Rainbow Loom

Cuthberts are delighted to tell you about one of their newest products - the Rainbow Loom. Over in the US the Rainbow Loom has been a huge success in 2012 and we're proud to be one of the first to sell it in the UK. 

So, what exactly is the Rainbow Loom and what can you do with it?

 

The Rainbow Loom is a plastic loom used to make patterned friendship bracelets from rubber bands. You place the rubber bands over the pegs on the board following either a simple basic zig-zag arrangement, or one of the more complex patterns that you can find online.

Once the bands have been laid out on the loom you then use the provided hook (very much like a crochet hook) to move the bands and create a joined up bracelet.

When complete you join the two ends together with a provided "c-clip" to form the bracelet. As the bracelet is made of rubber bands it stretches to easily fit over your hand.

The kit comes with the loom, hook, 600+ coloured rubber bands and 24 c-clips, meaning that you have enough to make 24 bracelets. Also in there is a mini-loom so that you can make very quick "single" pattern rubber band bracelets.

The instruction manual that comes with the loom contains everything you need to understand how to make a "single" pattern rubber band link bracelet. These are relatively easy to follow and once you've got the knack of using the hook to move the bands about you can quickly produce a bracelet.

Things don't stop there though. The possibilities are endless when it comes to designing bracelets or other accessories. There is a very high level pattern map in the instruction leaflet, but the best instructions are actually found online, with a great selection of videos on the Rainbow Loom website.

The loom can look quite complicated once you're following some of the patterns online and it does take a bit of practice to know what you're doing. The results are worth it though.

The Rainbow Loom is aimed at children aged 8 and over and is perfect for anyone who loves crafty projects. The friendship bracelets that you can make from it also make it very popular with girls.

We'll be aiming to post some detailed Rainbow Loom tutorials here on the Cuthberts blog over the next few weeks. The Rainbow Loom will be available in Cuthberts stores next week and can also be purchased through our online store here.

Creativity for Kids - Paper Petals Photo Mobile

After looking at a couple of other items from the Faber-Castell Creativity for Kids range here on the Cuthberts blog, this week we're reviewing their Paper Petals Photo Mobile.

Much as the name suggests the aim of the Paper Petals Photo Mobile is to create a hanging mobile of flowers, where you can include photographs of friends or family members in the centre of them. You can make the flowers as pretty and decorative as you like and this really does allow children (or adults) to use their creativity to decide how they want to do it. 

Once it comes to putting all the flowers together to form the mobile it's a little bit fiddly and not much room for error - making it the ideal gift for perfectionist crafters! A completed mobile would make a lovely gift for a child or new baby, with the flowers all containing photographs of family members. As the flowers are only one-sided it might be that you decide to do something else with them rather than a mobile. Our reviewers thought that they'd also make a very pretty garland, or even personalised bunting.

This definitely isn't a quick craft project, so across the suggested age range of 7 to 97 years it would probably work best for patient younger crafters or someone a little older with some time they can set aside to make the mobile (or garland, or bunting...) The fact that it's flowers means it might not appeal to all young boys, but it's definitely not something exclusively for girls either.

The Creativity for Kids range is available in the Cuthberts Letchworth store and also in our online shop here.

Creativity for Kids - Cardboard Buddies

The Faber-Castell Creativity for Kids range really does cater for kids of all ages and all different skills levels.

Cardboard Buddies allows you to use strips of coloured corrugated cardboard to create incredibly cute little creatures and other decorative objects. By rolling the cardboard strips into different shapes you can easily form bodies, heads, arms, legs, beaks and wings. Only your imagination limits you.

Included in the kit are 36 strips of the coloured corrugated cardboard, assorted wiggly eyes, pipe cleaners, rhinestones, double sided foam tape, yellow cord, plastic self-adhesive clips, self-adhesive magnets, craft glue and glitter glue. Also included is a leaflet showing you how to make basic shapes and also giving you instructions as to how to make a fish magnet.

The suggested age range for Cardboard Buddies is 7 to 97 and having tested it out with someone in the upper half of this range I think it fair to say that it really does work across the whole range. It can be a bit fiddly to start making the creations, but once you've got the hang of it you're soon in the swing as to what to do.

The only disappointment we found is that there were no instructions included to make the many buddies which feature on the box itself. We ended up keeping the box just so that we could try to work them out from the pictures. It just seemed a bit of a shame after we were so impressed with the instructions in Big Fun Stamp Art that we featured earlier this month.

The recent hot weather did provide a few problems with the supplied craft glue as the heat seemed to make it separate and lose some of its sticking ability. Making the cardboard buddies does require quite a bit of glue to make them stick together properly and I'd therefore recommend making sure you've got some spare glue at home before starting.

Overall this is a great craft project for an older child or an adult who enjoys this kind of activity. It also appears to be addictive once you start creating cardboard buddies!

The Creativity for Kids range is available in the Cuthberts Letchworth store and also in our online shop here.

Creativity for Kids - Big Fun Stamp Art

When you hear the name Faber-Castell you may well think of their beautiful range of quality art materials which have been available for years and year . The kind of thing that not all children manage to appreciate properly when experimenting with their creative side. But did you know that Faber-Castell also have a whole range devoted to younger artists - Creativity for Kids.

We plan to review some of the range here on the Cuthberts Blog to give you a feel for the Creativity for Kids kits available and this week we're going to start with Big Fun Stamp Art. Aimed at children aged 3 and over this set is perfect for little hands who want a first go at stamping.

The kit contains 12 stamps, 8 washable felt-tip pens, 3 ink pads (again washable) and two cardboard frames as well as a pad of white paper to stamp on. In my opinion the best bit of the kit isn't even mentioned on the box - a small booklet full of inspiration of what you can make using the stamp shapes and the pens.

This booklet is a fantastic idea and can really help a child see how pictures are made up from basic shapes and then have a go themselves. It's also nice to see that the inspiration pictures really appeal to both boys and girls - with everything from flowers to rocket ships.

The instructions do suggest washing the stamps in water before trying them with a different colour ink, so that the previous colour does not mix with the new one. Not all children are going to be patient enough to do this, but if you don't wash it you certainly see the effect of the previous colours. This little caterpillar doesn't seem to mind though.

All the stamps in the kit are big and chunky, made from foam, with pictures on the back showing you what shape they all are. The ink pads are also nice and big so that all the stamps fit on them comfortably and each one has a plastic lid to stop them drying out. The frames included are a nice touch to allow children to frame some of their art work.

The Big Fun Stamp Art kit really does contain everything your children need for doing some stamp art, and as you would expect with Faber-Castell all of the materials are of fantastic quality too.

The Big Fun Stamp Art kit is available in Cuthberts Letchworth store and also from our online shop.

Hama Beads at Cuthberts

If you're looking for a non-messy craft for children then look no further than Hama Beads.

Hama Beads are incredibly simple, but very effective at the same time. The beads themselves are round plastic, with a hole through the middle, and can be arranged on a peg board to form patterns or pictures. Once the design is complete you lay a piece of the supplied ironing paper (like greaseproof paper) over the design and run a hot iron over it to fuse the beads together. This means that you can then display the completed picture or turn it into something like a drinks coaster.

Many of the peg boards are made of clear plastic so that you can lay the pattern sheet under the board to follow it easily. Separate pattern books are also available and numerous patterns are also available on the internet, with whole Pinterest boards devoted to them.



More artistic children can come up with their own Hama designs and it's relatively easy to do so. The only thing you need to remember is that if you're making a design on a board and then iron it, your finished picture will actually be the reverse of what you've put down on the pin board. Not a problem with a reversible picture, but if your design contains text you might come a bit unstuck - a lesson I learnt when making the Cuthberts logo at the top of this blog post!

There are three different sizes of Hama Beads available to suit different age ranges.

• Maxi Hama Beads - 10mm diameter, designed for pre-school children aged approx. 2 and a half to 4 years.
• Midi Hama Beads - 5mm diameter, ideal for children aged 5+
• Mini Hama Beads -  2.5mm diameter, for children aged 10+

For younger children the beads really do encourage and help develop their fine motor skills and for this age range just putting the beads on the board is entertainment enough, without following a pattern. Hama Beads can also form a great part of role play and I've seen them used as food ingredients in many toddler cooked meals before. Pouring them from one container to another provides a great test of a child's dexterity through play.

I'm yet to find a child that doesn't enjoy Hama Beads and I've heard many parents say that it's been the only craft that their boisterous child has enjoyed and that has kept their interest for any period of time. Even as an adult, following a design can be incredibly relaxing after a busy day.

Hama Beads are available in Cuthberts stores in St Albans, Hatfield and Letchworth and also on their website.