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I'm not really an arts-and-crafts person. At various times in my life, I've tried my hand at sewing, drawing, embroidery, and paper crafts, and in doing so I've proved, pretty conclusively, that I suck at all those things. But now that I have a kid, I feel obligated to enrich his life with hands-on artsy play, so I find myself doing a lot of Play-Doh, chalk drawing, and watercolor painting. And with all the enforced practice, I'm actually getting marginally better.
The problem is that my kiddo is three years old, and some of these activities are a little beyond his abilities. With Play-Doh, for instance, he likes squishing it and making cutouts and impressions, but manipulating the dough into recognizable shapes isn't something he can really do, and sometimes that frustrates him. That's why I was so pleased when my mother-in-law brought over a bag of STIKITS.
STIKITS are small cylinders of cornstarch that look like Styrofoam packing peanuts, except they come in various colors. When dampened, they stick together solidly and can be squished and molded into various shapes and configurations. Best of all -- they're really easy to work with. My kiddo can easily make letters and all kinds of shapes, and they rarely fall apart or come unstuck the way dough sculptures can. They *can *dissolve if you put too much water on -- the key is dampening, not deluging -- but that's actually one of the benefits: They're totally natural and biodegradable.
I've found them a lot of fun, myself. They can be effortless for a non-artiste like me, and they can also be challenging when it comes to figuring out how to make various animals and items from a bunch of squat tubes. (A series of tubes -- ooh, I could make the Internet!)
And, of course, they can be used to make geeky accouterments.
There are various sets and sizes of STIKITS available at a variety of online outfits, ranging from a 400-piece set for about $12 to a 1,000-piece set for $23, and there are a couple of specialty sets like Pirate STIKITS and Castle STIKITS. With all those choices, I know exactly what a bunch of kids on my list are getting for holiday gifts this year.
