Category Archives: Argos

Reviewing the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Silly Sounds Light-up Piano

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As part of being an Argos Tester I often get sent items for reviewing purposes. This recent campaign has been surrounding Fisher-Price toys and items relevant to development and learning. It has been a great opportunity for me to introduce my son to various new things and to build that level of curiosity within play time and learning.

An Eye Catching Colourful Design on this Fun Toy

Today I’m bringing a new Argos Tester Review to my blog with the help of another fabulous Fisher-Price toy. This is the Laugh and Learn Silly Sounds Light-up Piano, and it is classed as a teaching toy.

This mini piano is great for any child who has shown an interest in liking music and sounds. It’s especially brilliant because of how easy it is to use, any infant will love to press the buttons and make the sounds and songs appear.

Learning and Fun with the Light-Up Piano

Who doesn’t like a mixture of learning and fun?

The Piano has 4 Settings with fun and learning incorporating sounds and words. Numbers, Colours, Shapes and Sound including songs that encourage children to listen and learn. Each key when pressed will be spoken by the Fisher-Price voice in either the Number, Colour or Shape. For example, “8!” “Teal” & “Diamond!” And it also sounds a little jingle afterwards representing the shape.

The 8 main keys are smooth to the touch and are brightly coloured. Each of them have a colour, a shape and a number. They are the perfect octave! Although I almost wish the black keys were also press-able so it was like a real piano.

There are also 2 fun modes of Duck and Cow which have various sounds from both of the animals which is so funny that even 30 somethings laughed when it was pressed in our house! The novelty aspect of these modes makes it quite unique.

The flashing light on the top part of the toy is a great way to get little ones attention to the beats of the songs and along with the sounds it encourages movement. The light colour also corresponds to whichever key has just been pressed too.
The green handle on the top right of the you piano is excellent for ease of carrying and moving the item around the home.

This Fisher-Price toy is excellent for allowing children to explore all sorts of sounds, while encouraging their learning of shapes and numbers too. As well as recognising a range of colours and animal sounds. The great thing about toys like this is that a child will be counting and not even realise because they’re just playing, but it’s a wonderful way to introduce both musical aspects of playtime and also early academics with each mode available.

✩ Product Information ✩

Ages 6 months to 36 months.
Dimensions 19cm Width 25cm Length 5cm Depth

Retailing for around £20.00 this toy has been made to an excellent standard and comes ready to use. When the batteries do run out all that you’ll require is a small screwdriver and 3 new AA batteries to replace them with.

Argos Website Link

✩ Overall Scores ✩

Manufacturing Quality 5/5
Overall Design 5/5
Toy Features 5/5
Entertainment Value 5/5
Development Value 5/5

Perfect for little fingers…

✩ Argos Tester Review ✩

This toy is excellent for allowing children to explore sounds while encouraging their learning of shapes, colours & numbers too. As well as recognising a range of animal noises. The great thing about this is that a child will be learning & not even realise because they’re just playing with the instrument. It’s a wonderful way to introduce musical aspects to playtime & also incorporate the essential early academics with each of the learning modes available. Just wish the black keys worked too!

“8 keys to count with me” sings the piano…

Thank you for reading this review today, for more of my opinions on some of the latest children’s toys then please click the appropriate categories on my main page.

See you on Severn Wishes again soon I hope!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Reviewing the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Smart Stages Puppy

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As part of being an Argos Tester I often get sent items for reviewing purposes. This recent campaign has been surrounding Fisher-Price toys and learning. It has been a great opportunity for me to introduce my son to various new things and build that level of curiosity within play time and learning.

The Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Smart Stages Puppy can be a cuddly soft friend for your child that can help them to learn and allow them to have fun doing it too.

The puppy has multiple buttons that when pushed cause a response of talking, singing, noises or well-known phrases. The cute Puppy is a friendly character that will grow with your child, simply hold down his foot to change up to the next stage. The clever aspect of this toy is the repetition and the use of sounds to keep baby’s attention. Any child should find the soft to touch puppy fun to play with. Your child can copy and interact with certain parts too with both the actions and sounds.

I really like how colourful the puppy is with its ABC T-shirt and the light up heart is a fun addition too. Our son has quickly learnt how to press the buttons in order to make the puppy interactive. He enjoys figuring out the sensory aspects and likes to play along. I’m sure this toy will be used for many months to come because he is currently still young enough for Level 1 and 2.

Product Information

Level 1 – Time To Explore – Your Baby can press on the Puppy’s hands, feet, heart, nose or ear in order to hear the words, colours, alphabet and so much more!
Level 2 – Let’s Encourage – Fun phrases reward your little one as they’re encouraged by the Puppy to count, find colors, and find and name body parts! The Puppy will say things like, “Where is my Red Hand?” and will reward baby with phrases like “You did it” when they get it correct.
Level 3 – Let’s Pretend – With sing-along songs like Pat-A-Cake and phrases that engage in a toddlers exciting and imaginative time of play, this setting is the most interactive of the three.

The puppy introduces infants to one hundred words that include shapes and the alphabet as well as numbers and parts of the body.

This toy develops a child’s fine motor and sensory skills.

Size H30.5, W28, D20.3cm.
Requires 3 x AA Batteries (Included).
Age Range 6-36 months.

Here is the link to the Puppy on the Argos website if you wish to see more about it or purchase one, here

Would I recommend this product?

Yes I would. I give it 5 ✩‘s

Manufacturing Quality 5/5
Overall Design 5/5
Toy Features 5/5
Entertainment Value 5/5
Development Value 5/5

Not only is the Puppy made well with a large expanse of settings it also has many features, the choice is astounding. So many levels with Songs and Fun for many months of play and learning. I think it has great entertainment value for infants as well as good development aids too.

Thank you for reading this review today, for more of my opinions on some of the latest children’s toys then please click the appropriate categories on my main page.

See you on Severn Wishes again soon I hope!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Reviewing the Fisher-Price Game & Learn Controller

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A wonderful sensory related toy that will be fun for your little one for years to come.

As part of being an Argos Tester I often get sent items for reviewing purposes. This recent campaign has been surrounding Fisher-Price toys and learning. It has been a great opportunity for me to introduce my son to various new things and build that level of curiosity within play time and learning.

Learning about Shapes, Numbers, Letters, Words, Songs, Music all by encouraging the ability to push and press buttons to gain a response.

The Fisher-Price Game and Learn Controller is one of the items that can easily grab a child’s attention. With a variety of buttons to press, a toy that is ergonomically designed and easy for small hands to hold too. Paired with its bright colours, lights and sounds, it was already a winner and we had only pressed three things when it came out of its box.

You can see the various buttons in shape, size and colour, all attracting the child to the toy.

This game pad has a range of sensory aspects such as letters, shapes, lights, sounds, music, numbers, words and songs, plus various things to push and pull on its surface.

The centre of the pad lights up and has different coloured lights that shine out from where the happy and smiling face is. All of the buttons are brightly coloured & inviting.


At the top there is a clicker disc and a switch to toggle for more fine-motor playing.

It has two settings, one that focuses more on numbers and the other on sounds and music. It has so many novelty noises too that you would find within actual games such as “dun dun dun” and “splash”. Other noises include an Engine from a Racing Car, a few Sci-Fi sounds and fun game jingles.

The controller also has positive reinforcements such as “Well Done” and “Brilliant” as well as Game sentences like “Power Up” and “You Win”.

This toy is one that will grow with my child because it has two different levels for them to go through. It is designed for children ages 6 months to 36 months.

The buttons are perfect for small hands and the bright colours, shapes and letters encourage learning.

It certainly has reference to real life items too, such as gaming controllers for consoles and remote controls. Our son has recently become very intrigued by our phones, remotes and other devices that require you to press buttons on their surface.

We are very happy with how entertaining the game controller is & our son presses it with ease all on his own. The sounds and music are all very catchy, and the toy has been used daily since I received it to review. Our son picks it up out of a bunch of toys available, so it’s been a real hit in our house.

Toy Details
Ages 6 months +
Requires 3 x AAA Batteries (Included)
Toy Size Height 20.3cm Width 16.5cm Depth 6.9cm

Would I recommend this product?

Yes I would. I give it 5 ✩‘s

Manufacturing Quality 5/5
Overall Design 5/5
Toy Features 5/5
Entertainment Value 5/5
Development Value 5/5

Overall the Fisher-Price Controller has great entertainment value while getting your child to learn at the same time. Our son really enjoys every aspect of it, be it the pressing or clicking of buttons, listening to the sounds or jingles, and even just holding the toy by himself. It allows independent play by encouraging the child to do things for themselves, both in imagination and physical

This is a great new price currently at just £7.98 at Argos.
(Price correct as of publish date for this post).

If you want to learn more about this toy you can visit the link to it for the Argos website here

Thank you for reading this review today, for more of my opinions on some of the latest children’s toys then click the appropriate categories on my main page. Please come back again soon.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Reviewing the Fisher-Price Soothe & Glow Seahorse

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I have been testing some Fisher-Price toys for Argos Testers. This one is called the Soothe and Glow Seahorse, and is available in Light Blue or Pink. It is suitable from Birth and it is designed to develop Sensory awareness. Baby will work out that pressing or hugging the hard tummy button of the toy will provide the interactive stimulation.

Our son was instantly attracted to the glow & sounds of the Seahorse. He enjoyed giving it a hug to activate it. We tried it several times in the early hours after baby woke due to sleep regression & teething. Within a few minutes the soothing sounds sent baby back to sleep. I believe the toy has great potential to become more effective as baby will learn to recognise it as a soother & used at a time for going back to sleep. We liked the two sound levels, ocean sounds & how soft the toy was too.

We have now been using Mr Seahorse (as we call him) for 3 weeks at night and in the early hours of the morning. I would say it soothes more so than sends baby physically off to sleep. However if our son is already very tired it definitely helps. It’s the combination of the sea and water sounds along with soft lullaby that seems to work. I often stroke his chest or head in rhythm with the toy and this has a positive effect.

Product Information

Soothe and Glow Seahorse has Two Sound Level Settings.
It is a Soft Plush that’s wipe clean only.
It has a Lovely Gentle Face for baby to look at with Large Eyes.
The Seahorse has Sensory Fins that are in a different texture.
The toy has a Tummy that is hard to press and glows orange.
The Sounds that feature are 8 Lullaby’s and Ocean Noises​.
The Toy is interactive for approximately 5 minutes when pressed.
The Seahorse is Suitable from Birth.
Batteries Required are 2 x AA (included).
Size H 28cm, W 13cm & D 12cm.

Would I recommend this product?

Yes I would. I give it 5 ✩‘s

Manufacturing Quality 5/5
Overall Design 5/5
Toy Features 5/5
Entertainment Value 5/5
Development Value 5/5

Overall the Fisher-Price Soothe and Glow Seahorse is an excellent quality product that definitely helps with getting baby to sleep.

This is a good price currently at £11.99 at Argos.

If anyone would like the direct link to the item here it is LINK

Thank you for visiting Severn Wishes, I hope to enjoyed this Review and that I see you here again very soon. 

✩ Sabrina ✩

My Argos Testers Review of the Minky Black and Rose Gold Styling Dock

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The Minky Organiser is a great product for those who have plenty of electronic hair products that require a safe and tidy place to be stored.

The Minky Rose Gold Styling Dock Bedroom Organiser is something I hadn’t ever considered that I was missing in my life until doing this review. Not only is it Somewhere that is handy to store my electrical hair products when in use and awaiting usage too.

I’m also impressed with the added extras like the plastic pots at the front for hair clips and grips etc. It’s a well thought out design with the added bonus of looking like a fabulous on trend piece with the colour being black and rose gold.

The Minky Styling Dock is an organiser ideal for all your heat styling product needs. It’s something I hadn’t ever considered I was missing until this review. It’s handy to store my electrical hair products after use due to its heat resistant silicone body & is great for storing items awaiting use too. I’m impressed with the added extras of pots for clips & grips.

Overall it’s a well thought out design with the bonus of looking like a fabulous on trend piece with the colour being black and rose gold. It’s a reasonable price for all that you can store inside it.​

The Dock can withstand temperatures up to 230’c because of its Silicone lined Body and Heat Resistant top part. Your tools will cool down safely when you’re in a rush to get out of the house and the silicone is also gentle on your hair tools to prevent marks.

The Hair Clip Pots Are Very Handy.

The Minky Dock can be bought online but I was given this product to test because I am a member of the Argos Testers team.
On the Argos website it is currently retailing at £24.99 (Price correct at time of publishing).
Here is the link if you wish to see if it is available at a store near you.
Link

The back of the Minky has space to wrap cords around and space for plug sockets as well.

Thank you for joining me on my blog today, there are lots of product reviews on Severn Wishes, I hope you enjoyed this one!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Reviewing the Wacom Bamboo Fineline 3 Smart Stylus

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Wacom Bamboo Fineline 3 Smart Stylus

The Wacom Bamboo Fineline 3 Smart Stylus is an ergonomically designed piece of equipment ideal for writing notes on certain apps. It’s black and grey with a similar length to an ordinary pen, but triangular in shape.

The Bamboo Fineline is created for Apple products with iOS. There are Wacom apps available to download from their website in order to use the stylus. I tested these using my iPad and iPhone and found it worked better on the iPad due to the screen size.
The stylus has a usb charging cable (included) and a retractable tip.

The App available is called Inkspace and you can use Bamboo Paper to write and edit using the stylus. It was fairly easy to pair with my devices and once that was done it’s easy to use.

The Bamboo Fineline is designed for natural writing and has pressure sensors and many smart features. One of these is a shortcut button and the other is it’s ease in pairing with note taking apps. I found the stylus was accurate when I was using it to write. What is written can be exported to other Apple apps.

I have also discovered it works well with apps sensitive to touch such as colouring apps. I was able to use the stylus on the Colourfy App where I used it to colour in some pictures.

Ease of Use 4/5✩
Accuracy 5/5✩
Battery Life 5/5✩
Compatibility 4/5✩

Over all I feel like this stylus is a great item for people who specifically need this type of technological equipment. If it will be used regularly then it’s a great tool that is very useful. It’s a shame that it is only compatible with certain apps and devices. It is obviously only usable with Apple products which could put some people off. But it’s accuracy was excellent, it’s lightweight and portable which really go in its favour.
I would consider using it every time that I use my colouring in apps now, where as before I tested this product I hadn’t even considered using a stylus.

Thank you to Argos Testers for allowing me to Review this product.

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Here are some images of my using the Stylus and the results when using it of Colourfy.

Above: Writing on the Wacom Bamboo App – Bamboo Paper.

Above: A result from Colourfy using the Bamboo Fineline Stylus.

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Thank you for reading this short review post today. I hope you’ve enjoyed it.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Argos Home House Shelf Review and How I Am Customising It For My Own Needs

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Recently while browsing on the Argos App during a clearance sale I came across a set of shelves that I absolutely fell in love with. The triple wooden shelves were shaped like houses and hollow inside, sporting a backboard and sturdy sides. The colours weren’t to my taste but upon looking up the materials of the product I was satisfied that I could modify them to my tastes.

Reduced to clear from £44.99 to just £17.99 I got an absolute bargain! The shelves are triple white houses that you screw together to form a solid block. What I wanted to use them for was our baby nursery. The theme we had chosen was yellow and grey, gender neutral and colours that could be easily adapted over time. One of the back boards of this shelving set was grey with white stars, which was perfect! But I needed to customise the other two. Luckily as well the grey stars was the largest one, so all I needed was to alter the smaller two, and this is how I did it.

On Amazon a while ago I was searching for good quality crafting card and paper. I came across a brand called Dovecraft, and purchased several packets from them in various colours and sizes. I was lucky enough to get some beautiful Yellow and Grey ones, which were reasonably priced at the time too. I began to figure out how I was going to fix and cut these pieces to fit the triangle back boards of the shelving. Eventually I completed my designs and began working on it.

Here are some images of me working on the pieces. As you can see I used very strong double sided tape, cutting the card before hand for size. Then I made sure it was fully stuck down once I was finished by leaving the wood panel underneath some heavy books for forty eight hours before screwing to the shelf.

The finished shelving with the Argos design would usually look like this…


My finished and customised shelving however, looks like this…


✩ Sabrina’s How To & Top Tips ✩

My Top Tips for making craft work for you are;

✩ Be clear on your design so you know what the end result should look like.
✩ Research what you will need to get the job done including things like time frame.
✩ Shop around to get the best deals on materials and products.
✩ Take your time and do it right first time.

✩ Review ✩

Name: DoveCraft Collections Designer Paper Pack
Details: Yellow and Grey “Baby Steps”
12″ x 12″ (30.5cm x 30.5cm)
36 Sheets – 3 Sheets of 12 Different Designs on 150gsm Card
Acid and Lignin Free
Purchased: On Amazon
RRP Price: £6.99
Link to Dovecraft on Amazon HERE

Quality 5✩
Designs 5✩
Value for Money 5✩

 

✩ Review ✩

Name: Argos Home House Shelf
Details: White Wooden House Shaped Shelving Unit with Back Boards
Purchased: Argos (In April 2018)
RRP Price: £44.99 (I Paid £17.99)
Unavailable Now (This Was A Clearance Item)

Quality 5✩
Designs 4✩
Value for Money 5✩


Over All Opinion

I have loved how my shelf has turned out, I’m very happy with it and how I made it unique to our home. I would recommend items from Argos and always read the reviews on the website. The paper from DoveCraft is excellent too, and if you’re a keen craft person then I would highly recommend their products. They do a huge range of colours and also sizes of Paper and Card, so it’s definitely worth a look if you have been inspired by what I have done.
I plan to use the remainder of the card pieces as backgrounds for photo frames and for a scrapbook that I am making for our baby’s first year.

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I hope you have enjoyed reading this post. Have a great day and thank you for visiting Severn Wishes Blog today!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Argos Hygena Evie Fabric Chair In A Box Review

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Maternity and Pregnancy Week

Argos Hygena Evie Fabric Chair In A Box Review

Today I am reviewing the Hygena Evie Fabric Chair. We purchased this in Charcoal Grey because we plan on using it for when I am nursing our baby, and Grey is one of the colours we have chosen for our nursery.

When I read about the “Chair in a Box” I was astounded by how many good reviews it had on the Argos website. I wanted something that was sturdy and comfortable that wouldn’t cost the earth, and there were so many positives from customers on the site. Eventually we decided we liked the darker colour available and decided to see what other websites were offering chairs of a similar design and shade.

We shopped around for a couple of evenings and nothing seemed to compare to this one for both the quality and the price. What swayed us in the end was the Argos Furniture Weekend in April, where the chair was reduced in price. We took advantage of this deal and after having reserved one, we picked it up from our local store. It did fit in the back of the car with a squeeze through the door, it was a heavy and awkward square box you see.

Prices

We Paid For The Chair On A Furniture Deal Weekend of £103.99
The Usual Price is £129.99


Chair Details

Colour: Charcoal Grey. (Other Colours Available).
Dimensions: Height 79cm Width 74cm and Depth 76cm.
Materials: Wooden Feet, Foam Filling and Polyester Fabric.
Additional Information: Seat Depth 52cm and Weight of Assembled Chair is 20kg. Width between the Chair Arms is 44cm. Height of Arm Rest is 43cm.
Link to Argos Website


My Honest Opinion

Overall I am impressed with the look and feel of this chair. It is firm to sit on and has a good ratio between its back and the arm height. The colour is suitable for most rooms, we are displaying it in the bedroom, ready for me to use to get dressed during late pregnancy and then for nursing my baby at night time.

My Photographs

Here are some images of the chair fully assembled and in place in the room, and a few of the closer details such as the buttons and the fabric.


Thank you for reading this blog post today, and I hope you have enjoyed this review!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Great Cat Toys and Furniture For Indoor Cats

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Great Cat Toys and Furniture for Indoor Cats

We have always had rescue cats in my family and they are part of the family! We have had three in total during the past ten years. Sadly one of them passed away two years ago due to a heart condition, he is sorely missed, and he loved to play with everything. We called him our “Dog-Cat” because he used to play fetch with some of his toys! I am glad that I took so many photo’s of him, inside boxes, in cat beds, on top of units… he had such a wonderful life with us, and for that we are so grateful…

Since we lost our boy his sister got quite lonely, and eight months after he passed away we got the opportunity to adopt a stray kitten who was in need of a home.

We know we are incredibly lucky with our cats, not just that they are affectionate to us, but also because they get on really well together considering they aren’t related.

Here are all three of our fur babies. Our angel in the stars ✩♡✩ on the left, his sister is in the middle, and she turned 8 this week! And finally our youngest is on the right, she will be 2 this June!

They may not be sisters by blood, but they are sisters by love for sure ♡

I’m writing this blog post to show people how happy my indoor cats are, providing they have the necessary toys, water and food, and of course their own space, there is nothing wrong with keeping your cats indoors.

Furniture was hugely important when we made the decision to keep our original two as indoor cats. There were several reasons, one was due to living metres away from a main road, another was due to neighbours keeping dogs in their back gardens, and finally because of our boys health problems. We purchased three main pieces, one was from Argos and two were from Pets at Home.

When choosing cat furniture and scratching posts always introduce them together, and encourage the cats to use them. If you make it fun as kittens they are more likely to continue with it on to adulthood. Choose items that won’t become a nuisance in your rooms and that blend in with the shapes you already have. There are some awesome trees out now, that are even designed to fit into corners of the room. You can pay around £100 for these sorts, but if you maintain them with regular trimming and hoovering they should last several years.

We had a cream cat stand from Argos back in 2010 when we first got our kittens from the rescue cattery. It was around £30 at the time, and it lasted us for the next seven years! Here is a shot of our original two rescue cats when they were tiny kittens using the stand all those years ago! It gave them so many hours of fun and also was somewhere soft to sleep until they got bigger.


We replaced it in 2017 with the new version, one in grey, an almost identical shape, they just changed the colour and made the base piece more sturdy. Perfect! The colour goes well in most rooms and it stands at 85cm tall. The material is soft fleece and easy to hoover with our pet attachment. It has scratch posts attached and a hiding hole for cats to go into, however we use that to store all their toys when not in use – super handy either way!

Available At: Argos
Design: Grey and Cream – Soft Grey Fleece with Scratching Post Parts
Information: Self Assembly Required
Dimensions: H85cm x W50cm x D42cm
Price: £35.00
My Rating: 5✩’s 

Here is our youngest, she loves to sit up as high as possible and watch what everyone is doing. As you can see, she is a fully grown adult cat and still fits nicely across the top of this particular cat stand. We use the section inside the drum to store some toys.

Our other main cat unit is this one, it is brown and cream and has a lovely large section for the cats to lay across. It’s situated upstairs so it gets the light in the afternoons.

Available At: Pets At Home
Name: Pets at Home Tudor Tunnel and Scratch Cat Post
Design: Brown and Cream – Soft Fleece with Scratching Posts and Tunnel
Information: Self Assembly Required
Dimensions: 44cm x 40cm x 34cm
Price: £37.00
My Rating: 5✩’s 

As our youngest demonstrates there is more than enough room for an adult cat.

Cat beds have been one of those items that are used periodically in our house. If it’s during the cooler months of the year you will often find the cats curled up inside the pyramid bed or on a cushion bed near a radiator. But in the summer these don’t get much use. I often decide to wash them in the summer, dry them outside and then set them to one side, this totally refreshes them ready for the autumn.

I would recommend getting the ones with removable covers or cushions that can go in the washing machine, Argos, Pets at Home and various large independent Pet Stores should do ones of this kind. They range from £12 to £40 depending upon size and quality of material, but we have never paid more than £20-£25 for one of ours, and most of them are several years old now, still going strong.

Available At: Pets At Home
Name: Paw Fleece Igloo Cat Bed
Design: Black Fleece Material with Cat Paws Print
Information: Machine Washable
Dimensions: 35cm x 35cm x 38cm
Price: £12.00
My Rating: 5✩’s 

Here is our eldest in her Igloo Pyramid Bed, they changed the design recently to incorporate the paw prints on the outside as well as the inside. Ours is all black but otherwise identical to the one I have mentioned above. Bought from Pets at Home back in 2010 however! We bought the matching round donut bed at the same time too!

Available At: Pets At Home
Name: Paw Fleece Cat Donut Bed
Design: Black Fleece Material with Cat Paws Print
Information: Machine Washable
Dimensions: 46cm x 46cm x 10cm
Price: £9.00
My Rating: 5✩’s 

The girls are ready to play!

As for cat toys ours do like a real mixture and it can depend what mood they are in as well. They adore Ping Pong balls, Rattling Mice and the range from Kong which contain catnip. I bought coloured Ping Pong balls from Amazon and white ones from the local Pound Shop – these get an awful lot of use in our house and they often go missing for days and then turn up (usually under a unit or chair), so it’s good to get a few in!

You could also consider making your own toys such as Pom Poms! But you need to supervise play with these items for sure as cats usually pull them a part!

Resting after some pom pom play time!

Other toys like Mice we have bought from Pet Stores such as Pets at Home. Here are a few items that are still available to buy out of what we have recently gotten for our cats.

Some of our toys are looking old but they are well loved and well used.

Available At: Amazon by Pet Love
Name: Pet Love Playtime Ping Pong Balls for Cats
Design: Coloured Ping Pong Balls
Information: Wipe Clean Coloured Air Filled Plastic Balls
Dimensions: 4cm x 4cm x 4cm
Price: £3.49
My Rating: 5✩’s 

Amazon Cat Toys Choice and Quality Available 4✩’s

Available At: Pets At Home
Name: Catnip Might Mouse by Petstages
Design: Bright Green Mouse with 100% Premium Catnip inside
Information: A crunchy sounding Mouse that offers hours of fun (Pets should be supervised when using this type of toy)
Dimensions: 15cm x 4.5cm x 5.7cm
Price: £4.50
My Rating: 5✩’s 

Pets At Home Toys In General Choice and Quality 4✩’s

Available At: Pet Shops / Pets at Home / Amazon / Garden Centres
Name: Catit Senses Play Circuit
Design: A Plastic Circuit That Fits Together In An Array Of Shapes
Information: Contains A Ball That Goes Inside The Plastic Track, Ideal For Increasing Motor Skills In Kittens And Keeping Indoor Cats Senses Active. Multiple Layout Choices
Dimensions: 24cm x 24cm x 8cm (Approximately and Range of Sizes)
Price: £7.49 – £20.00 (Range of Sizes and Colours Available)
My Rating: Catit Senses Circuits 4✩’s

 

Here are our two on Christmas morning playing with their new layout (green), this was the second Catit Senses Track we had gotten them. The image above shows their first one, a blue one we left in a circle. They love it!

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Something else that may encourage your cat to scratch “it” rather than your furniture is a Kong Kickaroo! These can be bought from Vets that stock them such as Vets 4 Pets or from some larger Pets at Home stores. Made in the USA they come in several sizes for both kittens and cats. They are like giant sausages that contain catnip, they have a pattern of fleece and are finished with a soft feather-like end. Ours take a real hammering of back feet and claws on a daily basis, and the cats have yet to ruin one! We have three of them and they are dotted around the house so the cats get the most out of them. It’s pretty hilarious sometimes when they “have a go at one”! Each cat was bought one after their first ever annual injections and the tradition just stuck!

These Kickaroo Toys are awesome! Good quality material, even though they are well used in our house our cats have yet to rip one open!

He loved to hug it, attack it, sleep on it and carry it around… ♡

My Rating: Kong Kickaroo 5✩’s

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When we move house I would like to purchase a large cat tree from a company whose page I found on Facebook. They are UK based and do them in a range of colours and sizes to suit all homes. I want my cats to have somewhere high up to escape to, once my baby begins moving around independently too. The page is called Cat Tree UK and I like the look of their items and prices, though I will continue to read reviews in the mean time.

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Thank you for reading this blog post today, I hope that you have enjoyed looking at my life with my cats and seeing them having fun with an array of awesome items! Any questions about products just send me a comment, I’m happy to answer any that I can!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Toni & Guy Salon Professional Glamour Jumbo Curling Tong Review

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Toni & Guy Salon Professional Glamour Jumbo Curling Tong Review

Today as part of my most recent Argos Testers review piece I am reviewing the Jumbo Curling Tong from Toni & Guy.

This Jumbo Curling Tong is certainly ideal to curl long hair. The barrel is considerably larger than most curlers on the market at 38mm. It is best used to create large loose curls on longer hair lengths. The barrel is made of Tourmaline which ensures you achieve a smooth and shiny finish to your hair style.

Another great feature is the 3m salon length cord which is rather useful if you don’t have many plugs in a room. With a 210’c variable heat and several settings for different types of hair such as fine or thick, it’s got a range to suit all hair. You would need to test the product out to see what setting curls your hair best. Because of these settings this tong is ideal for both fine and thick hair.

Personally I would only recommend this tong for people with long hair, because those with shorter length hair may struggle with the barrel width. I usually prefer more spiral curls than loose, but this product would certainly be ideal for a more casual wave look. I found it quite difficult to manipulate my hair to curl an entire length and did some in two parts. The tong has a lift-able section which holds the hair in place but I never managed to get all of my hair strands to stay inside. I think it was partially because my hair was soft but also due to the smoothness of the barrel.

The photograph below shows my natural hair on the left, washed and dried but not brushed, VS the left hand side which was washed and dried, then brushed and curled using the Toni & Guy Jumbo Tong. As you can see it gives a lovely shiny finish and the curls are loose.

Overall Review Scores

Ease of Use 3/5
Quality of End Result 4/5
Overall Appearance of End Result 3/5

Final Score 3.5/5

I own several curlers and have to say the types I rate the best are the ones that are called “Wands” that are slimmer than barrel ones, but not as thin as the “Chopstick” curlers. These Wand types can be used to do spiral or corkscrew curls. The chopstick ones tend to reveal tighter and more defined curls that will give more volume.

If you need any more advice on curling please leave me a comment, I’m always happy to give my opinion. I do have naturally curly hair, but it doesn’t always have a “good day” and that’s why I have a few curlers of my own. If you want to read anymore about my other hair products click the category on the list on my homepage.

Thanks for visiting Severn Wishes today! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this review and hair related product post!

✩ Sabrina ✩