May 2010 Notable Toys — Arts & Crafts

Hispanic is a term that refers to people living in the U. S. who have roots in many Spanish speaking countries. These beautiful collection of patterns each have their own distinctive characteristics. 8½ x 11" (22 x 28 cm). 8 patterns, 32 sheets
— This product is a best seller at Neely's in South L.A.

A classic heirloom project, the woven potholder, gets an overhaul in this informational, whimsical book from Klutz. The loom is provided, as well as a generous quantity of cotton-blend loops made specifically for the kit. Projects include potholders, a purse, a picture frame, a chicken and more. Detailed instructions and illustrations are provided.
― “I have a huge Klutz assortment. I really love it because the quality is so good,” said Amy Barrett, owner of Lasso the Moon Wonderful Toys in Helena, Mont., in April 2010.
― “Klutz always sticks out for me, as far as activity kits go,” said Janet Gessner, owner of Deep River Toy Company in Deep River, Conn., of her top-selling activity kits in spring 2010.
― Four of 43 retailers told TDmonthly in April 2010 that Klutz is a top-selling activity line in their stores.

Measuring 4” x 5” each, the three blank books are packed with markers and sticker accents. Kids create their own stories, photo albums, journals or anything else they can think of. The books are unlined to accommodate any style of contents imaginable.
― Three out of 43 retailers in an April 2010 survey listed Creativity for Kids as their top-selling provider of activity kits and playsets.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

The Preschool Activity Pack for uses different textures to create activities.

The Preschool Activity Pack uses different textures to create activities.

These wooden stamps are available in two sizes. The large sized stamp measures 2 3/4 x 2 3/4. The medium sized stamp measures 1 1/2 x 2 3/4. Each size comes with 6 assorted designs.

Eco Stars are 100-percent recycled, star-shaped crayons collected from children across the country by the National Crayon Recycle Program. This set of 10 Eco Stars comes in environmentally friendly packaging made from renewable resources.

This 74-minute DVD, featuring six artists with diverse talents and backgrounds, aims to inspire young viewers to make art. Activities use simple materials and techniques for projects including Found Object and 3D Sculptures, Self-Portrait Relief Prints, Abstract Art and Folk Art Paintings, Murals and Stained Glass.

This 18-piece Thanksgiving set includes eight Adorable Kinders Paper Dolls (four boys and four girls) and eight outfits (two Pilgrim Boy, two Pilgrim Girl, two Indian Boy and two Indian Girl), a glue stick and blunt-tip scissors. The dolls are made of durable, UV-coated card stock and come with a foot stand. They are perforated for easy removal and assembly.

Developed by an occupational therapist to improve hand strength and coordination, these stenciling activities are designed to teach the young learner to find the proper shape among similar shapes to develop visual discrimination and visual form constancy. Children will also learn to place the shapes in the correct orientation in order to strengthen visual spatial relationship and closure skills. Working with the stencil encourages good hand strength and bilateral coordination.

Snip It! is designed to help young children learn proper scissor skills. Snipping and cutting activities can help develop a child’s eye-hand coordination, adherence to visual boundaries and paper stabilization skills. Awards: 2010 NAPPA Gold.

This kit comes with over 200 pieces, including 10 sturdy mask forms with elastic cords, double-stick tape, pompoms, jewels and fringed paper, plus ready-to-decorate cutouts of hats, glasses, funny lips and more.

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.