Crayola Back To School Product Review/Giveaway

Being a blogger sometimes has a few perks.  One of them being that sometimes companies send you their product for free, for you to review for your readers.  Pretty cool, I must admit.  I was recently provided an awesome care package from MyBlogSpark FILLED with Crayola products.  When they approached me about doing a review, I didn't need to think any further than the name Crayola to decide that I was interested.  As the Mom to three busy, artsy fartsy boys I have more than a little experience with Crayola products.  But I've not had any experience with what they sent me - no, we're talkin' brand spankin' new products that were a lot of fun to try out.

Just look at all those goodies!  (Yes, even Jack, the cat had to get in on the act!)  We wasted no time testing everything out.  

Here's a review of what we got, and what we thought of it:

• Crayola Dual Sided Dry Erase Board Set - We liked the fact that it was dual sided (one side white/the other black).  It came with a set of DryErase Bright Crayons in 8 bright colors.  I like that the box had a built-in crayon sharpener (we'll use that on ALL our crayons!).  The boys said they would have preferred markers, but I actually liked the crayons - no caps to get lost, and no stinky marker smell.  It wiped up nicely with a damp paper towel.  AJ made up a daily schedule for his room that he can update as need be.
• Crayola Bright Fabric Markers - These are designed to give dark fabrics a personal touch (maybe a cool way to show some school spirit!).  Zach used these to personalize a pair of his denim shorts with WWE Wrestling logos/slogans - and his beloved John Cena's trademark "U Can't See Me".  He was quite pleased with 'em.  I have to say, the colors weren't as vibrant as I would have liked (perhaps the shorts weren't a dark enough fabric?).  They show up very bright on the box, but from our testing the colors were not near as bright.  We plan to use these again - but on AJ's backpack.  NOTE:  You keep applying the color in light layers until you get the desired brightness (it's quite possible Zach just didn't stick with it long enough to get a bright color!), then you have to HEAT SET the design or it will all wash out.  It's easy enough to do - either use an iron, or tumble dry on high for 30 minutes.
• Crayola Window Mega Markers - The boys really enjoyed these.  The colors were bright, and they had a lot of fun decorating the windows.  These will be great for showing school spirit.  We plan to use them on my car windows when going to Sam's football games. Go Rams!  :)  P.S.  It wiped out very cleanly and easily with Windex and a paper towel.  Easy peasy.
• Crayola Crystal Effects Window Markers - These babies are SUPER COOL.  Seriously.  Basically, you write on the window, and it takes just a moment for your message to appear and crystallize.  Zach tried it early in the morning and was non-plussed.  He couldn't really get 'em to work, and moved on to other things.  We tried again in the afternoon, when the hot Texas sun was streaming in - and it was a WHOLE 'NOTHER situation.  It worked so much better, and the effect was much cooler!  We've decided that under the right conditions, these REALLY ROCK.
• Crayola Wild Notes - We received three Wild Notes Items: A (1) subject notebook, a set of index cards, and a set of (2) Wild Sticky Notes.  Each one had a special pen that interacts with the specially coated paper for fun effects.  Essentially, you write with the pen and wild, crazy colors appear on the paper where you just wrote.  So your word or picture would have cool swirly colors in it.  Fun for doodling or taking notes in class.  We've donated these items to THE TEEN, who has deemed them "Pretty cool."  (Trust me, that is a strong endorsement coming from him)

Can you tell AJ is THRILLED that there are just 7 days 'til school starts?!

Favorite Chore of the day:  Be Awesome!

I'm stealing the Wild Sticky Notes to put in lunch boxes.

So I know what you're thinking.  "Gee, Brenda, that's awesome that you got a box full of FREE stuff to review from Crayola.  But what's in it for me?"  (I know you so well)  Crayola has been generous enough to give me an ADDITIONAL Back-To-School pack (identical to the one I received, except without the dry erase board) for a Giveaway.  YAY!  So you, too, can enjoy all these cool new Crayola items.  All ya gotta do to enter for a chance to win, is email me at brendalpark@gmail.com and tell me which of these new items you are most excited to try out.  Simple, right?  You've got until Thursday, August 23rd to email me.  On Friday I will randomly select a winner and announce it here on the blog.  Good luck!

Disclosure: The information, products and additional Crayola Back-to-School gift pack was provided by Crayola® through MyBlogSpark.  All opinions are my own.