Thursday, May 5, 2016

The Pencil Grip, Inc. Review



My kiddos love to draw, paint, and make crafts. I love seeing their creativity, but don't always appreciate the mess that comes along with it. Some days you just need a no-mess form of fun, am I right? That's why we were excited to try Kwik Stix Neons 6 pk and Kwik Stix Metallix 6 pk. These crafting supplies from The Pencil Grip, Inc. are just what we need on the no-extra-mess-please days.

The Pencil Grip, Inc. was started in 1992 by Dr Lois Provda, an educational therapist. The company has been selling unique and innovative products for the school, home, and office ever since. They offer the original ergonomic pencil grips (like this one we received) that encourage proper writing skills, textured products that appeal to sensory-seeking kids, basic office supplies, and more.


The Kwik Stix are solid tempera paint sticks. Now, we don't always have to pull out the paint, brushes, smocks, and cups whenever the kiddos want to create masterpieces. With these paint sticks, they can simply uncap, twist, and paint to their hearts' content.

Not only does do the stix save on supplies, they save on space, too. If I have the four older kids sitting at the table and painting at the same time, we quickly accumulate dozens of wet, sticky pages. My counters are covered in these creations until they dry. The fast-drying formula of the stix though allows the color to dry in only 90 seconds. That means that the pages can be placed in one big pile, without compromising the picture. When a child completes a page, he can immediately add it to the top of the pile, instead of finding an empty place on the counter . . . or desk . . . or table . . . or anywhere else that isn't already covered with wet painted pictures.


The Kwik Stix remind me of glue sticks or a big tube of lipstick. The "paint" is waxy and slightly tacky. They silkily glide across the paper as you swipe. Using them is more like coloring than painting though since you draw instead of brush the color around. The finish on the page is paint-like with a shimmery sheen though, so the completed project looks like it was painted.
    
We've used these stix on paper, coffee filters, wood (like popsicle sticks), and styrofoam plates. The paint easily colors them all. My kids have been having so much fun creating crafts and pictures with these. They love being able to pull them out whenever they want. I love the versatility and lack of mess.






We also own the Kwik Stix 12 pk which contains regular colors like red, blue, black, and white. Having the original colors along with the neons and metallix means that the kids have lots of choices to create anything they can dream of.

Their favorite thing is simply painting on a blank page, but my favorite is the bouquet of coffee filter flowers they made to adorn the kitchen table. Not only are they pretty and fun to make, but they also won't die in a week!



These stix are convenient, easy-to-use, easy-to-store, and mess-free. We keep all of ours in a plastic box, so we can grab them whenever the kids feel the creative bug biting. We can take them outside, in the car, on vacation, or at the kitchen table. They're simple enough for even our one-year-old to color pictures, too (even though our boy doesn't, you do need to watch to make sure little ones don't put the stix in their mouths).

The Kwix Stix have been a huge hit in our house--with kids and mom alike! They have told me many times how much they like having the stix. If you're looking for a mess-free, fun, and easy form of art, these Kwix Stix may be just what you need.



You can connect with The Pencil Grip, Inc. on the following social media sites:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest



If you'd like to see more cool creations using the Kwik Stix paint, please read the reviews on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Crew Disclaimer
Pin It

1 comment:

  1. The flowers are great! We might have to try something similar. I wouldn't have thought the Kwik Sticks would work on the foam plate! I need to think outside the box more.

    ReplyDelete