Product: Trunker the Elephant (Deluxe Textured Craft Kit)

Prices: vary ($1.00-$4.99)

Put out by: 1-2-3! Textured Products

Thanks to MamaBuzz, we had the opportunity to try one of the craft kits from 1-2-3! Textured Products.  They put together a variety of these kits, each with a base design and three different textural items that can be affixed.  They’re great for building fine motor skills in preschoolers.

As you can see, Sophia (3 – almost 4) was able to complete her project herself.  (She got a little guidance from Mama, but she did the actual project herself.)  She really enjoyed the project, and I could see her fine motor skills at work, as she carefully placed individual pieces on her elephant.

If you have a lot of craft supplies around, you could probably compile one of these kits yourself – it’s basically a die cut with scraps of yarn, beads, paper “Easter grass,” etc.  But, of course, that takes time, and these are not expensive!  If you have a lot of children to plan for, if you don’t have a lot of craft supplies lying around (and would have to go buy them), and/or if you would just rather not have to do the pre-planning, these are definitely a time-saver.  It’s nice being able to just pull one out and have a project ready to go for the little ones.  The company also suggests that they’re good for taking with you somewhere, and I think that’s a great idea, too.  I’m very much a (do-it-yourself-er, but even I would appreciate having a few of these on hand to take along on a trip or to have ready at a moment’s notice).  You do have to provide your own adhesive (but most of us have that around already, anyway).

The only thing I disliked about this product was the packaging.  The cutout and the three little baggies of textural “stuff” are adhered to a piece of heavy colored paper with that rubber cement-like stuff.  It is really, really strong, and I had trouble getting the items off of the paper.  (The preschooler can definitely not do that part himself.)  Because there were no instructions (which were otherwise not necessary – it’s not complicated!), I wasn’t sure if the elephant was supposed to be taken off of the paper or not.  I assumed it was because the baggies were obviously not meant to be left on it, but the elephant did not come off neatly.  I tried really hard not to tear it, but the impressions in the die cut still made for a small tear.  I wish the company would use something a little less strong.  The project itself was great.  (And we have lots of the little parts and pieces left. My daughter was so particular about putting one little piece on at a time that she has lots left over – especially of the yarn and the Easter grassy stuff.)

I would get these again. 🙂

And if you’re not sure what to do with these projects after they’re done, maybe our idea will get the wheels turning.  When Sophia was a baby, her favorite book was Elephants Aloft. This little guy is going to go in her baby book/scrapbook, for a layout about the book.  (Yes, I know it’s not archival quality.  It won’t be a photo page, so we’re okay with that. 🙂 )

“This is a MamaBuzz review. The product was provided by 1-2-3! Textured Products for this review.”