Creativity for Kids Opti Art Review and Giveaway

Do you have a crafty kid living at your house?  I do! And, try as I might, I'm not a crafty mom.  We've tried to keep art supplies on hand for our crafty kid, otherwise known as Second Born, but then those supplies somehow jump their organizers and spread themselves all over the house.  After decluttering several times, we take the kit approach to crafting these days.  So Second Born was *over the moon* when she learned we were going to review a Creativity for Kids Opti Art Kit.

First, I'll tell you all the Mom reasons why I loved this kit.  The suggested retail price of the kit ($14.99) is very reasonable especially keeping in mind that the kit itself includes the following:

• 20 flat back crystal clear gemstones (sizes range from 1/2" to 1 1/4")
• 2 sheets of self-adhesive magnet backing
• 2 sheets of clear double-stick tape
• 3 tie-tacks
• 15 double-sided foam tape dots
• paint brush
• acrylic paint 

The kid crafter can make magnets, pins and tie tacks. Everything is packaged neatly with warnings on potentially dangerous items.  The recommended age range for the kit is ages 7-97 and teaches reverse glass painting techniques as well as optic art.  And I love, love, love that the kit is not marketed to girls by gendering their creativity with pink, girly activities.  This is, in fact, a craft kit that would be great fun for boys and girls.

Second Born loved the paints and brush that came with the kit.  In particular, the paint is water soluble so that when she made a mistake painting, she could rinse it off the glass dome and start over.  (I loved that as well.)  The instructions that came in the box were also easy (and fun) for her to read, including not only instructions for painting but also for putting together magnets and/or tie tacks (as well as some fun facts and extra creative options).  Look--here's the Moana Saves magnet she made!  It has a place of honor on our fridge.

I would recommend this kit to all families--especially those like mine where a crafty kid has been saddled with a not-so-crafty mom.

BUY IT
To purchase a Creativity for Kids Opti Art kit for your child, click here or you can buy a kit from your favorite online retailer like Amazon.  Another option is to use Creativity for Kids' store locator to purchase this kit or others at your local retailer.  The Creativity for Kids Opti Art kit would make a *great* Christmas present for the creative tween-ager (or anyone else aged 7-97) in your family!

WIN IT
Creativity for Kids has generously offered one lucky Moana Saves reader an Opti Art kit of their own!

To earn a mandatory entry, follow Creativity for Kids on Twitter here. Mandatory means that if you don't do this first, all of your other entries will be disqualified.  Make sure to leave a comment saying you've done this as well as your twitter handle.

To earn an additional entry, do one (or all) of the following and leave a separate comment for each thing you do:

1. Follow Moana Saves on Twitter.

2. Tweet about this giveaway (limit one tweet per day) using the following (leave the tweet URL in your comment):
#Win an Opti Art kit from @creativityforkids and @moanasaves ends 1/3  http://bit.ly/fcdYNA

3. Become a Google Friend Connect follower of Moana Saves (in the side bar).

4. Like the Creativity for Kids Facebook page.

5. Like the Moana Saves Facebook page.

6. Follow Moana Saves on Networked Blogs (in the side bar).

7. Subscribe to the Moana Saves feed via RSS reader and/or email updates.

Only one person per email/household/IPaddress can enter this giveaway.  He/she must be 18+ years old and reside in the U.S.  This giveaway ends on Monday, January 3rd at 11:59 PM HST (Hawaii Standard Time).  One winner will be chosen randomly via Random.org.  I will notify the winner via email and he/she must respond to claim the prize within 48 hours or I will draw another winner.

Mahalo to Faber-Castell for providing the Creativity for Kids Opti Art kit for review.  I did not receive compensation for this post.  Any and all opinions here are my own.