Spin Master has ruined one of my favorite childhood toys

The iconic red framed Etch A Sketch from Ohio Art was one of my all time favorite toys when I was a kid. I can remember expertly turning the white plastic knobs with both hands to move the little etching point through the gray canvas of metal powder to create drawings. Draw, shake to erase and repeat. Fond memories indeed. But now Spin Master has ruined everything by turning the Etch A Sketch into what seems to be to be a rip off of the Boogie Board LCD drawing slate. This won’t be a huge surprise if you already knew that Spin Master bought both Etch A Sketch and Boogie Board last year. 

Instead of using two knobs to “etch” your drawings, the new Etch A Sketch Freestyle comes with a tethered stylus that draws rainbow lines on an LCD. Bleh! The white knobs aren’t even knobs. They are stamps that can be used to decorate your doodles.

The Etch A Sketch Freestyle will be available for $20 this fall from Spin Master.  FYI, you can still buy the classic Etch A Sketch for $24.98 from Amazon.

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Spin Master has ruined one of my favorite childhood toys originally appeared on on February 22, 2017 at 7:45 am.

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Sort out your grinds for the perfect cup of coffee with the Kruve Sifter

The coffee enthusiast will tell you that a good, consistent grind is essential to the perfect cup of coffee. That’s hard to achieve at home without a high-end coffee grinder. The Kruve Sifter is an ingenious solution that enables you to consistently get the most out of your beans with the grinding gear you already have in your kitchen.

The Kruve Sifter is ridiculously simple. A pair of sieves are inserted into stackable trays with a lid. Pour in your grinds and give it a shake. The ideal grinds for your brewing system are now separated from the larger and smaller particles (known as “boulders” and “fines” in coffee lingo), ensuring that you achieve the perfect flavor profile for your precious beans. 

The Kruve Sifter is available in silver, red and black. Three packages are offered (the Two, Six and Twelve) that are distinguished by the number of different sized screens included in the package so that you can dial in the specific grind level for your needs. The Six and Twelve also include a rack for your sieves. Prices range from $49 to $129.

I’m interested in picking one of these up to see what it will do for the trusty blade grinder in my kitchen. If you’re ready to step up your coffee game, you can purchase the Kruve Sifter directly by visiting the Kruve, Inc. web site.

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Sort out your grinds for the perfect cup of coffee with the Kruve Sifter originally appeared on on February 22, 2017 at 6:38 am.

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