Twisted Critters. The pipe cleaner book product reviews

I was lucky enough to win one of these books and it has been fantastic!! I have shared with my nieces and nephews who are often at my house and it has provided hours of fun and entertainment for the younger and older. I am also considering taking it into my work to share (I'm an early childhood teacher)...

I sat down with them and we had a look at all the different creatures we could make, to start with we made one together so we all knew what we were doing, the instructions were simple though and the older children were busting at the seams to do it by themselves! Obviously the younger ones (2) needed lots more help but that's expected with their age, in saying this they were happy, as pipe cleaners are something they can actually manipulate easily. I was also happy that they could take their creations home and i can easily (and cheaply) buy more pipe cleaners! Definite win all round and is continuing to be a hit with them asking to use these products again whenever they visit! :)

I was recently lucky enough to win copy of this book through KIWIreviews. We love Klutz books in our house, so it was really exciting to receive this new crafty fun book. I love how fun this looks before you even start. Its bright and vibrant. The pipe-cleaners draw your eye to so many critter possibilities.

I opened the package with my daughter present and she immediately started begging to use the kit. She is 5 and really loves arts and craft. So I held off for as long as I could before the cheeky monkey got the scissors out and broke into the pipe-cleaners herself.

We sat down with the book and had a look through the different critter types we could make. The instructions are laid out really simply. There are plenty of photos, measurements and the step through guide is awesomely easy. I also liked that all we needed to make these was nail clippers to cut pipe-cleaners and a pencil. Some kits will call for you to have more things - like glue which isn't always available.

All that said, my 5 year old struggled to follow the instructions due to impatience on her part.. She made a pretty cool lizard from the book, but its definitely got her own slant on it. She used the book as a guide, making use of how to do the head and tongue of the lizard but then making the body all on her own.

I love that there are so many different critters for us to still make. I can buy more pipe-cleaners fairly easily when we run out as well. Overall, a really cool book that is going to get a lot of use in our house!

At first, I wasn't too sure if this book was my kind of thing, but after trying some of the models, I now think that this kit is great! One of the best parts is the fact that you don't have to stick to the pipe cleaners in the book, once you have the basic idea of how to make the models, you can use any kind of pipe cleaner you want! Yes there are some specific types of pipe cleaners that come in the book, but I don't see many reasons why the instructions can't apply to other types that you can buy in the shops.

The models were nice and easy to make, and I made a whole pile of critters, like a lobster, mouse, caterpillar, tulip, parrot, tiger, and a pile of assorted fruits! I think that this kit would be perfect for kids 7+, in fact adults could try this kit, it's good for anyone who can follow step-by-step instructions and loves to be creative. The instructions were easy to follow, and the pictures made them much more easy!

The price is good, a lot of money must have been used to make the more unique types of pipe cleaners used in this book, and the high price tells you that the book is of good quality. I haven't made all of the models yet, but it is good to see that there are 20 different models to make, it gives the users a much wider variety. I have no negativity towards this kit, so I give every aspect of it a big 10, ah Klutz, you've done it again!

My first thought when I saw this kit was "finally!" When Miss Five was not even one I bought a mass heap of art stuff like pipe cleaners etc that I then realised I had no idea what to do with so it was great to go get my stash and finally be able to create some pretty cool things.

As with all the Klutz products this kit comes with an array of what you need to get started. In this case it was lots of different coloured and sizes of pipe cleaners in a cool plastic box. Just a note here that you will probably never be able to get the pipe cleaners back in the box after they have been scattered everywhere so a large ziplock bag will be perfect to store the leftovers!

Included are:
- A book with step by step illustrated and explained instructions on 20 different things to make and lots of hints
- 72 pipe cleaners in 7 different sizes/shapes
- a ruler on the inside back cover.

You will need:
- finger nail clippers or some very sharp scissors,
- a black vivid marker pen
- a pencil.

The book recommends starting at the beginning but hey why not go for the fun stuff first! Miss Three got to choose so we made a brilliant Penguin which got to spend the afternoon being played with in ice! Our mouse wasn't so successful due to me not quite getting the hang of bundling however our cats enjoyed playing with him until he was totally destroyed....
We had fun making fruit and vegetables and I quite liked my bracelet which was so easy to make!

The animals are very cute and Miss Three had a lovely afternoon playing with her little troupe when we finished. I definitely found that I got better with each creation and although they didn't all turn out as good as I wanted them to we had so much fun making them it didn't really matter.

I loved that the instructions, as always, are depicted so clearly with the illustrations that you don't have to be able to read to be able to create.

I am intending to take this down to Miss Three's Kindergarten as it is a great base to work from. The book does say from ages 8+ but Miss 3 was able to give a few of these a go so if you are able to supervise I would say from age 4 up would be suitable.