To say that my family are huge Disney fans would be an understatement. When I found this crafting kit on Amazon, I was elated. My daughters and I love to spend time together doing things like this, so it was a no-brainer for me to purchase it. I have to admit that we were a bit disappointed with our experience. I will explain further as I go along. You receive ample amounts of beads. Please see my photos for reference. In fact, let me start with the list of contents before I give my review: 1 fairly sturdy storage case. You will be able to use this long after the beads are gone. Per the kit, 2, 550 colored, (hardened craft plastic) Heishi beads. Also per the kit, 115 round metal beads. Three Disney Princess Charms: Moana, Ariel, and Belle. To be honest, it took me a minute to tell them apart. Belle has a tiny yellow earring; Moana has what looks to be a small pink hibiscus flower in her hair and Ariel has a small blue starfish in her hair. To round out the contents, there are three jump rings already attached to the Princess charms, one clear elastic cord that looks like fishing line (the kit says it is 4.4 yards/4 meters), one nicely written introductory storybook about the three Princesses, and a two-sided instruction sheet that is written in both English and French. The kit does indicate that it is for ages eight and above. My girls are ten and twelve. The kit was not overtly difficult for them, but I would hesitate to say that most eight-year-olds would easily grasp how to assemble these bracelets. Even I was sometimes challenged while trying to put these bracelets together. One of the first problems we encountered was the fact that there was no color key to match the beads to their respective colors. There are a plethora of similar colored beads that are extremely similar in hue. The color of the beads is so extremely similar to one another that it is sometimes hard to tell them apart on the instruction sheet. The teal looks a lot like the blue on the paper. There is a peach, light peach, and orange color that is so closely related that unless you are under an extremely bright white light, it is kind of hard to tell the difference between these colors. There really should be a key to make things easier for the customer. Sewing and painting kits do this, why not beading kits? The other problem we encountered was that the bracelet layout is rather confusing. It doesn’t tell you at what point to insert the charm in the pictures. If you follow the pattern layout, you will be almost at the end of your bracelet. (See first bracelet photo.) The colored lines are squished together so closely that they are hard to count out. When they are in groups of ten, you should be fine because there is a large enough gap that you can safely count out the lines. When the bead groupings drop down to four or lower, of similar colors, it can be a bit difficult for small children to figure out. My youngest got a bit frustrated with this aspect so we took a movie break to watch “The Little Mermaid” before returning to finish her bracelet. There are instances where the three like-colored beads will be used at the same time. When this happens, it is hard to tell how many to use because of the way the instructions are printed. Perhaps if the pattern had been a wee bit larger it would have been easier to interpret, thus not creating the problems we encountered. It was quite frustrating trying to count out those tiny lines. I ended up getting a small, bright flashlight, ruler, and mechanical pencil to help decipher the instruction sheet. (Not included) The other thing we were a bit disappointed with is that there aren’t any jewelry clasps included in this kit. I knew this when I ordered so it is not the fault of the manufacturer. It’s just that the completed project is really too big to be a bracelet unless you twist it, then double it up on your wrist. Their knotting system is fairly secure, but I worry it will give out in time. (What doesn’t, to be fair.) Yet, if you try to pull it over your head, it is just a little bit too small to do that. If jewelry clasps had been enclosed, it would be the perfect answer to this conundrum. I added my own and my daughter loved it. (Note: clasps are not included with this kit.) Now she can wear the Moana bracelet as a “necklace”. It’s a win-win situation. Overall, the beads are of good quality and should last a good time if one takes care of their bracelets once completed. They are plastic so keep that in mind when you do various activities wearing this item. My girls and I did turn the situation into a fun one. We are never one to let small disappointments get us down. Life is too short not to smile. There are tons of beads left over for future bead projects of our own design. Definitely not going to let them go to waste.
