This week, we have a candle review. I had the opportunity to test a 5oz. Triangle Shaped Jar Candle in Pink Cotton Scent and some darling Heart Melts in red hot cinnamon for Carol’s Country Candles and More.

The candle lit easily and after about an hour of burning had almost completely burned out to the edges. It had a very nice burn pool and incredible scent throw. There was some soot in the very beginning as the flame adjusted but not more than I have ever experienced with the name brand candles and after a few very short minutes, the flame leveled out and there was no noticeable black smoke. As the candle burned longer, it did clean the sides of the container which was super wonderful leaving no residue in side the jar. And there has not been any mushrooming on the wick when relighting so even though it is a nice strong fragrance it doesn’t appear to be heavy laden and overwhelming. I have not had a chance to burn the candle in it’s entirety so I can’t say if there is much wax left at the bottom but the way it is cleaning the sides it really appears as though this candle will be good til the last bit of wax is consumed and that it will burn to within 1/4 inch of the bottom. And after several days testing, the scent is holding strong, it is not burning too fast meaning that this is a candle that seems like it is really going to last a nice long while. The Pink Cotton scent, reminded me of cottom candy like you get at the fairgrounds, so delicious and yummy smelling and immediately brought back childhood memories of going to the county fair. I loved it!

I used my tealight burner instead of my electric tart burner to test this melt because I wanted to really test the melt pool/size and the scent throw to see just how big these melts were, because they look HUGE! I seriously didn’t think it would all fit but I was wrong, once melted it was the perfect amount of scented wax in my melter. Almost immediately upon lighting my tealight, my living room was filled with the scent of red hot cinnamon, my most absolute favorite! You know, the little heart shaped candies you get at Valentine’s Day. Oh Yum! It didn’t take long for my entire house to be filled with this inviting aroma either. These melts pack a mighty punch of aroma and last and last and last. I am still using the first one I put in my warmer and it is just as strong as the first day.

For purchaing, you can choose from an assortment of candles, melts, handmade soaps which definitely caught my eye! and even a candle of the month club with prices for the club ranging from $65 to $165. The site is easy to navigate and has wonderful pictures of each item along with a scent list to choose from when ordering.

And have you ever heard of Wax Dipped Toilet Paper? Me either but you can find it here and it is an adorable way to scent your bathroom.

And if you can’t burn a candle (dorm, office, etc.) there are flamless alternatives which are beautiful!

I can say without a doubt that these are some wonderful candles. Once again, we have a 2 thumbs up review!

Thank you so much Carol! ~*~Carol’s Country Candles and More!

My second review for today covers a wonderful item from My Precious Kid – Child Safety Products & Baby Gear by My Precious Kid®

My friend Kay sent me THE most adorable Reward Chore Chart I believe I have ever seen!!!
From the website I see that the dimensions are: 10″ x 15″ which is a wonderful size. It can be hung on the wall/door or it can be set on a table by folding the attached stand out. We used it by setting it on the table so it was the right height for both children. (8 and 4)

Included are:
* 48 pre-printed chore stickers
* Blank stickers also provided and you can print additional stickers from the website
* Tokens/Chips for rewarding accomplished chores. (We chose to not use these due to having an 18 month old in the house)

The instructions were simple and easy to follow and my favorite line is:
“If he did make his bed, but forgot to move the card into the “I DID IT!” box, that’s too bad for him. You’ve got your own agenda for the day and it only includes moving the cards to the EXTRA hook. That is all the maintenance you are required to do.” I love that! I read it aloud to my children too so they knew right from the get-go that this was something for them to do on their own with little supervision from me.

This chart teaches your child responsibility. Each hook is color coordinated for a time of day so even if your child it too young to read, they can still participate by doing their chores for each specified color. When a chore is completed, your child, NOT YOU, moves their tag from the appropriate hook into the “I DID IT! ” box. At the end of the day they get either one green token for every chore completed or 1 red token for ever 5 chores completed that can be ‘redeemed’ at the end of the week.

A good way to use these it to give each child a money bank to keep their tokens in and then at the end of the week they can turn them in for rewards that are set by value. For instance, 3 tokens equals an ice cream cone or a trip to the store for a small toy. We have an 18 month old daughter so I chose to NOT use the tokens and instead keep a tally of all the tags in the ‘I DID IT!” box each day. At the end of the week, if and only if all chores were completed each day, we would get pizza for dinner and enjoy a picnic in front of the TV with a special movie. But all chores HAVE to be completed or it’s no deal!

The kid’s seemed to really go for this too! Each morning, our son would get up and make his bed, brush his teeth and get dressed for school and feed his dog and then transfer his tags to the “I DID IT!” box afterwards, all without having to be told to do so! These were the morning chores set aside for him. In the afternoon he chose to help his 4 year old sister with her chores and to get her a snack. His idea so we went along with it! I cannot believe how well it is working!

This product is recommended for one child each but we decided to try it with both children during the testing too see how each age responded to it. Our 4 year old loved the idea of getting to move each tag to it’s box after she accomplished something so we set out a few easy tasks for her like, brush her teeth (although mommy did have to help get everything ready and monitor the brushing process HAHAHA!), help baby sister pick up her toys, and pull her covers up over her bed in the morning. She did so without fail!

I am very pleased with this product and recommend it to anyone who is in need of a bright, colorful chore chart that actually works! This has become a must have addition to my family and I am so excited to be able to use this with my children. Thank you Kay!

2 big thumbs up!