"Are we there yet?"
Written: Aug 03 '01 (Updated Aug 17 '01)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: No obvious marks on clothing or furniture
Cons: potent odor, takes long to dry
The Bottom Line: A little disappointing but will be a temporary diversion for car rides.
|
|
|
| Heidiepinion's Full Review: Crayola Color Wonder Markers and Paper |
Another car trip is planned & I'm beginning to panic. I'm always looking for new ideas to keep our kids, ages 2 1/2, 5 1/2, & 10 1/2, occupied in the car. Okay so I really just want them to SLEEP the whole way but that isn't going to happen!
I try to do all I can to keep them interested in something besides who’s elbow is in who’s side or who has a fraction of an inch more room. I wrote a
review entitled “IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE HELL” if your interested in some of these ideas. But running after my toddler in Target the other day, as I dashed by the school supply aisle, I caught a glimpse of yet another potentially helpful tactic. After corralling the 2 year old, I studied the package of CRAYOLA Color Wonder Kit.
The Color Wonder Kit is a set of six markers & a tablet of 30 sheets of paper. We always take paper & markers with us on trips, only to find that one of my little angels has placed an un-capped marker (usually the red or purple one) on the seat for an enduring memory of our travels. But in big, wonderful letters, the Color Wonder Kit promised MESS FREE MARKERS! I was intrigued.
What’s so special? What makes these markers mess free is the color free ink developed by CRAYOLA to react & turn color only when used on the Color Wonder paper. They claim it won’t mark on skin, walls, carpet, or clothing. No more random art work on our car interior? “I’ll take it!”
I purchased the Color Wonder Kit & put it away until the time came to load up for our up-coming excursion. I wouldn’t let the kids touch it so that when we’re in the car & they’re screaming How much longer do I have to sit by my brother?!?” at the top of their lungs, I’d be able to pull out this brand new product for them to try. Well, I couldn’t resist trying the kit out now myself.
Let’s give it a try! I’m opening the package & I find that there’s a mesh zippered bag that snaps onto the back of the tablet to hold the markers. That will come in handy but I’ll bet my life that we still don’t come home with all six markers.
The marker colors are black, red, yellow, green, blue, & purple. Taking the lid off the blue, the tip is indeed, colorless. I place the tip against my fingertip & no mark remains. There is a bit of an odor present from the ink but doesn’t seem too bad.
The sheets of paper look like typical sheets of white paper. The pages have CRAYOLA Color Wonder printed all over the back--kind of like printed KODAK photos. One sheet pulls out easily from the tablet.
I begin by writing my name & drawing some doodles on the paper. The blue is a vibrant royal color; purple is also a bright violet; green is a dark forest; red is more of a pinkish burgundy; the black is more of a muted charcoal; & yellow hardly shows up at all. I think the odor is getting to me.
As I’m scrutinizing the colors, I hold the paper up to the light. It’s pretty. The markers make the paper almost translucent, looking like stained glass. The kids would love putting their artwork on the windows in their bedrooms.
I try marking on the backside of the paper but it doesn’t show up. I guess the kids won’t have to hear me say, “Draw on the other side of the paper first before getting a new page.” That will make the tablet of 30 sheets disappear even faster.
I also try using other mediums on the Color Wonder paper Pencil doesn’t show up much. Ball point pens work great on the smooth matte paper. And permanent marker--if you’re brave enough to let your kids use them, doesn’t soak through.
I’m creating a “stained glass look” flower now. I drew the design with a pen & now I’m coloring in the segments. I see that I can slightly mix the colors but the “yellow-and-red-make-orange” rule doesn’t apply here. It looks nothing like orange. “I’m definitely getting a headache from this stuff.”
Now the kids have come in & want to give it a try. They’ve all got a sheet of the paper & take over my markers. My 5 year old just asked why doesn’t it color right away. “It takes awhile for the stuff to soak in,” says my daughter. “This is cool!” he returns. My daughter’s drawing a flower like mine & my 2 year old is stabbing his paper with the green marker. He isn’t deterred from trying to color all over the countertop either. As if to say, ”I can write on anything with these & won’t get into trouble.”
Color Wonder might be innovative but it’s not perfect. It says on the package that the markers are designed to mark only on the special paper but that it may alter the appearance of wood, vinyl, & leather.
Time to place their finished work on their windows....grab a tylenol, & find the cap to the green marker.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 6.99
Type of Toy: Arts and Crafts
Age Range of Child: Other
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Heidiepinion
|
|
Location: NE
Reviews written: 37
Trusted by: 7 members
About Me:
A SAHM trying to decide what I want to be when I "grow up!"
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.