EXPO Dry Erase Markers 8 Count

 EXPO dry erase markers have been around forever. Well whiteboards have been around since about 1975. I am not sure when the first box of EXPO markers were made, but by the 1990's they became a staple in classrooms and office buildings. All teachers use EXPO dry erase markers every day. They work very well. They come off with minimal effort. Here is a classic 8 box of EXPO dry erase markers. They come in many different sizes from 6, to 12 to 16 count.

This blog post contains affiliate links.

Color Information
Boxes:  8 EXPO dry erase markers chisel tip
What's inside the box: pink, red, orange, green, blue, violet black, brown
Purchase Information: Target
Where to buy: Amazon

Collecting Information
Supplies:  8 EXPO dry erase markers chisel tip
Other Boxes: 6, to 12 to 16 count
Year: 2014
Product Number: 1912885
Company Name: Newell Rubbermaid Office Products
UPC Numbers: 071641001565
Manufacturing Location:  It says assembled in USA
Where to buy: Amazon

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How to Make a Stain Glass Window with Crystal Effects Markers

 Do your kids like window markers? Mine absolutely LOVE window markers, especially the Crayola Window Markers Crystal Effects. We decided to make a stain glass window using the markers.

This blog post contains affiliate links.

Crayola Crystal Effects markers go on clear when wet and then crystallize as they dry.
To do this project gather some painters tape and some Crystal Effects Markers. Click here to get some.
Next use the tape to make your pattern on the window.
Start coloring it in. It can be colored all the same color or different colors.
Isn't it so pretty?
Next remove the tap and like magic there is stain glass window art.
The finished product.
Bonus cleaning tip. Make sure to wipe it down more than once. The residue gets on the rag or paper towel.
And leaves a residue that crystallizes over and over again. It will eventually get better. It takes a few passes to get it completely clean.

Hope this project is super fun for you! Let me know if you try it. Here is the link again to get the markers.
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Up and Up School Supplies from Target

Up & Up are school supplies that are made by Target. I have the washable markers, #2 pencils and watercolors. There are more supplies such as crayons, glue, pencil sharpeners, index cards, colored pencils, pocket portfolios, construction paper, scissors, erasers, dry erase markers, compass/protractor, spiral notebooks, sticky notes, highlighters, mechanical pencils, binders, composition notebook, pocket folder, school caddies, paper trays, paint and marker pads, drawing paper, printer paper, drawing book, paper clips, legal pads, glue sticks, and zipper binders. They make a lot of stuff. Target often does this with many items. They have store brands. It is usually cheaper than the other brands. The quality is pretty good. I have bought up & up for my kids school supplies before. I also have a box of crayons, but I do not have a picture yet. I will post those when I get those taken. 

I received the following items from Target. All opinions are my own. This blog post contains affiliate links.

Here is the color information for the markers. The watercolors are not named.

Color Information
Boxes:  10 Up & Up Washable Markers, Classic Colors
What's inside the box: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, black, gray, brown
Purchase Information: Received from Target
Where to buy: Target.com
Collecting Information
These supplies from Up & Up would be great supplies to collect. They will probably change over the years and may entirely disappear. It is interesting they put on the back of the box of markers and watercolors they are not manufactured or distributed by Crayola.
Supplies: 10 Up & Up Washable Markers, Classic Colors, 8 Up & Up Watercolors, 8 No. 2 Up & Up Pencils
Other Boxes: See opening paragraph
Year: 2017 (pencils), 2019 (markers and watercolors)
DPCI (Target's locating code): 081020541R00 (pencils), 081043074R00 (markers), 081043071R00 (watercolors)
UPC Numbers: 07258710085 (pencils), 842463139411 (markers), 8122960022259 (watercolors)
Manufacturing Location:  China (markers, watercolors), Indonesia (pencils)
Where to buy: Target.com



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Crayola Bulk Gold and Silver Crayons

Before Crayola came out with Metallic Effects crayons they sold the Metallic Effect box which was two of each gold, silver, and copper in a box. In 1995 Crayola put gold and silver in bulk crayon boxes. They still do this today, but they are not in these cool boxes. The boxes are different from the regular boxes in they are white with a dark green border.

This blog post contains affiliate links.
Color Information 
Boxes: Crayola 1 Dozen Crayons Bulk, Gold and Silver
What's inside the box: 
12 Silver Crayons and 12 Gold Crayons
Purchase Information: from fellow collector
Where to buy: eBay
Collecting Information
This is a lightly collectible boxes because they are hard to find.
Boxes: 12 Silver Crayons and 12 Gold Crayons
Other Boxes: These are the only boxes I know of.
Year: 1995
Style Numbers: 52-0836
Code Numbers: 52-0836-9-084 (Silver), 52-0836-9-083W (Gold)
UPC Numbers: 071662022969 (Gold), 071662022785 (Silver)
Manufacturing Location: USA
Where to buy: eBay

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Teach About Magnets with Magformers, Stick-O and Blockaroo Toys for Preschool-Early Elementary

My kids are going to be at home three days a week next year. 2 days of school and 3 days of remote learning. Remote learning means they get some work from their teachers and more learning from me.  These Magformers, Stick-O and Blockaroo Toys will be excellent teaching tools for all of my kids. These sets can be pulled out for free play or for a mini lesson.

All these toys were provided in exchange for an honest review. This blog post contains affiliate links.
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The Perfect Self Portrait Activity for School #Trueselfie

Back to School is right around the corner and it could not be a more perfect time for Crayola to introduce some new crayons and a new project. These crayons are Confetti and Colors of the World. Both can be found at Walmart. To help celebrate the Colors of the World Crayons I joined with Crayola in the #Trueselfie challenge. The kids drew their own self portrait and I used the Color Camera App from the app store to draw some True Selfies. They came out great and really reflected our interests and personalities.

Read on to see tips on how to help kids make their own selfies and how to use the Color Camera App to make a selfie.

Crayola sent us a bunch of supplies to make our selfies. (All opinions are our own).
This is my sons portrait. He really, really likes red. And has for a while. He has red shoes, red backpack, red shorts, a Crayola red bedspread, and a red lamp. In back of him is a train. The inside of the train is right by his head. He started to use orange for his skin. I reminded him that the Colors of the World colors were there and he found his perfect color! I really liked this paper. It is the premium white construction paper. It is thick like card stock and holds the ink really well.

How to Make Selfies
To make True Selfies first find the perfect paper to use. My daughter used a sketchbook. My son and I used Project Premium White Construction Paper. 

Next get out a bunch of supplies for the kids to make their own selfies. Mixing mediums (markers and crayons) is great and is something I highly encourage. I also recommend pulling out that Crayola box of 24-120 crayons to mix with the Colors of the World. Also have the kids find other supplies they want to use. We did not use the stencils, but I am excited to use these giant coloring pages with stencils this coming school year.
My daughter pulled in Confetti, Metallic, Pearl and Glitter crayons.
My kids also pulled in Paint Brush Pens because they are obsessed with them. 

Next have the kids start drawing!
This is my daughters finished project. She really likes nature and making trees with the Paint Brush Pens. She likes to go on lots of adventures. She drew herself as a dragon adventurer with dragon wings and an air tank for high elevations. She also drew her pet dragon Bristle. It really captures her personality.
The last picture shows how to use the Crayola Camera App. Upload a picture. It will turn the picture into a coloring page. Then it can be printed and colored. This is a picture of me with Taylor Swift. I am currently obsessed with her new Folklore album right now. We listen to it every day. I colored this picture before but I could not get our skin and hair colors right. Using the Colors of the World crayons helped so much.
I hope you enjoy these #trueselfie portraits we made and can make them with your own family. Make sure to use the hashtag #trueselfie and tag Crayola and me on Instagram so we can see what you made!


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Blue Ribbon Crayola Crayon, One Hundred Billion

In 1996 Crayola celebrated in a major way by making it's 100,000,000,000 or one hundred billion crayon. To commemorate this occasion Fred Rogers, aka Mister Rogers visited the Crayola Factory in February 1996, and poured the wax for the one hundred billionth crayon. 1 million commemoration blue ribbon crayons were made and put in a special limited edition 96 count box. Ten of the blue ribbon crayons were wrapped in gold foil, the winner won a trip to the opening of the Crayola Factory and a chance to win the one hundred billionth crayon. The winner of this crayon Darlen Martin won the crayon and sold it back to Crayola for $100,000. If it had been me there would have been no way I would have given it back haha. There were also crayons wrapped in silver and red foil. The silver crayons got a giant blue ribbon crayon replica and the red ones got a plush toy. I was able to secure my hands on one of these blue ribbon crayons. It looks like they were also sold separately at the Crayola Store at the Crayola Factory. Thanks Ed Welter for your info on this!

This blog post contains affiliate links.

Collecting Information
This is a highly collectible crayon because it is hard to find.
Crayon: blue ribbon crayon commemorating 100,000,000,000 Crayola Crayons!
Other Boxes: This crayon is also contained in a special limited edition 96 count box. It comes in gold, silver, and red foil. 
Year: 1996
Manufacturing Location: USA
Where to buy: eBay (may be hard to find)

Here is the wrapper for the blue ribbon crayon.




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How to Beat Homeschool Boredom with Tutti Frutti Modeling Dough

My kids have been home since March and I found out they will be home for at least 3 days a week at least this next school year. Our school is doing remote learning 3 days and in school learning 2 days a week. The school is operating at 50% capacity. This means they will need more things to do at home. I plan on doing some structured learning with them, All About Spelling and some science/social studies. But I also want them to have some free play activities. I was sent this Tutti Frutti Scented Ice Cream set in exchange for an honest review. 

This blog post contains affiliate links
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168 Crayola Crayon Tub Featuring Colors of the World Exclusive Collection

To say I was over the moon about the 168 Crayola Crayon Tub featuring Colors of the World Crayons is an understatement. I was over the moon times ten! I was even more excited when Crayola sent it to me after Sweet Suite before it was released in stores. It made my day times ten. Seriously whenever Crayola sends me a package its like it is my birthday or Christmas (since that is what I typically get for those holidays haha). Last birthday I got like 7 Crayola items from family...This is an honest review and I am super excited.

There is also a 240 crayon tub with the same design.

This blog post contains affiliate links.

The crayon tub is available exclusively at walmart.com right now and will be in Walmart stores exclusively 10/12/2020. 

Ever since Crayola released their Pearl, Glitter, Metallic and Neon 24 count boxes I wondered if they would be incorporated into a larger crayon box. Crayola had the 150 crayon tower in 2009, then introduced the 152 ultimate crayon collection in 2013. Since the beginning of Crayola their boxes have been getting larger and larger (48, 64, 96, 120, 150, 152). There is a 200 crayon tub available, but the colors are not unique. I really hope a larger crayon box stays around because I think it would be great to include the new 24 Colors of the World crayons as standard crayons in the large crayon box.

What's In the Box

 The 168 Crayola Crayon Tub Exclusive Collection features 32 specialty crayons (7 glitter, 9 metallic, 8 confetti, and 8 pearl crayons), and 24 colors of the world crayons. The Confetti crayons are a new set of crayons released in 2020 based on the past box of Color Mix-Up crayons. I already took arranged them in color order. I integrated the Colors of the World with the rest of the colors.

The box features coloring book sleeves. The sleeves are mermaid, space, cabin, unicorn, miner, ice cream mountain, alien, boom box and space themed. There is a road or a river running on each sleeve that connects with the next sleeve. There are 5 different sleeve themes and 9 sleeves in the box. The 24 Colors of the World come in their own box. 

Color Information 

Boxes: Crayola 168 Crayon Tub featuring Colors of the World Crayons
What's inside the box: 
wisteria, orchid explosion, lavender, bubble gum, berry parfait, mauvelous, orchid, pink flamingo, tickle me pink, carnation pink, salmon, medium deep rose, light medium rose, light rose, very light rose, light almond, very light almond, piggy pink, fuchsia, red violet, magenta, jazzberry jam, cerise, purple pizzazz, hot magenta, razzle dazzle rose, shocking pink, apple orchard, pink sherbet, razzmatazz, violet red, wild strawberry, red, maroon, big dip o' ruby, deep rose, radical red, wild watermelon, melon, mango tango, confetti sunset, red orange, sunset orange, scarlet, orange, yellow orange, outrageous orange, vivid tangerine, neon carrot, atomic tangerine, sunset shimmer, macaroni and cheese, banana mania, sunglow, unmellow yellow, apricot, peach, light golden, very light golden, extra light almond, gold, gold fusion, party fish, sunset luau, metallic sunburst, campfire jamboree, goldenrod, canary, laser lemon, yellow, sun shower, spring green, green yellow, inchworm, electric lime, sea glass, olive green, forest green, asparagus, screamin' green, yellow green, granny smith apple, green, shamrock, pine green, jungle green, tropical rain forest, leafy canopy, robin's egg blue, aquamarine, metallic seaweed, tropical shower, aqua fizz, blue green, wild blue wonder, sky blue, fire in the sky, ocean foam, turquoise blue, periwinkle, acid wash jeans, midnight blue, navy blue, pacific blue, cerulean, cornflower, blue bell, blue, iron indigo, denim, bluetiful, indigo, outer space, cadet blue, lavender burst, moonlit pond, eggplant, purple mountains' majesty, blue violet, royal purple, violet (purple), vivid violet, razzmic berry, plum, manatee, silver sparks, silver, gray, timberwolf, beaver, extra deep rose, very deep rose, deepest almond, extra deep almond, extra deep golden, very deep almond, blast off bronze, copper, deep almond, sepia, brown, deep golden, medium deep almond, fuzzy wuzzy, chestnut, mahogany, bittersweet, burnt sienna, burnt ornage, tan, medium deep golden, raw sienna, medium almond, desert sand, rose parade, tumbleweed, medium golden, light medium golden, light medium golden, light medium almond, blizzard blast, new years' eve, meteor shower, white, carnival corn, black
Purchase Information: received from Crayola at Sweet Suite 2020
Where to buy: Walmart.com currently and in stores 10/12

What Did I Think?

I absolutely love the tub. It is super easy to close. The lid really locks when it is closed. It is made out of sturdy material. Once the crayons are dumped out their sleeves and that ALWAYS happens with kids it is nice to have a storage container to put the crayons in. That is what happens with crayons and other supplies in our house. They stay nice for a while and eventually end up all in a container mixed together.

I think it is a great idea to have a larger crayon box. I think it would be great to have the Colors of the World crayons and the pearl, glitter, metallic and neon crayons in a large crayon box for good. I would love to have all the extra specialty crayons in a box, almost 240 crayons. Having the Colors of the World crayons with the other crayons provides kids with the opportunity to use the vibrant colors from Crayola and put themselves in whatever imaginative world they create from jungles, to woods, to tropical locations, to every day locations of school, home, vacations etc.

If the larger box sticks around I might like a crayon tower or ultimate collection type of container to store them in maybe. I am torn because I do like the tub idea because it closes and the crayons would not accidentally get spilled all over like they do with the 152 crayon crayons. I understand there are limitations with one off designs (tooling to make a new container) and a tub is easy design solution to insert different number of sleeves into. The only reason I would want a unique box is the sleeves fit inside the box tight. I fixed that by putting one sleeve up with the Colors of the World crayons.

Collecting Information
This is a great box to collect. It may be around a long time, it may be around a short time, but it is a great piece of Crayola history especially with the new Colors of the World box.

Boxes: Crayola 168 Crayon Tub featuring Colors of the World Crayons
Other Boxes: 240 Crayola crayon tub.
Year: 2020
Style Numbers:  52-3455
Code Numbers:  52-3455-0-700
UPC Numbers: 071662134556
Manufacturing Location: USA with tub from Germany
Where to buy: Walmart.com currently and in stores 10/12


Here is the inside sleeve.
Here is the other side of the sleeves.



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Crayola Discovery Limited Edition Crayons

In the year 1997 Crayola came out with the Crayola Discovery Limited Edition crayons. The crayons had six themes:
  • No. 1 North American Wild Animals 
  • No. 2 Ocean Dive
  • No. 3 Space Walk 
  • No. 4 Jungle Safari 
  • No. 5 Desert Oasis
  • No. 6 Bugs 
The crayons came in crayon boxes and then were put in tins. This smashed the flap of the crayon boxes. Some of the crayon tins, the space walk and the ocean boxes contained new crayon names. The others did not. Both of these tins also contained collector cards and fun activities, the others did not. The ocean boxes and the space walk boxes also contained a crayon box called Discovery Limited Edition crayons. I do not know why only these boxes got new crayons names, collector cards and special boxes. The Jungle and Desert boxes contained themed crayons. The North American and Bugs contained select crayons.

Color Information 
Boxes:  No. 1 North American Wild Animals, No. 2 Ocean Dive, No. 3 Space Walk, No. 4 Jungle Safari , No. 5 Desert Oasis, No. 6 Bugs 
What's inside the box: 
  • No. 1 North American Wild Animals: carnation pink, red, sunset orange, orange, dandelion, yellow, forest green, mountain meadow, green, pine green, robin's egg blue, blue, midnight blue, purple mountain majesty, violet (purple), shadow, black, timberwolf, silver, white, fuzzy wuzzy brown, brown, copper, beaver
  • No. 2 Ocean Dive: squid tan, sunken treasure, ocean floor (brown), sandy beach, shark skin gray, cultured pearl, mussel shell black (black), jellyfish purple (violet), coral purple, deep sea (blue), dolphin fin, caribbean sea, pacific ocean, aquamarine, sea serpent green (green), ocean green pearl, sunfish yellow (yellow), electric eel yellow, seahorse beige, shrimp (orange), lobster red (red), salmon, tropical reef mauve, starfish lavender
  • No. 3 Space Walk: saturn's ring, blast-off, pulsar pink, mercury red (red), solar flare (orange), jupiter orange, after-burner orange, sun glow, starlight yellow (yellow), lift-off lime, martian green (green), moonbeam blue, galaxy blue (blue), venus violet (violet), space shuttle white, comet tail, [twinkle, twinkle, little star], satellite gray, black hole (black), asteroid brown (brown), moon rock, galactic gold
  • No. 4 Jungle Safari: lavender, orchid, hot magenta, cerise, red, outrageous orange, orange, banana mania, yellow, fern, green, jungle green, tropical rain forest, teal blue, sky blue, blue, violet (purple), black, gray, white, copper mahogany, brown, gold
  • No. 5 Desert Oasis: thistle, fuchsia, red, burnt orange, sunset orange, outrageous orange, orange, sunglow, yellow, green yellow, yellow green, green, sky blue, blue, violet (purple), black, shadown, gray, white, tumbleweed, brown, copper, desert sand, gold
  • No. 6 Bugs: orchid, fuchsia, red, red orange, orange, vivid tangerine, yellow orange, goldenrod, yellow, laser lemon, olive green, green, sky blue, denim, blue, violet (purple), wisteria, black, gray, white, brown, chestnut, tan
Purchase Information: fellow collector
Where to buy: eBay

I will do the collecting information on each tin separately since there are so many of them. They all have the same UPC number. The crayon boxes used are generic 24 crayon boxes, but the colors in them are not the standard 24 crayons. The tins were made in the years 1997, 1998 and 2000.

No. 1 North American Wild Animals Discovery Crayons
Collecting Information
Boxes: No. 1 North American Wild Animals Discovery Crayons
Year: 2000 (tin), 1999 (crayon box)
Style Numbers:  52-0424 (tin), 52-3024 (24 crayons)
Code Numbers:  52-0424-0-911 (tin), 52-3024-0-211 (24 crayons)
UPC Numbers: 071662874247 (tin), 071662000240 (24 crayons)
Manufacturing Location:  Crayons-USA

No. 2 Ocean Dive Discovery Crayons
Collecting Information
Boxes: No. 2 Ocean Dive Discovery Crayons
Year: 1997 (tin), 1997 (crayon box)
Style Numbers:   (tin), 52-3024 (24 crayons)
Code Numbers:   (tin), 52-3024-0-250 (24 crayons)
UPC Numbers:  (tin), no UPC (24 crayons)
Manufacturing Location:  Crayons-USA


No. 3 Space Walk Discover Crayons
Collecting Information
Boxes: No. 3 Space Walk Discover Crayons
Year: 1997 (tin), 1997 (crayon box)
Style Numbers:  52-0424 (tin), 52-3024 (24 crayons)
Code Numbers:  52-0424-0-905 (tin), 52-3024-0-250 (24 crayons)
UPC Numbers: 071662874247 (tin), no UPC (24 crayons)
Manufacturing Location:  Crayons-USA


No. 4 Jungle Safari Discovery Crayons
Collecting Information
Boxes: No. 4 Jungle Safari Discovery Crayons
Year: 1998 (tin), 1997 (crayon box)
Style Numbers:  52-0424 (tin), 52-3024 (24 crayons)
Code Numbers:  52-0424-0-915 (tin), 52-3024-0-208 (24 crayons)
UPC Numbers: 071662874247 (tin), 071662000240 (24 crayons)
Manufacturing Location:  Crayons-USA

No. 5 Desert Oasis Discovery Crayons
Collecting Information
Boxes: No. 5 Desert Oasis Discovery Crayons
Year: 1998 (tin), 1997 (crayon box)
Style Numbers:  52-0424 (tin), 52-3024 (24 crayons)
Code Numbers:  52-0424-0-910 (tin), 52-3024-0-208 (24 crayons)
UPC Numbers: 071662874247 (tin), 071662000240 (24 crayons)
Manufacturing Location:  Crayons-USA

No. 6 Bugs Discovery Collection
Collecting Information
Boxes: No. 6 Bugs Discovery Collection
Year: 2000 (tin), 1999 (crayon box)
Style Numbers:  52-0424 (tin), 52-3024 (24 crayons)
Code Numbers:  52-0424-0-910 (tin), 52-3024-0-211 (24 crayons)
UPC Numbers: 071662874247 (tin), 071662000240 (24 crayons)
Manufacturing Location:  Crayons-USA

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