The Made by Me! Create Your Own Bead Pets kit allows kids to make their own keychains.  There’s a good chance your elementary-age kids don’t need keychains, per se, but a “keychain” can be attached to a purse, backpack, overnight bag, etc.  (This could be a fun way to make luggage recognizable at the airport baggage claim!)  Or the kids can make them as gifts for others.

Bead Pets Kit Contents

The kit comes packaged in a relatively flat, but somewhat large “around” box, with a plastic bag of the contents taped to the inside of the box.

It contains all the beads and string needed for the 10 keychains, the actual keyrings they attach to, cards with patterns for the 10 designs, and a box for storing the supplies.

As you can see, the beads, findings, etc. are all packaged in their own individual baggies so you don’t have to sort them out.  The only thing you need to make these bead pets, other than what’s in the box, is a pair of scissors.

The ten patterns are found on five cards, one on each side.  (I have no idea why pizza and popsicles are “pets.”)  As you can see, they key tells you at a glance which beads you’re going to need for a given pattern, and then the pattern is in the form of a diagram.

Making the Bead Pets

I didn’t realize until my girls sat down to make their first couple of “pets” that the storage box is designed to double as a tray for working.

We quickly noticed two things, though.

First, doing the beading on the tray is pretty awkward and difficult.  I would recommend using the ridges in the lid to allow you to lay out the beads so you have them all ready and aren’t counting on the fly, but I wouldn’t try to do the actual beading right up against the box like that.

Second, although the kit is labeled for ages 6 and up, we think 6 is a little young.  Some 6-year-olds might be able to manage it — it isn’t complicated — but the coordination required is probably a little much for most 6-year-olds.  My 12-year-old struggled a bit and found it frustrating.  The 8-year-old was a bit more patient and did okay on her own.  But the consensus around here is that anyone much younger than Livia would probably need help.

It is good practice with beading, though, which can help toward more detailed beadwork down the road, since the skills are similar, but the pony beads are a manageable size for small fingers.

Giving the Kit as a Gift

As a wrapped gift, this kit would be easy.  It’s a neatly rectangular box that should make wrapping simple and straightforward.  The box is way too big to fit in a stocking, though; if you’re looking for stocking stuffers, you have a few options.

The contents of the box will compact into a bundle that’s less flat but also not so tall or wide.  So if you want to put the whole kit in a stocking, you can remove the contents from the box and either dump them into the stocking loose, or tuck them all in a zip-top bag.

A second option is to break it up into “mini-kits,” tucking the supplies for two bead pets into each stocking.  (Remember the patterns are back-to-back on the cards, so you can’t separate the ones on the fronts from the ones on the backs.)

A third option, if your whole family participates in filling stockings, is to let the kids make the bead pets first and use the finished bead pets as stocking stuffers.

However you want to use it, you can buy the kit at Wal-Mart.