Cool Baby Kid » Tween Hangout

Justine Dorsey “Colorwheel” CD Review

giselej — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:18:00 +0000

As a middle school teacher whose worked with 13 and 14 year olds for over ten years, I understand both the influence pop culture has on this age group and the amount of negative influence that exists to detract this impressionable age from more positive ones influences. Justine Dorsey’s second CD release, Colorwheel, is a refreshingly clean yet fun mix of pop songs with messages parents can feel comfortable about. At 14, Justine has already built an impressive resume which includes playing Rob Lowe’s daughter, Sophia McCallister, on the TV Series Brothers & Sisters. Having also performed live theater in addition to her her music, we feel lucky to have discoverd Colorwheel as her career is sure to explode. The young teens who listen to songs such as Engligh Rose liked the edginess to her music which she somehow manages while keeping it clean. I personally enjoyed the jazz influence and have my own favorite songs such as “Someday” and “Not In That Way”.

As parents ourselves, The Double Duty Diva blog network were curious about Justine’s varied background and musical influences and were fortunate to have an opportunity to ask her some questions. Check out the video interview with Justine Dorsey and download another favorite song of ours, “Shut My Big Mouth,” for free on iTunes or on Justine’s website. Music for appropriate music for tweens and teens, parents and kids alike can finally agree on at least one music influence; Justine Dorsey is one to watch for sure.

Justine Dorsey Interview from Justine Dorsey on Vimeo.

Cool Giveaway: Enter to win a copy of Colorwheel and a necklace from Lilla Rose as bonus for mom by visiting www.justinedorsey.com, downloading “Shut My Big Mouth” and commenting back here with your thoughts. Receive extra entries by following Justine on Twitter and/or Facebook. Expires 6/4/10

Disclosure & Extra Entries: A sample product was provided for review purposes and made possible by the Double Duty Diva network; all opinions are 100% ours. Get unlimited contest entries, read our full disclaimer and frequently asked questions. Be sure to subscribe to Cool Baby Kid via RSS or email for winner notification and exclusive discounts and additional giveaways.

Charm Factory Review & Giveaway, Valued up to $100!

giselej — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0000

For Christmas this year Santa is finally bringing our daughter a charm bracelet. Though I’ve wanted since she’s born to start a charm collection, like the unfinished baby book, it just hasn’t happened until now. I love the idea of a gift we can add to at every occasion that will grow with her. Having researched (of course) various sites, I choose Charm Factory since they offer free shipping over $25 and their products are lead free and made in the USA. They have various types of bracelets including toggle, cuff and others and just about every possible charm theme you can imagine. The baby shoes with birthstone, gymnastics, and big sister charms were just a few we choose for starters and plan to add for every Christmas and birthday another charm which represents a particular stage in her life. Likely the 3D cupcake charm will remain on her sterling silver charm bracelet for some time to come. Adults can get in on the action…check out the adorable new “I Love to Blog” charm especially for master bloggers! The order arrived quickly as solidifying our choice of Charm Factory as the place to go for this special, life-long gift for our daughter.

Cool Giveaway: Enter to win a sterling silver charm bracelet with your choice of eight (8) charms by following them on Facebook, Twitter, or Kaboodle. Get an extra entry for each follow and be sure to leave separate comments for additional entries.

Extra Entries: Find out how to earn even more entries and read the contest rules including how to subscribe for winner notification. Ends 12/9/09. US Only.

Tee Juice Fabric Pens: Juice up Your Clothes and Accessories

giselej — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:08:00 +0000

Kids like to think of themselves as unique, as individuals who can express their own sense of style. I remember being a teen a long (long) time ago and marking up my sneakers with pen because I thought it would look cool. But things have changed in the passing years, and now kids have better equipment for creating unique works of self-expressionism on their clothing and accessories; one of those types of equipment now available are TeeJuice Fabric Marking Pens.

Tee Juice pens come in 8 different colors, each with a rich color which shows up well on a variety of fabric types including cotton and leather. These markers are quite simple to use, you simply pick what you are going to draw, pick your medium (shoes, shirt, bag, etc) and get to work. You simply draw on your medium until finished and once the pen dries you have a completely washable and dry cleanable and wearable piece of art. Make a mistake? Run a hot iron over the fabric for a couple of minutes then wash…and try again.

These fabric pens do work well, especially on lighter fabrics, and they don’t fade if gotten wet or if washed. I do suggest that parents keep the Tee Juice fabric markers for the older kids…or keep a strict eye on younger kids who are using them, because they do stain skin and it is kind of a bother to try and get them off of clothing that you didn’t want decorated. These markers also come in various tip styles, meaning you can buy several different sets in order to create your wearable masterpiece!

Reviewed by Victoria, Life Starring the Kids & Me

Enter to win a set of three TeeJuice Markers: 4 Color Broad Tip, 5 Color Fine Point and 5 Color Medium Point Sets, a nearly $45 value, by visiting their site and commenting back here with your favorite Tee Juice design. Click here to read the contest rules and find out how to increase your chances of winning. Ends 9/3/09.

Sparkle Hearts: Hair & Body Line Perfect for Tweens

giselej — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:04:00 +0000

My ‘tween daughter is very much into beauty and fashion. She also wants to be her own person and have her own things. It makes her feel “grown up” knowing that she has her own brushes and combs, her own nail polish, her own body lotions (for children of course) and other products. Especially when she doesn’t have to share with her brother. We recently had a chance to try out a great new product for girls called Sparkle Hearts. Sparkle Hearts makes hair and body products just for girls (although my son enjoyed trying them too). We had the opportunity to try the Sparkle Hearts Shampoo and Sparkle Hearts conditioner.

The Sparkle Hearts products were designed with girls in mind. They bottles were colorful and “sparkly” all over. This was a huge plus as far as my daughter was concerned. She also enjoyed that fact that they were pump bottles rather then regular bottles because it made it easier for her to dispense the right amount that she needed. I LOVE the Spark Hearts products, not only for their cute design but also because they are a healthier option then traditional shampoos and conditioners. Sparkle Hearts products contain no artificial colors, phthalates or sulfates.

The packaging is eco-friendly and their products are never tested on animals. They are made with natural and organic ingredients. They also smell sweet like candy which my kids that was terrific. My daughter has VERY thick hair, and Sparkle Hearts shampoo did a great job cleaning it, and she was able to rinse it all out with no problem. The conditioner also left my her thick mane easy to comb and free from many of the tangles that normally plague her hair after a shower. My daughter loves “her” shampoo and conditioner. Sparkle Hearts also makes a body lotion, detangler and a body wash.

To learn more about Sparkle Hearts and how the concept came about visit them online at www.SparkleHearts.com. Their site is a lot of fun too. It’s very engaging with its cute animations and fun colors. Kids can also create their own Sparkle Heart that they can print out or save on their computer.

Reviewed by Baby Kid Kimberly, She Scribes

Enter to win a Sparklehearts product of your choice by visiting the Sparklehearts website and comment back here with the answer to the questions: What are “Skinimies?” Click here to read the contest rules and find out how to increase your chances of winning with extra entry possibilities. Ends 7/2/09.

In addition to the regular extra entry possibilities, earn another by becomming a fan of Sparklehearts on Facebook. Remember to leave a separate comment for each extra entry.

iCarly Fans Rejoice: Season 1, Vol. 2 is Now Available

giselej — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:02:00 +0000

iCarly fans will be thrilled to know that the new iCarly, season one, volume 2 DVD is now available. iCarly is one of the hottest shows on Nickelodeon. It stars Miranda Cosgrove (Drake & John, School of Rock) as Carly. She’s a sweet young girl who runs a weekly web show with her quirky best friend Sam and love struck Freddie. My entire family LOVES iCarly. So much so that we follow Dan Schneider, the shows producer, on Twitter just so we can have updates on new episodes. It’s not often that a family friendly show comes along that everyone in our family enjoys.

What I love about the show, aside from the fact it’s wholesome and very family friendly, is that it’s funny too! Not “stupid” funny where only young kids would laugh, but truly funny where the whole family, young and old, can appreciate the humor. We currently own iCarly season one, volume one so we were excited to learn that volume two was available and we couldn’t wait to get it so we could watch it. If you are a fan of iCarly or a parent who wants to know that their child, tween or teen is watching entertaining, “clean” programming then you’ll want to pick up iCarly season 1 volume 2 available now where ever DVD’s are sold.

The DVD also features some behind the scenes clips; 12 episodes from season one which run for about 292 minutes and contains two discs. Also check out Nick.com for additional iCarly videos, games & downloads.

Reviewed by Baby Kid Contributor, Kimberly, She Scribes

Mag-Tagz: Fun, Interchangable Jewelry for Kids & Tweens

giselej — Thu, 28 May 2009 09:50:00 +0000

If your daughter is anything like mine then she’s totally into fashion, jewelry, trendy things and everything GIRL. My daughter loves to have different pieces of jewelry to match what she’s wearing, or her mood. Ever since she was younger she’s always loved to have a lot of jewelry. Now that she’s a ‘tween’ it’s a daily thing for her to wear things to match her outfits. Mag Tagz are fun, interchangeable jewelry that any little girl (or not so little girl) will love!

Mag Tagz start with a necklace that has a charm on it. The charm is actually a magnet. It resembles a flower so you can wear the necklace with just the magnet charm alone. When you want to try a different look or match your outfit you just have to attach a different “tag” (or “tagz”) to the magnetic piece. Some of the available tagz include peace signs, flowers, smiley faces, animals, insects, crosses and so much more. They have designs to please any girl’s tastes.

That great thing about Mag Tagz is that you can change the look of the necklace just by adding a different tag. There is no need to go out and purchase several necklaces or other pieces of jewelry. All you need is the base necklace and some of your daughter’s favorite tagz designs and you are all set. My daughter FLIPPED when she first saw the Mag Tagz and could not wait to try it out. She had a blast changing out the different tagz to match what she was wearing each day. Sometimes she even changed tagz more then once a day.

Her friends all asked her where she got the necklace from when she wore it to school. They all wanted to know where they can get a Mag Tagz too. They are very affordable with starter packs starting at $19.99 which includes a necklace and three tagz. Mag Tagz are also CPSIA compliant which means there are no harmful leads in their products. Your child can even design there very own tag and enter it in the Mag Tagz contest which ends on August 18, 2009. The winner will get their design made into a limit edition tag and their name will be engraved on the back of them.

To learn more about Mag Tagz visit them online at www.Mag-Tagz.com.

Reviewed by Baby Kid Contributor Kimberly, She Scribes

Enter to win a Mag-tagz Necklace base and a limited edition tag of your choice, either the Bee or Green Earth Flower by visiting their site and commenting back here with your favorite tag design. US Residents only. Click here to find out how to increase your chances of winning and read the contest rules. Ends 6/10/09.

Subscribe to Cool Baby Kid by RSS or email for an extra entry and to receive updates on this contest including an announcement of the winner.

Sarah Chloe: Custom Jewelry Perfect for Mom & Kids

giselej — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:50:00 +0000

Thanks to Sarah Chloe upscale jewelry and gifts, I’m currently wearing a dainty Sterling Silver Initial Charms necklace customized with my youngins’ initials. The first Mother’s Day as a new mom I found myself in unfamiliar territory…the desire to have my daughter’s name, picture or anything that reminded me of her with me at all times, despite the fact that I never considered I would be “one of those moms.” What I like most about Sarah Chloe jewelry, designed by talented Zahava, a native New Yorker who is a mother herself, is the subtly of the pieces like one of my favorite styles, the Layered Initial Pendants (love the varying sizes.) Starting under $50 with plenty of gifts ideas for girls, teens and even boys and men, Sarah Chloe jewelry comes beautifully packaged with no need to re-wrap. Look for the initial charm necklace in the Baby Kid Mother’s Day Gift Guide as there are plenty of styles to choose from for perfect Mother’s Day gifts.

Use exclusive CBK code CBK15 for 15% your entire Sarah Chloe purchase.

Kids Want a Horse? Sure Honey, No Problem

giselej — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:00:00 +0000

The Magical World of Bella Sara

Since my own children are a bit young to test drive the world of Bella Sara, a interactive trading card game, I recruited two tween girls on my Cool Baby Kid team to try them out. Both really enjoyed entering the special codes found on the trading cards, navigating through the magical world “North of North,” and caring for their virtual horses. Now when my own daughter asks for a horse, which I assume she will inevitably do at some point, I can give her one to feed, brush and even clean his stall, all within a safe online virtual world. When you’re on the site also check out the free Bella Sara activities for your new horse lover.

Cool Tip: Baby Bella foals are on their way in November, and to celebrate Bella Sara is kicking off a huge celebration starting November 6th. Qualify for daily prizes, print babies’ birth certificates, and get access to special codes during this 10-day event!

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