Glitter at the ready! (Sparkly Things to Make and Do - Leonie Pratt)

Member Name: juicy_lucy

Product:	Sparkly Things to Make and Do - Leonie Pratt
Date:	19/03/08 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of makes

Disadvantages: Lots of glitter

Sparkly things to make and do

A lovely book for anyone who likes sparkly things and wants to make lots of them. I do know someone who fits into this category quite nicely- not only does she like all things which sparkle but she also likes craft activities! We already have some of the other usborne craft books, and having found them useful and very enjoyable, this was a must.


After the index, with a list of the things to make, the book gets straight onto the descriptions of how to make the items, without any long preamble as to how the book should be used. I like this because we want to make the things, not be told how to use what is essentially a very simple book. We want to get straight into things and not hang around for non necessities.

In total, there are 17 things to make; I would say the book is definitely more "make" than "do"- I can find no ideas as to how we can "do" sparkle, but I suppose that it has to be kept in keeping with the other books in the series.

The things to be made are:. Sparkly heart strings,; Flower fairy tiara; Glittery winged unicorns; Frosted flowers; Shimmery bead chains; Spangly butterflies; Sparkling boxes; Mermaid bookmark; Shimmering shapes; Glitter bugs; Flying fairy card; Ice castle collage; Sparkly picture frame; Twinkling twirlers; Decorated elephants; Dazzling party masks; Gift tag ideas. The makes are all very fairy/flower/fantasy orientated, so you really have to like sparkle.

It is divided into two page spreads detailing the thing to be made.
Each double page spread is beautifully illustrated with the detailed instructions in a series of illustrated boxes. These pictorial and written instructions show exactly, step by step, how to complete the activity. Around the instructions, and taking up the rest of the double page spread are lots of activity appropriate pictures along with suggestions for making your thing even more beautiful; adding leaves to the tiara became popular- more is more and we have to do as they suggest! There are finished illustrations of the make, so we can see exactly what the make should look like. With a bit of adult help, and the right materials, it is possible to have a fairly satisfied child- yes, it can look similar to the picture in the book.

In the middle of the book there is also a double page spread of silver stickers- hearts flowers, bows, windows, circlesand flowers. These were quickly taken out of the book, and used on cards and other makes, because she just "loved them so much"

OTHER INFORMATION

Published by: Usborne
RRP: £4.99.
Pages: 32

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES

Plenty of scope for all interests here. The books include:

*Summer things to make and do
*365 things to make and do
*Easter things to make and do
*Science things to make and do
*Christmas things to make and do


WHAT WE THINK OF IT

I say what we think of it because it is really little miss who makes these. With adult help She thoroughly enjoys the activities shown in the book. Each activity is clearly set out in stages and because they are done in a series of pictures, even quite young children can have a go with minimal adult help, although they will need your help to gather the resources.

The resources needed are usually things you would have in the house- tin foil, paints, pencils, tissue paper, so there is no need to go out and buy expensive things to make the sparkly things.


My gripe as with many of the Usborne books is that the list of materials is not stated at the start of the instructions. I tend to read through the make first and gather together the materials so that we don't have to stop in the middle of a make. In fact, what I have started to do is to ask little Miss to write me a list of the things she most wants to make and then ensure I have lots of materials to hand so we are ready to make when the mood grabs! However, because the resources are not too obscure, as long as you have a good supply of paints, paper and coloured pencils, then you can make the majority of things without too much fuss. We have become very resourceful at saving things like easter egg shiny paper ready for such activities. One thing I do suggest is that you always have a good supply of glitter and shiny beads!

Some of the things can be adapted according to the seasons- for example, we made the glitter bugs into tags for a birthday present and the shimmering chains into Christmas chains just by adapting the colours used., although in the book it does look very Chritmasy. For some of the makes, to get a finished result which your little person will like, I think adult help is required.

For anyone who enjoys simple craft activities, and who likes these kind of things, this is a great buy.

Thanks for reading.

Daniela x x

Summary: A make and do book