Calico Critters is an award-winning collection of adorable miniature animal toys from International Playthings.They live in Cloverleaf Corners where you’ll find families of bears, dogs, raccoons, cats, pandas, mice and more living, working, going to school, playing, shopping, and having fun!

Thanks to Blogtricity and Growing Tree Toys, Kaitlyn and I had the chance to review Margaret & Halley’s Dress Shop Set. It comes with Petite Bear Mother Margaret wearing a yellow floral dress and white apron with lace trim, Petite Bear Baby Halley wearing a pink and white baby outfit, two dress mannequins, a blue sleeveless dress with white ribbon trim topped with a matching blue short-sleeve jacket with a lace collar and tiny “pearls” on the sleeves, a white baby dress with blue ribbon trim and a blue bow with a white “pearl”,  a blue hat with a white bow, a yellow handbag with a white “pearl” closure, a hand mirror, headbands, a baby toy, and a wall portrait.

The attention to detail in Calico Critters sets is unparallelled.  Even the smallest pieces are carefully detailed and realistic. Baby Halley’s head and Mother Margaret’s  head, arms, and legs are articulated for posing and playing. The clothing is easy to take off and put on which I appreciate so that Kaitlyn can do it herself.  Everything in Margaret & Halley’s Dress Shop will fit right in at Camryn’s Country Boutique, which I reviewed in July!

Growing Tree Toys has Margaret & Halley’s Dress Shop Set for $18.95 which is a great deal for as many pieces as this set contains.  One thing that Growing Tree Toys does that I like is tell shoppers which developmental benefits each of their products provides, and which types of play each product is for.  Margaret &  Halley’s Dress Shop Set develops physical, logical, spatial, and intrapersonal skills, and is good for quiet, dramatic, and manipulative types of play.  It would be a terrific gift for a child ages 3 to 7!

This giveaway is closed. Congratulations to the winner, Denise B.!
 
 ”Welcome to Lite-Topia, an enchanted land that sparkles with color and light”, the description says, and with that, you are ushered into the beautiful, colorful, magical world of  Lite Sprites, a collection of figures, pets, playsets, and even a magic wand ! The Lite Sprite world is all about color – displaying it, sharing it, finding new colors to love. I see a lot of cool new toys but Lite Sprites is really doing something no one else is doing.  I think Lite Sprites are going to be HUGE from now through Christmas, and if you think the little girl you love is going to want them, I’d start buying the pieces now!

The Lite Sprite collection includes the following – the Lite Wand, five Sprites each with their own pod for resting, Deluxe Playsets in Swing, Windmill, Waterfall, Flower where the Sprites can play, Lite Pets  which come in four sets of four pets and include a log for them to sit in, and the Tree of Lite™, a multi-level forest hideaway that comes alive with color and includes interactive sounds, light-up staircase, working elevator and spinning, sparkling treetop.

Lite Sprites use color and light to express their moods and feelings, and each has her own personality and domain in the natural world. Prisma is the leader of the Lite Sprite Sisterhood. She’s friendly and fun and loves to play with her pet butterfly. Meadow likes a good joke and and is passionate about nature and her pet bumblebee. Brooke is always on the go and loves to swim with her pet frog. Astra is a dreamer and star gazes with her pet firefly. Bleak, the naughty Sprite, rejects color and uses her powers to eliminate or disrupt color in Lite-Topia.

from left to right: Brooke, Prisma, Astra, Meadow, Bleak

Each Lite Sprite comes preprogrammed with colors, visible by pushing a small button on the back. Prisma has 10 colors and the other Sprites have 7, and what makes Lite Sprites REALLY cool is that they can SHARE their colors with each other, and collect new colors from the Lite Wand! I shot a video with my Xoom Tablet (provided to me as part of a blogging program with Verizon) of Kaitlyn demonstrating how the wand, Lite Sprites, and Swing accessory work and uploaded it to YouTube. It’s long, but I think it’s cute and hope you’ll watch!  http://youtu.be/dBdVZTgiZRQ

WIN IT: Thanks to WowWee, one MomReviews reader will win a Lite Wand and Lite Sprite Prisma with pod! For your main entry, leave a comment on this post telling me who you will give this prize to if you win. This must be done before any bonus entries will count. Comments left with keywords instead of a real first name or blog name will be DELETED, no exceptions.

ENTRY DATES AND RULES: Enter by September 14th 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Open to U.S. mailing addresses only. The winner will be chosen using the “And The Winner Is” plugin and emailed for their mailing address and daytime phone number (for package tracking). This information will be forwarded to the P.R. person handling the giveaway and the shipment of the prize. MomReviews is not responsible for lost or stolen prizes.

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• Follow @MomReviews on Twitter and tweet the giveaway by using the retweet button at the bottom of the post or by copy/pasting this message: I’m entering to win a Lite Sprites prize pack from @MomReviews! Ends 09/14, 11:59 pm EST. http://bit.ly/qHhG66 You can tweet once per day, leave a separate comment for each with your tweet URL. (1 entry per day)

THESE ARE WORTH THREE ENTRIES. LEAVE THREE NUMBERED COMMENTS FOR EACH THAT YOU DO:

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THESE ARE WORTH FIVE ENTRIES. LEAVE FIVE NUMBERED COMMENTS FOR EACH THAT YOU DO:

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I’ll choose the winner using the “And the Winner Is” plugin on September 14th, announce it by editing the post, and email the winner for their mailing address. Shipping will be handled by the sponsor. Thanks for entering and good luck everybody!

disclosure: I was provided with a free product, information, and the opportunity to host this giveaway. No other compensation was received.

Rose Art by MEGA Brands introduces Color Blanks, white “blank slate” figurines that inspire imaginations to run wild! Each Color Blank comes with three permanent mini markers and a sticker sheet. There are endless possibilities for personalizing your Color Blank!

MEGA Brands sent us a Color Blank to review, and I decided I would let Kaitlyn decorate it completely on her own with no input from me. I’m a bit of a perfectionist She had fun coloring with the mini markers – keep in mind, they are permanent and won’t wash off clothes or furniture. I’m lucky, Kaitlyn is always super careful with markers.

Of course, this was AFTER her bath because that’s just the kind of Mom I am, clean the kid first, THEN let her use messy markers

This YouTube video  shows all the different Color Blanks figures and how they can look decorated .

Color Blanks come in singles, two-packs, and a family pack of four, each with mini markers and stickers. To see the complete list of Color Blanks figures and what stores sell them, visit www.colorblanks.com/toys/

You can also connect with RoseArt online-

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RoseArt

Twitter: http://twitter.com/roseartfun

Color Blanks are fun to keep around for those “Mom, I’m bored moments”. Kaitlyn is already asking for another one so her Color Blank can have a “friend”! Whether your child likes animals, people, or monsters, they are sure to find a Color Blank they’ll have fun making their own. Single figures are $4.49-$5.49, two-packs are $9.99-$10.99, and the Family Pack is $14.99. Buy them at Target, Walgreens, K-Mart, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Hobby Lobby or Office Max, or online from Amazon.com or the MEGA Bloks Shop.