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Crayola Washable Markers
by taramorg23
When my daughter first took an interest in colouring these were the first pens I got her. In fact at the time I looked for pens these were the only age appropriate ones I could find. What swayed it for me was the fact they were washable. A box of 8 pens costs around £3 from most supermarkets.
The pens are for 12 months and ... over and are described as being first markers. Inside the box you get red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and brown. The pens are white with Crayola Beginnings written on them in the corresponding colour. The lid matches the colour or the pen and has air holes in case it is swallowed.
The best thing about these pens and the thing I remember doing as a child is stacking them together to make a giant pen. My daughter finds this amusing and does it herself too.
The pens are around the same size as normal felt tips but slightly thicker to make them suitable for younger children. The first thing I noticed when I opened the lid was that the pens don't have conventional nibs. In fact the nib is rather like a bingo marker very flat and rounded. The benefit of this is that as young children can't hold a pen properly the colour in all directions.
The first thing my daughter did when she held the pen was run her fingers all over the nib resulting in coloured fingers. Even 7 months later she still does it. The downside to the pens is that when she chooses a colour I have to take off the lid and then replace the lid on the previous pen for her to prevent them drying out. As a result these can only be used when supervised as even at 19 months she can't take the lid off and replace it herself.
They don't keep my daughters interest very long as she gets fed up with one colour and whereas with pencils and crayons she can choose a different colour she needs my help with these. On the plus side the colours are great but the shape of the nib makes it impossible to colour inside the lines when I help her out. Instead she just dots the pen on the paper then plays with the nib. I have also noticed that the lighter colours have become discoloured as a result of colouring over darker colours. Eveb scribbling on a blank sheet for a while doesn't remove it. I also found the colours are very wet and even on the thickest paper and colouring books the pen seeps through to the second page.
On the plus side these pens are washable this is great as they are very messy. A few minutes with these pens and my daughter has coloured her hands, arms and legs. The best feature is that you don't need soap only water to remove them and a quick rinse under the tap will wash away most of the colour. For darker colours you need to rub a little. The pens also wash easily out of clothes.
Overall these aren't for us. They are far too messy and therefore not practical to take out with us. I much prefer the pencils and rayons in the same range.
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Crayola Pip-Squeaks Mini Markers
by xmum2threex
==The pens==
While we were shopping we decided to pick up some more colouring pens for my children. The last ones had dried out, and so when I came across these Crayola markers I decided to buy them. We have a range of craft items from the Crayola range, and find they are perfect for young children to use. There are lots of ... simple things about the markers that make them fantastic. Each colour has a quirky name like little lemon, or raindrop blue. This may not seem very exciting, but my children love the fact there are special names for each colour. I find every time they swap colours they will ask me what colour they are about to use. Even the packaging is loved by my children, with cartoon faces and a simple design they look nice.
The markers are half the size of standard coloured pens, and then the lid takes up half of the marker, so they really are very small. I was a little worried they would be too small to be able to hold properly, but we have found they are actually the perfect size for little hands. They are rather wide so that little one can hold them in their hand firmly. We received a range of colours in the set , and found that they are all very bright colours. There is enough choice to please children even in the smallest available pack.
==In use==
My children all love these pens as they find them very easy to use. The markers tip is not so wet that they run through paper, but are bold bright pigmented colours so that they still show very well. The colours have large heads, and they are shaped so that no matter which way little one holds the pen it will transfer on the paper easy. There is a small point at the tip of the pen to colour small areas, but the main head of the markers is round so they can cover large areas very easily. All of my children can use them without any trouble at all, and even my two year old son can be let loose with these pens.
My children all write in different ways. My two eldest children can hold a pen correctly, and they really enjoy colouring with these pens they seem to think they are comfy enough. My youngest son just grabs the markers in whatever way he can to draw on the paper, and he seems to find them comfy too. As the colours are being used by young children they need to be tough, and I find my children tend to draw over another colour and this can stain the pen. This does happen with these markers especially as the tip of the pen is so large, but if you just scribble on a piece of paper it transfers off fairly easily, leaving the original colour still usable. . As they are made for children as you would expect the pen does wash out easily. I find if any of the pens gets into clothes it will wash out on a normal wash without any help needed at all. They also wash of children's skin very easily, my son managed to get the green pen all over him making him look like Shrek, and after a few minutes in the bath there was no trace of it. The pen does not need to be washed with soap, and it also comes off very easily with baby wipes.
The lid fits on the end of the marker which both lengthens the area little one can hold it, but also means the lids are not lost as easily. The pens can also be clicked into the end of each other which my children thought was fantastic, and half the fun they have is building the pens up together. All three of my children can remove the lids without any problem, and they can also click them into place which means the pens are less likely to dry out. We have had a few of the pens left without lids, but amazingly after a few hours they could still be used. I have had problems with felt tips before as even after an hour they become dry, and the colour reduces but there are no problems with these pens.
==Summary==
We purchased ours from Asda for a 14 pack of markers we paid £2. Looking online I can see they come in a number of different pack sizes. These are available on Amazon at the moment for £3.50 for a 14 pack. I would recommend these pens to anyone with children, they may be a little more than other pens, but it is worth it in the end. We have had these markers for a while now with them receiving a lot of use from my children, they do seem to have dried out a little, but they still work perfectly.
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Crayola Glitter Glue
by rosaliecullen
==Overview==
I own my own set of Crayola Glitter Glue pens, not for the kids, the pets....nope...they are mine! I bought them last year before Christmas. I like to make my own cards and thought that a bit of glitter glue would add sparkle to the cards. In the Crayola pack, you get 9 glitter glues in a range of colours for the ... sum of approximately £3.50. You can of course get cheap imitations but I find that they dry up pretty quickly, something I had hoped not to experience with a well known brand like Crayola. There are couple of red and greens in the packet which is quite useful plus a gold, blue, purple, silver and white.
==My Opinion==
The glitter glue actually squeezes out quite fast compared to my proper craft glitter glues such as Stickles which has a lovely fine nozzle on. However, at £2.50 PER GLUE they aren't really comparable. I do think that if children used these they would possibly get into a fine old mess, but much less mess than PVA glue and traditional glitter I hasten to add - that is a messy nightmare! The colours are good and opaque (some cheaper versions can be translucent) except for the white which is a bit too subtle for my liking. At £3.50 I think these are quite good value, if you are buying them for the kids who will just get them everywhere perhaps go for a cheaper option? They are OK for serious crafters but only if you don't want to do any fine blobs of glitter. The other downside is that despite them being from Crayola, the ones I have left over this year seem to have dried out. I have tried squeezing them down the tube but no avail. The nozzles sometimes get blocked too which is a common problem with all glitter glues so have a cocktails stick or similar on hand to unblock the nozzle.
==Overall==
These are OK for kids (maybe a bit expensive?), OK for serious crafters but there are definitely better versions out there. I am also stuck with a blue and purple that I barely use and a bunch of half used glitter glues that have dried up. Next time I'd be tempted to go for a professional (Stickles) glue or a very cheap and cheerful glitter glue. Only 3 stars from me and that is mainly down to the good colour they give.
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