Being a work at home mom is really quite a blessing. I meet a lot of challenges, but wouldn't trade being able to be home with my son for anything in the world. Next year, B will start pre-school, and I can hardly believe it's almost time for him to be out of the house for a few days a week. It may seem that being home with a little one is all fun and games, but the truth of the matter is that we have a pretty structured day. Before the school year began for 2013-2014, I decided that I really wanted to follow a homeschooling lesson plan with B. I want him to be challenged and to have some fun learning experiences with me, before he heads off to a real classroom.

So, I try to find fun, interesting activities for us to do at home, and incorporate those into our lessons. We usually do a daily project or activity, and sometimes, there's only so much you can do with construction paper or dough. I was so happy to connect with Colortime Crafts and Markers over the holiday break. I'd certainly heard or them, and had even seen them popping up in other places, so I was eager to learn more about them. Colortime Crafts and Markers made their debut in the 90's, with a big warehouse in Long Island, where creating wearable art was definitely in fashion. Visitors to the warehouse enjoyed making wearable art and commented on how much fun it was to create, how easy it was, and how mess free it was, too! Colortime Crafts and Markers quickly caught on, and began offering their t-shirts, totes and more for customers to order- that way, they could do their crafts anytime and anywhere!

We were excited to team up with Colortime Crafts and Markers to see just how fun, clean and easy it is to color our own wearable craft at home!

Here's a bit of our package from Colortime Crafts, which included instructions and a vibrant postcard...

Our kit also included three fabric markers to use with the project. We received blue, green and yellow.

I was a little bit nervous about using the fabric markers with B. I knew I really needed to read up on them before I put them in the hands of my three-year-old. All of the information a parent could want, is located on the Colortime Crafts and Markers website. The fabric markers are an alternative to messy fabric paint. These easy to grip and easy to use fabric markers are designed to be used directly on fabric, with no heat setting. They are non-toxic, and fast drying. If the color does get onto your hands, it washes right off, but won't fade off of the fabric used in your project! The markers last a long time, if stored properly, and one marker can be used for up to 10-15 shirt projects.

Our complete craft kit from Colortime- three markers and a Recycle tote bag.

I was excited to see the Recycle Tote bag coloring craft. We talk about recycling a lot in our house, and we encourage B to help us with the recycling chores. A lot of the children's shows that he's interested in often talk about the importance of recycling, so it wasn't an entirely new concept to him.

Our kit include these instructions on what to do or what not to do before starting our project.

It's really easy to just skip over instructions like this, but since we'd never used Colortime Crafts and Markers before, I really wanted to make sure I was doing everything correctly, to ensure the safety of my son, and to make sure we weren't going to do anything to compromise the project. I was glad to read that I didn't need to wash the tote bag before coloring on it, and that it could be washed after it had been decorated. You must wait two full hours after coloring to wash a product, to be sure that it's really dry all the way.

We're ready to color the Earth and talk about recycling!

B was very excited to color his new tote bag. To protect his clothing, I had him wear an old t-shirt, and also his craft/project smock over it. Since we were using the fabric markers, they would have stained his regular clothing if we had any accidents with them. B definitely had to have some help from mommy with coloring the tote, but we had a lot of fun coloring and talking about the ways we can be good to our planet, and what types of things we can recycle.

Our finished tote looks great and we can't wait to use it!

Using the fabric markers to color the tote was a breeze. They're large in size, so they're easy for little hands to grip. We even wrote B's name on the tote (together), so if it happens to get misplaced, the person who finds it will know who it belongs to. One of the ways we can be good to the Earth, is by using re-usable bags, such as this. When I asked B what he thought he'd like to use his new tote bag for, he immediately called out, 'library books!' So, it looks like we'll be using this as our new library book tote bag. I couldn't think of a better use for it!

We had so much fun coloring this special tote bag from Colortime Crafts and Markers! They have such a large selection of totes like this one, backpacks/cinch sacks, t-shirts, pillowcases, bandanas, and more! Plus, they have lots and lots of fabric markers in tons of colors!

Check out some of these other great products by Colortime Crafts and Markers...

Girl Scout Cookies T-Shirt

Party Rock Pillowcase

Hidden Treasures Backpack

Plush Tee (Bear not included)

If you have a big party coming up, or are a teacher, organize a day camp or manage a group like Scouts and want to really give the kids a fun activity to do, check out all of the wonderful products available from Colortime Crafts and Markers! It'll be an activity the kids and take home and enjoy for years to come!

Want It? Buy It!

To learn more about Colortime Crafts and Markers, head on over to their website and take a look around. There are so many fun products to choose from, and lots of markers, too! You can also connect with Colortime Crafts and Markers on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Colortime Crafts and Markers also has some special offers for MBP readers. Check these out:

15% off online retail purchases.

Use coupon code 15for30C when you check out at colortime.com. Coupon must be entered at the time of purchase. Offer not valid on sale items and may not be combined with other offers or discounts.

Offer expires on March 23, 2014.

Free Shipping:  Free ground shipping on orders over $60. In the continental US. Only for retail, web-based orders, placed on our website. Not to be combined with any other offers and discounts.

To get the free shipping, use code FRSH11W.

Ongoing Weekly Facebook Giveaway: Colorime Crafts and Markers also has a weekly giveaway on their Facebook page. Click here to check it out!

Want It? Win It!

One lucky MBP reader will win their own set of Colortime Crafts and Markers Recycle Tote Bag with three fabric markers, just like the ones we received for review. Giveaway is open to US residents, 18 and older. Ready to enter? Just use the Raflecopter giveaway form below to enter for your chance to win!

Special thanks to Colortime Crafts and Markers for sending us this fun tote and markers set to review and for offering this fun and educational giveaway for our readers!

Good luck!