Product Review: Cowbell with Stick Grip Handle

   I received a 9.6 inch White Bell Black Handle COWBELL with Stick Grip Handle Used for Cheering at Sporting Events for an unbiased review.

   The cowbell comes in different colors. It has a nice long handle and a smooth surface. This makes it so you can decorate your bell for any occasion. You can decorate it with markers, paint or stickers.

   It has a ball on the inside so it is always ready to go. The paint on the ball has chipped a little from use, but it hasn't changed the sound at all.

   This cowbell is nice and lightweight. The sound is loud and crisp. It has been used many times by my husband and kid to scare each other with. They also like to use it when they feel a song needs more cowbell. This is a great noise maker.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers

Product Review: Apple Certified Rapid Lightning Car Charger

   I received an 3.4A Apple Certified Rapid Coiled Lightning Car Charger for an unbiased review. This car charger works on Apple products that use the lightning chargers. This means you can charge anything from your iPhone to a iPad to an iPod, all on the go.

   It even comes with an extra USB port so you can charge multiple devices at the same time. There is a blue light that lights up so you know when your charger is plugged in all the way. This is important since it is a bit of a tight fit to get it plugged in.

   This car charger works wonderfully well! We have used it almost every time we have been in the car. It charges quickly, even with another USB in use. The coiled cord is nice because it keeps it from getting tangled up and having cord all over your car.

   I really like this charger. If you are looking for a new charger for your car, I highly recommend this one!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers

Crocheted Bows

   I was on Pinterest one day, looking at different Nerd Craft Crochet things and I saw someone that had crocheted a bow. I thought that was a brilliant idea so I clicked on the link. It took me to Etsy. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem at all with people selling their items. I've sold a good number of things myself. It just meant there was no pattern so I had to figure it out for myself. If the pattern isn't too complex, that's not a hard thing to do. Here is what I came up with.

   First, crochet a rectangle. One of the great things about homemade crafting is, you can make it whatever size and color you want. This is seven rows tall and about twenty stitches long, half double crochet.

   I like to add a little trim. Single crochet all the way around your rectangle.

   After you decide what type of bow you want, cut out/sew/embroider whatever embellishments you would like to add. Mine is cut out of felt.

   While your hot glue gun is heating up, finish the bow. Cut a piece of yarn to wrap around the middle of the bow.

   Take your rectangle and pinch it in the middle so that it is bow shaped.

   Use your piece of yarn and wrap it around the bow a few times, leaving both ends out so you can tie it in a knot.

   After you you tie it off, trim off the ends.

   Next, very carefully hot glue your pieces together if you need to.

   Add a little dab of glue onto the center of your bow.

   Place your embellishment. The bow is now ready.

   I like to just slip a bobby pin on. You can also hot glue it onto a hair clip.

   Bows are a fun accessory to add to any outfit for any occasion, especially if you can figure out where to get bow-tie clips. How cute would that be?

   Shameless plug: As always, if you would like to order anything, feel free to shoot me an email via the contact form or leave a message with your email and I will get back to you.

Just Desserts Review

   Just Desserts is a little card game for two to five players by Looney Labs.

   Inside, there are two decks of cards.

   The dessert cards look something like this. There is the name of the dessert and the ingredients listed down the side. This one has chocolate, fruit and cake. The little icon on the bottom left means that this card is a favorite for a guest with that suit.

   This is what the guest cards look like. They have a name, a suit, and it tells you what their favorite dessert is. In the comment bubble, it tells you the things they like and the things they don't like. For example, The Emperor likes Devils Food Cupcakes or Chocolate Angel Food Cake. He also likes chocolate and cake. He does not like vegetables or fruit.

   To set up, shuffle the two decks. Deal three cards to each player. Then deal three guests face up in the center of the table. These are the guests you are going to serve.

   On your turn, draw a card. Then there are three different options you can choose from. 

      -You can draw an additional card.

      - You can discard as many dessert cards as you'd like and draw back up

      - you can serve guests.

   If you choose to serve guests, flip over one guest and add it to the middle of the table.

   You can serve up to two guests on a turn as long as you have the cards to serve them. In this picture, these two cards will satisfy Agent 17. They have both the fruit and the pastry and don't have any nuts.

   If you have a card that is a guest's favorite, you get a tip and can draw an extra dessert card. When you serve a guest, place them in front of you. These are your claimed guests.

   When your turn is over, if there are two guests with the same suit, one of them must be discarded. The guest that is on the top of the discard pile can still be served the same way as the guests in the middle of the table.

   If at any time, a player has either three cards of the same suit or one card in five different suits, they are the winner!

   This is a fun, card game that only takes a few minutes to play. It's fun to look at the very detailed art on the cards. You can tell a lot of time and thought has gone into this game.

   There is a bit of strategy, especially if you are trying to keep your opponents from winning. There is also quite a bit of luck which means there is the possibility of someone running away with the lead.

   This is a great game for passing the time. It's simple to learn and teach so it's great for family game nights. Sometimes it can be tricky figuring out the best way to serve guests so that you get the most out of your cards. They do have a few advanced rules if you would like to make it a bit harder and last a little longer.

Rumble in the Dungeon

   Rumble in The Dungeon is a fun, quick game for two to six players.

   Inside, there are twelve tiles that you will place in the center of the table. You can set them up however you want, as long as the treasury and the exit are far apart.

   Place the treasure box in the treasury.

   There are twelve characters.

   Randomly place one on each tile.

   Each player will take one color player tokens. One is for scoring and the other is a reminder of what color each player is.

   Take the twelve character tokens and place them face down. Mix them up.

   Pass each player two random character tokens. These are the two secret characters that you are during this round. The game is now ready to play.

   Take turns moving any one character into a different room. It does not have to be your secret character.

   If two

   or more characters end up in the same room, they start to fight.

   One character can be removed from play. As characters are removed, line them up. The first character to leave is the first in line. Line the rest of them up behind.

   Any character that is in the same room as the treasure chest can take it with them. They are trying to escape the dungeon with the treasure.

   If more than one character is in the same room, either character can leave with the treasure chest. This is the only way you can leave a room with more than one character in it without having to remove a character from play.

   Once only one character is left in play, the round is over. Every player reveals who their characters are.

   Scoring is simple, the last player in the dungeon or the character that escapes with the treasure gets ten points. The character at the end of the line gets nine points. If none of the players have that character, then no points are scored for that character. The next character in line is worth eight, then seven, then six, all the way down to one. You only score for your character that has the highest amount of points. After three rounds, the player with the highest score is the winner!

   This game is a great filler or one to play with children. We have played this game with our kids many times. It is always a game filled with laughter and fun. The pieces are high quality cardboard. There is enough room in the box to store everything without having to take apart the characters after every game. The art work on this game is very detailed and fun to look at. They even decorated the bottom of the box.

   I highly recommend this game, especially if you have kids! We have played it at game nights with friends as well and everyone had a great time!