Review | Giveaway - ImagiPLAY Veggie Cutting Set & 3 Chicks Wooden Puzzle | Family-Friendly Mom Blog

OVERVIEW: By now, I'm sure you've heard me say at least 100 times about how much I love eco-friendly toys as well as toys that require NO BATTERIES!  The only music and weird animal noises I want to hear in my house are those coming from my daughter.    Since Riley has two different tea party sets and we have at-home "dinner parties" often on our living room floor, I was super thankful to be able to review the Veggie Cutting Set from ImagiPLAY.  I mean, us girls have to have SOMETHING to eat while drinking all of this tea!  ImagiPLAY was also kind enough to send along the 3 Chicks Chunky Wooden Puzzle for Riley to review as well.  Read on to learn more about what we thought of these two toys. PRICE: I reviewed the following two toys from ImagiPLAY:

• Veggie Cutting Set, which retails for $24.00
• 3 Chicks Chunky Wooden Puzzle, which retails for $9.00

PROMOTION: Use the coupon code, integrity10, to receive 20% off your entire purchase! COMPANY'S DESCRIPTION: For over a decade, ImagiPLAY has created high-quality educational toys that inspire children's imaginations and the desire to explore. With the abundance of toys available for children today, ImagiPLAY sets itself apart from the rest through its motto: "Toys with Integrity." By producing quality products that connect with nature, have eco-friendly sources, and hold educational value, ImagiPLAY works to benefit the earth we share and the people that inhabit it. Producing toys using only materials and processes that show respect for the planet and all the people and creatures upon it has remained ImagiPLAY's promise and challenge. All of ImagiPLAY's toys are made from eco-friendly materials, with plantation-grown rubberwood being a favorite. Rubber trees produce a sap that is used to make latex products. At the end of their latex-producing years (generally 25-30 years) the trees are harvested and new ones planted. But these wonderful trees have one more gift to give us -their beautiful, splinter-free hardwood, from which ImagiPLAY makes many of its award winning, heirloom quality toys. Products for which Rubberwood is not suitable are made from wood from managed forests. ImagiPLAY's factories are placed close to the neighborhoods where its craftsmen live so that the majority of them can walk or ride their bikes to work each day, enabling its craftsmen to maintain quality relationships with their own children while they make toys for others. ImagiPLAY products have been recognized by the media, children's advocacy groups, and parents' organizations for their outstanding quality, design and ability to inspire imagination. It has received awards from Parenting Magazine, Creative Child Magazine, Dr. Toy, Parents' Choice Foundation and many other well-respected groups. But most importantly, ImagiPLAY's products have helped thousands of children worldwide to discover themselves and their world as they navigate the waters of the human Age of Exploration. MY EXPERIENCE: I am always happy to feature companies on my blog that are making Earth friendly products.  ImagiPLAY qualifies for this distinction because all of the toys they create are made from plantation-grown Rubberwood, an eco-friendly hardwood.  They also use lead-free paint on all of their products and employ only fair and ethical labor to create their toys! When we opened up the Veggie Cutting Set, I thought it was a cute idea to have the items contained in a small wooden crate, which can also be used for storage!  It reminded me of the times we'd go to the farmer's market and they'd bring out the freshest produce in these wooden crates.  The Veggie Cutting Set came with the following items which were all handcrafted from eco-friendly Rubberwood and is recommended for children ages 2 and up:

• Wooden Storage Crate
• Cutting Board and Knife
• 5 Different Vegetables Segmented and Secured with Velcro

We were also sent the 3 Chicks Chunky Wooden Puzzle which was handcrafted, handpainted and recommended for children ages 3 and up.  There were six easy-to-manipulate pieces to this puzzle and the assembled chicks could stand up easily and even be played with like this.

Riley trying to put together the 3 chicks wooden puzzle	Checking out the wooden knife which was included in the Veggie Cutting Set
Trying to slice up the tomato included in the Veggie Cutting Set	Putting the mushroom she cut back together again

Riley absolutely couldn't wait to tear into the Veggie Cutting Set!  I demonstrated how to use the knife with the cutting board as well as how to "slice" the veggies.  She took it from there!  Now admittedly, she couldn't exactly cut them herself with the knife yet, but that didn't slow her down.  What's great is that I know she will keep trying and trying until she gets it, thus building more motor skills and control.  Until then, she was quite happy with just pulling the vegetable segments apart and putting them back together again.  She even started mixing and matching the vegetable segments into her own unique combinations.  I cut several veggies myself and have to admit that this is a really neat toy!  The vegetable segments Velcro together just enough to give you some resistance when trying to slice through them with the knife.  I couldn't believe how realistic this toy was.  The Velcro is also very well adhered to the segments and seems like it will stand up to years of "cutting". Riley didn't take to the 3 Chick Chunky Wooden Puzzle as much.  I think it has a lot to do with her age though.  The 3 Chick Puzzle is geared for children ages 3 and up and Riley is just 20 months old.  It seems that she had a harder time putting this "3D" puzzle together and she didn't realize that she could use her imagination and play with the chicks once they were assembled.  I know that this will come in good time though and I'm sure she will love this puzzle too one day!  ImagiPLAY is a wonderful online store which carries many unique and eco-friendly toys for your little one.  I highly suggest checking out their site the next time you're in the market for a new toy!

I received the Veggie Cutting Set and the 3 Chicks Chunky Wooden Puzzle from ImagiPLAY in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. This product review is based on my own personal experiences with this item and is completely honest and objective.

*******************************************************************

I want to sincerely thank ImagiPLAY for providing me the Veggie Cutting Set and the 3 Chicks Chunky Wooden Puzzle to try as well as providing one of my readers with a chance to win both of these toys too!

******************************************************************

GIVEAWAY!

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR ENTERING A BLOG GIVEAWAY

(Open to all U.S. readers)

WIN IT!

One lucky reader will win both the Veggie Cutting Set and the 3 Chicks Chunky Wooden Puzzle from ImagiPLAY! (ARV $34)

MANDATORY ENTRY!

Please tell me one other item from ImagiPLAY that you'd love to have for the special child(ren) in your life! Also, please do not list Hurry Up! The Dice Game in your comment. Also, you MUST be following this blog via Google Friend Connect!

***When entering a giveaway, you MUST complete the mandatory entry requirements FIRST before completing your optional entries. You MUST also leave me a valid way to contact you, should you win. If you do not successfully complete the mandatory entry or leave a valid email address, then you will be disqualified from the contest.***

OPTIONAL ENTRIES...BECAUSE YOU REALLY WANT TO WIN THIS!

Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry you qualify for. GOOD LUCK!

Earns 1 Entry:

Follow me on Twitter. (Please leave your Twitter name in the comment)

• Follow Toothpaste 2 Go on Twitter. (Please leave your Twitter name in the comment)

• Become a Facebook Fan or "Like" ImagiPLAY.

• Write the following on their Facebook wall: I've just entered to win the Veggie Cutting Set AND the 3 Chicks Puzzle from ImagiPLAY at Mommy Living the Life of Riley! and you can too! http://tinyurl.com/2wx7xz7 Just click here! (Please leave your direct link to the Facebook comment for this entry)

• Become a Facebook Fan or "Like" Toothpaste 2 Go.

• Follow my blog via Networked Blogs. (Please leave your Networked Blogs name in the comment)

• Subscribe to my feed (located on sidebar).

Enter any of my other giveaways. Leave one comment for each giveaway you entered.

• Tweet this giveaway by copying and pasting the following:

RT #Win ImagiPLAY #Veggie Cutting Set and Puzzle ($34) from @melissaaggie98! http://tinyurl.com/2wx7xz7 #contest #giveaway #kids #children

Make sure you leave the direct link to your tweet in a comment. (This can be done 3 times per day with at least an hour between posts)

Earns 2 Entries: (Please leave 2 comments for each entry)

Follow me on Google Buzz. (Please leave your Google profile name in the comment)

• Subscribe to my newsletter via e-mail (located on sidebar). (Please leave the email address you used in the comment)

Subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Post the giveaway on Facebook and leave the direct link to your Facebook post. (This can be done once DAILY)

Earns 3 Entries: (Please leave 3 comments for each entry)

Post my button on your sidebar and leave me the address where it is displayed.

Post my Stick 'Em Up Friday Giveaway Linky button on your sidebar and leave me the address where it is displayed.

Blog about this giveaway and leave me the address where it is displayed.

• Click on the "Sponsored Tweets" banner (located at the top sidebar of each page), and sign up for an account, using me as a referral.

I check EVERY entry! Please only leave valid comments for valid entries! Please note that I moderate all my comments, so your comments won't show up until I approve them.

You have until 11:59 PM CST on August 5, 2010 to enter. One lucky winner will be randomly selected using True Random Number Generator. I will email the winner and they will then have 48 hours to respond to the notification email, or a new winner will be chosen. Open to all U.S. readers. Good luck!