Have Fun Making Pixel Art with M&M's While Entering to Win an Xbox One Forza 5 Prize Pack! #FueledByMM #shop #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This M&M shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study about an 8-bit sprite pixel art contest for Collective Bias and its client.

Last week, my husband and I sat down to do a jigsaw puzzle without the children for the first time in a long time.  It turned out to be a nice quiet and stress-free evening.  The best part was that we sat face-to-face, as opposed to forehead-to-forehead.  What I mean is, we usually are sitting across from each other at our computers and the only part we see of each other is our foreheads peeping over our monitors.  Since we had so much fun with the jigsaw puzzle, I thought I'd invite my husband to join in on the Gaming is Better with M Pixel Art Contest on Instagram.  To my delight, he accepted my invitation (most likely because he wanted to win an Xbox One and Forza 5 prize pack) and we soon learned that creating pixel art with M&M's, although extremely fun, was not as easy as we thought it would be.

Want to play along?  First you'll need some M&M's.  I went to Walmart and was faced with making a choice from more types of M&M's than I knew existed.  I chose Peanut Butter M&M's because they sounded tasty.  They ended up being delicious, but if I had to choose again, I would have chosen the classic milk chocolate M&M's because they are more consistent in size and shape.  Even though our candy pieces were a little rounder and varied a bit in size, we still had a blast constructing our 8-bit sprites.  The most difficult part of it was remembering that we were working on a fixed grid (like on a peg board) that requires all your pieces to line up in perfect rows, both vertically and horizontally.

Here is what we came up with . . . 

We tried to stick with a racing theme, since Xbox is celebrating the release of the new Forza 5 game.  I was super-impressed by my husband because he was able to create an 8-bit sprite for almost anything that popped into our heads, including a racetrack, race car, and checkered flag.

Because of the size of our Peanut Butter M&M's, it took me several tries to make this finish line.  I think the next time we do this, I'm going to look for the mini baking M&Ms, whose smaller size would allow our designs to be more elaborate.

My favorite of all the 8-bit sprites I created is the first place trophy.  I attempted several times to put handles on it, but decided that it looks better without.  What do you think?

Are you all revved up to enter to win an Xbox One Prize Pack?  Just follow these easy steps . . .

• Create your own Pixel Art using M&M's (R) candies and snap an Instagram Photo. 
• Tag your image with #FueledByM AND #Contest and post the image on Instagram and Twitter.

One lucky Pixel Artist will win a new Xbox One and Gaming is better with M pack including the Forza 5 Motorsport game and a 14 oz bag of M&Ms(R). Contest runs Dec. 4th - Dec. 18th and winner will be chosen at random.

Be sure to stop by the Gaming is Better with M contest page to see all the creative entries.

Are you a Walmart shopper?  Here's how you can get a $10 Walmart eGift Card to help with your Holiday shopping . . .

Buy, Snap, Redeem!

• Buy Forza 5 game at Walmart

• Buy participating M&M’s products at Walmart  (Participating products include: M&Ms Peanut 42oz Stand Up Pouch, M&Ms Milk 42oz Stand Up Pouch, M&Ms Peanut Butter 38oz Stand Up Pouch, M&Ms Pretzel 30oz Stand Up Pouch, M&Ms Peanut 19.2oz Large Laydown Bag, M&Ms Milk 19.2oz Large Laydown Bag, M&Ms Peanut Butter 18.4oz Large Laydown Bag, M&Ms Pretzel 15.4oz Large Laydown Bag.)

• Snap a photo of qualifying items on the receipt on your phone and text it to 811811. Include the code M&M with the picture of your Walmart receipt. Game and M&M’s must be purchased on the same receipt between November 22nd, 2013 and December 31st, 2013.

• Redeem: You will receive a text back with a reward code valid for a $10 eGift Card to Walmart.

What to Do With Your Collection of Music CD's, DVDs, and Video Games After Switching to Streaming Media

My family and I have pretty much gone 100% digital for nearly all of our media needs. Between streaming TV shows, movies, and music, we hardly use any of our CD’s, DVD’s, and even Blu-rays anymore. Heck, many console games don't even need physical media these days!

As amazing as being all digital can be, there is a downside to making the transition: What do we do with our hundreds of media disks? It hurts my brain to think of all the money (and time) that we spent to build our collections. Many titles were only even used once! What an absolute waste. Would you believe that we have DVD’s still wrapped in plastic? Never used? Ouch.

I always wished there was a way to sell my CDs and DVDs to recoup some of that money (and closet space!). Well, now there is a way to do exactly that! musicMagpie.com buys all your old media including CD’s, DVD’s, and video games. The amazing thing about musicMagpie is that it is completely free! They even pay for the shipping and there aren't any fees.

All you need to do is go to the site and enter the barcode on the back of your media, within moments the price they will pay you for the title comes up. You can even use your webcam as a barcode scanner! When you are done you simply print out a label and send it off. Easy as pie!

I started scanning some of my titles to see what musicMagpie paid out (there had to be a catch right?) and I was pleasantly surprised. The Wii games I scanned paid out similarly to what Gamestop offers and the DVD’s ranged from $.50 to $5.00....I own HUNDREDS of DVD’s and CD’s, at $.50 each I would make a fortune for otherwise useless junk taking up closet space.

They even have a mobile app for both Android and Apple to make the process even easier. Just scan the barcode and you’re done!

I know what I will be doing this weekend....

Find Minecraft and Other Cool Kids T-Shirts at T-Shirts.com!

Thank you to T-Shirts.com for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon. All opinions expressed are my own.

Of the 200+ kids' t-shirts available on T-Shirts.com, our 6 year old son chose the Kids Minecraft Creeper Inside T-Shirt as his favorite . . . eventually.  For the 20 minutes prior, he pointed to every Iron Man t-shirt, every Spider-Man t-shirt, every Avengers t-shirt, every Star Wars t-shirt, and every Ninjago t-shirt and said, "That one!  I want that one!!"  Eventually, he settled on this Minecraft t-shirt.  I think he chose it more to impress his big brother than for himself.  Well, it worked . . .

When this t-shirt arrived, Luke's big brother automatically asked if the shirt was for him.  He was so jealous when he found out that the shirt was actually for Luke.  I had never seen Luke look so happy as he did during that moment.  Being the little brother and the recipient of one hand-me-down after another, it is rare that he has something that fills his big brother with envy.  Needless to say, this shirt was a huge hit with Luke's friends at school too.

Our son usually wears a size 6 on top, so we ordered the smallest size available, which was a S(6-8).  I was worried that he would be swimming in the shirt because he is somewhat of a peanut, but it fits him well with room to grow.  Since heathered grey t-shirts are usually a cotton blend, this t-shirt did not shrink at all.  We've washed it several times already and the graphic has held up nicely.

Be sure to checkout T-Shirts.com for lots of Father's Day gift ideas too.  There are over 1400 men's t-shirts available (and just under 700 for women . . . what's up with that?).  T-shirts are the go-to present for my husband.  He can never have enough because he stains them almost as quickly as I buy them.  Whatever your favorite Dad is into, there is probably a t-shirt for it on T-Shirts.com.  For a limited time, you can receive $5 off your order of $25 or more!  As always, if you shop, come back and tell me all about what you bought.

Holiday 2010 Review: Power Gig "Rise of the SixString" (Xbox 360 Game)

You can rock out and learn to play the guitar with Power Gig: Rise of the SixString. Power Gig is the only 6 string guitar game on the market today that actually teaches you how to play the guitar. Similar to other guitar games, Power Gig makes itself stand out because of its wireless controller that is a real electric guitar.

Power Gig operates much like other guitar games, with colored dots that tell you when to strum, but it’s a little more complex because of its teaching structure. After mastering the game, you will know how to play the 6 string electric guitar. The game itself (Rated T) is fun and super addictive, entertainment for any older child, teen, or adult. It also includes some really great music by Eric Clapton, Kid Rock, Breaking Benjamin, Dave Matthews, Godsmack, and John Mayer, to name a few.

Neither of my kids (9 & 3) were particularly interested in this game but both my husband and I couldn’t wait to break it out and play. My husband, who is not much of a musician, quickly grew tired of the game and gave it up. I, on the other hand, loved it. I have always wanted to learn to play guitar, and this is just the right avenue to do it, and it’s way cheaper than lessons. I have spent hours playing it, much to my family’s dismay, and can’t wait to master it. This game would truly make a great Christmas gift for any aspiring musician in your life.

Power Gig: Rise of the SixString is available now at most major retailers, such as Best Buy, GameStop, Wal-Mart, and more. You can find more information, including a retailer near you, on their website, www.powergig.com. The Power Gig: Rise of the SixString game for Xbox 360, including the guitar, retails for $149.

Thank you to Power Gig for sending us a complimentary sample product to base this review upon.