Tag Archives: kid

Hair Chalk Challenge

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hair chalk reviewOur kid tester Hope is back once again! In this exciting installment, she’ll be reviewing and comparing two types of hair chalk: Alex metallic hair chalk pens (for ages 8+, a five color package retails for approximately $10 ) and Kiss Naturals hair chalk (for ages 6+, a two color box retails for approximately $13). Take it away Hope!

Hi everyone! The Kiss Naturals hair chalk is described on the box as an “All natural DIY craft making kit.” I would have to agree with this statement! You mix together the ingredients and let it set inside molds to make a chalky material. The Alex version took a different twist – glittery chalky “pens” (the pens were really just chalk holders). Definitely less DIY than the Kiss Naturals. Just pop off the little plastic covering.

The box for the Kiss Naturals chalk was a little misleading. The front of the box showed two sticks of chalk in a bold red and blue. However, the package had a small sticker that said the box contained supplies for orange and purple chalk, and the actual molds for the hair chalk were heart shaped, not rectangular.

kiss naturals hair chalkThe Alex chalk pens were in a clear package, so you could see each product. This clear packaging is helpful, especially on a cosmetic product [Dr. Dana notes: the larger boxes of Kiss Naturals hair chalk, which contain 6 colors, do have a clear window on the front that displays the contents].

alex hair chalk pensThe Alex pens had some directions inside the package, and the directions only had two steps in English! There were three total pictures with directional captions. Each one had a foreign language caption, but only two had English captions. Two of the pictures were almost (but not quite!) identical, but only one of those pictures had an English caption! Talk about confusing!

alex directionsThe Alex pens also included a tiny comb to use in your hair. The comb was so small, it seemed more suitable to use on an American Girl Mini Doll’s hair than human hair, but as we didn’t want to ruin a hairbrush, we decided to try our luck with the tiny comb.

The instructions said to separate a section of hair and rub the chalk on it. As my helper assistant, Em, held out a section of my hair and ground some yellow Alex hair chalk into it, I tried not to yelp! The hair chalk, despite Em’s heroic effort, barely left a trace of color, and to make matters worse, it smelled like vinegar! We tried several different colors of the Alex pens, but they ALL smelled like vinegar! The only solution was to keep it away from my face while grinding it in my hair so I couldn’t smell it!

tiny combEm then ran the little comb through my hair. It got caught in the slightest knots in my hair. SUPER UNCOMBFORTABLE!!! In the end, the Alex pens left an okay amount of color, but it most noticeably left what looked like colorful dandruff in my hair!

yellowThe Kiss Naturals chalk was not much improved. As I mentioned above, it’s a DIY project. When you open the package, it comes with two little baggies of pigment, a tiny spoon, a little measuring cup/beaker, a bottle of purified water and what appear to be rubber ice cube molds (those are the hair chalk molds).

Okay everybody! It’s time for the most interesting part of the review: the witch hazel CONFUSION!

The front of the Kiss Naturals box has a cartoon picture of the items in the box. Nice feature! I noticed that the little bottle on the front of the box was labeled “Witch Hazel.” I got excited! I’d read about witch hazel in books, and was interested to see how it would work in a cosmetic product. Interestingly enough, however, the little bottle inside the box was labeled “Purified Water,” and the directions also said to use water. Why did the directions say water, and the box say witch hazel?

mistake on boxAfter opening the bottle and smelling it, the Pop Goes the Page team determined that it was not witch hazel. Why wasn’t it? Was there a typo on the box? Or did the company send the wrong bottle and directions? Definitely something a consumer should know!

In the end it didn’t matter, because as Em and I whipped up the lavender chalk, I completely missed the bottle of water and used tap water. By the time I saw the bottle of purified water in the bottom of the package it was too late! After mixing the pigment with the (tap) water, we poured it in the mold. Taking a glance at the directions, we realized that the chalk had to sit for FOUR hours!! FOUR!! Two hours in the mold, and two out of the mold. After two hours inside the mold it was completely hardened, and we decided to use it. Whether or not it set quickly because of the tap water I am not completely sure.

hair chalk heart However, much the same events followed with the Kiss Naturals chalk as with the Alex pens. Em ground the chalk into my scalp. OW!!!!! After going through this cosmetic torture, Dr. Dana pointed out that Kiss Naturals suggests applying the chalk to wet hair (Dr. Dana also noticed that the Alex pens definitely say dry hair). I don’t know if this would have made a difference but, in the end, despite Em’s efforts, the chalk left my hair a pale white-lavender color. NOT PLEASANT! Especially not after Em had ground it into my hair! I wonder if the chalk would have been more easily applied to wet hair?

Then it was the moment of truth: The washing of the hair!

That night, I turned on the warm water and started scrubbing my hair. And scrubbing. And…well you get the picture. The Alex product definitely took more scrubbing to get out. Without a doubt!  That’s when Kiss Naturals came through for me. Their product washed out easily, without any trouble at all!

Now it’s time for the SCORES!

All in all, the Alex pens score was…
Comfort :  3/10
Style/Color: 5/10
Smell: 1/10

Pros: Colorful. I loved how there were more color choices!
Cons: TERRIBLE smell, not easily applied, took a bit of scrubbing to get out of my hair.

All in all, the Kiss Naturals chalk score was…
Comfort: 3/10
Style/Color:  4/10
Smell:  10/10 (no odor)

Pros: NO SMELL!!!!!!!! DIY project. I really enjoyed being able to mix up a purple concoction! It was like being in Macbeth, but no gory stuff! WASHED OUT QUICKLY AND PAINLESSLY!
Cons: Not easily applied, faded color

So as far as style goes, the Alex pens took the cake. But it was a very stale cake. Neither of the two hair chalks tested are hair chalks I would recommend, because of the discomfort they caused. It didn’t help that the Alex pens had pictures of supermodel-gorgeous kids on the front! Talk about saying you’ll get glam hair, and getting glitter dandruff!

hair streaksSo out of the two hair chalk products tested, neither was a completely satisfactory product! If I had to pick one of these products to recommend, I would actually recommend the Kiss Naturals chalk over the Alex pens, only because the Kiss Naturals chalk was dry and odorless, whereas the Alex pens left me with a soggy, sore, dandruffy-appearing head.

Though a little uncomfortable, this hair chalk might be a fun rainy day project for someone, even if hair chalk isn’t really my thing. Just look out…you may see me whistling this song down the road someday…

“I’m gonna wash that chalk right outta my hair, I’m gonna wash that chalk right outta my hair, and send it on its way!”

Many thanks to Hope for providing photos, and to Em for her invaluable assistance!

Messing With Monet

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messing with monetAh, Monet. The play of light, of shadow, a moment of time captured, suspended, like a ripe fruit for the viewer to feast upon. What must it be like to create such artwork? Well, now you can find out!

master kitzThis is a snazzy little art kit by a company called Master Kitz. Using the provided materials (templates, paint, roller brushes, stencils, pastels, etc.) kids can recreate works by Van Gogh, Klimt, Hokusai, Matisse, and others. When I spotted their “Water Lilies by Claude Monet” kit discounted on Amazon for less than $20, I couldn’t resist. Now all I needed was a kid to test the kit.

kid testerEnter Hope, Pop Goes the Page’s official kid-tester! Last year, Hope was a member of Cotsen Critix, our children’s literary group. She’s a smart and savvy writer with a great sense of humor. In other words, the perfect person to test a product and write about it. So, what did Hope think of this kit? Below is her complete report!

This kit had really cool packaging! The kit includes includes soft pastels (blue, green, violet, light blue, white, pink, red, yellow, and aqua), two pieces of artist’s paper, stencils (a green lily pad stencil and a yellow flower stencil), two “shadow makers” (i.e. plastic yellow lily pads), instructions (the instructions were two sided and were a beautiful fold out poster that included valuable information about Monet), and a “shammy”(i.e. a piece of cloth). The stencils and paper were rolled up inside the box, so they were understandably bent. However, all of the other materials were in great condition.

suppliesThe directions recommend taping a piece of newspaper to the table you are working on and doing the project over the newspaper. LISTEN TO THE DIRECTIONS!!! This project is incredibly messy, and you should wear an artists’ smock or an old t-shirt to protect your clothes! To get started on the project, you tape a piece of the provided artists’ paper on the table (masking tape works best because it won’t rip the paper as easily as regular scotch tape, but you should test it on an inconspicuous place first). However, doing this leaves the places the tape covered uncolored, so at the end of the project, you should smudge the pastels to cover the blank spots.

cornerIt’s not made clear in the directions, but to follow “artsy etiquette,” make sure you have the rough side of the paper facing down (it doesn’t make a significant amount of difference whether or not you use the rough side or the smooth side of the paper, but it’s proper to use the smooth side).

After taking these preliminary cautionary steps, it’s time to begin your masterpiece! First you slide the lily pad stencil underneath the paper. Taking a colored pastel (blue, violet, or light blue works best, because you’re coloring the water) out of the box, rub the pastel all over the paper until an impression of the lily pads is visible. You can use several colors (same pastel(s) as above) to give your art a truly “Monet” effect. Using the “shammy,” gently rub over the whole paper, blending the pastels (this step justifies how messy the kit is! POOF! Dust everywhere!).

water stepRemoving the lily pads out from underneath your “canvas,” tape it on top of the paper so it lines up with the outlines you just made. Use green, yellow, white – or anything you like to shade in the shapes. To make the job go faster, use your finger to blend the pastels (by this point my fingers were all brownish). But be careful! When I was testing this kit, the sharp parts of the stencils pricked me! OUCH!

almost doneWhen you are finished making the lily pads, you carefully (SLOWLY!) take the stencil off the paper. Be sure not to jerk! If you do, the pastel dust will spray EVERYWHERE!

Time to take out the flower stencil! Using the same method of shading in, choose a few places to put flowers. You can be creative with this step, but it’s not necessary to do at all. Now it’s time to draw some reeds! Just draw a few green wisps in the desired section. I found that drawing the reeds in the darkest area of the water made the reeds show up the best.

Shadow making time! The “shadow makers” are the two plastic lily pad shapes I mentioned. Theoretically, you place them over the identical lily pad on your sheet, and trace around the front part, then smudge it down for a shadow effect. However, since there are only two shadow makers, it’s pointless to give shadows to two lily pads. I used the two shadow makers provided, but then I improvised, carefully traced around the lily pads (without a shadow maker) and smudged the pastel down to create a shadow.

shadingThe step above is technically the last step, but I recommend this additional step (which is not mentioned in the instructions). To seal in the prodigious amount of dust caused by the project (remember, it’s not cool when dust is flying everywhere! Especially colored dust!), Dr. Dana rushed out to CVS to buy some cheap hairspray as sealant. The hairspray (Aqua Net, to be exact) was “unscented” but was still really smelly! We attempted to use it outside, but due to some wind we used the library’s restroom. The effort was successful, and the pastels stayed on!

The box of this kit recommends itself for “Ages 4-104,” but I strongly disagree. This project is better suited for ages 9-104! Although, for you 104 year-olds out there: this project may take a toll on your back!

finishedI found this kit easy to use, quick to complete (30 minutes), and fun to do! It was SUPER messy, and sometimes the instructions were unclear, but all in all, I’d rate this project 4 out of 5 stars.

Claude Monet, Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge, 1899. Oil on canvas. From the Collection of William Church Osborn, Class of 1883, trustee of Princeton University (1914-1951), president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1941-1947); given by his family. Courtesy of the Princeton University Art Museum.

Come On Get Snappy

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get snappySnapdragon anyone? I’ve offered this simple project at a number of programs in the past, and it’s always well-received. “Snappy” has decorated the edges of a swamp at a Halloween party, hid in an Alice in Wonderland garden, and grown out of pots at a “Primordial Plants” event table!

event tableYou’ll need:

  • 1 paper cup
  • 1 small rectangle of green construction paper for head (approximately 1.5″ x 3″)
  • A sliver of red construction paper for tongue
  • 1 green pipe cleaner
  • Hole punch
  • Tape
  • Markers
  • Extra green construction paper for leaves

First, fold the green construction paper rectangle in half to form Snappy’s mouth. Tab the ends of the mouth, then cut out teeth.

mouth stepsMake sure to leave a gap in the lower teeth (this is where the tongue will rest later).

gapNext, punch a hole in the back of Snappy’s head…

punched holeThen thread a green pipe cleaner through the hole. Twist the pipe cleaner around and thread it through the hole once again. Pull gently to tighten, then curl the end.

stem steps Cut the sliver of red construction paper to look like a forked tongue and tape (or glue) it into the mouth.

tongueUse markers to draw eyes. I added my eyes at the very end, but younger kids might have an easier time drawing the eyes earlier, such as before they attach the head to the pipe cleaner stem.

close up of faceTape the pipe cleaner stem inside the paper cup. Use extra green construction paper to add foliage. Done! Perhaps you can test out your new Snappy skills with this garden story time?