February 2009 New Specialty Toys — Arts & Crafts

Winner of 19 educational toy awards, the Circus Kit offers hours of unique optical illusion eye-hand coordination fun and independent play in reasoning and art. Kids find and crayon morphed shapes on distorted coloring pages to make color appear in the right place in the circus cartoon reflections. Challenges include completing the morphed drawing, sketching your own morph, navigating a morphed maze, completing a morphed connect the dots, predicting a reflection, and more. The activities help develop logic and perception skills, flex problem-solving mental muscles, exercise fine motor control, test spatial intelligence, and spark imagination and creativity. The Circus Kit contains 32 morphed circus coloring pages activities, two mirror-perfect Morph-O-Scopes (easy assembly), 16 non-toxic crayons, a Circus Kit Enrichment Guide for extra learning value, and instructions in English, Spanish and French — all in a portable “desk" convenient for travel. The activities engage boys and girls, kids, tweens, teens and adults, as they have universal, cross-cultural appeal. The Circus Kit is made in the USA and meets or exceeds all U.S. safety standards. Launch date: November 24, 2008.

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.

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.

Complete and fully equipped starter kit for the little stamper/crafter in the family. Using the clear stamps and clear blocks makes stamping easy and fun because you can see how to line them up perfectly. The Clear Rubber Stamp Starter Kit comes in 3 different themes for creative stamping and artwork: “Circus Act”, “Farm Friends” and “Fun with Fish”. The Clear Rubber Stamp Starter Kit includes (1) Plastic storage case (1) Clear stamp set (1) Childsafe/washable dye ink pad (4) Clear acrylic blocks.

Available in dozens of fun clear stamp collections with fish, farm and circus themes as additions to the Clear Rubber Stamp Starter Kit.

Childsafe Inkpads come in 6 colors in a durable, long-lasting ink stamp pad.  Non-Toxic and easily washes out of most fabrics. Colors: Red, Blue, Purple, Black, Pink, Green. 

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.
THIS PRODUCT IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE

A container of dough for each color in the rainbow-red (cherry), yellow (lemon), orange (orange), green (green apple), blue (blueberry) and purple (grape). You have an entire world of possibilities in one box. Zoos, aquariums, gardens, jewelry, even cities are waiting to be created. You and your child will have hours of fun molding, building and learning with our Rainbow Colors Set. Because one color just isn't enough! Available in Scented and Unscented Sets of dough. 10 per case.

Available in Scented or Unscented dough in red, green, orange, yellow, blue, purple, brown, black, white, or pink. 60 per case.

Available in Scented and Unscented dough in a rainbow of colors; 6 tubs per case.

Available in Scented and Unscented dough in a rainbow of colors; 6 tubs per case.

This bright and colorful chart helps children of all ages recognize and share their feelings. Through a colorful and vividly illustrated flower garden 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 with washable crayons. "The Flower Garden Feeling Chart is a terrific way to help children identify feelings, develop emotional intelligence, and open up to engaging discussions. It's a fun and straightforward way to lead productive discussion of feelings at home, school, or while traveling," Lisa-Marie Arneson, owner and creator of Bright Spots, told TDmonthly. The chart was named a 2008 Dr. Toy Best Vacation Children's 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.

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.

Each Softdough Play Set includes the following: four, 4-oz. tubs of Softdough (in colors red, blue, green and yellow), a hardwood rolling pin and 11 cookie cutters (turtle, frog, squirrel, dragonfly, moon, star, sun, leaf, butterfly, heart and cloud).

This peel-and-paint art project contains safe, non-toxic and washable powder art in eight colors. Children simply peel away pieces of the design to expose a sticky surface and then apply the different colors of powder to the appropriate sections.

This animals-themed Kids Color Tissue Box® kit features illustrations of popular animals such as a tiger and a panda for a child to color in. Each animal occupies a different face of the tissue box. Each Kids Color Tissue Box® kit includes 2 Coloring boxes, 4 Crayola® Crayons, and 2 packs of Hankeez Brand facial tissues, each with 80 SuperSoft 2-ply tissues in each pack. The tissue box size measues 4 3/8" x 4 3/8" at the base, and 4 3/4" tall.

Tactile, colorful PlayFoam never dries out, can be molded and sculpted, leaves no residue, and sticks best to itself rather than the many surfaces of a home. Whether constructed into elaborate art projects or simply enjoyed for its unique texture, this double pack of PlayFoam in 12 colors contains enough to share.
— “PlayFoam is still strong,” said Janet Gregory, owner of Over the Rainbow Toys in Anchorage, Alaska.
— Of 44 retailers surveyed in late fall 2008, seven percent said PlayFoam is one of their top-selling items.

Hours of creative entertainment for the young jeweler are packed into this boxed learning-activity-turned-craft. Kids can use the bright laces, various shapes and alphabet beads to create keepsake jewelry for themselves or parents, or use the kit as a reusable lacing set to practice spelling and patterning. 
— “The Melissa & Doug bead stringing kits” are the best-selling craft item at Let's Play in Hillsboro, Ore., Owner Shirley Reilly told TDmonthly in fall 2008. Reilly said she sells around 20 kits per month.
— Fifteen percent of 44 retailers said Melissa & Doug supply their best-selling craft kits.
— Kim Emigh, VP of E-commerce at Growing Tree Toys in State College, Penn., told TDmonthly in a Fall 2012 survey that this was a top-2 best selling jewelry item at their store.

This pop art kit comes with bottle caps, charms, glitter and gooey glaze so that kids can make colorful, retro creations. The goo dries into a hard, shiny coating overnight. The caps feature safety-coated edges.
— “Klutz books are our main focus regarding arts and crafts for both boys and girls,” said owner Kevin Pohle of his Denver, Colo., toy store, The Wizard's Chest.
— “We sell a lot of Klutz books,” said Lesa Smith, owner of Whiz Kids in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
— Eighteen percent of 44 specialty retailers named Klutz as a best-selling product line in fall 2008.

This kit includes four big, chunky pull-back monster trucks, ready to take a custom paint job and adhesive decals dreamed up by a young designer. On their giant wheels, these lifted pickups are fit to race, roll, and smash their way around. The early auto enthusiast is provided with the four assembled trucks, acrylic paints, a paintbrush and two sheets of stickers.
— “From Creativity for Kids, the [Monster Trucks] have been great,” John Naisbitt, owner of Thinker Things in Del Mar, Calif., told TDmonthly.
— “Monster Trucks … sell well,” said Jeanette Lauture, owner of Aunt Jean's Toys and Treats in Montclair, N.J.
— “It's a great line; we sell tons,” said Jake Thomas, co-owner of Applause Toy Store in Bracebridge, Ontario, of Creativity for Kids, which 20 percent of 44 retailers listed as their best-selling craft line in fall 2008.

Just the cozy cottage backyard birds are looking for, the Home Tweet Home bird-house has a real thatched roof and unique décor as provided by the child. The wooden house has various windows for the residents, pegs for perches on the outside, and attached twine to hang from. It includes weatherproof paint in six colors, a paintbrush and instructions.
— “Alex is strong in the arts and crafts area,” said Randy Horn, owner of Learning Express in Glen Ellyn, Ill.
— “We've done well with the Alex craft kits this year,” said Richard Belanger, owner of Scalliwag Toys in Belleville, Ontario.
— Sixteen percent of 44 retailers listed Alex as their top-selling craft kit supplier in fall 2008.