Penny Bauder, owner of Green Kid Crafts, has a wonderful idea! Parents pay for a monthly craft shipment that comes with all the supplies you’ll need (minus tape, scissors, and glue) to make THREE amazing crafts from recycled materials.
This summer I received a wonderful box from Green Kid Crafts. In it were supplies for a pirate play set, a wind chime, and a scrapbook. The crafts are suitable for ages 3-8. My 4 y.o. chose the pirate set, my 8 y.o. chose the wind chime, and I enjoyed the scrap book. My youngest could easily cut what needed cutting and we glued pieces together. The hardest part of his pirate play set was waiting for everything to dry so he could play with it! My older son personalized his wind chime a bit beyond the instructions, and I was totally happy with that. He loves seeing his creation on the back porch. The storms we will get this week will certainly make the chime sing! My older son also took interest in asking how the various pieces could possibly be recycled. I liked that not only was this a creative project, but an educational one as well. The scrap book is easy and fun to make. I filled it with pictures from our summer vacation at the beach.
According to Green Kids Crafts literature, they were “founded in 2010 as the original craft subscription company. With Green Kid Crafts, parents and kids can enjoy planet-friendly, monthly projects that spark creativity and cultivate love and respect for the environment. What sets Green Kid Crafts apart is that they are the only carbon-neutral, craft subscription service in the nation. Green Kid Crafts offsets 100% of the carbon dioxide generated by business activities and helps fund the development of renewable energy projects across the United States. They were recently awarded Green America’s Business Seal of Approval and also won top honors in the 2012 Leading Moms in Business Competition.”
My oldest said he liked that, “the crafts are colorful and sturdy.” My younger reported that his craft was, “nice, good, and easy.” Both responded with a resounding “YES!” when asked if they would like to do something like this again.
The box, bags, and all remaining materials are 100% compostable. Further, Green Kid Crafts includes a flyer that tells additional creative ideas for various household items along with the theme for the month (summer, in this case). In our box was additional instructions for: a pirate ship, a treasure map, a spotting scope, a Japanese windsock (with information about the history of them), a wind spinner, a journal, a book, and a mini-tab book. Whew! That’s a lot of crafts for rainy days and weekends. All of the supplemental craft ideas are for products you’d have around the house like toilet paper roll, paper bags, leftover fabric or ribbon, and soda bottles.
Monthly memberships are available for $19.95. While this may seem like a lot at first glance, I figure it’s worth my time and effort not having to collect all the supplies for three separate and wonderful crafts. Gift subscriptions are available for three, six, or twelve months. You will be billed monthly and you can cancel any time. All craft boxes ship the first of the month. If you hurry, you can use the code SUMMER and get $10 off your first craft box! My older son suggested that Green Kid Crafts make excellent Christmas, birthday, and Easter gifts for kids.
Happy Crafting,
Andrea
