einstein Products. We were sent the 10th anniversary edition DVD of Baby Mozart, A CD of Lullaby classics, and a Touch and Feel Farm Animals book.

Maddie and I watched the DVD last week. She sat in my lap and watched all the moving toys, the perpetual motion machines and the musical instruments. Since the DVD is only 30 minutes long, it's the perfect length for a baby. It held her interest without her getting fidgety and it was not so long as I was bored and hoping for it to end.

The accompanying music is soothing and is synchronized with the screen activity. Even my 2.5 year old son was drawn into the action by the music and the fun looking contraptions on the screen. He especially liked the animals.

When I got out the book for her to play with, we read the story and I held her hand out to each of the touchy part of the book. There's a woolly sheep, silky cow nose, fluffy goat's beard, a smooth rooster's comb, and a horse's mane to touch. There are cartoon illustrations on each page, but the animal that has the touchy part is a real photo of the animal. I always like the actual photo animals. How else is your baby going to learn that really cows aren't all white with black spots?

Maddie is a little below the recommended age of 9 months for this book, but it never hurts to read to your baby. It is a good book to read with her and her brother. Hudson really enjoyed feeling all the animals and getting the answer right when I asked him what each page depicted.

The Lullaby classics CD features 17 tried and true soothing tunes for all ages. In the afternoon on the way home form work and daycare, my son and his cousin watch a video in the van and listen to it on their headphones. I play this CD for Maddie and I. After a long day of other kids crying, and my own work, this makes the ride home much more pleasant. The music is calming and makes me much less likely to cut off that guy in the Honda. The Lullaby classics works its magic on all ages! 

If this is your "go to sleep" music of choice, you won't be sorry after two weeks of listening to it over the baby monitor!

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If you are looking for a gift for a new parent, for a baby shower or baby's first Christmas, you can not go wrong with the Little Einstein line of products. They are timeless toys that all tie together to awaken a baby's senses and introduce them to classical sounds, engaging sights and encourage the exploration of the world around them.

One Goodie

I subscribe to help a reporter out. It's a free service that sends you an e-mail three times a day with media queries. For each e-mail, there's a sponsor, and the founder, Peter Shankman, writes a personal message and links to the advertiser.

Today that link was for One Goodie. I had never heard of this but the premise sounded neat - They sell one item a day until that item sells out and then it's gone. And it's often sold at a discount. They have a food item and a "mommie" item. 

Today the food item is a huge set of Holiday Spices for $29.  Way better than that set of coffee mugs and hot chocolate you're going to be forced to buy for your kid's teachers. You could split the tins into two tin groups, tie them with ribbon and have three people knocked off your gift list for $10 a pop.  And look at how cute it is! I want the tins after all the spices are gone! Listen to all of the items in the set:

Bird in Hand
5 Sage, 4 Thyme, 2 Rosemary, and 1 Marjoram packet, plus recipes for a turkey rub, turkey stuffing, risotto and herbed butter.

Cookie Jar
4 True Cinnamon, 2 Cardamom, 2 Clove, 2 Ginger, 1 Lemon Zest, and 1 Orange Zest packets plus recipes for oatmeal cookies, ginger snaps, and sugar cookies.

Game Day Chili
3 Cumin, 3 Mild Chile Pepper, 2 Ancho Chile Pepper, 2 Oregano, 1 Fennel and 1 Korintje Cinnamon packet plus recipes for chili powder and chili, the meal.

Mull Over This
3 Orange Zest, 3 True Cinnamon, 2 Cardamom, 2 Lemon Zest, 1 Allspice, and 1 Clove packet plus recipes for mulled cider and wine

Peace of the Pie
3 Ginger, 3 Korintje Cinnamon, 2 Anise Seed, 2 Nutmeg, 1 Allspice, 1 Cardamom packet plus recipes for pumpkin pie, apple pie, sweet potato pie, and pear pie

Roast to Toast
3 Orange Zest, 2 Ancho Chile Pepper, 2 Coriander, 2 Rosemary, 2 Thyme, 1 Allspice packet and recipes for beef tenderloin, rack of lamb, rubbed pork, and rubbed chicken

In total, there are 20 recipes and 19 different organic spices in 72 total one-teaspoon packets.

Today's Mommie items is the On Tray. I ordered three.  At $5.60 each this is a hard deal to pass up. Hudson can put his cars in one, Maddie can eat a snack out of the other (when she's big enough) and I have one to give as a cool Christmas Present. It snaps right to your grocery cart and holds on tight.

The plastic is BPA Free, microwave safe and top rack dishwasher safe.

If only they would make something to hold Maddie's bottle up while I shop. That would increase the accuracy of my grocery cart steering significantly.

Who am I kidding, I'll still manage to run over my own feet with the cart, at least now my kid's snacks won't hit the floor in mid curse. They'll be held safely on the cart handle. I can't wait to get mine!

One Goodie also has a blog, and you can subscribe to their RSS feed for deals every day. Starting next week (December 8-14) you can get 10% off ONE item by using Holiday08M for a Mommie item or Holiday08F for a Food Item.

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I'm going to be spending ENTIRELY too much time at One Goodie. I have a feeling that my stocking stuffer budget is going to be out of control after their stocking stuffer week December 15-18. Ya'll need to go and check this out.