I was looking through some scrapbooks from my youth the other day, and I ran across some Christmas photos. There, in it’s faded glory, was my Lite-Brite, my set of Fashion plates, and that craft with plastic-flowers-you-put-on headbands.
Man, what was that thing called???
Anyway, it got me thinking… I got so many great crafty toys as a kid, and I’m sure that influenced the crafter I am today. So I put it out there on Facebook, with the simple question:
Just had a little walk down memory lane- I was remembering “Fashion Plates” as one of my favorite crafty toys. What crafty toys did YOU play with as a kid?
Ohio Art (the Etch-a-Sketch people) made a lightbox and I got one for Christmas when I was around 8 – best gift ever! I wish I had kept it!
I loved fashion plates also. I was also one of those kids that made hotpads with those looms. I can’t remember what they were called, but we would buy the bags of the fabric loops to weave on the looms.
LOL! Made the potholders, too. Guess I’m older but I loved Spirograph! And I got this kit thing one year for Christmas that had a liquid you dipped wires in that you could make flowers with. Loved it!
Ahh yes, Fashion Plates, Spirograph, Potholder Loom. At least Hello Kitty and My little Pony are popular still/again?
I loved the Fashion Plates! I also had one of those hot pad weaving looms, but never could figure it out. Also had the spirograph. What memories! What fun!
Oh, yes – I loved fashion plates!!!! And Lincoln Logs, and our little homemade Barbie house with homemade furniture and decorations; and Light Bright (is that what it was called? the thing with the little pegs and the cards and the light bulb inisde it?). LOL
I had Fashion Plates too…loved it! I also had a flower/leaf pressing kit…I always had so much fun with it.
I had almost all those things too but my favorite was Crayola’s Fashion Designer Kit.
I had one of those “Toni” dolls. Had a head full of big hair and it came with curlers and some kind of liquid stuff so you could give your doll a “permanent” and “style” her hair. Dang, I loved that doll! I had a mad passion for modeling clay and paint-by-number kits too …so, I reckon that pretty well dates me! ;P
Wow, these responses really brought me back! And some of them were good toys, too…so much so, in fact that I want to buy them for MY kids. So here’s a list of the modern versions of our crafty toys…or not. Some are still around!
- Etch-a-Sketch: still alive and kicking, but sadly no longer made in Ohio. But there are new versions, too, like the “Freestyle” or “Magic Pad”
- Loop ‘n Loom: modern version of my “loom loopers” kit for making potholders, coasters, etc. AND this one has a metal loom, just like the one I had as a kid!
- Spirograph: It’s alive and well and 45 years old! Hasbro has a nice kit for only 10 bucks. Buy one for yourself and relive a slice of childhood!
- Fashion Plates: Alas, these aren’t around any more (unless you’re willing to plunk down $60 on Ebay.) But there are a few versions of this classic toy still around. You can sub out the “Fashion Designer” which works just the same, with a variety of styles of outfits. Hooray!
- Lite-Brite: It’s also still carried by Hasbro- and also has grown up a bit to include the “Cube” version and the “Flash Art FX.” Who knew?
So… what did I miss? Feel free to weigh in with your favorite craft toy. And would you buy any of the above for YOUR kids or grands?
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alicia says
Great toys – I had most of those plus a woodburning set, physics set and chemistry set.
If you like Lite-Brite you’ll love what Tory Burch did with her holiday windows: http://blog.toryburch.com/2010/11/inspiration-torys-holiday-windows/
jessica says
I loved Spirograph!!! I also liked to make the ribbon barrettes, where you had 2 different colored thin ribbons and weaved them in and out of the barrette, then left a few extra inches to blow in the breeze.
I also loved to make the beaded friendship pins and attach them to the shoelaces of your sneakers.
I also made tons of friendship bracelets out of embrodery thread.
Not exactly crafty toys, but the crafts I did as a kid in the 80s. I wish I had kept all this stuff!!
Scrapycandy says
So funny! I still have all of that stuff from when my kids were little..and one just started college! I was just trying to figure out what to do with it all….
katie says
I think I had everyone of those toys mentioned. We also received a lot of paint by number sets of course they only give you enough paint to do the picture THEIR way. I always wanted to change the colors to see how it would look.
Jenny says
Jessica- I just had a flashback when you mentioned those barrettes! I made a ton of them & even sold some to my classmates. Good times!
TeresaK says
My favorite craft toys were the woodburning pen and the warming tray/ hot plate. I spent countless hours and many rolls of wax paper making interesting designs in melted crayon. I’d forgotten all about the wax art until today when I checked my son’s cubby at preschool; he made his first crayon melt picture this week!