Making Bracelets with the Shimmer 'n' Sparkle Cra-Z-Loom

Kizzy and Ella received a Cra-Z-Art Shimmer 'n' Sparkle Cra-Z-Loom Bracelet Maker to try out. Kids can make their own rubber band bracelets by looping and weaving colourful bands onto the loom.  The kit contains everything needed to create up to 24 colourful bracelet creations.

At first the instructions looked a bit complicated but once the girls got stuck in, the process became easier and using the hook implement, they were able to manipulate the bands to form different patterns.  As long as the instructions were followed correctly, the bracelets could be removed, and attaching an s-clip makes them instantly wearable.

The girls enjoyed making a selection of bracelets using single, double and triple loop techniques.  The odd disaster happened when a band snapped mid weave and there where a few do-overs when it all went wrong, but the overall experience was enjoyable and the end results were good.  It can be a little fiddly and I think a younger child would need some help to do the more complicated designs.

Refill packs of bands are available and once kids get the basics, they can go on to make rings, bracelets or keyring fobs and attach beads or charms to their creations.

The rubber band bracelets are a colourful and modern twist on friendship bracelets that kids will enjoy wearing and sharing.  Kizzy said it was a "fun activity that makes you lose track of time because you are so engrossed in what you are doing."

The set comprises of a loom, a weaving hook, s-clips and 600 colourful latex free rubber bands.  It is aimed at girls aged 8 and over.  It is priced at £14.99.

http://www.character-online.com/products/Cra-Z-Art-Shimmer-n-Sparkle/Cra-z-loom-Bracelet-Maker/

Making a Seawig!

Sarah McIntyre is a writer and illustrator and a larger than life character who is simply oozing with creativity and talent.  I was lucky enough to see her talk at Blog Summit and I thought she was amazing.  A true inspiration who made even me feel that exploring my artistic talents was not an impossible venture!  

So when Tots 100 announced details of a competition inviting entrants to make their very own Seawig with their kids, I was delighted to challenge my children, Ella 17, Kizzy 11 and 4 year old Freddy, to get creative. Ian cut a Seawig shape out of some heavy duty cardboard, then we set the kids off, armed with plasticine, paints, seashells, pipe cleaners, pompoms, paper, pencils, googly eyes and other arts and crafts bits and bobs, to decorate the Seawig.  

I love watching the three of them working together as a team, having fun and working to make a creative project. I absolutely love Kizzy's "The World is our Oyster!" speech bubble.  A fantastic sentiment filled with positivity from my 11 year old.  The plasticine sea monkey, based on one of Sarah's characters is another favourite addition.  The starfish family with their quirky expressions made me smile too.  Freddy was in charge of sticking on googly eyes!

The big seashells they used were from a collection of shells they found on the beach in Normandy where we went on holiday last summer. It was so nice to see them used in their Seawig.  It brought back memories of a wonderful week away!

The end result was a magnificent Seawig which features shells, a sea monkey, crabs, starfish, seaweed, multi-coloured seagull feathers, pompoms and curls.  Everyone was very keen to model it!

This is my favourite photograph of the Seawig project, 4 year old Freddy proudly donning the Seawig and showing exactly how much fun it was for him to spend an afternoon doing a wonderfully, creative art activity with his big sisters.

This post is an entry into the #Tots100Seawigs competition in association with jabberworks.co.uk.