Doodle Crate, by KiwiCo, is a subscription box targeted to older children aged 9-16 that delivers a monthly art project. They describe themselves as a “studio for hands-on creativity delivered every month" and they're one of our favorite art boxes for kids!
KiwiCo offers boxes for different age groups:
- Panda Crate for 0-24-month-olds,
- Koala Crate for 2-4-year-olds,
- Kiwi Crate for 5-8-year-olds,
- Atlas Crate for 6-11-year-olds,
- Doodle Crate and Tinker Crate for 9-16+-year-olds,
- Eureka Crate and Maker Crate for ages 14 and up.
There really is something for every age with this company!
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out our review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Doodle Crate
The Subscription Box: Doodle Crate
The Cost: $19.95 per month. Save with longer subscriptions.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 50% off your first box. No coupon needed - just use this link.
The Products: Instructions and supplies for children aged 9-16 to create one new art project each month.
Ships to: The U.S. for free, Canada for $3.95 per month, worldwide from $4.95-$6.95.
Doodle Crate Desktop Corkboard Review May 2020
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Our project this month is to make our own Desktop Corkboard. As with every box from KiwiCo, this box is well organized and the directions are clear and easy to follow. They break it down into sections with detailed information about each step and I love that they allow for a little bit of creativity within the project while still keeping it structured. Our booklet features a ton of different techniques and inspiration for us to use for our project. They included some information about how to create resist artwork using crayons or tape, which is the method we will be using.
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Our first step was to get our corkboard ready to paint. The small corkboard had an adhesive backing which would make it easy to assemble, and they provided two rolls of washi tape for us to create our design.
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They provided a lot of inspiration and different ideas for how we could tape our corkboard to create a design. I loved the colorful striped design they made and decided to do my own version. Normally, I would let my kids create something, but it was a beautiful day and they were playing outside so I decided to take advantage of the quiet and give myself a creative moment!
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After taping up my design it was time to add paint. They provided this set of 6 great colors along with a little sponge too and a smaller brush for detail work.
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I started adding the paint to my open spaces after deciding on a pattern. When that was just dry enough I removed the tape in the center.
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Since I wanted to give my paint a bit more time to dry before adding my next layer of stripes, I decided to paint the set of wooden push pins that they gave us. I stuck my pins into the top of the box and then got to work designing them.
I forgot that they had included a few stencils for us to use until I was pretty much done, but I did get a chance to use the soccer ball sticker which you'll see at the end.
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While my push pins dried, I added my next layer of tape to my board and painted the stripes. I ran out of tape so I had to paint my first stripe and then move my tape over to the other side, but it seemed to work out okay!
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Next, it was time to assemble the corkboard using the two wooden pieces, and this tape hinge.
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I lined up the smaller wooden piece with the larger piece and then added this sticker to create the hinge.
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Next, I added the fabric strip to the slots on both wooden pieces to keep them connected using a little foam sticky square to secure each side of the fabric.
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Now our corkboard will be able to open and close and stand up.
I simply had to peel the backing from my corkboard piece and stick it to the board of the easel section and my corkboard was complete!
They also included these cute little word bubble papers for us to use on our board.
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Here is my completed corkboard with a few notes held in place by the pushpins I painted. I think it turned out pretty great!
Verdict: I had a lot of fun with this month's Doodle Crate project. It was a great way to get creative without it being too messy and I think that the end result would be great with any design you choose with this fun tape resist method. I could see this being a great project for the target age group of 9 and over! I love that we created something we can actually use and that they included the pushpins to paint, too. This box was well organized and had directions that were thought-out and easy to follow. I think this was a pretty fun art experience for $19.95 plus free shipping!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? It is possible you might get this crate, but it is not a guarantee. From KiwiCo:
Crates are assigned each month based on availability and your crate history – not all subscribers receive the same theme each month.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 50% off your first box. No coupon needed - just use this link.
Check out all of our Doodle Crate reviews and the best subscription boxes for tweens and teens!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
What do you think of the Doodle Crate desktop corkboard?
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