You’d think that I’d be a fan of traditional craft kits, but I am not. The average craft kit that you buy in a big-box store for your kid contains a ridiculous amount of waste, from the giant cardboard box that it comes in to the plastic
baggies around every separate component of the kit to the parts themselves, often plastic or “foam” (also plastic). Yuck!
It’s refreshing, then, to play with the kits from Green Kid Crafts, which ARE eco-friendly. They’re made from natural materials, they contain recycled components, the packaging is upcycled and minimal, and they come from a carbon-neutral business.
But are they fun?
My girls say yes! Green Kid Crafts is a subscription-based craft-of-the-month club, so for my girls, the fun began when they checked the mail one afternoon and found a package addressed to them. When you purchase a Green Kid Crafts subscription, each monthly package will contain three different craft kits; that’s three whole rainy afternoons a month in which your kid now has an activity. I live in the Midwest, and you may not have heard, but this spring the Midwest is made of rain, so my girlies broke out their brand-new craft kits pretty much right away.
The specific craft kits that you receive are chosen based on your child’s age, so Sydney, who just turned five, was able to decorate her canvas puppet completely independently and Willow, who is nearly seven and wouldn’t find much entertainment in a hand puppet, was suitably challenged by cutting and gluing fabric scraps and yarn bits to wooden clothes pegs in order to turn them into worry dolls.
Now, even though you don’t have to be the super-crafty kind of parent who hordes toilet paper tubes for future cardboard castles, you do have to be basically crafty enough to at least have your own glue and markers in stock. After seeing the supplies they were given for each kit, both my girls were inspired to rummage around our own home studio and bring out additional fabric scraps, vintage buttons, glitter, and other sundries to add to the mix.
After one afternoon of VERY busy work, Sydney had a fully-decorated canvas puppet that she was thrilled with (and that is currently hidden away in her room, waiting to be given to Daddy on Father’s Day–shh!), and Willow had a worry doll for herself, one for her sister, and even a few to give away to friends, and she had even learned how to braid (sort of) so that she could fix each doll’s hair just right.
As for me…I got to read several chapters of my novel in peace and quiet. In other words, it was the perfect kids’ craft!
Stay tuned, because tomorrow Green Kid Crafts is hosting a giveaway right here.
I received free products for this review. After all, I can’t review something unless I’ve forced my children to try it out while I sit nearby and read a novel, can I?
Article Courtesy of: http://craftingagreenworld.com