This weekend we have been trying out Aquabeads for the first time. We invited a few people to try it out with us! My daughter absolutely adores any kind of craft, so she was very excited and eager to get going. My son was less enthusiastic, as he would rather be outside kicking his football. Truth be told, he was also concerned they were "just for girls" due to the packaging, but I explained that he could use them too and that we could make our own designs, as well as the ones within the packs.
You have a layout table, or pack which you place the design underneath. Then it's simple, you put the correct colours on the layout tray and simply spray with water to ensure that the beads stick together. They are then left for around an hour to dry off.
I was seriously impressed with the enthusiasm with which my son found with the Aquabeads. He very rarely sticks to tasks with such determination and even when he accidentally knocked his designs and had to start again.
My daughter is five and I have never really seen her struggle with any type of craft before, but she found these difficult. She got frustrated when the beads slipped off or a design went wrong. However, she did persevere and agreed to try it with the bead pen. She found it a lot easier then and definitely started to enjoy it. She had great fun coming up with her own designs and then spraying the finished creations.
I think it's fantastic that children can complete all parts of this craft independently. With other things we have tried before, an adult is usually needed, along with an iron. Using Aquabeads meant that I could get involved with making my own creations too, without having to help the children all the time! Another great thing is that the Aquabeads have a bitter taste to them to discourage children from eating them.
The biggest surprise of the day came from my son who enjoyed Aquabeads so much that he has been getting out templates throughout the day and also this morning to create more and more designs. We also made a footballer together, proving that they weren't just for girls. We've had a lot of fun trying out Aquabeads and I think they're here to stay in our house. The simplicity of using water to spray on the designs to complete them is fantastic.
Disclosure: We were sent the Aquabeads for the purpose of this review. This had no impact on my post, which is honest and fair.
