Product review: Rinlong Artificial Green Hydrangea Silk Flower

These artificial hydrangeas look pretty good, from a distance the flowers look quite real, the leaves looks a bit more artificial mostly because they are shiny. I ordered 5 stems and some of the small flowers broke off the main flower during shipping.  However, this made each blossom slightly different in size (I mean fullness) which made them look more real.

The flowers were slightly squashed in shipping and as the instructions suggested I fluff them up by hand while blowing them with hair dryer. I found that low volume on the hair dryer worked best. 

To fit the vase I wanted to display them I needed to shorter the stems.  I was able to cut the stems  by this method:  using regular scissors I cut the skin and then fatigued the metal wire inside of the stem by bending it back and forth as you see in my video.  The flowers are pretty.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Action Camera, SEENTRON 4K Ultra HD WiFi Waterproof Sports Camera

This action camera generates pretty decent video for such a small camera. The colors are good during the day when not shooting directly in sun.  Shooting in the sun is a challenging situation for any camera and this camera like many other overexposed the video if the sun is shining directly into the lens of the camera. In attached video you can video taken with the camera. My full size Cannon digital camera takes better video, but it is big and heavy and as a small size action camera the video quality of this camera is quite good.

This is a 4K camera.  On a 1080p monitor you cannot tell a difference between 1080p and 4K video, but if you own a 4K TV/monitor then you can take full advantage of 4K video.

The colors in the video are bright and accurate. Keep in mind that I am posting compressed video due to size limitation for the video clips, so viewing it as a thumbprint gives you the best approximation of the real thing.

The camera has an intuitive menu-driven interface, it also has WI FI that allows me to see what the camera sees on phone.  The camera comes with a nice set of accessories - I especially like the remote control to start/stop video and take photos.  It also include an extra battery and battery charger, as well as a spare battery for remote control. The package includes a large number of clamps and holders as well as a waterproof case. The camera is exactly the same size as GoPro camera and accessories designed for GoPro fit it.

The camera is take micro cards up to 64K class 10 card.  The card is my own, micro SD is not included in the package.

To recharge the camera takes about 5 hours from empty, I am getting about 3 hours of video on one battery, and this package includes two of them.  The camera can take video while charging if it is switched to the "auto" mode, so it can be used as a dash cam on a long drive.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Book review: Macrame Jewelry Paperback by Leisure Arts

This book teaches how to combine knots and beads to create your own jewelry. This book is 32 pages and contains 20 projects (on the left I included the picture index which shows every projected in the book). The instructions come with beautiful photographs, they help visual the projects and inspire new ideas. I have been having fun learning from this book. Pretty neat technique - fairly simple yet the results are really good looking.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product revieew: Aqueena Women's 100% Luxury Charmeuse Satin Square Silk Scarf

I got the scarf with the image of Van Gogh's Vase with 15 flowers.  This is a square scarf sized 34" x 34".  The quality of the silk is very nice - the material is nice thickness, silky and feels nice. The edges are nicely finished with rolled seams (hand-hammed). When the scarf arrived it had no scent.

The image is in the listing accurately portrait the vibrant yellow colors.  The size is nice - I can tie it in different ways but it also not too large, so it is not bulky. I am very pleased with the scarf: texture and color just what I expect from a nice quality silk scarf.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Rinlong Artificial Blue Hydrangea Silk Flower

These artificial hydrangeas look pretty good, from a distance the flowers look quite real, the leaves looks a bit more artificial mostly because they are shiny. I ordered 5 stems and some of the small flowers broke off the main flower during shipping.  However, this made each blossom slightly different in size (I mean fullness) which made them look more real.

The flowers were slightly squashed in shipping and as the instructions suggested I fluff them up by hand while blowing them with hair dryer. I found that low volume on the hair dryer worked best. 

To fit the vase I wanted to display them I needed to shorter the stems.  I was able to cut the stems  by this method:  using regular scissors I cut the skin and then fatigued the metal wire inside of the stem by bending it back and forth as you see in my video.  The flowers are pretty.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Drawstring Trash Bags E'YOBE 6 Gallon Trash Can Liners

 The E'YOBE trash bags are true size. I use 4 gallon Glad trash bags, the gold standard of small trash bags, to determine if this trash bags is sized appropriately. These bags are bigger then 4 gallon Glad bags by several inches in each direction. In attached photo you can see the yellow E'YOBE bag under the white Glad bag for size comparison.

E'YOBE bags is thinner than Glad bags, they are good for soft light trash. In one of the photos I show my hand inside the bag, I think it gives a good idea of the bag thickness and transparency.  The yellow bag is transparent and you can see the trash inside the bag.

Each bag length is 18" and the width of 22" when it is folded in half. The bag has the same width at the top and at the bottom.  The bag has a draw string, which works well to close the bag when it is ready to be thrown out. The package includes a total of four rolls, each roll has 60 trash bags.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Aqueena Men's&Women's 100% Merino Wool Scarf

This wool scarf has a perfect size - not too long and not too short just under 71" and just under 12" wide.  The length is enough to wrap around the neck and have the ends hanging down in the front  below the waist. This scarf is wool so it is not fluffy like cashmere scarves but it is pretty soft for a wool scarf, it is not itchy and quite warm.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Rinlong Artificial Peony Silk Flowers

These artificial peonies look very real. The blossoms are perfection, the leaves looks a little less so but still quite good.  Each stem has a fully open flower and a slightly open bud.  I ordered 5 stems and I like that the flowers are not identical, this makes them look even more real.

The flowers were slightly squashed in shipping and as the instructions suggested I fluff them up by hand while blowing them with hair dryer. I found that low volume on the hair dryer worked best.

To fit the vase I wanted to display them I needed to shorter the stems.  I was able to cut the stems  by this method:  using regular scissors I cut the skin and then fatigued the metal wire inside of the stem by bending it back and forth as you see in my video.  The flowers are lovely and look very real.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: ZERRO Self Healing Cutting Mat 36 X 24 INCHES

I am a quilter so I have a number of rotary cutting mats in various sizes. The things that I like most about this mat are the markings.  The markings are on all four sides of the map and they well marked thick solid lines - yellow on one isde and white on the other side. The measurements are in inches and grid lines are every 1/2".  In addition on one side you also have centimeter markings, they are next to inches not instead on inches so this mat is trully aimed at US quilters and crafters.

Most of my mats are self-healing Olfa mats. This mat is thicker than a typical Olfa mat. Olfa mats have marking on four edges as well, but only on one side. Self-healing properties of any cutting mats do not last for ever, so when both sides have markings it increases the useful life span of the mat.

After using this mat on several projects I am pleased with how cutting feels on this mat. Overall, excellent mat, it covers practically my entire sewing table, I really like how well it marked.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: ScopeAround Wireless Dental Intraoral Camera Oral Camera

My dentist has a similar camera and shows me various things as we discuss thing. I figured it would be useful to have one of these cameras of my own to see what is happening in my mouth when something hurts!

The camera paired with my phone easily, the app is called "ScopeAround" and is available from GooglePlay.  The only tricky thing was to figure out how to turn on the light on the camera as it was not mentioned in the documentation.  To turn on the camera you need to press the button for 2 seconds, to turn on the lights you need to touch the same button briefly after the small lights indicating the battery level are already turned on.  To turn off the camera you need to hold the same button for a few seconds.

I am including the video to show how it works - as you see the image is pretty sharp.  The camera met my expectations.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: TSS Men's Automatic Skeleton Watch with Stainless Steel Band

This is a beautiful mechanical watch. You can see the watch movement from the front and from the back.

In addition to the main dial it has two small dials and a date.  The date goes to 39 days every month, so you have manually advance it at the end of each month. The top button on the watch is the one that controls the date. This is typical of a cheaper watch movements as they have  have simple gears the first one 1,2,3 and the second one from 1 to 9.  The fancier movements have extra logic to know how to account for the end of the months dates, the simple gears do the same thing for 30s that they do for 20s.

The band is made out of heavy stainless steel. The clasp is easy to open one-handed. The band is 9.5" and was too wide for my husband's wrist. We were able to adjust it by removing links as you see in attached video.   The watch came with a link removal tool.  In attached video you can see my husband taking two links using this tool and a small hammer.  The pins are not spring pins which are common but a different design and are a little harder to take out.  It took more effort to pull them out of the watch and required the use of pliers.  But as you see in the video it was possible to do yourself without taking the watch to a watch repair shop.

The watch runs on a combination of manual winding and self winding from the arm swinging. On one full manual rewind (plus whatever little help the watch gets from self-winding) the watch ran for three days before it stopped.  This experiment was repeated several times and was pretty consistent.  My husband has a desk job, so he does not move his arm too much.  Someone who does a lot of activity during the day will get more benefit from self-winding.

This watch has a dark blue face (darker in person then in the stock photo). Some watches with dark faces are hard to read due to low contrast between the arms and the background, however this watch has silver arms that reflect art and the watch is easy to read.

The watch comes in attractive box with a pillow so this watch works well for gift giving.

Overall, this is a very attractive mechanical watch. 39 days per month require manual adjustment every month.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Scrub Daddy Sponge

Each sponge is 3.75" across and 1.5" thick.  Their texture is firmer compared to common Scott Sponges used for dish washing. Scrub Daddy sponges are best for cleaning cups and pots, not dishes.  The holes are useful for inserting my fingers so I can hold the sponge, but the mouth opening that is designed for washing spoons I am not finding all that useful.

The sponges did not have a smell right out of the package and so far are holding up okay. I have been using two of the four sponges for the last month.

Scrub Daddy on Amazon

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: ONEMIX Women's Air Cushion Running Shoes Lightweight Walking Jogging Gym Outdoor Exercise Drive Athletic Sneakers

I got these sneakers in June 2016, and they have become my favorite sneakers.
They  are incredible comfortable and I like the colors that match many of my outfits. I normally wear size 7 to 7.5 shoe and ordered size 7 sneakers (as it was the maximum size available at the time). They turned out to be a good fit, there is still about 1/2" left at the toe. They seem to fit somewhat looser than a typical size 7 shoe both in length and width (more like a 7.5 size). They provide good arch support and cushioning at the heel. The colors and the design are very attractive. The package included two sets of color coordinated shoe laces (the shoe laces are in solid purple and solid teal color).


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: OfficeGoods Electric and Battery Operated Stapler

This is a very easy to use stapler. It easily staple 20 lbs regular office paper, 25 sheets no problem.  I also used it in craft projects stapling heavy duty fabric together, also works very well.  I am using it plugged into the outlet (power cord is 6 feet long), but it can run on batteries as well.

The stapler comes loaded with staples.  To open the staple draw you need to push a button on the back of the stapler and the draw opens towards the front.  It works with regular standard staples, it accepts one full strip of staples at a time.

When I use my old manual stapler I often have to redo bent ot jammed staples.  This has not happened with OfficeGoods stapler so far!

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Olight HS2 400 Lumens Cree XP-G2 LED Rechargeable Headlamp

The most unique thing about this headlight is how light it is, it weighs only 4.2 oz.  This lightness is due to the headlamp constructions.  Despite the smallness and brightness of the light it provides good amount of light for almost any activity.

The headband adjust well, and I find it comfortable.

In attached video you can the amount of light it generates.   The battery pack is in the back and is rechargeable.  The headlight comes in a nice hard shell carrying case.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Rusee Acrylic Birdhouses with suction cups

We have a large number of bird feeders including four different window bird feeders. This bird feeder has one key feature that our feathered friends like. The birds love the little perch. In my video you can see how they use it to crack the seeds. We have another window bird feeder of a different style which does not have a perch and it was less popular until we glued a perch made out of a twig. As soon as we added this twig the bird feeder became more popular.

This is a wide bird feeder (11.75") but pretty short (5" tall). It is 4" front to back. I was not sure if our larger birds (blue jays and morning dives) will find it a bit short, but turns it is not a problem as you can see in the video. Several birds can visit it at the same time. Many birds do not mind sharing. Some do, and it is fun to watch the bully birds that make other birds leave (you can see a cardinal at the beginning of the video shoo away a small bird).

These bird feeders are not squirrel proofed, but as most bird watchers know there is no bird feeder that can stop a determine squirrel. For example, they learned to shake the bird feeder which closes under the weight of a creature that is heavier than a bird. So we no longer fight with squirrels, we just add more seeds to feed all creatures big and small.

The bird feeder is held by three suction cups. They provide sufficient suction power to hold the feeder, the seeds, the birds, and the squirrels. This bird feeder has a removable tray which makes it easier to clean.

Does the rain get into it? Yes. But the birds do not seem to mind. They are used to wet seeds on the trees.

What fun to see the birds so up close! If this is your first bird feeder it will likely that the birds will take a week to find it. For the first window bird feeder nothing happened for entire week, and then after a week my husband spread some seeds under the bird feeder and that seemed to help the birds find it. Now that we have a couple of window bird feeders it did not take them long to find the new one. The bird's favorite seeds are sunflower seeds. We spoiled the local bird population with sunflower seeds and if we put out the mixed seeds it barely gets touched where as the sunflower seeds disappear very quickly.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Product review: Jackery Bolt 6000 mAh External Battery with Built-in Lightning & Micro USB Cables

I like carrying an external battery in my purse so I am never caught with the discharged phone.  The batteries with built-in cables are my preferences so I don't have to carry another cable around.  This battery has one micro USB and lightening connector.  I would have preferred two micro-USB cables, but I can see how a manufacture might want to satisfy both Android and Apple market with the same product.

The battery  is 4.3" 1.9" x 0.9" with a maximum output of 2.4A. The battery weighs 6 oz. It recharge three devices at the same time - 1 Apple device, 1 micro-USB and one USB outlet to use with your own cable to charge whatever else you might need to charge.

What is nice is that this battery allows charge through charging, i.e. it can charge devices while it is being charged itself.  I often piggy bag my phone and battery in the car, so both are fully charged when we arrive to our distination.

The battery has a tiny flashlight. It is not very bright but useful in an emergency where there is no other light source.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Olight X7R Marauder 12000 Lumens CREE XHP 70 LED USB Rechargeable Flashlight

This is massive flashlight. It weights 1 poind and 7.3 oz. In one of the attached photos I show it on the 1/2" grid for size reference.  It similar in size to a can of soda. 

The light is extremely bright. It shipped locked (which means it does not turn on bright light until you unlock it).  To unlock it you need to hold down the on/off button for 3 minutes.

It has multiple modes, and on the brightest mode its light carries for over 1200 feet.  To change from mode to mode hold down the button and release when you are in the mode you want to use.

The package includes a holster and lanyard.

It runs on 3800 mAh battery and is rechargeable.  It is waterproof.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Funjewelryshop Kiwi Stud Earrings

This earrings are handcrafted and unique. I love the Kiwi design! The Kiwi looking center appears to be hand drawn and covered with acrylic in a silver-tone setting.  I am not sure of the metal material but I nickle allergy did not react to the metal, I am able to wear them all day long.  The earrings are lightweight (both earrings to together weigh 0.1 oz).  They are 1/2" in diameter. Watch out - they are not waterproof - so be careful if you get caught in the rain.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: MecArmy SGN3 160 Lumens CREE XP-G2 LED USB Rechargeable Keychain Flashlight

This is a very bright key-chain flashlight. Its size is 2.32" x 0.91" x 0.39". It feels solid and fairly heavy for its size. It is 10.1 oz in weight. Note it is heavier that Amazon description states.

The key-chain light is rechargeable, no need to hunt for new batteries! It also has multiple light modes: bright, dim, red, UV.  It is waterproof.

Nice set of features for such a small unit and it is very bright.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: NO SLIP CLIP by OfficeGoods – Paper Fasteners, Binder Clips & the Paper Clip - A New Way to Clasp Your Documents

This clip looks similar to a regular paper clip, but it just gently hugs the papers to hold them together.  The slips hold the papers very well, yet they can be removed and the papers have not signs of being bound together. The papers look better after the clip is removed compared to when I use paper clips which crease the paper a little bit.

The package comes with 40 clips, 20 of each size.  The smaller ones hold between 2 and 30 pages, the larger ones hold  from 2 to 50 pages.

Additional clips can be purchased separately here .


you can locate no slip clip on Amazon .

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Wireless Earbuds, Chin-Best Touch Control, Blouttooth earbuds

Chin best ear buds sound good and fit comfortably in my ear. The Bluetooth sounds nice and clear when I have the phone in my pocket, but at a longer distances then my pocket the bluetooth reception breaks up a bit. The ear bud fill my entire ear cavity but don't stick out.  I can wear these ear buds for several hours without any problems.

To charge them one must use a proprietary charging cradle.  The cradle works nicely, but it comes a very short charging cord which I found rather inconvenient. Fortunately, the cradle can be charged by any micro USB cable and I am using it with my own longer cable.  Play time of these ear buds is  2-3 hours one one charge.

Pairing with my phone was easy.  I needed to press my fingers on both ear buds at the same time for a few seconds and that started the pairing process.  The device appears as "i8s".

Overall, very comfortable fit, good sound. On the negative side one charge does not last all day.

YOu can locate these earbuds on Amazon


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: ZELITE INFINITY Bread Knife 8 inch - Japanese VG10 Super Steel

This is a very comfortable bread knife to work with. It has a slim handle that is ergonomically shaped. It feels great in my hand and makes the knife very easy to maneuver. The knife weighs 9.2 oz. The blade is very sharp! It works well on both soft bread and crusty breads.

It is ok for the dishwasher, but I always hand wash nice knives. They will last longer and there's no risk of them cutting the plastic coating on the appliance racks.

This knife has a beautiful finish, which looks like a marbled design. The higher quality of Japanese knives uses laminated steel which has this beautiful pattern. The use of laminated steel improves the strength and rust resistance of the blade (and it looks beautiful).

In attached video I use to cut two different breads, I've tried to show the clean cuts.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Funjewelryshop Colorful Violin Pendant Necklace Handmade

This necklace are handcrafted. Violin has a special meaning for me I really like the design.  The violine center appears to be hand drawn and covered with acrylic. It is presented in a silver-tone setting and has a rope-style silver-toned chain.   The necklace is lightweight (both chain and the pendant together weigh 0.2 oz).  The pendant is 1" in diameter and the chain is 16" long. The chain has a lobster closure, and operates smoothly.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Swissvita Dark Spot Corrector with AC-11 - Anti Spot Serum - Dark Spot, Age Spot and Acne Spot Remover

I have been using Swissvita Spot Corrector for a little over a month.  I think is a thick white cream with no scent.  I like that it has no scent so I can apply it before I go to bed. Sun spots is a tough problem and this cream is not a magic solution that makes them invisible.  The spots do appear slightly light in color then they were before, but not what I would describe as a major improvement.  I rank it as "OK" - I had no irritation, there is a slight improvement, and I like that it is unscented.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: aokway Heavy Duty Tire Inflator with auto cut off

This is a very fast tire inflator.  It works much faster than my old air pump.  My favorite feature is that I can pre-set it to stop at the pressure I desire. I do not have to stop and measure the pressure until I get it right.  The valve has a lever closure, so very little air escapes when I open and close it. I prefer it to the valve that require screwing in.

I attached video you see how I set it to the goal of 32 PSI.   At each step I double checked the pressure Aokway tire inflator was showing with another gauge and Aokway measurements matched the other gauge.

This inflator has a long power cable that allows me to reach the front and the back tires easily.  In addition it has a fairly long air hose (23.6 inches) that reaches the nozzle even if it is at the top of the wheel.  The unit weighs 3 pounds and 2.9 oz.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Eco Touch (LCC16) Leather Care - 16 oz

This solution cleans and conditions leather. I was particularly interested in a removing a black mark on my driver's seat. As you see in the video Eco Touch leather cleaner did it! The leather felt softer to touch and had a slight shine. However the seat is not slippery despite the shinier look. The cleaner has a mild fruity scent which I found pleasant.

Eco touch leather care a white creamy solution. The new bottle came with a foil seal which needs to be removed before using the solution.

Ingredients:
filtered water
cetyl esters (coconut-based conditioning agent)
glycerin (vegetable based conditioning)
fragrance
preservative


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★