I was first introduced to Mabel's Labels at the babytime show in Toronto in 2004. I was a little skeptical at first wondering if they would actually stick and stay on my kids things. But, they really do stick, and well! I still have drink containers with my son's name from 2004! They go through the dishwasher every few days, and the labels still look brand new! On some of my kids drink cups, the labels have outlasted the cup. I have seen several blogs where people have tested them on things for a week or even a month, but, I have had these labels on my sons cloths, shoes, and snack/drink containers for 6 year and they are still stuck on!
More recently, my son Nate has had to start wearing glasses. I don't want his glasses lost, so I cut one of his tag mates labels and put his name with that on the arm. I also put a sticky label on his glasses case so that won't get lost either.
This past summer, Nate went to swimming camp. I labeled everything! I even found a way to label his swimming goggles so they won't get lost. I again cut a tag mate so his name and not the icon was showing and they fit perfectly on the side of the lens. It doesn't hinder his vision and now his goggles won't get lost either. He has been wearing these labeled goggles for 2 months now and the label is stuck good. Not even chlorine can take these off! At the end of each day at swimming camp, the lost and found pile was bigger and bigger. I never lost a single thing of Nate's because his was all labeled.
Packages:
Mabel's Labels has 5 different combo packages right now.
1. Colourful Ultimate Back-to-School Combo - $44 and a choice of 6 colourful designs.
2. Classic Ultimate Back-to-School Combo - $39 with a choice of 6 colour sets, and many icon options.
3. Classic Big Combo - $55 with a choice of 3 color sets, and many icon options.
4. Classic Camp/School Pack - $34 with a choice of 3 color sets, and many icon options.
5. Colourful Essentials - $48 with 26 very colourful labels that have fun icons (My favorite looking labels!)
How to choose:
Figure out what you need to label, and what style you like best. Check the shirts you want to label before deciding on tag mates or iron on labels for your set. Many of my kids shirts these days don't have tags so I have used the iron on ones for those. The tag mates though are VERY versitle and I have those on everything. So, my suggestion would be get the iron ons in the set, and then order extra tag mates. You will definatly use more tag mates and a classic set of 75 is only $21.
My 411 Wristbands:
I wish they had a combo pack that came with these 411 wristbands, but that's okay. They are $21 for 30 bands. And, such a peace of mind for me. Nate just started grade 1 and he is in the PLASP, before and after school program. They will be taking field trips on PA days to places like Chuck E. Cheese and the Ontario Science Centre. Well, I worry that he will stray from the group. To help ease my worry, I purchased a set of these wristbands for him for his field trips with school and for when we go on family outings to large theme parks and such. I also got a set for my daughter Amber who just started at the Peek-a-Boo daycare in their pre-school program. She will be doing field trips as well, and wearing her Mabel's Labels 411 wristbands on each trip.
My Mabel's Labels Collection:
So far from Mabel's Labels, I have purchased my son's first set in 2004 and my daughters first set in 2008 when she started daycare. I have then purchased a set of the Tag Mates, and the 411 wristbands. I also bought a school pack for Nate's best friends birthday. These make great birthday gifts too! On the winning side, I have won a school set for Amber's friends birthday, a 15 pack of stickey labels from a #bincleanout that @mabelhood was hosting on Twitter, and a school set for Amber.
My next goal is to get the Mabel's Labels Mama Cards. I have seen these cards on several blogs lately and they look great. I don't have business cards and these would serve many purposes for me. I keep meeting parents at my kids swimming, gymnastics, and Judo lessons, so these cards would be great to share there. Plus, there's school and daycare freinds too.
Well, I hope I have convinced you to try these labels. Once you do, you will be hooked! Keep checking their website, twitter page, and facebook page for contests and new products.
Happy Labeling!
-Kerry.
