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Flair Cool Cardz
by karalouk
My daughter had been asking for Hello Kitty Cool Cardz for absolutely ages (after seeing an advert on television for it). I kept putting it off as the age recommendation was 6+ years and she would have been too young for it. However this Christmas I decided to finally buy it for her! (She's almost 6)
Cool Cardz are made by a ... company called Flair. We have the Hello Kitty Cool Cardz set but there is also an unthemed Cool Cardz set available.
Hello Kitty Cool Cardz comes packaged in a cardboard box, with instructions inside. The instructions are simple to follow, they come in written and diagram form (so simple for youngsters to follow). There is nothing to set up and you're ready to start right away. The contents include 1 unit, 4 Hello Kitty sticker sheets, 15 laminates, 15 cards, 2 Hello Kitty ink stampers, ink pad, glitter gel pen, purple pen, 2 frames, 1 card envelope and 2 ribbons.
The unit is made of plastic, can be wiped clean and has a handle on top to carry it around. It's a bright pink and black colour, and looks pretty 'cool'. It has a place to keep the stampers (and ink) on top and also has a drawer inside it where you can store all of the bits and pieces (except for the 2 frames which are too large to fit inside), which is very handy. The unit has a slider on it - this is where you laminate the Cool Cardz. Fear not, there is no heating or glueing involved!
To start you must choose a card (there are 3 different Hello Kitty designs to choose from) and decorate it with the pens, stickers and stampers. You can write, draw, stick and stamp whatever you wish. It really encourages creativity, my daughter gets really stuck in and has created some really good cards. Once you are happy with your card, you can then laminate it. You must get a laminate sheet and place it on the unit/slider, then put your card on top and slide the slider across. This magically laminates the front and back of the card and transforms it in to a proper card. My daughter was thrilled the first time she saw her Cool Card - we had no idea how 'grown up' her card was going to look! They look very smart, shiny and durable when they're laminated. I had to demonstrate the laminating process a couple of times for my daughter (it's a little bit fiddly at first) but afterwards she could do it by herself with ease. The laminating process is quite quick and simple. You are advised to push down on the cards after they have been laminated to get rid of any bubbles, although I must say that we haven't experienced any bubbles (although it is a good idea to push down on the cards to make sure they don't come unstuck around the edges). I would say that the most important thing to remember when laminating is to hold down the card because if the card lifts up, it could all go wrong!
After you have made your Cool Card, you can then get creative again and choose what to do with it. There are 2 lovely Hello Kitty cardboard frames included, my daughter framed one her cards and stuck it on her bedroom wall. She framed the other one and gave it to her cousin! She has made numerous personalised cards for friends and family (a couple of them were even tied up in a bow). I have my very own Cool Card which I keep in my purse! There is also a cardboard envelope which you can place your Cool Cardz inside (to store or give as a gift) - my daughter is hanging on to this one, although it's my birthday soon so I'm pretty sure it will make an appearance then! The only downside is that I don't think there are enough accessories included, it would be much better if there were a few more bits - my daughter has more cards left to make but no more accessories to decorate or display them...
Another small downside is that after you have used your 20 cards and laminates, you need to buy a refill pack which generally costs about £7.00. This can work out costly if your child goes through their cards quickly! I haven't actually seen Hello Kitty Cool Cardz refills in shops either, only online.
You can buy Hello Kitty Cool Cardz in most toy shops etc. It is widely available and generally costs between £15.00 - £20.00. Ours cost £17.00 from Tesco. This may seem a little expensive, especially since you will need to buy refills on top. However my daughter likes it and it seems like a good quality toy, so I don't mind paying it.
I wasn't too sure how this toy was going to go down. Quite often my daughter has high expectations of certain toys because of how they're portrayed on the adverts - this results in a lot of toys being a total disappointment! However I'm pleased to say that we both approve of this toy. My daughter loves arts and crafts (even more so the older she gets) and has spent lots of time playing with her Hello Kitty Cool Cardz. She loves creating, decorating, displaying and giving her own personal 'grown up' cards. It's fun, creative, simple, mess-free and I'm happy to recommend it.
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