Outside The Box Subscription Review + Coupon – February 2017

Outside the Box by Cheeky Days is a monthly subscription service for families that focuses on giving back to the community. From Cheeky Days:

Each month receive a curated box that comes with EVERYTHING you need to complete crafts and activities that inspire creativity, but don’t clutter your house, encourage quality time together, and meaningful conversations about the values we as parents care about! But it’s not just a craft box, it’s so much more, it inspires children to give back to their community through small acts and through the joy of play teaches kids about bullying, kindness, sharing, and why they are unique and can make a difference!

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Subscription Box: Outside the Box

The Cost: $49.99 a month for a subscription + $1.99 a month flat rate shipping. Save with 3, 6 and 12-month subscriptions. You can also add on Sibling box for $16.99 a month. Single purchase boxes are $54.99.

The Products: Each box includes a t-shirt for the child (or a different wearable item), a children’s book, all materials required for 2-4 crafts, Community Cards that offer intentional ways of sharing Outside the Box with others, a Spotlight each month on a nonprofit, community service or give-back company and a surprise or two. A donation is made for each box purchased to a spotlighted charity or nonprofit.

Ships to: U.S.

Check out all of our Outside The Box Reviews and the Kids Subscription Box Directory for other fun activity boxes to try!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

Outside the Box includes a lot of literature in their box. The first card is printed on both sides and lists the theme “Art with Heart”, the spotlight organization The Periwinkle Foundation, and all the items in the box.

The Challenge Card was pasted inside the box lid and itemizes the #artwithheart challenge proposed by Outside the Box this month. The first two steps focus on reading the poetry in the Splendid Review and learning about The Periwinkle Foundation and their mission to help children and families challenged by cancer. The third step and fourth steps are to create art projects using the provided canvas, paint and clay. The final step is to share your family’s experiences completing the challenge on social media tagging Cheeky Days.

The Weekly Suggestions card breaks down the challenge steps into weekly goals to spread the activism and goals throughout the month. Crafts, websites to check out, and discussion topics are included to help keep you inspired.

Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood by F. Isabel Campoy - Value $13.23 on Amazon (retail price $16.99)

This is the story of Mia and how one small artist can transform a dingy town into something color-filled. The story is inspired by an actual event and we found it very uplifting.

Just Love Coffee (2.25 oz.) - Value $2.49

Just Love Coffee in African Skies is said to have notes of dark chocolate and apricot. We aren’t coffee drinkers in this house so I’ll bring this to work to put in the faculty room.

BEK Monkey Artist Apron -  Value $24.00

This artist’s apron is perfect for holding brushes while painting tools while building or even for budding gardeners. I love the Starry Night fabric used by Etsy seller BEK Monkey.

Foam Brush – Value $1.38

The foam brushes give a smooth finish and are easy for young children to use. I’m not sure of the brush brand so I linked to something similar I found on Amazon.

Paint Brush - Value $0.33

This basic one-inch brush was a great size for the canvas provided and my son’s hands. Again, I’m not sure of the brush brand so I linked to something similar I found on Amazon.

The Splendid Review - Available for free online

This mini magazine is printed by The Periwinkle Foundation. It’s an anthology of poems and stories written by children at the Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center. The children’s work is beautifully moving. If you’d like to read the magazine it’s available online or you can request a printed version.

On the reverse side of the Weekly Suggestions card is the Craft Instructions card. There were directions/tips for using the clay, painting on the canvas and drawing in the doodle book.

Swirls Doodle Book - Value $4.95

This pocket-sized 32-page notebook is great for leaving in the car for when we are waiting at a restaurant or doctor’s office. All you need is a pencil or pen and your imagination to turn the doodles into something else entirely.

Craft Materials - Value $5.00?

Outside the Box provided two pots of paint in pink and green, a plastic mixing palette, a small canvas and two little blocks of Sculpt It modeling clay.

My son made a small bowl out of the modeling clay but we had a lot of difficulty getting the two packs of play to mesh together. No matter how much we kneaded them they remained separate and layered like flaky pastry dough. He was frustrated with this and didn’t want to save it or paint it.

Here are my son and daughter working on their canvas as a group effort. My son wondered why they didn’t mail us the 3 primary colors so he could mix lots of other colors. I too thought that would have made more sense than just pink and green.

Here is their final work of art!

Verdict: I think Outside the Box has a meaningful mission that we are proud to take part in. This is the first box that I know of intended to teach children about community service and activism. The value in the box monetarily is just over $50, but I feel the value of this box can’t be weighed by price alone. The value is also about teaching my children about the importance of giving back. We liked the art theme but did find the materials a little challenging to work with successfully this month. The picture book, apron, Swirls Doodle Book and Splendid Review book of poetry were great.

What do you think of Outside the Box?