Boo enjoys getting crafty and creative, so when we were offered the chance to try out Aquabeads, I knew she’d love to.
We’d not heard of Aquabeads before. The idea is that you make various bead designs and creations, using the enclosed templates or your own ideas, then spray them with water and they all stick together. I liked the no mess, ironing or glue sound of that!
The box contains a curved layout tray, ring bodies, design templates, a water dispenser and over 500 beads (The one suggestion I would make is to include a lid for the beads tray, for storing it away).Â
The instructions are very clear and simple to follow. So, beads at the ready, Boo chose the butterfly template, which we popped easily into the curved layout tray, and Boo got to work following the template pattern…
The beads are small, but not too fiddly for little hands. In fact, Boo was better at it than I was with her smaller fingers. As you can see, the layout card shows where to place the beads, and which colours to put there. It only took a few minutes, and we had our butterfly..
So design complete, it was then sprayed with water…
Now this is the part where less is more. It suggests to spray it 4-5 times, but Boo and I may have done it a bit more than that and so it took a long time to dry! On our next design, I stuck to the 4-5 times and it dried a lot faster and was easier to remove and turn over, as you also spray the back.
Once they’ve dried on both sides, you insert a ring into the centre gap and can then wear them….
The recommended age is 4 and up, which seems spot on to me, as Boo at 4 can easily do this and enjoys it, and I can see that you could create more intricate designs if you’re a little older. Though it’s not a product for under 3’s (we play with this while Little Man’s napping), they do also have a safe, bitter agent in their make up, to put children off them if they do put them in their mouths.
The Verdict:
We really like this product, for it’s creativity and simplicity.There are plenty more templates for Boo to use, along with making her own up from scratch, which needn’t be ring designs at all, and there are other Aquabeads kits available. Boo is able to create these from start to finish alone, which she loves. They’re good fun, easy to play with, nice and tidy crafting (always a plus!) and the designs are pretty and do last well once dry.
Aquabeads are on Facebook and Twitter, too, if you fancy chatting and finding out more.
What do you think of these?
I promise I hadn’t read your review – agree about the lid – silly not to have one in my opinion. This kit looks great too – you could make matching necklaces could you in you used some thread.
The lid thing’s odd! That aside, they are great, aren’t they? Boo loves creating with hers.
aaaa my girls would love these!!! love all the colours #triedtested
They are great!
We love these although they do go EVERYWHERE if knocked over
Ah yes, there is that!
Glad Boo enjoyed them. My 5yo got a set for xmas but they were hit miss and often hubby or I would sit there making 🙂 triedtested
Ha ha – well, as long as you enjoyed them!
My daughter loves aqua beads too, it’s a lovely rainy day activity. Thanks for linking up with #TriedTested
It’s prefect for that. She loves them, and I like watching her concentrate on it 🙂
They look like a great way to have some creative fun. Having a boy means I get the pleasure of loon bands instead. Grrr!
#Tried/Tested
Oh yes, we have those!
This looks fab, I used to love things like this when I was a little girl x
#TriedTested
They are fun!
Bless her she looks very pleased with her creations. My daughter used to love these x
She’s delighted with herself! x
Those look like so much fun! I bet both of my kids would like them! #TriedTested
They are great and so easy to do themselves, too
they look like fun, not heard of them before. looks like boo had a great time with them 🙂 #TriedTeste
She really likes them, and has gone to do more each day 🙂
Dare I say the next Loom bands… 🙂 It’s nice to have something this creative and simple for 4yo. Would love it if you shared on #britmumsreviews http://www.britmums.com/2014/07/reviews-round-up-what-a-come-back/
Possibly! Yes, they’re great for her to create and craft with independently. Thanks, will do!