My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler and Ribbon Barrett Maker Review & Giveaway (Winner's Choice)

Whether it's a long trip in the car or a rainy day at home, I always enjoy finding new and exciting activities for my kids and I to do together. We have several longer trips planned for this summer already, and I know there will be rainy days as well. That's why I was excited when introduced to the new travel-sized My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler. 

 

The My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler is the most recent product from Choose Friendship (formerly Crorey Creations), which first brought the original My Friendship Bracelet Maker onto the scene. Also available is their Ribbon Barrett Maker introduced last year. This family business was started by a retired Detroit automotive executive learning to braid a bracelet with his young granddaughters while babysitting one day. Friendship bracelets have been a great gesture of friendship for many years. That's why it's no wonder their company has gone global in just two short years! This product line engages kids in self-expression, while focusing on the importance of friendship as well.

I absolutely love the idea behind this company, as well as their products. As someone who used to love making friendship bracelets for family and friends growing up...I knew this would be something that Kaelyn and I would enjoy doing together, I couldn't have been happier to learn we were going to have the opportunity to review the My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler and My Ribbon Barrette Maker and share our thoughts with all of you!

When the products arrived, both Kaelyn and I were excited to check them out. We first pulled out the My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler.

 

Features/Benefits:

• Great for backbacks and carry-ons
• Globe Clip that keeps bracelet in place
• Numbered slots to keep threads organized
• Slide-out storage drawer with 20 pre-cut Prism embroidery threads
• For ages 6+

Checking out the My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler, I was happy to see that there were user-friendly instructions included. Not only were the steps easy to understand, but there were also pictures which made it even easier.

We first pulled out the drawer which is right on the bracelet maker. It includes 20 pre-cut embroidery threads in 10 different colors which I think is fantastic! Once the threads are gone, it will be easy to restock and buy more with the refill kits available...but I think it's great that this company thought to include them with the product. It makes it easier for kids to get started making their bracelets with no delay. I love it!

 

Once we had picked out our colors (Kaelyn picked purple, yellow and white for her brother Kaden), we followed the instructions and got it knotted. We then hooked it to the Globe Clip which keeps the bracelet in place while knotting. What a neat feature! Growing up, I used to tape the top of the friendship bracelets I was making to the door to keep them secure (even though they would usually end up slipping out as I knotted). Having such an easy way to keep the bracelet in place had me thinking "why didn't I think of that"! The Globe Clip truly does keep the bracelet secure too. As Kaelyn and I worke don the bracelet, it did not slip out once.

To make it even more secure, there are slots to keep the threads firmly in place. This makes for a nicer looking bracelet in the end. The slots are also numbered, which helps to keep the threads organized. When there are up to 10 different threads organization is important!

It had been years since I had made a friendship bracelet...but looking at the easy to follow instructions...we were able to get started in no time. We started out making a simple design...but I'm excited to visit myfbm.com and look up more free bracelet patterns that she and I can make together!

As I said, Kaelyn and I have made the bracelets together, because she is not yet able to do them entirely by herself yet. We have a lot of fun though, and with a little guidance and practice, she has really started to get the hang of it! In no time I'm sure she'll be carrying around her My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler wherever we go. It would make a fantastic activity to do in the car, as well as on those rainy days when she gets bored inside. On top of being a fun activity, it also allows her to be creative, strengthen her fine motor skills, and most importantly...focus on the importance of friendship!

  

We were also sent a high quality carrying bag for the My Friendship Bracelet Maker which I love. It's a great way to keep everything together, especially when we take it with us on the go this summer.

We were also sent the My Ribbon Barrette Maker to review. This caught Kaelyn's eye right away...as she is a girly girl and loves anything we put in her hair to do it up. Not only that, but she instantly began talking about the different friends and family that she wanted to make a barrette for too. I thought that was great!

 

Features/Benefits:

• Barette Holder and loom pegs secure barrette and ribbons
• Slide-out drawer keeps ribbon, beads and barrettes securely stored
• 8 different ribbon colors included
• Tri-beads in 8 colors
• For ages 6+

 Like with the My Friendship Bracelet Maker, the My Ribbon Barrette Maker included easy to follow instructions with steps and pictures. It made it easy to figure out how to use the product, which was great since Kaelyn was very eager to get started!

We began by sliding out the drawer which included everything we needed...ribbon, beads and barrettes. I love that this drawer not only organizes everything, but also keeps it secure so we don't loose anything. It makes it a very compact product that could easily be taken on the go as well.

 

Once we had the barrette in place with the ribbon tied/knotted on, we were ready to get started. Again, thanks to the easy to follow instructions, we got started in no time and had a lot of fun. This process was a little bit easier for Kaelyn to do on her own which was a lot of fun for her. She threaded the ribbon in and out of the barrette which again, was great for fine motor skills.

There are loom pegs which help secure the ribbon while you weave which helped make the process go smoother as well. 

Once we had the barrette done, one of Kaelyn's favorite parts was keep the ribbon a little bit long and putting beads on it. It just gave it an extra unique look and she was excited to be a part of the process in making it. Now that we have made it, she hasn't wanted to take it out. :)

 

And, as I mentioned, she now has a list of people she'd like to make them for which I think is terrific!

We've really enjoyed both the My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler and the My Ribbon Barrette Maker! Both have been great activities for Kaelyn and I to do together and love that they focus on self-expression and friendship. The products are high quality and really make being crafty easier than ever...even for children.

Aside from their great products, I love how much this company focuses on the importance of friendship and being kind to others. In fact, the company has even created a video to shout out the message that kids should choos friendship, not bullying, which has become such a destructive force for kids today. Proceeds from song and t-shirt sales will be donated to non-profit organizations that support anti-bullying initiatives. See the music video on the company’s website at www.myfbm.com.

Buy It: You can purchase the My FriendshipBracelet Maker Traveler for $16.99 and the My Ribbon Barrette Maker for $24.99.

 

Win It: One very lucky reader is going to win their choice of either the My Friendship Bracelet Maker, the My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler OR the My Ribbon Barrette Maker. (US Only) Just enter my Rafflecopter giveaway below... (if you don't see the Rafflecopter form, click here).



a Rafflecopter giveaway


**The products for this review and giveaway were provided for free. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.