As soon as I hear the name Crayola, I automatically think of wax crayons but, as we learnt when we received one of their Crayola Creations products to review, they have a whole lot more to offer than colouring tools ! The range includes a Sparkly Charms Kit, Frame It! Mosaic picture framing kit, a Nail Deco kit and a Fashion Jewellery Kit.
We received Catwalk Creations which is ideal for your tweens and teens who have dreams of making it big in the world of fashion or who just love putting funky outfits together. As Crayola say : "It's all about colour, customisation and finding your own style – giving you the chance to show off your artistic side."
Inside the box, you get enough fabric to create several pieces of creative couture – including funky printable fabric so that you can create your own totally unique design, maybe with a miniaturised photo of you or your pet or your favourite heartthrob on it ! - but being keen on patchwork, I have a huge stash of fabric odds and ends that Sophie will be able to dip into to use with the kit once she's used up the pieces that come in the box. You also get a bag of tools to help you create your designs, including paper, pens, double sided tape and miniature clothes pegs. (Complete list of contents : 1 mannequin with 3 interchangeable body parts, 5x A5 sheets of fabric, 4x sheets of printable fabric, 2x plastic belt buckles, 5x 30cm pieces of ribbon, 25x mini plastic clothes pegs, 25x 2cm velcro strips, 2x fabric markers, 1x pencil with eraser, 1x sheet of gem stickers, 1x pair of scissors, 1x how to booklet, 1x sketchbook, 5x sheets of tracing paper, 1x A4 self stick paper sheet.)
There is no sewing involved at all. You use the templates to trace and cut out the piece of fabric, wrap it around the mannequin (the pegs come in handy for holding the clothes-in-the-making together at the back as you fiddle around with the front) and use the double-sided tape to stick everything together and attach belts and ribbons as desired. The stick-on "jewels" add the perfect girlie finishing touches.
I recommend starting out with a dress design as it's the easiest item of clothing to create. The trousers are more fiddly and even 10-year-old Sophie needed a bit of help at times. I think the 6+ suggested age is a bit optimistic ! You will need a lot of creativity because the kit doesn't really give you much guidance but Sophie actually looked through a mail-order catalogue for ideas and inspiration, which I thought was very impressive !
It's a fun kit for creative girlie-girlies but be prepared to accompany them throughout the whole creative process rather than letting them get on with it on their own as it is likely your little would-be fashion designers will need a helping hand every now and then !
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £19.99
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Wow this looks great a perfect xmas gift for a creative little girl
ReplyDeleteBrilliant - my daughter would love this.
ReplyDelete@mumoffunkids