Beados Gems Designer Studio – Review

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Fiona Martin

Beados Gems Designer Studio from Character toys is a great way to turn your Beados designs into something useful. Young girls love jewellery and 7yr old Miss M is no exception. Having used other Beados sets before, she was keen to try this and make something she could wear.

The set does require minor assembly when it comes out of the box but does create a work station that stores all of the beads in separate sections at the top, and a tube which dispense the beads onto your template. Included are packs of coloured beads, a water spray bottle, 2 templates to hold the beads, picture templates and accessories to turn the designs into jewellery.

Miss M was very impressed with this and excited to fill it up with beads. To dispense the beads into the tube you can turn the circular part until the colour bead you require is at the front then press the button on top and it lets a bead come down the tube. Keep pressing until you have the required number of beads.

Once you have finished your design, you need to lightly spray it with water, which magically adheres the beads together, then leave alone until completely dry.

When dry you can carefully slide the designs from the bead template and they are then free to do as you please. On the ones we wanted to use for jewellery we had some backing pieces to stick on using a squirt of water. The bracelet flowers also required careful assembly and can get a bit sticky if you over water, something I had to keep reminding Miss M who loved to squirt the water sprayer! Once everything is dry you can pop the pieces into the ring and pendant holders and wear your jewellery. What is a nice idea is that you can easily swap the designs in the ring and pendant by simply popping them out and putting a different one in.

Here are our finished jewels:

This is a great craft set for a young girl, with which they will have lots of fun and enjoy creating. I think this would make a lovely present at either birthday or Christmas time.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the products in order to write the review.

Beados Glitter Quick Dry Design Studio – Review

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Fiona Martin

Beados Glitter Quick Dry Design Studio from Character has been a huge hit with Miss M. With lots of coloured and glittery beads that magically join together when sprayed with water, the designs are simple to make and effective when finished.

Suitable for ages 4+, although they would probably require assistance at that age, Miss M who is just 7 sat and did this craft set unaided and independently, meaning she was thrilled at the results knowing it was all her own work.

The set consists of a fan which requires 2 AA batteries, 2 boards to make the designs on, some design templates, various packs of coloured beads, a divided dish to use to hold the beads, a tool to pick the beads up, a water spray bottle and some stands to help display your finished work.

You can either copy the designs from the template or for younger children you can put the template underneath the board so you can follow the design by putting the correct coloured beads on top. The tweezer like tool helps you to pick up a bead and place it in the correct place on the board. I really liked the glittery beads and think they really enhanced the finished designs.

Once you have completed the design, you use the spray bottle to gently spray a layer of water across the whole design and then place it under the fan to try. Miss M loved following through with this process as she could complete it herself from start to finish.

The beads adhered together well once they were wet. We did find that if too much water was used it was a good idea to turn the design over once partially dry to let the other side dry fully rather than sit in water on the tray.

With plenty of concentration, the Beados really kept Miss M occupied and is a fun craft that’s a little bit different from the things Miss M normally does which helped maintain her interest. It made her feel very grown up using the fan herself and showing me her finishing projects.

The designs looked really good once dry and can be used for many things. There are a few various stands included, one to stand a design upright, another with a sucker to put on a window and another one with a sucker that you could stick anywhere. There are also some little attachments that you can adhere to a design with little water and they have a hole in which you can thread some string or ribbon through and use as a keyring or attach to a bag.

Beados has been a big hit here for Miss M who loved working with the beads and was really pleased with the finished pieces. This would be great for any art and craft fan, and you can purchase additional bead sets to make further designs after and the fan can be used again and again. Why not take a look at Beados next time you are looking for a gift?

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the products in order to write the review.

Beados Quick Dry Design Studio – Review

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Fiona Martin

Beados Quick Dry Design Station from Flair is a fun way to make beaded pictures that stick together with water. This is a great starter set that includes a fan dryer for your pictures along with beads, templates and more.

The set comprises of:

1 x Station Unit
500 x Beads
1 x Tweezer Pen
2 x Suction Cups
1 x Spray Bottle
2 x Design Trays
1 x Bead Storage Tray
1 x Display Stand
1 x Connector
6 x Design Templates
1 x Instruction Booklet

Miss M was very excited about trying this craft set, having seen the advert on television many times and being suitable for children 4+, she is a great age to try this. Being 6 years old, she was able to grasp the concept quickly and work independently which is good as it saves the frustration of not being able to do something on her own and she really feels like she’s achieved something at the end of it.

There are three double sided design templates which you simply slot underneath a design tray. The trays are transparent so that you can see through to follow the design. Using tweezers with a special end to hold a little bead, Miss M set to work carefully placing the right coloured bead over the same colour in the pattern.

She really enjoyed doing this and was eager to show me her finished picture. It was then time for the fun part which she really loved. Using the little spray bottle, you need to spray water across the design which melts the beads slightly and then put it under the dryer which helps to stick them together. Pressing the large button in the centre of the design station activates a fan which dries the Beados design. This does require 2 AA batteries to work.

Once the Beados designs are dry, you can display them in various ways. A couple of little holders to stand them up are included along with some suckers to put them onto windows.

We really enjoyed the Beados set, it’s quick to make a little design and they look bright and effective. It’s fun for children to do and a great way for them to be creative as they can make their own designs. Refill packs of beads are available so the activity station can be used again and again making whatever their imagination lets them!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the Beados set in order to write the review.