As a preteen, I was never without a book and some embroidery floss for making friendship bracelets. Knotting bracelets was a fun activity I could do alone or while chatting with friends. With a little embroidery floss, I was never bored.
Once you learn basic knots and friendship bracelet patterns, making a bracelet is easy. The hardest part is keeping your strands untangled and in order. Of course, when I was a kid, I didn’t have My Friendship Bracelet Maker, which is way cooler and more effective than the piece of cardboard and scotch tape I used to carry around.
Because kids take their friendship bracelet supplies everywhere, I love the idea of the new Traveler. A draw, stocked with 20 pre-cut threads, will keep kids occupied on road trips and vacations.
I started off a simple stripe pattern in hopes that my five year old, who is very crafty, would be able to create a friendship bracelet of her own.
She was very excited about picking out a rainbow of colors. Although she gets the concept, I think she needs another year before the manual dexterity will kick in.
She wants to keep trying, though. So, I am getting the bracelet started for her. After I completed a few rows, she managed to do a few on her own.
We checked out some of the patterns and are very excited to try out the musical note and heart patterns. My daughter was not too disappointed that the bracelet maker was a little beyond her independent crafting at the moment because she had a lot of success with the Ribbon Barrette Maker.
My daughter has long, wavy hair and wears barrettes every day. She loved the idea of making her own barrette with beautiful ribbons and beads.
I had a couple of false starts trying to figure out the directions. Once I knew where to start and how to weave, I showed my daughter. She was able to independently finish the barrette after just a few demonstrations.
She was so pleased that Granny said it looked like a store-bought barrette.
She is really proud of the results and is excited to wear her “princess barrette” to school!
From My Friendship Bracelet Maker: Since friendship bracelets are such a great gesture of friendship, the company created a video (“Inside Out“) to shout out the message that kids should choose friendship, not bullying, which has become such a destructive force for kids today. Proceeds from song and t-shirt sales will be donated to non-profit organizations that support anti-bullying initiatives. See the music video on the company’s website at www.myfbm.com.
WANT IT: Check your local Michaels, specialty toy retailer, or the My Friendship Bracelet Maker website where to buy page. You can also purchase the My Friendship Bracelet Maker Travel Ready Set with Instructional Video ($21) and My Ribbon Barrette Maker ($22) on Amazon.
