Author: Armdog

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils

Armdog

In my other online life outside of writing reviews, I’m an amateur portrait artist. My primary medium is colored pencils, which I use a heavy blending style with thickly-layered color to try to achieve an almost paint-like effect. To avoid that “sketchy” pencil, I need a pencil with a relatively soft wax core. A softer core typically means easier layering, which in turn means it’s more likely to get this smooth blend in the final result. Although I haven’t tried every colored pencil brand, I have sampled a few; I’ve…

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DeWalt Gyroscopic Cordless Screwdriver

Armdog

I have referred to this gyroscopic screwdriver by Dewalt in other posts as my household project “MVP,” so it may not be surprising to read that this is going to be a very positive review. I received this power screwdriver a couple of Christmas’s ago, just in time to move into a new place. Through a large number of projects like putting together furniture, toys, a sandbox, an outdoor playhouse…this thing has been an absolutely champion. Basically any time I would need a screwdriver, I’m reaching for this thing. The…

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Wooden Sandbox by Creative Cedar

Armdog

We purchased this sandbox for our kids recently and there is quite a lot to like about it. First and foremost in my mind from a parent perspective, I love how easy this was to put together. The materials all arrived to us undamaged, which admittedly is sometimes just a confluence of good fortune between the manufacturer, seller, and shipping handler/company. The sandbox itself is in the shape of an octagon, with logical repeating thick and thin board patterns that lock together. I used a Dewalt Cordless Screwdriver (my household…

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Tourit Reusable Cooler Ice Pack

Armdog

I have been taking my lunch to work for quite some time now, but bizarrely, for much of that time I hadn’t been using anything to keep things cool. Basically, I was carrying what became room temperature food and drink in a generic laptop bag. I finally purchased an insulated lunch bag, but along with that, I had to figure out a reusable cold pack. I started with a different product, but found most of my ice packs eventually leaked and I had to throw them away. I’m glad to…

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Cooler Shock Reusable Ice Pack

Armdog

I have been taking my lunch to work for quite some time now, but bizarrely, for much of that time I hadn’t been using anything to keep things cool. Basically, I was carrying what became room temperature food and drink in a generic laptop bag. I finally purchased an insulated lunch bag, but along with that, I had to figure out a reusable cold pack. My first purchase was this product by Cooler Shock. As usual, I was heavily influenced by product reviews, which seemed good for this item. As…

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Crown Shades Pop Up Canopy

Armdog

We recently took a trip to the beach and wanted to find a portable canopy or shade we could take with us. We initially considered either getting beach umbrellas, or possibly renting something. But we had about seven people in our group, so I figured it would be a more cost effective solution to purchase our own pop-up canopy. Since renting things at a beach can cost like $25-35 per day, it seemed like this would just about pay for itself over the course of the entire trip. The key…

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YoFun Mermaid Night Light

Armdog

We recently received the YoFun Mermaid Night Light for my oldest daughter’s birthday. Both kids are in a major mermaid phase, partially brought on by a cartoon they love called H2O. They are also really into “DIY” (as they call it) and various crafts, so this build-your-own-mermaid kit was a perfect gift. The quality of this kit is excellent! The style and general look of the mermaid, shells, and tree are great; quite vibrant and fun. It was fairly easy to put together with the use of the glue that…

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Treva Bug Repellent Fan

Armdog

This bug repellent fan is one that actually surprised me a bit. I purchased it on a whim after my sister-in-law told us about a restaurant she went to that had these at every table on their patio. This was a purchase that I fully expected to be a waste of money. I figured I’d buy this, use it a couple of times, then stow it in a closet for years. I was very wrong! It actually seems to work as advertised. Apparently, flies are really not interested in this…

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JointlyCreating Water Shoes

Armdog

Recently, my family and I took a trip to the beach. A few weeks ahead of the trip, I engaged in a somewhat lengthy search for a new pair of water shoes. I wanted something that 1) was relatively inexpensive, 2) didn’t look too goofy, and 3) was reasonably comfortable since I’d probably be wearing them all day. Basically, I was being fairly picky about the whole thing. I started with Target, then as usual found myself on Amazon browsing through the billion search results there. I ended up first…

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Mission Belt Canvas Ratchet Belt

Armdog

Every once in a while, you just happen to stumble onto some new knowledge that makes a huge impact on your day-to-day life. Finding out about ratchet belts was one of those “lightbulb on” moments for me. I’ve long struggled with belts and sizing, even going as far as buying a leather punch to add intermediate holes to older belts. One day, my brother-in-law happened to mention his discovery of Mission Belt’s ratchet system. I did some browsing, finding a previously unknown world of ratchet belts online. I decided, based…

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