Review rated by 61 Ciao members on average: very helpful
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No this isn't a review on Mc Hammer lol, it's Hama bead time in our house. Ever wonder how I can spend so much time on Ciao when it's half term & I have four daugthers?? Well now you will discover my secret....
Four years ago my eldest daughter came back from a dinner date with a school friend of hers clutching a pretty heart shape made from little beads that were stuck together. She was really taken with this new craze & talked to me for what seemed like hours about these little plastic beads & what you can do with them.
After much begging & pleading I took the girls into town to see what this craze was all about. On entering our local toy shop we were met by rows & rows of plastic bags containing pretty little plastic beads, such a choice of colours. Each bag containing 1000 beads rangeing in price from £1.50 - £2.00 a bag depending on colour. You pay more for the glow in the dark beads. You can buy the beads separately or buy a kit box which contains everything you will need to get started. The peg boards vary in price depending on size but prices seem to start at £1.00. Ironing paper costs about
£1.50 & contains 5 sheets & pattern books cost around £2.95. Kits again range in price from £5 to £20. You can also buy BIG boxes of beads containing 10,000 beads for about £10.00.
We went for a kit as our first purchase. This kit contained 2 teddy bear shaped peg boards, 2 sheets of ironing paper & a mix of coloured beads. This kit kept my two daughters aged 7 & 8 at the time amused for hours. The kit made them lots of teddy bears. Once all the beads were used we went back to the shop & bought more beads & some different shaped peg boards.
My two elder daughters kept this hobby going for at least 6 months, our house was full with name plaques, farm animals, people & flowers. Very pretty little things, they even made me a set of coasters & gave them out as presents at Christmas. The beads are great as stocking fillers also. Once the craze passed we put the boxes away to be forgotten for a few years. Last week my eldest daughter now aged 11yrs, discovered the beads once more. It's been bliss this week, half term & all, all four daughters have spent hours in the kitchen at the table making Hama beads.
**GETTING STARTED**
The bead its self is a little cylinder shape 2.5mm in length & 1mm in diameter. They come in all colours from primary colours to glittery colours, flouresent colours & even glow in the dark beads which have a funny smell about them, I don't know why but these glow in the dark ones have this one disadvantage to them. ******************************** As well as the beads you will need peg boards to use as a base for putting together your designs. These are white in colour or clear & they are covered in little spikes that you place the beads on. They come in all sorts of shapes & sizes. Shapes include horses, butterflies, people, circles, squares, monkeys & many many more. ********************************* Ironing paper which is basically grease proof paper is also needed to cover your designs with when you iron them. ********************************* A pattern book with lots of designs & instructions on how to make certain things. *********************************
First you choose your peg board. You can attach the square shapes together to form really big bases for making things like name plaques. Then you choose the colour beads you require. At this point we put our choosen colours into bowls so they are easy to get at.
Using your design book or just your imagination, you place the little beads on the spikes on the peg board. This can be quite fiddly especially if you place one in the wrong place & need to take it off again, this is where little fingers come into play.
Once the design is completed you need to get your grown up helper to place the ironing paper on top of your design & run the hot iron over it until the beads begin to melt into one another thus sticking together & forming a permenant picture. You need to be careful during this that you don't accidently dislodge any of the beads.This takes about 1 minute. Leave it to cool down for a minute or so & then gently prize the design off the peg board. On the finished design one side will look melted & the other side just looks like it did before you ironed it. The peg board & the ironing paper can be used again & again.
**SUITABILITY**
We use the mini beads which are suitable for children aged 10 & over. I have looked on may web sites for confirmation of age suitability but each one says something different. Therefore I would say that they are suitable for 10yrs & over although my 3yr olds play safely with them as did my older daughters at 7 & 8. You can also buy beads in midi (5mm) & maxi size (10mm) but you will need to make sure you have the correct sized peg boards for these beads. From what I can see the mini ones are more common & there are more beads & peg boards available for this size.
As these beads are so small it is advisable to make sure they are contained away from children under 3 as they could easily be placed up babies noses, in ears etc.
They are a great educational toy for children. Hama beads have taught my younger daughters the importance of patience, they have learnt how to use their hands to make fiddly things & they are also understanding how colours go together. It really brings out they creativity & imagination.
**AVAILABILITY**
EBay is a great place to buy Hama beads & their accessories, there are lots of shops on eBay that sell them. Most good toy retailers sell them such as ToysRus ,The Entertainer & also Woolworths. I've also come across quite a few retailers on the internet.
**CONCLUSION**
We love these little beads. I have even got into beading when I was pregnant with the twins, I found it very relaxing. They will keep the kids entertained for hours & I recommend them to anyone with children from 3 upwards of either sex.
The only downside I have found of these beads are they hang around for months & months. My 3yr olds tend to drop them on the floor, then they get kicked & end up under the fridge, freezer, cooker etc. I even found one in my bath this morning! We also have tonnes of colurful hearts that the twins have made for me.
It's amazing how quiet my house has been this half term even with the neighbours kids coming in. The only time I get disturbed is when they need their grown up helper to do the ironing bit.
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15.08.2005 23:07
sounds fun
13.08.2005 18:35
Congrats on your diamond! Never knew about these little beads. sara x
13.08.2005 04:00
great review worthy of its diamond