“Finger Knitting Kit” and “Coastal Watercolor Kit” by Schiffer Publishing – Review

The DIY ‘Jiggle the Jellyfish’ Finger Knitting Kit by Sab’s Stuffies and the Coastal Watercolor Notecard Paint Kit by Sara B offered a great way for me to unwind while tapping into my arts and crafts side.

I received both of the DIY Kits mentioned in this article for free for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

As someone who likes keeping an eye on a range of fandoms, I do find myself doomscrolling on my laptop or smartphone, not being as productive as I would like to be. And yes, there’s also the entire thing where, more often than not, my idea of decompressing after a busy day at work ends up being watching random geeky videos on YouTube. And hey, while I do enjoy YouTube and doomscrolling on socials, the creative side of myself does occasionally make me wonder if I could have spent some of that time actually creating something, other than spending said time writing blog posts for The Geekiary or working on my queer-led murder mystery book series. That’s why I like having some kind of DIY stuff nearby. Something I can do to be productive even when I have YouTube or Netflix playing in the background.

When Schiffer Publishing reached out with the Finger Knitting Kit and the Watercolor Notecard Kit (both from Better Day Books), I was intrigued, especially because the Finger Knitting Kit was going to be something new for me to get into. And thus, this review post was born.

Let’s get into it!

Jiggle the Jellyfish Finger Knitting Kit by Sab’s Stuffies

Talking about this particular kit first, it provides you with everything needed to create your own jellyfish stuffed toy. With the box measuring approximately 11×8 inches, you get a nice image of the jellyfish you will be crafting. The contents of the box are also mentioned on the front. You will get yarn (the three different colors being aquatic, white, and black), fiberfill, a 16-page instruction manual, a collectible sticker of the jellyfish, and access to an exclusive video tutorial.

The back of the box has images of the contents housed inside, as well as a blurb about Sabrina-Rose Benedict, the brain behind this DIY kit and the Sab’s Stuffies business. In the bottom left corner of the box, you will learn that this kit will allow you to craft one cute-looking jellyfish that should be approximately 15 inches long (including the tentacles) and about 6 inches wide.

Lifting the lid, of course, the first thing I did was feel the yarn. It was so soft! I really liked it. The manual goes over every step, including colored pictures. However, I would recommend watching the video tutorial as well as keeping the text manual nearby if you (like me) are new to finger knitting.

Now, while you are supposed to follow the instructions to create Jiggle the Jellyfish, I liked how there’s space to experiment. After getting an idea about what you’re supposed to do, you can easily decide if you want your jellyfish to have longer tentacles or a bigger body. You can also choose the number of tentacles it will have. You can make Jiggle’s long-lost (Stormtrooper helmet-inspired) brother, Wiggle, if you want to. I even gave it loops at the top to dangle from a hook.

Also, due to this being a finger knitting kit, it doesn’t punish you for mistakes. The three pieces of yarn are very easy to manipulate, allowing you to easily unravel knots to fix an error wherever necessary.

From my experience, finger knitting is great if you want to craft something without stressing about getting it perfect. After checking it out for myself, I brought it to work (yes, I unraveled Wiggle. It had a short but happy life). A bunch of the residents I work with in healthcare really liked playing around with the yarn, allowing them to still experience the feel of knitting even though they aren’t able to use actual knitting needles anymore. My heart!

Priced at around $29.99 at Schiffer Publishing, it’s an understandable value when it comes to giving you a fun craft to do and owning a cute stuffie (which aren’t always cheap) at the end.

Coastal Watercolor Notecard Pain DIY Kit by Sara B

Coming to the watercolor kit, this one is by Sara Berrenson. It allows you to paint 12 coastal-themed cards to send to family and friends. Including everything you need, along with the 12 cards, you also get 12 envelopes, a 9-color paint palette, a paintbrush, and instructions.

The back of the box, which measures approximately 8×6 inches (very portable), features imagery of the color palette and a couple of the notecards to expect inside. Lifting the lid, you will see the stack of notecards with the light blue envelopes, the paintbrush (in a plastic cover), and the paint palette.

I was very excited to open the paint palette. It hosted 9 colors, including magenta, red, purple, golden yellow, gray brown, cerulean blue, cobalt blue, ivy green, and orange. All of the colors played a role in sticking to the coastal motif of the kit. Simply wet the brush, give the dot of dry color a tap, and get to painting. From what I experienced, this kit encouraged you to keep your brushstrokes light and build a particular color layer-by-layer instead of being heavy-handed from the beginning. This kit is supposed to help you relax and keep things gentle afterall.

The paintbrush is okay. It’s about 7 inches in length, with the tip of the brush being fine enough to get into the corners of the imagery on the notecards.

As for the notecards (approximately 7.5×5.5 inches each), the designs include a turtle, boat, jellyfish, and even a happy mermaid, amongst other seaside imagery. The cardstock felt good quality to me. However, again, keep your brushstrokes light if you don’t want the cardstock to warp. The back of each card has a bunch of lines to write your message on, as well as a mini version of the image featured on the front of the card in the corner.

You can definitely get your Gilded Age on when it comes to using these notecards to write messages for your loved ones and close friends. And even if you aren’t into actually mailing out physical letters, I think people who are into calligraphy and decorating envelopes will still enjoy this one.

Priced at $19.99 at Schiffer Publishing, it’s a kit you should look into if you’re interested in watercoloring and improving said skill by following Sara B’s easy art techniques.

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What kind of crafts are you into when you want to relax while also being productive?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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