July 2010 Notable Toys — Arts & Crafts

Kids can store all their art projects in one place. This portfolio has nine expandable pockets and holds papers up to 12" x 18".

The economical, easy-to-use Large Tie Dye Kit dyes up to 15 adult T-shirts; it comes with complete, easy-to-follow instructions and pattern tying guidelines. The kit also includes: red, blue and yellow pre-measured Procion MX dye powder in applicators; an extra applicator bottle for mixing secondary colors; soda ash dye fixer; rubber gloves and rubber bands.

Fun and practical, Tee Juice Broad Line markers let users make broad, bold strokes yet are soft to the touch. Kids can paint on fabric without the mess and hassle of paintbrushes and open bottles of paint.  Teens can use these markers to express themselves by writing messages or drawing images on t-shirts.  They are great for coloring in large blocks of color when using Fineliner or Medium Point Tee Juice Fabric Marking Pens. The markers come in eight colors, open stock and two boxed sets.

$3.99 (individual markers) and $14.99 (4 marker boxed set)

For birthday parties, classroom projects and even fund-raisers. The party pack comes with ten 1 lb. bags of different colored sand and 25 bottles with caps. The Sandtastik Colored Sand included in the Party Pack is blue, black, red, emerald green, mauve, orange, pink, light blue, white and yellow.

Sandtastik supplies safe non-toxic colored PlasterMix in 8 different colors including white, yellow, blue, purple, red, brown, orange and green molding PlasterMix. PlasterMix is perfect to use with Plaster Molds, for creating exciting craft projects like handprints or animal paw prints and can even be used as chalk when dried. Available in 1 kg bags, 10 kg bags, and 5 lb bags. Custom Packaging also available.

The Sandkidz Beach Guide contains games and crafts for a full day or weekend of beach fun for the whole family. All items come in a vinyl pouch attached to the guide and can be replaced as needed for more beach activities. The Sandkidz Beach Guide was awarded the 2009 "Seal of Excellence" by Creative Child Magazine. Launch date: June 12, 2008.

The Grasshopper Preschool Prep Getting Our Hands Ready Kit is packed with playful games and an illustrated guidebook to get children ready for early writing and grasp. Children can feed bugs to Mr.Crunch, play with dozens of reusable stickers, dough stamps, stretchy dough, and more. The Grasshopper guidebook gives parents the tools they need to give their children a head start for school success. Rachel Rudman, President of Grasshopper Inc., told TDmonthly this is "the only product on the market to get kids ready for preschool without electronics and without workbooks ... all fun!"
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

The Bitty Bobble Pet Shop includes bobble-head dogs that kids can paint with fur-colored paint and bright accent colors, as well as accessorize with included trimmings. Launch date: 2010.
— “The kits from Creativity (have) the biggest sell-through for young girls,” George Emerson of The Walrus & Carpenter Toys in Middletown, R.I., told TDmonthly in June 2010.
— Thirty-two percent of 40 retailers named craft kits a top seller for girls in early summer 2010. Ten percent of the 40 retailers mentioned the Creativity for Kids brand.

SandMemories allows kids to make gifts for their parents, or for parents to make a wonderful keepsake of their child's hand print, out of sand. Made in Germany by a Danish company, the SandMemories hand print kit with wooden frame contains:

    * sand
    * sand adhesive
    * wooden frame for individual decoration (outer size 21x21cm, inner size 15x15cm)
    * loop
    * spatula
    * illustrated instructions on rear side
    * wooden stick for standing up the completed frame
 
When completed, the hardened hand print may hang on the wall or stand upright on a table. Launch date: 2010.

The Create-a-Clip craft kit has been stringently tested and is CPSCA certified. The clips, appliques and ribbons, as well as the glue and non-slip liner, have been custom designed by Kensey Lu. Each kit comes complete with eight stainless steel hairclips, 11 non-fraying ribbons, 10 stylish appliques, 20 Swarovski crystals, one bottle of non-toxic ribbon and crystal glue, eight non-slip liners for stay-put styling and one craft stick. Launch date: 2009.

Kids can shake up some painting fun with Glob Natural Color Blends craft paints. This set includes four do-it-yourself paint jars. Just add water and shake to produce 2 oz. each of all-natural lemon verbena, tangerine, berry blue and pomegranate colored and scented paint. All Glob paints are gluten-free, soy-free, vegan, non-toxic, made in the USA, and boxed in recycled packages.
— Glob paints were a big hit with Eco Child’s Play’s Jennifer Lance: “This may be one of the coolest products we have reviewed in a long time,” she raved. With the all-natural ingredients, Jennifer felt assured the paints were truly non-toxic. She noted, “Mixed up paint needs to be stored in the refrigerator, because they are truly all natural, but you can easily just mix up a little at a time based upon your needs.”
— Tiffany of Nature Moms Blog found the Glob paint to require more work than other paints, but once mixed, the paint worked well for her children on a variety of surfaces. She also enjoyed the fruity and floral scents.

Large, versatile and sturdy stand-up easel allows young artists to create masterpieces over and over! Painting area is 17" x 20" for chalkboard, write and wipe, and paper roll surfaces. Handy and spacious paint and brush shelf has a washable surface for easdy clean-ups. Spacious 18" x 18' storage tray conveniently holds a variety of art supplies. Paints, paintbrush, chalk and paper sheets not included.  Ships partially assembled.

Children discover and explore new shapes, learn measurements, develop primary motor skills, improve communication and language skills, and visualize their world in new ways with Sandtastik Play Sand. Sandtastik Play Sand is 100-percent natural, non-toxic and environmentally friendly. The sand molds when wet and can be washed and re-used over and over again. Sandtastik Sales and Marketing Manager Chad Noyes told TDmonthly, "Sandtastik White Play Sand is safe for children of all ages. It is the only sand in the world containing no free crystalline silica or quartz, approved safe by the ACMI, ASTM (USA), Corporate and Consumer Affairs (Canada), and EN-71 (Europe)." Launch date: October 1990.

The Playdate Central Giant Activity Tablecloth is imprinted with more than 50 mazes, word finds, connect the dots and pictures to color. Children can color one side then flip it over for more creative activities. The tablecloth comes with six colored markers and works with any washable markers. Cloth is machine washable in cold water, no detergent, on gentle cycle. Measures 55" x 38".

These create-your-own whimsical wind-ups with this set. The Wind-up Workshop Robots come with five wind-up mechanisms, colorful cardboard robot cut outs, retro-robot stickers, wiggly eyes, sticky foam shapes, eight mini markers and more.

Left or right handed - these safe and simple scissors are ergonomically designed with little hands in mind. Kids can practice fine motor skills on simple paper patterns and use the glue stick and wiggly eyes to turn these clever cut-outs into abstract art or amazing animals. Display boards and hanging yarn are included.

The sturdy corrugate dollhouse comes complete with markers, sticker accessories, punch out dolls and easy to assemble furniture. Use the supplies included in your set or go "green" and turn every day items into awesome accessories using the enclosed fully illustrated guide. Measures 21 in x 17.25 in x 9 in assembled. The Recycled Cardboard Dollhouse includes an imprinted color-in playmat, decorative papers, four sheets of creative color-in cut-outs, 10 piece punch-out furniture set, glue stick, adhesive foam squares, 40+ color-in stickers, 12 washable markers, and instructions.

This kit has everything needed to assemble and decorate a jewelry tree. Easy to assemble 14"" wooden tree features velvety flocking and fashionable felt accents. Bonus jewelry included too! The set includes assorted felt flower and leaf shapes to decorate the tree and bird, a wooden bird tree topper, assorted felt flower shapes for jewelry making, assorted wooden beads, three satin ribbons, one pair of 100 percent steel earring hooks, a bead threader, and double-sided adhesive dots.

This coloring tray features five dimensional rubbing plates and markers. The set includes 20 printed sheets, 20 blank sheets of paper and 15 break-resistant jumbo crayons.

Decorate six sturdy boxes with icing inspired trims and colorful felt accents such as cherry pom poms, glitter pain and a sprinkle of beads. The Dainty Desserts set comes with colorful felt, felt confetti, six colorful trinket boxes, chenille yarn, glitter gel, craft glue, scissors and assorted trims. The set includes a bonus 4.5" tiered dessert tray.

This novelty chalk with google eyes comes in a packs of 2. Chose between a tool, ice cream or solar theme. Dimensions : 17.5 X 10.75 X 11.75 inches.

This solo activity kit doesn't require reading and comes with 13 interchangeable parts for three spaceships, plus 60 decorative stickers. Awards: Parent's Choice Award 2010

This solo project includes everything a girl needs to create six butterflies. It comes with six paper butterflies, 184 glitter stickers, removable, non-staining adhesive for attaching butterflies to any surface, and instructions for five projects. Awards: Parent's Choice Award 2010