Friday, January 11, 2013

Bringing a Child's Room to Life with My Wonderful Walls: Review and Giveaway! (Closed)



We recently transitioned our 25-month-old daughter S to her new "big girl room" to free up the nursery for her baby brother. We really wanted her to love her new room and not feel like she was getting "kicked out" of the old one (just one of many considerations when a second child arrives!) so we got her a brand new furniture set and set out to personalize her walls with something really special. I recalled how proud and excited my good friend's daughter was when she moved into her own big girl room (she'd just turned 2 as well) which she'd helped design herself - from the purple paint colour to the beautiful butterfly stickers flapping their way across two of her walls. I knew our daughter would love to participate in a special project like this too!

Enter My Wonderful Walls, a family-run company based in Tennessee, which offers nursery murals, wall decals and canvas art for children's rooms, in a wide assortment of gorgeous themes from Jungle Safari to Princess to Flight of Dragons.


I discovered the company via a blog review/giveaway and was impressed by the quality and quantity of products offered, so I was more than thrilled when they accepted my offer to partner up on our daughter's big girl room project!

With a zillion other things going on (baby on the way, basement renos, etc.) we didn't have a lot of time on our hands so we decided to go the decal/sticker route. We hoped this would also allow S to get hands on with the project - something that would be more challenging if we chose the stencil option. Check out this product video showing how quick & easy it is to put up a sticker set!


S and I had a heap of fun right from the beginning, browsing available themes and playing with their Virtual Mural Maker - an awesome tool for trying out image layouts prior to tackling the child's room itself! S' two favourite sets were Under the Sea and Awesome Acorn Family Tree. The family tree is SUPER cute, though I thought Under the Sea would allow a little more creative freedom for her so we went with that. The folks at My Wonderful Walls were generous enough to send not only the sticker set itself, but also a custom name sticker for that extra personal touch!


Under the Sea Wall Sticker Kit - Product Details: 
  • 62 large fabric wall stickers
  • make an Ocean Theme Wall Mural in minutes
  • repositionable and reusable
  • layerable
  • amazing detail in the designs
  • made from SafeCling™ fabric that won’t stretch or tear
  • leaves no residue when removed
  • handmade paper look
  • no white edges – looks like it is painted on the wall
  • just peel and stick

My Review:

Our stickers arrived promptly packaged in a huge cardboard tube. One end of the tube managed to get crushed sometime during its journey over, however I was relieved to discover there was no damage to the product itself. I knew the stickers would be big, but their actual size still surprised me a little! I got S to do her "sleeping bunny" pose beside the fully unrolled sheet to illustrate. :)


Her personalized name sticker came on a smaller sheet of its own.

S was super-excited to get going! Her grandparents were over for a visit the night we started and she pointed out all the creatures to them and chattered on about where each sticker was going to go. We began a little close to her bedtime that night and ended up needing a second evening to complete the project. Overall, my husband, daughter and I spent about 1.5 hours putting up the whole set. Not a huge time investment at all for such a fab result, if I do say so myself! My husband and I put up the bigger stickers (with direction from our daughter) and she put up a bunch of the smallest stickers herself. Admittedly, I had to curb the "Type A" part of my personality a bit ("Wait a minute - shells don't float in the middle of the water!") in order to let her creative juices flow, however (buoyant shells notwithstanding) she already appears to have a keen sense of attractive spacing and layout - don'tcha think? :)

Wall 1 (and the proud artist!):


Wall 2:


When we asked our daughter what she thought of her decorated walls, she remarked "they're pretty!" and said her favourite sticker was her name. She also loves the mermaid stickers, calling them Ariel and Triton (from "The Little Mermaid"). She likes to give people tours of her new "Under the Sea" fantasy world, and she often talks about her stickers first thing in the morning when she wakes up!

Let's look at how the kit measures up under various categories.

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Appearance: These stickers are absolutely gorgeous. They are colourful, whimsical and the attention to detail is incredible. Kudos to the artist! True to description, once applied they do appear to be painted directly on the wall for an extremely polished finish.



Ease of Use:  The provided instructions were clear and easy-to-follow, so we were able to launch into the project confidently. The stickers ranged from extremely simple to mildly challenging (largest / most "finicky") to apply. Our 2-year-old was able to peel off and stick the smallest items (shells, schooling fish, etc.) herself, and my husband and I could handle the majority of the larger items individually. We did find it helpful to "tag team" the octopus sticker (the largest of the set); with its five long tentacles it would have been quite tricky to apply this one properly with just a single set of hands. The stickers adhered very nicely to the wall; they're resistant to bubbling and any air pockets that do sneak in are easily fixed by unpeeling and reapplying.


Quality & Durability: With our toddler taking part in the project, we certainly put this category to the test, and lemme tell ya - these stickers are industrial-strength! Several ended up either getting stuck to themselves or applied to the wall improperly and needing to be adjusted. One of the stickers our daughter pulled off the sheet herself was the squid. With its jillion little tentacles we had a bit of a sticky mess on our hands, however with some TLC our husband and I were able to salvage the li'l guy pretty readily. Despite our repeated suggestion that our daughter walk around the sheet, her little feet did a lot of clomping directly on the stickers but this didn't cause any noticeable damage either. All in all, we successfully applied all 62 stickers in the set without a single tear. As for reorganization/reuse, the adhesive on these stickers appears to be quite strong so I would guess each one could be relocated at least 2-3 times.


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Overall, my husband and I agree that these stickers are Full of Awesome! In pretty much every way. They are beautiful, vivid, detailed, easy to apply and extremely durable. If we were to embark upon another room project involving kids wall murals (perhaps for the little guy?), we wouldn't hesitate to order from My Wonderful Walls again!

Here's a little video we put together of our experience, from our daughter's initial excitement scoping out all the funky sea creatures, to applying stickers of various sizes, to the grand "unveiling" of the final results (and our DD's commentary). Enjoy!



Buy It:

All My Wonderful Walls products (stickers, stencils, etc.) can be ordered directly from the company website. Shipping is free on orders over $90 within the continental United States and there are flat fees for international shipping. Use the special discount code MTM1217 and receive 15% off your order! (Valid until Jan 25, 2013.)


Win It:

My Wonderful Walls has generously offered to give away a $100 gift code to spend on anything in their store to one lucky Manager to Mom reader! Open to Canada and the United States.

To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Please follow all instructions within each entry option to ensure your entries are valid.  


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  The prize is being provided and shipped to the winner by My Wonderful Walls.  I received no financial compensation for writing my review or offering this giveaway, although I did receive the sample kit free of charge.  This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours.   

138 comments:

  1. There is a LOT to choose from. I think we would have to go with the princess theme - our daughter would love it!

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  2. I don't know if they can use trademark cartoons or shows, but my daughter loves the Cat in the Hat - would be fun to include that on her walls!

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  3. I think I would go for the Daffodil and Bluebird wall sticker sets - gorgeous options!

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  4. love the new Owls for me or the Night Owl for my dd

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  5. Would love to see a cool teenage set with different "text" speak or a ballerina set

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  6. I really like the firetruck on the canvas

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  7. I like the Flower Garden Canvas Wall Art!
    Very cool!

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  8. I would get the Under the Sea Wall Mural Sticker Kit.

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  9. I like the Splendid Garden Wall Sticker Kit

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  10. I would love to get my granddaughter the Night Owl Wall Stickers.

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  11. Love this one. http://www.mywonderfulwalls.com/wall-stickers1/forest/forest-boy-wall-sticker-kit.html

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  12. I would like to see a boat theme. Sailboats, tugboats, etc.

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  13. The Bugs & Blossoms Wall Sticker Kit would be my pick
    My rafflecopter name is Julie G.

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  14. I think a Cave theme might be cool.
    My rafflecopter name is Julie G.

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  15. I would choose Paws Park Stencil Kit

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  16. Would love to see a castle theme from disney with the disney characters.

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  17. If I won I would choose the Paws Park Stencil Kit.

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  18. A great idea for another theme would be a wizard or magic theme.

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  19. I would love to see a Dr. Seuss theme

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  20. Id for sure pick the Farm Theme Wall Stickers!!
    Amy Bailey

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  21. I'd probably chose something from the Fairy Theme Canvas Wall Art collection.

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  22. I'd like to see 3 piece canvas wall art featuring a giraffe...like the 3 piece trees!

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  23. definitely the transportation theme - to go with the race car bed he has waiting for him

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  24. If I won, I would choose the Farm Theme Canvas Wall Art Decor

    Rafflecopter form: SweetPanda

    sweetpanda2010 at gmail dot com

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  25. Spring Love Tree Wall Mural Sticker Kit

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  26. I think a Noahs Ark theme would be really cute!

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  27. I really like the Bugs & Blossoms Wall Sticker Kit.

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  28. I like the Forest Friends sticker set.

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  29. They should make a Studio Ghibli theme.

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  30. Noah’s Ark 3 Piece Wall Mural
    jlapage@labiomed.org

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  31. Glow-in-the-dark stars! :-)
    jlapage@labiomed.org

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  32. I would get the The Forest Friends Stencil Kit

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  33. I would like to see lalaloopsy type kits

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  34. If I won, I would purchase the Pirate Theme Wall Sticker Kit.

    sreis1987 at gmail dot com

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  35. I love all of the Bugs and Blossoms kits that you have!!!

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  36. I would love to see Disney Princesses on here.

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  37. How about a teddy bears picnic in the nursery line?

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  38. I would love the birdhouse wall clock

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  39. I would like to see a cherry blossom theme

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  40. I love the transportation theme- my son just got a 'big boy bed' with car & truck bedding.

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  41. I would choose the birdhouse clock
    thanks

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  42. I would pick the Bugs and Blossoms or the Garden set

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  43. I would like Serenity Blossom Dahlia Wall Sticker :)

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  44. The Family Tree is really cool and a great way to remind your child who is who

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  45. http://www.mywonderfulwalls.com/jungle_safari_wall_mural.html

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  46. Transportation Wall Sticker Kit

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  47. i'd get the clouds so I can add to my (secret) baby room theme!

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  48. I would love the Fabulous Flower Self-adhesive Stencil Kit

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  49. I like the friendly farm theme, but there are so many awesome ones!!

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  50. Forest Friends Wall Sticker Kit :o)

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  51. I like the transportation fascination/transportation wall stickers.

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  52. I would choose the Princess Theme Wall Mural Stencil Kit

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  53. I would chose the perfectly princess theme for my daughters room

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  54. I really like the night owls theme.

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  55. wild safari jungle sticker kit.

    slb3334@gmail.com

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  56. the cloud stencils are super cute

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  57. I like their Pirate Theme Wall Sticker Kit. Thanks so much for the fantastic giveaway!

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  58. I would choose the fairy theme

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  59. I would get the clouds to complete the rest of my granddaghters room

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  60. I would get the fabulous flower stickers.
    brand242003@yahoo.com

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  61. I love the cloud themes.
    elysesw@aol.com

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  62. I'd like to see the Food theme for the kitchen.
    elysesw@aol.com

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  63. I'd get the “Totally Turtle” Canvas Kids Wall Art for my grandson's nursery.
    lisa.blogs2 at gmail dot com

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  64. I like the Pirate Theme Wall Sticker Kit

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  65. My daughter would love the Perfectly Princess Wall Sticker Kit

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  66. Awesome Acorn Family Tree Wall Sticker
    weta1972@yahoo.com

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  67. I love the Transportation Wall Art!

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  68. I would pick the blue/brown/grey Wise Owl Wall Sticker.

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  69. I would get the classic oak family tree wall sticker!
    onecheaplady@yahoo.com

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  70. I would love to see bicycles decals offered!
    onecheaplady@yahoo.com

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  71. space wall sticker kit
    gabbflabber at live.com

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  72. Forest Friends (for Girls) Wall Sticker Kit!

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  73. I love the hot air ballon stickers

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  74. i want it all!! but i would get the build your own – farm wall stickers, probably the animals...

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  75. abc's and numbers, shapes, colors, etc would be good for toddlers rooms

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  76. I would love to see something thats girly and nautical. Something with anchors and stripes would be so cute

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  77. Perfectly Princess Wall Sticker Kit

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  78. Flower Garden Theme Canvas Wall Art. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  79. I would get the Forest Growth Chart Sticker for my little grandson.

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  80. Flight of Dragons set
    vmkids3 at msn dot com

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  81. LOVE the transportation art.Thanks for the chance.
    mogrill12@gmail.com

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  82. I think that a really cute idea would be cars

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  83. I'd get the polka dot decals!

    lesliexhope at gmail.com

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  84. MARY DEBORDE
    zenrei57 (at) hotmail dot com

    Wonderful choices!! :)
    I would probably get the Tiki Surf Wall Stickers!

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  85. Hard decision-either the monsters or the jungle safari!

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  86. If I won I would use the credit to get the elegant elephant wall sticker

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  87. I love the Flower wall stickers!

    Tiffany Hearn
    Tandt625 at hotmail dot com

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  88. Princess Theme Wall Stickers
    amy16323(at)gmail(dot)com

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  89. I love the Forest Boy Growth Chart
    Wall Sticker

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  90. I would like to see an American Indian theme, it's hard to find anything like that and that's our son's theme (hubby painted it, but it would have been nice to have a decal form).

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  91. I like the Serenity Blossom Dahlia Wall Sticker.
    Michelle Tucker

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  92. I'd love to see something american girl related.. my daughter is a big fan.

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  93. id get the Basketball Wall Stencil – Basketball Wall Mural – Basketball Theme Room

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  94. I would choose Flower Garden Canvas Wall art

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  95. i would go with the bugs and blossoms for my daughter's play area thanks crystal allen

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  96. I would love to see a moon & stars kt more appropriate for a nursery

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  97. I like the Forest Friends Wall Sticker Kit

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  98. The Spring Love Tree Wall Stickers

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  99. Either Flowers or Family Tree =)

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  100. Love the Paws Park Stencil Kit
    mightynaynay(at)cs.com

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  101. if i won, i would get the Spring Love Tree Wall Stickers

    susansmoaks at gmail dot com
    tony l smoaks on rafflecopter

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  102. Serenity Blossom Dahlia Sticker

    jagar0047 at yahoo dot com

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  103. under the sea theme for my bathroom or monster theme for my kids room

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  104. The Footed Trees

    ijessica_r at yahoo dot com

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  105. hmmm.....Dinosaur, Monster, or Space theme

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  106. I would choose "Serenity Blossom Dahlia Sticker" and the "forest wall sticker kit"! :D

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  107. I like the Night Owl Wall Stickers

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  108. http://www.mywonderfulwalls.com/wall-stickers1/dragon-wall-stickers.html

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  109. I would like to see a candy theme. pale colored hard candies etc..

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  110. I would choose the Paws Park Stencil Kit.

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  111. Thanks for this giveaway.... My Son LOVES his new farm

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