I tried to find a picture of the Pixos Portable Pack set we purchased, but alas, I could not find the exact one, even at Target's website. Replace the small 3-D mold for a large flat blue mold, change the pattern templates and you have an idea of what we purchased for $19.
The kit comes with three two-side templates that you place behind the molds. The templates tell you exactually how many of each color bead you will need and the difficulty level of the pattern (green smiley face for easy, yellow straight mouth face for medium and red surprised mouth for hard). All of our templates were the easy ones. The template also lets you know which mold to use by using a red or blue symbol to match the mold colors. One mold lines the dot rows up, the other mold off-centers the dot rows. All of these directions are super easy to understand, even for a child who can't yet read, making this a very good "alone time" toy.
Our templates included white beads. These were hard to see through the mold. I would suggest marking them with a pen it to make it easier to view.
I really liked that this kit came with storage box. The top tray allows the beads to be separated without being dumped out of bags each time. Easy for little fingers to reach in and grab. Also, there is plenty of space below the tray to store the pen, spray bottle templates, molds and finished creations. A must have if you are an organized neat freak.
My biggest complaint about this toy is the pen. You are supposed to use the pen to place the beads into the mold, but we never got it to work. It's like the pen is too fat. The sides bump into the already placed beads knocking them out. Morgan decided very quickly to abandon the pen and use just her fingers. She would still accidentally bump beads with her fingers, sending them scattering. There were a few moments of frustration, but she persevered and has completed three of the six templates in a matter of days.
The kit only comes with enough beads to complete each design one time. Unless you completely abandon the templates, there isn't much opportunity for open-end creativity. If you are looking for that, I would suggest buying the Perler Activity Kit Group Buckets. However, those buckets require that the beads are ironed, where as Pixos beads just need a spray of water. There are always trade-offs.
Once you spray the beads with water, the directions say to wait 10 minutes. We found that it was best to wait at least an hour. After they were completely dry, Morgan had no problems removing them from the molds herself. None of the finished designs have broke. They seem to be pretty sturdy.
While, as an adult, I am some what disappointed with the kit (seems expensive for an unusable pen, a cheap spray bottle, and a limited number of beads), overall this product has provided lots of entertainment for Morgan. From a four year old's point of view, she loves this thing. And I guess that's what really matters.
The kit comes with three two-side templates that you place behind the molds. The templates tell you exactually how many of each color bead you will need and the difficulty level of the pattern (green smiley face for easy, yellow straight mouth face for medium and red surprised mouth for hard). All of our templates were the easy ones. The template also lets you know which mold to use by using a red or blue symbol to match the mold colors. One mold lines the dot rows up, the other mold off-centers the dot rows. All of these directions are super easy to understand, even for a child who can't yet read, making this a very good "alone time" toy.
Our templates included white beads. These were hard to see through the mold. I would suggest marking them with a pen it to make it easier to view.
I really liked that this kit came with storage box. The top tray allows the beads to be separated without being dumped out of bags each time. Easy for little fingers to reach in and grab. Also, there is plenty of space below the tray to store the pen, spray bottle templates, molds and finished creations. A must have if you are an organized neat freak.
My biggest complaint about this toy is the pen. You are supposed to use the pen to place the beads into the mold, but we never got it to work. It's like the pen is too fat. The sides bump into the already placed beads knocking them out. Morgan decided very quickly to abandon the pen and use just her fingers. She would still accidentally bump beads with her fingers, sending them scattering. There were a few moments of frustration, but she persevered and has completed three of the six templates in a matter of days.
The kit only comes with enough beads to complete each design one time. Unless you completely abandon the templates, there isn't much opportunity for open-end creativity. If you are looking for that, I would suggest buying the Perler Activity Kit Group Buckets. However, those buckets require that the beads are ironed, where as Pixos beads just need a spray of water. There are always trade-offs.
Once you spray the beads with water, the directions say to wait 10 minutes. We found that it was best to wait at least an hour. After they were completely dry, Morgan had no problems removing them from the molds herself. None of the finished designs have broke. They seem to be pretty sturdy.
While, as an adult, I am some what disappointed with the kit (seems expensive for an unusable pen, a cheap spray bottle, and a limited number of beads), overall this product has provided lots of entertainment for Morgan. From a four year old's point of view, she loves this thing. And I guess that's what really matters.
3 comments:
Thanks! This will move towards the top of the list. ;-)
Thank you for the review. While i think AJ would like it, KJ would destroy it. She would get too frustrated and break it for sure. I am glad Morgan likes it though. She sure seems like a smart light hearted and loving little girl.
Ummm... you have seen all my posts right? LOL! Yes she can be light hearted and loving, but there is also another side. Thanks for the kinds words!
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