Editorial Review

It may be a grind to wait nearly 30 days to create polished rockjewelry with the Rolling Stones Rock Tumbler. But, as the makerswrite, "you are grinding in days what it takes nature thousands of yearsto do in a stream, river, or ocean." So, find a clean, remote area with aproperly wired outlet where the constant tumblingwon't disturb others (and where curious little hands won't wreak havoc), and start rolling. The first step involves assembling and lubricating thetumbler itself. Once the two-cup, plastic barrel rolls easily atop its10-inch-long and 6-inch-high plastic base, it's time to open the smallbag of gritty stones that comes with the kit. Constant maintenance and much patiencewill reward the owner with shiny stones in about one month. A smallsampling of jewelry settings and findings is provided, along with orderforms for gold-tinted accessories. --Liane Thomas ... Read more

Reviews (33)

HORRIBLE ITEM!
Me and my brother got this toy for Christmas and our dad said he would help set it up.The day FINALLY came and he helped us.We followed all the directions and it wouldn't work.So we kept trying and trying and trying but finally we gave up.It is now sitting in our basment.PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do NOT spend your money on this.It does not work!

A proper review of this item
This is a great little tumbler to polish rocks.If you have no idea about rocks or how this machine works you need to do a little research.This is not the type of item to just buy and expect to polish rocks in a weekends time without even having to read the directions.The tumbler is also recommended for children ten years or older.

To polish rocks properly it will take a solid month of tumbling and is a three step process.This means the tumbler will be running for the entire month.The first step takes about a week, the second about two weeks, with the final step about one week.Between the steps all you have to do is clean out the barrel and the rocks and put back in with new water and the next level of grit/polish.Besides occasionally making sure the tumbler was sealed properly and is in no danger of walking itself off the table it requires no other attention.The tumbler does make some noise tumbling but not a ridicules amount.You obviously can't place it in your bedroom or living room and expect it not to be heard.Placement in a basement or garage is ideal.The power draw is minimal as it only uses .15 amps and 10 watts. Therefore, if you pay 10 cents a kWh, then the amount it will run up your electric bill for a month of constant running is 73 cents.

The instructions that come with the tumbler are also pretty good, but they do need followed.The tumbler is durable but you need to lube two points as indicated in the manual or you will put excess stress on the motor and you will burn it out.The drum seals quite well and easily if you follow the instructions on sealing which requires you to make sure the "O" ring is properly seated and you put a light coating of oil on the rim of the barrel to complete the seal.

Refills for the tumbler are extremely easy to find.Starting with the order form including with the kit where you can order parts, grit, rocks, etc.You can also purchase refill kits at Walmart, Target, and Kmart.There are also dozens of places you can also order refill stuff off the internet.

Overall, this is a great little item but it is not for everyone.If you or your children can't delay immediate gratification, or don't believe in reading/following instructions then this item is not likely for you.If you can't believe the noise it makes because you insisted on setting it up next to your bed, or can't believe that it costs less then a dollar a month to run then this is also not likely for you.

Educational but SLOW and NOISY
My daughter got this for Christmas. We had no idea it takes nearly a month from start to finish to get polished stones, but I suppose it's a good lesson in patience for a 10 year old. It does not say anything on the box about the wait period, or the fact that the noisy tumbler must be running constantly for the entire time. Fortunately, we have a basement where the tumbler is humming away while not disturbing anyone.I recommend placing the tumbler in the box top it comes in, to avoid "traveling" while the motor runs.

All in all, the toy is certainly educational, but it takes a LOOOONG time to get results, and is not for folks who live in close quarters. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arts and Crafts    2. Fashion    3. Jewelry    4. Activity    5. Learning   

Editorial Review

Create your own sun-catching works of art for gifts or for yourself with this activity kit.The set containsfour different items to decorate with colored translucent mosaic tiles and black outline paint: a 5-by-7-inch plasticframe, a 4-by-3-inch plastic box, and two 3.5-inch glass bottles.A squeezable paint bottle of nontoxic blackdimensional paint, nontoxic glue, a paintbrush, paper patterns, and a bag of colored mosaic shapes are included. Adultsupervision is useful in reducing the frustration level in handling small pieces, and necessary for opening the containersand reading the directions. Refills are available from the manufacturer. --S. J. Kurtz ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Cute activity, Cheap quality
This is a fun activity to do with a child, but honestly, it is cheap quality and not that asthetically pleasing. It is a great fine motor promoting activity - i actually bought it for my 12 yr old and realized that that it really was more appropriate for my 3 yr old. Rachael loves her "pretty things" and it is fun. Glue sticks well too.

fairly good.
the glass bottles hold up really well, and the glue works well also. the suncatcher is not vey durable at all, and the box is somewhere in the middle. it was a fun hour or so i spent with this kit, and i still have one of the bottles. i wouldn't recommend this to neat freaks (the little pieces go EVERYWHERE) but for anyone else it's pretty fun.

Makes a great gift
I had this sent to my granddaughter for her 11th birthday. She lives in another state so I haven't seen the crystal mosaics personally but Taylor tells me she LOVES it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arts and Crafts    2. Art Supplies    3. Craft Kits    4. Glass    5. Sun Catchers   

Reviews (4)

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!
it really fun and enjoyable.
it is very educated to children and brings out the creative side out of us children.
it is really fun!

It is good.
Well, it is good but the crystal tattoos, I tried to get them on my skin and not all of the pieces got on to my skin. I think this is for ages 7-10. I got this when I was turning 8. I think a 4-year old would REALLY enjoy the beads, maybe the crystal tattoos.

We were so disappointed in this item.
The crystal tattoos are very difficult to apply.The adhesive tape is so strong and the crystals so small that we couldn't get the crystals to stick to my child's skin while pulling off the tape.I had to use a butter knife to gently hold each crystal down as I pulled the tape away.Even after that, the crystals were so small that the adhesive on them wasn't very strong and they fell off her skin rather quickly.

The jewelry part of this kit is probably better for children toward the upper range of the intended age target, provided they are very patient.The product says ages 6 to 12 but both my nearly 6 yr. old and 11 yr. old daughters had a great deal of trouble threading the beads onto the gold thread.The thread is stretchy material with a shiny fine gold thread wrapped around it.The gold part kept separating from the stretchy part making it really difficult to pull through the hole in the bead.I had trouble too until I realized I had to snip the very edge of the thread after each bead.Just working it through one hole caused it to fray.I thought about adding a drop of glue to hold the threads together but I was worried about getting it threaded to the clasp.The holes on the plastic clasps were smaller than the holes in the beads. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arts and Crafts    2. Craft Kits    3. Wood   

Reviews (2)

worthless toy
I bought this for my 8 year old daughter to use at her slumber party.What a waste.I had to do most of the assembly, and even then they did not turn out.The material was very poor quality and did not even cover the braclets.The glue was useless and would not stick.This was a huge disappointment to all of us.

The kids like them...
My kids (6 & 4) were too young really to do this all on their own.So I did much of the assembly.I used a hot glue gun though as some of the fabric did not work well with the white glue.The girls liked being able to design their own item; picking the fabric and embellishments...there't not much for embesllishments though.100 rhinestones(pink and clear), 4 small flowers, 2 large flowers, 1 or 2 pom poms plus 6 different fabrics.I had trouble working with the gems though, they were so small...so I laid them out on the table in the arrangement I wanted (we made letters for a name), then I laid a piece of clear packing tape on top of all the gems so they would all stick without moving, then I flipped the whole thing over and applied the glue, then flipped it over again and applied it to the fabric.Once the hot glue dried, I carefully peeled the tape off.This worked great.

The girls like the slap action and one has been wearing it on her ankle. I don't know how long they'll last as we just made them today. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Wacky   

Reviews (3)

Complete waste of money
I was very dissatisfied with this product.The manufacturer's description and pictures on the box are totally misleading.It is simply trace paper and markers.Once the trace paper is wet, it leaves nothing resembling a tattoo--just a blob of marker on the skin.I would have been better off to buy a stack of peel-off tattoos from the vending machine at Wal-Mart!

Toy does not work
I purchased this toy at Christmas for my 10 year old daughter and my 10 year old niece.They were very excited to receive it.But they were very disappointed while using it.Each tatoo only looked like a big blob of color. Even when receiving help from adults, the tatoo images still looked like big blobs.I am not sure how much has to do with skin pigmentation as we are African American.However, if that is a condition for how well the toy works, then that should be stated on the packaging.Use of this toy was very disappointing for my daughter, niece and other little cousins waiting in line for Christmas day tatoos! Furthermore, I see this company has a Crystal Art tatoo kit but I am reluctant to purchase that one for fear of similar results.

Cheap...Cheap...Cheap!
*Don't waste money on this toy* The whole set consists of tissue paper and four markers. My kids were really disappointed and found it impossible to get the "tattoo's" to stick to their skin. After all...tissue paper does fall apart when it gets wet!! My 18 year old, who helped out, got so frustrated she told the kids it was okay to just draw the tattoos on their skin with the markers! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Scratch this one off your list!
Frustrating and disappointing.Coating is difficult to scratch off without tearing paper.Plastic parts are flimsy.Read several on-line consumer reviews if you are considering purchasing this item. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

I WANT THIS DOLL!!!
I love this doll I do not have her but i really do like her she looks incredible and looks like a great doll for any person who is very crafty i think that you guys should make more dolls like this one she looks awesome
... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dolls    2. Toddler Dolls   

Subjects:  1. Arts and Crafts   

Reviews (3)

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This toy is great! I made my mom a heart and painted it pink. She loved it! The only bad thing is that the clay dries out fast EVEN IF YOU HAVE REFILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pretty good
This is great!! It's fun and good for a rainy day. I loveeeee it!!! I made a lot of pottery for my family with this, and they loved it, expecially my grandma! It's durable, I've had it for a long time now, I like making pottery and all the wheels I have had have broke in less then 5 months! Its durable! The only way it is educational is because it has to do with art! I even made one and painted the red sox logo on it and i made another one and put my towns logo on it! Pretty Cool huh??? No? I didnt think so. Oh well, you should buy this toy it is worth it! even if people say its not,you can trust me. Parents, your kids will love it and they will spend hours on it!

Worst toy of the year
This toy is so bad. It doesn't even work. I got it for my 8th birthday adn I put some clay on it and tried to make a hole in the middle and the wheel just stopped. DOn't buy this toy it is the biggst waste of money. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arts and Crafts    2. Clay    3. Pottery   

Reviews (25)

Knitting machine
I bought this toyand the stiches kept coming out but most of them stayed in and the toy broke the 2nd day I used it.

Waste of money
I tried to help a young friend use this knitting machine that she received as a Christmas gift. I find it to be a complete piece of junk. The concept is good, but this machine is poorly made. One must turn the handle very slowly to ensure each hook catches the yarn. Even so, dropped stitches and holes are a frequent problem. My friend was very disappointed and frustrated by the whole experience. Even I, as an adult, found the machine difficult to use and not at all fun. Don't waste your money.

Too Quick to Break!!!!!
I bought this toy for my 9 year old. She was so excited. It was very hard for her to use - the stitches kept coming out. Within 3 days it jammed and wouldn't unjam. It was junk. Save your money. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arts and Crafts   

Subjects:  1. Arts and Crafts    2. Craft Kits    3. Sand Art