The idea behind Klutz books and kits is simple: their products are
designed for the artistically uninitiated, so they are easy to do.
Still, their appeal is wide—kids and adults of all ages and
abilities love these sets! Klutz products are inspirational—they
generally encourage kids to think outside of the box, while
providing ideas that inspire them to draw on their creativity and
imagination. They also produce results that suggest the time
investment into the craft is far more
sophisticated than it really is. These kits facilitate the whole
"arts and crafts" process, helping to build children's confidence in
their own creativity.
 Klutz
books have special meaning in my household. If I tell my
kids we have a new book, they'll be rather curious as to
what it is. If I tell them we have a new Klutz book, on the
other hand, their eyes light up, and they want to see it
yesterday. Why? Klutz books often have
an interactive component to them, or come with some kind of
"accessory". And, they're usually lots of fun.
Another Klutz
"phenomena" occurs after you've given a Klutz book to a
child as a gift. Without fail, that child's parents make
especially sure to praise you for your choice of gift. These books
and kits truly please both children and adults at once. They are
clever and unique enough to be remarkable.
What follows
are our hand-picked favorite Klutz activity books:
 
Top Pick
Window
Art is a fabulous book/activity set that offers a fun and easy art activity the whole family can enjoy.
The premise is simple, but the results are nothing short of
fabulous: slip an included plastic sheet over one of the book's
pages of templates, use a black squirt-bottle to trace the outline
of a design, then fill with more "squirtable" colors.
Each design—whether it's a family of colorful bugs, an ice cream
sundae, or a collection of underwater creatures—takes about 24
hours to dry. Once set, the design becomes "clingable"—ready
to display on any window of the house. The results are positively
vibrant—your windows (and view) will never look better.
[Buy
Window Art (Klutz)
or Window Art
(check either link for the best current price)
and refills for the Window Art book kit: Klutz Window Art Deluxe Refill Set (10.12 oz)
at Amazon.com]
 Crafts
made with polymer clay have become very popular. There are
many artisans making a living making beads, for example, with
this easy-to-use clay. Turning kids on to the craft makes a
lot of sense. With the polymer clay medium, kids can truly
express their creativity and produce little permanent works
of art that often serve a purpose. It's a very tangible and
satisfying craft. The
Incredible Clay Book offers kids both the materials (it includes
8 ounces of quality polymer clay in a range of basic colors) and the
instructions to create some delightful crafts. The instructions are
clear, and the abundant examples are inspirational. If children are
reluctant at all, or stumped, this colorful book will fill them with
the motivation and inspiration to get started. The book is bursting
with fresh ideas to make critters, flowers, jewelry, and lots of
gorgeous beads. Fantastic!
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy: The Incredible Clay Book/Includes 8 Clay Colors
at Amazon.com]
 This
scrapbook truly is "fabulous". It's a spiralbound
keepsake for kids, filled with pages designed to showcase
their life—their family tree, favorite things, best
friends, pets, and so forth—through photos, drawings, and
picture cut-outs. There's a page that frames photos of faces
with goofy hairstyles; spaces for collage projects;
fill-in-the-blank questionnaires; party pages; "My 20
Year Predictions" page complete with an envelope bound
into the book to be used as a time capsule; and even a
"Page of Shame" for those unavoidable bad photos.
Included are stickers to help kids decorate the pages along
with a package of templates to use for cutting photos just
right. This is a very creative—and
creativity-inspiring—book.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy:
My Fabulous Life in Pictures
at Amazon.com]
 This beautiful, all-in-one
book/activity set provides the instructions, supplies, and
inspiration for families to make their own greeting cards and
stationery! Along with a colorful book, the set includes gorgeous,
high-quality paper, a handy measuring grid, folding tool, and
reusable card templates. Instructions for projects ranging from
basic cards to origami are included. In between, you'll find photo
"easels", 3D cards, pop-up cards, little paper boxes, a
pretty daisy card, envelopes, and more. Handmade Cards is
published by Klutz Press, one of our favorite companies for unique
and fun books and activity kits.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy:
Handmade Cards: Simple Designs for...
at Amazon.com]
 Fairies: Petal People You Make
Yourself is another book-and-supply set for kids ages 9
and up. Supplies to make 12 adorable and intricate little fairies
are here, along with a fabulously inspiring little spiral bound book of ideas and instructions. Fairies are made up of assorted
(and included) beads and dressed up with faux flower petals (also
included). Kids use the colored pencils to add details to the
fairies' bead-faces. Fairy bodies consist of beads that are strung
together with the set's floral wire. Instructions and full-color
photos demonstrate the techniques. Kids can opt to make simple petal people, or
they can get involved with more detailed fairies. Interestingly,
the author of this book is a thirteen-year-old, Rachel Haab.
[Buy Fairies
: Petal People You Make Yourself Amazon.com]
 The concept of dressing up, and
playing with, paper dolls has been around for a long time, but the
delivery is fresh and new. The Fabulous Book of Paper Dolls
truly is fabulous. Young children will thoroughly enjoy this
easy-to-do activity. Replacing old-fashioned paper tabs are
adhesive dots that are re-stickable. As well, perforations replace
the need for scissors. The result is a favorite pastime, made accessible to younger children. The book features
fantasy backdrops for play time, as well as a cute and handy storage that
is built right into the book—it looks like a wardrobe! Very
satisfying. See our review.
[Buy The Fabulous Book of Paper Dolls at Amazon.com]
Painted Rocks: Tips,
Techniques, & Inspiration is a fun set that includes most
of the supplies to get started designing things like rock creatures
and paperweights in creative ways. Naturally, kids can collect rocks
and use their own paints, glue, and wiggly eyes. But what makes
this set worth buying is its excellent book—the tips and
suggestions are fantastic and inspiring. They help challenge
children to create fantastic rocks they'll be proud of.
[Buy Painted
Rocks : Tips, Techniques, &... at Amazon.com]
  Paper Flowers
(Chicken Socks by Klutz) are
truly, truly easy to do, yet gorgeous to look at. The full-color
spiral bound book contains directions and creative ideas, plus a
set of 72 paper petals in different patterns and colors. No glue
or scissors required! This is the perfect little kit to take
along on a road trip, and works just as well at home as an ideal
rainy day activity.
[Buy
Paper Flowers (Make Your Own)
at Amazon.com]
 Top Pick
Excellent for boosting kids'
confidence in drawing, Doodle Cats (as well as Doodle
Dogs and Doodle Faces) doesn't only offer kids fantastic guidelines and
instructions for drawing cats of all shapes, sizes, and
expressions—it comes with a roll of paper to doodle on,
and an attached pencil to doodle with. The roll of
"doodling" paper is 35 feet long, and can be
pulled through the special holder and torn off as desired.
Kids doodle right on the writing surface of the book, and
flip the book's pages. (Note that left-handed kids won't
find the set-up quite so comfortable). The art
instruction is superb. It includes a "warm-up"
page that offers children practice with basic cat parts.
Kids can draw Snoozy (the "World Champion Catnapper"),
Mittens (who holds onto a ball of wool), Tortoise Shell Cat
(whose body resembles a turtle), and more cats with
character! They are even shown how to draw a cat fight and a
cat in a hat. The doodle instructions are step-by-step.
This is
an exceptionally fun, instructive set that is also very
portable. Perhaps most appealing of all its qualities is its
ability to boost a child's confidence in drawing. Highly recommended.
[Buy Doodle Cats,
Doodle Dogs,
or Doodle Faces
at Amazon.com]
Top Pick
For creative kinds, A Book of
Artrageous Projects makes a fantastic gift. Filled with art
starters and packaged with supplies to get started, this spiral
bound book contains inspiration like no other. Even the cover
itself can be used for an art project—it's a sheet of copper
designed to be used for an embossing activity. Collages, stained
glass, painting, and more.
[Buy Book of Artrageous Projects
at Amazon.com for approximately
$14-20 US]
Drawbreakers is a
fill-in-the-blanks style art book--half-finished drawings fill its
pages, and kids are challenged to complete them however they want.
[Buy Drawbreakers : A Drawing Book That We...
at Amazon.com]
 This creative
art starter is a little spiralbound book with a marker
and stamp pad attached. Flip open the book and you'll find ideas
and instructions for making thumbprint art! Stamp a large
thumbprint and then three little fingerprints in a row, add some
details with the marker, and you have a train! Kids can draw a
"Purple People Eater", aliens, a rocketship, and so
forth, right into the book. Draw Thumb Things an adorable idea, sure to inspire
plenty of unique designs.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy:
Draw Thumb Things (Fine Art at Your...
at Amazon.com]
Top Pick
For girls who love to pamper
themselves, The Natural Beauty Book (formerly The Body
Book) is an exceptional set. Featuring
natural body care tips and recipes, this book also comes with an
exciting pack of supplies to get started—a face brush, scented
oils, nail brush, pumice stone, nail buffer, and more. This
gorgeous full-color spiral-bound book emphasizes good nutrition
without being preachy, and offers one satisfying recipe after
another. A sugar scrub for your feet or hands contains sugar, oil,
and juice from a lemon; a peaches-and-cream hand mask is another
all-natural 3-ingredient pleaser; and the strawberry salt rub is a
luxurious and fragrant concoction designed to slough off dead skin
cells, moisturize, and energize. This is a fantastic set that
adults will love too. In the long run, kids will save money by
making body care products at home.
[Buy The Natural Beauty Book (Klutz)
at Amazon.com]
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Related
Links |
- Go to the Klutz
web site.
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