One activity my kids have always loved is stringing beads to create bracelets and necklaces. They started out with big, chunky plastic beads and pipe cleaners when they were toddlers, and now their fine motor skills are good enough to handle more grownup supplies like bead wire, seed beads, pliers and crimp beads. But they still like creating kiddie jewelry from good old plastic pony beads and yarn. So when I told them we'd be reviewing the Girl Gourmet Sweets Candy Bead Studio from Jakks Pacific, they were pretty excited: it's an activity they love, plus they get to eat the results!
The Basics
The Girl Gourmet line of toys from Jakks Pacific lets girls create their own delicious cakes and sweets. Their Girl Gourmet Sweets Candy Bead Studio comes with a beading compartment, candy stamps, frosting glue, edible ink markers, and enough candy string and beads to make 24 pieces of jewelry. You can find it at most major toys stores (ToysRUs, Target, Walmart, etc..) and online for $19.99. Here's a description of the toy from Girl Gourmet:
Girl Gourmet® Sweets™ brings you the hottest trend in food... edible jewelry! The Girl Gourmet Sweets Candy Bead Studio™ set lets you customize your own fashionable and fun edible jewelry for you to enjoy or share with your friends.
The Bongga
Making candy necklaces and bracelets is such a fun activity, and this kit makes everything so easy! I like the fact that the kit takes the bead stringing concept one step further. Girls can really get creative by stamping designs on bigger beads with edible ink, or coating a bead in icing and sticking smaller candy pieces on it. Also, the tray really helps contain the mess because all the candy beads have a place to go. There's more than enough candy beads and string to make jewelry for half a dozen girls, so it's perfect for a party or sleepover -- in fact, The Pea took it to a sleepover last week; as you can imagine, she was quite the hit :)
The Blah
Even though it's the best tasting candy in the whole bunch, I kind of wish they had done away with the gummy string and just provided plain old elastic string instead. The gummy string is difficult to tie and it breaks way too easily. Plus, what parent wants all that sticky string rubbing on their kids' wrists and neck?
The Bottom Line
The Girl Gourmet Sweets Candy Bead Studio would make a great present for a crafty little girl; it also makes a great sleepover or birthday party activity!
I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.
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