New Product Review: Recordable Envelope

image by Heather Holbrook

I recently got the coolest little envelope. It’s from DinoTalk, and it’s a gift card sized plain white envelope, from their Naked Collection, and you can record your own 10 second message inside, how totally cool is that?! They carry envelopes that are already decorated but of course as a stamper I want a plain one to decorate myself. I used Close To My Heart paper, ribbon and stamps to make a birthday themed envelope and recorded myself saying “Happy Birthday”, see my decorated envelope below. It was really easy to record the message, you open the flap, push the red button, record your message and when you’re happy with it pull the tab, put your gift card inside and close the flap. Now it’s ready to give to someone special, when they open the flap they’ll hear your record message. This is such a great idea, perfect for birthdays, weddings, baby gifts, etc. You could also put one inside of a scrapbook, great for baby’s first words or family Christmas carols, the ideas are endless.

Dinotalk Naked Collection also includes recordable ornaments (I LOVE this idea), a picture frame, paper and a larger envelope too.

-Heather

image by Heather Holbrook

Lots of Americans seem to think that May 5 is Mexican Independence Day, but that holiday actually falls on Sept. 16.

May 5 is the celebration of the Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexicans defeated the French in 1862. Independence Day marks the beginning of their fight for independence from Spain in 1810. That was the day of what’s known as El Grito de Dolores, or the cry of Dolores, for when the Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the church bells at his church in Dolores and declared that Mexico should be free from Spanish rule.

They would fight for their freedom until 1821 when they finally gained independence.

Fabulous Classroom has a little of the history and ideas for celebrating the holiday for all age groups. There’s also a link to a good video in that post about the real story of Mexican Independence Day.

Twinkl also has a good tops about the history and different activities, discussion ideas, crafts and foods that can be incorporated into lessons at school or used at home.

I also found a few pins that no longer link to a website but include good information on Mexican Independence Day, including some questions for students to answer based on the reading. You can find more printables and questions for kids from TX Homeschool Mama on Etsy (also available in Spanish).

You can find a lot more paid resources about Mexican Independence Day at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Mexican flag crafts are a fun option for celebrating Mexican Independence Day (though the current iteration of their flag has only been in use since 1968). Kids Activities Blog has a free Mexican flag printable and a few different ideas for decorating it including dot markers and torn tissue paper.

You can also find some great Mexican crafts at Red Ted Art. The post includes all sorts of Mexican inspired projects including Day of the Dead crafts, Frida Kahlo pinatas and upcycled musical instruments. I love the giant paper flowers they shared from Honestly WTF.

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