Crafting with CleverPatch

When I was contacted recently by CleverPatch and asked if I wanted to "have a play" with their crafty products I, of course, jumped at the opportunity and expected to be sent maybe one or two things from them.  Within a couple of weeks a large box arrived by courier and when the kids and I opened it, it was absolutely full of loveliness ... craft loveliness. It just happened to be the weekend and so with time up our sleeve we were eager to begin the "roadtest" journey.

My 4 year old chose to do the Sun Catcher CleverKit - an all-in-one kit to make a pretty, mirrored sun catcher.  Apart from the knots she was able to assemble it herself - she even managed to add the provided sticky dots to the little mirrored pieces and squish them together.  It is now hanging on our dining window to catch the light streaming in while we are eating dinner.  This is a fun, easy project and would make a great gift for a teacher or a grandparent - and one that little kids can make mostly on their own, which is always important to them.

She also made the Foam Flower Frame Magnet CleverKit - this one is super-quick and super-easy and comes together in a few minutes.  All I needed to do was find a photo for her to use and it was done.  A colourful, quirky little photo frame for your fridge.

My son (7) was busting to use the Glass & Porcelain Markers on the Porcelain Mug so I gave him free rein to do whatever he liked (this is very hard for me to do ... I tend to like to "offer" my ideas but he would have none of it and as you can probably tell his ego personality shone through on this one!).  

The markers are water-based so whatever you do can easily be washed off and removed.  If you decide you kinda like your design and want to make it permanent then you just need to bake in the oven for 90 minutes on 160 degrees.  (You know, a bit like those plates from the '80's that you did at school - mine has my friends names plastered all over it and some drawings of the Flintstones!  My Mum still has those plates, bless her.  Now your kids can create something similar, for you!). The markers are also handy for leaving little love notes around the house for certain individuals who don't like to brush their teeth at night ...

My son also put together the little Bead Bookworm Clever Kit.  I asked him to read the instructions and see if he could follow them by himself but he needed my help to understand them.  We worked on the bookworm together and were both really happy with the end result.  A really cute little bookmark for his much loved Geronimo Stilton book.  This was probably my favourite Clever Kit and one that I think all kids would love - boy or girl.

We still have a pile of fabulous marker pens and crayons, and one more Clever Kit (the Dreamcatcher), to roadtest so watch this space - I'm sure you'll see some CleverPatch products making an appearance here again.

If you get a chance, check out CleverPatch's website - they have over 4,000 products (anything and everything craft-related, seriously - it is a one-stop shop), there is a fabulous area for parents where you can access a great Ideas section (I love this - you don't need to come up with craft ideas yourself, just steal theirs!), they have a "Happiness Promise" (c'mon that's reason enough!) and they are an Australian-owned business.  One of my favourite things from CleverPatch, though, has to be their "Naturals" range - they have things like sustainably farmed botanicals (seed pods, pine cones, cinnamon slices etc), a garden section with tools, seeds and planters and lots of different natural textiles to play with.  Their range is amazingly comprehensive, thoughtfully put together and really does inspire "ideas to grow".

I do think their CleverKits are a great little "surprise" to have on hand - for days when boredom strikes and you need to "whip something up" with the kids.  You don't need to hunt around or shop for all your supplies - they are all in the kit, making it an easy, no-fuss project. Everyone wins.

It was a pleasure road-testing their fun products and I know I will be visiting them again soon, after all it won't be long before my son will want to do more mugs - you know, considering he's also a football legend, lacrosse legend, fishing legend ...


Disclaimer:  I was not paid to write this post but was offered craft products by CleverPatch to have some fun with.  Fun was had and in appreciation I am sharing my experience and spreading the crafty word. All opinions are my own.