Doodle Crate is a member of the KiwiCo family geared toward kids 9+. It inspires young makers to learn new skills and gain creative confidence through craft and art projects by teaching them basic and intermediate techniques of a new artistic medium each month. The sky is the limit, and crafts made from the same kit can be kept simple, or they can be made as intricate as the artist desires.
Though geared toward kids, Doodle Crate is gender neutral and also excellent for anyone (even adults) wanting a craft subscription. In our experience, this is the best “arts and crafts” box for older kids, tweens, teens, and adults – the end result is nearly always something you will want to save!
This month’s project: PLEATHER WORKING!
DEAL: Use this link to save 30% on your first month of Doodle Crate! (or Kiwi Crate and the KiwiCo family subscriptions Tinker Crate and Eureka Crate).
Doodle Crate Instruction Book
Doodle Crate tends to focus on a single craft and contains only what you’ll need for the project. This month is about making your own faux leather portfolio!
The booklet has excellent, textbook quality background on the subject matter of the project. Every Crate is a project and a lesson in technique – when you are finished, you should have a usable handcrafted item and a new skill.
It’s loaded with high-quality pictures and illustrations to provide you ideas and help you along at the same time. They also produce a video tutorial for each project, too. Doodle Crate is great for providing perspective and inspiration for their projects, showing examples of the medium in real life settings.
Handy tips are located throughout the instructions, and they always include some options for customizing your work using alternate techniques or additional details. This Crate is suitable for a wide range of ages, and older kids and adults can bring as much complexity to their projects as they want.
The booklet proceeds step-by-step, from start to finish, with detailed guidance the whole way. The numerous diagrams explain every step clearly and make it practically impossible to go off track.
At every phase of the project, Doodle Crate presents several options to bring added personality to your work – and you are always free to do something completely original. After all, it is YOUR creation.
Doodle Crate Materials
Every crate comes with everything you need to complete the project (except for a few basic items from your home), as well as a booklet.
All the small items are placed in a plastic divider and are labeled accordingly. It is made this way to avoid the possible loss of the items.
Doodle Crate Activity
For this activity, the first thing to do is to decide whether to make a brown or a blue portfolio. My son chose the latter. Then, he attached the pocket by stitching all three sides using the thread provided.
After ensuring that the pocket is properly attached, the third step is to sew the sides of the portfolio. The booklet provides a proper technique for sewing the bag. They also included a picture of the portfolio and how it should look like.
Next we, attached the brads on the holes!
For the finishing touch, put the elastic cord in the hole at the bottom end of the flap. This cord serves as the portfolio’s lock, as it will keep everything tucked safely inside.
This portfolio is a cute way to keep your things organized.
Look! Even our newly acquired Doodle Crate sketchbook fits perfectly with our portfolio!
We love hands-on subscriptions and Doodle Crate is one of them! This month’s activity is crafty, as it greatly involved sewing and designing. My son enjoyed it a lot, and he’s even happier because he’ll actually get to use the final output. It’s a great subscription to boost the kids’ creativity. It also helps them learn how to follow instructions. Kids or adults will have fun with this crate and it’s a great bonding activity too!
Did you enjoy this month’s activity as much as we did? Let us know in the comments!
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