Shailie goes beyond “dress-ups,” allowing girls to design, create, and wear their own fashions. It includes a life-sized designer dress form and stand (girls' size medium). Shailie dresses come in pieces, and sleeves, skirts, tops and accessories come in various styles, colors and lengths. Using Velcro®, all pieces mix and match to create endless looks. The design easily comes off to wear and model with friends. "Shailie promotes interactive play among a variety of ages, and the possibilities for creativity and fashion fun are endless," President Kari Kawa of Style Paige LLC told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 15, 2009. 11/18/2008 (Price: $250; Age: 4 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Includes a large variety of jewels so you can add some "bling" to all of your fuse bead projects. Pack includes flowers, hearts, stars, larger circles and three different colors of our popular smaller circles. Then hang your completed Perler® and fuse bead project on the refrigerator with one of the super magnets. JAMLiBs allow a child to customize their fused or Perler® bead projects, opening the door to another level of creativity and fun. They come in jewels of all shapes, sizes, and colors, googly eyes, colorful dots and word tabs. Each pack also includes magnets, enabling each kid to display their finished work on your refrigerator. JAMLiBs are reusable. 2/6/2009 (Price: $5.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
The SandSac™ is and eco-friendly, foldable travel beach pail. Made from 100% cotton canvas with a bamboo shovel, it is an alternative to the traditional plastic shovel and pail. The SandSac™ is also customizable using fabric markers, paints, or applied accessories. Machine washable and can be folded and stored away until its next use. Comes in three sizes and is sold individually or as a set of two. Also included are four fabric markers. 2/9/2009 (Price: $11.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
For children 3 and up, Special Cross building blocks have more available shapes in comparison to Baby Cross allowing for more design possibilites. Special Cross 80 includes 12 blue squares, 12 red squares, 12 yellow squares, 12 green squares, 16 red circles, and 16 blue round pegs. 11/5/2008 (Price: $19.99; Age: 3 to 12) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
The BRIK-A-BLOK™ toy system provides an easy means for any child to recreate the world that surrounds them, at their scale. Easy to assemble panels come together to give kids the power to build their own world. Creative freedom coupled with our toy system liberates kids to custom build the perfect fort, playhouse, or any other structure they care to imagine. (Product Image depicts two BRIK-A-BLOK-46 sets) 11/12/2008 (Price: $179.97; Age: 6 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Create your own drawings and illustrations with this Crayola® Make-A-Plate® Kit. The kit comes with Crayola markers, paper templates, order form, instructions, mailing envelope, and rush label. Make-A-Plate® has been a family fun memory maker since 1969. Preserve a memory by capturing the imagination of the artist in a usable product that is dishwasher safe and break resistant. 1/21/2009 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Tandy Leather Factory offers a full range of children’s leather craft kits designed for all ages. The kits can teach kids pride and accomplishment by letting them create their own leather items. Kits include basic leathercrafting such as stamping and painting kits. 10/27/2008 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
This dough can be mixed, molded, baked and eaten. Yummy Dough feels like regular modeling clay, but kids can eat it as they form designs and creations, and then bake it into an edible cookie. "This modeling clay has molding properties and can be eaten. Regular cookie dough cannot be molded into detailed creations, and clay is not edible and does not taste good. Yummy dough combines the best of both worlds," Tracey McIlwaine, account manager for PlaSmart Inc., told TDmonthly. Launch date: May 2009. 3/12/2009 (Price: $9.99; Age: 3 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
This parent and child activity kit includes materials to create a foot cast in the sand at the beach. It includes enough plaster mix to make molds of two feet and comes in a bright beach pail. Launch date: February 2009. 2/16/2009 (Price: $14.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
This colorful construction kit comes in a plastic carrying case that snaps closed and has a handle on the top. It includes more than 650 pieces, including wheels and connectors to build moveable models. Projects include a water mill house, a merry-go-round, a car, a helicopter and a sports car. The pieces make a click sound when connected or pulled apart. 11/11/2008 (Price: $60.00; Age: 5 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
The open-ended, expandable and 100-percent recyclable building set is fun for both indoor and outdoor play. Younger children can sort, stack and connect parts, while older children can build forts, stores, stands and secret hideaways.
This kit includes markers and special book pages for creating an original story that is mailed to the publisher in the postpaid envelope provided. Each book features up to 12 pages with 20 typeset words and includes a title page, a dedication page and a special "About-the-Author" page. The author´s name, book title and illustration are laminated onto the cover. Additional reproductions and rush service are optional. The IlluStory kit now offers an Internet production option that includes online drawing tools and allows for more words per page, a choice of font styles and colors and faster delivery times at no extra cost. — Art kits are the best sellers for girls from 9 to 12 at Brenda Marshall’s Calico-Cat in Simpsonville, S.C. — “Illustory is one of the better items for girls in that age range,” agreed Steve Dunning, owner of Learning Express in Greenville, S.C. — Arts and crafts are always hot with tween girls, concurred Rob Slye, owner of Toys Ahoy in Barrington, R.I. 7/18/2005 (Price: $19.99; Age: 7 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Plate Works includes everything necessary to make plastic plates, bowls or mugs that are break resistant and dishwasher safe. Special drawing pages and washable markers are included in the kit. Also, users can send in a favorite photo in the postage paid envelope provided. Creations by You can even typeset the user’s name, date or special message around the rim for no extra charge, or they can have the child’s artwork cover the entire plate. Extra plates, bowls and mugs are available. 7/18/2005 (Price: $14.95; Age: 3 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Put your drawings or photos onto a 12 month, laser reproduced, 11" by 17" wall calendar to enjoy all year long. Use the art pages and markers included in the kit to make drawings or scrapbook layouts for each month of the year, or simply find favorite photos that will be sized to fit. 12/23/2005 (Price: $19.95; Age: 4 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
The newest award-winning product from CREATIONS BY YOU was introduced as a prototype at Toyfair '05 and ended up being one of the hottest products in their line for Holiday 2005. Kids create their own drawings with the materials inside the kit and mail them to Creations By You in the postage paid envelope included. The company then sends back the artwork enlarged to 11x17, framed in a wooden frame, complete with an identification tag listing the artists name, masterpiece title and the month/year it was created. The drawing can also be made into a full-size museume poster,18" x 24", printed on high-quality paper. 12/15/2005 (Price: $21.95; Age: 2 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
This pack of paint markers is fruit scented and includes six vibrant colors. The Crafty Dab paint and glue line is based upon the specially designed bingo dabber bottles with spring-valve applicators. The bottles are “little hand” friendly and the applicators won’t leak or drip. When the applicator tip is applied to paper the vibrant, colorful inks flow. The products are non-toxic, washable and won’t stain clothes. A one-ounce bottle of Crafty Dab paint is equal to 4 to 7 ounces of tempera jar paint. Launch date: January 2006. 11/2/2006 (Price: $15.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
With a treehouse kit made from high-quality, extra durable cardboard, all pieces come precut and easy to assemble. The child can decorate this treehouse with paint, crafting materials and get very creative. After decorating and building it, the kids can play with it and incorporate it in their every day play. Ideal size for play with 3" dolls or animal figurines. The material is 100% recyclable. Approximate size is 15" x 16" x 22". Launch date: June 1, 2008. 12/12/2008 (Price: $24.99; Age: 3 to 12) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Shains Bracelets are part of the Shains line of fashion accessories and an easy way to begin stylizing one's own fashion. Comes with the full alphabet and seven icons. Available in a variety of colors. Shains are cool, recycled fashion accessories that empower people of all ages to make their own statements — and change them anytime. "Shains are unique in using recycled materials and in their cool colors and new product selections, including unique ponytail holders and backpack keyclips," Owner Ewa Martinoff of Shainsware told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2008. 12/12/2008 (Price: $12.00; Age: 5 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Kids and adults can use their abilities to solve this puzzle formed by three identical, flat pieces, and get a beautiful, decorative, 3-D star-like Voxal. The Positive(+) and Negative(-) Mini Voxals open up a universe of connecting possibilities. The Basic Pack comes with six pieces (two connecting Mini Voxals) in assorted colors that glow in the dark. Each Mini Voxal measures 2” x 2” x 2”. This product received a 2008 TDmonthly In the Lab Award. "By requiring solving and assembling skills and delivering fun and artistic results, the Mini Voxal stimulates both the left and right sides of the brain, making it a great toy for all ages," CEO Fabio Elias of Voxal told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 15, 2009. 1/23/2009 (Price: $2.95; Age: 9 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
This 500-piece starter kit includes enough components for the construction of 12 lineal elevated feet of monorail track. It also comes with a powered engine and a car to ride the rail and weather 30-degree grades. 3/2/2009 (Price: $140.00; Age: 7 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Incrediline's murals and mats are designed to take any kind of permanent or impermanent marker and wipe clean easily without water or cleansers — even months after Junior first scrawled his Hancock. 4/7/2009 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
This little lapdesk is topped by a slate that comes with an attached eraser and a pack of Crayola chalk. Kids can also use the elastic holders to secure a piece of paper and use the desk as a writing surface. Launch date: Spring 2009. 4/14/2009 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
These craft kits let kids build their own bears at home. Kits include materials to make the bear, plus clothing. Large kits come with a diorama and cardboard furniture. This product is licensed from the original Build-a-Bear. Launch date: February 2009. 4/14/2009 (Price: $14.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Writer's Bio: ALISON MAREK is a writer/artist/filmmaker whose work has been published by Fairchild Publications and DC Comics (Piranha Press), among others. Her short films have played in festivals around the world and have been broadcast on Showtime and other cable networks. She recently completed a short comedy sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, titled "The Three-Body Solution." For the past four years, Alison has been documenting the specialty toy industry with a series of articles and videos for TDmonthly Magazine. Read more articles by this author
Writer's Bio: ALISON MAREK is a writer/artist/filmmaker whose work has been published by Fairchild Publications and DC Comics (Piranha Press), among others. Her short films have played in festivals around the world and have been broadcast on Showtime and other cable networks. She recently completed a short comedy sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, titled "The Three-Body Solution." For the past four years, Alison has been documenting the specialty toy industry with a series of articles and videos for TDmonthly Magazine. Read more articles by this author
