Best Craft Kits

Crayola Zoogles (Binney & Smith) The package came with three "creature" statues and a set of water-color paints, and the children paint the statues. Our  four-year-old tester was excited and entertained for about 45 minutes while she painted two of the statues. The only adult assistance that was required was to open the package it came in, and to get a cup of water for the paints. Then, our tester was completely independent and engaged as she painted them. Our eight-year-old tester painted the third statue. It took her much less time, and she did not seem as excited. Our parent reported that the ability of his daughter to work independently was the best feature; however, two other good qualities became apparent. First, the material the statues are made of seemed to absorb the water from the paint which made them dry almost instantly (and kept the mess to a minimum). Second, the paints that came with the kit have been used to create additional artwork on paper. So, while the statues did not take too long to paint, the use of the paints continued longer.  Ages 3 + up, $4.99 

Wrist Pix (The Bead Shop) Our tester a hip 10-year-old thought these bracelets were just awesome.  She liked the fact that she could design her own pictures! She also thought that it would be a great slumber party kit since you can make at least three bracelets from one kit!  The kit includes  metal frames, glass beads, sparkle polish, gel pens, elastic string and an assortment of pictures. Ages 8 and up, $16.95

Crunch Art (Hands on Toys) Our tester, a mother of two reports that she hates the mess usual arts & crafts kits make, however she was pleasantly surprised when her daughter and I sat down to do this craft kit together. No glue, no paint, just a fun activity that resulted in a beautiful piece of art! You press and "crunch" your creation and it actually is fun (even for me.) The project lasted long enough to enjoy time with her daughter, but not so long that she became bored, and the colors are vivid and captivated her (and her2 year old son who liked the crunching). This craft kit comes highly recommended - it is easy to do and clean up after.  Ages 5  and up, $ 8.95.

Sparkle Card Kit (American Girl) Our tester a teacher, gave this to her 9-year-old sister to test.  She reported that her sister really enjoyed it. She felt it is a creative way for a young girl to express herself. It had many choices of colors and designs to make the card stand out. It is great for invitations and for friends and families during birthday's or for many different occasions. Ages 9-12, $19.95

Tracie: Fashion Studio (Curiosity Kits)---In a nutshell, Tracie is today's version of paper dolls. The kit comes with a light box, cardboard dolls, clothing patterns, and several sheets of cling material. The object is to use the light box to trace outfits onto the cling material, cut out the outfits, and then dress the dolls. The kit also includes self-adhesive ribbons and beads to decorate the outfits with. For the most part, the kit worked very well. Two seven-year-old girls played nonstop for two hours. One would trace an outfit while the other was cutting out an outfit, then they traded places. Once they had made several outfits, they put the patterns aside while they played with their creations. At first, the girls did need about ten minutes of assistance and patience while the batteries were installed in the light box and they got the hang of what they were doing. After this introduction, the girls were totally self-sufficient and quite imaginative in the outfits they created. The only weak point for the kit seemed to be the brightness of the light box. Following the directions that came with the kit, we moved the light box to a darker room. This made the patterns visible enough to trace, but still a bit lacking in brightness.

Gross Soaps™ - (Curiosity Kits) This kit includes enough stuff to make 8 soaps including spiders, roaches, and lizards!. This kit was so easy to do and so much fun to make!  The soap never gets too hot so you don't have to worry about danger, and the soaps set quickly.  We made these at around 4pm and they were ready for tub time.  An easy and fun craft!

Crayola Sidewalk Paint (Binney & Smith ages 5 and up.  $15.99)

To say that this stuff is fun is an understatement.  My kids personally tested this product and boy did they love it!  They painted our front walk, our driveway and also dabbled a bit on my glass front door.  The paint washes away with either a good rainfall or a hose and comes right off clothes, hands, hair etc.  They loved the fact that the colors were vibrant and rich.  They made an excellent Hopscotch board and jumped for hours.  When they were done doing that they painted my door with bright vibrant flowers.  Now, be aware that Crayola also makes markers that you can draw on glass Crayola Window FX Markers (see below) with - but my kids loved the paint brush and rollers!  A great summer gift that parents who don't mind a bit of mess will love.

Crayola Window FX Markers (Binney & Smith ages 5 and up.  $4.99)

These markers are fun for a change of pace.  If you have little grandchildren that like to write everywhere but on paper, they will love these.  For the faint at heart - fear not!  These clean up really quickly with a window cleaner.

I had fun with these myself writing notes on the door like "Happy Birthday Alex,"  "Yeah, Summer's Here!" and other things.  If you're really creative you could do messages every time your grandchild comes to visit!  This is an inexpensive and fun craft accessory!