Color Me Creative: Arts and Crafts for Kids By Kevin Skaggs June 2003

Whether a kid has an inspiration to be the next Picasso, wants to build a toy town, or decorate her bedroom with butterflies, arts and crafts toys let a child’s imagination flourish.

Hipster CD Hanger

Kids ages 7 and up will light up with smiles using Candle Painting ($17.00) by ALEX (ToyFairPreview). This candle-making kit comes with paint and candles in a variety of shapes, from pillars to butterflies, allowing kids to create up to six colorful candles. For children 8 and up looking for some cleaner fun, there’s Super Soaps ($16.00), which lets kids mold their own soaps and put mini shapes inside the soap. For kids already in the groove, there’s the Hipster CD Hanger ($18.00), a pants-shaped denim hanger designed to hold six CDs. Kids can decorate the faux jeans with rhinestones, sequins and beaded feather trim for a striking original design.

Mini Bijoux: Shrink Art Charms

A timeless favorite from literature, the ever-popular Madeline inspires fun for kids 4 and up with the Mini Bijoux: Shrink Art Charms ($14.99). The little charms with Madeline’s likeness are manufactured by Creativity for Kids (ToyDirectory)and use the resurgent “shrinky dink” technique. For those who like the silly over the small, there’s also the winner of a Scholastic Parent & Child Top Toy award for the 2002 holidays, Make a Silly Hat ($12.00), which is part of Creativity for Kids’ Dr. Seuss line of toys. The toy allows kids ages 4 and up to create and decorate a set of fantastic hats. For kids 6 and up who want to add some fun to their room, there’s also the Butterfly Bedroom ($15.00), with pink, blue and yellow butterflies that can be decorated and hung from a bedroom’s ceiling.

Kooky Krayon Machine

Kids ages 8 and up with a more artistic bent can make crayons in the shape of anything from monsters to fire hydrants with Curiosity Kits' Kooky Krayon Machine (ToyDirectory) ($24.99), which can be powered by both AC/DC or batteries. With markers and mystery disks, kids 4 and up can also use Mystery SpinDoodles ($14.99) to create pictures that reveal themselves as the disks turn. For kids ages 4 and up who want to wear their art, there’s also the Iron Art Kit ($19.99) that lets kids create their own art and iron it onto backpacks and T-shirts.

Rose Art (ToyDirectory) has come out with a number of toys that let kids get colorful. With Teddy & Me ($9.99), kids can make their own teddy bear and decorate the outfits of their stuffed friend with washable markers. For kids who want to color the fur of their stuffed bears or toy ponies, there’s also Fuzzy Bop ‘N Teddies and Fuzzy Bop ‘N Ponies (both $9.99), bobble head animals whose fur can be decorated with markers and paints. Rose Art also offers Stained Glass Art and Glitter & Glass Art (both $9.99), two deluxe art sets that allow kids to create glass creations with glittery glass paints.

Writer's Bio: Kevin Skaggs is a San Francisco-based writer whose work has appeared in Wired and Harvard Review.

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