Tuesday, February 5, 2019

MindWare Offers Kids the Opportunity to Express Their Love This Valentine's Day With Fun DIY Porcelain Painting and Mix & Match Jewelry Kits (Review)

Disclosure: I was sent a sample from the vendor in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.



Do your kids love arts and crafts and making gifts that they can give to family and friends?  If they do, then do I have two fun craft kits from MindWare, that you will want to know about. With Valentine's Day coming up, my girls have been thinking about what to make to give their Nana, as well as their friends.  But, thanks to the Trink-A-Links Mix & Match Jewelry kits and Paint Your Own Porcelain Expressions: Love, both from MindWare, they don't have to wonder anymore. :-)



Back when I was growing up, I would sit with my friends at recess and we would make friendship bracelets to give each other.  Even though they still sell and some kids make these bracelets, kids nowadays love being able to pick up an all-in-one craft kit and make fun jewelry pieces for them and their friends to enjoy.  Both of my girls have a few charm necklaces and bracelets that they either received or have given half to their friends.  They love matching these fun symbols of friendships to their outfits, and showing them off.  And, now they can't wait to share the oh so cute animal Trink-A-Links accessories with their BFF's, and showing them how they can mix and match the pieces -- all of which have been hand painted by my girls.



Over the weekend, I shared the two Trink-a-Links Mix & Match Jewelry kits with my girls.  You can purchase both kits together from the MindWare website for only $20.95, making them a fun set to pick up for your kids to do together, or even have their friends join in the fun.   


"Create your own hand-painted mix-and-match animal jewelry that's cute, crafty and collectible. Use your imagination to paint each piece. Then choose how to combine them. Each set includes 3 unpainted heads and 3 unpainted tail pieces, 3 necklace attachments, necklace cord, 12 paints and 2 brushes.

• Design your own hand painted, mix-and-match animal jewelry!
• Great gifts for teens and tweens who love making a fashion statement.
• Encourages creativity, self-expression, imagination and fine motor skills.
• Includes dog, cat, bunny, cow, pig, and mouse head and tail pieces, 6 necklace attachments, 24 paints and 4 paint brushes.
(Age Recommendation: Ages 8 and up)"

My girls had so much fun mixing and matching the adorable animal jewelry pieces.  But, the real fun was painting them.  Both of the Trink-A-Links kits contain everything your child needs to paint 3 animal necklaces. You will find in the two kits (combined), 6 interchangeable animals for your kids to paint, 6 necklace attachments, 24 paints and 4 paint brushes.  One kit includes dog, cat, bunny, while the second contains a cute cow, pig, and mouse head and tail pieces.  

Kids will have a blast using their creative to design crazy critters with all the different paint colors included.  Then, they have the option of keeping them as rings to wear, or string and turn them into necklaces.  My girls decided they would keep 3 as rings, and turn the other 3 into wearable ring necklaces, thanks to the necklace attachments included in the kits.  Who doesn't love animal fashion?  My two girls are all about style and wearing trending stuff -- they don't get this from me. :-)  And, now come Valentine's Day, they will share their fun creations with their BFF's, so that they, too, can make a fun animal-loving fashion statement.  My girls can't wait to show their friends how the heads and tails can be interchanged, making for endless options to wearing these cute hand-painted animal creations.  This is definitely one of those gifts friends will cherish, and kids will love wearing and showing off.  My girls really took their time in painting each and every piece, and now counting down the days until their Valentine's Day party to surprise their friends with them.



Once the girls were done with the Trink-A-Links Mix & Match Jewelry kits, they got started on the Paint Your Own Porcelain Expressions: LOVE kit, the kind folks at MindWare sent our way.  As soon as my girls saw this Paint Your Own kit, they knew it was just what they were looking for as a gift for their Nana. 


They said she could either bring it to work and have it on her desk to admire throughout the day, or keep at home and leave on her end table next to her bed, and be reminded each morning and evening just how much they love her. :-)  Either way, they knew my mom would love this LOVE art piece they collaboratively worked on together.


"Make a statement that shows how much you care with high-quality porcelain letters you paint with your own creative touch! A beautiful sentiment any time of the year, our “LOVE” set is also the perfect give for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. The accent porcelain heart provides a large space to paint an extra special picture, name or phrase. 



Each porcelain piece measures 5 inches tall and the complete kit includes 12 paints and 2 brushes – one wide brush for quick coverage and one thin brush for creating details. The instructions are filled with design tips and painting tricks for guaranteed beautiful results. For a more lasting finish, bake the porcelain in the oven as the final step. Note, even after baking, design is not permanent. Dust with a dry cloth to clean. Age Recommendation: Ages 8 and up."


I love watching my girls use their imaginations and get creative when it comes to making hand-made gifts. And, it is always nice when they can sit together for hours and not fight, and really enjoy each others company. :-)  This project ended up taking the two days to complete as they did a base coat on a few of the letters and wanted to let them dry completely before adding more detail.  




Once the letters and heart were dry, I popped them in the oven to bake and seal in the paint.  Even though these pieces are baked, it is still advised to not soak or use water to clean, as the color may fade or wash away. Instead, the instructions say to dry cloth to wipe and clean.



My girls really liked how their Paint Your Own Porcelain Expressions LOVE piece came out.  They said the baking process, which gives the porcelain a glossy, lasting shine, really made their artwork pop and stand out. :-)  They can't wait to give these to their Nana when she comes to visit this week, and see her eyes light up as she puts the letters together to spell LOVE with a great big heart. They had so much fun with this paint your own porcelain set that they asked me if there were others from MindWare, as they wanted to paint more.  I told them that there were two others - a PEACE one and a WISH one.  



They were all smiles hearing this, and asked if they could get, so that they could paint and display them in their rooms.  Seeing how much fun they had with the LOVE one, how could I say, "No."  And, it keeps them busy and entertained, which is good when there's a snow day, or lull in the day and they need something to keep themselves busy.

I will be ordering the two other Paint Your Own Porcelain Expressions kits after this post, as well as pick up a few more fun crafting kits from MindWare to put away for their Easter baskets.  We have yet to be disappointed with toys, craft kids and products purchased from MindWare over the years, and I know once you try out one of these craft kits mentioned above, you will see why my family and so many others continue to return to the MindWare website to shop for toys and gifts for their kids and to give as gifts during the holidays and for special occasions.  You can learn more about the craft kits mentioned above by heading over to https://www.mindware.orientaltrading.com/ today.  Then, get ready to watch your kids have a blast creating unique hand-made pieces to keep for themselves, or to gift to family and friends.

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About MindWare:

MindWare is the award-winning creator and manufacturer of Brainy Toys for Kids of All Ages. Our diverse product line includes educational toys, games, brainteasers, creative play activities, building sets, coloring books and more!

Disclosure: I was sent a sample from the vendor in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.



2 comments :

  1. My daughter would love these crafts. The LOVE kit is my favorite!

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