July 2010 Notable Toys — Creative Activities

This photographic instruction book is full of tips, techniques and hundreds of designs to paint on fingernails. The book comes with six non-toxic, peel-off nail colors.
— “We do a lot of Klutz for the 10- to 12-year-old girl,” Jason Curtis of Funtopia Toys in Middletown, Calif., told TDmonthly in June 2010.
— Eight percent of 40 retailers cited Klutz books as a top seller for girls in early summer 2010.
— Mary Holmes from Go Bananas LLC in Ashburn, Va., told TDmonthly in a December 2011 survey that books from Klutz were her best seller in that category, selling about 12 each month. Two other retailers also named Klutz books as their best sellers.

Girls can use the freaky skull key to open the Fearbook and access a specially locked section, where they can write secret messages with a “magic reveal” pen. Another lockable compartment can hide a pen and marker, composition book, and creepy stickers. When the button on the back is pressed, the book records a re-playable message.

This set comes with four bottles of poster paint and four spill-proof paint cups. Also included are an easel paper roll, chalk, paint brushes, a dry-erase marker and an eraser.
— In a November 2011 survey, 2 out of 12 retailers said art supplies from Melissa & Doug were their best selling educational products.
— Mark Rosenblum from Hobbytown in Fairfield, Conn., told TDmonthly in a January 2015 survey that Melissa & Doug was one of their best-selling brands of arts & crafts toys.

This set includes over 800 Stickers. The collection includes fashion, princess, pets, tea party and fairy themes. These stickers can be used for personalizing, creating pictures or storytelling.

These stylish silicone skulls are ready to be filled with batter and baked into perfect cupcake craniums. Four silicone skull molds are included in each set.

The All in One Play Kitchen is a canvas for little cooks to practice pretend-play skills. It is full of details that are designed to enhance play value and lead to hours of fun, including a refrigerator, a sink, a microwave, an oven, a dishwasher, a clock with moveable hands and a wall phone. "This product is manufactured to withstand years of enjoyment," Guidecraft designer Dave Ruddock told TDmonthly.
— In a May 2012 survey, Sherry Grisham, owner of Today's Dolls and Toys in Corinth, Miss., told TDmonthly that this is her best selling furniture item.

This kit includes do-it-yourself non-permanent monster tattoos that let kids look like the students of Monster High. The roller comes with tattoos including stitches, bite marks, claw marks, scales, snake skin and mummy wraps. There are also character specific temporary tattoo stickers, as well as a skull ink pad with three colors.

Designed by artist Andrew Bell and produced in association with Google, this cute "Android" figure is left blank for drawing or painting on. The figure is made of vinyl and measures 3" tall.

This doll set features two Moxie Girlz wearing fun outfits girls can color themselves. Also included are two friendship bracelets to share with a friend and accessories to color with washable markers.

This book comes with three ready-to-design tiaras, and a stencil for making countless more, along with a treasure trove of sparkly pieces for decorating them. The kit comes with 21 jewels, 100 sequins in various shapes and sizes, 16 pompoms, 36 gel stickers, stencils and a glue stick.

This book comes with two tear-resistant paper puppies — a Chihuahua and a Yorkshire terrier. Their punch-out wardrobes include winter and summer outfits, rain gear and even a bikini. Unlike regular paper-doll duds, these clothes stay securely in place and look just as stylish from the back as they do from the front. Also included are accessories like food bowls, bones, a fluffy purple tutu and a convertible doggie carrier.

This prompted journal is filled with doodly artwork growing out of the corners and creeping up the edges of the pages like a wild vine of inspiration. There are also tons of activities, including “doodle-starters” — faintly printed guidelines of shapes and patterns. Clever journal prompts and drawing ideas mean there is never a struggle thinking of what to doodle. A custom-designed gel pen is included.

Kids can find out what the future holds with these fortune tellers. The book includes 24 fortune tellers and eight sticker sheets, and features a colorful lenticular flip cover. "Not only are our activity books fun and hip, they are produced with the lenticular technology. The front covers flip from one colorful image to another," Iscream Prepress Manager Leslie Montalbano told TDmonthly.

This 96-page activity book lets kids create lists that are all about them. "Not only are our activity books fun and hip, they are produced with the lenticular technology. Our covers flip from one colorful image to another," Leslie Montalbano, Iscream prepress manager, told TDmonthly.

Every child can be Santa's Little Helper with this holiday cookie kit. Users can combine their favorite cookie recipes with the Curious Chef cookie cutters and utensils to create a unique holiday treat. "These are REAL cooking utensils designed to meet the unique needs of small hands, not toys. This means they actually work!" Shelly Schumacher, Curious Chef communications manager, told TDmonthly.

This kit includes all the art materials a child needs to create. The plain brown paper exterior allows kids to personalize all sides. The set includes 18 colored pencils, 12 oil pastels, eight watercolor cakes, a paintbrush, a sharpener and an eraser. It measures 9.75" x 5" x 1.75" and has a rope handle and closure.

Sticky Mosaics bring the fun and excitement of mosaic art home. This individually packaged design includes more than 400 peel and stick tiles in 12 assorted colors and styles for a Fire Engine mosaic.

Sticky Mosaics bring the fun and excitement of mosaic art home. This individually packaged design includes more than 400 peel and stick tiles in 12 assorted colors and styles for a T-Rex mosaic.

Sticky Mosaics bring the fun and excitement of mosaic art home. This individually packaged design of a Clown Fish includes more than 400 peel and stick tiles in 12 assorted colors and styles for mosaic creation.

Sticky Mosaics bring the fun and excitement of mosaic art home. Package includes black and white numbered templates for preschoolers to create any of 20 fun designs with the 600 half-inch magnetic foam cubes. The cubes are easy to handle and the large easel can be flipped into either portrait or landscape orientations.

Features:

•  600 Magnetic Foam Cubes
•  20 Reusable Templates
•  12” x 17” Easel
•  Convenient Easel Stand

Awards: 2008, Learning Express Best Preschool Toy Award

Kids can design sparkling mosaics using the metallic foam magnets of Magnetic Mosaics Metal. The package includes peel and stick tile sheets in seven assorted colors and styles. The tiles are reusable and easy to store with the provided bags.

Features:
    * 2100 metallic foam magnets
    * 12” square playing surface
    * Four reusable templates
    * Seven zip-lock storage bags
    * Colorful creative ideas poster

From ancient Greece and Rome to modern times, artists have been using simple tile sets to create beautiful and intriguing patterns. Using only 64 square tiles, Mosaica unlocks hidden creativity and inspires the creation of colorful works of art.
Features:
    * 64 colorful 3/4” square tiles
    * Insert with suggested patterns
    * Magnetically receptive play surface

Designed for young mosaic artists, My First Picture Maker allows children to create sparkling mosaics through following numbers or colored symbols.
Features:
    * 300 magnetic 5/8” square tiles
    * 12” square playing surface
    * 10 reusable templates

Magnetic Color Cubes is a pocket-sized set of half-inch wooden cubes in lustrous colors allow the creative edge to flourish.
Features:
    * 100 colorful magnetic hardwood cubes
    * Travel tin and suggested patterns
    * No assembly required