 |
Grafix Twisty Flexible Wax Craft Sticks
by broxi3781
After having read some glowing reviews of a new product called Bendaroos, I thought wax sticks might be just the thing for my son to create a new DNA model with. He had been using a magnetix set, but his younger brother kept running off with them, as really enjoys playing with magnets too. In the hopes of preventing further episodes of ... chasing around the house shouting "Give me back my DNA". I decided to buy something for a more permanent model.
I looked up Bendaroos and found that this product was far less expensive --- but there does appear to be a reason for a lower price. I can not directly compare the two, as I have not tried the original product yet, but reading reviews here, it appears that the proper Bendaroos are far more sticky, and hence more versatile, but this set is not entirely without merit.
I purchased Graphix Twisty Sticks from Amazon for roughly £5.00 delivered. The current price is £4.95. The set comes with 300 strings in 15 colours. For some reason the box has a panel which shows the colours and only gives six, black white, green, orange, yellow and pink. Had I been buying this in shop and seen this, I would not have purchased this, but thankfully it is incorrect. The kit really has a good selection of colours, including, brown red, blues and purples. Each stick is very nearly 6" in length.
The box also shows several designs you are meant to be able to make from these sticks. My sons saw the silly goggles and immediately had to have these, so this was our first project. Although this product is listed for ages 3+ I never expected my three year old to be able to actually make anything with it, so of course I made his goggles, but my oldest son ( age 6) was having trouble getting the bits to stay on right, so I ended up helping him quite a bit as well.
Next came our DNA model, with my son choosing 4 colours to represent g,c,t,& a and winding these together. This was fairly simple as you are basically just making a multicoloured ladder, and for the most part he was able to do this. He did not get all his links pressed together firmly enough though and I ended up patching this back together later when it started to fall apart. It was also not quite right to get the twisty double helix shape - but it is close enough and his model is still displayed in our computer room. The glasses, getting a lot more handling quickly fell completely apart. The DNA model has dried out quite a bit, and the pieces will no longer be suitable for reuse, but I think that is to be expected as this is out in open air all the time.
I do not believe this set is ever as moist as the Bendaroos. It never leaves residue on your hands, and does not seem to stick very well unless you have twisted the strands together firmly. The box clearly shows pictures formed from just sticking this to other pieces. While you can do this, the finished object will really not hold together with any handling at all - and even without handling will fall apart if not laid flat. However, laying the finished product between two sheets of paper and carefully ironing it will fuse the sticks together more, making a slightly more durable decoration. This does of course mean you can not reuse the pieces though. It also only works for flat projects, three -d shapes seem to fall apart. The product does not stick to paper as claimed in the Amazon advert either. Because I do not feel the product lives up to all claims, I have deducted one star.
On the other hand - my three year old spent two hours playing with the bits and pieces the first day, and my six year old enjoyed himself as well. They made a number of smaller projects which did not hold together well enough to keep, but they still had fun making them. The sticks that were played with were able to be straightened out and put away for future use, but they do dry out even more and the wax cracks a bit with frequent use. I would expect you could only get away with reusing these a few times - I wouldn't expect these to last forever. The children enjoyed running about with the silly glasses, and my son likes his DNA model. We still have plenty left for Christmas decorations. I am planning on candy canes which will be very easy to make by just twisting a red and white together. I also plan on stars and trees, and having experimented to be sure ironing will hold the sticks together better, will iron these shapes before hanging them on the tree.
I can't say this is the greatest product ever, but at only a fiver, we have already had one fun afternoon with it, and we do have most of the kit left. It is an inexpensive, no fuss, no mess craft project. Both children really enjoyed it, so I can not fault it too much. In fact I very may well buy another set when this runs out.
So do I recommend this? It depends on what you are looking for. If you want a top notch product to make 3-d models then no, I do not recommend choosing this set. If however you are just looking for something to pass in a few rainy afternoons, a no mess activity to take to Grandma's, or even a fun quick craft for a party or scout group, then yes, this just might fit the bill. I would expect at least 7 - 8 children could each make a small craft, like goggles from this. I do think this is fun for little ones - but best suited to 6+.
Read the complete review |
 |
Crayola Supertips Washable Lavable
by pinklady1
My little grandson and I often have craft days when he comes to stay over at my home or if he just comes to visit for the day. We like to create lots of things together because we enjoy it a lot. We have lots of fun making the items or pictures that we make, although I must admit I am not that creative lol.
I bought these from ... Toys R Us, they were only priced at around £4.50. The pens come in a cardboard box with the name Crayola on the front so they can easily be spotted on the shelf. Crayola are a very good brand and it is one that I do like a lot because I find their products really excellent. There are 12 pens in the box, each one measures approximately 10 inches in length, they are quite slim pens. Each one has a replacement top, the top can easily be pulled from the pen with little effort needed.
The colours of the pens in the pack are red, yellow, dark green, blue, pink, orange, purple, brown, grey, a kind of salmon pink, black and lime green. These colours are very bright and colourful. Once the top is removed the pens have a nice tip to them, it is pointed and is kind of made of a soft sponge. The sponge is a soft texture but not flimsy at all, it is quite strong but softer than the usual pens. The pens are like a felt tip pen but the nib has a different design, the nib is more wider than the usual pens.
These are very easy to hold because they are not chunky. My grandson can easily hold them to draw on paper or cardboard etc. We have drawn on pieces of fabric and they are perfect. They create a very thin line, so if you are looking for a pen that is a little neater in line drawing, these would be perfect. These are ideal for any school project a child may need in a pencil bag. These do not create smears on the paper or smudge. I think the variety of colours in the pack are very good and most of the colours that may be needed to draw a picture or just to colour inside a drawing the child may have drawn. My grandson had coloured pictures he has drawn and the pens cover the area very quickly without taking too long for the area to be filled in the colour. He tends at his age to press a little harder than an older child onto the paper but doing this has not effected the pen nibs at all, as finer ones can tend to bend etc. I have found these to be very durable and strong.
These pens are washable and so if they have come into contact with clothing or any material they can be washed. Children nearly always drop pens onto fabrics and my grandson is no different. He has smeared them onto his clothing and I have washed them and the colour has been removed with no problems at all. I also found that only one wash in the machine can remove the ink from the clothing and I found that I did not need to use a stain remover, which I thought I would need to do when I first washed the clothing. I was sceptical at first but I had no need to worry about the ink being removed and I am pleased with the results.
They are very easy to push along the paper and they do not soak into it and make it all wet as I have found some other brands tend to do. These ones just give a nice coverage, the way the nib is designed the pen can be tilted on an angle to create a thick line, or to hold the pen upright to make a fine line for the more delicate areas. They are so lightweight they can easily be held in the hands of a younger child. They are designed for 4 years and over but my grandson is only just over 2 and a half years old and he can use them with no problems at all. I do have to supervise him for obvious reasons of placing them into his mouth etc. he does not tend to do that now he is a little older but safety is my main priority at all times with products that state an age for the product and I will not take any chances, ever. So this is worth bearing in mind when using these pens or with any pens similar to these ones. But that is just common sense as well all know.
I really do love these pens, they are excellent quality, they are also very good value for the money. I think they are a good price for a washable ink pen because it can be quite annoying having clothing with pen marks on them after they have been washed. These are ideal for those rainy days when the little ones are a little bit bored. They are very handy little pens to stock the crayon box etc.
I highly do recommend these ones for anyone looking for a safe, durable pen. The colours are fabulous and bright and they colour really well too. These pens I would definitely buy again and I just think they are amazing ones for the little ones and adults to have fun. These give me all the results that I expect from a washable ink pen and well worth the money in my opinion and I am so pleased I bought these ones and really happy they are washable too, I just wished I could draw as good as my grandson lol.
Good quality and good value for money pens in my opinion.
I give these 5 stars.
Also on Ciao under my username Pinky50.
Thank you for reading my review and I hope it has been of some help.
Read the complete review |
 |
Spin Master Paperoni Magic Movin Pets
by azana
It's been Birthday time again in our household and, now that the party detritus has long been cleared up it's time to work our way through the pile of toys. So far one of the most successful gifts in the eyes of my (just) five year old at least, has been this Paperoni set. She loves it, has made it and has played with it constantly ... since she got it. I have to admit that when she opened this I was expecting it to be a dud, having had a bad of experience of paperoni a while back, however this newer set is an improvement of previous sets in my opinion, though it's not without its flaws it undoubtedly is a winner with kids.
What's in the box?
The set contains all you will need to make three pets and their habitats. There's a rabbit, a dog and a hamster. All three pets have some element of clockwork in them and once made they can be wound up and played with. Each pet comes in a separate package in the box and there are full, easy to follow and well illustrated instructions. Basically paperoni are small paper straws - they are solid as opposed to hollow, that can be stuck on 3-D or 2-D sticky surfaces. The set contains a mix of both. The 3-D items (the animals) come with a stand to put the bodies on whilst you are working, and add on ears, tails and sticky eyes. There is a pair of tweezers and also the aforementioned habitats - the rabbit has a 2-D garden and carrots and the hamster has a working wheel, whilst the dog has a kennel; you are supposed to be able to push the bone so that the dog scurries out. All of the elements to this toy work to a greater or lesser degree.
Is it any good?
The first negative about this set is that there is a lot of waste and very little creativity. Before you even start you have discard a plastic cover for the 3 bodies (one per pet) and there a 1500 paper straws included which is more than you are ever going to need - we have a whole cereal bowl full left over. Apart from the packaging you also have to throw away the 3 plastic stands, which didn't seem to be recyclable. The toys once made aren't either a particularly durable or long lived affair, as I shall explain.
That said the actual making of this set was something that my daughter really enjoyed. Basically you have to stick straws all over the bodies, and you can choose whatever colour you would like. There was some confusion that the bunny's nose wasn't purple as per the box but a bog-standard pink, but bar this my child found the set easy to use and she enjoyed doing it. I'm not sure there was quite the "hours of fun" that the manufacturer promised, but it certainly kept her quiet and gainfully employed for an hour or two. Probably the least satisfying part was making the 2-D roof tiles but bar this she enjoyed making the animals and selecting her own colours, though she did need some assistance adding ears and the like which even I found tricky as they had to be slotted in quite firmly.
Once made the toys are designed to be played with, this aspect of the toy is where results are varied. The hamster has a tail which you pull and then he can scurry across the floor or be put in the wheel. The hamster wheel is on castors, it does turn round quite well and the hamster is fairly durable though, inevitably as with all the animals the actual paperoni do fall off with play - they are attached with sticky glue which doesn't seem to dry firm. The rabbit hops, sometimes, but the turner is quite hard for a child to turn and the clockwork is a bit erratic. The dog runs around quite well, but the bone you are supposed to press to release him from his kennel doesn't work at all.
Overall?
All in all then it's a good toy on the basis that my child instantly loved it and enjoyed making her pets and likes playing with them. She has played with her pets far more than I would have thought possible, it was a great gift and I've actually bought another set for our present drawer as it is currently reduced to £5.99 at Argos - at that price it is a bargain, even given all the packaging waste. Elsewhere the set seems to be priced at anything up to £20, personally I wouldn't want to pay anything over £10 for it. I think that this set has given new life to the Paperoni concept - though I wish it didn't involve quite so much waste, we have lots of left over straws that we could, in theory, use for other craft, but I suspect are going to throw away - that will make it probably near on half of the set being waste, which I find hard to forgive.
Ultimately, the bottom line is that my child loves this toy, and her sister would have liked to get her hands on it too - I think for a child over 5 this set is likely to be a winner - so despite its negative I am being quite generous on how many stars I give it. Child recommended.
Read the complete review |
