July 2009 New Specialty Toys — Arts & Crafts

Eco-Snoopers Fun Activity Travel Book contains an array of puzzles, mazes, Q&A's, and activities specifically designed to entertain and educate children on the merits of being environmentally green. The book can be carried anywhere and contains quizzes and challenges created to keep kids occupied for hours. The Eco-Snoopers Fun Activity Travel Book is part of a larger selection of Eco Snoopers stationery and backpack products. Launch date: May 2009.

Designed to make it easier and convenient to create colorful friendship bracelets, the Friendship Bracelet Maker features an adjustable butterfly clip to hold the top of the bracelet during construction, as well as a holder to keep all the strings in place. It's travel-ready, with a pull-out drawer for string storage and instructions, and comes with 56 threads in 14 colors. Launch date: Fall 2009.
Awards: Dr. Toy’s Best Vacation Products 2010

Past videos: Product Demonstration

Sew beautiful paper together with decorative beads and thread to make handmade books to fill with memories, poems, stories and artwork. With easy to follow tips and lots of examples for inspiration, craft 4 fabulous books, plus cards, bookmarks and even origami ornaments! Two bonus projects in every kit! Turn the box into a mailbox, birdhouse or special treasure box. The inner tray is perfect for framing your art. Ages 8 and up.

Fun friends to design, dress and treasure forever. With simple tips and lots of examples for inspiration, cut, sew and glue four unique dolls and turn them into bookmarks, room decorations, gift tags or even pins to wear. Two bonus projects in every kit! Turn the box into a mailbox, birdhouse or special treasure box. The inner tray is perfect for framing your art. Ages 8 and up.

With a generous amount of wool roving and step-by-step color photographs, this kit is designed to help one learn the art of sculptural needle felting. Also included are two new felting needles and a wooden skewer packaged in a take-out container. All one needs is a foam pad and a sense of adventure. Launch date: 2007.

Individuals can learn the art of sculptural needle felting with this intermediate kit by Woolpets. This kit is designed for those with some experience needle felting, but adventuresome craft folks won't have difficulty. A generous amount of wool roving and step-by-step color photographs are provided to make it simple to create an adorable sheep. Also included are two new felting needles and a wooden skewer packaged in an attractive take-out container. All one needs is a foam pad and a sense of adventure. Launch date: 2007.

Individuals can learn the art of sculptural needle felting with this kit by Woolpets. A generous amount of wool roving and instructional photos are provided to make it simple to create a family of penguins. Also included are two new felting needles and a wooden skewer packaged in an attractive take out container. All one needs is a foam pad and a sense of adventure. "Lots of step-by-step photographs and very clear instructions ensure success for beginners," Kevin Sharp, owner of Woolpets, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2007.

Children can get into the holiday spirit with this festive Santa Scribble Mat. This durable, washable vinyl placemat is designed to provide hours of fun and creativity. It comes with four non-toxic crayons and may be used at meal time, school, home, restaurants, or for travel and kids on the go. "Our signature surface wipes clean with a dry cloth. Children can color over and over," Andi Thea, COTS of Scribble Mats!, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2003.

Kids can join Santa on his Christmas journey in this Scribble Book that comes with 10 color-on, wipe-off board book pages and six crayons. The pages can be colored again and again, and the product may be used at meal time, home, school and restaurants, and for travel and kids on the go. "Our special surface wipes clean with a dry cloth, so children can color over and over," Andi Thea, COTS of Scribble-Mats!, told TDmonthly. It received a 2009 Dr. Toy Best Vacation Children's Products Award. Launch date: 2006.

This beginner's origami book instructs kids on creating designs that include a spaceship, frogs, flowers and more. The 48 pages of instruction include color diagrams, and the back of the book holds 40 sheets of origami paper. A drawer in the book's spine opens to reveal six colored pencils and 12 decorative eyes that may be used to adorn the finished creations. The book measures 7.5" square.

This new line of 18 books includes a 50/50 mix of coloring and activities on premium quality papers, such as watercolor, vellum, and heavy duty drawing paper. Every book was distinctively designed in partnership with artists, without clip art. The square shape is user friendly with a plastic coil binding so that the books can lay flat for easy coloring. Furthermore, the perforated pages are printed on one side and can be easily removed for displaying. Each book has its own blend of enriching activities, creative projects, fun facts and even stickers. Launch date: October 2009.
— Elisabeth Dahl of Calico Cat Toy Shoppe in Bainbridge Island, Wash., who discovered this product at the ASTRA Marketplace 2009, told TDmonthly she appreciated the spiral binding and perforated sheets.

This set for portraits contains a 12-piece selection of smooth, blendable oil pastels to create natural skin tones. Expressionist oil pastels are formulated with extra-fine quality pigments, wax and oil. Artists blend to create genuine complexions for portraits. The product is ACMI Non-toxic certified and may be used on paper, cardboard, canvas and wood. Also available is Expressionist Extender, a unique oil pastel medium that extends a color’s hue range. "Expressionist oil pastels are the standard by which all other oil pastels are judged," Linda Lyon, marketing specialist for Sakura of America, told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 24, 2009.

Like all Scribble Mats!, this durable vinyl place mat is designed to provide hours of fun and creativity. Kids can learn as they color. Each mat comes with a box of four crayons. Scribble Mats! may be used at school, home, restaurants, or during travel. "Color on Wipe off Scribble Mats! are made with our signature surface that allows any waxed based crayon to wipe clean and easy with a dry paper towel or cloth. Kids can color again and again," Andi Thea of Scribble Mats! told TDmonthly. This product received a 2003 Dr. Toy Best Classic Toy award. Launch date: July 2003.

There's no limit to what you can make with this beautiful collection of materials! With simple tips and lots of examples for inspiration, cut, glue and sew ornaments, bookmarks, jewelry, cards, mobiles, gift tags, collages & more! Two bonus projects in every kit! Turn the box into a mailbox, birdhouse or special treasure box. The inner tray is perfect for framing your art. Ages 8 and up
— "I love these craft kits because the materials used are so incredible. Kids get to play with 100-percent wool felt, glass and wood beads, and beautiful handmade paper. It’s an added bonus that the company has skipped excessive packaging and uses 100-percent post-consumer waste recycled paper, reusable bags and vegetable-based inks," said Autumn Orndorff, gift buyer for Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Ariz., after discovering Artterro kits at ASTRA Marketplace 2009.

This CALAFANT Dollhouse comes complete with balcony and two big rooms on the backside. All doors open. Made from recycled material and is 100% biodegradable. Decorate inside and outside, create wallpaper and pictures. Ideal in size for play with 3" dolls and animals. Assembled product is approx. 15" x 7" x 16"

High quality cardboard fort with 2 teepees. Can be colored as shown or with one's own creative design. Once colored in, the fort and teepees become a pretend play environment. The fort's size is ideal for play with 3" dolls and animals. Approximate size: 14" x 14" x 9"(fort) and 5" x 4" x 8"(tepee). Made from recycled material and is 100% biodegradable.

Beautiful castle for every princess, fairy, king and queen. Color with the included 12 markers (non-toxic, washable) or decorate it with many other materials or paints. Approximate size: 9" x 9" x 11".

Ahoy! This pirate ship is ready for new adventures in no time. Decorate it in your very own colors. 12 washable, non-toxic markers included. Built with eco-friendly materials. Approximate size: 10" x 8" x 5".

Cozy little farm house with stable. Easy to fold and color, and can be used to play with existing farm animal figurine toys. 12 non-toxic, washable markers included. Approximate size: 14" x 11" x 5"

The PocketKiddy is a smaller version of the TravelKiddy for the purse, diaper bag or pocket.  It contains crayons, mini activity book, stickers and more. Minor mishaps are no problem as wipes, tissues and bandages are included.

Similar to the TravelKiddy for ages 6 plus but with activities selected for the younger user.  Designed to keep the young kids occupied during the long car rides and plane trips. Wipes, tissues and bandages are included in every TravelKiddy to take care of minor mishaps along the way.  Included also is a foam core board so there is a hard surface on which to color or do crafts.

Contains age appropriate crafts, stickers, activity books, 3-d puzzles, small toys, crayons in a durable container, doodle pad, pencil, tape measure, pre-stamped design-your-own post cards and more.  Each easy to carry, durable bag is designed to provide over 7 hours of entertainment. The return kit is separately packaged so the TravelKiddy can be refilled with new toys, crafts and activities for the trip home.

Packaged in a purple box, this craft set includes a mirror fit for royalty, stickers, gems that sparkle, and both craft and glitter glue.

Complete with photos, drawings, footnotes and diagrams, this guide boasts 300+ entries, including how-tos such as “How to Do a Wheelie” and “How to Really Annoy Your Older Sibling.” The book received a National Parenting Publications Gold Award.