School Days: The Pencil Grip, Inc., Thin Stix Creativity Pack

Hey everyone, raise your hand if you have an artsy kid in your house. Or maybe you're the artistic one in the bunch. Then again, you might not have anyone interested in arts and crafts around your place. Wherever you find yourself, I have to tell you about this fabulous product that we've been reviewing in our house this month. The Pencil Grip, Inc. provided us with their Thin Stix Creativity Pack , and spoiler alert, it's amazing!

Does the mess of regular paint prevent you from saying yes to your child's requests to get crafty? You know how it goes. The paint drips everywhere, leaving your floor resembling a new piece by Jackson Pollack. The cups of water meant for cleaning the paint brushes get dumped over. Finally, the completed (and very wet) masterpiece presses up against something it shouldn't, (usually your car upholstery) leaving a smeary mess.

I know. I've been there. And I've said no to my daughter's request to paint more often than I would like, for all of those reasons. Until now. Folks, I'm telling you, in all seriousness, this is the art product we've all been waiting for. I am unashamedly gaga.

We received the Thin Stix 24 color pack. It comes with 12 classic colors, 6 neon colors, and 6 metalix colors (no that's not a typo, it's how the company spells it). As you can see from the photos above, these solid tempera paints look like markers. But they're so much better! All you do is uncap them, and draw- or paint, as it were. These don't require water, or even brushes (think, easy cleanup!). You only need to remember to put the cap back on when you're finished "creating", so the paints don't dry up.

Some more interesting information about the Thin Stix Creativity Pack :

* They are non-toxic

*They dry in 90 seconds!

*They are washable

*The paint won't crack!

* They are even nut, egg, and gluten free!

*Ages 3 and up

What type of surface do these paints require? Well, the short answer would be, pretty much anything! Paper, canvas, poster board, cardboard, wood, and whatever else you might think to paint.
I believe that would cover the basic information about these little beauties, so why not take a look at some of what we've been creating over the past few weeks.

My youngest first gave these Kwik Stix a go on some plain paper. She loves herself some pink, and liked how smooth they were when applied to the surface.

Having had a trial run, she moved on to something a little bigger, a wooden jewelry/treasure type of box. The paint still went on nicely, and because it dries so quickly, not only was there virtually no cleanup, it allowed her to go over certain areas with a different color.

Okay, she can't have all the fun, it was my turn! I chose a pre-printed canvas as my surface choice. Oh, man, these are lovely to work with! The colors are vibrant, smooth, and actually, soothing to use. I know I'm gushing, but these had a calming effect as I painted. These would be fantastic to use in a therapeutic art class. But wait, I'm not done yet.

I also used these paints on thick watercolor paper, and again, great results. A great combination. The smoothness of the tempera, with the durability of this type of paper. Add to that the fact that the paint dries so quickly, and these are the perfect choice for anything, really. I'm specifically thinking of Sunday school classes, Awana projects, VBS, or even a quick birthday card for a family member. These are probably the greatest art resource that I have had the pleasure of using. Beautiful, colors, great texture, almost no cleanup...love! I have no negative comments. I would only put in a request to The Pencil Grip, Inc. , and that would be, please consider adding a thin marker sized paint stick to the Thin Stix Creativity Pack . That would make using those fancy coloring pages- for kids and adults alike- over the top wonderful! Don't take my word for it, or actually, do take my word, and get a pack of these for yourself! Right now, you can find them at BJ'S for $19.99! Happy painting!