Mini Monet (Parents) Ages 2+, $24.99
This great little set holds everything a budding artist would want  from markers and chalk, to stencils and an eraser.  This is a great gift to introduce creativity to younger kids, or develop skills for older kids.  According to our mom-testers, "the double easel sets up quickly for instant play.  The markers are bright and there are enough (10 in all) for great pictures - and most importantly erasable and washable!  We set it up to allow two kids to draw at the same time - one was on the white board and the other on the chalk board.  This is a really durable, well thought out craft set!  We love that everything can be stored inside!"  Another great product from Parents/Battat!

Stained Glass Window Art (Creativity For Kids) Ages 7-97, $15.99
Our mom-tester did this project with a 7-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl and all had a fun time. "We got to choose from five different shaped sun catchers and were able to draw any picture we wanted free-style with squeezable paints. The only bummer was that you have to wait at least half an hour after drawing your outline to fill in with the translucent paints, but the finished products were so pretty! We immediately put them up on the window and wished we could make more."

Banana Farm (DuneCraft) Ages 4+, $14.99
Our mom-tester reports, "Who knew that banana plants were herbs and not plants? I certainly did not. I have to admit, I was a bit hesitant to try this for fear I would soon have a huge tropical tree living in my kitchen but this is a perfect little experiment for beginning gardeners. The kit comes with about 7 seeds, a mini monkey to put in the kit, soil and a small terrarium-like container to plant your seeds. All you have to do is moisten the soil, pop on the top of the terrarium and plop it in a sunny windowsill. We did have to wait a long time to see life but one day we saw a tiny sprout and then days later the plant was over a foot tall. Very cool for a little kid. Since then we have re-potted it and kept it moist and the plant is now my son's pride and joy. He loves having something to take care of that is his very own."
 

Just Jewels (Fashion Angels) Ages 8+, $14.99 
So many of our girl testers are into beading, so this kit was a welcome treat.  The Just Jewels glass bead and wire kit has everything a kid needs to make their own jewelry.  There are over 1,000 glass e-beads, 500+ bugle beads, and 10 lobster clasps to close the deal.  There is wire and jump rings too!  Our testers, aged 8 - 12 really had a great time making their own jewelry!  They loved that they could do this at home and not have to go to a jewelry shop!  They all agreed that it's a great sleepover activity!

FOAM struction (As Seen On TV) Ages 4+, $19.95
"This is a terrific craft kit that is fun, creative and totally not messy (which makes it a great thing to do at grandma's house without worrying about too much clean-up),” reports our 5-year-old tester’s mom. “The kit comes with lots of different colored foam pieces, a small sponge, a safety knife and an idea book." Our tester created his own idea, though, and in no time produced a beautiful turtle. "Even more fun, the foam pieces are completely biodegradable, which means our tester could bring his turtle into the bathtub that night and watch it dissolve! Very fun. These are so easy to use that the smallest and youngest of hands can use them. A great rainy day project. This is one of the 'As Seen On TV' products that really works!"

Crayola Color Wonder Sprayer (Crayola) Ages 6+,
Our testers aged 6 through 9 all had a great time playing with the Color Wonder Sprayer.  They loved creating airbrushed pictures that only appear on the Color Wonder surfaces.  "It was like Blo-Pens without the mess," raves our mom tester.  The kids had a blast creating pictures using the included stencils and paints.  Our mom tester liked it so much she bought it as a birthday gift for another 6-year-old.  The set includes the Color Wonder Sprayer Unit, 4 Color Cartridges (Orange, Cyan, Green & Fuschia), a playmat, 2 Color Wonder Broadline Markers, 12 Page Color Wonder Paper Tablet includes 9 pages of Plain Color Wonder Pages and 3 Pre-Printed Coloing Book Pages, 3 Full Size Create-A-Scene Stencils, Undersea, Outerspace, Knights & Castle, 1 Color Wonder Pop-up 3-D Figure (Dragon), 1 Color Wonder Magic Reveal Crayon (White). Note: Requires 4-C Batteries - Not Included

Bratz Forever Diamondz Fashion Design Kit (MGAE), Ages 6+, $24.99
Our 10-year-old tester reports, "This kit was very fun to do. I loved the poster that had all the dolls on it and the plastic box to carry the stuff. The glitter and diamonds where fun to put on. I loved that they make you feel like a real person that works with diamonds by giving you tweezers to hold the diamonds with. The only problem was that it did not turn out like the picture on the box and the glitter on my shirts was very messy.  I'd tell my mom to give this as a gift and I give it four stars."  The set has lots of "stylin' accessories" including tons of glitter, 5 mini-tees, cool patterns all in a pack-up-and-go rolling carry case.
 

Decoupage Diva Jewelry Keeper (Creativity For Kids)
According to the mother of our 8-year-old tester this was a "HUGE SUCCESS!!"  She reports, "I gave this to my 8 year old daughter on a rainy Saturday afternoon and let me tell you . . . she was busy for days! This was a real treat -- something to call her own. She had a ball designing, cutting, gluing, embellishing and decorating her very own jewelry box. She would work on it a little at a time which I loved most because this is such a generation of "1 and done". Rather than the 'I'm done. Now what??' she was happy to do little bits at a time until her final project was perfect to her. I LOVED it and will definitely give one of these as a birthday gift to her next pal who has a party." Ages 7-97, $21.99

Creepy Crawlers Bug Maker (Jakks Pacific) Ages 8+, $24.99
Our tester reports, "my son and his friends really enjoy this bug maker. It is simple to use and has a lot of safety features. The kit comes with an oven that once heated, does not open until it has cooled down! It also comes with two die-cast molds for a total of 5 different bugs from which to choose. The bottles of plastic goop are a little hard to squeeze, but the final product is well worth the work!" Kit includes a Creepy Crawler UL-listed oven, four bottles of plasti-goop, goop detailing pen, four detailing tips, two themed molds, double-use spatula, cooling tray, goop pick for pulling the bugs out of the trays, and two storage trays.

Dora The Explorer ScrapBucket (NickJr.) Ages 5+, $12.99
"So much fun for a craft activity on a rainy day. This is a great craft gift for all ages (who love Dora) can enjoy actually making their own adorable album. Great for learning letters and spelling, as you can label the pictures with the letter and word sticker sheet.  It was a fun, independent craft for my 5 year old, I worked on my photo album while she made hers!!" Includes 1 marker, 1 sticker sheet, 1 scrapbook with ribbon tie, 1 glue stick, stick-on cardboard borders, and sheets of paper.
 

Knot A Quilt Kit (Alex)   Ages 8+, $19.99
"What a fun kit" commented our 8-year-old tester.  This is a great kit that produces an awesome quilt in just a few hours.  You just have to knot the fringed squares together and when you're done you have a great quilt that's warm and snuggly.  A great gift for any child that's into crafting.  It come with 48 9" 6 bright and cheery colored squares.
 

Crunch Art (As Seen On TV) Ages 4+, $14.95
"Crunch Art is such an great easy craft to do and it's not messy at all" reports our mom tester.  "This kit comes with double-sided foam blocks (which can be re-used), one "cruncher", lots of fabric swatches and many other decorative pieces. You can choose to make the fish or the boat or you can create your own picture freestyle. All you have to do is take a fabric swatch, pop it into the block with the cruncher and then pull your cruncher back out. You immediately see your picture come to life and if you make a mistake you can easily pull the fabric piece out or start all over again. It reminds me a lot of the needlepoint kits we did when I was a child but it's much easier to do and the finished product is way cooler."

Li'l Luvables Fluffy Factory (Spin Master) Ages 3+, 19.99
"It's like 'Build a Bear' in your own home" reported our mom tester.  "My three children ages 3, 5, and 7 each picked their own color bear, they filled the cuddly soft stuffing in the "machine" (no batteries needed)!! and with a little help from me attached the bear to the stuffing machine and cranked away!! they loved putting a little wishful saying into the bear and having their own adoption card. Very well done and simple for the kids to follow. Order more bears and fluff and it can be a lifelong treat for your child."

Bratz Make Your Own Sewing Machine (MGA) Ages 8+, $39.99
For the girls with a "passion for fashion" this is a fun toy/working tool to begin experimenting with sewing.  The set includes everything you need to start sewing.  Our mom tester and her 9-year-old daughter had fun working together with sewing experimentation.  She thought it was a good way to introduce her daughter to sewing and gauge her interest without the expense of a really good machine.  The sewing machine includes, three spools of thread, working light, foot pedal, scissors, measuring tape, and more.

Fashion Angels Design Sketch Book (Fashion Angels)  Ages 8+, $14.99 
Our 8-year-old tester, a sewer, knitter, potter, and budding artist just loved this set.  Since she's already creating fashion items for her dolls on her grandmother's sewing machine she just loved this kit.  She had a blast creating designs for the Fashion Angels.  The book contains a pad of Fashion Angel templates, markers, mini color pencils, a sharpener, and an eraser. When your done designing you can save all your drawings in the inside pocket. This is a great, creative gift!

Neon Color Explosion (Crayola) (Ages 6+) $7.99  Our testers (and parents) just LOVE this product.  First it's really cool and secondly there's no mess!  Our testers, who loved scratch art, really love this because it's easy and fun.  They could make a variety of designs or use the enclosed stencils.  Each pack comes with tons of paper and three markers so you won't run out.  Just be careful not to touch the paper with wet hands it will ruin the paper.  The sets should be stored in the enclosed Ziploc bag.  It's a really great, creative gift -- that will of course will keep giving since we're sure that Grandparents will receive more refrigerator art as a result!

Doodle Monster (Play Along) Ages 3+, $14.99
Our 5-year-old tester just loved the Doodle Monster.  According to his mother, he was very envious that his sister had a Doodle Bear that there wasn't something for him.  When he got one to test he was thrilled.  He loved that he could decorate his monster with scary designs, tattoos, and words. His mother loved that both the  markers and the monster are machine-washable. Makes a fun gift for a creative kid!