I first saw the imaginabox range in a boutique children's store in Melbourne (Australia) and instantly thought what a fabulous concept it was!
Cardboard boxes are loved by children everywhere and with the fabulous bright, reusable stickers and fun accessories that come with imaginabox, they can turn a simple object into a well loved toy, quickly, easily and with no mess.
It is no wonder that director of On the Gro (and "Mumpreneur") Melanie has won not only the South Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award but other awards including winning the mychildmagazine.com 2012 Excellence Award for Best new Product!
I jumped at the chance to review some of their products because anything that can help develop and stimulate children's imagination leading on to role play and language development gets the thumbs-up from me!
As you can see, my daughter was rather impressed when they arrived!
They are really easy to make. Here's how we made the oven
1- Peel the backing off the stickers (keep the backing for re-using the stickers) and stick in place
2- Cut around the oven door so it can open (this is an adult job)
3- Poke holes where indicated with a pen
4- Screw on the accessories
We loved how the oven came with a couple of interchangeable stickers. Maddie was adamant on adding the cake first.
As you can see in the pics, the cardboard box we used was a rather tatty one that had been stored under the house for some time and it was a little warped and textured. This meant that some of the stickers started peeling up at the edges as they didn't have a good clean, flat surface to adhere to properly.
If you're using an old box and this happens, you can either stick down with a small amount of glue so as to allow the sticker to still be taken off, or just add a tiny bit of tape to the corner like I did.
The warped nature of the box certainly didn't discourage Maddie from using it.
We have a play kitchen at home already (actually, a couple) but none of them have seen any use since she's had this one to play with. Something about it being made from a box just makes it even more appealing and having the knobs that move just add to the fun!
She decided to put another box inside the oven for a shelf
Maddie gave it the thumbs-up!
We made the Aeroplane the same way but this one didn't require any cuts
Who cares about the tatty box when you have this in front of you!
There was mega excitement over the steering wheel which turns :)
I'm not exactly sure where she went, but she was flying for ages!
Why we love imaginabox
- Without mess and fuss you can quickly turn any size cardboard box into a fabulous toy
- Promotes Imagination and Role Play and through that Language Development
- All you need is a cardboard box (and a few basic tools you'd have at home like a pen or knife)
- Easy to follow instructions that the kids can help with
- Choice of just the sticker packs or with the stickers and fun accessories
- Great for the days where you just don't want a messy activity
- Reusable! When the box gets too tatty simply replace with another box
- Really reasonable price
- Great for a gift!
On The Gro are giving 1 lucky Learn with Play at home reader
their choice of any 2 imaginabox products.
PLUS they are generously offering ALL our readers
15% off your purchase of imaginabox
with the discount code "learnwithplay"
How To Win
Step 1: "Like" the On the Gro FB Page
Step 2: Visit the On the Gro website and then leave a comment on this post here telling us Which 2 imaginabox products you'd choose and why?
The most creative response will win their choice of any 2 imaginabox products.
***COMPETITION NOW CLOSED***
Congratulations to our winner
Zoe Hayes
(Zoe, we thought your answer could be their new jingle haha)
Thank you for your entries. We wish you could all win!
The 15% off code will be valid till the end of Jan
so plenty of time to still get them at a discounted rate.
Terms and Conditions
- Apologies but this giveaway is open for Australian Residents Only (Discount code is available for all readers)
- Enter the discount code "learnwithplay" in the box provided at checkout to receive your 15% off.
- Discount code valid until the end of January, 2013
- The competition begins Thursday 6th Dec and ends Wednesday 12th December at 9pm (EST)
- The winner is chosen based on originality and creativity
- Entrants will need to provide a valid email address
- The winner will be contacted via email and announced on this post and via FB and Twitter. Winner will need to get in contact and provide their postal address within 48 hours or the prize will be redrawn.
Happy playing,
Debs :)
Debs :)
{Disclosure: this is a post sponsored by On the Gro. We received the imaginabox oven and aeroplane to trial and review for the post. Opinions expressed in this post, as always, are my own}