My daughter has just joined a “Daisy” troop, and I know that crafting will be a big part of the troops’ activities. The challenge is always trying to find something that everyone can do, pretty much independently, but is still open-ended and creative while cohesive to the group as a whole! Pretty tall order, right? Well, this kits fits the bill!
In each kit you get:
- 25 pre-cut, pre-hemmed 8-inch white cotton fabric squares. Each has a pre-cut hole in each corner for easy assembly
- 4 sets of fabric markers with 6 colors per pack
- a hank of variegated satin cording in bright colors
- plastic drop cloth
Here’s how it’s described on the website:
Each child can add their own design to 8″-square fabric quilt blocks, then joint with ribbon for a one-of-a-kind quilt! Several blocks can be jointed as one to make different sizes of quilts. Great cooperative project, and a new take on a classic craft! Includes 25 blocks, fabric markers and cord.
Help Kids Create with Color-Meâ„¢!
Every Color-Meâ„¢ kit is like a blank canvas, giving kids a chance to express their inner artists – Ready to Decorate, Right Away! Fresh and engaging? You bet! But Color-Meâ„¢ also puts the FUN in FUNctional. We design every project to be useful – pretty, practical and durably made to last a long time!
So now it was time to play! Since the troop isn’t meeting for another week, my junior assistant (aged 7) and I decided to make a banner with the troop number on it. Then, later on, we can do the activity with the girls and add their squares to it!
First, let me share that the cotton squares are heavier than quilters’ cotton, but lighter than canvas. It’s actually about the weight of khaki, if that makes sense. I traced the numbers on the squares using a black fabric marker I had. (For some reason, there is no black markers in the set! I found this to be an unfortunate omission. You might want to buy a few of those when you order your kit just to round it out.)
Then my junior assistant got to coloring!
Now, we did find that the markers are very pigmented- which is great, because they really show up well on the white fabric. Even the yellow pops! And if you are working on a “nice” surface, you might want to put down that drop cloth, because the colors came through the back. (However they didn’t actually bleed on to my table, but better safe than sorry, right?) BUT…the downside is that you will very quickly get inky fingers which can lead to smudging! Have some wipes on hand to keep little fingers- and project- neat.
After the coloring was completed, I added some giant yellow rick-rack and flower daisies to dress up our troop banner. I let that dry overnight, then tied the squares together using 5″ lengths.
In the morning, I hung it up to take the picture. The inks were completely dry and no longer smudged.
I have to admit- I kinda love this project. Not only can each participant be really creative, there are a lot of options for surface design. You could decoupage, draw, paint, to fabric applique, embroider…. and it’s not just for kids. This would be a great art project for anyone!
This product is available on the S&S Worldwide site for $29.99. Of course, you could cut and hem and punch all of those squares yourself, but really, it’s worth the money to buy it all done for you. There is also a smaller version that has 6X6 inch square that have 16 to a pack- great for smaller groups! How would YOU use it?
Disclosure: sample provided for review purposes.
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I haven’t seen this before. What a great idea!
Although a bit on the expensive side for the public library where I work, these would make a great project for the 85+ kids (mostly toddlers) that I see each week for story time and a craft. After reading a few quilt stories, I would love to have the kids and parents design a square together and then hang for display in the library. I really like the open-ended-ness of this project.
This product would be great for our annual Peace Flag project at the library. The colors are so vibrant! Mahalo for the heads up about smudging and leak-through.