Giveaways & Product Reviews Archives - Page 15 of 55

Back in March, my world was totally changed when my only favorite sister moved here from Orlando. It had been been 19 years since I had lived within a two day driving distance from anyone in my family, and now my sister is about 30 minutes away from me door-to-door. To say that this is one of the best things that has ever happened to me would be an understatement. My kids are thrilled that “Aunt Leigh Leigh” can just stop by for dinner any time, and I am thrilled that we are able to spend so much time together after 19 years of trying to catch up over quick weekend visits.

Like many people, Leigh Ann has gone gaga for Pinterest and has found some adorable projects that she wants to recreate. The thing is, though, that Leigh and I couldn’t be more opposite in our personalities. She’s the numbers girl and I’m the creative one, so she was nervous to even attempt these projects. So, we’ve had a Sister Craft Day where I’ve helped her put together the projects that she had in mind, and I have tried to teach her some things about crafting. She’s now making cute little canvas signs for herself and her friends.

But, Leigh has never painted anything before. So when she found a $40 headboard on Craigslist that she wanted me to paint, I said, “How about I teach you how to do it?” She wasn’t thrilled (to be totally honest), but she agreed. I had just gotten a HomeRight Finish Max Fine Finish HVLP paint sprayer in the mail, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to use it. This isn’t the type of sprayer that you’d use for huge areas, like walls, but it’s perfect for things like furniture and cabinets.

I set up plastic sheeting in my garage and got her headboard prepped for painting (using a deglosser to remove the shiny factory finish instead of sanding it). Don’t you wish you had a big sister to do all of your prep work? Ha! Then, to try out the sprayer myself, I used it to apply a primer coat (Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3).

I have a few other paint sprayers myself, and the Fine Finish Max felt different to me than the other ones. It was much lighter weight to hold in my hand so my hands didn’t get fatigued. I did have a hard time using it the first time because you are supposed to hold it 6″-12″ away from the item you are painting – much closer than my other paint sprayers. But, once I got the hang of that, it was really easy.

After the primer dried, it was Leigh Ann’s turn. I gave her a quick set of instructions (basically just overlap the strokes by about 1/3 and use your legs to move up and down instead of your bending your wrists), and I turned her loose. Since she is not a DIYer, I had no idea how it was going to go.

As it turns out, Leigh Ann was a beast with that paint sprayer!

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When my son, Zack (now 8 years old), was in preschool, he hated to draw, color and paint. I tried different methods to get him to embrace his artistic side – Finger paints! Glitter! A box of 120 Crayola crayons! – but nothing mattered. He’d draw/color/paint for all of 2 minutes, and then go right back to crashing his Hot Wheels through Lego towers. As a person who thrives in anything creative, I felt like a failure as a mother. I may or may not have cried about it in front of his teacher and pediatrician.

Moms, you know how it goes. It doesn’t take much for us to feel like we are failures, does it?

But as it turns out, I shouldn’t have been worried. About a year ago, Zack developed a concept that he calls a Zack Bot. It’s a little flying robot with long arms and a big Z on his body. He’s drawn Zack Bot books, puts Zack Bots on every scrap of paper that he can find, and creates “special edition” bots for his friends – there’s a Josh Bot and a Kat Bot, which each have different super powers.

His artistic vision was delayed, but it did eventually show up. You have no idea how excited I am that Zack has finally embraced his artistic side!

So when I heard that there was a company – Budsies – that turned children’s artwork into plush, stuffed animals, I knew that I had to get one made for Zack. After looking at their website, I was really impressed with the way they had turned other kids’ drawings into stuffed animals, down to the last polka dot and crazy detail. Kids have some super imaginative visions, and all of the animals were really well executed.

Of course, I couldn’t order a Budsie for Zack and leave out Emma. She drew her ideal stuffed animal, which was kind of crazy. I was worried that it would be too much (or too abstract) for Budsies to replicate, but they assured me that it was just fine.

The process is that you order your Budsies through their website and then send in the artwork. If your child needs help coming up with an idea, Budsies offers templates that they can use as a jumping off point. To submit the artwork, you can take a picture of it and email or text it to the company or just upload it through their website. They let me know that they had received the artwork and that it looked great. In about a month, I got a shipping notification that our Budsies were on their way to us via USPS Priority Mail.

I didn’t tell the kids that their Budsies were on their way, since I know opening that box would be an amazing surprise for them. And it was!

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A Paint Sprayer That Even a Non-DIYer Can Use {and a Giveaway}

Turn Your Child’s Artwork Into a Custom Stuffed Animal with Budsies