It’s In the Bag: Craft Caravan Delivers

I barely passed Home Ec in the eight grade and you won’t find me selling anything on Etsy anytime soon. I consider myself a more than proficient knitter (my kids have a great selection of blankets and sweaters), but other than that, I’ve pretty much resigned myself to the idea that I’m just not the craftiest mom on the block – at least not when it comes to glue, scissors, paint and construction paper. When Easter arrived, I was thrilled to discover that Wonderbucks sold Easter egg painting kits, complete with eggs and paints. Nevermind that the eggs were incredibly fragile (I think they all broke within two hours) and that the paints were totally dried out (solved by using our own Elmers no-mess paint pens) – the kits were a total hit.

So when I heard about local company Craft Caravan, I thought: “Structured craft kits delivered right to my door every month? Yes!”

When the shiny green bag arrives, my four-year-old immediately asks me what it is. I can see that if she had a monthly subscription, this signature bag would have the power of bringing on great anticipation and excitement.

Opening the bag causes a bit of a flurry with my kids. Each wants the honour of dumping out the contents and as a result, everything goes flying. Since it’s my first time with Craft Caravan, I’m not sure what was supposed to be in the kit or not. As the evening passes (and the room gets tidier), my kids end up finding all the parts that were missing from our package.

Our trial comes with two bird-themed projects: a bird feeder using Avalon Dairy bottle caps, Popsicle sticks and some twine; and a ready-to-assemble book with a bird made of construction paper on the cover.

Both kids are excited about the bird feeder, but my older daughter wants to work on the book, so my two-year-old and I set off on the kit.

I like the bird information booklet that comes with the package, as well that almost everything you need (except glue) comes with the package. Since the glue is pivotal to the book project, I have to leave an impatient toddler waiting while I search for glue. I coach my four-year-old only a bit on the project before she sets off to create her own book cover.

The bird feeder, on the other hand, requires some serious craftiness. The bottle caps won’t stay put without tape, which the directions mention might be required, and the string requires me to double-check that I’m doing it right. Unlike the book, which my four-year-old only needed a little bit of help with, this feeder would have been well beyond both of my kids’ the capabilities without significant help. I can see why the recommended age is three to six years old, but both of my kids still had fun making their crafts – and especially spending the time together as a family.

Check out the Craft Caravan web site to get a sense of what kind of crafts have been shipped in the latest monthly subscriptions. While you’re there, have a look at the card making kits too.

A month-by-month subscription costs about $11 the first month, and then about $10 for every month thereafter. Or try the service out at just $12.