May 2009 Notable Toys — Arts & Crafts

Cards with a themed frame on the cover - leaves more room for creativity. Variety includes Birthday, Thank you, Get Well, Congrats, and General Friendship designs. 20 cards per book.

Includes fifteen "Merry Christmas" cards in 5 designs as well as five Christmas Gift Thank You notes. 20 cards per book.

Teachers' Editions have the same card design repeated throughout. Perfect for classroom projects and group settings. 25 cards per book. Also available are Father's Day and Thank You book.

Ideal for beginners! Children can learn three different stitches. Make a 6'''x6''' needlepoint picture, bookmark, and keychain, a 6'''x6''' crosstitch picture and sew a puppy bean bag. Includes all materials needed to complete kit

Cool little albums for BIG TIME fun! Enough to make an entire mini scrapbook! Kits include mini scrapbook with 12 page protectors, 12 pattern sheets, sticker sheets, 3D embellished frames, embellished stickers, foam stickers, confetti, pom poms and rhinestones.

Every teddy bear's got personality, but this one's got yours! With a little TLC and some careful stitching you can sew a puppy and made a friend all in one sitting. This kit includes pre-cut felt, polyfill, embroidery floss, needle, ribbon, and easy to follow instructions. Everything you need to complete one 9-1/2" puppy.

These craft kits let kids build their own bears at home. Kits include materials to make the bear, plus clothing. Large kits come with a diorama and cardboard furniture. This product is licensed from the original Build-a-Bear. Launch date: February 2009.

This little lapdesk is topped by a slate that comes with an attached eraser and a pack of Crayola chalk. Kids can also use the elastic holders to secure a piece of paper and use the desk as a writing surface. Launch date: Spring 2009.

Created in France, these well-crafted wooden car kits, designed to introduce children to the world of woodworking, give children a chance to build something fun for themselves. The kit comes with pre-cut wood, a hammer, sandpaper and glue and dowels for old-world construction, as well as acrylic paints in durable pots, plus two paintbrushes to personalize the project — one for broad painting and one for details. The set features "beech wood components, which is more durable than pine, and everything the child needs is included," Meghan Ristau, sales and marketing manager for Woodland Magic Imports, told TDmonthly. Launch date: May 2008.

Incrediline's murals and mats are designed to take any kind of permanent or impermanent marker and wipe clean easily without water or cleansers — even months after Junior first scrawled his Hancock.

T-me Design-Your-Own is a do-it-yourself kit that includes everything a child needs to design his or her own wearable artwork. She can draw a picture using the markers and papers in the kit, choose her favorite T-shirt style from the enclosed catalog, and mail the drawing to the company in the pre-paid return envelope. In 10 days, she'll receive her very own wearable art. The kit's T-shirt-shaped packaging converts into an easel-style picture frame so kids can easily display their favorite artwork.

Designed to give children ideas for creative filming while using the home video camera, this book includes a slate to mark takes, outlines gimmicks and gags, and provides step-by-step instructions on cool techniques, such as staging disappearances or fight scenes (where no one gets hurt). The guide is authored by John Cassidy and Nicholas Berger.
— “It's the Klutz that sells best,” said Patti Tepper-Rasmussen, owner of Learning Tree Toys in Oklahoma City, Okla., during an April 2009 survey of best-selling playsets and activity kits. 
— “Klutz is probably still my No. 1 seller. They have lots going on,” Pat Jensen, owner of Northwind Kites in Anchorage, Alaska, told TDmonthly. 
— “I sell a huge amount of Klutz books,” said Amy Barrett, owner of Lasso the Moon Wonderful Toys in Helena, Mont., in spring 2009.

Explore the Mona Lisa's smile, Titian's noises, Duccio's artistic omelet, a Jackson Pollock splash, a king's portrait, an entire battle, saints and sinners, knights and peasants, motorcars and animals; and paintings on every conceivable surface walls, wood panels, cloth, glass, metal, bark, and leather. Follow Mickey and his friends through this most magical of worlds as they show us how to look at, understand, and enjoy the works of the greatest artist.

The Make A Plate® Kits are a great way to capture the imagination of the young artist in a usable product that is dishwasher safe and break resistant. A classroom kit that has enough templates for your child’s classroom or parties, each kit contains 50 drawing templates, 2 packs of markers, one order form, one pre-addressed return envelope, one instruction sheet and one label to expedite your order. Have one plate made or have all 50 made at once. You decide which ones and when, after you’ve created the design. Pay only for processing the artwork that you send to the Magic Factory™. Processing is only $5.95 per plate (CAN $7.95 USD). After all, teachers and families have been making memories and we have been making them special since 1969!
— In an October 2011 survey about best selling personalized and keepsake items, Kim Emigh, manager of e-commerce at Growing Tree Toys in State College, Pa., told TDmonthly that their top selling item is "The Make a Plate kit - hands down!"

Decorate your window with fun circus creatures! This package contains 6 colors with glitters, 1 outline, patterns, PVC sheets.

This set includes 4 tubs of bathtub paint in red, blue, green and yellow. Just squeeze and write!

This set includes 4 tubs of neon modeling dough in red, blue, green and yellow. Also available with glitter.

All Purpose Mats serve as a cutting board, placemat and workstation in one. There are four educational mats: three feature a country from the Handstand Kids Cookbook series and the fourth illustrates a kitchen scene. Maps of Italy, Mexico and China are featured along with language translations of cooking utensils and foods used in the Handstand Kids’ recipes (the Mexican map border shows an apple and below is the Spanish translation “manzana”). These lightweight and durable mats are dishwasher safe and phthalate free. "There is no other multi-purposed item like this on the market. The mats educate kids on geography [and] language, and empower them in the kitchen to have their own work space," Yvette Garfield, creator of Handstand Kids, told TDmonthly. Launch date: April 2009.

This kit includes printed cotton canvas, a doll pattern, scissors, needle, thread and stuffing so that kids can make their own dolly. Awards: TDmonthly Top Toy 2009.

Where to Buy: Creative Kidstuff

3 times award winning kit containing pre-cut wooden pieces, paint, glue and varnish to make a bird café. Even includes a splash mat to keep your surfaces clean

A great kit for children to learn to knit. With fully illustrated easy-to-follow instructions, knitting needles, yarn, stuffing and cute felt pieces to bring your elephant to life.

Batter up with Sticky Mosaics®! Complete four fun filled pictures with our foil and foam stickers, then hang them on your wall. Includes four templates, four wall hangers, and over 2700 foil and foam sticky tiles.

Bring your four favorite fairies to life with this shimmering decorate by number kit. Each picture is a different fairy to hang on your wall. Includes four fairy designs, over 3000 sparkling tiles and jewels, and four wall hangers.

My First Sticky Mosaics® bring all the fun of Sticky Mosaics® to pre-schoolers! Match shapes and colors to create your own mosaic masterpiece. Includes 5 templates, 5 wall hangers, and over 1000 sticky foam pieces.