Still 2kool4skool.. A follow up review from www.2kool4skool.com.au

A little under a year ago, I was approached by a local up and coming company who sought to put the 'cool' back into school.   Kathy and her team from 2kool4skool.com.au launched their fantastic online store that was filled to the brim with funky stationary products promising to 'rock your pencil case'  right down to the uber kool pencil case that you could fit all the goodies in.  With kids who regularly harassed me for Smiggle products I was more than a little excited to have a look see at their product range and happily road tested some of their products for back to school 2013. 

For those of you that didn't get to read the review, feel free to catch up here; http://www.severalkindsofcrazy.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/heading-back-to-school-with.html

Fast forward 11 months and I was happy to accept a follow up review to let you guys know how I found their products throughout the past year & if they were holding up. 

I am happy to report that I have so far been impressed with the products I was given for the review and the additional products that I purchased from 2Kool4Skool.com.au.  

One of the BEST products that I cannot recommend highly enough is the 2kool4skool book covers.. Available in exercise, A4 & Scrapbook size, they were an absolute winner for back to school 2013.  One year, no word of a lie I covered 120 books for the kids & at the end of it, I wished for such a product... Kathy made that wish come true! Not only was book covering 'effortless' I was proud of the books I sent in to school with the kids & still to this day I am proud when I see their books at school or when they come home, because they are still so neat & tidy. Check out my Stepdaughter's Music book and my Son's Homework Book (my personal fave design ~ peace).  These are two books that travel back & forth weekly & they still look fab! Imagine how shiny the ones that sit in their desks still look, top notch! The spines are still in great condition and with no rips or tears in the PVC I could easily reuse these next year if I wished.

The kids said the covers were great because their books were easily recognisable & lots of their friends commented on the cool designs and searched for the ice-block (the built in game on every cover). 

Their pencil cases withstood the test of time, albeit a zipper tag has fallen off, but that's not bad going for an item that's used daily.  When they bought them home over the last school holidays, I did a quick inventory of their supplies, gave the case a wipe over with a chux (so handy they are all PVC) and refilled them ready for 4th term (a red pencil & red felt pen are a necessity for term 4!) 

Their pencils, erasers & sharpeners were all well loved or pinched by the end of term 2, they were just that popular. Mr 8 often complained of his funky smart phone sharpener going walkabout & would always find it on a neighbouring desk.. He stopped taking his gym boot pencil case to school a few weeks into term 1 because he was getting too many girls stopping by his desk to check out his kool stuff, too much female attention.. I'm sure he won't be complaining about that in a few years.. 

I didn't complain though because I scored that pencil case for my teaching bag, where it gets tons of positive comments & stores all of the cool products I snaffled for myself including my favourite scented pens (strawberry is divine) and a stock of the double ended scented markers (yes I like smelly stuff ~ who doesn't!?) And with scents like Choc Chip Cookie & even Pizza, you won't be able to stop sniffing your pencil case.. {warning might result in odd looks LOL} 

I was absolutely devastated when our school announced that they were supplying the books for 2014 & along with that, slip covers for the books... How bummed was I?! Thankfully the school is allowing us to cover the kids books as I wasn't going to miss out on the exciting new range of covers that 2kool4skool has released for back to school 2014.  No way! And I highly doubt with our Principals taste that his covers will be half as cool.. :) 

So with all that in mind, I'd happily shop & continue to shop www.2kool4skool.com.au the staff are lovely, they still have a great presence on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Pinterest & really, who doesn't want to make back to school shopping easier... Pop over to their website & start checking them out.. You will not be disappointed & have many hours to gain NOT covering books!

 

You can find 2Kool4Skool here or follow them on Facebook to find out about all their cool upcoming products & stationary lines for cool stocking fillers and back to school 2014 here!  

For those that want to try out a fantastic pencil case from www.2kool4skool.com.au enter my giveaway below as I have 5 fab pencil cases to give away to my lucky readers. *Please note those that don't have Facebook, please just leave a blog post comment to enter :) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Linking up with Jess from 'Essentially Jess' for IBOT. 

 

Heading Back to School with 2Kool4Skool.com.au + Exciting Giveaway!!

To celebrate the launch of 2Kool4Skool's '26 Days of Kool Giveaways' I would like to introduce my readers to their great range of back to school products.  Please feel free to read my first ever review post below & be sure to enter my fantastic giveaway to win yourself some of these fantastic products!

I can hardly believe we are already over the half way mark in the kids school holidays and it's at about this time that the mind wanders to the dreaded impending 'back to school'. But unlike previous years I am more than happy with my back to school preparations thus far. 

Not only have I organised the kids uniforms and shoes, but I've also bought everything on their book lists and ordered some personalised labels from Stuck on You.  I thought this was pretty impressive in itself, BUT it's already all covered, labelled and ready to go!!! Super keen or what??

I must admit, I did have a little bit of motivation this year as I couldn't wait to try out the new products from 2kool4skool.com.au!  2Kool4Skool is an online business that specialises in reusable PVC Book Covers and cool coordinating stationery. I was first introduced to 2Kool4Skool late last year prior to the launch of their website and ever since I must say I have been very impressed. Impressed not only with their products, but also their friendly service, their dedication in getting a new business launched and their presence on social media. 

 

Some of the funky book covers and accessories for Mr 7's books.

 

So when it came to ordering supplies for back to school 2013 I didn't hesitate! I actually looked forward to jumping online and picking from their extensive range. The kids helped too, because I know they love stationery shopping (who doesn't!) and I loved the fact the website was so easy to use, stock was readily available,  postage was lightening fast, packaged perfectly and the order was spot on!

With 4 kids at school (3 Primary and 1 High school) back to school shopping is never a walk in the park for us but I found many of the back to school basics such as pencil cases, lead pencils, crayons, erasers, rulers and pens through 2Kool4Skool. The kids all chose their favourite designs which they were very excited about and we found there was something for everyone (which is usually pretty hard as I have fussy kids!)
 

Miss 11 loving her 2kool4skool stuff!

 

Each of the kids loved their pencil cases and were able to choose a design that reflected their personality well. They are using the Satchel style pencil case for their coloured pencils, pens and crayons and their Gym Boot pencil case for everyday items such as pencils, erasers and sharpeners etc. I found this way of organising pencil cases has worked perfectly in the past and helps the kids to be more organised and minimises loss!



Miss 11's Pencil Case - Cool Chick

   

Mr 12's Pencil Case - Danger!

 One of the kids favourite things was all the smelly stationery, they absolutely loved the Scratch n Sniff labels and went label crazy on all of their items! The labels were great not only for the books, but also for their folders, calculators and even their glue sticks!

The Scratch n Sniff labels are great for naming folders, glue sticks, calculators, etc.

 

The stickers look great even on large A3 Art Blocks.

 

Miss 11 went scented stationery crazy and found the scented markers, highlighters, Fun in the Sun Eraser and scented ruler right up her alley.. her pencil case smells divine!

 

Miss 11's array of pretty and smelly stationary

I road tested some of the stationery items myself and was impressed with the writing quality of the pens, the erasers rubbed out neatly and cleanly and the pencils and sharpener, sharpened easily and well. The crayons and markers were a big hit, were nice and colourful and would be great for smaller children as they are nice, chunky and easy to hold.

Testing out the rubber!

BUT The product I am most excited about is the 2Kool4Skool Book Covers!  WOW.. The amount of hours I have wasted over the past 7 years using contact, brown paper and gift wrap all flashed before my eyes and if I had $1 for every air bubble I got in the kids books  in the past I'd be a rich woman! Sooo I was a little more than excited over the prospect of never having to use contact ever again!!! We had 51 books to cover this year of various sizes, but predominantly A4 and Scrapbook and once again I was able to buy designs that would appeal to each of the kids, some of them even matched their pencil cases!

 

Miss 11's Book cover's.. Exercise, A4 and Scrapbook Size.

 

Mr 7's Scrapbooks from the Gobble & Google Eyes Sets.

 

 

Mr 9's Exercise Books with funky cover's.. His favourite was the Lego 'Lil Dude' pack.

 

I actually covered the books last night and even the kids were able to help, they got a kick out of, because it's something they haven't been able to help with in the past.  It only took 1 and 1/2 hours to cover and label all of the kids books from start to finish and the part that took the longest was deciding on the designs that each of the kids wanted!  But because we had a few different packs we were able to mix and match the designs so they had a great variety. I even found some of the packs were unisex and would be great for people with 2 kids because you could share packs easily amongst the kids even if you had a boy and a girl. 

 

Overall my experience with the brand as a whole has been a positive one and I would thoroughly recommend them to all of my readers.. So much so that I have an awesome prize pack on offer to share;

 

 

 

To be in the draw to win, please follow the Rafflecopter below.. if something isn't working with it please leave a blog post comment with the answer to the following question; What 2Kool4Skool book cover design do you like the best?

The Prize Pack Contains

1 x Satchel Pencil Case/ID Holder

1 x Packet of Bubblegum & Chocolate Scratch N Sniff Labels

1 x Packet of Colour Appeal Crayons

1 x Pack of Exercise Book Covers

1 x Pack of A4 Book Covers

1 x Pack of Scrapbook Covers
1 x Fun in the Sun Eraser
1 x Valentines Pencils
 

All brought to you by the great people at 2Kool4Skool.com.au.  I am sure they will be able to make your back to school 2013 experience as fantastic as mine has been this year!

You can find the full range of 2Kool4Skool.com.au products here:
http://www.2kool4skool.com.au/index.php


* This has been a review post for 2Kool4Skool.com.au however, all opinions expressed above are that of my own & I was not paid to write this post
a Rafflecopter giveaway )