January 2009 Notable Toys — Creative Activities

HomeTown Mat™ presents children with images of a peaceful small town, including: residential community, various civic and commercial buildings, roads, and nature. When HomeTown Mat™ is pieced together with other PlayTown Mats™, roads wind seamlessly throughout. Like all PlayTown Mats™, HomeTown Mat™ has a rigid surface to support action figures and small toy vehicles; and, they are lightweight, readily expandable for play, and fold compactly for easy travel and storage. Other collectible themes, such as FunTown Mat™, FarmTown Mat™, CampTown Mat™ and DownTown Mat™, to follow soon. Launch date: February 15, 2009.

This colorful construction kit contains four pieces each of the five ZOOB shapes in sparkly shades. They come in a reusable tube that includes instructions for 17 simple projects, including a giraffe, rocket man, cell phone and tiara.

At home or away, little adventurers will enjoy engaging in wild pastimes with magnetic Sudoku, tangrams and other games, and venturing on safari in imaginative play scenes. There are 18 games, puzzles and play scenes, more than 100 magnets, a zipper bag for storage, and a handy flip-over magnetic back cover. Launch date: July 2008.

Young princesses make their way through palaces and enchanted forests as they have a ball with memory and strategy games, Sudoku, imaginative play scenes and tangram puzzles. This activity includes 18 games, puzzles and play scenes, more than 100 magnets, and a zipper bag for storage. "The Mega MagnaForms has a magnetic foldover back cover [that] allows easy movement to play games and provides endless fun for play on the go or at home," Rasheen Hewlett, marketing assistant for Peter Pauper Press, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2008.

Kids can trace the illustrations of Princess Bella and her adventures and watch her colorful story unfold. Launch date: February 2005.

This activity features a scratch garden filled with bright flowers and lively fairies. Kids will see their artwork blossom on rainbow-swirled and gold, silver and purple glitter pages. They can use the sketch pages to draw their own designs. Scratch & Sketch "inspire[s] kids of all ages to become more creative and imaginative," Rasheen Hewlett, marketing assistant for Peter Pauper Press, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2007.

This product includes 20 super-cool drawing and design projects, from hieroglyphics to superheroes to Van Gogh. It comes with punch-out, reusable stencils kids can use in their designs. "Easy-to-handle wire-o binding makes each book user friendly," Rasheen Hewlett, marketing assistant for Peter Pauper Press, told TDmonthly. It was a 2006 NAPPA Honors award winner. Launch date: 2003.
— Debbie Rogers, owner of Bear and Friends in Johnson City, Tenn., told TDmonthly in a January 2012 survey that they sell a dozen or so Scratch and Sketch books each month, making them a top selling arts and crafts item.
— In an April 2015 survey, two out of 10 retailers told TDmonthly that scratch art was a best-selling travel toy.

Trendy designers can create their own fashions — party dresses, jeans, T-shirts, flip flops, sunglasses, bags and jewelry — by scratching away the black coating with the handy wooden stylus to reveal the swirl patterns and holographic colors in their hot new wardrobes. Launch date: June 2008.

Kids can learn all about Batman's crime-fighting friends and fierce foes, from The Riddler to Robin, The Penguin to Poison Ivy, as they copy 20 simple sketches of these world-class heroes and villainous criminals. They use the handy wooden stylus to scratch away the black coating on the pages and see Gotham City's characters come to life in swirl patterns and glitter colors that appear in the artwork like magic. "Our Scratch & Sketch products are great because they inspire kids of all ages to become more creative and imaginative. Kids are never limited to any one design, the colors are beautiful, and the activity promotes hand-eye coordination," Rasheen Hewlett, in marketing at Peter Pauper Press, told TDmonthly. Launch date: May 8, 2008.

X-Ball®, the newest creativity toy from the makers of the award-winning Ball of Whacks®, presents a whole new playful way to stimulate creativity. The set of 30 X-shaped magnetic design pieces click together to form a geometric orb. The uniquely angled X-shaped pieces allow imaginative users to invent their own shapes and designs. The X-Ball comes with an illustrated, 96-page creativity guidebook that offers lots of ideas for other fun shapes and creative applications. "X-Ball was created as a companion toy to the award-winning Ball of Whacks, and its unique X-shaped pieces can be combined the magnetic pyramids for creative play," Lynn Araujo, communications director for Creative Whack Company, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 15, 2009.

Past Videos: ASTRA 2009

Introducing the easiest way to center up to 4 lbs. of clay on a potter's wheel the first time, every time. The QuickCenter is "training wheels" for the centering process. The components of the system include the Universal Adaptor, Recessed Bat, Canister/Plunger, False Bottoms Set, Ejector, and QuickCenter Bat Pins. "Centering clay on a potter's wheel can be intimidating for students and those new to ceramics. The QuickCenter takes the guesswork out of centering clay in just three easy steps," Richard Fullenweider, advertising and media director of AMACO, told TDmonthly. Launch date: December 2008.

Young artists can dive in for hours of fun and creativity as their artwork appears like magic while they learn about 20 of the ocean's most fascinating creatures. "Our Scratch & Sketch products are great because they inspire kids of all ages to become more creative and imaginative. Kids are never limited to any one design, the colors are beautiful, and the activity promotes hand-eye coordination," Rasheen Hewlett, marketing assistant for Peter Pauper Press, told TDmonthly. "Easy-to-handle wire-o binding makes each book user friendly." Launch date: June 2005.

Kids can create a one-of-a-kind bowl for their one-of-a-kind pet. The size is perfect for dogs, cats, monkeys, parrots or opossums. The specially coated, food-safe ceramic pet dish comes with six non-toxic ceramic markers and holds three cups of dry food. The kit "provides children a creative way to express their love for a favorite pet. It is a fun, easy and functional project that your child will be proud of," Mike Greenwald, co-president of Bowwowmeow, told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 2009.
— "I saw these last year and didn't give them a second thought," said Mary Sisson of Kazoodles in Vancouver, Wash., "but I'm realizing how much kids love their pets and how this fills a niche for the animal lovers among our customer base. Especially the artistic ones." The Bowwowmeow pet products were one of her favorite lines at ASTRA Marketplace 2009, she told TDmonthly.

With this project kit, teens and adults can build a pathway of light. They'll be amazed at the way the glass stars in the kit glow. It includes letter stamps for stamping a perfect personalized greeting. The kit offers a "fun and creative way to set your memories in stone and create a fully functional decoration for your lawn or garden," Jeff Clark, sales and marketing associate for Milestones Products, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2009.

Peggy Flores explains and demonstrates relief printing by using flat cardboard, small pieces of corrugated cardboard, styrofoam and string, which are glued onto cardboard, painted, and inked. She also carves images on vinyl blocks to create images which she then prints. The film also demonstrates a variety of simple tools such as brayers, carving tools and bench hooks. Many student examples are shown. Running time is 26 minutes. "An art teacher actually demonstrates how these particular prints can be made simply with basic techniques and shows actual student work," President Amy Woodworth of Crystal Productions told TDmonthly. Launch date: November 17, 2008.

In 1958 Chr. Flensted designed a mobile with one red and three black disks. The mobile was named "Flying Saucers" and was very popular for years, but it was discontinued after two decades. The new version consists of six discs that are not only flat but also three-dimensionally shaped, and the mobile is delivered with extra discs in white, red, black and light grey, so that kids can build their own color scheme. The mobile can be watched from below and from the sides and top. The design is by Ole Flensted. Launch date: January 25, 2009.

"Happy Accidents," the latest Billy Jonas recording, offers funky folk music for the whole family. It’s musical medicine for the mind, body and spirit — a splendiferous sonic sojourn into the near and far reaches of fun and fantasy, possibility and purpose, word-play, wonder, heart and hope. Jonas’ seventh recording and second “family” CD contains 19 songs (15 originals; four adaptations of traditional tunes) based on voice, percussion and strong, memorable melodies. "'Happy Accidents' includes Jonas’ trademark homemade 're-percussion’ drum set, as well as a glorious panoply of found sounds (rubber bands, body percussion, door squeaks, apple cider jugs), exotic kalimbas and marimbas, conventional instruments (guitars, bass, piano, banjo, accordion and tuba) and two-, three-, four-, and five-part vocal harmonies," Billy Jonas of Bang-a-Bucket Music told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 28, 2009.

This exclusive bonding adhesive will work great on most materials. Tanner's Bond Water-Based Contact Cements are non-flammable, non-toxic and low VOC. Available in a 4-oz. size, quarts and gallons, all are safe for retail consumer sales. "Due to regulation by the CPSC, TLF has developed a water-based cement line [that] is compliant in all 50 states, Canada and Europe, and ha[s] a low enough level of VOCs to be sold in CA. Our line is made exclusively for TLF and co-branded with Barge Cement," Tony Hernandez, national sales manager for Tandy Leather Factory, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2009.

Paper Posie's newest book, the just-published Flower Girl A to Z, is written in rhyme and filled with colorful, trendy photographs that help Flower Girls learn about their new roles in the wedding. 

6-1/4" x 6-1/4" Hardcover, 32 pages.
Illustrated throughout, includes mirror.

This bright and colorful chart helps children of all ages recognize and share their feelings. Through a colorful and vividly illustrated marine life scene, children and their parents can identify a wide range of feelings. These 11" x 17" charts are double-sided with one side in black and white for coloring over and over again using washable crayons. It was a 2008 Dr. Toy Best Products Winner. Launch date: 2008.

This fun and engaging coloring book will help children recognize, identify, and talk about their feelings. "The whimsical verse is combined with a creative representation of feelings," Lisa-Marie Arneson, owner and creator of Bright Spots, told TDmonthly. The book was a 2008 Dr. Toy Best Vacation Children's Products Winner. Launch date: 2005.

Naturally scented softdough is scented with essential oils, giving the dough a pleasant scent.  The small 4 oz tubs comes in lemon, rose, peppermint, orange, lavender, vanilla and lime scent.

Small 4 oz tub of glow-in-the-dark for fun in the dark.

This blank puzzle gives kids freedom to draw their own picture, and then assemble and reassemble their very own design. It is available in 5" x 7" and 8" x 10" sizes with mailing envelopes.