MyStyle Craft Design & Make Super Loop Bands
Elastic band bracelets are all the rage at Kizzy's primary school. So much so that the children have been banned from wearing them! But that does not deter the girls who sit and weave their own rubber band bracelets at lunchtime and wear them hidden up the sleeves of their school sweatshirts.
Needless to say, Kizzy was very excited to test out this craft set which contains enough silicone bands and S-Loops to make five colourful bracelets. The bands came in a variety of colours and are really thick and strong so there was no breakage.
The process is very easy. You thread a band through lengthways, line up to two end loops and thread the next band through those loops and so on. The fully illustrated instruction booklet takes you through what to do step by step. The bracelets take shape very quickly, with an attractive pattern forming and the end result is really good and very wearable. Kizzy was able to work independently and enjoyed making the bracelets. You can dismantle the bracelets and re-use the bands if necessary.
Overall, we were really impressed by this set for it's simplicity, the strength and quality of the bands and the really nice end result.
Priced at £9.99 this is a well priced craft set that children will really enjoy. A lovely activity for the kids to do independently to make bracelets for sharing and wearing.
For more information: http://www.interplayuk.com/mystyle/super-loop-bands
4M Cool Colour Wristlets
This set makes four brightly coloured wristlets which incorporate a chain, a proper clasp and a charm. It contains everything needed except for scissors, a ruler and sticky tape.
As you may expect with a more involved piece of jewellery, the process is a bit more complicated. It involves attaching a length of the plastic thread to the chain and making a loop secured with tape. The remainder of the plastic thread is then knotted onto this loop, which was a bit fiddly. In fact we had to get Dad in to help because the instructions were a bit too complicated for me and Kizzy! Ian's years as a boy scout, learning to tie knots, definitely came in handy and he was able to help make the bracelet. Once the thread was tied off, a metal ring, charm and clasp had to be attached to the end of the chain. It's not easy opening a metal ring and then closing it securely using just your fingers, so again Dad came to the rescue.
The end result looked quite good but the knotted section was quite rigid (maybe Ian's man fingers tied the knots too tightly) but I'm sure it will give over time. Once on the wrist it looked quite professional looking with the clasp and charm, and the intricately knotted section looked impressive.
Overall, we liked the finished wristlet but found the process a bit tricky. Some adult help was definitely required. At £9.95 this set makes four of the bracelets which is good value. I'm sure with practice the technique would become easier and the end result even better.
For more information: http://www.greatgizmos.co.uk/cool-colour-wristlets-making-kit.html
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Both of these craft sets would make a great gift idea for girls aged 8 and over.