To Poppit or Not?
Order your own kit here: Poppit Mini Puppies Starter Kit (afflink)
The day before #nationalpuppyday the girlies and I attempted to create our own mini puppies using the Poppit Mini Puppies starter kit. We were very excited to try this new craft together. The idea of making our own tiny custom puppies to play with had us eyeing this kit for awhile. After doing a few of these I can see why this kit is getting mixed reviews.
If you look at the reviews on amazon you can see an overwhelming amount of feedback about the clay being dried out or drying out too fast to create. We did find this to be the case as well. Although our air dry clay wasn't completely dried out, it did try incredibly quick as we rushed to mold and assemble the puppy parts. We managed to make 3 puppies which progressively got better as I practiced with the kit. Honestly, this was my first experience using air dry type clay so it was a learning experience in more ways then one.
Not surprising-- my 3 year old and 5 year old quickly got frustrated that this clay wasn't as easy to play with as play-doh. The box says ages 5+ but I would not recommend giving this to any kiddo without helping them at first. Time is of the essence and a parent or older helper would definitely help to manage getting the puppy assembled before the clay dries out too much. The accessories, which include: bows, collars, eyes, crowns and rhinestones, do give the puppies a cute finishing touch. There are also a couple doggie dishes for playtime afterward.
All that being said-- once the puppies were done and dry they were actually quite cute and the girls liked playing with them. They're lightweight and seem durable enough for play. I appreciate that the kit is reusable so we can make more puppies (with better air clay for sure!). I love the idea of MAKING our own toys so I'm not giving up on this kit. We are suckers for collectibles like My Little Pony, Palace Pets, Jungle in My Pocket, Puppy/Kitty in my Pocket, Squinkies, Splashlings, Shopkins, etc. (the list goes on - LOL!) so making our own collection would be a nice change of pace from trying to "collect them all". My poor pocket-book.
With fun colors, paint and a little more creativity I think we can make this kit a worthwhile crafting activity. So to Poppit or not, I say Poppit!--But buyer beware: listen to reviews first and get some back up clay ;)
P.S. After writing this I did go back and use the kit with FRESH air clay and the results and experience was WAY better. I made some purple and yellow ones that came out of the molds with better detail and I didn't have to rush to create as much (or use water to adhere the parts).
