Craft Books

Sparkle Card Kit 

My Anytime, Anywhere, Autograph Book
List Price: $12.95 
Age Range: 4 to 8 

When I took my daughter to see Beauty & The Beast  I wish we had this book.  We stood outside as everyone left the stage and she was lucky enough to get Lumiere's and Belle's autographs -- although they are on the cover of the playbill!  The fun thing about this book, my daughter decided, is that someone doesn't have to be famous to sign it.  She asks anyone she wants to sign it and then looks back with delight at their handwriting!  Fun for a grandchild who is autograph collectors -- or not!

I don't know about you, but I grew up using Spirographs so when Klutz sent me this book to review I couldn't wait to test it out!  It was so much fun.  Talk about reminiscing!  The book comes with four color-changing gel pens which gives them a cool 3-D look. The books comes with four color wheels and lots of ideas.  If your like me though you'll grab a stack of white paper and go!  I passed this along to a neighborhood babysitter who is 12 and she had a blast as did her friend!  Another Klutz winner.

Fairies: Petal People You Make Yourself
List Price: $15.95 
Age Range: 9 to 12 

Little girls love fairies, and with this book they can make fairy figures for themselves. Our 15-year-old tester said these were great to make and really easy too! You can display them, hang them around your room, or use them as colorful decorations on presents.

Christmas Window Art
List Price: $19.95 
Age Range: 9 to 12 

Here's a fun craft that will spread holiday cheer throughout your house.  This book includes six bottles of a special peel-off window paint in all the holiday colors.  The step-by-step instructions make it very easy to do.  The book includes 101 Christmas designs, but don't feel limited to those - try your own too.  This craft is for 9-12 year olds but we found that younger children can easily do this too.  Just provide the outline and let them do the rest!

The Incredible Clay Book/Includes 8 Clay...

This kit uses the sort of clay you can bake to make creations that last. The book shows you how to create cool things like dinosaurs and fish, as well as portable mini-puzzles. Included are eight great clay colors and tons of ideas. Note: Bake these in a well-ventilated room with adult supervision. If you run out of clay, you can get more at most craft stores.

Handmade Cards: Simple Designs for Beautiful Cards
List Price: $24.95 
Age Range: 9 to 12 

A beautiful handmade card is a gift on its own. This book comes with everything you need to make unique cards: 22 sheets of paper, measuring grid, folding tool, and templates. The instruction book has easy step-by-step instructions. Creating the more intricate cards with flowers takes some time, but is well worth the work. Definitely for older grandchildren. A beautiful, fun craft that grandma will enjoy too! 

My Fabulous Life in Pictures  
List Price: $19.95 
Age Range: 9 to 12 

Is your grandchild into scrapbooking? This spiral-bound book will give your grandchildren everything they need to start a scrapbook even if they aren't doing it already. The embossed cover looks like a picture frame, and inside you'll find 40 fun pages to pull it all together. There are stickers and stencils for decorating pages, plus envelopes to store mementos like concert tickets and postcards. There's even a pocket to place things in for the future. This is a great birthday present or holiday gift.

Very Fun, Slightly Sticky Stuff to Do...
List Price: $16.95 
Age Range: 9 to 12 

I'm a candy lover. My favorite day of the year is Halloween because I get to fill my house with candy and eat it all day long. This book was made for me. It shows you how make great concoctions out of candy. You can make a "bucket of worms," a gummy snowman, apple people, and more. I stuck to the simple stuff, like the cocoa spoons, which were delicious. The kit provides a chocolate dipper, straw, candy sprinkles, forms, and more. This is a great rainy-day activity, and best for older grandchildren. If you send this as a gift, don't forget the toothbrush!

Cat's Cradle: A Book of String Figures...  
List Price: $9.95 
Age Range: 9 to 12 

As a child I made Cat's Cradle and Jacob's Ladder with a loop of string, but this book offers those two, plus other string patterns including Cup and Saucer, Eiffel Tower, and Witch's Broom. I tried to remember how to do these without the book, but I couldn't. Using the book I was able to do them all. Some of them are rather tricky and will take an adult a few minutes to figure them out, but they are fun, and especially good for passing the time on long trips. See if you can remember how to do them without the book!

Face Painting Book/Book and Paints
List Price: $19.95
Age Range: 9 to 12 
(Editor's note: This age range is for children painting each other. Young children also love to have their faces painted, so this is a perfect grandparent/grandchild activity for younger kids.)

Face painting isn't just for Halloween. We tried this kit, and we've been doing it every day! You'd think you need to be artistic to do this, but you don't. I can barely draw, yet my daughter came out looking like a perfect little cat! Her friend became a butterfly. If you go to a zoo or museum, you may see a face painting booth costing $5 a pop, but with this book you can do it again and again!

Nail Art
List Price: $19.95
Age Range: 9 to 12 
(Editors Note: This age range is for children doing their own nails.  Young girls love to have their nails painted so it's a great Grandparent/Grandchild activity)

We used this book with two girls, ages 3 1/2 and 5 1/2. The designs are simple and fun. These young girls didn't do the painting themselves, but a slightly older child wouldn't have a problem doing it. You can set the designs easily with a coat of regular clear nail polish. They are designed to peel off, but then nail polish rarely lasts long on a child. This is a nice final touch to any costume or for a special event out.

 Draw Thumb Animals
List Price: $6.95
Age Range: 4+ 

This tiny little book turns a child's thumbprints into pictures of all kinds of animals. This little kit includes a thumb-sized inkpad, mini-pen and 44 pages of instructions. Also available are Draw Thumb People and Draw Thumb Things.