A Pen By Any Other Name…?

It seemed like such a good idea. In fact, it seemed like a GREAT idea. But alas, I tested the Westcott hot glue pen, and it was not to be!

When it comes to projects and paper engineering, we use quite a lot of hot glue here at Pop Goes the Page. In fact, during story time, Katie and I always run two hot glue stations, each with two glue guns at the ready. We use book carts, which are terrific as mobile glue stations – just the right height to work on, and wheeled if we need to move them out of the way quickly.

We use standard mini glue guns, but when I spotted the Wescott glue pen whilst shopping (retails for around $8), I wanted to give it a shot. Especially if it allowed a little more control when it comes to distributing glue. Sadly, it did not work. This one might end up on a blog fail list someday!

To give credit where credit is due, the glue pen heated up nicely and was easy to hold. The fatal flaw, however, was the loading mechanism. Ideally, you load the hot glue sticks in, slide the little tab (the instructions call it the “handle”) to the rear of the pen, plug it in, and once heated, it’s ready to use. As you compress the trigger button, the glue is supposed to distribute nicely as both dabs and a steady clean line.

Nope. When I pressed the trigger, the handle released down the entire length of the pen, causing it to snap down on my finger. The glue glopped out, and then just stopped. As you can see in the image below, I tried several time. It never worked. I even unlplugged it and tried again. Nooooope. A dozen times this thing snapped on my finger!

While this was a great product idea, the mechanism was unfortunately faulty. We’ll be sticking to our standard glue guns and the elusive hot glue pen will remain, for now, a mythical entity yet to be discovered.

Fortune at Your Fingertips

Needing some answers? No problem! We tested this set of Mystical Fortune Teller pencils offered by Snifty. Yes, for a mere $10, you have the opportunity for 10 unique answers to your most burning queries.

The pencils appear solid black, but when you ask your question and rub them, the answer slowly appears (along with some mystical stars and moon graphics!). It did take a fair amount of rubbing to get the message to appear, so be a bit patient and persistent!

Eventually, the message fades back to its original state. The packaging also warns you not to put the pencils in direct sunlight. So of COURSE I ran outside and did that very thing. The pencils are essentially heat activated – so the hot sun made the messages appear. I also accidentally left them in my hot car and the same thing happened.

I gave these pencils to my 12 year-old and she LOVED them and shared them with her friends. Lots of questions and giggles going on. These would be great in a gift basket, goody bag, prize bin, mystery party, or magic program. They are fun, and I definitely recommended them!

Pop’s Top 10: Fabulous Fails

acid drops 2

We make (and get) ourselves into a lot of messes here at Pop Goes the Page, and today we are honoring all those…uh…valuable learning experiences by counting down Pop’s Top 10 fails, misfires, and whoopsies!


#1 GINORMOUS FORTUNE COOKIE

cookie progress 2Our first fail comes from the kitchen of Katie, where a fortune cookie recipe test took a turn for the huge. Mis-measuring the batter resulted in a giant mega cookie that appears to be smirking at all the other cookies.


#2 UNFOCUSED LAPIN

blurry flashlight bunny 5ALWAYS test your light source. Not all beams are created equal! As we quickly discovered when our oatmeal container projector resulted in an unfocused, blobby bunny.


#3 PANTS BEWARE

deflated messLearned this one the hard way – and so did our carpets and clothing. Erasable chalkboard ink enthusiastically liberates itself from deflated balloons. And it makes a mess. A permanent MESS. Oooooo such a mess.


#4 DASHING DOGS 

more puppy post 1It took SIX tries to get Katie’s pup Finley to simply walk down the hallway with a mailbox strapped to his back. And the one time it worked? Watch the video closely, because a piece of mailbox literally breaks off in transit and drops to the floor! Argh!


#5 WATER WORKS

full tin foil sheetOur program at a local community pool was going swimmingly, until the entire waterway leaked like mad and beached all the boats. Yes, in hindsight we should have reinforced the seams of the tin foil with packing tape…but ah well!


#6 TODDLER TORNADO

teddy bear picnic afterWhat started as a lovely bucolic picnic scene quickly devolved into chaos at a baby and toddler program. The hardest hit was a lovely contact paper river. We foolishly thought the adhesive would anchor it a little. But no. It lasted about 5 minutes before being twisted and crunched into a slouching shadow of its former self.


#7 THE FAMOUS FUDGE INCIDENT

foojYes. That is fudge in a CUP. One of Pop’s most classic fails, Katie learned how woefully temperamental fudge making can be. However! It should be noted that she made a triumphant comeback a few years later, with the assistance of Toni & Slade Morrison’s Peeny Butter Fudge recipe!


#8 CAUGHT PINK-HANDED

Otherwise know as the day I turned my bathtub and hand pink. It was supposed to be a simple project, but the art materials juuuuuust weren’t cooperating. But in my defense, who knew cellophane could be so vengeful?


#9 WHEN CANDY GOES BAD

dr. dana taste tests burned acid drop

Another classic from the kitchen of Katie. Long story short, the Harry Potter acid drops recipe went horribly wrong and turned black. The second batch welded your teeth shut. I insisted on trying both batches, and, well, a picture speaks a thousand words.


#10 NOT TO BURST YOUR BALLOON…

balloon progressWhile doing research for a Willy Wonka escape room, I attempted to turn myself into a giant blueberry by shimmying into a 6ft latex balloon that would snap around my neck. The process also required the use of a leaf blower. How could this scenario possibly go wrong???