Crafts come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some require batteries and still get to be in the craft aisle, some require nothing more than toilet paper rolls and a hefty dose of imagination. Here are some of the prepackaged craft products we’ve enjoyed this year, but really, nothing beats toilet paper roll superhero bracelets, but giving those as gifts might be a bit strange, you know, something used from your bathroom and all.
A VERY CRAFTY CHRISTMAS
Crayola Marker Airbrush
I had a ton of fun eyeballing new toys at the Time To Play Holiday event this past Fall, but only one toy got a few “holy sh*ts” out of me, this one. Take regular Crayola markers and bam! turn them into an airbrush tool to make sweet drawings, art, paintings and t-shirts. Very low-tech next to some of the thingies on the market these days, but so very, very cool!
Crayola Digital Light Designer
Crayola showed off another nifty new toy at that same event, something totally exciting called the Digital Light Designer. My girls have a ton of fun with this 8-bit-ish drawing dome that also includes movie making, games, and more.
American Girl Crafts
Regardless of how you feel about American Girl itself, the crafts kits are well-put together, all-inclusive items that are sold at a reasonable pricepoint. The same cannot be said of, say, the AG doll hair salon, or the officially official doll clothes themselves (we’ve switched entirely to 18″ doll clothes from Etsy shopkeepers that are more stylishly diverse and WAY more affordable.) The craft sets range from sewing kits, scrapbooking and memory books, bracelets making, and more, and again, are very nice indeed.
The Incredible Shrinky Dink Maker
No more firing up the family oven to bake tiny plastics for 120 seconds. That inefficient waste is a thing of the past with the ingenious, self-contained Shrinky Dink Maker. It never gets too hot (I’ve felt it at its most warm) and has a storage drawer for extra dinks. Love this, even if the metal tray can be a bit of a pain in the arse to maneuver in and out of the little oven.
*****
Like with everything else in the OWTK 2012 Gift Guides, many of the products highlighted above can be found cheaper locally, and maybe even at a local small business. But in case not, or in case you don’t want to leave your home and deal with the bad park jobs and general rudeness of others, here’s some Amazon linky love to make things easier for you.
(OWTK will get some cash kickbacks should you buy anything from Amazon through these links, which helps keep this thing afloat. So thank you!)
