Boris the Spider! {Crafty Review}

Ok, so his name really isn't Boris. He's officially called "Kooky Spooky Spider", but with two kids who really love The Who and both of them knowing all of the words to "Boris The Spider" (check below for a YouTube video with lyrics - it's a great little song for kids, especially this time of year - sorry Jorje!), well... he has a new name at our house!

 Now, we didn't come up with this idea ourselves. Boris was one of the crafts that came to us from Freckles Crafts. If you aren't familiar with Freckles Crafts, read my blog post about this great company HERE. I absolutely love having Rebecca's craft kits sitting on my craft shelf. On those days when Little Guy is begging, "I want do project, Mamma! Maybe gluing or paintin' project?" and I just do NOT feel like doing it, I can grab one of the lovely bags with the Freckles Froggy on it and I know that all I have to do is sip my coffee and maybe help him out with squeezing the glue once in a while. You see, EVERYTHING you need to create each craft is included. You will not need glue, paint brushes, pipe cleaners - absolutely nothing is needed except what is in that little bag (including step-by-step instructions.)

Everything we need to make Boris!

Instructions that even Hubby could follow!

Our first job was to paint Boris' body with the little tub of black paint and the paint brush we were given. I was NOT allowed to help! Little guy had a wonderful time making sure he got paint into all of the little dips in the Styrofoam body. He kept saying, "Poke, poke, poke!" each time he dabbed the brush onto the foam.

 Now, the hardest part of any project that must be done in steps is waiting for paint or glue to dry in between. It took me a few times of listening to Little Guy whine and have fits before I had my "brilliant" idea. Why not use our hair dryer, the one no one uses for anything else, on the cool setting? Because it doesn't heat up, I can even let him use it himself (as long as I'm withing reach.) He LOVES being able to use a machine that 1) plugs into the wall, 2) makes a really loud noise, and 3) you can see/feel working. Plus, it keeps him occupied and still working on his project while he waits for the paint to dry.

See the look on his face? This is very serious work to him and I treat it as such!

Once Boris' body is dry, the rest of our project goes quickly:

Add eyes and nose, using the included glue dots...

... check to make sure his face is on straight...

... add some legs (eight to be exact!)...

... attach a string, and hang him up!

We had a wonderful time! The entire project took about 30 minutes, including drying time and pretending the googly eyes were our own eyes (you can't skip THAT step!) Little Guy only need help twice - once time for pushing the pipe cleaner legs into the foam body, and once for tying the hanging string. He's so proud of himself for being able to do every step of this project with very little help. Every morning, as he's eating his oatmeal, he says, "Goof morning, Boris!" and he tells him 'good night' before we turn out the lights at night.


We just received another package with three more crafts a couple of days ago. The hardest part about these is choosing which to do first!

Marty the Monster, Felted Owl, and Halloween Charm Necklace

The prices are just amazing! Crafts range from $1.50 to $6.75 for most. There are a few that cost more, but that is because the crafts contain more expensive components. What do I really, really want? Freckles Crafts has this very cool Craft Kit Tote for $30. It's a reusable tote (think: Hot Wheels' new home!) filled with five crafts - you can choose between girls' and boys' and all included crafts are listed. You can even include a personal gift message. I am thinking of something along the lines of, "To Alicia, because you're such an incredible blogger and crafty mommy!" (Do you think my husband reads my blog? Nah, me neither. Oh, well...)

In addition to the Freckles Crafts store, you can connect on Facebook, Twitter, and Freckles Crafts the Blog.

I received no compensation for this post. Last spring, I won a giveaway - the prize was a year's worth of crafts from Freckles Crafts. We've received NINE wonderful crafts (one for each month) and I am thankful for every one of them. I want to share this amazing store with my readers because I thank that anyone with children would benefit from having even a couple of the craft packages from Freckles Crafts laying around the house for those days when you just can't think of WHAT to do with your kid.