Kaleidoscope's Fiftieth Anniversary

Back in May of 2016, McKinley and I visited Kaleidoscope in Hallmark Crown Center for the first time. We had heard so much about it and couldn't wait to get creating. McKinley hopped around from station to station, painting, cutting, taping, and applying stickers to everything he could. Fast forward to later in that same year when McKinley went with his Kindergarten class for a field trip. He told me this wasn't really a field trip for him since we go all the time. Needless to say, he felt like a veteran when showing his friends around the space.

Kaleidoscope is located in Crown Center just outside the headquarters of Hallmark. Their mission is to provide a creative space for children to "make art with materials from Hallmark’s manufacturing processes. Some are cut into shapes, while others are left just as Hallmark sends them. And Hallmark provides different materials so the projects are ever-changing!" And it's FREE! Each session is 50 minutes in total, which is plenty of time to get your imagination flowing, and to take home a bag full of all the pieces your child, and you, have made. 

Fast forward again to this year, three years later, when Hallmark reached out and asked if McKinley and I would be interested in helping them celebrate Kaleidoscope's 50th Anniversary by telling all of you all about it. I immediately said yes! This is such a special space that everyone should know about and I love that I am someone who gets to do just that!

This past weekend, we headed down to Crown Center for a fun filled family Saturday. We kicked it off with a trip to Kaleidoscope where McKinley jumped right in and started out at the puzzle station. He's really into giant squids and had to make his own "super hard to solve" red squid puzzle! Kids can design their own puzzle on a square piece of matte board and then cut it with the puzzle maker machine. If you were going to design a puzzle, what would you draw?

 

 
 
From there, McKinley headed to the paint station and created a piece using watercolors and marker. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but let's just call it abstract art! Graphic design, maybe? Geometric shapes? Whatever you call it, it's so him! From there, he took his masterpiece to the dryer where you simply send your designs through the industrial dryer so you can take it home without a drip or a smudge!

One of his favorite spaces is the floor area where you can typically find giant rolls of wrapping paper, ribbons, scissors, and add-ons galore. In the past, he has created a kite, a crown, a giant Christmas tree, and on this day, a silver monster and dual snakes! 

 One of my all time favorite spaces is the black light room! What fun spot. You can use fiber optic tubes and strands to write all over the large wall on the back part of the room. You can take a photo of yourself and watch it appear on the same wall. You can draw using special markers that appear neon against the black light. And my favorite area....the melted crayon station! It's so cool!! 

I could keep going, but instead, I'm going to show you all of the amazing ways your child can create and imagine cool designs of their very own!

And he couldn't help but make one last thing before leaving! 

 

Doesn't this look like the most fun place to spend time with your family! 

Thank you so much, Kaleidoscope, for having us! We had a blast and will be back very soon!

XO,
Andrea

*This is a sponsored post, but all opinions expressed are my own.

Just Between Friends - Shawnee Shop

Have you ever shopped a consignment sale? I'm not talking like a cute little boutique in a posh strip mall. I'm talking a HUGE consignment sale that offers rows and rows of the most must-have items from baby to big kids. From bath tubs to ball pits. Bed rails to a Lightening McQueen bed frame! If you haven't, much like myself, you need to head out to the Just Between Friends (JBF) consignment sale in Shawnee!

I attended their pre-sale yesterday and was blown away! I've heard about these sales, but I've never actually gone, and I think I've definitely been missing out. You can find everything you've ever wanted and everything you never knew you needed! Rows and rows of clothes for baby girls to size 12 boys. Ballet shoes and tap shoes for a budding dancer to a full-on dance card full dancer! A rocking horse on springs which I haven't seen in years. Walk behind toys, toddler chairs, play mats, and so much more!

 

 Just Between Friends receives all of their items from local parents just like you. These consignors set their own prices and create a tag for each item through the tagging system put in place by JBF. Once they have their loot prepped and ready, they simply drop off their goods and they're done. The JBF team will inspect all items directly on the sales racks after it's dropped off. Any items not accepted, based on quality post inspection, will be available for pick up after the sale is over. And, you receive a commission on the items you sell! Consignors receive 65% on their sold items! Cha-Ching! Interested in learning more on becoming a consignor? Head here!

I mentioned earlier that you can find anything at this sale and I wasn't kidding. But one of the things that truly caught my eye was the rows and rows of car seats and strollers! Have you priced a car seat or stroller recently? If you haven't, I'm going to be completely honest with you, they are super expensive. A necessity that costs a small fortune! But JBF has you covered! And, again, items like these are thoroughly inspected, and if they have expired, they are retired! You will not be sold something that doesn't meet current safety standards! How amazing is that! JBF stands up to that Just Between Friends motto for sure! 

Are you looking for toys? I'm going to tell you that toys are a plenty! And everything you might possibly want, or not want, for your child to have is available for purchase! Had McKinley been there with me, I'm pretty sure my bag would have been full of those items we don't need! Speaking of bags, when you enter the sale, you are provided a giant Ikea bag for shopping. And once you fill it full, and still have more shopping to do, there's a hold section that I utilized! And that Ikea bag was filled to the brim! My shoulder hurt from the weight! And I can also vouch for the fact that there are a lot of brand new, with tag items! New, people!! And on sale! Can't beat that. I got a jump on Christmas gifts yesterday!

Need games, books, puzzles, and electronics? They have those too! Books galore! Puzzles a plenty! And DVD's for those long car trips. Fun learning electronics as well. I'm serious when I tell you that this sale offers everything!

So, based on all of this information, are you ready to shop? Well you are in luck! the sale starts today April 11th and runs through Sunday April 14th. And, if you head to their Event Brite site, you get in for free. FREE! Missed this link? Admission is $2 at the door. You might want to head to the link! 

And I need to mention a super fun fact! If you are currently expecting, and attend the sale, every expectant mom receives a Noobie Box! What's Noobie Box? It's a free pregnancy box filled with samples and goodies for both you and your baby and a Noobie Guide with information and offers. The free Noobie Box is a one-time gift and Just Between Friends is the only consignment sale that provides this exclusive offer! Head to Noobie to learn more about this box!

And if you can't make this weekends sale, don't fret! There's another one coming to Overland Park in May. And, just like today, I will have you covered with all the event details. 

So, what are you waiting for? Get ye to the Wyndotte County Fairgrounds and start shopping! Just take a peek at all I scored yesterday! 

XO,

Andrea

*This is a sponsored post, but all opinions expressed are my own.

Cleaning the Bathroom Grout

Earlier in the week, I got lost in a Pinterest search and it resulted in a tip on how to clean your tile grout. Not something I was truly looking for, but it caught my attention. The "recipe" had zero chemicals, just common household products we all already own, which is something I'm incorporating into our daily life when possible.

My husband has been commenting that we needed to figure out a way to clean the grout for some time now, and I kept putting it off because I wasn't looking forward to the task. However, when cleaning the bathroom, I noticed how clean all the other aspects of my bathroom looked and the tile just looked dingy. So, I took to the floor and got to scrubbing. And let me forewarn you, this is not for the faint of heart or someone who doesn't have a lot of time on their hands. This task took me roughly four hours!

I found several different cleaning concoctions and decided to use just hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and Dawn liquid detergent. I put it all in a spray bottle, but found that the liquid was too thick for the spray nozzle, so I ended up pouring out a small amount and then spreading it out one small section at a time. That's key, folks. Work a small section at a time. I let the stuff sit on the tile for about five minutes and then started scrubbing away with a toothbrush. It didn't work as well as I had hoped, so I started goggling grout brushes and found that Libman offered one. Guess what? I purchased a Libman scrub brush for the kitchen and headed on down to the sink to grab it. I used the rough bristles along to the top of the scrub brush to continue the bathroom cleaning. Again, I didn't love how things were going, so I went a step further with my concoction.

The photo above was taken after working on the back half of my bathroom and you can see the difference from the grout on the right of the brush from the grout behind it. And it helps that a rug has been in front of the tub for years so that grout has been saved from wear and tear. I still worked on it though. 

Okay, so I mentioned earlier that the spray bottle concoction, along with the new scrub brush, weren't resulting on the gleam I was hoping for so I went a step further. I used the original cleaning liquid, but then added straight baking powder and poured straight peroxide on it all and created a thick paste. I then spread that paste onto the section I was working, focusing on keeping the paste more inside the grout, and allowing it to sit longer than the original five minutes. Done! I found the results I was looking for so I continued the process. Oh, and I failed to mention. To clean it all up, I used a sponge to wipe it all up. It did create a sudsy effect, but that's okay. It's just an extra step in the cleaning process. Warm water to rinse.

It's faint, but you can see a little bit of the foaming cleaner and how it's working.

 

 

Is it perfect, no? Is it cleaner, absolutely!! I think that continued cleaning, maybe every month or so, will help. But I love that it didn't smell of harsh chemicals. That I only had to look inside my cabinets to find the ingredients. And that I don't have to go the gym for the rest of the week because I can't lift my arm!! Seriously, my arm was throbbing by the end of the night and two Advil later it's still tender. Last tip. When using all of this cleaner, even thought it's all natural per say, use gloves!! I didn't, and as a result, my pour hands are peeling! The peroxide dried them out terribly and lotion is my best friend today!

I've found some other cleaning remedies on Pinterest that I can't wait to use. Like cleaning the inside of your oven door. How did that build up get there and how in the world am I supposed to get to it? Stay tuned!!

XO,

Andrea