Kaleidoscopes To You {Review & Giveaway}

When I hear the word Kaleidoscope, I think of a plastic toy that kids get in their goody bag at a party. They look through it a couple of times, and it either gets tossed in a box of unused toys, or it falls apart. I guess I should say I used to think that way. I recently learned about Kaleidoscopes To You, and my perception of a Kaleidoscope has certainly changed!

There is so much more to Kaleidoscopes than just being a cheap toy for kids. I found some really beautiful, handcrafted Kaleidoscopes while I was browsing Kaleidoscopes To You. Kaleidoscopes can be made from many different materials including wood, brass and even cardboard. There is so much more to them than I always thought. So what, exactly, is a kaleidoscope?

All kaleidoscopes have 2 basic sections - the mirrors and then an object at the end. The mirrors are usually in a triangular configuration of some type and create a tunnel through which you look. The object at the end creates the colors of your kaleidoscope. The object can be fixed or turn separately. The object can have loose, tumbling beads or it can have an oil filled chamber that will float to change your image. Wheels can be at the end of the kaleidoscope as well.

There is another form of a kaleidoscope called a teleidoscope. According to Wikipedia, a teleidoscope is a kind of kaleidoscope, with a lens and an open view, so it can be used to form kaleidoscopic patterns from objects outside the instrument, rather than from items installed as part of it. To learn more about how it works, you can check out a cool video in the FAQ section of Kaleidoscopes for you. Just click on "What is a teleidoscope?"

I received the 5.5 Inch long Laminated Solid Woods with Paduk and other Hardwoods Teleidoscope by N & J for review.

The teleidoscope comes with a stand for display. It was packaged nicely in a small box, and the teleidoscope and the stand were in separate fabric sleeves. I was immediately amazed at how beautiful the teleidoscope was. Even my husband said "wow, that is so cool!" We started looking around the house through the teleidoscope and had a lot of fun. We put the camera up to the scope and were able to capture a few images from it. I think these pictures are amazing!

The top left image is looking through the scope at my dining room table with the piece of white tissue paper on it. The top right image is looking at a light. The bottom left is an image of Brian's shirt. The bottom right image is that of yours truly, multiplied. Brian had a lot of fun with that one.

These teleidoscopes would make a great, unique gift for that hard-to-buy person on your list. They are cool to look through, and beautiful to display! You can purchase the 5.5 inch Teleidoscope for $39.99 at Kaleidoscopes for you. There are so many other great items available, so I hope you take a few minutes and look around the site. You'll find Toy Kaleidoscopes, Kaleidoscope Kits, Promotional Kaleidoscopes, and even Kaleidoscope Jewelry!

~*~One of my readers is going to win one of these beautiful 5.5 inch Teleidoscopes!~*~

Mandatory entry: (This must be done in order for any optional entries to count) Take a look around Kaleidoscopes To You and leave a comment telling me the name of something that caught your eye.

Optional entries: After you make the mandatory first entry above, you can get one extra entry (unless stated otherwise) for each of the following (please leave a separate comment for each):

* Follow @KaleidoKarl on Twitter
* Like Kaleidoscopes To You on Facebook
* Follow my blog publicly with Google Friend Connect (left sidebar)
* Like The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too! on Facebook (leave your first name and last initial)
* Follow @thelifeofrylie on Twitter (leave your user name)
* Tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting this tweet and leaving me the link to your tweet (you can tweet daily for an extra entry each day):

Great gift idea! Enter to win a beautiful 5.5" Teleidoscope from @thelifeofrylie! http://bit.ly/9ri6gu #giveaway @KaleidoKarl

*Share this post on Facebook by clicking the Facebook icon below for TWO extra entries (I will verify this with you if you win)
* Post my button on your sidebar or your blog roll for TWO extra entries (leave me two comments with a link to where I can find it)
* Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post for THREE extra entries (leave a link to your post in three separate comments)

Giveaway will end on December 3rd at 9:00pm EST. The winner will be chosen by random.org. I will notify the winner by email within 24 hours, and you will have 48 hours to respond. If no response is received within that time frame, I will pick another winner. Please leave your email address or make sure it is in your profile so I will have a way to contact you. I will announce the winner once they have been confirmed. Giveaway is open to US residents only.

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion. I received the Teleidoscope from Kaleidoscopes To You at no cost for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. A big thank you to Kaleidoscopes To You for providing the giveaway prize!