Alex Toys Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Making Kit

Reviews of Alex Toys Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Making Kit

1.) My daughters LOVE this!!!
Reviewed by: jack of all trades Fostoria, Ohio
Rating:
I have 3 daughters ages 9, 10, and 12. They have tried making bracelets before and got bored very fast. Not the case with this item. They have had it for over a month now and are still creating bracelets. I have had to purchase more string for them but the foam discs have held up very well. They have also learned different patterns and made their own. This is a great rainy day activity even though my girls have sat on the porch on nice days and weaved away. Easy to learn, hard to put down.

2.) Great hobby!
Reviewed by: princesa Honduras
Rating:
This is so great for all ages! I bought it for my 8 year old girl. I thought it was hard at the beginning, but once you get it, it was a piece of cake! I ended up making bracelets too!! I really reccomend this!


3.) LOVE IT!
Reviewed by: Lori Schalles Pittsburgh, PA
Rating:
Let me just first say that I bought this to make bracelets with my 3 year old daughter. She has been into the simple stringing of beads to make bracelets and I thought this might be fun for her. Not only is it fun for her, its fun for me too. She needed my help for the first bracelet, but now she can make them on her own and they come out perfect every single time. We got this less than a week ago and she has already made over 10 bracelets on her own. I love that it comes with 4 different designs. The only thing I wish was there were additional designs you could buy!! Other than that, this is an awesome product and should it ever need replaced due to wear & tear, I definitely wouldn't mind!

4.) The girls love it!
Reviewed by: Hammy Sunny Florida
Rating:
Gave it to my 9 year old God daughter. She and her friends loooove this one. It is a bonding experience for them. Inspires creativity, sharing and fun times. The price is really good, so there is nothing to loose here. Instructional and enjoyable...and it keeps them busy :)

5.) Great hobby starter set; keeps hands busy!
Reviewed by: Horticountant Chantilly, VA
Rating:
We bought this for our 7 year old daughter for her birthday hoping to interest her in a new hobby that would encourage her creativity (and keep her hands busy). The manufacturer suggests this product for 8-12 year olds and I would generally agree (based on dexterity and attention span). However, some younger children, especially those that have the attention span and can repeat a pattern with their hands fairly reliably, will be able to master this activity. Our 5 1/2 year old daughter has given it a try but needs help every once in a while when she gets off the pattern.

We've noticed that the girls don't have as much problem with the circular looms. However, they've had difficulty getting the bracelets from the square looms to come out uniformly. It seems to be a matter of learning how to keep uniform tension on the floss and weave consistently. Not difficult; it just takes a little attention and practice.

The "suitcase" contains four foam looms (2 square and 2 round); 22 skiens of floss; 2 small containers of beads (clear, and multicolored); a beading needle; and instructions.
* Each loom has two patterns (one on each side) for a total of 8 patterns. The finished pattern design is printed around the center hole of the loom, and the notches are painted with the suggested colors used to create the pattern. It's easy to substitute out colors to create your own color schemes. After several months, we've noticed the paint start to rub off the notches on the foam looms (bound to happen over time). Repainting with nail polish may help though we haven't tried that yet.
* The skiens of floss can get used up pretty quickly (only 22). We've found that the local sewing/craft store sells a pack of 50 skiens for around $10.
* We haven't used the beading needle, so I can't comment there. The beads, however, are the right size for the floss and the kids fingers (bigger than seed beeds, smaller than pony beads). My girls haven't shown much interest in incorporating the beads into their projects. They seem to get caught up in the rhythm of the weaving and forget to use them. I would caution that the container lids don't secure down - they slip right off. I would suggest finding another container with a snug lid or taping the lids down to prevent spilled beads.
* The instructions are fairly easy to follow. As has been mentioned by others, the YouTube videos are helpful, especially for those that learn best by watching others. A ruler for measuring out floss has been printed on the fold-out instructions, so all you really need is a pair of scissors for cutting the floss and a pen/pencil (for creating the first loop).
* We still keep the materials, looms, and supplies in the "suitcase" which has proven to be durable.

As our girls have used the product, we've found that they favor the round looms and bracelets over the square. I think this is largely because (1) the weaving rhythm is more continous on the circular looms, (2) it's easier to keep constant tension on the circular looms, (3) the consistent tension yields a more uniform and finished looking product, (4) the round bracelets are usually faster to complete (our experience has been 1 1/2 to 2 hours for the round bracelets compared to 3 for the flat bracelets), and (5) the girls favor the heart and flower designs produced by the circular looms.

Our girls have had a fun time creating bracelets for friends (boys and girls) and themselves. They seem to enjoy planning out the colors and trying to invent new patterns. I would agree with the reviewers who would have liked to see additional patterns. We've also used the floss to create our own knotted/braided/woven bracelets using patterns we've found elsewhere on the web.

Overall, a fun product that was worth the $17.50 we paid for it!

6.) Terrific!!
Reviewed by: gran-ma Brooklyn, NY
Rating:
Both my grand-daughters who are 11 yrs old loved this kit. They made all sorts of bracelets, each one different ones, they used their imaginations, and had fun creating their own jewelries.



7.) Wonderful toy!
Reviewed by: Mom785943
Rating:
This is a really great bracelet-making kit. My 6 year old picked it up very quickly, and it makes some really amazing patterns (hearts, flowers, several variety of stripes and checkerboards). It takes about 5-10 minutes to get a new bracelet "set up" on the loom (that's the only somewhat hard part) but then once you get going on the weaving it's very quick and easy. My daughter had tried some other bracelet making kits (the kinds with only string and instructions) but she would forget where she was in the pattern, get knots in the string, etc. This kit makes it much easier for her make very intricate patterns. She loves it! Can't tell how durable it will be yet, but I think it will be fine. It's worth it to spend the money for the kit with 2 square looms and 2 round looms to get a wider variety of patterns.

8.) 8yroldsmom
Reviewed by: momof2auntof20 IN
Rating:
This helps so much! My eight yr old can make cool bracelets with very little help from me. All the other kits required my almost constant assistance. With this i set up the looms and let her weave away and only assist when she doesn't remember where she stopped or wants to add beads etc.

9.) Girls bracelet kit
Reviewed by: Daisy Florida, USA
Rating:
My daughter received this bracelet making kit for her birthday and it was such a hit with her girl friends that I ordered it as a gift for one of them. It keeps them busy and they love the colorful bracelets.
Highly recommended.

10.) awesome
Reviewed by: westmo Chicago, IL USA
Rating:
This toy is definitely excellent. My daughter loves to make friendship bracelets, but this adds a whole new step. She is ten years old and needed a little help understanding the first one and help with set up but now she is able to make all kinds of exciting designs.

11.) Awesome Friendship Bracelet Kit
Reviewed by: Minnet Mill Creek, WA
Rating:
Purchased for my daughter for Christmas. We bought the smaller version (2 daisy wheels) in Sept. She loves it! Has made well over 25 bracelets. We thought this one, being expanded and with different wheels, beads etc would make her day!

12.) Great toy for kids!
Reviewed by: yelron
Rating:
This is a great toy and skills development, after a short explanation my 6 years old girl is working almost by her self :-)

You must have paitence with it...


13.) Fun for Girls age 6+
Reviewed by: Alison Karpstein Redmond, WA USA
Rating:
My daughter received this kit for Christmas, and has really enjoyed making bracelets. The kits comes with a full rainbox of colors, and the instructions are easy to follow. The addition of beads makes things a little more messy and complicated, but the end result is worth it. A great gift for girls between the ages of 6-15.

14.) It's not that hard...
Reviewed by: Jaeliyah Irving, TX
Rating:
This kit really isn't as difficult as some of the reviewers are making it out to be. It comes with everything you need, and while the instructions included in the kit are a little confusing, the instructional videos on YouTube are incredibly helpful ([...]). That I had to go online to learn how to do it cost it a star in my opinion.

It takes some time (it took me about two hours from start to finish to make one slightly longer than 6 inches on the wheel last night while I watched a movie), but no more than any other kind of macrame and less than most, so if your kid's attention span can't handle that, then they probably shouldn't be crafting.

15.) Fun, but time-consuming
Reviewed by: HeatherH
Rating:
My 8 year old was so excited...for the first 30 minutes. She loves the end product, but takes a looooong time to for her to complete a bracelet. Patterns don't always come out as planned, and only enough of each thread color to use once, but discs seem to be holding up fine. Box is sturdy enough to use as long-term organizer.

16.) Needs Improvement, but fun
Reviewed by: the bon Central Florida USA
Rating:
The thread that came with this kit is horrible--it unravels, tangles easily. I can't imagine a child using it. When using the square looms, the most important step in the directions (pulling the cross threads tight) is in the hints section. I have had the round looms for several months and figure out patterns by trial-and-error then try to remember what I did; it is so much easier drawing them out on the grid that came with the squares. Is there anything like that for the round ones? The square looms work well with round cording--the patterns are much easier to discern. I use these bracelets as incentives for improved classroom behavior, recognition for a great job, excellence, and thank-yous.

17.) Great friendship bracelet kit for granddaughter
Reviewed by: Dee North Carolina
Rating:

My 11-year old granddaughter's current passion is friendship bracelets. This kit lit up her eyes the moment she unwrapped the gift and saw it. Has everything she needs to make varied, colorful bracelets.

18.) A Fun Gift for the Grandchildren
Reviewed by: Creations In Wood Massachusetts
Rating:
This is a well made and well thought out product. Our granddaughters have a great time making bracelets.

19.) harder than I thought it would be
Reviewed by: S. Barnett Montgomery,TX
Rating:
Well I bought this for my daughter and I to do together. She is age 6 and in no way can do this on her own. But I knew that when I purchased it. However when I opened it up to get started I was thinking yikes, what have I done? So I told her to go play with something else while I took the time to figure it out. After about 30 to 45 minutes I got one started but soon realized there was no way she was going to have the patience to make an entire one by herself. Even I was struggling and finally put it down and told her we would work on it later. Well later may be about 2 years from now when she is older! I still think it is a good toy but definately for older kids and moms with some serious spare time on their hands. All of you crafty gals will probably love it!

20.) Bracelet Kit
Reviewed by: Sci fi geek Texass
Rating:
The toy was smaller than it seemed, but had a nice variety of things to make. For someone under ten it is a nice gift.

21.) Ok
Reviewed by: John S. Foreman
Rating:
Got this for my 10 yr old niece. It was hard to untie/untangle the string. With the first bracelet we tried, the length of the strings didn't work out right. So, we didn't finish one. It came with lots of string and beads. I think the receiver really has to be interested in working this kit.

22.) Would NOT recommend
Reviewed by: SS San Carlos, CA United States
Rating:
This toy is very complicated for any kid and adult to make. I had to ask my husband to figure out how to make and even he (who is very handy and smart) took a while to figure out what to do. Our kids eventually followed directions but on their own no way that would be able to know what to do. I would not buy this toy unless you plan on doing it yourself with kids watching.

23.) Too hard
Reviewed by: MC2 St. Paul, MN United States
Rating:
I got this kit for my daughter's 8th birthday party. She is having three friends over, and we thought this would be a fun project for them to sit and do for a little while. We took it out today to try making a bracelet. The paper directions are really difficult to figure out, and the video online goes way too quickly over the tricky parts (moving strings right and then left, and moving the wheel counterclockwise). I watched the video several times, and I still can't get the process right. After over an hour of working at it by myself, I've made less than an inch of bracelet, and the pattern isn't even correct. It is way too hard for an 8 year old! And my daughter is very good at crafts (sewing, weaving, braiding, etc.). The description of this product even recommends it for parties... I have only tried the circular wheel bracelet maker. The video for the square shaped bracelet maker did seem easier.

24.) Lousy Purchase
Reviewed by: C. Lynne Loskot Yuba City, Ca.
Rating:
This was a very disappointing purchase. It is cheaply constructed and has only four patterns, all of which were lousy. I sent it back. That's how bad it was.

Features of Alex Toys Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Making Kit

This handy little suitcase holds hours of fun! Great for parties, rainy days, camp, scouts, and much more. Make friendship bracelets for everyone you know! Kit includes 2 styles, 8 patterns, 22 bracelets! This package contains 22 colors of floss (solids, variegated, and multi-colored), 2 double-sided color-coded foam friendship looms, 2 best double-sided color-coded foam friend band looms, beads in various colors, beading needle, detailed instructions, and it is all packed inside of a convenient 8-1/2" x 9-3/8" x 2" neon bright suitcase with a acetate window, snap closure and a carry handle for taking your bracelet making on the go! All contents conform to ASTM F963. Recommended for children ages 8 and up. WARNING: Choking Hazard-small parts. Not for children under 3 years.

1.) It's a Friend-zy;
2.) Makes 22 Friendship Bracelets;
3.) 4 looms help you make 2 styles and 8 patterns of friendship bracelets;
4.) Includes 22 colors of floss, beads, beading needle and more;
5.) Colorful, convenient suitcase for keeping it all together;

Package Height x Length x Width: 9.4 in. x 9.4 in. x 8.7 in.
Package Weight: 0.85 lbs.

Accessories for Alex Toys Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Making Kit