Nextbook Next6 Tablet *Review*

The world of media consumption has changed dramatically over the past decade.  Everything’s gone digital.  If you want to feel old, ask your kids if they have any idea what “cassette tapes”, “long play records”, a “walkman” or <gasp> a “juke box” are.   Odds are, they’ve never even heard of any of those and have no idea that back in the stone age people used to actually lug around books and papers to read,  and plastic cassette tapes and tape players to listen to music.   It’s true, you can see books and walkmans in old cave paintings.   Ok, maybe not quite that old, but you get the idea.

Mobile and digital seem to be the big drivers these days.  Who doesn’t like being easily able to take movies, music and reading materials with them on a small portable device?  That brings me to the item I’m reviewing here today, the nextbook ™ Next6.

There seem to be two different kinds of tablets on the market today:  E-readers and multi-function tablets.  Sometimes the line between the two gets a little blurry, with devices like the Nook Color that are e-readers but can also do other things and have color screens.  Color screens are great, but they are not always good for reading, especially in direct sunlight.   The Next6 is marketed as a multi-function tablet.

The nextbook next6 box includes the tablet, an ac power adapter, a USB cable to connect to a PC and a user manual.  The tablet comes with a good protective case, a nice touch for a tablet at this price point.

Lets start with the specs.

Measuring 7.48” by 5.11” by 0.44?, the tablet fits nicely in your hand.  It weighs in at just under one pound, so it’s light and easy to carry.  The Next6 features a beautiful 7” capacitive color display with a resolution of 800×480, with an ARM926EJ Dual Core 600MHz CPU, and 4 GB of built-in storage.   That’s not huge, but large enough to accommodate most of your normal stuff.  If you have more stuff to store, fear not, it comes with an SD/MMC card slot, you can easily plug in your own SD/MMC card for additional storage.

Out of the box it has the wireless connectivity you would expect, with 802.11 b/g connectivity built in, and the ability to handle WEP, WPA and WPA2 encryption standards.  I had no trouble getting the next6 connected to my home wireless network, the process is very simple (especially for those who’ve seen some flavor of the Android OS before).  Select your network from the wireless networks listed, type in your password using the on-screen keyboard, and voila.

The device has a built in speaker as well as a standard headphone jack (3.5mm).  I played some of my music on it and the speaker sounded nice and clean, even when you turn up the volume.

The next6 comes loaded with the Android 2.1 operating system (more on that later), and includes a gravity sensor – that means it knows which way is “up” and the screen/apps can rotate around as you rotate the device.   It can handle a good variety of formats for reading (pdf, text, pdb, rtf, fb2, epub and epub with drm), listening to music (mp3, wma), viewing pictures (bmp, jpg, gif, png), and watching videos (flv, mov, mkv).   That should pretty much cover all normal media types most people would use.

Finally, the next6 comes with a nice lithium-polymer battery that in my testing lasted a solid 8+ hours before needing recharged.  Your battery life will depend significantly on how you use the device, but overall it should last you enough to use throughout the day without needing a charge.

I charged up the tablet for a little while using the AC power adapter, then fired it up.  The next6 starts up very quickly, you don’t have to wait very long.   The first thing that struck me is that the display is very nice and crisp with vivid colors.   The capacitive resistance screen is very good quality.  Many of the cheaper tablets use resistive touch screens that are not nearly as smooth and don’t work nearly as well.  In fact, the next6 has multitouch capability, so you can touch two spots on the display at the same time and zoom in or out.  Overall, I was impressed by the display quality.  The device as a whole has a very solid feel to it, it doesn’t feel like cheap plastic.

The next6 has a button on the left and right side for easy page-turning.  The buttons also perform other functions within other apps and within the operating system.  For example, pressing and holding the left button (“previous”) brings you back to the “home” screen. The next6 comes with two ebook readers pre-installed.  I used the included ebook reader app to start reading some of the ebooks included for free (25 books are included for free on the device, including some nice classics).  Your options in the reader app are pretty basic, you can increase / reduce the font size, jump to a page and create bookmarks (though I couldn’t figure out how to make the bookmarks work). The other included ereader app, called Kobo has more advanced features and options, but generally felt very sluggish.   Overall the next6 works pretty well as an e-reader.  It’s not super fancy but it does the job.

Next I copied some MP3’s to the next6 tablet and used the media player app pre-installed to play them.  The copying process was actually very simple.  You connect the device to your computer using a USB cable (included with the device) and your PC will recognize the device as an external storage location.  Just copy the files over and you’re done.  Playing MP3’s went off without a hitch, pretty standard fare.  I was also able to look at some pictures without a problem.

I used the built-in web browser to surf the web and check out some web pages.  It works OK, but had issues rendering some pages.  I personally really like the dolphin HD browser, I’d install it and use rather than the standard browser on any android powered device.

So far, I was pretty impressed by the next6.   Sure, it’s not going to compete with a $500 or $600 ipad on some of the features, but that’s expected when the next6 can be had for under $200 from various vendors (including Amazon).

Then came the moment.  I started looking on the app for the ‘standard’ Android/Google apps (gmail, calendar, contacts) and they were nowhere to be found.  No problem, I thought, I’ll just go to the android market and add them….    Nope.  Not gonna happen.  The android market is not available on the next6.   Instead, it has something called “slideme” that allows you access to some other app market to install to your device.  The slideme market is a very poor substitute for the android market, it contains only a small fraction of the available apps.  And even those are sometimes older versions of the apps.   I tried searching the slideme market for some of the most popular android apps, but could not find any of them.  Even Angry Birds, that silly fun game that seems to be everywhere these days was not to be found.   Similarly, the youtube app included on the device doesn’t seem to work the way you’d expect it to: several searches that turned up results on other devices (as well as through the web) came up blank using the youtube app on the next6.

In addition, while you can play videos on the device, I could not find any documentation of how to actually encode/transcode a video so it could be played on the next6.  It would have been nice to include some sort of guide or even a link to a site with a guide on how to transcode a DVD movie and copy it to your next6 so you can watch it on a trip.  The video watching value of the next6 is significantly reduced by the lack of available apps .

To my knowledge there have not been any updates, bugfixes or newer versions of android released as of yet for the next6, and based on rumblings on various web sites there might never be a newer version of the android OS released for the next6.  I hope Nextbook does release some updates in the future, it could add to the value proposition for the device.

Overall, I was actually very impressed with the hardware capabilities of the little next6 tablet.  It fits perfectly in your hand and the form factor is excellent for reading books etc.   The lack of the android market and the other ‘standard’ apps is really a shame because the next6 has the potential to be a great value for the consumer.   If it wasn’t hobbled by the lack of apps and the android market, I’d have no problem recommending the next6 to anyone in the market for tablet.  If all you’re planning to do with the next6 is read books, surf the web and listen to music, it’s very nice.   However, if you’re planning to use it as a true multi-function tablet, I’d avoid it – at least until the android market (and thus all the thousands of great android apps) are available for it.

Note: I know you can install some of the apps by downloading them from the web to your pc and then copying the apk file to the tablet, but that introduces big (unacceptable) risk of malware and viruses getting installed on your tablet.   Also, some apps won’t work without the android market installed, even if you download and install the apk file.  For example, you can’t install the Amazon app market if the android market is not installed.

Overall verdict:  the next6 is a nifty little tablet.  It would be a really good deal and value if it came with the android market, google mail, calendaring and other tools pre-installed.  Without those, it has a tough time standing out from other tablets on the market at the same price point.  Come on nextbook,  add the android market and google apps to this tablet to let it reach it’s great potential!

**The Nextbook Next6 Tablet was provided to me for review, the opinions expressed here on my blog are that of my own.**

Affresh Washer Cleaner Final Thoughts

Awhile, ago I mentioned that I was part of an ambassador program to try a new product called Affresh designed to prevent and eliminate odor causing residue from your washing machine.  I was sent a package which contained three tablets which I was to use over the course of several weeks.

Affresh washer cleaner is designed to be used on a once a month basis to keep those musty odors at bay.  Basically you just toss a tablet in, and run your washer on a regular hot water cycle and let the tablet go to work.  I have a front loading machine and almost always have a problem with that musty smell because for some reason moisture seems to linger in my machine, especially if I don’t leave the door open after use.

The smell from the package was amazing so I was very excited to give it a try. After using the first tablet, I did notice a fresher smell from my machine, but I could still smell that same musty odor and the residue that forms on the rubber seal was still there after the first run.  I decided to run three consecutive cycles using one tablet for each to see if that made a difference.  After I used the tablets, I did notice that the inside of the drum was much shinier, and I could tell that there was a much better smell.  The musty odor still wasn’t completely eliminated but it could be that I have never really used anything in the washer in the whole 8/9 years that I have owned it.

My final thought is that I really like the Affresh washer cleaner for its ease of use and it smells great.  I think that with normal usage once a month it can keep odors in check and keep your clothes smelling nice and fresh.  Overall, I think a few more treatments would have made a difference in my current machine and at a $6.99 price point for three tablets, it is well worth it for the ounce of prevention it offers each month.  Now that I know a product exists to keep my washer clean, I plan on using it each month.

“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of affresh and received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Who Is Simon Miller? Family Movie Night

Finding the time to sit down as a family to watch movies can be difficult, but finding things that are appropriate and engage all members of the household are even harder it seems. Sometimes, I am shocked at movies that are rated for all members of the family and I see and hear things I would rather my children not be exposed to. Family Movie Night brought to you by Wal Mart and P&G is designed to bring families together to watch fun and engaging movies that you don’t have to shield your child’s ears and eyes from. Their latest movie Who Is Simon Miller? will be premiering August 6th at 8/7c on NBC.

“Who is Simon Miller?” is about a typical family and a Dad that doesn’t have a typical job. Simon (Loren Dean) is always leaving his wife and two kids for emergency trips as a geologist to work in the oil fields.  Meredith (Robyn Lively) is then left to handle the family and all that comes with raising two teenage children.

When  Simon Miller  disappears one night, the Miller family frantically searches for him. Simon’s wife Meredith and their two kids, Sarah, 18, and Kevin, 15, look in Simon’s office for information, when they find that he has been living a double life, finding  passports all with Simon’s picture, and all with a different alias.  Who is Simon Miller?  A relationship with the husband and father they know, has now become unfamiliar. The Millers embark on an international mission to get him back.  (The movie stars Robyn Lively, Loren Dean, Skyler Day, Drew Koles, and Christine Baranski.)

Movie Trailer

My husband and I really enjoyed the movie, although I felt the concept was much too complex for my five year olds to watch and understand.  There was some very mild violence but the movie is very appropriate for the the 11 yr old and up crowd.  Who Is Simon Miller? is a perfect example that you can make a movie with lots of action but eliminate unnecessary things like extreme violence, blood and gore and still enjoy the movie. Plan to grab your popcorn or set your DVRs for a really great family movie night the premiere of Who Is Simon Miller? is on Saturday, August 6 on NBC at 8pm ET/7pm CT! You can also check out the Family Movie Night website for more information and a list of other great movies that have family in mind as well as the Family Movie Night Facebook Page.

“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

The Omega Vert Vrt350 HD Juicer Love It!

Our family consumes a lot of juice, especially the boys.  First thing in the morning, it is the thing they ask for the most.  To incorporate more water and less sugary juice, I started watering it all down.  Both of my kids love fruits and vegetables of all kinds, so that has never been a struggle, so I started considering ways in which I could still give them the juice that they loved in the morning and throughout the day, but offering them a healthier choice.

A good friend of ours suggested a juicer, so I went on a search to find out more information.  I used to own a juicer back in my college days, and a lot has changed since I owned that dinosaur of a juicer.  There are a lot of juicers on the market, there are centrifugal juicers, masticating juicers, and others, that make your mind spin with information. One of the supposed key benefits to juicing are the mega health benefits.  When you buy bottled juices in the store, most of these are pasteurized which means it is heated.  The problem with that, is you kill off all the “good for you” stuff, and you are  not getting the maximum benefit from the fruits and vegetables.  If you are drinking heated juice, then you might as well stir up some sugar water, and call it a day.  After reading about it, I don’t think I would ever go back to a bottled juice again.

After countless hours of researching the health benefits, I realized that I wanted to try a juicer, not just for my children, but for myself as well.  I recently had the opportunity to review and Omega Vert Vrt350 HD Juicer.  For the most part, juicing is a foreign to me, so when it arrived at my doorstep, I was excited and a little intimidated by using it.  The first thing I noticed is that it was heavy!  I thought there must be a hunk of lead in the box, but to my amazement the juicer itself is very compact in size, the bulk of the weight is in the part that houses the motor, and the Auger (the part that turns to work the fruit through the mesh juicing screen).  I was surprised how easy it was to get up and running, within just a few minutes, I was already juicing my first apple  and a carrot.

Try not to laugh at my demonstration video!

Omega Vert VRT 350 HD Details

The Omega Vert VRT350 Juicer  features the high efficiency of a masticating  juicer in a vertical design that is compact, contemporary and productive. Most juicers process at a speed of 1,650 to 16,000 RPM, destroying many healthy enzymes and causing juice to degrade shortly after being extracted. The Vert VRT350 Low Speed Juicing System processes at 80 RPM, preventing oxidation and allowing juice to be stored for up to 72 hours without degradation. The Vert VRT350 also features an innovative auto cleaning system that keeps the screen clear during juicing and increases its efficiency. The contemporary design is complemented by a virtually indestructible ULTEM juicing screen that will withstand heavy duty juicing. Ideal for fast pace commercial environments, this juicer combines a contemporary styling with the technology to cater to the  health conscious.

 

Features:

• Innovative design squeezes out
juice rather than grinding
• Preserves natural taste and
color of juice
• Preserves natural nutrients
• Exclusive Blade Cleaning System
keeps the screen clean during use
• Efficient Design ensures maximum
juice extraction with the driest pulp
in its class
• Easy disassembly and reassembly
• Auger is extremely hard and durable
• Auto Cleaning System
• 80 RPM for peak efficiency
• Crushing Ribs
• Commercial 1/3 HPMotor
• Exclusive Underwriters Laboratories
Inc. (UL) Household and Commercial
Approval

After using the Omega Vert VRT 350HD juicer for about 8 weeks now, I have noticed a marked difference in how I feel physically and surprisingly, juicing has changed how my skin feels.  I have also used it to help me in my weight  loss, and have just been drinking freshly juiced fruits and vegetables, when I am hungry between meals and have managed to lose weight in the process without feeling cheated.  I actually enjoy getting the juicer out and making fresh juice for me and the boys and experimenting with different combinations.

I have found that if you are over zealous with certain vegetables like celery, you can over power your juice, so with a little experimenting you can find a balance that tastes good to you.  The Omega Vert VRT350 HD comes with two juicing screens which allow you to have more or less pulp in your juice.  We prefer the finer screen with most things with the exception of juicing oranges and lemons.  My husband likes to run his through and even finer strainer after the juicing process, but he is ultra picky about anything healthy  LOL!  In the process of juicing, I also discovered a new way to make blackberry jam as well.  I wanted to make a seedless version, and was fighting with a potato masher to get the seeds separated, but then I decided to try my juicer and it removed all the seeds and left me with just the good stuff from my blackberries!  The Omega Vert VRT350 HD is awesome for this too!

What I love about the Omega Vert VRT 350HD juicer is that I can control what my family is getting with maximum health benefits.  It is very very easy to use and there is no fuss when cleaning it when I am done.  I can juice and clean the system literally in about 5-7 minutes which makes it practical for families on the go.  There is actually very little to clean with the silicone wiper blades that rotate along the juicing screen, there is little in the way of food that gets stuck anywhere.  It is perfect for kids and adults with texture issues who do not like to bite into an apple or a raw carrot but are willing to drink the juice instead.  I also like that, if there are bruised fruits in my fridge, I can toss them in the juicer and still get the same benefit and avoid tossing away money spent on fresh produce.  This juicer is also super quiet!  When I first used it I was expecting loud noises as it would grind up my fruits and veggies and I was beyond surprised.  I can run my juicer early in the morning and no one hears a thing.  We did have a little trouble juicing pineapple, but I found if I cut it into smaller pieces, the pulp chamber was less likely to back up.  Juicing also creates pretty much no waste if you want it to.  With the remaining pulp you can easily use this as compost in your garden, I plan on creating a composting bin starting this fall and this is perfect for that.  The Omega Vert VRT350 HD retails for around $380 and is worth every penny in my opinion.  If you are interested and serious in making some major changes in your diet, I would suggest trying a juicer and I highly recommend the Omega Vert VRT 350 HD juicer.  I have not been disappointed with it in the 8 weeks that I have had it.

Overall this is a great product, if you are interested in making health conscious decisions for the family and you want to offer the healthier choices for your kiddos.  Neither one of my boys has noticed a difference in the juice that I offer them from the juicer versus the watered down concentrates I used to give them.  This in itself is worth the switch.  You can read more about the Omega company and how they got started with their full line of Omega juicers.

**The Omega VRT350 juicer was provided for me to review, the opinions expressed here on my blog are that of my own.**

Just sat down

Hi everyone!  I have been a very busy mommy the past week or so, and I have missed my blog.  Some days I feel like I could be talking to myself, but then someone comes along and comments to let me know I am not totally insane.

The past week has lent itself to out of town guests, dental visits, and a 5th Birthday party for my boys.  I don’t think that my butt even touched a chair during this time, and although it was fun, I was more than ready for it all to be over!  The party was a huge success, it included a Spiderman themed birthday decked out in red, yellow, and blue.  A candy buffet  with a red, yellow and blue theme.  Out in the backyard we had a bounce house set up and a ginormous crocodile dual water slide for the kiddos.  Food, included a mexican layer dip, crockpot mostaccioli, chicken salad sandwiches, fresh fruit salad, and snacks.  I was a busy lady.

All in all, it was fun for everyone and the boys truly had a wonderful day despite the heat.  So if you were wondering were I had gone, now you know!!!   🙂   Now, I will try and gather my thoughts and get back with the program.  And, what is up with this gawd awful heat?  I think I have changed my clothes three times everyday and sweated off the 50lbs I need to lose.  Pffft!

Bagel Bites Snack Simply Pledge

With the Summer in full swing, we spend a lot of time out of the house and busy doing all sorts of activities with the boys.  Usually, we are in the door to eat and then right back outside to play.  The boys are going through a growth spurt as well as being very active outside playing and seem to snack much more often throughout the day.  As a parent, it is my goal to make sure that they fill their bellies and nourish their growing bodies with the right things.

Bagel Bites are one of those favorite go to snacks because they are made from simple ingredients. Bagel Bites are made with real mozzarella cheese, their own tomato sauce, and crispy mini bagels with 8g of whole grain per serving and are really tasty and easy to make.  We just pop them in the microwave and the boys literally devour them.  They also love the idea of having mini pizzas.  Besides Bagel Bites, snacks do not have to be elaborate. I always have simple and healthy snacks on hand like apple slices and fresh fruit, yogurt cups, and carrot sticks.  These are all great choices if you are constantly on the go.

Some other great tips include keeping the pantry stocked at eye level with healthy choices for the kids.  Have fresh bottled mini water available and remember that snack choices don’t have to be boring, you can jazz them up, like adding peanut butter to apple slices or adding crunch granola to yogurt.

So, as part of an initiative to encourage families to make healthy choices, ” Bagel Bites wants all of you to Snack Simply! For every pledge taken at www.snacksimplypledge.com , Bagel Bites will donate $1 to Boys & Girls Clubs of America and send you a $1 off coupon towards a Bagel Bites Snack, making snack-time into a great way to help kids in need. Their goal is 50,000 pledges, which means Bagel Bites could donate up to $50,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of America!

To help you kick start your “Snack Simply,” pledge, DoubleBugs is giving away 4 coupons good for free Bagel Bites.

Here’s What You Gotta Do!

All you gotta do is take the “Snack Simply Pledge” And leave a comment here stating what simple snack you like to make for your family or for yourself.

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“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Bagel Bites and received coupons and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Wordless Wednesday

Fresh from the garden…Perfect little peas in a pod

Little Friend

We had a little visitor today. We were eating breakfast and this lil guy/girl was right there in front of us. I had to grab my camera, the fawn was a little further away by then. This is why I love my backyard. Momma wasn’t far, I saw her in the woods. So pretty!

Zoku Quick Pop Maker Homemade Popsicles and Ice Pops in Minutes!

Summer is here and so is the warmer weather.  What I remember most as a child was the ice cream, popsicles, and spending countless hours running through sprinklers, and playing with the neighborhood kids.  In our house, the boys go through popsicles or ice pops almost year round.  When we hit the grocery store, popsicles are almost always on the list.

Ice pops and popsicles, aren’t just great for cooling off, but they are also this mama’s go to for when the inevitable sore throat and fever invade the household.  Typically, when my little ones have a sore throat, they don’t really want anything other than this, to help ease the discomfort.  If they are dehydrated, this is another great way to get the fluids in them.  Outside of the being sick, they are just a fun, and tasty treat during the Summer or any time.

Recently, I have had to chance to try out what I call my new best friend when it comes to popsicles.  If you haven’t heard of the Zoku Quick Pop Maker, you must run and get yourself one very soon!  Your kiddos will thank you and you will spark a creative side in you that you didn’t know you had.  What is a Zoku Quick Pop Maker?  It is a cool and awesome little gadget that you keep in your freezer at all times, until your kiddos come to you and say “mommy, I want a popsicle.”  This is when you either have to say, “well we don’t have popsicles,” or with the Zoku Quick Pop Maker, you can whip up a few fun popsicles in just minutes.

How does it work?

First you have to put the Quick Pop Maker in the freezer for 24 hours before you can get started.  This is important so your pops will freeze properly.

Next, you pull it out and insert the sticks.  The Zoku Quick Pop Maker, comes with 6 sticks, but you can certainly order addition popsicle sticks so you can make extras.

Then you start having fun, by adding chilled juices and beverages.  You have to wait around 7-9 minutes for it to freeze.  If you are making more intricate pops, this can take a little longer.

Once they are frozen, you use the quick tool to remove the pop!

Once you have an idea, I would recommend laying out all your materials and juices etc before pulling the Zoku from the freezer, and then you put in the sticks and start pouring in your ingredients. I found that, when you are doing layers and a recipe asks for a half an ounce, I used a medicine measuring spoon to measure it out, then I used the siphon to get it out and put it in the Zoku. If you are doing layers, you have to wait for each layer to freeze completely before adding the next. These are the most time consuming, but the results are pretty and very cool. After, you have a frozen pop, you use the Quick Tool to get them free. I still cannot figure out how this works, but it works great! You twist on little handle with what looks like the threaded end of a screw and you twist clockwise and the pop eventually comes free when the Quick Tool goes from being a little hard to turn to feeling easy to turn. That is how I know the pop can be pulled out. Once you have them out, you can pop on a drip tray, which is perfect so it can catch drips when the pop melts.

(getting ready to start!)

My first venture in making the popsicles moved a little slow, because I was learning the ropes on how to make them and I also picked a really elaborate rainbow popsicle to make from the Zoku Blog.  I never pick boring, and all the bright colors appealed to me, so I dove head first in making them.  The boys were as excited as I was to give this a try.  You can also get the optional Zoku tools which includes three pour cups,  angle tray, siphon (this is really handy when you are making intricate popsicles), the fruit wand and little heart and star stencils that look like mini cookie cutters for adding fun little shaped pieces of apple or fruits or even chocolate!

(The siphon works great for getting your liquids right where you want them)

(You can see them starting to freeze right before your eyes!!!  So cool!)

You can be simple by just pouring in a favorite beverage or juice, or you can get creative and more elaborate by making filled core pops, or stripes or fun angles, you can add fresh fruits and purees, the possibilities for this thing are endless.  What I love about it from a mom’s perspective is that I can decide what to give the boys.  I can make popsicles that are all fruit and low in sugar, I can dilute their favorite juices, or I can add  the fun things like chocolate, or marshmallows, and I can do it in minutes and they are ready to go.  Instead of having twelve identical popsicles from a box, loaded with tons of sugar, I can give the boys something different every time.  It is is also a great little project you can do with the kids and let them create their own popsicles.  The reusable sticks and drip trays are very easy to clean with a little soap and warm water.

Twist the Quick Tool and out they come!

The boys mostly want to eat them right away, but if I make them ahead of time, I went and bought the Zoku Storage Case, that holds up to six pops, so you can have some ready made in the freezer.

Here are a couple of the results!! A rainbow and in honor of Fourth of July (the stars are made from using the stencils and apple slices)

The Zoku Quick Pop Maker, makes three pops at a time and I haven’t experimented on making more than three at a time, but the Zoku is still frozen solid after I make just three, so I would guess you could make at least three more before putting it back in the freezer.

After you’re done, you just pop it back in the freezer for next time.  They don’t recommend washing it afterwards,  because water can freeze to the bottom and then when you make a new batch you won’t be able to get the popsicles out.  I learned this the hard way when my freezer got left open and started to defrost (blame the 5 yr olds in the house), the Zoku had water that formed in the bottom, and froze and when I went to make a new batch of quick pops, I could not remove them.  This is stated in the manual, and they aren’t kidding.  I was bummed that I had to defrost the whole thing and dry it out and put it back.  If you don’t have a freezer left open, then you don’t have to worry.

Happy Faces!

Overall, I love it!  I like experimenting with new things to try and offering a healthier version of popsicles.  The Zoku Quick Pop Maker retails for around $49.95 and the Quick Tools for around $20.  I think it is worth the investment, and you won’t have to ever buy another popsicle again and you can be as boring or as creative as you like.  Hands down, the Zoku Quick Pop Maker, is one of the coolest things for Summer!

Where Do You Get Your Craft Supplies?

I have an entire room devoted to all my craft supplies.   I have always been one of those crafters that likes to jump from one project to the next.  And, on any given day the boys usually want to draw, cut, or glue something.  It is nice to be able to have the craft supplies necessary to have fun on a rainy day, or when the boys seem bored.

A lot of time, I will go to the local craft stores and look for things that are on clearance, but I have found that it is easier to order craft supplies online.  I almost always have pipe cleaners on hand, beads, googly eyes, felt squares, paint and glitter of all kinds. Factory Direct Craft, is one of my go to places to stock up on things for the boys and things for myself, like candle making supplies, stuff for my scrapbooking, and all the different kinds of ribbons that I have.  Ribbon, comes in handy for tying up gifts, and the boys sometimes glue it to their projects.

If you are looking for crafting supplies online, then you should check out Factory Direct Craft.   You can find just about anything you might need for a rainy day craft, holiday crafting, or even if you get the itch to try something new to do.  If you enjoy shopping in your PJ’s or late at night when all the local stores are closed, this is a great place to go and have a look around.  Start planning your year’s crafting projects, or replenish your craft supply stock, with Factory Direct Craft!

“I was compensated for my time, the opinions expressed here are strictly that of my own.”

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