Not long ago we were sent a set of Gemmies Design Studio which is a new creative brand from Character Options. Gemmies is the creative brand where a sparkly 3D world comes to life. This proven creative play pattern takes working with beads and jewels to another level as they hook, loop and create collectable jewelled figures and decorations. This sounds like so much fun, so Bella and I were really excited about starting to design and make our very own crystal creations.
The Gemmies Design Studio box contains everything you need to plan your designs, store your gems and display your creations. It has over 500 pieces for endless designs. The Design Studio is aimed at children aged 6-9 years old. Bella is 6 years old and so at the lower end of the targeted age range so I knew that she would probably need supervision.
When Bella opened the box it contained the following items:
- 1x design studio
- 369x gems
- 40x spacers
- 134x gem rings
- 8x gem posts
- 4x gem containers
- 5x templates with instructions
- 1x deluxe gem tool
- 1x light box
After taking all the pieces out of the box Bella started putting them all together, which was very easy for her to do. She got the whole set all ready to go, putting all the gems in the box before starting to browse the 5 different templates we received to make our creations. These were a Teddy Bear, a Blue Dog, a Clown Fish, a Red Dog and an Ice Cream.
After a good examination of all 5 templates, Bella decided that she wanted to try making the Teddy Bear. I thought that this one looked a bit difficult to do so I suggested to Bella that she should perhaps start with a much simpler one, such as the Ice Cream. However, she was insistent on doing the Teddy Bear as she really liked the look of it and nobody will ever change her mind, LOL!
The templates show you all the pieces and amounts that you need so you can make them. We put all the necessary pieces aside in order to be able to create our Teddy Bear. Each template includes a link to a video showing how to make the design which should make our lives easier. However, at the time of our review the Teddy Bear video was not ready so we attempted making it without the help of this.
The Teddy Bear was definitely very fiddly to do and Bella was struggling a lot and needed a lot of supervision. Daddy came to the rescue to help Bella although it wasn’t easy for daddy either. You definitely need to be very concentrated and pay a lot of attention to detail. Bella can be quite impatient, which is maybe typical for her age and after a few attempts she was a little tired.
Thankfully daddy encouraged her to carry on. The first thing you need to do is slide the gem rings onto the Deluxe Gem Tool and secure the gem ring on the Deluxe Gem Tool hooks. Then you need to clip on the gems. Once done, you should remove the gem ring. You will repeat these steps as many times as required.
You will then start to connect to each of the parts. You will add spacers as place holders and remove them during assembly. You will need to follow the assembly template instructions in order to make your 3D creation. Once all the parts are put together you will have your super cute Teddy Bear or the design you have chosen.
I actually took over from daddy at the end as I was looking forward to giving it a go too. He had made the head so I did the body and then connected them to each other. It took almost 2 hrs to complete the first template! It was not easy at all but I think the more you do it the quicker and better you can become.
I thought this set was very entertaining but definitely more appealing for older kids at the higher end of the age range as I think they will be more capable to do it without supervision. Bella and I liked the idea of having videos with instructions, it was just a shame the Teddy Bear one wasn’t ready at the time.
At the end, your creation can be displayed on a stand that lights up. In order to for it to light up you will need batteries so be aware of that. We put the Teddy Bear above the light which made it look even more shiny and sparkly! It was very cool.
The Gemmies Design Studio has an RRP of £29.99 and but you can get find it at various retailers such as Character Online or Amazon for only £19.99. Also in the range is the Gemmies Activity pack (RRP £9.99) of which there are two themes available. You can get them also from Amazon for £8.15.
What do you think of the Gemmies Design Studio? Do you have something similar at home? Would you like to get this for your kids? Leave a comment as I would love to read what you think.
*Disclaimer: I received Gemmies Design Studio in exchange for a blog post. However all opinions and thoughts are my own.
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤️
Franca 💋
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