Sassy Bloom Box ~ Review

Something a little different from me today.  There was a fabulous offer on the Sassy Bloom Box a few weeks ago, so I decided I would grab a box and see what I thought.  I had seen these before and wanted to sign up but to be honest hadn't really gotten around to it. 

~ WHAT IS IT? ~

Sassy Bloom Boxes are 'a monthly box of goodies for Mum and Baby'.  These are from pregnancy up to 3 years old, and there is another section of the website that has boxes for 3-8 year olds. 

These boxes are 'handpicked for your child's age and stage'. 

~ UNBOXING ~

Please bear in mind that my little guy is 12 months old, and these items have been handpicked for his age and stage (as they claim on their website). 

It arrived in a brown box which had the sassy bloom box inside alongside the two larger toys. 

First item was a Fisher Price Lil' Snoopy Pull Along Dog

Recommended ages for this product is 12 months plus.  

This is perfect for the different stages of crawling to walking.
This is something I had considered buying for my son, so I'm happy it came in the box.  Perfect for pulling around after him as he toddles around the house.  

Next up is B Kids Stacks 'O Fun 

RRP £6.99

 This is recommended from 9 months old.  This is quite basic in terms of bath toys, and for a 12 month old I would have expected something that the recommended age is from 12 months at least.  Having said that it is a nice simple bath toy to occupy a baby whilst they get clean. 

The next item was Baby Einstein Activity Balls

These are £8.99 RRP (according to Amazon)

 These are recommended from 3 months old.  Although older children would still get enjoyment from these, these are the sorts of toys I'm packing away now because they are a bit babyish.  So I was surprised to find these in a 12 month old box, as it is not something I would buy for a 12 month old.  Luckily I have a little niece or nephew on the way so these will be theirs when they arrive. 

Then we have a First Steps Mealtime Plate - Blue Elephant

RRP £3.99

 

 Another perfect item for my little one, another plate will always come in handy.  I think this is the only item that is specifically chosen for my son, in the sense it is blue for a boy so gender specific. 

Next up is the B Kids Puppet Pal Washer Deedee Duck

RRP £7.99

(I have found it on Nicky's Baby Store for £4.55)

 Recommended from 6 months old.  Very good for imaginative play in the bathtub. Again as I've said above, I would expect toys for 12 months old and older, rather than younger ages.  However it is not obsolete, it can still be used in the bath. 

Then we have Funkydz Star Dust in Purple

RRP £6.50

Love the concept of this, I can see how babies and children would love this in their bath.  However on the bottle it states that it is not suitable for contact with eyes or for eating.  With a 12 month old who splashes loads and drinks some of the water at times it is perhaps not suitable for him. But as he gets older it would be perfect. 

Finally we have See You Later, Alligator book

RRP £6.99

Fabulous book! We actually already have it, and bought it for my niece it was so good.  So we already know how great it is. This book is really good for rhyming, and is a lovely little story.
I was lucky and it was only £1.99 when I bought it from Amazon, however now it is back up to £6.99. 

~ COST ~
The price of a Sassy Bloom box starts from £23 per month, with the highest at £40 for a one off box.  There are different levels of subscriptions and the longer you subscribe for the cheaper your boxes are. 

~ DISCOUNT ~
To get £10 off your first box sign up through this link HERE

I also receive £10 off a box for every person who subscribes.

~ OVERVIEW ~
All in all a good variety of items for a 12 month old boy.  Personally I was expecting items that would have recommended ages from 12 months old, so was surprised at finding that a few items were for under this age.  The activity balls especially will not get any use from my son as he is past this stage now.   But as I stated above I am expecting a niece or nephew soon so they will not be wasted.
As I bought this box on a very good offer at only £9.95, each item works out at just under £1.50 each so it really is good value for money.  However at £29.95 for the same box each item works out at just over £4 per item, so I still think it would be value for money.

~ Disclaimer ~

I purchased this box with my own money.  All views and opinions stated are 100% my own. 

Please note all information is correct as of posting, such as prices, RRP etc where stated.  These are likely to change with time. 

Cloudy Cow Bundle

I decided on a whim to purchase a Cloudy Cow Bundle.  

These are not subscription boxes.  They are a surprise stationery bundle worth at least £10.  

They cost £10 plus postage and packaging, which in my case was £2.50 (UK); so £12.50 in total. Please note I have purchased this with my own money, and all views are 100% my own. 

It came in a box which fits through the letterbox, ideal so you don't have to be in or go and fetch it from a post office.  The goodies are wrapped in yellow tissue paper, which I will recycle into a mixed media project at some point in the future.  

Inside the bundle is a nice welcome note:

Inside I have two washi tapes.  There is one with feathers on which I love! The other is flowers but I'm not quite so keen on but feel I will still use it.  

Sticky notes, which to be honest I don't like.  However I'll pass these on to someone else who will use them.

A watermelon pencil case.  This I love the bright yellow colour, and have put some pens in it straight away! It is now in my bag and used daily.    

Four stickers which to be honest I do not like at all! These really are not my kind of thing.  So again these will go to a new home with someone who will love them and want to use them.  

A mustache pen, it reads 'Mr Flower Mustache is vintage'. 
This pen and writes really nicely and is black ink.  

These stickers I absolutely LOVE! These will be perfect for my planning, and I would like to know where to get them as I would definitely buy more of them! I'm usually a fan of colourful stickers, but these black and white ones really appeal to me! Very happy with these.  

Next we have some flower stickers.  Again these will be useful for my planning, but also card making.  

Here is everything together, there were also some die cut clouds from white paper and a Cloudy Cow card.  

Overall a good mixture of stationery items in this bundle.
As I've said some are not to my personal taste, but will be to other people.  So I will happily pass these on to someone who will like them, so they are likely to go into my giveaway which I'm in the process of putting together at the moment. 
I like the majority of the items in this bundle and have already started using several of them.  I think it is highly likely I will buy another bundle in the future.  I personally feel it is worth the money spent (£12.50) even with the items I am passing on to another home. 

 

April's Happy Paper Club Unboxing

So here I am again with the next unboxing of the Happy Paper Club!

This is April's box.

So here are some close ups of the items:

 This is the full contents to start with:

This is the quote this month.

"If you don't like how things are, change it.  You're not a tree"

This is a very good quote for me this month actually.  I'm toying with various things in my life and there are definitely areas which I would like to change, so this quote is very fitting right now for me!  

The greeting card this month

I have to be honest I don't like this one.  I make cards so don't really have a need for cards like this.  But to be honest I just don't like the glass.  But it will still more than likely find it's way to a new home as I don't make many male cards.  

All of the packaging comes with a sticker like this.  So they are good for the environment.  I've popped them into our compost bin, but we shall see how well they biodegrade.  

 Cool pencil!  

I love writing in pencil so this will definitely get used plenty.  

Lovely little quote on it too,

"Live Happy Your Way"

Lastly is the menu planner pad. 

This I absolutely LOVE! 

I regularly plan meals and have tried doing this in many different ways.  This will be handy to jot down ideas for meals and do a shopping list which I can rip off the bottom and take with me (if I'm not doing online shopping).  

 So I'm happy with this month's box!
It will all go to good use, in fact I used the menu planner pad and pencil this morning to sort out our weekly meals and shopping!

I have been considering joining the travelling postcard phase, so I can use the postcards for that.  Or alternatively in my creative work either mixed media or card making. 

Disclaimer: I have purchased this with my own money, all opinions are 100% my own. 

March Happy Plaper Club Unboxing

So I decided to try some new things this year.  I've decided to start a new blog, this will continue my card making and mixed media projects.  When I'm back up and running with those I will be back on my design teams again.
I'm also planning to do more posts such as Plan With Me, Subscription Boxes, Hauls and anything else I happen to find along the way!

So my first venture was decided after watching many youtube 'unboxing' videos.  These are for various different companies with mixed reactions.  I like the idea of receiving something as a surprise, but it is also quite worrying that you spend money and possibly receive items that are of no use or you don't like.  So this is quite a scary venture for me, but something I wanted to try.

I started by searching for the different types of subscription boxes and focus on the ones that appealed to me.  I also wanted to look into costings and value for money.
 So after lots of researching and looking at previous unboxings of each subscription.
This all led me to The Happy Paper Club by The Green Gables.

This box appeals to me on a number of levels.  It is focusing on positivity, which is something I always try to do.  The idea of positivity through stationery really appeals and I am a bit of a stationery horder!

 

 So I signed up and received March's box.  It has taken a little while to be able to photograph and post on here, as I had originally planned on doing an unboxing video but found I didn't have enough time so decided on just a blog post instead.  

So without further ado, here are the contents of the box:

 First impressions were good, a nicely wrapped up package. The box fits through a normal sized letter box so you receive it straight away through the post regardless of whether you are at home or not. 

So here is the information and message from Gabrielle that comes in the pack. 

 My understanding is that a company with a similar positive outlook teams up with The Green Gables for each box.  March's was Suzy D, and this is the information about her:   

Firstly item I saw was this coaster.  I love it! I needed a new one for my craft room anyway, so I can use it straight away.  I love the positive message on it too (which is the purpose of these boxes!).  

Next a card saying best wishes with a bicycle.  I don't tend to buy cards as I make them, so I will need to find a use for the cards in each box.  This personally isn't to my taste. 

I really like quotes on cards.  They can be put up on the craftroom wall to encourage, or anywhere in the house.  They can also be utilised in projects, such as my mixed media projects.
This one is simple and good. 

Next is a notebook with an ombre effect on all of the pages. 

I'm not too sure about the colour throughout the notebook, but it will be a nice change for me. I will be able to find a use for it, as I use lots of different notebooks and planners. 

There was also a cookbook in the box. 

It is a notebook of plain paper with measurement conversions on the front page. 

I personally would not use this for cooking, and would have think where I would use this.  However a notebook is always handy to have! I suppose I could use it for doodling or practising lettering. 

Some of the items came in clear plastic bags with this label on them.  I like the idea that they can be useful rather than just thrown away.  So in the compost bin they go, and we shall see how well they biodegrade.  

This being the first subscription box I have tried, I am quite happy with it.  I suppose in boxes like this there will always be items that you will love and want to use straight away, and others that maybe aren't to your taste and need more thought about what to do with.  But realistically I will be able to find a use for everything I receive, even if ultimately they are given to someone else to use.  
So I think for £10 this is a good box of items.  I plan on having a few of these boxes, so will do some more unboxings on the blog. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Disclaimer: I have paid for this box with my own money.  All my opinions are 100% my own, and I will always give you my honest opinion on the item.