Thank you to Crayola for providing me with product, in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions shared are my own.

Calling all craft lovers! If you have kids who love to create, I have the perfect holiday gift idea for you! B is six years old, and is just now starting to get into crafts and projects. He especially loves things that he can make by himself, or with little supervision. He really loves drawing, and has always loved using little stamps to decorate his artwork. We're huge fans of Crayola products. Crayola has been entertaining my son and helping him to create since he was just a little tike. 

After noticing a need for safe, high quality, affordable wax crayons, in 1903, Crayola produced the first box of eight crayons and sold them for 5 cents.

Since then, the Crayola brand has grown into a portfolio of innovative art tools, crafting activities, and creative toys that give kids the power to express all that inspires them as they explore, discover, play, pretend, and dream. 

Crayola is widely used today by kids of all ages, and is a preferred brand of teachers and parents. Crayola products have been in my home for a long, long time, and I am happy to be sharing new Crayola products and experiences with my own kids.

Say hello to the Crayola Emoji Maker!

This year, the Emoji's have it, and Crayola certainly took notice! The Crayola Emoji Maker is a really cool, creative gift set for any kid who loves markers, and loves to create! The Emoji Maker set comes with everything you need to literally make your own Crayola stamp markers, featuring all kinds of fun emojis!

The Emoji Maker comes with everything you need to make your own markers!

The set includes three bottles of ink for Crayola markers, all the marker parts (tips, tubes, caps), a beaker to mix the ink colors, and plain labels to name your markers! I was sure to put a protective surface over the table before we started to create our markers/stamps. The Crayola markers are washable, but still- I wanted to avoid the mes, if I could.

B was super excited to start creating his Emoji Markers!

B carefully picked out which tips he wanted for his first marker creations. While he looked through all of the tips, I checked over the directions. B was eager to dive right in, but momma wanted to make sure we read everything through, so we didn't miss any steps. Heads up- this set is geared toward ages 6+. B is six, but needed full supervision with this. If you have an older child, they'll probably be okay on their own, or with help from an older sibling.

The Color Mixing Code told us how to make cool colors for the markers!

So, the color mixing code was a little off for me. We followed the measurements for the different colors, but a lot of our colors came out looking like the same shade of green or blue or red. We followed the directions for purple, and still wound up with a blue shade. 

B wanted to start with plain yellow- easy enough!

The cool thing about the Emoji Maker set, is that you build the entire marker. We started out by placing the tip (stamp) into the tube for the marker. Next, we placed the tube inside of the tube holder and capper tool. The little beaker has the numbers with lines alongside of it, so you know exactly how to fill the tube with the right colors of ink to make the colors you want for your marker. Be careful not to go over 15 in total for any one marker. Once the ink is in the beaker, use the little tweezers to insert the little tube that absorbs the ink.

B, waiting patiently for the ink to be absorbed, so we can transfer the ink tube to the marker tube and cap it.

After the ink was absorbed, we carefully moved the ink tube to the marker tube, and use the tweezers to gently push it down. We grabbed a cap, and used the red capper tool to insert the cap on the marker. B wouldn't have been able to do this without my help. I had to very firmly press down until I heard two distinct clicks. After that, we left the marker standing upright for five minutes, so the ink could settle and reach the tip of the marker stamp. Visit  Zen Engravings for custom stamps.

Marker, standing for five minutes before it was ready for use.

We made about six markers before we decided to call it quits and save the others for another time.

We had a lot of fun naming the markers. The set comes with Crayola labels that allow you to write in the names of your new marker creations. B thought it would be funny to use names like 'Pizza yellow,' 'Sparkle Green,' and the like. The set also comes with two marker boxes for you to jazz up and decorate, and then store your new marker creations in. B immediately asked to take his new markers to grandma's house to use them over there, and to show them off.

I think this is a really cool gift set for kids. We did have a couple of frustrating moments, because B was too excited and didn't follow directions like I asked. A couple of times, the ink tubes got knocked over, and we had to clean up ink messes and start the color mixing process over again. Chalk it up to doing this with a six-year-old. If you can have two parents on hand for this project- even better. Make sure you have a lot of patience before you start. I would definitely recommend this as a gift to kids who love to stamp, doodle, and create! It's perfect for older kids, too!

With the Crayola Emoji Maker, you can make your own markers in whatever colors you want. Use the color mixing guide to create favorite colors, or experiment and make up your own.

2016 Award Winner

Toy Insider, Top Holiday Toy; Tillywig, Top Fun Award; National Parenting Products Award, 2016 NAPPA Award; Marriah Media, Gold Award; Santa Choice, Santa Choice Award; The National Parenting Center, Seal of Approval

$19.99

We can't wait to have even more fun creating new colors with the Crayola Emoji Maker! B said he can't wait to help me decorate the gift tags for Christmas presents with his new stampers!

Want it? Get it!

Head on over to Crayola to shop for the Emoji Maker, and to browse other great gifts from Crayola! Connect with Crayola on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Special thanks to Crayola for allowing me to review and share about their wonderful Emoji Maker! Look for the Emoji Maker in our 2016 Holiday Gift Guide!