Do you like surprises in the mail?

I once wrote before about the fantastic thing that is Loot Crate. Loot Crate is a subscription service that sends out a monthly "goody" box of gamer/nerd toys and gadgets. It's about $30 plus taxes with shipping included. It's amazing. Eric has received a couple of great shirts, a shot glass, deck of cards, a Batman wallet, a South Park (Stan) speaker (my favorite). 

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Now, someone just brought to my attention Nerd Block. 

It's a few different types of subscription boxes - some of which directed as kids. Even a box with items like Hello Kitty and My Little Pony geared towards girls ages 6-11. 

[ Not from actual site. Found here ]

I didn't sign up today, but I'm not going to lie - I wanted to. 

Have you ever signed up for a snail mail goody box subscription? 

Giveaway: Anna OR Elsa from Frozen

I'm pretty excited to announce not only a new project, but a giveaway as well!

Everyone seems to love the movie "Frozen" lately, and our household is no except. We even had a Frozen-themed birthday party over the weekend. It should come as no surprise that we also made bead sprites of Anna and Elsa (and also Olaf awhile back!) 

Elsa and Anna were a ton of fun to make, and the kids love playing with them. Each girl measures approximately 7.5 inches tall. 

We're giving away your choice of either Anna or Elsa. The winner will also get first dibs to purchase the other. They would make great stocking stuffers!

They are also available for purchase, although we would need to have them pre-ordered very soon to ensure that we can have them made in time for Christmas if it would be for a gift.

Winner must be able to pick up their prize in Charlottetown, PE.

You don't need to do all entries to win, but you need to do at least one. The more you do, the better your chances of winning.

Contest runs from now until midnight October 3rd, 2014. We will announce the winner Monday, October 6th.

Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Favorite Apple Apps: Toddler Edition

Sometimes I find it a little hard to find really good apps. I end up downloading some (for me or my daughter) and half the time we end up having to delete it for being to annoying, not working properly or because we just don't really use it. So I'm going to try to regularly recommend some of my favorites. 

I have an iPhone, so most apps will be for iPhone, but I'll do what I can to find info for other devices as well. 

All my apps for today are from the same developer: Originator Kids

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Endless Alphabet

Endless Alphabet is by far my favorite app for my almost 3-year old daughter. Basically it's a puzzle-like game, but so much more. It gives you a word, says the word for you. Monsters run across the screen and send the letters flying. You put them back where they go, like a puzzle. The game pronounces the letter the whole time you're moving it, then says the letter once it is put in place. When you finish the puzzle, it says the word, defines the word, then there's a little skit acting out the word. 

It's pretty much amazing. That's probably why it's $6.99 on Apple devices. Less for Android. People complain that there aren't many words. You can buy more on iPhone (not familiar with other devices) but my daughter was fine with what they have. I believe it taught her a lot about identifying letters. She even started using a few of the words in her own speech. 

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Endless Numbers

Endless Numbers is like Endless Alphabet, except with numbers. The pronunciation is the same, the puzzle aspect, the stories. Except with numbers. This app is FREE to start out. It doesn't have many levels, but free is free. You have the option to buy more, but we never did. 

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Endless Reader

Endless Reader is cool, but my least favorite of the three. In this one, it's a mini story. You're moving words into the right spaces instead of individual letters. These ones don't go into their spaces as easily, I find. My daughter got frustrated with this one. It's FREE as well, but again, not many levels but more you can purchase. 

The best part about all of these, is that my daughter isn't constantly getting annoyed by ads in her way. 

What are your favorite toddler-friendly apps?

Some information about our busy season & ordering

We are quickly approaching our busy season, and orders are already picking up. With that being said, I wanted to go over a few things to make sure our busy Christmas season goes smoothly for all. 

Christmas will be here before we know it. 

- This year, we hope to do something we've never done before - take part in a craft fair. As soon as we find out if our application is accepted, we will pass along details on that. We're pretty excited. With the (potential) craft fair coming up in November, as well as having two children, and a full-time job each (one being mostly an evening job that will deal with a lot of local Christmas parties), we expect to be much busier than last year. 

- We are currently still accepting "rush orders" for any birthdays etc, on a case-by-case basis, but won't be offering that option as it gets busier. Rush orders being orders we bump ahead of people who've already ordered to make a specific deadline for you. 

- Christmas orders will be done in the order that they're placed. 

- We can get many small orders done sometimes in the span of one evening, larger projects can take a couple of days. 

- With custom orders, we like to send you a final picture of your project before it's melted and set in stone. Until we get a response, those orders sit on our boards which limit what we can make that particular day until you respond. The faster we get the okay to finish them, the faster we can move on to other orders. (*Note: Everyone's been great with that so far!)

- For very large orders that use a lot of one color, we may need up to 4-6 weeks to process as not all colors are available locally.

- For large or rare orders we may require a deposit before creating. We accept cash or email money transfers. 

- We LOVE to see pictures of our projects in use and hear how you like them. We even have a brand new reviews section on our Facebook page, just waiting for some feedback. 

- With Christmas approaching we want to have one last giveaway soon. It's for a specific item that's never been seen before, and I can't wait to show it off. 

- For any other questions, you can comment here, email evbeadsprites at gmail.com, or find us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter all as evbeadsprites. 

Charlottetown Islanders Bead Art

The increase in traffic near my home leads me to believe that hockey is back in Charlottetown.

I'm not one who gets out much at night, but I have every intention of attending at least one game this season. 

But! In the meantime, does anyone remember our Charlottetown Islanders-inspired bead creations? Maybe you even know Hockey Hat Guy from the games. I've heard he cheers the loudest. 

Anyway, you know where to find me if you decide you want bead art made of your wearing your Islanders jersey. 

*Please note that we're not affiliated at all with the hockey team. 

Minecraft Cupcake Toppers

It should be no secret that we love to do custom orders. We especially love seeing our projects in action. 

Last week we got a request to make some Minecraft cake toppers. 

Now I'll be the first to admit that I don't know a single thing about Minecraft. My other half knows a bit more, and it the one who made this project. 

Please note: We made the bead art, not the cake. 

Our client was kind enough to let us share the pictures of their birthday cake, complete with our toppers and Minecraft-inspired letters. 

This set currently runs for $15*, with additional letters that can be made for approx. $0.50 per letter. 

* Prices subject to change without notice.